By the time the actual reception part began the next evening our families were behaving as though they'd known each other forever. If only the Manoso's had moved into Chambersburg instead of those few burgs over, we might have grown up together. I wondered if it would have made a difference to how and when we ended up together or…if we would have.
Guest after guest came down the reception line and Ranger and I thanked them all for coming. Our parents worked the crowd on either side of us. We introduced our parents to each person and occasionally a parent would cross over to make the introductions instead. Our parents did, after all, contribute to the guest list. That's just the nature of the beast. Gifts were stacked up on the table by the door. We'd received hundreds of gifts already, I couldn't imagine more, but there were close to fifty on the table by the end of the evening. Ranger was right. We would need a house of that size to put our wedding gifts in.
Finally the last gift guest was seated and we went to our table in the front of the room and sat in the middle flanked on either side by our parents. In many ways the way the party was arranged suggested that this was a match made by those parents of ours. No one really knew the truth of how we came to be married…most of the time I'm not sure I really did.
Guests were served their choice of entrees. They'd had their choice among four entries and they could have two of them as they had predetermined. For instance Ranger was having chicken and salmon. I was having steak and lobster. The servers quickly distributed the food to the tables. The seating chart provided the caterers with quick and accurate set up and the food was on the tables in less than fifteen minutes. In the background a small string quartet played soft romantic music. Ranger and I ate and chatted with our parents and occasionally he would just take my hand and kiss my fingers or maybe he'd press his lips to my forehead. If I didn't know any better I would assume that our marriage was real and we were BOTH determined that it would last our lifetimes. I only suspected that for now.
When dinner was over Ranger got to his feet, "Stephanie and I would like to thank you all for coming tonight. We know many of you travelled for a great distance and we are extremely grateful to you for taking that voyage to share this with us. We eloped. We do regret that our families and friends weren't with us when we married. Maybe we'd have liked to do something a little more traditional. But if you know us, you know that neither of us is really all that traditional." The guests laughed and a few remarks were thrown at Ranger in good fun.
"We endured a great deal of teasing from our families last night. And we are well aware that we're set to endure more under the circumstances, but I have to say that if I had planned this night from our first meeting I don't believe I could change a thing. Well…I mean about tonight not about all the moments in between. I would change a few of those willingly. So…to all of you for being here and to Stephanie for putting up with me," he raised his glass, "salute!"
"Salute," the guests chimed with him.
"Now…I have a special gift for my bride. We've lost a lot of things this year. Actually I think Steph lost more than I did. She lost her car and her house and all the contents. She lost more than that before this least group of events changed our lives, but I'm afraid we've been focusing on that as of late. When Steph's house was destroyed she only asked me to find two things. I found one of them, but no matter how I tried I couldn't find her autographed Def Leppard CD. So…I had to do something to make up for it." He turned to me and took my hand and pulled me to my feet. "Stephanie…this is for you," he turned to the stage behind us.
The curtain opened and so did my mouth. Sitting in the middle of the stage were the members of Def Leppard with acoustic guitars and bongos.
Ranger grinned and hugged me and closed my mouth with his fingertips.
"Hello Stephanie," Joe Elliott grinned. "And hello to the Plum and Manoso family's and of course Stephanie and Ranger's friends. First, I just want to tell you that we haven't been asked to play at a wedding reception since we were…well, not to dwell on how many years ago it was but it's been a bloody long time," he grinned and our guests all laughed. "But when Ranger called and asked us to do this, we couldn't say no. He made a really good case for us to be here. So…here we are. Now, let's get this party started."
They played for almost two hours and then they mingled with the guests as more music played in the background. They gave me a complete discography and video collection and they were all autographed. I was in heaven. I even danced with all of them, but Ranger did watch closely. Joe Elliott, flirt that he was, played with it. I laughed it up. Joe was married and quite happily. His wife Christine was even at our party and danced with Ranger. It was fun.
The Def Leppard guys eventually left us telling us that they had to get back to their tour. The lights lowered and Tank took center stage.
"Hello everyone," he said and immediately he had their attention. It's hard to ignore a brick wall…especially when it's talking to you. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Tank. My parents named me Pierre Jean Luc Thibodeaux, but when I went to Ranger's school…this guy," he gestured toward Ranger, "named me Tank. I was nineteen and still pretty much dumb as a box of rocks. Ranger…Ric was far more street smart. He was also more driven. Hell, he's just smarter than I am period. He took care of me and saved my life more times than I can count and I'd like to think I did the same for him on a few occasions. He's my best friend.
"The first few times I saw Stephanie I didn't say anything to her at all," he admitted. "You see men who do what we've done aren't that talkative. If you look around this room you'll see quite a few of us here. We're comrades…brothers and friends. We have each other's backs because we understand one another.
