Thank you for all the review love. It has been a trying couple of days at work, but I think I have reached the other side. In this chapter we finally get to the wedding.
XXXV
Jane dutifully let the photographer, Cher (a thin, white haired woman in a sloppy grey suit with three cameras hanging from her neck), take the obligatory "getting ready" pictures. Jane was dressed in a fluffy white Terry cloth robe that read "Bride" in pink embroidery. For the first few pictures, Jane sat at her mother's vanity in the master bedroom as her sisters and sister-in-laws pretended to put on make-up that was already done, style her hair which was already perfect, and apply nail polish on her already dried nails. They were all in matching pink robes.
Louisa had giggled self consciously when getting down to her underwear to put on the robe. "These are maternity briefs," she explained, gesturing to her enormous white underwear that stretched over a very noticeable bump."
"You are huge already," Caroline noted, tactlessly.
"Hello, twins!" Louisa reminded her.
"My aunt said she just wore bikini underwear when she was expecting," Jane noted. "She said by the end they were riding a bit lower, but the bump was really all above it."
"Huh," Louisa considered thoughtfully, "I never considered that I could do that."
After the women were in their dresses, Cher took several photos of Jane standing in the ball gown style wedding dress her mother had insisted upon, which was held up by two thin spaghetti straps and being very fitted through the body. The outer skirt of the dress, while full was tulle, with a ring of lace at the bottom. The inner skirt had less bulk and showed off Jane's narrow hips. A matching tulle veil, edged in lace, floated over the back of Jane's golden hair, which was down and gleaming. She took photos with just the Bennet sisters, then all of them, and then just the bride.
Cher positioned Jane so she was framed by the light coming in a window, softened by her mother's pale pink sheer curtains, her pale bouquet made up of various shade of light pink and white roses in her joined hands. Everyone watching saw a magic in how Jane looked for that photo. After snapping several photos, Cher said, "Perfect."
Their mother responded, "She looks like an angel," and then began to cry, murmuring, "Oh, I am losing my baby!"
Elizabeth felt there was an irony that their mom who had started pushing them all to find "the right guy," when they turned fifteen, who had thought it was a good idea to try to set Jane up, when she was seventeen, with a med student, saying "My Jane is so beautiful, someone should snap her up before the competition gets too tough," was now worried about losing her daughter. She also felt her mother was being rather self-indulgent in planning the wedding to please herself and not Jane, and now making the moment all about her.
Mary, who was the true baby in the family, could not help but wonder if when it was finally her time whether her mother would have a similar reaction, or would be more impassive about the whole thing. But then she thought to herself, If Henry hasn't even kissed me yet, even if he might be the one, he might not get around to asking me to marry him for another ten years or more. She found the idea of waiting that long depressing, but with her other sisters joined in trying to reassure their mother that she was not losing Jane, but gaining Charlie.
It took a few minutes for Mrs. Bennet to calm down and then the photographer suggested, "As there is just a half an hour until the wedding begins, we need to go outside and get those shots we talked about earlier."
This triggered Caroline to remember, "Jane, you need to check your phone. Charlie was going to send you something."
Cher insisted, "This isn't the time to check your phone, we only have limited time and need to get those shots of the bride out by the rose garden. There are only so many shots we can take after the wedding before it gets too dark for the best ones."
"No," Caroline insisted, "this is important."
Jane unplugged her phone from the wall and went to her messages. "He did send me something, it looks like a link to a video."
Louisa, who had heard from Caroline about Charlie's project, suggested "Cher, maybe you can get some shots of the boys, and Charlie with the ring."
"Go on then," Mrs. Bennet exclaimed, to the photographer.
Once Cher had left, Mrs. Bennet crowded close to Jane, who was pulling up the video on her phone, but hadn't yet hit "Play."
Caroline was curious, too, but insisted, "We should all get out of here for a few minutes. It's a personal message between Charlie and his bride."
Once the women were outside the room, they found Mr. Bennet waiting. He told them, "The photographer wants you outside for photos. The guys are already there."
When they exited the house through the back door, they were met by the photographer. Cher clapped her hands and said, "Oh, good, you are here, all but the bride. I want to get pictures of the Bingley siblings and each bridesmaid with her escort."
Elizabeth couldn't help but be impressed with how Darcy looked in his black morning suit, waistcoat, trousers and ascot tie. The look was spoiled just a little by Darcy munching some white and pink coated Jordan Almonds from a tulle bag.
Elizabeth came up to him and playfully gave him a little slap on his firm abdomen. "Those are for the guests."
"I'm a guest, too, aren't I?"
"Yes, but they are for after." She grabbed a candy coated almond for herself.
