Justin

We got through the receiving line quickly, just giving a quick "congratulations" to them before I got Jhondie out of there.  She had been keeping herself under control and not doing anything mischievous, and I wanted to get her out of there before she could change her mind.  All I had to do was keep an eye on her during the reception, and the evening would go well.  Actually, I was starting to think that she wouldn't do anything intentionally.  She was smiling for real, and I was thinking that the whole romantic mood was starting to get to her too and mellow her out.  It was to me.

The reception was being held in a beautiful reception hall that almost looked like a castle on the inside.  The place must have cost a small fortune to rent, but it was incredible.  There were about four hundred guests all total, but the place wasn't overly crowded.  It did look a lot like a castle though with the high, arching stained glass windows, stone walls, and even a balcony overlooking the main dance floor like the kings and queens used to use to hold court. 

There was a formal dinner served there, and as luck would have it (or by some sneaky rearranging of the seating arrangements) we were sitting at the table with Mick and his sister.  Their parents were off somewhere else, probably trying to suck up to the "cultured" guests present.  His sister, Katie, was deaf and Mick always made sure he was around when they were with family.  He was pretty laid-back, but you could really only see his relation to Denise when someone said something about Katie.  Jhondie surprised the hell out of me once again when Katie signed something to Mick, and Jhondie laughed.  Mick looked up, and Jhondie signed something to Katie, making her smile.

Jhondie looked over at me, noting my "what the hell" expression.  "What?" she asked.  "You know I work at the hospital during the summer.  You pick up a lot there."

"How much else is there I need to learn about you?" I asked.  She was forever pulling something to keep me on my toes.

She shot me a wicked grin.  "You really want me to answer that here?"  Mick choked on his roasted potatoes.

"You are one lucky bastard," he commented, and then repeated the conversation to Katie who smiled wider.

Dinner was a pleasant affair from that point.  There were nine people at the table, and I was glad the sane outnumbered the insane at our little island of humanity.  Dad was with us, and he had always liked Mick, and Jhondie and Katie kept up a run of "girl talk".  I wasn't sure how anyone could eat dinner and sign at the same time, but Jhondie managed it quite well.  When it came to food, there was no obstacle too great for her.

There was a toast to the happy couple, and the Best Man stood.  He had enough of a resemblance to Bradley that I assumed he had to be a relative.  Someone handed him a microphone, and he took a deep breath.  I would have too if I was giving a speech that could displease Denise, and she was sitting with a knife close by.  "When we were little," he began, "Brad and I would laugh at girls and throw things at them and swear we were never going to be infected with girl-germs."  There was a rumble of laughter from the guests.  "But time goes on and we grew up.  At least I did."  He paused a beat for the laughter that came.  "And then Brad goes out and runs smack into some girl, and promptly forgets all about girl-germs, and all those promises to never, ever like a girl.  He found the one woman who transcended all of that, and made him a better person." 

I couldn't help shooting Jhondie a smile at that line.  It was fitting.  She smiled back, reading my mind.  Best Man continued.  "So," he said, "I would like to propose a toast to the happy couple.  To life, to love, to the times of sadness that bond two people closer together, and the moments of happiness that make it all worthwhile.  To the pleasure and to the pain.  To the past, the present, and the long future together.  Salute!"  And with that over four hundred people drank to their happiness.

I hoped they were happy, I really did.  And it wasn't just to keep her away from me either.  I didn't have what was needed to overcome her mental problems.  I couldn't deal with it, and if the smiling groom could, then more power to him.  Of course, it was more likely he had no idea they existed, but that wasn't my problem anymore.

While we were finishing up dinner, and the guests were starting to mingle, Bradley and Denise started circulating in the crowd, thanking everyone for coming and being with them.  Bradley got to our table first, and I couldn't help but be interested in the kind of guy that would take such a chance.  He knew Mick, and Mick introduced us as "friends from LA".  Bradley seemed somewhat interested, but not really.  He seemed like he would rather be at one of the tables with a congressman or two.

"Denise and I went to high school together," I explained.

He smiled superiorly.  "Ah, yes, your father and Denise's are partners correct?"

"In part, yes," I replied, not liking the jerk.  I wasn't feeling very sorry for him anymore.

"You back at Harvard after the honeymoon?" Mick asked, with his "interested" look.  I almost laughed.  Mick would do something like that, get an answer and then say something totally off the wall, like "sucks to be you" and then wander off.

Bradley smiled.  "Have to get back to the grindstone ASAP," he replied.  He looked at me with a little smirk, and I had a feeling he knew who I was.  "I'm going to Harvard Law right now.  I'd love to take more time off, but when you are top of the class, you have to work hard to keep it.  When I graduate, only the best will approach me."