"We didn't believe that there were women out there who would also understand us. We were wrong. Stephanie not only understands us, she loves us. She opened her heart and her mind to us and showed us that anything was possible for us even though we'd seen horror. Even though we'd lived horror, she convinced us that we deserved a happy life. She's made it her personal mission to make each and every one of us believe that we deserve more. And many…most of us not only moved on to fulfill that, but are doing our best to pass her message along. She is our comrade, our sister and our friend.
"I watched Ric with Stephanie and I knew pretty early on that this girl was something special. I realized that he knew that she was something special as well. I don't think it took him nearly as long to admit to himself that he loved her as it took her to realize that she loved him back. She's the self proclaimed queen of denial," he grinned and everyone laughed, including me. "I think Ric was hooked by her audacity first and maybe the way she just fills the room when she enters it. Ric met his match. They are both larger than life."
He paused for a moment, "I am certain of only a few things in this life. There is a God in heaven." Amen echoed throughout the room. "I love my wife and will stay married to her till they plant me." Lula whooped from their table and the other guests laughed. "My parents will support whatever decisions I make. And…that Ranger and Stephanie will be my friends till I take my last breath and they will love each other at least that long." He raised his glass, "salute!"
"Salute," echoed through the hall.
"Now how about some cake," he said gleefully.
We cut the cake and pictures were made. I'd made sure the photo albums of our actual wedding were given to our parents with the cake. They were tearful and grateful to have a recorded memory of that day.
Then the music started again and Ranger reached for my hand and pulled me to the dance floor as the strains of a forties ballad came through the speakers with sultry mournful sound.
At last, my love has come along, Ohhh at last I found a dream that I could speak to, Ohhh you smile, you smile
My lonely days are over,
And life is like a song,
The stars above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover,
The night I looked at you
A dream that I, can call my own,
I found a thrill, to press my cheek to,
A thrill that I, have never known,
And then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven,
for you are mine, at last!
We danced to the haunting melody close together and alone in the middle of the floor. I was tight against him and I could feel his breath on me. And when the song ended, he dipped me.
Other people joined us after that and we danced along for a while to other eighties songs. The music seemed to be picked with me in mind more than Ranger. Of course, he'd probably done the picking. Only while we were eating did his taste in music really show. The strings reflected his peaceful taste in music. The rest of the music was my taste featuring mostly 'hair bands' from the eighties with a little bit of everything else mixed in. It was lovely for me. If it wasn't my reception, I'd have probably been singing along most of the night.
I suppose both of us were lulled into a false sense of security. Things were going so well. Nothing could go wrong. Every detail of the party had been planned. Once again as I danced with him I had to wonder who it was that I married. He was truly a renaissance man.
Then with no warning at all, a screen came sliding down from the top of the stage and the lights dimmed and there it was. The video that Ranger didn't want me to see was there for everyone at our reception to see. The wedding that had been captured by my friend Manuel was there before us. The dark beach looked exotic and romantic. My pale blue dress was pretty. Ranger was gorgeous in his linen shirt and dark jacket and slacks. If you didn't know that we'd just been to Lula and Tank's rehearsal dinner, you'd think we had been prepared for the wedding that was taking place.
I was giggling and happy and grinning up at him with the most idiotic look on my face. The look on my face screamed how much I loved him. The look on my face left no doubt in anyone's mind that I wanted to marry him. And he was smiling at me and leaning down to kiss me over and over again. I couldn't stop the grin from coming over my face. It was nice. We looked happy. We exchanged the vows exactly as we meant them. I told him that I loved him and he was my best friend and he returned the words to me. He looked so sincere.
But…something wasn't right. I realized that pretty quickly, I just couldn't put my finger on what was wrong. To me, it was clear that I was drunk. I doubt the Manoso's had a clue that their new daughter-in-law was completely lit as she exchanged vows with their son. If you didn't know me, you probably wouldn't realize that I was even the slightest bit drunk. I just seemed happy.
But…my father knew. Of course, I had told him. My friends knew. But something still wasn't right.
When it came time for the rings, Ranger slid the rings out of his pocket and handed them to the judge. I frowned when I saw that. They weren't Tank and Lula's rings. Their rings were…are platinum and ours are gold. Where did the rings come from? I frowned up at the screen thoughtfully. Something didn't fit. I suppose that could be part of Manuel's plan, but it didn't seem like it. He could have bought rings for us, but how did he know our sizes so perfectly. No one guesses that close to right. I tilted my head and frowned up at the screen. And there it was.
I think Ranger knew the moment I'd figured it out. He felt me stiffen in his arms and he knew. He knew that I knew. He was sober. I had been drunk off my ass, but he was completely sober.
I'd spent much of that cruise tending to him or coddling him when he'd been out drinking with my father and come back drunk and unfit for conversation. He was barely coherent when he was drunk. It was one of the few things he didn't do well. I suppose if your body is a temple, you don't have that much practice at being falling down drunk. I however could almost walk a straight line when I was tanked. But Ranger…he couldn't do that. He wasn't drunk. He wasn't even tipsy. He was sober. He was stone cold sober.
