Past and Present
The Wedding
It was cold on Saturday and flurries fell all day long, but only left a light coating of snow on the ground. The wedding ceremony was set for 7 o'clock with the reception to be held immediately after in the community room below.
The church was decorated with pink and white flowers and there were white satin bows tied on the pews. Candles were lit in sconces on the walls all over the room, giving it a romantic glow with the incandescent lights lowered to a just-safe level. Downstairs, Norrie Coolidge and his staff had prepared a buffet dinner, set out the tables and were chilling the champagne. A small combo was setting up off of the dance floor while in the sanctuary, Mrs. Farley was playing the organ as the guests waited for the ceremony to begin.
Finally, Daniel and Claymore made their entrance from the side. Daniel looked a little pale, but otherwise at ease in a modern version of his dress uniform. Claymore, however, was tugging at the collar of his tuxedo's shirt and a sheen of sweat decorated his brow. Daniel leaned over to him.
"Calm down, you unfortunate piece of scurvy, you. You're not even the groom!" he whispered in Claymore's ear.
"I know, I know! Just don't hurt me…you don't know how I feel about standing this close to you."
Before Daniel could answer, Candy and Jonathan walked down the aisle and stood opposite the Captain and Claymore. Daniel looked at them and smiled. Candy was sixteen and a beautiful young woman. She was wearing the same style dress that was part of her mother's bridal gown, but Candy's was a dark pink and it had a bolero jacket of gold tulle with gold embroidery on it. Jonathan had taken to heart his desire to compete in next summer's Strongest Man in New England competition and had been working out for the last five months and its effects could be seen under his "monkey suit".
The music changed to the traditional bridal march and Carolyn and her parents came into view. The entire company gasped at how extraordinarily beautiful she was. She wore a delicate floor length pink slip-dress in watered silk, with a long-sleeved over-dress of gold tulle that swept the floor in a small train. It was gathered at her waist with a single gold monkey-fist knot. Her golden hair was gathered into a bun, allowing her grandmother's gold earrings to shine. She wore the strand of perfectly matched pearls that Daniel had given her on the night of her parents renewal of vows and Martha leant her the antique English penny Daniel had given her for her own wedding for Carolyn's shoe, killing two birds with one penny, as it were. The "something blue" was a new bracelet that the entire family had chipped in to give her for her birthday. It was set with blue topaz in the same color as Daniel's eyes. In her hair, she had a spray of pink rosebuds held in place with a gold clip. She carried a matching bouquet in her hands.
Daniel's breath was swept away from him as he saw her progress down the aisle, a parent on either side of her. As they came to a few steps from the alter, the Williams' sat down in their pew and everyone turned to Reverend Farley.
Daniel leaned over Carolyn and whispered in her ear, "I have never seen you look more lovely than tonight. You look like an angel come down to Earth, my darling!"
The Reverend Farley cleared his throat. "Captain Gregg, with your permission, may I get you married?"
The entire church chuckled. "You may," the Captain replied, which caused another ripple of laughter.
Unlike Martha and Ed, Carolyn and the Captain had written their own wedding vows, so after the Reverend started the ceremony, Daniel turned to face his bride, taking both her hands in his own.
"My dearest Carolyn, my soul-mate; I spent my life looking for you all over the world. How was I to know that I would find you here, in the place that I love the most? It is you who is responsible for the life I lead now, the life that you have filled with joy." He turned to Claymore, who with a shaky hand gave him the ring intended for Carolyn. They had chosen plain gold 18K bands, simple and unadorned in order to show that their union needed nothing more than each other. "Carolyn, I give you this ring to signify my promise to you, made publicly before all our friends and family gathered here with us, that I will love and cherish you and be your husband until the end of time."
There were a few quiet sniffles from the congregation, most notably Martha and Emily. Candy's eyes were filling up and even Jonathan looked very moved.
It was Carolyn's turn to say her vows. She looked up at Daniel, and for a moment her throat constricted, and she could not get a word out. How much she loved this man! Finally, she was able to speak. "Daniel, my darling, my soul-mate; you came into my life when it was most storm-tossed and calmed the waves. When I nearly slipped away, you brought me back to life, a life that you have filled with goodness and love." She turned to her children who gave her the Captain's ring. "Daniel, I give you this ring to signify my promise to you, made publicly before all our friends and family gathered here with us, that I will love and cherish you and be your wife until the end of time."
There was an increase in the sniffling from the pews and tears spilled down the faces of more than one of the women in attendance.
Reverend Farley stepped forward again, but Carolyn and Daniel still faced each other, their eyes locked together. "Let no man put asunder what the Almighty has brought together. In witness of this assembly, and by the authority of the State of Maine, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride."
Daniel enveloped Carolyn in his arms as the entire church clapped. They kissed deeply, even as the clapping died away, and still they did not separate. Finally, Jonathan had enough. "Don't you think you need to take a breath, guys?"
Everyone laughed as Captain and Mrs. Gregg separated, their faces red.
Downstairs, the party started in earnest. The new couple's first dance was a waltz, naturally and then their were several toasts. After that, they made their way around the room, chatting with their guests, giving and receiving hugs and kisses. Finally, they made their way to the table for two set aside for them so that they could have a bite to eat.
