10. Meet Me At The Altar
Mercedes did not want a white dress, but at the same time, she wanted to be sort of traditional. So the dress was for the most part a diamond white color, but had crystal accents that sparkled purple and light blue, and a broad stroke of dark purple around her midsection and down her entire cascading train. Kurt wore a suit that matched it as closely as humanly possible and Unique's dress was a long, with a train, and matched the purple in it.
Unique's hair was up in an elegant style and Kurt wore an elegant hat. They both wer slaving over her, to be sure that everything was perfect, which was hard, because, "This bitch is crying again!" Unique fussed. "I cannot do this with you, Sister!"
Kurt fussed back, "You would be crying too if on a day as special as this, the dominating voice in the room is none other than – You, Unique. Your voice is irritating everyone, right now. Just, shut up." He labored with Mercedes' make up again and told her, "You are beautiful, Sweetie, but we need to keep your face in order. I know how stressful this is. Do you remember how much of a mess I was?"
"Your wedding was much smaller and leading up to it – there weren't death threats posted about you on the Internet," Mercedes cried.
Quinn, in her short, dark purple dress asked, "Do you need us to pray for you?"
Unique and Kurt both said, "No," at the same time Mercedes said, "Yes." Kurt sighed and shrugged. "It's your day, Cedes."
She asked, "Could you leave me with Quinn for a moment?" When it was the two of them, Mercedes took her friends hands and said, "God, we've been through a lot together. Thank you for letting Beth be the flower girl."
"No problem," Quinn said.
"I'm pregnant," Mercedes blubbered.
"I know," Quinn said. She laughed and hugged her tightly.
Mercedes shook her head and said, "My nerves are bad, they are… but my damned hormones are driving me nuts!" Quinn held her friend and began to pray with her.
Kurt entered the guys' dressing room, where Tina was making everyone pose for various photos and cheering about how she would be showing these to her kids someday, "I knew the famous Sam Evans and Mercedes Jones, and your dad and I were both in their wedding!"
"Uh…I'm pretty sure that Mike is gonna be just as famous as me, probably more in the next couple of years," Sam commented. Kurt began to stalk the room, circling all of them to make sure that they were all in their perfect form…
"Oh, dear Lord, Sam!" He snapped, which startled the groom. Kurt rushed to him and began to wipe, maniacally at something on his collar that Sam couldn't even see. "You have on cherry chapstick and you obviously put it on before your coat, or did something to brush against your coat. Do you know what kind of eye our diva has? She is going to spot that the moment Marvin and she enters the sanctuary. Unique!" He called and the maid of honor hustled over with a wet wipe. "Each of you line up," Kurt said.
They were lined up, shoulder to shoulder, military style as Kurt inspected them. "Tina, fix your boyfriend's tie. Blaine, fix your boutonniere. Puck… I am actually beyond impressed that I find no fault in you, whatsoever." He stopped at Joe and shook his head, "Tina, we need some type of floral garnish for this hair…" Quinn peeked inside and called for Kurt. "Not now, Quinn. We allowed the boys to be left unattended and they've mussed themselves…"
"I need it to be now," Quinn said. Kurt sighed and headed her way, with Sam behind him. Quinn stopped him with a hand and said, "Not you, Sir. Can't see her before the wedding."
"Is she alright?" He asked, concerned.
"Everyone is fine," Quinn told him. He nodded. Quinn knew. He expected Mercedes to tell Quinn, sooner.
Kurt came into Mercedes' dressing room and saw Christina and Mary trying to get her out of the dress. "Thank God, Kurt! Help us."
"Help you take the dress off of her?" He asked the mother of the bride and groom.
"If you don't it'll be covered in piss, very soon," Mercedes threatened, now sick of the damned thing.
"For God's sakes, Cedes," he said and rushed to assist. "Am I the only person who is obsessively compulsively high-strung about today? You hold your pee, on today, Mercedes." He fussed, pulling her out of the dress.
