Chapter 36
Scotty adjusts his tie for, what seems like the hundredth time, as he paces around the room anxiously. The hands of the clock on the wall seemed to be fixed in place, unmoving. Twenty more minutes to go. He wasn't sure he'd last twenty minutes. Taking a long breath, he glances around the room, in an attempt to calm his racing anxiety. The Azalea Room of the Talamore Country Club was decorated impeccably. Normally, it was impossible to get a dinner reservation at the Talmore, let alone a venue, but fortunately the Boss had excellent connections. Hundreds of tiny white lights were strung across the celling of the room. Two rows of five white chairs were set up on either side of a white lined aisle. Two white lily pillars, entwined with sapphire silk were set up on both sides of the altar, a garland of entwined sapphire and cream tulle with tiny entwined white lights created a stunning arch directly above the altar at the front of the room. Bouquets of white lilies, violet blue orchids, and white roses were strung onto the end of the chair rows with white silk. Sapphire and white silk were loosely entwined and hung along the side walls of the room. Significantly less extravagant than the plans that Lilly had for her wedding to Patrick, though he'd decided to incorporate aspects of her ideas here and there. With a lot of Kat's help, they'd created this stunning visual of sapphire, cream, and white. The sapphire was his personal touch. He didn't know anything about wedding planning. But he knew Lilly. He knew that her favorite comfort food was sour gummy worms. She kept various packs hidden around the house and at her desk at work. Her thinking place was on the kids swing set in the backyard, usually after midnight. Sapphire. Her eyes were the color of sapphires. Vibrant, rich, with a depth like the ocean. Though a significant part of the details and plans were based from Lilly's old wedding scrapbook, there were a few extravagant details which didn't seem to be Lilly's taste which were removed. Kat had practically decorated and arranged everything, with the assistance of Scotty's credit cards. The hardest part was choosing a wedding dress. After numerous trips to various bridal shops and a significant amount of internet research on wedding dresses, they were finally able to decide on a dress. He wanted everything to be perfect, for this day, for Lilly. All he could do now was wait and see what she would think, what would happen.
Will and Nick stand a few feet away, watching, slightly unsure of what to do. Will shifts, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt, while Nick fidgets uncomfortably rubbing his neck, mumbling something about a monkey suit. After a few minutes, Nick says, "Shouldn't we do something before he wears a hole into the ground?"
"Hey I already tried. It's your turn," Will answers. Before either one of them can respond, voices and the sound of door opening cause all three men to turn and look towards the back door. Rosa walks in, followed closely by Ramiro, Mike, Alegria, and Emilio. Scotty starts walking towards his family as Emilio pushes through the adults, running towards Scotty, exclaiming "Uncle Scotty!"
"Hey buddy," Scotty says scooping Emilio into his arms. "You made it," he says turning to his family.
"Of course," Rosa says instantly sweeping Scotty into a warm embrace just after Scotty sets Emilio down. "We wouldn't miss this for the world. Congratulations, mi hijo," Rosa says giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Speaking of congratulations, where is your gorgeous fiancé?" Ramiro says giving Scotty a heartfelt embrace.
"She should be here any second," Scotty says.
Mike grips Scotty's shoulder jokingly as he says, "My baby brother, the ladies' man, getting married. Who would've thought? Where are the flying pigs?"
Alegria smacks Mike's arm lightly before turning to Scotty. "Don't listen to him. This is a special day for you. Enjoy the moment. Lilly is a very lucky woman."
"I'm the lucky one." Scotty responds, pulling his sister-in-law into a half embrace.
"Dammn right, "Mike says, earning another glare from Alegria.
"Kat says she and Lilly are on their way." Will's chimes in, walking towards them, followed closely by Nick.
"Will! Good to see you again." Ramiro says turning to shake Will's hand.
"Ma, Dad, you know Will. And this is Nick, my other work colleague," Scotty says, patting Nick on the shoulder.
"Nick. We've heard so much about you." Rosa says, turning to shake Nick's hand.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Valens."
"Oh, please. Call me Rosa."
The back door swings open again as Alexia and Erick run into the room, followed closely by Stillman who holds a clip on tie and suit jacket in one hand and a cream flower basket filled with rose petals in the other hand. Alexia is wearing a golden sparkly dress with cream trim, her blond ringlets held off her face with platinum large butterfly clip. Erick is wearing an outfit similar to his. A crisp midnight blue shirt, or as crisp as it will ever be on an overactive three year old, with black dress pants. Erick runs towards Rosa and Ramiro, as Alexia makes a beeline for Scotty. Scotty catches Alexia, swinging her into the air as she giggles, gripping his neck fiercely as she exclaims "Daddy look! Poppa got me a pretty sparkly dress."
"I noticed. You look beautiful, princess," he says covering her with kisses before setting her down again. He brushes at his suit, now half covered with glitter, as Alexia giggles and says, "Now you're sparkly too, Daddy."