"But I'm hungry." He made a pitiful wide-eyed expression. "I didn't get any lunch with having to wake you up and all the work I put into getting and fixing the topper and then helping with set up."
"Oh, I didn't know you didn't eat. I would have fixed you something. Should I grab you something now?"
"No time." He continued munching almonds while Elizabeth looked at his wedding clothes.
Elizabeth told him, "You look so dashing, Darcy, almost like you were meant for the time when guys regularly dressed this way."
"We do look rather fine, don't we?" Darcy asked rhetorically.
"I clean up good, right? I knew these were the clothes to get." Charlie preened. His outfit was basically the same as his attendants, who were in pale pink waistcoats, with grey and pink stripped ascots so as to better match the bridesmaids pink gowns. But Charlie's waistcoat was a more traditional grey and his ascot had stripes of black and two shades of grey.
Charlie posed with his sisters on either side of him for what seemed like ten or more shots and then the attendants were up. There were pictures taken of the four groomsmen, and then the four bridesmaids and then combo shots. To everyone being posed, the photos seemed to drag on and on.
While Mary was waiting, watching Louisa and Don take their pictures, Henry got up from his chair and walked over to her. "Hi Mary, you are looking especially pretty today. Pink is your color."
"Thanks," she responded, still not used to all the compliments that Henry gave her. "But pink is really Jane's color, or at least this shade of it is," she gestured to her dress which had a halter neck and was much more fitted in the bodice than any dress she had worn before. The skirt was floaty and hit just below the knee. It was a little cool now that the sun was lower and she regretted not grabbing the little sheer wrap that matched the dress and was still sitting inside.
Henry was wearing a suit and looked good to her. Henry put an arm around Mary, rubbed her arm and commented, "You're a bit cold." He leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek. Kiss me for real! Mary thought.
Instead, Henry pulled back, keeping his arm around her and her body pressed to his side with its pleasant heat and commented, "I am still not used to seeing you without your glasses. Your face looks almost naked, but in a good way. I got here early hoping to see you, but your dad said you were busy getting ready. I talked to him a bit, and your grandmother also. Glad she is doing okay."
"Yeah, it was so scary at the nursing home that day. I would have rather seen you, too, than do all these photos." They watched as Louisa and Don were put in a pose side by side and then Cher had Don get behind Louisa and rest his hands on either side of her baby bump. Louisa and Don looked very happy in that shot and the photographer commented, "That's the one."
Henry continued to rub Mary's arm a little, "Gotta keep you warm," he commented. Mary wished he was just rubbing her arm because it felt good to him, like it did to her.
"I want to spend real time with you," Mary commented, "but you might have to be patient. I don't think we'll be done with the photos until the wedding, and then we have to take group photos with everyone afterwards, after the bride and groom get their share of the torture."
"Ugh," Henry commented. "Glad it isn't me. I mean the marrying part is all right, good, great even, but all the other stuff that goes along with it, yuck. Isn't it better to remember the day than to have all these photos and just remember taking photos?"
Next up were Darcy and Elizabeth. The photographer only took one side by side picture before shaking her head in negation. She said, "With your height disparity, we need to try something else."
"Okay," Elizabeth replied, tugging Darcy down so she could whisper to him, "If these photos aren't done soon, I'm going to scream."
The photographer took a shot while they were arranged like that and then decisively said, "No." She placed a white box next to them and asked Elizabeth to stand on it and then took another photo. Apparently still dissatisfied, she shook her head again.
Cher then asked, "You are dating, right?" Their beaming smiles confirmed her guess. "Well, all right."
Cher positioned Elizabeth in front, with Darcy's arms around her, his head tucked against the top of her shoulder. While the photographer was trying to get just the right shot, Darcy began whispering in Elizabeth's ear. "While this is taking too long, I don't object to getting to hold you tight. You know you look absolutely beautiful right now. I want to kiss you so much, on your neck, on your lips, but I might have to just focus your neck, because if we made out like I want to, that would mess up your lipstick and the photographer and your mother would probably kill me, which would be awkward timing when I am supposed to stand up with Charlie." Elizabeth turned her face a little towards his, just a hint of a blush on her face, her eyes lit up, and the photographer snapped a picture just then.
When it was Mary's turn to get photographed with David, she felt awkward standing so close to him and then holding his arm while Henry watched. She had only met David at the rehearsal dinner and while he was cute and nice and all, he wasn't Henry. She hoped that at the reception she might get a photo with Henry by her side; it would be worth remembering spending the reception with him and having a photo to memorialize it.
Mary worried that she would laugh when the photographer tried to figure out how to display Caroline with Raimundo. Henry commented quietly, "That must be the Portuguese guy you were telling me about."
