"Is it just me, or does this town never change at all?" Bender asked with a tinge of sarcasm, watching the shops of Shermer's downtown business district zoom past the windows of the Johnsons' car.
"Well that's the beauty of the area, John, knowing there'll always be familiar sights to come back to after you leave," Melissa pointed out to him.
"Indeed," Brian agreed, glancing sideways as he pulled to a stop at a red light, "James' Barber Shop at the corner of Winchester and Columbus, like it has been for decades," he pointed to the business, "Vickerella's Italian Restaurant across the street...John Wilden keeping watching over the park," he gestured at the statue of Shermer's founder in the park in the center of town, "Melissa and I like living in Florida, but it's good to come back to see those old familiar places we once knew every now and then."
"Well, I do miss getting to ice skate every winter," Melissa confessed, "I always looked forward to winters around here as a girl so I could get on the ice and skate away."
"Trust me, Winters, you're the only one who thinks that way; anyone else that likes getting buried under three feet of snow every winter and walking around in eighty below wind chills is crazy. That's why I'm doubly glad I got out; you don't have to worry about that on base in South Carolina," Bender griped.
"Well John, I understand that, but there's beauty in winter if you look close enough," Melissa countered.
"Well when your name's Winters, of course you're going to..."
"Well look at that...Mr. Griffith, Mr. Page," Brian leaned out the window at waved to two men standing in front of a store with the sign DEL'S DISCOUNT SHOWER CURTAIN RING EMPORIUM hanging over the front door. "Hey, Brian Johnson, good to see you again," the larger man, his red hair now flecked with gray, waved hello in back. "I was wondering if he'd still be in town," the former brain remarked as he drove on, "I guess he decided to stay-but since he didn't really have anywhere else to go, I guess it was an easy decision."
"Now that's another thing; who the hell actually buys shower rings?" Bender rolled his eyes, "I'm amazed he managed to stay in business at all..."
"Oh come on, Bender, give the man a break; he's a really nice guy," Brian sighed.
"He's also annoying as hell, Johnson, in case you didn't notice; he never shuts up for a moment. I don't know why Page decided to sign on with him, and why he gave up such a big job in New York for it."
"Because he wanted to be closer to his family, of course, and who can blame him? And from what I heard, he and Mr. Griffith forged a connection deep down when they were traveling back to Chicago together that one year, not all that different, really, from what happened with us and the others in detention. So of course they're going to work together...and here we are," he took a deep breath and pulled over to the curb by the large church into which scores of people were streaming. "Now Bender," he turned to look his former detention associate in the face, "I know how you're feeling, and I understand, but please, don't ruin this for Jeremy at all. He's earned this moment as much as Claire. If you have any ill feelings towards him, please, just keep them buried while we're here, OK?"
"OK, I'll do my best, Johnson," Bender gave a sort-of committal. He climbed out of the car, followed by the two brains. "Sorry you couldn't get in the procession," Brian told his wife, putting an arm around her.
"Well, she knew you longer than me, so it makes sense for you to make it over me," Melissa rationalized, "I'll be in the front row, though. Say hello to them all, especially Allison. I've been wondering how she's been doing..."
"I figured; the two of you were pretty close towards the end there. OK, take care," Brian pulled her close for another passionate kiss. "And no matter what, nothing can ever top our big day," he told her once he'd finished, "It's always going to be the best day of my life no matter what."
"Mine too," she beamed before turning and following the throngs into the church. Brian looked around and noticed a few members of what clearly looked like the bridal party going in the church's side entrance. Waving for Bender to follow him, he bustled towards it. "Uh, excuse me, we're in the procession, is this where we go in?" he asked the usher at the door.
"Yes it is; groom's party to the right," the usher pointed to the room in question. Nodding, Brian entered the building and walked into the room. About a half dozen formally dressed figures were milling around, waiting for the cue to go on-but one figure wasn't readily visible. "You see Andy anywhere, John?" he asked Bender, scanning around the room.
"No, I don't," Bender frowned, looking all around, "And I'm sure she'd have asked him to be a groomsman too."
"So do I. I hope nothing's..."
"John, Brian, great to see you guys again," came the groom's voice to their left. A smiling Jeremy O'Connor bustled over to shake both their hands. "It's certainly been a while."
"Sure has, Jeremy," Brian agreed, "So, how does it feel to be getting married to Claire?"
