On Wednesday afternoon, two days before the wedding, Dr. Bell opened the door of his session room to find a very agitated Adrian Monk pacing the waiting room while talking on his cell phone.
"Sweetheart, calm down," he was saying. "We'll find a replacement, I promise. I know a few judges, and so does Leland. There has to be someone available, even on short notice."
He noticed Dr. Bell in the doorway and held up a finger, indicating that he'd be done in a moment. "Natalie, I need to go, Dr. Bell is waiting. I'll start making calls the minute I'm done, okay? … Okay, bye."
He ended the call and gave Dr. Bell a flustered smile. "Sorry."
"That's quite all right," Dr. Bell said, ushering Adrian into the session room and closing the door. "Wedding problems?"
"Actually, yes," Adrian said, dropping into his usual chair. "Cassandra called Natalie about an hour ago to let her know that the officiant scheduled to perform the wedding had to fly to Pennsylvania for a family emergency this morning, and the back-up officiant is in the hospital with a broken leg — a biking accident on Memorial Day, apparently." He rubbed his temples.
Dr. Bell leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. "Did you know either of them well?"
"No. We met George — the one who had to fly to Pennsylvania — to go over the ceremony wording and such, but only once." At Dr. Bell's puzzled expression, Adrian explained, "The Four Seasons keeps two officiants on staff, part-time, for couples who don't have an officiant in mind already. We didn't, so we had Cassandra hire George, with the second officiant as a back-up. But now both of them are out of commission."
"Ah, I see."
"Natalie's frantic," Adrian continued with a sigh. "I'm hoping either Leland or I can call in a favor with a judge, but it's such short notice, and a lot of them go on vacation this time of year."
"If you'd like, I could do it," Dr. Bell offered.
Adrian blinked at him. "Excuse me?" he asked, sure he'd misheard.
"I could do it," Dr. Bell repeated. "I'm an ordained minister, and as such I'm authorized to perform weddings in the state of California."
Adrian stared at him in disbelief. "You... you are?" He'd never seen any indication that his psychiatrist was a particularly religious man.
Dr. Bell chuckled. "My niece in Fresno wanted me to officiate at her wedding last summer, so I became ordained online through an outfit called the Universal Life Church. It's perfectly valid, and legal."
"Are you serious?" Adrian could hardly believe it was true. "You'd really be willing to marry us?"
"Why not? It seems like the ideal solution, since Anna and I will be at the wedding anyway. What do you say?"
"Give me just one moment," Adrian said. He very deliberately pinched the skin on the back of his hand until he yelped in pain. The shocked expression on his face melted into an elated smile. "Since I'm apparently not dreaming, I say yes — just as long as you really don't mind."
"It's my pleasure," Dr. Bell said, laughing at his reaction. "I'll relax my prohibition on cell phone usage during sessions just this once. Why don't you call Natalie and let her know right away?"
"Thank you," Adrian said gratefully. He took out his cell phone, but before he dialed, he allowed himself a smug grin of satisfaction. "I'm so glad I let Natalie talk me into inviting Harold Krenshaw."
Dr. Bell laughed again as Adrian called Natalie to give her the good news.
Other than the snag with the officiant — now happily resolved — Cassandra assured them that every other wedding detail had been seen to and confirmed.
"We're all set," she said calmly, as they sat in her office going over the plans. It was five-thirty, and their rehearsal was set to begin in half an hour. "The staff will start setting up and decorating tomorrow afternoon at one, and I'll be on site to supervise until it's time for me to dress. I've already confirmed the flower deliveries with the florist, and I went over the cocktail party and reception menu with the kitchen and bar staff again yesterday."
She consulted another list. "I also talked to the photographer, the videographer, and the pianist for the ceremony this morning; they're ready to go, as is the DJ for the dance."
Adrian and Natalie exchanged excited smiles. It was really happening — their wedding was tomorrow. The waiting was almost over. In twenty-four hours, they'd be husband and wife. Finally.
"Now, let's review the schedule for tomorrow," Cassandra said, pulling up a document on her laptop. "Natalie and the other bridesmaids will get here around three, after their salon appointments, and they're going to get ready in Peggy and Bobby's suite."
Peggy and Bobby had officially moved out of Adrian's old apartment a few days previously and had taken a suite at the Four Seasons until Sunday; Jonathan was staying with them, and Julie planned to stay in their suite the night of the wedding as well so she could be on site for the next day's brunch.
