Wow, two chapters in three days! My muse has been on a Flashpoint craze, I guess. AuntMingy, what a surprise to return to from a Toronto trip, eh? Haha.
I don't have much to say, except Happy Reading! =)
Chapter 10
"Jules, I am not wearing that frilly puffy thing my stepmom calls a dress!" Adele hollered, as she came out of her bedroom, two weeks later. Adele, Spike, a few of Adele's girlfriends, and the rest of the team, including Winnie, Sophie, and Shelley, had gotten together after work one night, to start working on wedding arrangements. The chosen date was June 19, 2010.
"Why not, babe?" Spike asked her.
"Because I have a strict no-ruffles policy," Adele replied stubbornly.
"Adele, for once in your life, it would not kill you to really be a girl and really look glamorous," Adele's girlfriend, Leah, teased her, from across the living room.
"Spike, we don't even have a date set," Adele whined.
"Babe, will you please relax? You already said you don't want an engagement party; OK, fine," said Spike. "If you want a small wedding, that's fine, too, OK? How about we have Jules and Sam hang onto the rings until our wedding and hand them to the bride and groom when the time comes? No big deal."
Adele paused for a moment, considering this. "That's a really good idea, actually," she said.
"I have my moments," Spike said, smiling.
"And we'll have to have fake flowers, because people might be allergic to real flowers, and—"
"Are you done?" Spike asked calmly, looking down at her.
Adele exhaled heavily. "Yes, I'm done." She put a hand to her forehead. "This is giving me a headache."
"Do you want to go lie down for a while?" Spike asked her.
"Sure," said Adele. She looked at the others. "Sorry, guys. We'll be back in a bit."
"Take your time," Jules said, smiling. "We'll hang out."
"Thanks, Jules," Adele said, smiling, before she and Spike went into her bedroom to lie down.
About fifteen minutes later, Spike and Adele reappeared in the living room area.
"That was fast," said Charlotte.
Adele nodded. "Well, we've got a lot to do."
"What color scheme do you want, Adele?" Jules asked.
"I'd really like my dress to be cherry blossom pink," said Adele, "since we got engaged under a cherry blossom tree." She and Spike exchanged a smile, as she flipped through bridal magazines with the girls. "And some shade of blue for the bridesmaids' dresses. I really like this maya blue... or this cerulean blue... oh, and this periwinkle blue, too." She handed the magazine over to Charlotte, Leah, and the other women. "What do you girls think?"
"We like the maya blue," Sophie said, looking at Shelley and Winnie.
"We vote for periwinkle," Leah said, looking at Charlotte.
"But it's up to you, in the end," Charlotte said sweetly, smiling.
Adele smiled. "If it's OK with you girls," she said, "I really like the periwinkle best."
"Sure," Jules, Charlotte, and Leah said in unison. Adele marked the order, tore it out and stuck it in an envelope to mail, then they moved on to other things.
Instead of hiring a makeup artist or going to a salon, Jules, Charlotte, and Leah volunteered to do Adele's hair on the big day. They also hired a caterer, to save their families a lot of cooking.
Adele's paternal grandmother and Spike's mother, however, would not take "no" for an answer. Eventually, they persuaded Adele to allow them to make desserts for the wedding.
Once the tuxedos had been chosen, Spike and the men stood up.
"Wait, where are you going?" Adele asked, confused.
"Ring shopping," Ed said matter-of-factly, grinning at her.
"Oh," Adele said, nodding.
"Can't meet you at the altar without it," Spike said, smiling and leaning down and kissing the top of her head, before the men started to drag him away.
"Copy that!" Adele agreed, smiling.
"Have fun, boys!" Jules called after them, as the men left the room, whooping and hollering with excitement.
"You're gonna have the best ring ever," Charlotte gushed to Adele, giggling. Adele grinned and giggled, too.
"I have a fun idea for 'something blue,'" said Adele. Everyone looked at her. "I say we sew the wedding date into my underside of my dress."