"Like...like a dream come true," Jeremy admitted, tearing up, "The moment I first saw Claire at the lake, I was captivated by her. To think I could actually win her heart in the end...that a poor boy from the slums of Madison could win a princess-I guess dreams do come true in America after all..."
He wiped at his eyes. "My only real regret for the day is that I don't have my family here," he confessed, his expression filling with regret, "My dad's still drinking heavily, so I told him not to show up. I gave him a couple of chances, but he kept relapsing into drinking and violence, and I don't want him back in my life until he pulls all the way through. It really hurt deep down to tell him that...he is still my father, and I wanted to believe in him for so long..."
"I'm sure it hurts," Brian told him sympathetically, "Maybe he'll pull it together some day. And you couldn't reach out to your mother...?"
"Still no clue where she is, or even if she's still alive anymore. And I acknowledge by now I may never know," Jeremy shook his head sadly, "I hope that, if she is still alive, that somewhere she's proud of me..."
He let out a low sigh. "John, I can guess this is a bit bittersweet for you," he turned to Bender, who did admittedly look somewhat crestfallen, "I just want you to know, Claire's really been looking forward to seeing you again, probably more than anyone else. I take it you're in the military now?"
"Green Berets, taking out terrorists everywhere, O'Connor," Bender said with pride, "How about you? I'd heard you'd given up Congress."
"For now at least. I'm still in politics on the local level, though; I'm a school board member in Scottsdale. Claire and I have lived there for the last five years. I think she's happier now than she..."
"Hold the wedding, hold the wedding!" came a very familiar cry from the hallway. Brian breathed a big sigh of relief. "Andy, we were getting worried," he turned to face Andrew Clark-who truthfully looked like he'd barely aged a day in ten years-as he ran in the door, also formally dressed. "Sorry I'm late," he announced out loud to the groomsmen, "My car ran out of gas on the outskirts of town; I had to get it towed to a gas station...Brian, John, great to see you guys!" he exclaimed upon seeing them, giving them each a high five, "How've you been?"
"Decent, although could be better," Bender admitted, shooting another forlorn glance towards Jeremy, who did not notice, "How about you, Clark?"
"You'll never believe this," Andrew took a deep breath, "I'm on Broadway-or at least I will be soon."
"Broadway? Wow, that, that is a surprise," Brian exclaimed; that certainly was not where he'd have expected the wrestler to be at all. "What gave you that idea?"
"Actually, it was something Kevin McCallister put into my mind when I crossed paths with him up at the lake," Andrew confessed, "He mentioned the sister of a friend of his had turned to acting in the clutch, and I wondered if that might be something I could use to branch out from wrestling. So I signed up for a Theater minor at Iowa State and took in acting lessons in between matches. And to be honest, I found I liked it. So after I graduated, I moved to New York and tried auditioning. I've been in a few off Broadway shows: Dr. Bradman in Blithe Spirit, Bart Madden in Take a Number, Darling. And I'm finally getting a big part, as Archy in a revival of Shinbone Alley next month."
"Well, not bad at all, Clark," an impressed Bender commended him, "That's a lot better than I was imagining. Somehow, I saw you as a youth hockey coach; I don't know why. Well, anyway, do any shows with Reynolds?"
"Um, actually, Bender, no. We, um...she's married now, I heard," Andrew admitted, his expression dropping, "I'd tried to keep in touch with her in college, but it just got too hard after a while. When I did eventually get to asking around, I found she'd moved to California and got married. So I can understand how you're feeling today," he told the former criminal with a knowing expression, "Having to meet up with the one that got away again. So it's really ironic," he turned to look Brian in the eye, "that the odd one out that day ended up being the only one able to made it work with their first love in the end. At least, I'm assuming you and Melissa are still together..."
"Together and together forever, Andy. Melissa means everything to me, and she always will," Brian told him proudly, "And here's our kids," he dug out Nicholas and Marie's pictures again. Andrew's eyes lit up. "Well, well, Brian you lucky dog, you," he commended the brain, "Who could have guessed you'd be the first one to be a father?"
"Uh, John Bender?" a bridesmaid came in the door, looking around for him.
"Right here," Bender raised his hand, "What do you want?"
"Claire would like to say something to you," the bridesmaid told him, "She's out in the hall."