Everyone bursts out laughing, and even he can't help but smile a bit. Just then the back door opens, causing everyone to look towards the back of the room. Kat walks in, wearing a floor-length strapless midnight blue gown, with shimmering silver heels. Nick lets out a low whistle as Kat walks towards them. Kat makes a point of glaring at Nick before turning to the group.
"Hey everyone. Sorry about the delay. Traffic." Kat says to the group before turning to Scotty, "Can I see you for a moment?"
"Sure," He says, before turning to follow her to the door. Kat stops at the door before saying, "Lilly wants to talk to you."
"Something wrong? Is she okay?"
"Everything is fine. God, you're a bucket of nerves. Calm down, she said she just wants to talk."
Scotty glares at Kat suspiciously.
"Go on," Kat says gesturing towards the doors. "I'll wait here."
Scotty pushes open the door and looks around the bright sunlit foyer. Lilly is standing by one of the bay windows, with her back to the door. Closing the door quietly, he takes a minute to take a long look at her, while she's still unaware of his presence. She's wearing a slim, floor-length champagne chiffon gown with silvery white beaded embroidery bodice that trails down to the small of her back and down the sweep train of the dress. As she turns around, she looks even more breathtaking, if possible. Her hair shimmer in the sunlight, looks almost golden as it falls around her face in soft cascading waves, framing her features. Her vibrant eyes, seems brighter, bluer somehow. Their eyes meet and for, what feels like, the longest time, neither one of them can seem to find words to speak. He takes a long, slightly, shaky breath as the knot in his throat finally seems to disappear, as he finds himself walking towards her.
"Hey," he says a little breathlessly, resisting the urge to kiss, to touch her, for fear that she might not be real, that this might all be a dream.
"Hey," she answers, her voice barely above a whisper, as she steps closer, closing the remaining distance between them. For a moment, a tiny sliver of space remains between them. Her warm breath makes his skin crawl and tingle with anticipation and desire, but this moment… This moment is too rare, too precious, too important to rush, to be hasty. His fingers stroke the side of her cheek, barley brushing, while trying to commit everything to memory. He doesn't even want to forget this moment. His other hand begins to stoke her shoulder blade, slowly working down from her upper shoulder to the curve of her waist. Any fears, nerves, he was feeling minutes ago, long gone from his mind and memory. Her smile grows brighter as she wraps her arms loosely around his neck. His lips glide over hers, barley touch at first, until she lets out a soft moan. His resistance finally caves at the sounds she begins to make as he begins to kiss her hungrily, even though he's kissed her a million times before. A million, even infinity, will never be enough. As his hands caress her waist, drawing her in closer, she draws in a sharp intake of breath. Her hand travels to the nape of his neck, as her fingers feather, stroking his hair. Suddenly, he wishes they were completely alone, in the privacy of their bedroom, rather than in the foyer of one of Philadelphia's most prestigious country clubs, so he wouldn't have to reign in the urge to do so much more. Their bodies pressed up against each other's, her back against the wall, only clothing remains between them. Their lips finally separate, only out of the pure need for air. Their breath mingles in the small space between their lips, their breathing rapid, skin flushed. As his lips begin to meet her again, the sound of the door swishing open and closed, causes a slight hesitation, but nonetheless, they both decide to ignore it. A few moments, mere seconds seem to pass, as a voice says behind them, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may continue. The rest of us are going out to the reception."
As they reluctantly pull apart and turns towards the voice, they find Kat standing behind them, arms crossed, a half amused, half disapproving look on her face.
"What? I said continue, not stop. The rest of us will be at the open bar."
Lilly smiles as she says, "Can you give us a few seconds, Kat? We'll be right in."
Raising an eyebrow, Kat says, "You need more than a few seconds, you two need to get a room. Don't make me send Alexia in here."
"We'll be in, in a minute," Scotty says, shifting, uncomfortably, as Lilly tries to hide a knowing smile. Kat disappears inside just as Lilly lets out a stifled laugh, moving aside a bit to give him some room.
"I love it that you find humor in my 'situation'," Scotty groans sarcastically, as he begins to adjust his clothing to accommodate an extremely visible problem.
"I would offer to help but I would require more than a few minutes," Lilly says moving towards him, her lips barley brushing over his, teasingly.
"As much as I enjoy it when you do that, in this case, you're really not helping my problem, here," Scotty says, struggling to adjust 'the problem'. As she waits for him, she adjust her dress, which had gotten a bit misplaced in the heat of the moment. As she locates her bouquet of white orchids and lilies by the windowsill, he straightens out his suit, the problem successfully hidden, as he says, "Are you ready?"
She walks over to him, taking his outstretched hand as she says, "I've been ready. Ever since the minute I saw you holding Alexia for the first time. I love you."
"I love you. Forever and always," he says, his eyes sparkling, as his lips capture hers. A sharp, impatient knock on the other side of the door interrupts them. She lets out a laugh as they pull apart, their eyes meeting, as the whole world around, seemingly unimportant, for the briefest of moments, disappears. She grips his arm lovingly as he pushes open the door and they step inside together, to begin the best of new beginnings.