10.
Cuddy slowly turned away from Lucas' crestfallen face to see her mother, standing in the front row looking at her with a mixture of incredulity and irritation.
But before she could form any kind of reply, another voice raised vociferously above the now increased volume of the murmuring crowd. That voice came from behind the last row of invited guests.
"I would have to NOT hold my peace also."
Cuddy looked toward the sound of the second voice and saw Wilson standing in the back. His hair was disheveled and his shirt gaped at the neck. Perspiration stains were visible from underneath his jacket as if he'd been running. As she gazed at him, he took his familiar, critical posture, his feet shoulder-width apart and his hands placed squarely on his hips.
Again, as Cuddy opened her mouth to answer Wilson's vote of doubt, yet a third voice rose above the din.
"And me," the voice spoke from directly behind her. "I have no intention of holding my peace either."
Cuddy whirled around to see Julie looking directly at her, her hand raised in the air as if she were a student prepared to answer an all too easy question that had just been posed by a teacher.
Cuddy turned back to Lucas whose face was now nearly purple with fury. "Lucas, I'm sorry, I'm . . ."
The rabbi's voice cut across her. "I think we can all agree that the bride needs a few minutes alone with her mother before we can attempt to proceed."
Cuddy finally became aware of who had orchestrated this very public humiliation. She turned to face her mother once more.
"Mother, may I speak to you for a moment?" Cuddy sputtered through gritted teeth.
Arlene nodded, turned and began walking up the aisle back toward the house. As a dazed Cuddy focused on her mother's retreating form, Rabbi Beinstein sidled up next to her and took hold of her arm.
"Come Lisa," he said.
Without further ado, he escorted Cuddy swiftly toward the house following in Arlene's wake. Wilson and Julie took up their positions close behind with a few of the overly curious onlookers behind them and finally Lucas, who had at first been too stunned to move, brought up the rear.
Rabbi Beinstein walked Cuddy directly into her bedroom. Arlene already stood waiting for them so as soon as they entered, the rabbi shut the door.
"Without any preface, I think you'd better say what's on your mind Arlene," he said.
"Rabbi? I can't believe you're in on this. Did you set me up to . . ."
"Oy vey," Cuddy's mother interrupted, "Don't be such a drama queen. And if you hadn't been so stubborn and refused to speak to me for all this time, we could have done this earlier without making such a spectacle."
Cuddy planted her feet and folded her arms across her chest, readying herself for a fight.
"Spectacle? Spectacle? Mother, I work with a lot of those people. How do you ever expect me to face them again after what you've pulled here today?"
"Lisa," the rabbi stepped in, attempting to defuse the situation. "The most important issue at hand is whether or not you're making the right decision here. I'm sorry you've been embarrassed . . ."
"More like humiliated!"
"Okay, humiliated, but what's a little humiliation against a lifetime of pain and misery created by one wrong choice?"
Unable or unwilling to answer, Cuddy stood sullenly quiet. The rabbi went on.
"After I spoke with you, your mother told me she spoke to this man you're in love with. He was here today?"
Cuddy felt like a balloon that had been unexpectedly deflated. Her hands dropped to her sides.
"But how did you . . . why does this mean anything now? Yes, he came here and I talked to him. He didn't say . . . he wouldn't . . . he didn't even try to stop me." Tears started in her eyes again.
"Lisa honey, Greg saw that THIS was what you wanted," Arlene said quietly. "He said that this was your dream and he wouldn't stand in the way of it."
Cuddy felt the blood drain from her face. "He said that?"
"Yes." Arlene's voice lowered another octave as she fought to keep her emotions in check. "He loves you that much. He's willing to stand aside and let you have this if it's what you really want. Personally, I think the both of you are acting like idiots."
Cuddy rolled her eyes and sighed.
The three were quiet for a few moments. Then Rabbi Beinstein spoke again.
"Lisa, you didn't seem . . . yourself as you were walking down the aisle. Did you take something?"