"That's really cool, Adele," Jules said, as everyone nodded in agreement.
"I hope Spike likes it," said Adele. "I feel weird, making all these decisions without him."
"He'll be fine with it. Spike won't disappoint you, Adele," Jules assured her.
"I know he won't, Jules," Adele said, smiling. "So how about we look for a house while they're gone? He'll faint if he comes home with a ring and that's already accomplished."
The women laughed, especially Sophie and Shelley.
"Alright," everyone agreed, opening up the real estate magazines and starting to search.
"So how come you didn't tell us about this sooner?" Sam asked, as the four men walked into the jewelry store.
"Simple, Sam," Spike said. "I didn't want you guys to know about the proposal and engagement before she did."
"What are we doing here, exactly?" Wordy asked, looking around, confused.
"Well... I need to officially give her a ring," Spike said, blushing.
"Wait, what?" Ed asked, confused. "You proposed to her without a ring? Why?"
"Because I've never done this before and I have no idea what I'm doing," Spike said, "and because I wanted your guys' help picking. So get crackin', will you?"
The guys smiled and began to start looking.
After some searching, Spike found one that caught his eye.
"Guys, what do you think of this one?" Spike asked him, holding up a ring with a sapphire, not a diamond, in it. "I mean, a sapphire is her birth stone."
"Nah, go for the diamond, man," Sam said. "Diamonds are a girl's best friend. Diamond or bust."
"Not that getting Adele her birthstone isn't a great idea," said Wordy, "because it is."
"But nothing beats a diamond," Sam said.
"Hey, why not get her a sapphire, since it's her birth stone, and inset diamonds around it?" Ed suggested. "Then you'll have both of them covered. Or inset sapphires around a diamond."
"Ed, man, that is brilliant!" Spike said, clapping his hands together.
"No problem, man," Ed said, smiling as Spike went and picked out a diamond ring. "You gonna go pay for that or are we gonna get arrested for shoplifting and you have to present it to her behind bars?"
Spike grinned, then went to go set up the customization plan and pay for the ring.
Later that week, as Spike and Adele got ready for bed, Spike said softly to Adele, "I have something for you, babe."
"What?" Adele asked, looking at him.
Spike got the ring box from his nightstand and opened it and revealed the diamond ring, which had sapphires inset around it, to her. Adele's mouth fell open.
"The guys helped me pick it out," Spike said.
"Oh, Spike... it... it's beautiful," Adele said breathlessly.
Spike smiled and slid it on her finger. He leaned down and kissed her.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you, too," Adele whispered back, kissing him again before they wrapped their arms around each other and fell asleep.
In March, Spike, Adele, and the team could be found choosing music for the wedding ceremony and the reception. In the end, they had decided upon a great variety, from Bach and Chopin to the Chicken Dance.
They had also found the perfect place to live.
It was a cute medium-sized yellow house, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, in central Toronto, nearby to the SRU Headquarters. It had a nice-sized kitchen and living room, with two bedrooms upstairs and two bedrooms on the main floor, as well as one bathroom on each floor and a sun room on the main floor. While the front yard was small, the large fenced-in backyard made up for its lack of size and privacy. The property also had a two-stall garage and front and back patios.
"Spike, I think it's wonderful," Adele said, looking at him. "I think we should take it."
"Are you sure you don't want to think about it?" Spike asked her.
"Spike, we've been searching for almost three months," Adele said. "I feel like if we pass on this one, then it goes off the market and nothing else comes up, we'll have missed our chance and we'll regret it. We can totally afford it."
"Alright," Spike said, after thinking for a minute, "it's ours."
Two days later, they had signed the deal.
Due to their change in location, Adele had also changed jobs. She had quit her cashiering job at Safeway, in favor of starting working at City Hall, as an animal control warden. It was a more glamorous job than working retail and it even improved Adele's depression. The animals she dealt with might not always like her, but she liked being around them.
They engraved their rings on different days, wanting to keep the inscriptions a secret from each other until the special day.