She rushed into the bathroom in her purple undergarments, corset, etc and screamed, "Not when you're me, okay?"
Kurt checked his watch and said, "We're not going to be able to begin on time. Is this her way of creating a diva atmosphere for her wedding? The longer we wait, the harder it will be to keep those guys looking handsome and neat."
"Everyone will be looking and Mercedes and Sam," Quinn commented.
"Well, let's hope they don't look too hard at Sam, because he's bathing in chapstick in that other room. We need to act, immediately." Mercedes came out of the bathroom, and Kurt mused, "Cedes, you've lost some weight, but your breasts look ridiculously bigger." Kurt and the two moms struggled to get Mercedes back into the dress…
Sam waited at the altar with his dad next to him. The two of them had been like partners when the Evans family was in a hard time, and he wanted his father right there to help him not fall apart as he made official the beginning of his family. Kurt hummed the song playing and directed, "Light blue team, go." Stevie and Stacey entered together, and parted ways at the altar. Tina and Mike, did the same. Then, Mercedes brother, and Quinn. "And now my lavender team," Kurt said. Mercedes' other brother and Santana went in. Blaine smiled at Brittany and escorted her inside. Kurt felt like he might have a panic attack. "And now, it's us team royal purple, look alive." Unique pushed Artie's chair up the aisle and he rolled himself to the Groom's side. Puck latched his arm into Kurt's and they marched up the aisle and separated at the front, as well.
When everyone stood for the bride, Mercedes put on her brightest smile and came out on her father's arm. The tears wanted to pour out, but she was trying to at least give the cameras her walk as the perfect time for all of the fabulous that was Mercedes Jones. Her father-in-law to be destroyed that for her when she made it to the altar and he cheered at her father, "Finally official, Doc!" Then, the two men slammed their palms together and Marvin said, "Praise," Mercedes nearly collapsed as that interaction made her cry. It meant more to her than the candle lighting that the wives did at the start of the processional.
Sam collected her from her father, who patted him on the back. Marvin and Dwight hugged and Marvin went to his seat, wishing he had himself a bullhorn, because he was about to enjoy this – his baby girl FINALLY getting out of that bondage of living in sin. When he sat next to Christina, he noticed that her shoes were off. Yessuh! This wedding was about to go down!
Joe Hart, the officiating minister was on his first wedding ceremony. He began this church recently, and Sam and Mercedes decided to get married there, because they wanted to help him out and because he was a good friend from high school. He was not really an ON FIRE preacher, but he didn't have to be, because nearly every time he mentioned God, Marvin Jones yelled, "Alright!" or "Yeah!" and anytime he took an excerpt from the Bible, "That Word! That Word!" Sam bit his lips, trying not to laugh at Joe's somewhat confused face. He remembered being taken totally by surprise the first time he visited Mercedes church as to the amount of people who yelled out words and phrases throughout the service.
However, Joe soon realized that this was positive encouragement, and it made him ease up and get more excited about everything. Mercedes looked at Sam and asked through smiling teeth, "Did Marvin and Christina Jones just turn our wedding into church?"
"Marvin and Christina turned our wedding into CHUCH," Sam corrected and laughed, lightly. He was chewing on gum and Mercedes had only just shook her head at that fact. My man and his gum… and his chapstick. She watched his lips eagerly as he smiled at her, lovingly.
"Sam, I wanted to write you words that sounded like poetry and recite them to you, straight from my heart with all this love and emotion that I feel for you inside, but I think that we all know that I emote the best when I sing," Mercedes said to begin her vows.