Cuddy's expression became sheepish. "I . . . was still worked up from talking to House so I may have taken some valium. Just to help me relax."
"Hmm," the rabbi hummed as he looked gravely at her. "That explains it then."
"Explains what?"
"Well Lisa," the rabbi continued, "Your expression changed drastically when you looked at your fiancé. Your eyes, your whole face lit up as you walked down the aisle. Now be honest with me. It wasn't Mr. Douglas you thought you saw when you looked at him, was it?"
Cuddy, too overwhelmed and ashamed to speak, shook her head as she cast her eyes down to the floor.
The rabbi placed his warm hands on her shoulders. His simple act reminded her of the feel of House's hands when he had finished buttoning her gown and her heart shattered, falling in golden fragments to her feet.
Had it really been less than an hour ago? How many lifetimes had she lived since she'd kissed the only man she'd ever loved? How many years had she suffered through since she'd seen him, tears filling his startling blue eyes, turn and walk away from her, perhaps forever?
"Lisa," the rabbi continued, his steady voice intruding upon her thoughts. "You can't marry one man when you're this much in love with another. It's not fair. To anyone. It's not fair to Mr. Douglas, or this man you do love, or especially you. It's not a good example to set for your daughter either. Don't you want your daughter to one day marry the man she truly loves?"
Cuddy raised her silver rimmed eyes to the rabbi's kindly face.
"But I thought, in time, maybe I could learn to love Lucas. Never as much as . . . but maybe enough to . . ."
The rabbi slowly shook his head. "Oh Lisa, don't you know? If you already love . . . Greg is it?"
She nodded.
"Well if you already love Greg, your heart is full. You simply don't have room for someone else."
"But House is so . . . unpredictable and crazy and . . .," Cuddy began.
Arlene spoke up again. "I know from firsthand experience how much of a lunatic Greg House can be. But you can't hold that against him. Any man who loves you as much as he does would have to be more than a little meshuggina."
The rabbi smiled as Cuddy let out a short laugh.
"But Lisa, how can you let your fear dictate something so important as the man you're going to marry, the man you're choosing to spend the rest of your life with? You've never settled for second best, your whole life. Never. And now? You're marrying a schmuck you tolerate instead of the mensch you love. Suddenly you're willing to trade filet mignon for ground chuck, maybe Alpo? What for? Just because you can't lead Greg around by the nose like you can this man?"
Cuddy's temper flared. "I do not lead Lucas around by the nose! I . . ."
Arlene waved her hand. "Please! I've seen you with Greg and I've seen how you behave with Lucas. Greg challenges you in a way Lucas never will. He stimulates you intellectually. He engages you romantically. And he sure as hell arouses you physically."
"Mother!" Cuddy remonstrated, unable to keep the color from flooding her cheeks.
The rabbi chuckled. "I've always appreciated your honesty Arlene, even if it does tend to get a little earthy at times."
Arlene acknowledged the rabbi with a glance and then turned her full attention back to her daughter. "Don't you think I was scared when I married your father?" she said. "I'd never known anyone like him. He was funny and romantic and hot-tempered and his family didn't like me at first. But I gave up everything . . . everything that was familiar or comfortable to be with him. Because there was one thing I DID know. That I loved him more than anyone else in the world and that he felt the same way about me. Sure it was scary, to convert to a new religion, to move to a different part of the country, to give up family and friends and home and everything just to be with him."
"But Lisa . . ." and here, Arlene reached out and took Cuddy's now trembling hand. "You HAVE to give up the ground in order to fly. Greg House gave you wings. Your love together made you soar. I know, I saw you with him. Don't give that up for something ordinary, safe, common."
Tears welled up in the eyes of both mother and daughter. The rabbi too sniffed and wiped his nose.
Arlene's eyes held her daughter's watery blue-green gaze as she whispered quietly, "Please bubbala, think. Don't sell your life, your heart, your soul so cheaply."