Jules, meanwhile, had come up with a clever way for Spike and Adele to write their vows— which would also be kept under wraps until the big day.
She had them sit in the break room at SRU, their backs to each other, and write out their vows. She and Ed then took the pieces of paper and, without looking at them, placed them in envelopes and sealed them, not to be opened until June 19.
Two weeks before the wedding, Adele and Spike went to the local walk-in clinic to get the vaccinations they needed, before going to Mexico for ten days on their honeymoon.
Spike pulled a grimacing face as the nurse swabbed his arm and prepared the syringe. Adele sat in a chair next to him, waiting her turn.
As the needle neared his arm, Spike looked away and yelled, "Ow!"
"I haven't done anything yet," the nurse, whose name was Jess, said in surprise.
"I was practicing," Spike said sarcastically.
Adele chuckled. "You work for the SRU and you're afraid of a little needle?" she asked him.
"I am not afraid of it," Spike said. "I'm just not a fan."
"Well, that's pretty common," said Jess, as she moved toward his arm with the needle again.
"Ow," Spike whined. But it was over a second later, and the nurse put a Band-Aid on his arm. He and Adele traded places, and although it took the nurse longer to find veins in Adele's arms, she received her vaccination quietly.
Things were falling into place. June 19 quickly approached.
The week of the wedding was equally as busy as previous weeks. Adele and the girls picked up their dresses, following the final fitting. Spike and Adele began to pack for their honeymoon. They gave Jules, Adele's parents, and Spike's parents honeymoon information, in case of an emergency on either side of the continent.
The rehearsal ceremony went off without a hitch. Adele and Spike made sure Jules and Sam still had the rings in their possession afterward, tucked away safe and sound for the upcoming day. They also thanked their parents for helping out and supporting them through the whole thing.
On the morning of June 19, Adele woke up around 10. The morning had dawned cool and clear. But the weather was due to warm up before the 2pm wedding. Adele knew it was going to be a perfect day for the wedding.
She filled a glass of water and sat down at the kitchen table and let her thoughts mesh together and her mind wander.
Adele didn't notice Spike enter the kitchen until he placed his hand on her shoulder. She jumped, startled.
"Whoa, hey, good morning," Spike said, smiling at her. "Someone's excited."
"Good morning, babe," Adele replied brightly, hopping down from the chair to hug him. "I am a bit wired. Want some tea?"
"Sure," Spike said. "I am not yawning through my 'I do.'"
Adele giggled. "Good, because I wouldn't want you to, either," she said. "You go get ready. I'll make tea and breakfast."
"Copy that," Spike said, before heading upstairs to their master bathroom.
"Jules, how's Spike?" Adele asked, as Jules came in to line up in front of her and her father, behind the rest of the wedding party in the line-up. The wedding was just minutes away from starting.
Sam, Spike's Best Man, was waiting at the altar, already having entered through a side entrance. Adele and Spike's parents, grandparents, and siblings were entering during the processional, in front of the bridal party. Then the groomsmen, Ed, Wordy, Greg, and Rolie were escorting Winnie, Jules, and Adele's best friends, Charlotte and Jess, down the aisle. Leah's fiance, Jason, was escorting her, but was not part of the official wedding party. He would escort Leah down the aisle, then would sit with her parents (with whom Adele was very close) until it came time to escort her to the back of the church.
"He's nervous, sweetie, but don't worry," Jules said. "The boys are deescalating him. The only one they will let him take hostage is you."
Adele laughed. Jules smiled. She squeezed Adele's hand fondly, then the bridal party's song began and Jules got back in line, standing on Wordy's left side.
Adele closed her eyes and let the gentle melodic piano notes of Yurima's "River Flows In You" take her away for a minute. Listening to the peaceful melody made it feel real to her. This was really happening. She was really about to marry the man of her dreams, the man who had literally saved her life.
A few minutes later, the bride's entrance song began— "Only Hope" by Mandy Moore.
"You ready?" Matthew asked, looking down at her.