"Oh, I didn't realize how hungry I was," Carolyn commented after a bite of Norrie's lobster salad.
"You were too nervous to eat all day, dear. Of course, I have no idea why. I myself was perfectly calm." Daniel replied with a wink.
"I wasn't nervous about marrying you," she said as she fed him a bit of the lobster salad. "It was all the preparations and arrangements that were a worry."
"Isn't that what your mother was for? To do the arranging and worrying for you? She's very good at it, you know."
Carolyn laughed. "Yes, she is. But you realize, of course, that I inherited that trait from her?"
"Touché, darling!" Daniel answered with a laugh.
Jonathan and Candy waited a while before approaching the couple. They sat down with the bride and groom at their small table, beaming with happiness.
"It was so beautiful," Candy began.
"And the two of you made us so proud, standing up with us," their mother answered.
"Absolutely!" the Captain added.
"And now we really are a family," continued Jonathan, "so we'd like to ask for something."
"Oh?" the adults said in unison.
"Yes," said Candy. She took a deep breath. "Dad, we'd like you to formally adopt us."
"We want to have your name, 'cause you're really the only father we ever knew," added her brother.
Daniel looked first at Carolyn and then at the two teens he already thought of as his own. With his voice choked with tears he replied, "I would love nothing more. I would be so honored…" He couldn't go on because his heart was swelling in his chest. Carolyn saw this, and stepped in. "It's the first thing we'll do when we get back from our honeymoon. Daniel could only nod his head firmly.
Next, they were called to cut the wedding cake with Daniel's ceremonial sword. As the two of them attempted to make a neat slice while standing several feet from the table and hand upon hand on the sword's hilt, Carolyn whispered to her husband, "This better be a once-in-a-lifetime event, because I don't want to try to do this again!"
After finally completing the mission and seeing the cake swept off to the kitchen to be properly sliced and plated, Daniel replied, "Never fear, my dear. I will never let go of you." Before she could reply, he slipped a dainty slice of cake between her lips.
It was getting late and people were starting to leave. Daniel saw the two Callahans and Davy sitting at a table, deep in discussion. The elder Callahan waived him over.
"A lovely, lovely day it's been, laddie! I'm wishin' you all the happiness in the universe."
Daniel acknowledged the other ghost. "Thank you, Callahan. Now tell me why you all look like you're plotting something?"
Davy laughed. "Well, we have been plotting something."
"I still don't understand it all meself," Sean complained.
"What is it that you've got up your sleeves?" Daniel asked again.
"You see," began the Great Ghost Callahan, "Davy needs to grow and develop some more afore he can fulfill his potential. I need to experience life again and to do that, I need to improve my abilities. If I stay here for awhile we can both achieve our goals. I can 'borrow' himself from time to time and help him learn more things. That, in turn will help me with me own goals."
"Davy, you understand what that means? Are you willing to do that?" Daniel said with concern.
"Yeah. He'll use my body sometimes. I won't be able to do anything while he's got it, but I will know what he does. I'll also be able to see all his memories and his thoughts, and he will be able to see mine. It's OK."
It was Sean's turn to ask a few questions. "I don't understand something; 'Da', you told me that it was meself that you were attached to and that where I was, yourself would be. But now you can stay with Davy?"
"Ach, me boyo, that's simple to explain. I'm attached to all three of you. Although," he said, turning to Daniel, "I've never heard of a ghost haunting a ghost."
Sean shook his head and pulled at his hair a bit as he tried to digest the news. "Alright, so you can stay with Davy if you wish to do it. But I need you back at the castle when it re-opens to visitors in May."
"And I promise, I will be back. I'd never leave you in such a way! Besides, now I'm your 'Da', aren't I?" and the elder Callahan winked at the junior one.
"But airplane tickets are expensive. I canna come back to retrieve you."
"No need. Daniel, you explain it. I don't understand all of it meself."
The Captain cleared his throat. "What Callahan didn't understand was that our ghostly plain is not limited to merely three dimensions. Time and space are infinite in our world, but that can be a difficult concept for many of the oldest sprits who come from times before the dawn of the modern scientific era. Therefore, if time and space are infinite for us, one can go from one place to another in less than a split second as long as there is a connection to it. And some very advanced spirits don't even need an earthly connection Essentially, you just wish yourself to wherever you want to be, and there you are. So, there is no need to 'hitch a ride' with anyone or anything."
"Ah…" replied both Callahans.
Carolyn approached the table and all the men stood to greet her. "Daniel, I think we should be leaving. Norrie has everything well in hand."
"In that case," Sean moved to Carolyn's side, "I'd like to kiss the bride and wish her a long and happy married life." Without ado, he pulled her to him for a kiss on the nose. Daniel ground his teeth a bit but held his tongue. Callahan stepped forward next to plant a kiss on her cheek. "May you and Daniel be a blessin' to each other, and may you always be as happy as you are today!" Finally, it was Davy's turn. Unlike the others, he did not kiss the bride. He blushed a bit and then took her hands in both of his. "Thank you for inviting me to your wedding, Mrs. Muir…uh, Gregg. I hope you always love each other and are happy." He stepped back, but Callahan put a big, beefy hand on the blond man's shoulder.
"Davy, do I have to teach you about women also, laddie?"