"Uh, OK," Bender took a deep breath, nervousness on his face. He walked slowly towards the door. Intrigued, Brian turned to Andrew and gestured for them to follow Bender. The two of them walked after him and peered around the edge of the door. Sure enough, there was Claire in the middle of the hall, looking positively radiant in her bridal gown (although no one could ever surpass Melissa's beauty in Brian's mind). "Hello, John," she greeted Bender with a warm smile, "I'm so glad you could make it for this."
"Hello again, Cherry. Congratulations," Bender mumbled softly, struggling to meet her eyes, "You're...You're really looking beautiful...but of course, you always were..."
"Thank you, John," she commended him, taking a few steps towards him, "I hear you're doing well in the Army now."
"Yeah, I am. I've been on a number of big missions around the world lately. You should have seen us in action..."
"I'm sure they were impressive. Tell me, how do you feel, John?" she asked him.
"Glad for you, but...torn," Bender confessed, clearly fighting back tears now, "O'Connor, he's a great guy, a lot better than I thought at first, but I..."
"Part of you wishes you were the groom today. I understand," Claire sympathetically took his hands. "John, I can guess it hurts for you, seeing me marrying Jeremy. The thing is, Jeremy quit his job and came out to Arizona to be with me during college. He sacrificed everything for me, and that told me how much he loved me. I think he really is the right one for me. But John," she pulled his hands closer, "That doesn't mean you're not a special person to me. You changed my life for the better, and you'll always have a very special place deep in my heart for that, I promise. I could never, ever, forget about you. You understand, right?"
"Yeah...yeah, Cherry, I understand," Bender said softly, finally breaking into a relieved smile.
"In fact, John, that's why I'm so glad you did come," Claire said, her own face turning into a smile now, "I didn't want you to feel left out today, and as it happened, I met someone in college, someone who went down a lot of the roads you did. When I told her about you, she made it clear she wanted to meet you. She said you sounded like a person she'd be happy with, and to be honest, I think she's right. Stay right here, and I'll introduce the two of you."
She bustled over to the door to the bridesmaids' room and opened it. "Faith, he's here," she called outside, then opened the door wide. "Faith Ludwig, meet John Bender," she introduced him to the black-haired young woman in a bridesmaids' dress that now stepped into the room.
"Uh, hello," Bender waved awkwardly at the newcomer, who did admittedly look somewhat pretty from Brian's own point of view.
"So you're the great John Bender," Faith told him with a smile, "Claire's told me all about you. It's good to hear that it looks like life's treating you better than what it once did."
"Well, yeah. You know about that?"
"Yeah, I know. You at least had a family even if it was messed up. My parents dumped me in an orphanage when I was three, and I haven't heard from them since," Faith muttered in disgust, "Being shunted from foster home to foster home-I really didn't know much love growing up either. So you're not alone in that regard, John."
"I...I guess not. So, what do you do nowadays?"
"Criminal justice; I'm an Arizona state trooper. Kind of ironic considering I spent time in juvenile detention as a teenager. I guess in a way I'm making amends for what I did do wrong..."
"Well, I'll let you too get better acquainted," Claire told them, "John, are the others in there?" she asked him eagerly.
"Sure are," Bender pointed at the groomsmen's room, "I guess you want to say hello?"
"Of course I want to...Brian!" she exclaimed in delight, seeing him looking in from the doorway. She rushed him and gave him a big hug. "Oh it's so wonderful to see you again!" she told him warmly, giving him a kiss on the cheek, "How's my knight been doing in the last ten years?"
"Wonderful, Claire. Melissa and I are married now; we've got two kids already," Brian told her, "Congratulations; you deserve this day."
"Thank you. And of course," she pulled back and gave him a grateful smile, "I wouldn't have this day if somebody hadn't risked his life at Lake Olafsson to save me when I couldn't escape the woods on my own."
"Well, it was a spur of the moment thing, Claire..."
"But you were still a hero in the end, and I owe everything good that's happened to me since then to you...Andy," she saw him and hugged him, "I've been looking forward to seeing you too."
"Great to see you too, Claire, " Andrew hugged her back, "Like I was telling the others here, I've gotten into acting now; I'll be starting on Broadway real soon."
"Wow, that's amazing," she exclaimed, surprised, "Andy Clark an actor...I never thought I'd've heard that. Say, I guess you'd like to see Allison again?" she asked him and Brian.
"Well, OK, yeah, if she's here..." Andrew said somewhat hesitantly.
"Of course she's here; I would have had to have included her in the bridal party too, you know. Hold on, I'll get her," Claire bustled off through the door. A few minutes later, she returned with another familiar face. And one thing about Allison stood out upon first sight...