"Yeah," Adele replied. Her voice betrayed her with an ever-so-slight shake. "Don't let me fall, Dad."
"Never," Matthew promised her.
As the first verse finished and the chorus of the song began, Adele sighed heavily, then took her first step forward.
For a moment, Adele looked at her feet, fearing she would trip and fall in her dress. Flowers were strewn all over the floor of the sanctuary. She caught herself tapping her flowers against her dress with her left hand and stopped.
Then she looked up and saw Spike smiling at her, waiting patiently for her to walk up to him. Lou's memorial candle flickered gently beside him, casting him in glinting golden light.
All her worries, regrets, and insecurities vanished. She saw only him. She couldn't take her eyes off him as she walked up to him.
His gentle voice made her come back to earth.
"Are you ready?" he asked her softly.
"More than you know," she replied softly.
It was a beautiful ceremony. The vows that had been kept under wraps for many weeks were finally revealed.
"Adele," Spike said, "the greatest of friends is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow. You bring out the best in me. To quote from Lord of the Rings, 'I would rather spend one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.' On this day, the day of our wedding, I love you and I promise you this." He smiled. "From now into eternity, I promise you me."
Adele smiled, taking a moment to revel in the special words. Then her turn came.
"Spike," Adele said, "we first met at the pinnacle of the hardest personal time in my life. I was afraid of falling in love, afraid of letting people see who I really was, afraid of tomorrow, afraid of moving forward in life. You brought me out of the darkness and showed me the light. You came to me with warmth and compassion. I was lost, but you made me feel found again. You invited me into your world, asking nothing in return. Whatever may lay ahead, good or bad, we will face together. The best is yet to come. I will go wherever you go— as if you really could leave me behind!"
Spike grinned, as a chuckle went around the sanctuary.
Jules and Sam stepped forward and gave the rings to Adele and Spike, who then exchanged them. For a moment, they turned to face the guests.
Adele looked up, smiling, at Spike. He nodded, smiling back.
"We would like to share the inscriptions," said Adele. "They've been kept a secret, even from each other, until now." She nudged Spike with her shoulder. "You go."
The guests chuckled, and Spike said, "Ladies first."
Adele grinned. She turned the wedding band so she could see the inside.
"'I got one!'" she announced, laughing, as she held the ring up in the air, before Spike slipped it on her ring finger.
Laughter went around the room, followed by a moment of applause. Then it was Spike's turn. A smile crept over his face as he read it.
"'I got the solution!'" he announced, grinning as he held the ring up high, then Adele slipped it on his ring finger.
The guests applauded, as Spike and Adele took hands, then turned back to the pastor. Only the bride, groom, and the team truly knew that they had made the choice to use such a chilling phrase and turn it into something so beautiful and meaningful.
"Do you, Adele Karis Black, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the pastor asked.
"I do," said Adele.
"And do you, Michelangelo Dominic Scarlatti, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"He does," Adele said, before Spike could answer.
The audience laughed behind them.
"I do," Spike said, after he stopped laughing.
"Then, by the power vested in me, I pronounced you husband and wife," the pastor said. He smiled at Spike. "You may kiss your bride."
Spike beamed as he swung Adele around, leaned her down, and kissed her tenderly, as his wife.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Scarlatti!" the pastor announced.
Beaming, Spike and Adele held each other close, as the guests applauded around them.
I keep forgetting to clarify, Karis rhymes with 'Paris,' just so you know. I haven't found evidence that Spike has a middle name, so I couldn't use it.
The wedding vows are courtesy of both myself and lots of Googling, lol.
I won't be writing any of the honeymoon. While I had a lot of fun writing this wedding and its preparations, I've written honeymoons before and find them either laborious or boring, so none of that will appear.
It's almost 2am here, so if I have any hope of getting up before Noon tomorrow to continue my job hunt, I must head to bed. Goodnight, all!
Coming up: Spike and Adele get the surprise of their lives! Stay tuned!