Chapter 10
Aaron, Beth, Tom and Rachel were standing in the lobby of the reception hall. Almost all of the guests were out on the country club's spacious patio overlooking the golf course, enjoying the weather. Sean and Kim walked up to the door.
"Do you know where the kids are," Aaron asked, as they walked in.
Sean smiled at his brother as Dave joined the group. "Relax Aaron." He outlined to them all what was happening with the bridal party. Sean smiled at Tom and Rachel. "Mike got me in on the plan." Aaron smiled, shaking his head.
"From the text I got from Pete," Sean said, "it was all very moving. Pastor Damrow even showed up." Aaron shook his head again as Beth rubbed his arm.
Sean looked at the group. "You all need to relax. We're talking about a bunch of kids that have lived up to Hartwig's deal and honored Haley." He burrowed a look into Aaron's eye. "I doubt any of them drank before that." Aaron nodded his agreement, as did Tom. "But damnit Aaron, they're still young adults. It's time for them to unwind."
Aaron smiled at Sean. "Thanks for the butt kicking brother." The two brothers hugged.
Sean fiendishly smiled. "I like finally being able to do it to you." They all laughed. Sean looked at Tom and Rachel. "Why wasn't Bub on the bus?"
Tom shook his head. "Because Mike would have let him drink and Caleb is getting scholarship offers to play football. We're not going to let him screw that up. They closely watch the underage drinking here and will report it." Everyone nodded their head in agreement.
Dave pulled out his cell, found Pete's number and sent a text. Shout out when you're close. I got a job to do.
"And on that," Sean smiled, "I need a beer as well." They all headed to the bar of the reception lobby.
Dave's cell buzzed. Aaron, Sean and Tom handed glasses of wine to their ladies and accepted their beers, with Aaron handing the first draft to Dave. Dave pulled out his cell and looked at it. He smiled. "It's Pete." He read the text and beamed. "We're on the way but taking our time. Relax Big Dog," Dave read with a smile accepting the beer. He added what Zach had said to the group after they got on the bus. They all laughed.
The seven of them walked into the reception area and smiled. The room was fully decorated with a huge white ribbon flower above the dance floor. Each table was completely set save for the plates that were on the buffet table. Brenda's Mason jars were at each place setting, the leaves meticulously placed to face the guests' chairs. Rachel shook her head at Beth. "This is totally beautiful." Beth nodded with a smile.
The DJ that was already set up walked up to them. "I'm Josh," he smiled. Aaron shook his hand and introduced him to the group. Josh smiled at Dave. "I've got the music ready that Caleigh and Zach wanted. But I know you're the emcee. I need to do a mic check with you," he smiled. Dave happily obliged.
"Does this go to the outside patio," Dave asked.
Josh smiled at him. "I've done this venue before. They are the best. You tell me if you want to make an announcement to that patio, I push a button and we're in business." Dave smiled at Josh.
Just then, Dave's cell buzzed with a text. He pulled it out of his tux pocket and read it. He smiled at Josh. "Hit that button." Josh smiled and nodded at him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you could move inside to your tables, the bridal party is about to arrive. Zach and Caleigh don't want to make you wait for your dinner. The Grand March will begin shortly." The time was nearing six o'clock, the hour the wedding invitation said dinner would be served. The guests filtered in, making another bar run. Dave looked around.
Hold off Pete Dave texted.
Got it Dave Pete texted back. Time to finish second beer Dave smiled.
Pete walked up to the driver. "Can you slow down a bit while we finish our second round? They're not ready at the reception."
"No problem," the driver smiled, pulling into a country park that overlooked the river near the golf course. He pulled up in front of the cement building that held the bathrooms of the park. "Anyone," he smiled. The group all tumbled off.
Dave noticed Lauren talking with Josh. Josh nodded and took Lauren's laptop and hurriedly hooked it up to his equipment. Lauren walked up to Dave and pulled him aside to quietly talk with him as the guests started to filter into the ballroom to their tables.
Dave pulled out his cell and looked at a text. He smiled at Sean. "Get Henry." Sean smiled, got up, whistled at Caleb and moved to the next table. He nodded at Henry with a smile and the two of them went to the lobby area. Caleb walked up to Becca and held out his hand. They left the ballroom as well. Dave nodded at Josh with a smile.