"Allison, great to see you again," Brian approached her and gave her a hug, "Congratulations, I see you're going to be a mother soon..."
"Three more months; Bill, my husband, and I are so excited," Allison gushed, gesturing at her pregnant chest, "It looks like it'll be a girl; we haven't nailed down the name yet..."
"Is Bill here? We'd like to meet him..."
"Sorry, he couldn't make it; he's working as a lead animator on Iron John, and they fell behind schedule with the drawings. They needed all the animators to pull overtime..."
"So you actually did get to work for Roy Walley Entertainment in the end? That must be a dream come true," Andrew commended her, breaking a small grin.
"Yeah, actually. I got the lucky break of all lucky breaks; I was having dinner in a restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, the food was late, and I was drawing away on my napkin. Turned out, Roy Walley's oldest daughter, who's the company's chief financial officer, was sitting in the booth next to mine. She saw me drawing, commended me on it, and ask if I'd be interested in applying at the studio, as they were hiring at the time. I jumped at the chance and haven't looked back. Plus, that's how I met Bill; he was working in the paint department when I started, and we just hit it off perfectly when we met. Anyway, I started as an in-betweener on a couple of the Walley Afternoon shows, then finally got bumped up to full animator two years ago-I've worked on Klutz Clan and Darktail Dog, and I'm going to start on Bony Pony Ranch when that debuts this fall. And I've gotten enough experience now that I think I'll be getting a promotion to the feature department soon..."
"Great, wonderful, when Melissa and I take our kids to see the future Walley films, we'll be able to tell them someone we know helped draw it," Brian told her.
"Great. Is Melissa here too? I'd been really looking forward to seeing her again..."
"Front row, Allison, you won't be able to miss her."
"Wonderful. Andy," Allison approached him now, "I was hoping you'd be here..."
"So was I," Andrew said, looking a bit regretful, "Congratulations on the marriage; you deserved it. I'm...I'm sorry we lost touch. Maybe if..."
"Andy, don't worry about it," Allison patted his hand, "What we had in senior year'll always be special to me. It just wasn't meant to be in the long term, I guess. But that doesn't cheapen our relationship at all."
"So, you're not mad...?"
"Why would I be mad, Andy? We parted on good terms, it looks like we each turned out well-Claire told me you'd become a professional actor, and I think that's great-I don't see any reason either of us would be mad with each other. There's..."
"Claire," another bridesmaid ran into the room, looking worried, "Claire, we've got a problem..."
"Oh great, not now, five minutes to the procession!" Claire growled in frustration, checking her watch, "What is it!?"
"We can't find Paige. She was here at the beginning, but now she's disappeared. Miranda checked her car up the block; she's not there..."
"So no one knows where she is!?"
"No," the bridesmaid shook her head.
"Great!" Claire slapped her hands to her temples, "All right, find some way to keep the congregation calm and occupied until we find her. Why don't you guys give us a hand?" she asked her former detention associates, "You all remember what she looked like, right?"
"Is this Paige Henry, perhaps?" Andrew asked her with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah, that's her. We had been close friends for years, so I wanted to include her."
"Not to worry, Cherry, I'll hold the show till you're back," Bender volunteered, "I think everyone should know how wonderful you are and how much you deserve this."
"Let me help," Faith stepped forward with him, "We'll try and make it look natural too."
"Well OK, but keep it clean, you guys," Claire advised them firmly, "Nothing embarrassing for either Jeremy or I. OK then," she turned to the others, "Come on, let's start looking..."
"You sure you haven't seen her?" she asked the cashier at the furniture store up the street ten minutes later, extending her phone, with a picture of Paige on it, towards the woman.
"No, sorry," the cashier shook her head.
"I see. Well, thanks anyway," Claire thanked her. "Damn it, Paige, why now!?" she ranted out loud once she and her old friends were outside, "Why couldn't you wait until after the service before running off!?"
"Did she say anything beforehand?" Brian inquired, scanning around Columbus Street for any sign of Paige.
"No, but to be honest, she had been acting strange all week. She looked like she wasn't all there at the rehearsal for some reason," Claire confessed, "Almost as if something was bothering her..."
"Hope it's not too serious, then," Andrew mused, looking concerned. "So you and Paige go way back?" he asked her.
