Chapter 25 - Mrs. Barbara Griffin
After Brian bailed out Barbara, he drove away from the pound. Barbara looked down before looking at Brian. She still had mixed feelings about this marriage idea, especially now that they were standing in front of a church.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.
"Of course I do", Brian said. "This will help our case in court."
"But…we'd be lying", Barbara said. "I can't lie in a church!"
"Why?" he asked. "I can."
"Well, if you are an atheist I respect that. I'm not a Catholic or Christian. I don't belong to any religious group, but I will respect religion. I don't want to lie in a church."
"It won't be lying if we look at it from a different point of view. Barbara, I'll be honest with you. I do really like you."
"I really like you too, Brian", Barbara said.
"Then we aren't technically lying if we really like each other."
"But won't this be a real marriage if it's a real minister?" she asked.
Brian looked at her not knowing what to say next. She seemed really scared. Did she not want to get married?
"After this case is over, do you want to get the marriage annulled?" he asked.
Barbara looked at him before looking down.
"N…no", she answered. "No…I think we should give it a try."
"Barbara, this is a big step."
She looked away saying no more. She was unsure about how she felt about marrying Brian, but she did know was that she wanted to stay with him. Brian took her hand and led her inside where Stewie was already waiting.
"Stewie's going to be our witness if you don't mind", Brian said.
Barbara nodded as she and Brian walked to the altar where the minister was waiting.
"Hello, Brian", he said. "Is this Barbara?"
"Yes", Brian answered. "Can we get this over with?"
"Okay", the minister said. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Brian and Barbara in holy matrimony. It is a beautiful thing to witness the love between two people coming in full bloom."
Barbara looked down before looking at Brian. Love wasn't what she was feeling. She was thankful for Brian doing all this, but she wasn't sure if love was the right word to describe it.
"Do you have the ring?" the minister asked.
Stewie pulled a ring from his pocket and handed it to Brian. Barbara looked at the ring that he held and chuckled.
"You got that from a gumball machine, didn't you?" she whispered.
"It was all I could get on short notice", he said.
"Brian, repeat after me", the minister said. "I, Brian take you, Barbara to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."
"I Brian, take you, Barbara to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."
"Now, Barbara repeat after me", the minister said. "I, Barbara take you, Brian to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."
Barbara looked at the minister and looked at Brian. She took a deep breath before taking Brian's paw.
"I, Barbara take you, Brian to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."
Brian slid the ring onto Barbara's left finger as the minister continued.
"Let this ring symbolize the marriage between you two. You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide. By the power vested in me by the state of Rhode Island, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Brian smiled as her leaned in and kissed Barbara. Barbara smiled as she leaned in, returning the kiss.
Mrs. Barbara Griffin…
She kind of liked the sound of that. Maybe marriage wouldn't be so bad after all.