I swallowed and made myself watch the rest of the video. There I was a drunken mess and there was Ranger happy and sober and oh so very friggin careful. He married me knowing exactly what he was doing. I thought it was a big joke, but he knew better. He had to know better. He wasn't drunk at all. He played me.
I met my father's eyes across the room and his eyes had a hint of sadness in them. He knew that Ranger hadn't been drunk that night. That's why he kept asking that question. I just shook my head at him and fought the tears. I didn't want to break down in front of this room full of family and friends.
I don't know that I ever felt so betrayed in my life. He knew what was happening. He'd known the next morning and had continued to play the scene out. He'd talked to me about divorce knowing that I didn't want it. He acted as surprised as I was, but he wasn't. He knew.
As soon as the video ended the screen was pulled up and the lights went back on. The guests erupted into applause. They were happy that they had gotten to see the wedding after all.
I met Lula and Natalie's eyes and knew they had come to the same realization that I had. I was drunk. He was sober. Of course, only Natalie knew the rest of the story. Tears slid down her cheek at the look on my face.
I straightened my expression and forced a smile onto my face. I wasn't going to break here in front of everyone. I wasn't going to do this. I made my feet move forward. I exchanged a few pleasantries and accepted a few kisses on my cheek before making a beeline to my father and his waiting comforting arms. I saw Manuel over his shoulder and shook my head at him. I'm sure that he thought he was doing the right thing. I just wasn't sure what the right thing was at that moment.
Eventually though, the party died down and the party goers began to disperse to their rooms. Eventually only my father, Manuel, Tank, Lula, Christian, Natalie, and Cal were left in the room with us. Lula didn't know the entire story, but she'd seen the video and I had a feeling that she had put the pieces together. And from the way she was looking at Ranger, I'd say she was furious.
Ranger straightened his shoulders and turned to me, "Babe…I can explain."
I nodded, "save it. You've had six weeks to explain it to me. I'm not sure that I really want to hear it. I am definitely sure that I don't want to hear it now."
"Babe," he whispered.
"I mean it Ranger," I whispered.
He swallowed and his jaw began to work.
I didn't say anything else to anyone. I just turned and walked out of the room and straight to the elevator. By the time Ranger arrived upstairs I was gone. I'd packed up and left the hotel with Christian. The Goodman men were really good at rescuing me when I was emotionally kaput.
I cried the entire ride back to Trenton with my eyes staring unseeing out the window. When we got to my house I told Christian that I needed to be alone and I went into the house and packed another bag and got in to my car and started to drive. I didn't know where I was going, but I wasn't leaving Trenton this time. I would do what Dr. Addison suggested and call him.
I found myself in front of the house that Dickie and I had once lived in. I parked in the garage and went inside. The For Sale sign in the yard wasn't generating a lot of activity. I thought I'd probably need to call Reid and have him take it off the market. I'd be staying there for a while.
I found the sheets and made the bed and climbed between the sheets and lay on my back staring at the ceiling. My cell phone began vibrating seconds after that. I glanced at the caller ID and shook my head. The time for talk had passed. Another time for it may come, but for now…there was nothing to say.
As I lay there I realized that I'd come full circle. I was back where I thought my happy ever after was supposed to have begun in the first place. I was in mine and Dickie's first marriage bed. Life is so friggin ironic.
The phone buzzed again and this time I answered it. "Hello."
"Sweetheart, where are you?"
"I'm in Trenton."
"Where in Trenton," he asked.
"Brian…"
"I just want to see you."
"Are you in Trenton?"
"Yea, I received an invitation to your reception…remember?"
"Oh," I sighed.
"I just didn't have the heart to go."
"It's okay Brian. It turned out to be over rated."
"Baby…where are you?"
"I'm not good company right now."
"Don't you just need someone to hold on to," he said quietly.
"Yes," I whispered.
"Then let it be me before Morelli starts sniffing around. You can trust me Steph. I won't push this beyond friendship."
I swallowed. Ranger would be pissed if he knew that Brian was with me. But then…he hadn't given me a lot of options, why should I give them to him. "I'm on Sycamore. It's about four blocks from my parent's house."
"Is that where you and Dickie used to live," he said and sounded surprised.
"Yea," I shook off the rising hysteria.
"What's the house number?"
"It's 933," I sighed.
"I'll be there in twenty."
"Okay," I nodded forgetting he couldn't see me and hung up. I left the phone on. I left the GPS on the truck on. I knew that Ranger would and could find me. I just didn't care.
Twenty minutes later I opened the front door to Brian and fell into his arms sobbing uncontrollably. The man I loved beyond reason had betrayed me. The man who loved me without question held me and comforted me. If only I could change my feelings around.
I had lived my life for if only.