"She is one of my oldest friends, yeah," Claire told him, glancing around, "And after we were all together that Saturday, she was one of the few of my usual clique that didn't yell at me that I was crazy for hanging out with you guys afterwards. She at least understood. And I was grateful for that. Did you happen to like her back then?" she asked him with a grin.
"Well..." Andrew took a deep breath, shooting a worried sideways glance at Allison, who gave him a nod that telegraphed whatever he said would be all right with her, "I...I did think Paige was kind of pretty back then. But she was in a different group from me, so I didn't think it would be right. Especially when she and Mike Lausch were a couple all that time. They married in the end, didn't they?"
"Six years now."
"I see. Well, they were happy together, and didn't want to come between them. And then you turned out to be wonderful when we met," he turned back to Allison, "So I decided to go with you, and I have no regrets."
"Neither do I," she rubbed his shoulder sympathetically.
"Well, the thing is, Andy, maybe you and Paige had more in common than you thought," Claire told him, shooting a glance down the alley they were passing, "Her mother rode her hard to be head cheerleader all throughout high school, just like your dad drove you on the wrestling mat and Brian's mom drove him in the classroom..."
"Although my mom's a lot better now, Claire; she's a lot wiser than she used to be," Brian told her.
"My dad's better too, thankfully," Andrew added. "Wow, I didn't know that about her," he mused grimly, "Everything just seemed so perfect with her, like she had no issues..."
He shook his head. "So, anyway, how'd you meet Faith?" he asked Claire.
"Freshman year. We had a Communications class together. We were in a group that did a bunch of projects together. And the more she opened up about herself, the more I saw her as someone who'd be perfect for John. She overcome a rough life herself like him-as you heard her say back at the church, she didn't even have a real family. She coped as best she could, but she almost fell through the cracks; she hit rock bottom when she was caught robbing a jewelry store at fifteen and got sent to juvenile detention. Fortunately, that gave her the incentive to turn her life around, and she has since then. So I wanted to introduce her to John the first chance I got; I was hoping they'd hit it off..."
"Hey, wait, I think that's Paige over there," Allison pointed ahead into the park in the center of town. Sure enough, a figure wearing the pink dress all the bridesmaids were wearing was slumped over on a bench underneath John Wilden's statue, visibly sobbing. "Yeah, that's her. This can't be good..." Claire frowned, breaking into a run towards the park, the others trailing after her. "Paige," she called out to her friend, who looked up towards her, rivers of tears streaming down her cheeks behind her glasses. "Claire, I'm sorry, but I..." she started to mumble.
"Paige, what's wrong!?" Claire sat down on the bench next to her, "Why did you run off like this!? We've been looking all over for you..."
"I'm sorry, Claire, but I...it was just too much to be there," Paige said, raising up her glasses to wipe at her eyes, "I've just...I've just been through a lot lately, and..."
"What? What was so bad that you had to run like this!?" her friend pressed her.
"I'm sorry, I can't...it's just..."
"Paige, you know you can tell me," Claire urged her, leaning towards her, "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not..."
"Mike dumped me!" Paige wailed, breaking down again, "He was seeing another woman for months, and he threw me out last week! Sixteen years together, six years married, and just like that, I'm not good enough for him anymore! He was everything to me...!"
"Oh god. Oh Paige, I had no idea..." horrified, Claire put an arm around her, "That's...that's just terrible...so that's why..."
"Yeah. I'm so happy you found love, Claire, but it was was just too much for me to take in right now. It hurt just too much being there at a wedding right now," Paige sobbed, burying her face in her hands again, "I'm sorry, I just can't go in there..."
"Oh Paige," Claire pulled her into a hug, "Paige, it's going to be all right, I promise..."
"No it won't. My mother's going to come down on me and yell that it's my fault, I just know it! She pictured Mike and I together forever, and if something went wrong, it would be my fault, just like it's always my fault to her if my life hasn't gone the way she thinks it should! And what am I going to do now!? Mike was the only one I ever loved...and he'll probably be at the reunion tonight too, everyone's going to be expecting to see us together...!"
"Paige, Claire's right, it's going to be all right," Andrew tried to comfort her, sitting down on the bench on her other side, "Your life isn't over. There's better people out there than Mike. If he wantonly dumped you for another woman, it's his fault, not yours. Running away and sitting alone out here isn't going to make things better. Now come on, you still have a lot to look forward to, especially being how pretty you are..."
"Pretty?" she glanced up at him, "Mike never said I was pretty..."