She elected to sing a medley, "I just want you close. Where you can stay forever. You can be sure that it'll only get better. You and me together through the days and nights. I aint worried cause, everything's gonna be alright. People keep talking. They could say what they like. But all I know is everything's gonna be alright. No one, no one, no one – can get in the way of what I'm feeling. No one, no one, noe one – can get in the way of what I feel for you…
For you, I share the cup of love that overflows and anyone who knows us knows that I would change all thoughts I have, for you there is no high or low or in between of my heart that you haven't seen. Cause I share all I have and am. Nothing I say is hard to understand. And all I feel, I feel deeper, still. And always will. All this love is for you…
All this love is waiting for you, my baby. My Darling. All this love is waiting for you.. Oh, I love how you make me feel this way My love is getting stronger every day And after all I went and put myself through I found that all I really needed was you…
Because nothing compares, Nothing compares to you…
You… (The bridal party began singing background "The way you walk, the way you talk. The way you say my name, your smile) Baby, you… (The way you move me, the way you soothe me, the way you sleep softly through the night) Baby, YOU…. (Every morning you rise and open your eyes, I just want to be there with you) I just want to be yours, from this day forth… Mercedes belted the last note out and smiled at her crying groom, with her own tears in her eyes. His best man had to grab his shoulder to keep him from stealing a kiss. Sam squeezed her hands and tried to catch his breath that she had just taken away.
Joe shook his head in amazement at Mercedes, then cleared his throat and looked at Sam, "And now, the groom…"
Sam put a hand over his heart and took a deep breath, then reached towards his father. Dwight handed him the paper that had been kept in a Star Wars cigarette holder that he never used (because he wasn't a smoker). Sam was still crying, though he didn't want to look like a bawling baby. Marvin Jones did not help when he yell, "It's alright! Take your time, Son. That's my son!" Sam exhaled again and shook his head to shake off some of the feels tearing him up.
"I feel a little mediocre, now," he said. "I can't sing like that. That's why she brings home the Grammies and I draw all day." The guests laughed a little. Sam looked at his paper, then shook his head and passed it back to his father. "I don't need notes to know what I want to say to you. Mercedes, I honestly feel like I wasted a lot of affections and dedication to other girls before you, but I know that for the rest of my life, I'll be spending my time giving all of myself to you. If I could figure out a way to actually become a part of you so that nothing could ever separate us – life, death, time, space – I would fight for it. I was willing to do anything to get you back when we were in school, and now, I would be willing to do anything to keep you. I will do everything to make you happy and to have and hold you for the rest of my life…" He reached towards his dad and did grabby hands to him.
Dwight's face totally matched one of his son's many confused and awkward expressions as he handed him the note that he had just dismissed. Sam looked at it, then chuckled and handed it to Mercedes, "Hold on to that, Babe." He spoke from the side of his mouth and said, "The ring dad. It's ring time. This has taken long enough." He smiled at his bride and raised both eyebrows. She simply pursed her lips in a smile as she handed her cascading bouquet to Unique and Kurt gave her Sam's ring. Dwight gasped and felt around, which caused Mercedes and Sam both to look at him with wide eyes. "It's in the top right pocket!" Marvin yelled out. Dwight checked and smiled and fist pumped the air as he handed his son the ring. Mercedes laughed. God, she loved the Evans… and she was becoming one.
Joe had the two of them repeat the traditional lines of "With this ring…" then, they were allowed to light their unity candle and Mercedes looked out to see Christina comforting a crying Mary, who was fanning herself. When Joe permitted the couple to kiss, the kiss was chaste. The two of them sometimes enjoyed those more than the passionate ones. But, she hardly had a chance to relish in the sweetness of it, because as soon as the kiss ended her man, her husband, lifted her hand into the sky and busted out a body roll. Then, she hardly had a chance to laugh properly at him, because the organ player broke into song and both of her parents began a praise break, as Joe introduced the couple as man and wife.
Then, Sam's happy self fled the altar to rush to his in-laws on the front row and begin to happy dance with them and egg his parents to do so as well. Mercedes laughed joyously, and did not see Kurt's face, or hear him comment, "This man never fails to completely make a spectacle out of things that are supposed to be elegant and classy. Yes, holy ghost dance – that's precisely what it says in the program, not recessional at all.." After Christian had danced herself out of her fancy purple church hat, Sam rushed back to Mercedes and the music began for the recessional. He escorted her down the aisle and the other members of the party followed, in order.