Josh looked around and opened his mic. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to River Oaks Country Club as we celebrate the wedding of Caleigh and Zach Hotchner. I'm Josh Turner of Mid-Atlantic Sound and Light. It's my pleasure to turn over our festivities to your reception host, the groom's uncle David Rossi."
Dave got up from the table he was sharing with Aaron, Beth, Sean, Kim, Merrill, Sela and the Brooks family and walked behind the head table set at the center back of the room by the windows of the ballroom that overlooked the eighteenth green of the golf course and the patio area. He picked up the mic and turned it on. "Thank you Josh," he said. "He's got a great dance party planned for later." Josh pointed at him with a smile. Dave looked around the room as it quieted and the rest of the guests filtered in and took their seats.
"On behalf of Rachel and Tom Graystone and Beth and Aaron Hotchner welcome. We're just about ready to get the Grand March going but I just got the signal to stretch things a bitttttttt more," he smiled. "So I'm going to start by thanking Nadine Bohrer, Lisa Ponce and Dan Larson for the absolute fantastic job they did with the music at the wedding along with the members of the St. Andrew's and St. John's choirs. They're sitting right there with Dan's beautiful wife Jenn joining them," Dave gestured at the table they were sharing with Garcia, Kevin, Tara, Gina and Anderson. The guests applauded with Dave.
Dave let the loud applause die down. "And while I'm sure they both would say they were just doing their jobs, thank you to Pastor Percy Damrow and Pastor Thomas Hartwig for a beautiful wedding ceremony." Dave gestured to their table which was behind the one the Hotchner family was sitting at. As the crowd applauded, Father Jimmy, also at the table, looked at the two of them. "It was simply beautiful," he smiled. They both smiled back at him.
Dave looked at Damrow. "Pastor, Jack's twenty dollar tip for the short sermon is in his tux. He'll catch up with you later." The room roared with laughter.
"Which you gave him," Father Jimmy heckled.
"It was better than sitting through one of yours Jimmy," Dave retorted. The crowd laughed more.
Pete looked at Zach, standing in the lobby. "Dave already has them rolling," he smiled.
"You doubted that," Zach smiled.
Dave smiled with a point at Father Jimmy. "I have to tell a story on Pastor Hartwig. Thursday night, before he started the rehearsal, he sat the bridal party down and laid down his only rule. Basically, it was about respect for the house of worship and the ceremony." He looked at Hartwig. "But I think you figured out pretty quickly these young adults are one fine group." Hartwig nodded his head in approval with a large smile.
"Actually," Dave said, getting serious, "they are some of the finest young adults I've had the pleasure to meet. And here's the proof," he said, gesturing to the video screen. Josh hit the play button on Lauren's laptop.
The video played of the bridal party at Haley's grave. Beth eyed Aaron for his reaction. All she saw was his quiet pride. "That is so precious," John Brooks said, putting his arm around Hannah. The ladies of the BAU wiped away a tear. They weren't the only ones. Morgan wiped his away with Savannah rubbing his thigh, doing the same. John Schuerholz wiped his eyes with his napkin, knowing what Haley did to save her two sons.
After the video finished, Dave waited a minute as a sign of respect. The room was perfectly quiet. Dave looked to heavens. "Thank you Haley. We love you." Then he looked at the guests.
"I have to add something else," Dave quietly said. "The group I'm about to introduce went through a nearly two hour rehearsal Thursday night." The crowd murmured a bit. "Yes, you heard me right," he said, looking at all of them. "But I need some back-up from one of my colleagues. Dr. Reid," Dave asked. "What time did the wedding service start?"
Reid smiled. "Precisely at three-thirty in the afternoon SSA Rossi; just like the invitation said," he shouted.
Dave pointed at Reid. He smiled at the crowd. "The precise Swiss watch clockwork that Pastor Hartwig drilled into this group on Thursday night. So come on folks, give it up for a great, sorry, in my world, bunch of kids. They deserve it." The crowd applauded. "Hit it Josh," Dave pointed.
The opening notes of We Are Family come out the speakers. The guests started clapping along to the beat. "First off, the two guys that had a lot of pressure with their jobs and handled it with ease. Let's hear it for the ushers, Caleb Graystone and Sean Hotchner!"