"Adrian, since you and the groomsmen are getting ready off-site, you don't need to be here until four. Once you arrive, you'll want to find my assistant Samantha; she'll be in Pre-Function Room A, which is off the main ballroom, and she'll have your boutonnieres ready for you. You and Ambrose can wait there until the ceremony begins as well. We'll start seating guests on the terrace at four-thirty, and the ceremony will start at five sharp. It should only last about twenty minutes, so we'll plan to start pictures at five-thirty, unless the receiving line is still going on at that point. If all goes smoothly, you'll be done with the pictures by six-fifty, just in time to go into the ballroom for dinner. We'll cut the cake at eight and start the toasts at eight-fifteen. I've instructed the staff to start clearing and setting up for the dance at eight-thirty; the dance will start at nine and go until midnight."
She made a note on her computer and asked, "Are your overnight bags for tomorrow packed?"
"Yes," they answered in unison.
"Good. Adrian, give yours to Samantha when you get your boutonniere; she'll already have Natalie's, and she's going to take them both to the bell desk for me. They'll be taken up to your room, and before the reception I'll go by the front desk and get your key cards, which I'll then give to you, Adrian — Natalie won't have pockets."
Natalie grinned at that. Her wedding dress most definitely did not have pockets.
"After the dance, you can go straight up to your room." Cassandra let her eyes twinkle at them. "I'm sure you'll be so exhausted from the busy day that you'll want to go right to sleep."
Don't bet on it, Adrian thought, but only grinned in response. Natalie squeezed his hand and rubbed her thumb along his palm, causing him to shiver slightly.
"On Saturday, the brunch will go from eleven a.m. to one p.m. I've scheduled a nine a.m. wake up call, but you can use the alarm clock in the room as a back-up if you'd like. Check-out is normally at noon but I've arranged a two o'clock check-out for you, as well as for the brunch guests who are staying the night at the hotel, in case you don't have time before brunch. Of course, you're free to check out earlier if you choose."
She consulted her notes again. "What about your honeymoon luggage?"
"Packed and ready to go," Natalie answered. "It's already in the car."
"Excellent," Cassandra said, checking off an item on a list. "That means you can leave directly for your honeymoon right after brunch. Do you have a long drive?"
"No comment," Adrian said dryly.
Cassandra chuckled. "Well, it was worth a try. Do either of you have any questions for me?"
Adrian and Natalie glanced at one another and shook their heads. "I can't think of anything," Natalie said. Not for the first time, she felt profoundly grateful that Cassandra was the one handling all of the details. If she had been the one to have to coordinate schedules and vendor deliveries and decorators, she would have gone insane.
Cassandra checked her watch. "It's five forty-five, so we should get down to the terrace for the rehearsal."
As they filed out of her office, she said, "By the way, Natalie, you look fabulous. I love your dress."
"Thanks," Natalie said, beaming. She'd taken Julie's advice and had donned the blue satin cocktail dress she'd worn to the SFPD Gala on New Year's Eve.
"I love her dress, too," Adrian remarked as they started down the stairs. "Mainly because she was wearing it the first time I kissed her." He grinned mischievously. "And the second time, and the third time…"
Natalie elbowed him playfully. "Oh, stop it." But she was smiling at him.
Cassandra laughed. "You guys are so cute. I'm really going to miss working with you."
"That's sweet of you to say," Natalie said, touched by her comment.
"It's absolutely true," Cassandra said, opening the door that led into the ballroom corridor, adjacent to the terrace. "You've heard the term 'Bridezilla'? I've had to work with more than a few of those, and often the grooms aren't much better. I'd enjoy my job a thousand times more if all my clients were as pleasant and cooperative as you two have been."
"So would I," Adrian quipped, and the three of them were laughing as they stepped out onto the terrace.
Cassandra spotted Dr. Bell and immediately went over to confer with him. Adrian only had a chance to glance quickly at the assembled people — it looked like almost everyone had already arrived — before Sharona hurried over, dragging someone by the hand.
Adrian looked at her companion blankly at first, but recognition hit an instant later. "Benjy?" he said in disbelief. He struggled to reconcile his memories of the scruffy, scrawny preteen he'd known with this tall, lanky, rather handsome young man.
"Hi, Adrian," Benjy said, smiling.
Adrian wasn't entirely sure what came over him, but he found himself clasping the boy to him in a spontaneous, heartfelt embrace. "Look at you!" he said, releasing Benjy a moment later but keeping his hands on his shoulders. "You're taller than I am!"
