May 23rd, 1981
6:05 pm
Kenosha Country Club
"We are five minutes late" whispered Jackie, peaking at the hall though the cracked door, "he looks so nervous" she giggled, excitedly.
"Are you ready?" asked Donna looking first at Brooke and then at Jackie. They both nodded, smiling.
Jackie checked her hair in the mirror by the door one last time. Behind her, Donna smoothed an inexistent wrinkle in her dress. Behind Donna, Brooke linked her left arm to her father's right arm and smiled at her friends.
Jackie knocked slightly on the door and a second later the double doors in front of her open to reveal a small hall with about 40 people sitting on both sides of an isle decorated with white roses. In front of Jackie, Betsy started walking towards her father, throwing rose petals of every possible color up in the air.
Jackie walked behind her goddaughter, her eyes fixed in the altar, where Steven stood, tall, proud and so very handsome. Michael had chosen Fez as his best man, but Steven and Eric were standing next to Michael as well. As they always have, thought Jackie, thinking of all the many adventures and misadventures of their group of friends.
When she reached the altar she smiled at Michael, who only looked at her for a tiny fraction of a second. He was entranced looking at Brooke who had just walked through the door, behind Donna. She could feel Steven's gaze upon her, and looked back at him, feeling week at the knees.
She hardly payed any attention to the ceremony, only responded mechanically when she had to take Brooke's bouquet and to give her the ring. She only had eyes for Steven, and he for her.
/-/-/-/
8:24pm
It had taken a while, but Jackie had finally convinced Steven to dance. They were swaying to a slow song, their friends also dancing around them. They saw Michael and Brooke, looking at each other with dreamy eyes. Red and Kitty were barely moving, she with her eyes closed and her head resting on his chest. Eric and Donna were walking back to the bar, hand in hand. Fez and his girlfriend Rachel were dancing near the edge of the dancefloor.
Jackie moved her arms up to Steven's neck, and in the movement the ring in her left hand caught the light and it shone for a brief moment on his eye. He took her hand from his shoulder and kissed it lightly, not taking his eyes from hers.
She smiled happily, kissed him on the lips, and put her hand back on his shoulder.
They never stopped swaying to the music.
/-/-/-/
10:58 pm
Donna was helping Brooke out of her wedding dress, while Jackie readied the suitcase.
"Are you sure, Jackie?" asked Brooke for the thousandth time.
"Yes" Jackie replied, fighting not to roll her eyes "Betsy is going to be just fine, you just concentrate on enjoying your honeymoon"
As a wedding present, all the friends had come together to give them a five day honeymoon in a gorgeous mountain resort that had hot springs and a spa. And Jackie and Steven had volunteered to have Betsy staying with them. It would be the first time that Betsy was away from her parents that long, and the first time that she'd spend even a night with her godparents.
Jackie understood Brooke's uneasiness, she was also nervous about it. But she'd made a commitment and she'd see it though. It helped a lot that Betsy was really close to her and Steven and loved spending time with them; hopefully she wouldn't miss her parents too much.