When they reached the foyer, while others were about to leave and the party was supposed to go back for photos, Mercedes said, "I have to pee, again." Kurt sucked his teeth, but gave chase when she took off running, with Quinn holding her hand. Quinn called, "Ladies, ladies, ladies… emergency!" Tina and Unique began running, too.
When Sam and Mercedes got out of their limousine and entered the hall in which their reception was being held, Mercedes broke into a fit of laughter when she heard the Bad Mamma Jamma music playing. She saw Artie with a microphone and thought she might about die. "Look at her!" He called out, then Lauren, Puck and Santana began singing, "She's a bad mamma jamma. Just as fine as she can be…" Sam danced into the room, pulling his new wife (who he had been making out with, repeating to her that she was his wife, as though it had to sink in, the entire ride)into the room with him.
When it was chorus time, Puck broke into, "Oh, she's a Brick House" While Santana and Lauren were singing, "She's built. She's stacked. Got the curves the men like…" And Artie was still leading Bad Mamma Jamma. The next verse was one from Brick House, then the mash up chorus repeated, and finally, "Shake it down, shake it down now…" and of course, another body roll op for Sam!
For safety purposes, they had to make a guest list and have security enforced. Inside, it was old Glee members and relatives, mostly. More of their career related friends and associates were present at the reception than at the wedding, but it didn't matter. Marvin and Dwight presented a joint toast, commending each other's parenting and praising each others kids, bragging on their friendship and brotherhood that they had their kids to thank. Christina yelled out, "Maybe you two should've gotten married today!" As everyone laughed at the comment, Mary and she high fived, then while Mary flipped her hair with her hand in sass, Christina pushed up on the back of her own hair twice in mock fixing it tone. Mercedes shook her head, glad that not only did she love her in-laws, but her parents did, too.
There was an open bar, and after the first dance, cake cutting, bouquet toss (that Tina caught), garter toss that Brittany caught and wore as a headband, and all of the other things, Sam opened the microphone to friends and family, while the band played on. People performed, gave speeches, recited poems, quotes, whatever. Mercedes and her friends kept themselves on the dance floor as much as possible, and Sam was generally right in their midst. "Y'all can't make me leave the circle no more," he taunted. "This is my wife, now." At some point in time, Mercedes' brothers started a Soul Train line and everyone danced right up the thing.
Whitney laughed at Pastor Joe, jamming down the Soul Train line and said, "He always was fun." She looked at her dad, but he had drifted back off to sleep. Was it normal for him to sleep so much? She stopped the disc and got up to put away their leftovers.
Wedding night, Mercedes was so exhausted by the time that they made it to the Jones house, she wanted nothing more but to go to sleep. Sam was pretty tired himself, but hell – never too tired not to try to get him some, and now, he was especially excited, because he could say that he made love to his wife, for the first time. He loved the way that the word sounded coming out of him. He may never say her name, again. But, as he helped Mercedes out of the dress, even though she looked like a goddess, with her body going through the pregnancy changes, her skin glowing, her breasts even plumper – which he didn't even think would happen with ones that started out her typical size, and her body toning some with the weight that she was losing in places other than the not recognizable yet baby bump; Sam knew that his diva wouldn't be able to handle him tonight.
He pulled her unto his lap, in the bed, pressed her to his body and stroked her back until she fell asleep… which was not long after they went to bed. Eventually, he set her aside and indulged in watching her sleep and filming her for a bit with his phone. He even took a few photos. He set his phone down, got undressed and snuggled closely to her. She'd better be glad she was pregnant and he knew that made her extra tired… because those bridal undergarments.. Ugh, he grunted and rested his head on her belly, "You better be glad Daddy loves you, Marvel."