Chapter 5
A few months later, there was a knock at the door to John's house. Instantly John's police officer instincts lept into action. He slowly walked to the door and called out.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, dad."
"Henry?" he asked, opening the door. "Henry! What are you doing here?"
He pulled his son into a hug and closed the door after Abigail came in. He couldn't keep the smile off his face. Father and son broke the embrace and John gave Abigail a hug. He helped them get their things into the guest room. He was wracking his brain trying to figure out why his son and son-to-be-daughter-in-law had come. He didn't have to wait long, because after the last suitcase was in the room, Henry asked if they could talk in the living room. They walked into the living room and spread out-Henry and Abigail on the couch and John in his favorite chair opposite them.
"So what's up?" John asked.
"First off, congratulations on graduating college next week, dad! That's the main reason we're here."
"Thank you!"
"The second reason we're here is...Abigail and I have set a wedding date."
"You have? Awesome! When is it?"
"A month after your graduation. We have everything set up. The venue, the pastor, everything."
"Really? What's the venue?"
"Well, we were thinking...we want a small and intimate wedding. Just family and a few close friends. We were thinking, maybe your backyard?"
John was sure that his jaw hit the floor at the question. Of all the places in the world, they wanted to get married here?
"Of...of course! If that's what you really want. Are you sure?" he asked, still in shock.
"We're sure." Abigail replied, smiling.
"Now all that's left is to mail off the stack of invitations!" Henry replied.
"We can get that done today." Abigail said.
The three of them hugged and John told them where the nearest post office was. They drove down and were back within twenty minutes, by which time John had lunch ready. All he had on his schedule for today was the last of his homework for class, so he made as much time as possible for Abigail and Henry. After lunch, they finalized what the backyard needed to look like for the wedding and went to buy the chairs and decorations they wanted. When they got back to the house, they were exhausted and decided to take a nap. John used the time to finish his homework and look over his notes. The final was just a few days away and he didn't like the feeling of cramming for a test. A couple hours later, Henry and Abigail were awake.
"Didn't mean to interrupt your study session, dad."
"No worries, Henry. I was just about done anyway."
"How's your class going?"
"Really well. I think I have at least a B if not an A."
"Awesome. I'm really proud of you, dad."
"Thanks, son. I'm proud of you, too. How's work going?"
"Going great! I was able to save up a bunch of vacation time to come here and around the time of the wedding, too. And the work is very rewarding, too."
John beamed with pride as he heard his son talk about his work. Even though he was taken aback when he first heard about the job, he really just wanted his son to be happy. And he had never seen his son as happy as he was now. He was able to provide well for his future family and got his dream job right off the bat. Looking back, John realized he was mostly taken aback because of how quickly his son was able to get his dream job. But once he moved past the shock of it all, he really was proud of his son. And he was so happy for him and Abigail. With everything in him, he regretted not coming across as being supportive of his son at first, and he wanted to do everything in his power to fix that.
After talking for a while, it was close to dinner time, so John got some ingredients together and made Henry and Abigail's favorite meal.
"In honor of your visit," he said, smiling.
When it was cooked and ready to eat, they gathered around the table and made small talk. After dinner, John showed them his graduation cap and gown. Then they watched television for a while until everyone was too tired to stay up any longer. Plus, John had an early shift the next day.
The next week flew by, with classes and shifts and getting everything ready for graduation. Before he knew it, he had turned in his last assignment, taken and passed his final, and graduation day had arrived. They piled into the car and drove to the university. The graduation was in the gymnasium, so they parked in the parking area closest to it. John was in his black and purple regalia and joined his class in the foyer area. Abigail and Henry walked into the gym and took their seats. The president of the university took the stage and welcomed everyone. "Pomp and Circumstance" played and John filed in with the rest of his class. One by one each college's chairperson went through their list of graduates. When his name was called, John crossed the stage, shook hands with the department chair and the president as he accepted his diploma and got his picture taken. Then he walked off the stage and took his seat. When all the names were called, the university president walked to the podium again.
"Class of 2021, I want to congratulate you on your accomplishment. Earning a bachelor's degree is no easy feat and you've shown that you can do it. Move your tassels from left to right."