Caleb and Sean hurriedly walked back by Zach and Caleigh. "What the…." Zach said with a question.
"We need to get our mojo going bro," Caleb smiled. He and Sean grabbed hands and started skipping towards the ballroom, swinging their arms like girls. The bridal party roared. When they entered the ballroom like that, the guests raucously laughed with loud applause.
The two of them skipped up to the head table and looked at Dave across the table, holding out their hands palms up to him and then quickly pulled them back. They jumped in the air to do a chest bump and then quietly walked back to their tables. The guests loved it.
Josh, with a headphone to his ear mixed the music into the intro of Demi Lovato's Confident and pointed at Dave. "Ladies and gentlemen; the co-caption of the NCAA Division One 2014 Women's Soccer National Champion George Mason Patriots, Sarah Toabit. And one of the starting pitchers for the Arizona Diamondbacks, via Central High School in Annandale being a teammate with Zach and Pete then via the University of Florida, Jake Beckham," Dave introduced.
Sarah and Jake strutted into the ballroom arm in arm. Getting to the buffet table that was in the middle of the dance floor, they separated and did a big dance move around the table, moving to the end, joined up again and walked to the head table.
"A beautiful young woman from Fort Worth and chemistry graduate from George Mason that took a chance on another Texas kid that is now one of the Atlanta Braves starting pitchers and a Mason grad with a degree in accounting - please welcome Victoria Regis and her fiancé Andy Minton." They did the same as Sarah and Jake, busting out some dance moves around the buffet table. The guests applauded their approval. Schuerholz smiled at Bobby Cox.
"Katie Hollis is a senior at Georgetown, majoring in biology and a cousin of the bride. She's escorted by one of DCFD's finest, Sergeant Mike Graystone, big brother of the bride." Mike and Katie put on a dance show at the buffet table. The guests roared with approval as Caleigh's family chanted "DCFD!" The Hotchner side of the room joined in.
Caleb looked at his parents. "Who knew?" he smiled. Rachel and Tom shook their heads with a smile.
"The bride changed her diapers and the groom changed his. Please welcome the bride's cousin Sami Fowler and the best younger brother a groom could have, Jack Hotchner." Sami and Jack did the twist past the buffet table, bending their knees up and down in synchronized fashion. Aaron smiled with pride as Sean rubbed his shoulder.
"Ladies and gentleman," Dave said, "please get ready for the cute people. Becca the beautiful red head Thornton and Henry "Hammerin' Hank" LaMontagne!" Becca and Henry stood in the door, took two steps and stopped. Henry pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses from one pocket and handed them to Becca. He pulled out a second pair and they put them on together. Then leaned their shoulder backs, "confidently" strutting to the buffet table. They both stood up on the toes to hold hands as they moved down the buffet table, still touching fingers. When they got to end, they looked at each, pulled off the sunglasses and did the classic John Travolta disco pose. The guests ate it up, applauding their approval as JJ and Will smiled at each other.
Derek looked over his shoulder at Garcia. He was sitting at the table with JJ and Will. "You digging this Baby Girl?"
"You know it Chocolate Thunder!" The team all laughed.
"Just about the best cousin a bride could have," Dave smiled. "They're more like sisters. One that tried to set up this couple six years ago. And the one and only kid that was the right person for the job walking into the principal's office to befriend the new kid in high school. Ladies and gentlemen, the Matron of Honor and the Best Man, Lisa and Pete Stanlovsky." Peter and Mariska Stanlovsky, sitting at the table with the pastors and their wives and Father Jimmy, proudly smiled.
When they got to the buffet table, Lisa, a former dance line member in high school and college, broke out her best moves. Pete simply moved down to the other end of the buffet table, shaking his head and waited for her. He was loudly jeered by the guys of the bridal party. Pete flexed his large muscles at them and grabbed Lisa's hand, escorting to her to the table. The guests roared.
While Lisa and Pete were doing their thing, Zach looked at one of the bartenders. "Can you pour me this much of a beer," he gestured with his fingers barely spread apart. The bartender grabbed a draft glass and did the pour.
Caleigh laughed as Zach took the beer. "You're really going to do it," she smiled.