"Brazilian," Mary corrected. She watched as Cher tried having Ruimundo stand on the box as Elizabeth had, but he was still a couple of inches shorter than Caroline.
The photographer then tried to pose Caroline and Raimundo with Caroline sitting down on one of the folding chairs and him standing behind her, but was dissatisfied with that as well. Finally, she seated them next to each other, with Raimundo sitting on the box and just took a "head and shoulders" picture.
It was only a few minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to start at six when the bridesmaids finally made it back to Jane. She was sniffing as she dabbed at her reddened nose with a tissue.
"What happened, Jane?" her mother asked.
"We've got to fix your make up right away!" Caroline exclaimed, noting that Jane's eye shadow and eyeliner was a bit smeared and her nose would need powdering.
"I am just so happy," Jane stood up, smiling even as she continued to dab. "Charlie's message was . . . it was perfect. I knew he loved me, but not how much! It was so wonderful, I watched it three times."
"That's great, Jane. Your father always had a way with words himself. But we're supposed to start in five minutes," Mrs. Bennet told her.
"Go ahead and blow," Louisa advised. "Get it all out and then we will fix you up."
"There's no hurry," Elizabeth noted. "You're the bride, that makes you the star of this show. The guests can just wait as long as it takes for you."
"I agree," Louisa noted. "My wedding passed in such a blur. I wish I'd taken a little more time to savor all the special moments, to enjoy feeling happy."
"I really want to talk to Charlie," Jane said. "He should know how it all made me feel. It was so wonderful."
"Can't it wait until after the wedding?" her mom responded.
Jane considered. "No, I don't think it can, or at least I don't want to wait that long."
"Then you should talk to him now," Mary jumped in. "Do you want us to bring him to outside the door to talk with you or would you like to speak to him over the phone?"
"The phone," Jane decided. "If he was out there," she gestured toward the door, "I'm not sure if I could keep from letting him in, and I don't want to spoil him getting to see me for the first time in this dress when I am not at my best. I . . . I need a few minutes alone and then, Caroline, Louisa if you could work your magic to make me ready again, I'd really appreciate it. I am sorry to be such a bother."
"You are no bother," Louisa said. "But even if you were, you are about to be our sister and are totally worth it." Louisa gave Jane a hug, and not wanting to be left out, Caroline hugged Jane and Louisa, too.
"And you are our sister also," Elizabeth cried out, making her way into the group hug, which Mary and Mrs. Bennet joined. It took a few moments to de-tangle them all, and then the women exited the room once again, with Elizabeth noting, "Call me when you are done."
Mrs. Bennet hurried off to inform the minister of the delay and the murmur this caused through the seated guests was quickly resolved when the minister announced to the guests, "It seems the bride is not quite ready yet, but we will start soon."
A few moments later, Charlie, who was already waiting near the minister, heard his phone ringing in his pocket. The guests tittered when they heard what song it was playing, Chapel of Love. Charlie quickly answered, "Jane, is everything all right?" and then hurried back towards the house, anxious to help with whatever problem might be causing the delay.
"Yes," she responded. Her voice sounded odd over the phone to him, almost like she'd been . . .
"Jane, have you been crying? Did I do something wrong?" He began pacing outside the back door. As he did, he noticed that his new shoes were pinching his toes.
"No, you silly man."
Charlie paused to listen to her, still gripping the phone a bit too tight. He looked at the ground floor windows and tried to figure out which window belonged to where Jane was right now.
Jane's disembodied voice rang out from the phone. "I watched your video. It was wonderful but at the same time it was almost too much. You've thought of possible names for our kids? And four of them? We need to talk about you picking 'Raymond,' you see there was this guy in high school . . . .
"Of course it was going to make me cry. How could it not? I was already so emotional, so happy that today is the day, but I was hardly thinking past today and the honeymoon. I mean, I did before, but then with all the wedding planning . . . but you've been thinking about our lives together, all those things we will have together, even about retiring in Florida and driving golf carts around."
"Please don't think that I am trying to control all those things," Charlie explained. He sat down on a faded patio chair, preparing to talk for as long as Jane needed. "We will decide names and how many children we might have together when the timing is right. I know life will take different turns and the important thing to me is that I am with you, to share all those moments with you."
"I know, I know," Jane hurried to reassure him. "But the fact that you've been storing up a whole possible life story for us is just the most romantic thing ever. My heart, it is practically bursting. And you remembering all those little details of us meeting and keeping that slip of paper where I wrote my number down? Oh Charlie, how can you possibly love me this much?"
"I just do, Jane." Charlie replied with all sincerity.