John and his classmates did as told.
"Family and friends, I present to you the graduating class of 2021!"
Cheers erupted throughout the gymnasium and John and his classmates tossed their caps in the air. John shook hands with his classmates and congratulated them before looking for his friends and family. Grey, Bradford, Chen, West, Harper, and Lopez all sat with Henry and Abigail. They all surrounded him when he arrived and congratulated him.
"What's your plan now, man?" Jackson asked.
"I'm gonna take this next few months or so to learn as much as I can and then put my hat in the ring to be a TO." John replied.
Everyone but Nyla was surprised by that, but couldn't imagine a better man for the job. And they told him as much. Grey, especially, was proud of John and thought he'd make a great Training Officer. He couldn't wait to see the kinds of officers Nolan would train. They congratulated him again and then went their separate ways. John, Henry, and Abigail went back to the house and celebrated with John's favorite meal and ice cream for dessert. Afterwards, they spent the rest of the day just enjoying each other's company. A trip down to the beach was definitely in order, so they drove to Redondo Beach and let the waves wash over their feet. After some time there, they decided to walk down Rodeo Drive. The shops there were nothing like the ones back in Pennsylvania, where Henry lived. When they finished shopping, they went back to the house and had dinner before turning in for the night.
The next day, Henry and Abigail had a flight back to Pennsylvania. With promises that they would be back in a few weeks for the wedding, they took an Uber to the airport since John had to work that day. After shift, he went back home and made some dinner, counting down the days until the wedding. The few weeks flew by quickly and before he knew it, he was at the airport picking them up. After they got settled in, they went over the last minute details of the wedding. They set up the chairs in the backyard as well as the wedding arch. It was covered in white and pink flowers along with some green vines.
"It looks perfect!" Abigail said, amazed at how quickly everything came together.
Henry put an arm around her and nodded in agreement.
"It sure does. I can't wait for the big day."
Over the next couple of days, the tables for the reception were set up and the DJ brought over his equipment to make sure it would all work. Finally the big day arrived. Henry and his groomsmen were in John's room getting ready while Abigail and her bridesmaids were in the guest room. The photographer divided his time between the two rooms and getting pictures of the backyard. John helped Henry with his tie and went to go check on the guests. Little by little, their closest friends and family arrived. The seats filled and the pastor made his way to the front and stood in front of the arch. Henry walked up and stood next to the pastor as the music began to play. When all of the bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girl, and ring bearer had made their way to the front, the music changed to "The Wedding March". Everyone stood as the doors opened to reveal Abigail and her dad. They slowly made their way up to the front, everyone's eyes on them. Abigail had on a beautiful floor length A-line white dress with a sweetheart cut up top. There were bits of flower petals in the train and her veil went down to about her chin. She glowed with happiness as they walked.
"Who gives this woman to this man?" the pastor asked when the music stopped.
"Her mother and I." her dad replied, planting a kiss on top of her head.
Henry took Abigail's hand from her father and they turned to face each other. Her father took his seat next to Abigail's mom and the pastor continued the ceremony. Finally, the part everyone had waited for arrived.
"Henry, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health?"
"I do."
"And Abigail, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health?"
"I do."
"Then by the power vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Henry pulled Abigail close, dipping her slightly as they kissed to the cheers of all the guests. When they finished, the pastor smiled and said,
"It is my honor to introduce to you for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Henry Nolan!"
Henry and Abigail made their way down the aisle, stopping only when the photographer wanted a picture of them kissing at the end. Then they followed the photographer over to the photo area while the guests moved their chairs over to the tables for the reception. First up were the father/daughter dance and the first dance. One of Abigail's friends caught the bouquet and a groomsman caught the garter. Once everyone was finished giving their speeches and eating lunch, they danced to a few songs before sending off the happy couple on their honeymoon. John gave them both a hug as they got to the getaway car. As the car drove off into the afternoon light, everyone waved and cheered. When the car was out of sight, the guests all helped stack the chairs and tables in the back of the truck John had borrowed for the day before leaving. John drove everything over to the store they had rented everything from and then headed back home, exhausted, but happy with how the day had turned out.