Zach kissed her. "My one final chance to get the Hotchner glare," he laughed. Caleigh laughed more.
"And ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present Mr. and Mrs. Zach Hotchner," Dave smiled. The last strains from the long dance version were starting to finish as Caleigh and Zach appeared in the doorway. Zach looked at the guests, Caleigh and then the beer glass in his hand. He shrugged and drank the beer. Caleigh did her best to feign anger.
Zach ran back to the bar and set the glass down. All five bartenders were waiting to give him a high five, loudly laughing. Caleigh lost the charade and joined them.
"The final chance to needle dad," Dave laughed as Zach reappeared in the doorway, pointing at him with his infectious smile.
"Yay baby," Derek shouted, hoisting his fists in the air. Aaron roared with laughter along with the entire BAU team and he and Beth's table companions.
As Caleigh and Zach entered the ballroom, Josh mixed in Walk the Moon's hit song. Pete and Lisa got Becca and Henry standing on Zach and Caleigh's chairs at the head table with an arm around them to keep them steady. The song quickly got to its tag line. The entire bridal party shouted the lyrics, pointing at them. "Shut up and dance with me!" Caleb whistled at Sean and they both ran up to join the group.
"I think we have a theme for the night," Dave smiled into the mic. All the guests clapped along. Caleigh and Zach got to the buffet table as the tag line came up again. All of the bridal party, including Caleb and Sean, shouted it louder, pointing again. The BAU team, of course, joined in. So did many guests.
Caleigh looked at Zach. He shook his head. Caleigh pouted. Zach pulled her to him, bent her backwards and gave her a passionate kiss. The group at the head table hooped and hollered as did the guests.
Zach bent her up and pointed to Eric, the head chef standing in the kitchen door, smiling. Eric looked around at his staff, watching as well. "Let's do this," he smiled. They all went into the kitchen.
Zach took Caleigh's hand and gently guided her to the head table, sharing a high five with his dad as they passed the table. "You're good son," Aaron laughed. The rest at the table laughed more. The song played on as the couple joined the bridal party, getting high fives from all of them as all the guys took off their tux jackets, putting them on the back of their chairs.
Father Jimmy looked at his two Protestant counterparts. "I think some kids are going to have fun tonight," he smiled.
"Very richly deserved," Hartwig smiled.
"Yes indeed," Damrow added with his bright smile. Jimmy pointed at both of them with his large Irish smile.
With the song ending, Josh smiled and mixed in the intro to YMCA. At the first refrain, the entire bridal party, with Becca and Henry still standing on Caleigh and Zach's chairs and under their watchful eye, did the dance move, spelling out the letters with their arms. Dave joined them. Zach and Caleigh smiled at each other, lifting Becca and Henry off the chairs. Sean and Caleb walked them back to their parents' table.
Sean sat down next to Aaron. "Shit bro," he smiled, wiping the perspiration from his forehead. "I think I need another beer trying to keep up with those kids." The table all laughed with Kim shaking her head with a smile.
Eric did the hand gestures to the song to the applause of the guests and then got the heaters lit underneath the holders for the chafing dishes. One by one, his staff set out the buffet spread, with the last staff bringing out the hot food. They put them in the holders and stood at the ready to pull the covers off with the meticulously black napkins wrapped around the handles. They did that as they did the dance moves to the final refrain of the song and moved off. The song died down and the guests applauded.
Dave looked around the room. "These two," Dave nodded at Caleigh and Zach, "if you haven't already figured out, are people with a deep faith." He looked towards a table. "Jimmy, you and Pastor Damrow are up to bat," he smiled. They both stood up and approached the head table.
Dave handed the mic to Jimmy. He said the Catholic prayer before a meal, and handed the mic to Damrow with a smile. Pastor Damrow said the Protestant one and then looked at Jimmy. In unison they added the common prayer of thanks in unison. The guests joined them and added a collective "Amen".
Before they could walk away, Caleigh and Zach rose from their seats, met them at the end of the table and hugged them both.
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A/N: I guess this is going to be longer than I thought. I hope y'all don't mind.
And no, I didn't plan it that way. Uncle Dave is just too damn long winded. :D
That blame works; right? LOL