"Well you are, Paige," he said, shooting a nervous glance sideways at Allison for her approval. She gave him a firm nod, make it clear she did approve. "Tell you what; who were you going to be with in the procession?"
"Uh...Jeremy's cousin, I think..."
"Could we switch that up, Claire? I'll walk with her up the aisle, if that'll make her feel any better," Andrew asked the bride.
"I think we can probably make that work, Andy," Claire beamed. "Come on," she helped Paige back to her feet, "Everyone's probably getting really worried by now..."
"We're back, we're back, we found her," she called out loud, rushing with the others towards the back of the church, where the rest of the wedding procession stood waiting.
"You found her? Great," Mr. Standish, standing in the back of the crowd, breathed a sigh of relief. He waved to Bender and Faith at the front of the church and made a slashing gesture across his throat to get them to stop the speech they were giving. The two of them nodded and bustled down the side aisle to join the others. "They didn't say anything embarrassing, did they, Dad?" Claire inquired nervously.
"Not at all; John and Faith were professional throughout," Mr. Standish said, impressed. "Thanks, John," he commended his daughter's former boyfriend as he approached.
"Don't mention it, Mr. S. You know I'd do anything for Cher-Claire," Bender caught himself mid-sentence.
"You know, while you're here, John, I'd like to say I'm sorry," Mr. Standish told him, "I had some deep reservations about Claire going out with you in her senior year. From what I had heard about you in passing, part of me wanted to yell at you then to get the hell away from her. But you proved yourself a good man, especially when you defended her honor after that brute Vernon beat her up in the North Woods. So thank you, John, for everything you've done for Claire. I'll always be grateful for that."
"Glad to know, Mr. S. And truthfully, glad you've started being a better father for her over the years too, I've heard."
"Well, I guess I needed my eyes opened to a lot of things. When Marcia got the call from the hospital that Claire had been attacked while we were on vacation in Las Vegas, I initially didn't want to leave," Mr. Standish glanced towards his second wife, who was standing with the bridesmaids (now joined by Paige and Allison, who'd gone in the other side of the church). "How stupid a man was I to not want to immediately rush to my child's side when she was in danger?" he put his hands to his face in regret, "Marcia tore into me when I refused to leave to go to her, called me a poor excuse for a father, and said she was going to help Claire even if I wasn't. I probably needed that; it made me realized how I'd been treating Claire all those years, that I'd..." he shook his head, "That made me come to my senses; I caught up with Marcia at the elevators and admitted she was right, that we needed to be there for Claire. On the plane, I vowed I'd be better..."
"You have, Dad, and I'm grateful," Claire hugged him, "I needed to learn a few things too then. I was way too hard on Marcia at first. She's been a wonderful friend since then," she smiled at her stepmother across the church.
That she has, honey. And also while I'm here, Brian," he turned to the former brain, "I never did get to formally thank you for saving Claire in the woods. If you hadn't been willing to brave machine gun fire from that coward Vernon to rescue her...if I'd lost her, I don't know how I could have lived with myself. So you'll always have my gratitude as a father. I hope that grant I gave your department at NASA was a reasonable enough reward."
"Well, it got the rocket project done, Mr. Standish. We'll be sending astronauts to Mars with the rockets Melissa and I designed real soon," Brian informed him.
"Wonderful," Mr. Standish nodded, "I was spending my money on the wrong things for too long; glad I finally made a donation for the right reasons for once." He glanced up the aisle, where the minister stood ready at the altar. "I guess it's time. Congratulations, honey, I'm so proud for you and Jeremy," he gave Claire a warm hug and kiss.
"Thanks, Dad. And thanks for inviting Mom in spite of everything; I wanted her to be here too even if you two aren't together anymore," Claire glanced over towards the bridesmaids, where Brian could see the former Mrs. Standish leaning against the wall-looking, he thought, somewhat tipsy...
"I know you wanted her here; I couldn't disappoint you on your big day. I hope everything goes all right, though; she was drinking heavily again earlier, I'd heard," Mr. Standish frowned, "If she embarrasses you..."
"Well, I think Martin'll keep her in line," Claire glanced backwards at another man among the groomsmen that Brian assumed must be Mrs. Standish's current husband, "Oh, uh, one quick change to the procession; Gavin, Andy volunteered to walk with Paige down the aisle; personal matters," she informed one of the groomsmen, pointing at Andrew, "You'd be willing to switch with him and go with Tracy?"
"Uh, guess so," Gavin nodded.
