Chapter 12 The Wedding

Helping out with the diner took much longer than Roy had thought it would. He was at the site of the wreckage from dawn till dusk for several days. While being helpful did alleviate his guilt on some level, it did make him a little antsy. He wasn't communicating with the girl who he really wanted to apologize to. It wasn't until a week had passed that Roy felt leaving the site of the torn down restaurant was appropriate.

When he arrived at Celia's house, he knocked for what seemed like hours. No one came, making Roy feel even worse.

"Come on, Celia!" He cried as he continued to knock. "Please open the door!"

No one came. Roy kicked the door in frustration. Why wouldn't she let him in? Just as he was seriously considering leaving, he felt someone place their hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down," a man's voice said. "They aren't home."

Roy turned. He saw a silver haired human. He had eyes that were the same color as the grass in a field. His mouth was soft and delicate despite the wrinkles that were forming around it. He was also very slim, especially for a guy. Roy also noticed that he was wearing a fancy looking suit.

"Well, where are they?" Roy asked.

"They are at a church, just a mile away from here."

Roy stared at the guy, blinking several times as he did so.

"What are they doing there? Celia isn't very religious," Roy said. The man laughed.

"Didn't you hear? Ruby and Singe are getting married today."

Oh...right. Roy remembered the wedding dress that was hanging up in Ruby's bedroom, as well as the conversation that he had with the two lovebirds. He chuckled in embarrassment.

"Sorry," he said as he scratched the back of his head. "I forgot."

The man laughed.

"No worries. If you want, I can walk you to the church."

Roy nodded. Based on how scatterbrained he seemed to be right now, he needed someone to guide him. He followed the silver haired man along the path. He saw that he had a wistful smile, a twinkle in his eyes.

"I am very glad Ruby invited me to the wedding. This gives me an opportunity to walk her down the aisle."

Roy looked up at the man again. Confusion settled down like morning dew.

"Why would she want you to walk her down the aisle? Wouldn't she want her dad to do it?"

The man chuckled.

"I am Ruby's dad."

Roy blinked before that statement sunk in. When it did, he immediately felt flustered.

"Oh! Right! Sorry Mr. Patch! I...I didn't realize that you were…"

Mr. Patch held up his hand.

"Once again, there's no need to worry, Roy. And you can just call me Patrick."

Roy breathed out a very loud sigh. Relief started to rain down on his soul.

"Oh, thank you very much Pat...wait, how do you know my name?"

Patrick smiled. Despite his old age, his teeth still looked white as snow. Roy began to wonder whether or not they were real.

"Cee told me all about you. She said that you took her on a date last week."

Roy continued to stare at Patrick's teeth. As a consequence, it took a while for that statement to sink in.

"Oh, yeah. That makes sense, given how you are her grandfather." He chuckled again. "The date did not go very well."

"So I've heard," Patrick said. He did it with a smile though, which made Roy feel...weird.

Within minutes, the two arrived at the church. It rested on top of a hill overlooking the Mushroom town. It was relatively small, but that only made the sunset behind it look ever more glorious. The bells on the clocktower were chiming with a sweet tune.

When Patrick opened the doors to the church, Roy was immediately greeted by the sight of Ruby in her wedding dress. She had her veil draped over her face, as well as a bouquet of white roses in her hands.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed once she saw Patrick. "You're just in time!"

Patrick just stared at Ruby with a sense of awe emanating off of him. Before Roy knew what was happening, he was wiping a tear from his eyes.

"You look amazing. I wish your mother could have seen this."

"Yeah. It would have been nice." Suddenly, Ruby turned to Roy. "Oh. Hey, Roy."

Roy felt a pang when he noticed a sense of disappointment in Ruby's voice. He guessed that Celia probably told her about the date too.

"Hey Ruby," he said. He refused to look at her, mostly because his heart was starting to tighten up again. "Nice dress."

"Thanks," she said. She smoothed it out and let out a breath just as the bells on the clocktower chimed again. "Okay Daddy. It's time."

Patrick bobbed his head up and down. The grin on his face was almost as bright as the color of Ruby's wedding dress. He held out his arm, and Ruby wrapped her arm around it. Together, they started to make their way into the sanctuary, officially leaving Roy in the dust.

Roy took a deep breath. He could do this. This was going to go just fine. Finer than fine, as a matter of fact. All he had to do was not trip up. He waited a little bit before making his way through the open doors.

For the wedding of such a divisive couple, the sanctuary was quite full. Roy saw Kamark, a magikoopa who was the leader of the Starbite Society, sitting in the third pew from the entrance. However, that was pretty much the only person who Roy could recognize. He didn't even see Singe's mother, Mavery Marksmite.

Oh well. Roy scanned over the area until he saw Celia sitting in the front pew in the left hand column. He made his way along the border of the church. Once he was near Celia, he sat down next to her. He smiled when he saw that she was wearing a gorgeous red dress, one that really complimented her eyes. She also had her hair done up in a bun.

"Hey Celia."

Celia nearly jumped up in surprise.

"Roy!" she whispered fiercely. Roy noticed she looked both fearful and angry. "What are you doing here!"

Roy took another deep breath.

"Listen Celia, there is something that I…"

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"

Roy's voice escaped from him when he heard the priest speak up. He watched the wedding, listening to the priest go on about wedding things. Ruby and Singe also did some wedding things, as they put on rings and said some vows. While they did that, Roy kept sneaking glances at Celia. He noticed that she looked a little uncomfortable. His mouth felt like it would burst like a broken dam, but miraculously, he managed to stay silent.

Finally, the priest said the words everyone had been waiting for:

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

With that, Ruby and Singe shared a kiss. Admittedly, Roy was pretty happy during this part. It looked like a sweet kiss, a happy one. After they shared it, Ruby and Singe walked toward the door together. Roy sighed.

"Man. That was really…"

He turned toward Celia, but saw that she was no longer sitting in the pew. Instead, she was heading toward the sanctuary's left exit.

"Celia wait!"