He was an even six feet tall. His wavy hair, now worn fairly short and sleek, had darkened to a rich chestnut brown, but he still had Sharona's piercing blue eyes.
Benjy reddened, simultaneously shocked and delighted at the unexpected hug. His mother had told him how Adrian had changed, but he hadn't really believed her until he'd witnessed it for himself. "It's really good to see you again," he said, entirely truthfully.
His gazed shifted to Natalie and his eyes lit up, just like Sharona's did when she was pleased. "And you must be Natalie."
"I'm happy to finally meet you, Benjy," Natalie said, smiling warmly at him as she shook his hand. "I've heard so much about you from your mom and Randy."
"Likewise," Benjy said with a grin. "I'm hoping that after tomorrow we might be able to have a conversation that isn't about the wedding."
"Don't count on it," Sharona laughed.
The Davenports came in at that juncture, followed by Julie and Jonathan, and Natalie lightly touched Adrian's arm. "I'm going to go talk to my mom for a minute."
As Natalie hurried over to them, Benjy leaned closer to him. "Adrian, who's that girl over there?" he asked, his voice low, nodding his head in the direction Natalie had gone. "The one in the pink dress?"
Adrian followed the direction of his stare. He apparently meant Julie, who was chatting with her uncle. "That's Julie," he replied, raising his eyebrows slightly at the young man's slack jaw and wide eyes. "Julie Teeger, my new stepdaughter," he clarified, flushing a little, but feeling oddly pleased. It was the first time he had called her that, out loud, to anyone other than Natalie.
"Wow," Benjy said under his breath, his gaze never wavering.
Sharona and Adrian exchanged faintly amused but slightly uneasy glances.
Adrian's eyebrows shot up in earnest when Benjy asked, "Is she seeing anyone?"
"I – uh – I don't know," Adrian stammered, entirely out of his depth.
Sharona rescued him. "You should probably ask her that yourself, Benjy," she suggested gently.
"Excuse me, everyone," Cassandra called loudly, drawing their attention. She was standing the middle of a makeshift aisle formed by two rows of white chairs; they'd be taken back down by the staff once the rehearsal was over, as the full set-up wasn't scheduled to begin until tomorrow afternoon. "It's six o'clock, and it looks like everyone's here, so I'd like to get started."
Not for the first time, Adrian blessed Cassandra's innate punctuality. Benjy, with another glance at Julie, went to sit on the sidelines and watch the proceedings.
Sharona lightly punched him in the arm. "Ready to practice getting married?" she whispered as Cassandra began issuing orders instructions like a military commander addressing troops.
"Oh yeah," he whispered back, his eyes following Natalie as she took her father's arm, per Cassandra's instructions, in preparation for their practice walk down the aisle. "I'm more than ready."
The rehearsal went smoothly, largely in part due to Cassandra's competence and efficiency. She was able to keep things moving without being a tyrant about it. She neatly deflected and redirected Peggy when she piped up with various suggestions, and she tolerated, with good humor, Adrian's claims that he had to repeatedly practice kissing the bride because he didn't have it quite perfect yet.
"Believe me, it's perfect," Natalie assured him, to the amusement of the rest of the wedding party.
"What, no comment from the peanut gallery?" T.K. said to Julie, tongue firmly in cheek.
Julie heaved a long-suffering sigh. "My wedding present to them is a moratorium on snarky comments, from the start of the rehearsal until the end of the brunch." She gave her mother and Adrian a mock glare. "But once the honeymoon is over, all bets are off."
"We'll take what we can get," Adrian said wryly, but he winked at her, and she grinned back at him.
The rehearsal lasted about an hour, and afterwards they all trooped into the hotel restaurant for dinner. They had a private dining room, the same one they'd have for the brunch on Saturday, and it was an enjoyable evening of eating and drinking, talking and laughing.
Adrian noticed that Benjy had managed to snag a seat next to Julie, and the two teenagers spent the evening deep in conversation. He also saw that the Ellisons, who'd arrived at the hotel earlier that afternoon, were sharing a table with the Davenports. Like the last time they'd seen one another, Marcia and Peggy were chattering nonstop.
As the dinner was winding down, Adrian and Natalie discreetly slipped out. They wanted a few minutes of privacy together; after they parted ways that evening, they wouldn't see each other again until the wedding ceremony the next day.