"Well, then, let's get married!"
"I thought we were about to do that anyway," he exclaimed, "if someone can finish getting ready."
Ten minutes later, Charlie watched as Jane cleared the corner of the reception tent and tried to ignore the photographer who seemed to be jumping all around in search of the best shot. "I can't believe she's marrying me," he said softly to Darcy. "I'm just so happy!"
"Well of course you are, that's how it is supposed to be on your wedding day."
The minister cleared his throat and they fell silent as Jane floated forward on her father's arm. Darcy noticed that Mr. Bennet was holding himself proudly, but at the same time his eyes looked a little sad.
The ceremony seemed to pass quickly for Charlie, once the preliminaries had been gotten out of the way and the minister had them turn and face one another. Charlie had to be prompted to repeat his lines as he kept just staring at Jane, thinking about how amazing it was they they were here, that she was becoming Mrs. Bingley, Mrs. Bingley! When it came time for the ring, he forgot to turn around and get it from Darcy, who had to tap him on the shoulder, the ring already in his hand.
Jane didn't notice those little flubs. She, too, was entirely focused on Charlie. It was as if everything else was a blur, but for Charlie's face, his trusting eyes, his lips moving as he recited their vows. After they slid their rings on each other's fingers, they leaned toward each other and kissed.
The photograph flitted in to get a couple of shots, blocking the amateur videographer, the Bennet sister's uncle, Mr. Gardiner.
"Not just yet," the minister corrected them.
Jane heard him and pulled away, but Darcy had to tap Charlie on the shoulder once again to get him to lean back.
There was a prayer, a few more words and then the minister said, "Now, you may kiss your bride."
Charlie and Jane kissed far longer than was polite and then when they broke apart, Charlie took Jane's hand in preparation for walking her out. Jane would have let him if not for Elizabeth's prompting, "The dove."
On a table to behind the minister there was a white bird in a gold metal cage that had some of the bars formed into hearts. Also on the table was the minister's water bottle and Bible. The minister spoke, "As a symbol of peace and love, that this couple is a new creation, the Bingleys will now release a dove."
Charlie reached into the cage as he had practiced with the birds' keeper. Once his hand was out, the "dove" (it was actually a white homing pigeon whose owner was discretely watching from the side, ready to assist if needed, who would retrieve the cage and drive home after the ceremony, where the pigeon would hopefully already be waiting) gently grasped in his hand, Charlie placed his left hand over his right and turned toward Jane. As the photographer had suggested, Jane arranged her hands over his, her left hand with its large diamond ring, positioned so his plain band could also be seen, but the dove's head and tail were still visible as well.
After way too many photos, the photographer stepped to the side, the minister asked, "Ready?" and the Bingley flung their hands up.
The bird launched up and the guests "awed" as the bird flew away over the bridesmaids. It was a few moments later, just after the minister had announced "I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Bingley," and the recessional had begun, that Caroline felt an odd itchiness on her scalp, on the side of her head. She was the last bridesmaid, behind Mary, and lined up next to Raimundo and preparing to grab his arm.
Caroline dismissed the odd sensation as "probably nothing" but made plans to hurry inside and check in a mirror. She really hoped she wasn't getting dandruff again. She focused her attention on the man near her and her feelings of mortification about the fact that she was about to be escorted by this man who she was so much taller than, who had heard her careless words. She admitted to herself that he looked quite good in his morning suit, his permanently tan skin contrasting nicely with his white shirt, his eyes a pretty green grey color, surrounded by thick eyelashes and dark but well-shaped brows, his lips a darker, pinkish color that Caroline wished she could achieve without tinted lip gloss. But still, he was so short! Why couldn't he have another foot of height?
"Uh, Caroline," Raimundo interrupted his perusal of him, "what's that on your hair?"
Caroline reached her hand up toward where Raimundo seemed to be looking, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and felt something wet and sticky. She pulled her hand down and looked to see something white and black on her palm. Caroline had a feeling she knew what it was, but didn't want to voice it aloud.
"I think, it's the bird's droppings," Raimundo explained, his eyes dancing with amusement and the corner of one side of his mouth quirking up before he affixed a more solemn expression on his face.
Caroline's eyes widened with horror and her face paled. She felt like screaming, crying, but she didn't want anyone else to know what had happened! Most everyone was focused on the bride and groom, and she wanted to keep it that way.
She lowered her hand, but held it well away from her skirt. Within moments, her hand started to itch. Caroline desperately wanted to wipe the dove guano away, but she had nothing but her pink bouquet, or the side of her dress. She couldn't even grab Raimundo's arm and walk out with her hand like that!
