It was actually fairly ordinary as weddings go. There was a young girl at the front of the procession carrying a basket of flowers followed by her twin brothers, each holding a satin pillow with a gold ring tied to it, one medium-sized and one large. Then the mother of the three children, who, as matron of honor, was trying unsuccessfully to downplay her beauty as she paced slowly up the central aisle of the chapel, followed by the bride. This bride walked alone with her head held high, eyes directed to the front of the chapel and fixed on those of the man waiting for her there.

He stood tall as the processional played, no sign of any earlier nervousness or hesitation present, flanked by his best man to his left and a Justice of the Peace to his right. He broke eye contact with his soon-to-be wife just once to momentarily spare a glance and a warm look for the elderly woman sitting in the front row who was crying quietly into a tissue as she smiled at the scene unfolding in front of her and clutched the hand of the woman next to her who bore an uncanny resemblance to the groom.

When the children took their places along the front and the bride had handed her bouquet off to the woman accompanying her, everyone in the little wedding party faced the front and the ceremony began.

The vows were short and to the point.

"John Arthur Casey, do you take this woman..."

"I do."

"Ilsa Faina Trinchina, do you take this man..."

"I do."

The young boy with blond curly hair approached the man and held up his pillow while the gold ring on it was untied, then moved back to stand again beside the flower girl. Taking the delicate ring in his left hand and his bride's left hand in his right, he looked into her eyes as he slipped the ring over her finger and said, "With this ring I thee wed..." Then the boy with the dark straight hair repeated the ritual, delivering the large ring to the bride, who took her man's hand and slid the ring in place while saying, "With this ring, I thee wed..."

The music started up again, a quiet interlude, as the two couples – the bride and groom and the best man and matron of honor – followed the Justice of the Peace to sign the registry. When they had entered a small room behind the altar area, the reason for their seclusion became apparent.

The Justice of the Peace produced a special registry book, one that the local municipal functionaries would never see. It had a dark blue leather cover with the seal of the NSA embossed on it. The form that was waiting for the signatures of the married couple and the witnesses came with special overlays. There were three, and each had cutouts at different locations for three of the signature lines on the document.

The Justice of the Peace motioned for the groom to come forward, leaving the other three members of the wedding party standing back so they couldn't see the registry, and said, "Congratulations, Major. Now if you would just sign your real name right there" – and he pointed to the spot where the signature was required – "then we can have your lovely wife up next."

Changing places, the same procedure was carried out by the bride, only this time, when she approached the registry book as her husband dropped back next to the best man and matron of honor, the first overlay had been put in place shielding the completed signature from view.

After the two witnesses had signed in the same manner, each unable to see the signatures of their predecessors, the Justice of the Peace affixed his signature to the bottom of the document as the officiator and closed the book. He then locked it securely in a drawer underneath the table it had been sitting on and pocketed the key.

Next, the usual public documents were produced, and each of the four signed once again, this time after being instructed to use their cover names. This was the document that would be filed at City Hall, and once it was completed, the Justice of the Peace double-checked to make sure all the paperwork was in order and, finally satisfied that it was, he put his pen down and smiled.

Turning to the four people waiting patiently for his next direction, he extended his hand to the groom, exclaiming, "Well, Major, I certainly would like to kiss the bride!"

The major looked for a moment like he hadn't quite decided whether to allow a kiss, but then, shaking the man's hand firmly, said, "Thank you, Brigadier General, and by all means..."

Kissing the bride lightly on the cheek, the man whispered briefly in her ear, which caused her to laugh and send a fond look towards her husband, who scowled a bit at his superior officer before schooling his features and taking his wife's hand again possessively.

The group of five then returned to the chapel proper, where the younger members of the wedding party were only fidgeting a bit and the people in the pews hadn't had time to become overly impatient with the temporary absence of the loving couple.

The Justice of the Peace then said a few more words, ending with "You may now kiss," and the room was filled with the happy sounds of the spectators' approval as the man and woman, now officially married, kissed tenderly, then turned to face the aisle, hands firmly clasped.

The sound of a rousing recessional swelled and filled the room, and the wedding party began to make their way out of the chapel as the guests rose to their feet and applauded enthusiastically.

Ilsa and Casey led the way, followed by Chuck and Sarah, then the three children, Lisa flanked by her brothers, who had offered their elbows to her from either side and beamed as they escorted their little sister down the aisle and towards the door leading to the hotel lobby.

As the happy group neared the door, Ilsa suddenly gasped and stumbled a bit. She was saved from falling by Casey, whose happy smile turned to a dark frown when he saw how startled and upset she was. He glanced in the direction her eyes were turned in time to see a tall, well-dressed older man wearing a heavy coat and hat that were much too warm for the California climate. The man was looking at Ilsa intently, his face a threatening mask as he glared in her direction for just a moment before slipping out the door ahead of everyone else.

By the time he had disappeared, Ilsa had recovered her composure and was ready to continue out the door. However, although her face had returned to its former smile of joy, Casey could feel that she was now clutching his arm in a death grip, and he placed a reassuring hand over hers as they completed their journey from the chapel and emerged, husband and wife.