"OK then, let's do this," Mr. Standish took his daughter's arm and waved at the organist to begin playing. The processional music started wafting through the church as the wedding party came together and walked up the aisle one by one towards the altar. Taking a deep breath, Brian stepped forward when his time came, meeting up with Marcia at the back of the aisle. "Thank you for everything you've done for Claire," he whispered a grateful thanks to her stepmother as they walked up the aisle.
"You're welcome. I love her so much," Marcia beamed back at Claire, "I wanted a daughter so badly for years, and she was everything I could have ever asked for. She deserves this day..."
Their attention was diverted by a loud groan as the visibly drunk former Mrs. Standish lurched sideways towards a pew, being caught just in time by her current husband. "...a day I hope her mother's drinking doesn't ruin," Marcia sighed softly, "She had been doing so well for a while..."
"Well, I guess this day means a lot to her too. I know she's proud of Claire like you are," Brian looked back as Claire's mother now lurched the other way, again being caught in time before she would have fallen over into the pews. Deep down, he suspected a lot of emotions were going through the clear part of the former Mrs. Standish's mind: fear of her daughter getting married and perhaps losing her, pride in Claire nonetheless, perhaps a little disappointment that Jeremy, having grown up poor in Madison, would be her husband-with that in mind, perhaps a bit of shame at her own upbringing in poverty, as he now knew, with Jeremy perhaps being a reminder of what she had tried to escape from, only to have found no happiness as a wealthy woman. With all this in mind, he wasn't really surprised she had been drinking again today. He only hoped she would come to terms with everything eventually, and that she was at least happier in her current marriage than she had been with Claire's father...
He turned his gaze back forward towards the altar, where a nervous-looking Jeremy now stood, fidgeting with his tie and looking intently at Claire and her father at the rear of the church. Hopefully there would be no last minute complications, he hoped, as he reach the front of the aisle and stepped sideways with the other groomsmen. He glanced around the filled church, half expecting to see Stanpovalichki somewhere in the congregation, watching the service. There was, however, no sign of the former homeless man. Oh well, he reasoned, Stanpovalichki was probably watching from somewhere, and was just as proud of Claire too.
Slowly, the rest of the procession reached the altar-Andrew walking with Paige, who was giving him a grateful look, Allison walking with a groomsmen he wasn't readily familiar with, Bender with Faith, both of them smiling at each other. And finally, Mr. Standish started leading his daughter up the aisle. There was no mistaking the deep joy on Claire's face as she looked at Jeremy at the altar; the two of them clearly did love each other, Brian knew. His only regret was that Jeremy had been seeing the other girl at first when they'd met; if he could have personally spared Claire the pain she'd been put through when she'd found out, he would have. But Jeremy had more than made amends for that mistake since then, and it was clear the two of them deserved each other.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the bonds of holy matrimony between this couple..." the minister began the service. Brian's gaze now fell on Melissa in the front row. His wife gave him a warm smile that he returned. Instantly he flashed back four years ago to the church in Lake Forest...it was now he rather than Jeremy standing at the altar, watching Melissa's father lead her down the aisle towards him. Though she would never be any less beautiful, she had never been more so in his eyes at that moment. He had broken down crying after he had given his vows, too overcome with emotion knowing that someone so lovely and sweet had chosen him for all eternity. So he knew what Jeremy was feeling inside at the moment. Walking out the church door with her as husband and wife and giving her a triumphant kiss to the applause of everyone who had attended had been-and would always be-the single greatest moment of his life. And when a year later he'd found she was pregnant, that was even better...
His mind remained fixated back at his own wedding until he was finally snapped back to attention at the minister's words, "...by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." He turned to watch Jeremy, tears of delight streaming down his own face, lift up Claire's veil and give her a warm kiss, one which set off strong applause from the congregation. Brian readily joined in, noticing Claire, glancing sideways over Jeremy's shoulder, reach out sideways and rub the nearby Bender, who wasn't quite applauding as strong as everyone else, on the shoulder, making the former criminal smile gratefully. The newlyweds turned and walked down the aisle, their arms around each other. Brian joined the recessional with Marcia after them, breathing a sigh of relief. Everything had gone mostly smoothly, as he'd hoped. Now it was on to the ten year class reunion at Shermer High-which Claire's father, knowing she'd wanted to see everyone in their class again, had booked the reception with as upon learning the reunion would be the same night as the wedding. Hopefully everyone else in their class had been doing well too...