Adrian was going home with Ambrose and Jack Sr. tonight. The rest of the groomsman, as well as Natalie's father, would join him there on Friday afternoon to get into their tuxes. The original plan had been for Adrian to stay at Leland's and get ready there, but when these plans had been discussed among the groomsmen the previous Sunday, Ambrose had suggested using his house instead. It was bigger than Leland's place, and more convenient to the hotel.
Natalie was going back to the house with Julie, and the two planned to spend a quiet morning together before it was time to meet the other bridesmaids, along with Peggy Davenport, for their salon appointments.
For tonight, Adrian and Natalie took refuge in the same secluded corner of the terrace in which they'd spent most of New Year's Eve. They spent a few desperate minutes kissing hungrily; somehow, the waiting seemed more unbearable than ever now that their wedding day was so close.
"I can't wait for tomorrow," Adrian murmured, his lips wandering down her cheek.
"Me neither," she agreed, her arms looped around his neck.
"I don't suppose I could persuade you to bring this dress along on our honeymoon, could I?" he asked, running his hands along the smooth satin on the lower back of her dress.
She shivered slightly as his hands teased the point where the bare skin of her back met the edge of the dress. "Why?"
He kept his mouth very close to her ear and spoke very softly, so that only she could hear. "Because I keep fantasizing about making love to you while you're wearing it."
"Adrian," she protested weakly, blushing. The terrace corner was secluded, but they weren't exactly in private. He'd never spoken to her quite so… explicitly… in a public place before.
"Well?" he said, pulling back slightly so he could look at her. "Will you bring it?"
She considered. "I would, but I don't think I'll have a chance to put it with our luggage before we leave on Saturday, since you're taking the car tonight."
His face fell, and she couldn't help but smile. "I'll make a deal with you, though," she said, running her hand down the lapel of his suit jacket. "After we get back from our honeymoon, we'll arrange a quiet evening at home, just you and me, and I'll wear this dress… just as long as you wear your SFPD uniform."
He grinned. "You want me to wear my uniform?"
"Oh yeah." Now she put her mouth next to his ear and spoke softly. "You're not the only one who has fantasies."
His eyes gleamed with anticipation. "That's a deal."
They kissed again, softly and longingly, and then Natalie sighed. "We'd better get back before they think we decided to elope after all."
"I suppose you're right," he said with a similar sigh. He gently touched his forehead to hers. "I'm going to miss you."
"I'll miss you, too." She took his arm and they began walking back towards the restaurant. "But remember, we'll see each other again in less than twenty-four hours," she reminded him. "And starting on Saturday, we'll have an entire week together… just the two of us."
"It can't come soon enough," he said, and she knew exactly how he felt.
As they approached the dining room, they saw Marcia Ellison wandering near the doorway. When she saw them, she brightened. "There you are," she said with relief. "I wasn't sure if you'd already left."
"Not yet, but probably soon," Adrian said, glancing at the clock on the dining room wall through the open door. "Did you need something?"
"Actually, I had a question for Natalie," Marcia said, looking at her with a smile that was soft and hesitant. "Peggy invited me to come with to the salon tomorrow, and to get dressed in her suite along everyone else, but I thought I should check with you first. I don't want to intrude if you want to keep it only to bridesmaids and your family."
"Of course you can be there," Natalie said, touched that Marcia had been considerate enough to ask, especially given that her mother obviously hadn't thought about doing so before issuing the invitation. "You're family, too."
Marcia's smile bloomed, full and delighted, and tears welled in her eyes. She gave Natalie an impulsive hug. "Thank you, dear." She smiled at Adrian, too, and squeezed his arm affectionately. "I'll see you both tomorrow."
Once she'd left, Adrian reached out and touched Natalie's cheek, very gently. "Thank you for including her." He knew not all women would be willing to be so gracious or generous with their fiancé's former in-laws.
She smiled up at him. "Like I said… she's family."
He leaned down and kissed her, not caring that there were other people milling about just inside the door or watching them from the public part of the restaurant. After they drew apart, Julie came out of the dining room, carrying Natalie's purse in her hand, with her own bag slung over her shoulder. "Mom, are you ready to go?" she asked.
Natalie sighed reluctantly. "I guess so." She took her purse from Julie and smiled up at Adrian again. Rather than kissing him again, she reached up and touched his cheek, just as he had done to her a few moments earlier. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow," he echoed, and watched them leave.