With that Denise walked over to us.  Bradley smiled at her as his arm encircled her waist.  I had wondered how contrived their match was, but as much as I didn't like him, I had to admit he really seemed as though Denise was more than a status symbol.  For an instant she beamed at him, and then gave me such an odd look, that I felt uncomfortable.  It seemed to say, "This should be us".  Bradley caught it, and his smile dropped just a notch.

"Bradley, love, Mother says it's time to do the dance," she said, smiling again.  "And you know how she is about her schedule."

He seemed recovered.  "Right, angel.  I wouldn't want to upset her on my first day of her being my mother-in-law."  They both laughed, and then Denise looked back where I was standing, with my arm around Jhondie.  She smirked at Jhondie, and I could read her thoughts.  She didn't think Jhondie could do anything to her at her wedding.  As long as I kept them apart all would be well.

"I was surprised to see you made it," she said to me.

"You know me, just full of surprises," I replied.

"Besides," Jhondie said sweetly, "there was no way we would miss seeing you happily married to your Mr. Right."

Even Bradley caught the venom in that remark.  And the way Denise seemed to back down from Jhondie.  I was willing to bet he had never seen her back down before.  "Sweetheart," he said, tugging on her arm gently.  "I don't want to get into your mother's bad graces just yet."

She smiled at him again.  "Of course not."  She looked back at us.  "Well, enjoy yourselves."  With that, she let herself be led off.

We wandered towards the dance floor, and I whispered to Jhondie, "You are so bad, you know that don't you?"

She grinned.  "You wouldn't want me any other way."  I had to laugh.  She was so right.

The bride and groom led out the first dance, and then there was the traditional father/daughter and mother/son dance.  I had to admit that Denise was a great dancer.  In a twisted way, I was grateful to her for getting me to learn how to dance.  Jhondie enjoyed it, and I was glad I didn't look like an idiot when I was with her.  I hadn't really liked dancing, in my opinion it was one of those things that guys just weren't designed to look good doing (like naked jumping jacks – just not a good idea), but getting the chance to be close to her and make her smile was worth it.

Another slow song started and I looked down at Jhondie.  "May I have this dance, my lady?" I asked playfully, taking her hand, and bringing it to my lips.  She just laughed and we went out onto the dance floor.  My arm wrapped around her as I took her hand and we started to move in an easy rhythm.  Our eyes met, and I felt like we were alone in the world, just the two of us together as I heard the music and moved with it.

Maybe it's intuition

But some things you just don't question

Like in your eyes

I see my future in an instant

And there it goes

I think I've found my best friend

I know that it might sound more than a little crazy

But I believe

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life

I know some people might think we were showing off a little, but I wasn't paying attention to the rest of the world.  Despite Denise's ability, Bradley and Denise had seemed very stiff and unsure together, like they were just swaying for the pictures.  Jhondie and I moved together so easily and naturally, it was like we had been together for lifetimes.  I caught more than a few people watching us as I twirled Jhondie, and then brought her back into my arms.  If they thought we seemed happy together, they didn't know the thousandth of it.

There's just no rhyme or reason

Only this sense of completion

And in your eyes

I see the missing pieces

I'm searching for

I think I've found my way home

I know that it might sound more than a little crazy

But I believe

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life

She was against me again, and our lips met in a soft, brief kiss.  I was falling more and more in love with her every day, and I didn't see any way in that was ever going to change.  When we broke off, our eyes met, and I had never seen her look so radiant, the softness in her eyes making me wish I had something, anything circular that could substitute as a ring for now.  Had we been close enough to a table, I might have grabbed a napkin ring.

A thousand angels dance around you

I am complete now that I've found you

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life

For a moment she looked almost sad.  She smiled a little.  "I don't know if this is something I can ever really have," she whispered.  "Tell me I'm not being unfair to you."

There were too many people around to say what I wanted to her.  They were watching us from the dancing, and I didn't need them to hear what was private and belonged only to her and I.  I smiled, and switched to Spanish.  "Cuando estoy contigo, todo es perfecto. Eras el solo más bella, increíble mujer que he conocido siempre. Hay nadie que pueda compara contigo."

Her eyes filled with tears.  "Te amo," she whispered back at me.  "Para siempre."

We were near the edge of the dance floor now, a little ways away from the majority of the people.  It was like they knew not to be near us and wanted us to have a moment to ourselves.  Senator Martin was close by talking to one of his military friends, but they were out of hearing range.  I took a deep breath.  To hell with a ring.  Maybe it was the moment, but I didn't care.  I loved her.  I would always love her.

Our eyes met.  "Jhondie," I whispered softly.  She was glowing, and I thought she might know what I was trying to say.  "I..." I got out, breaking off when the glow was suddenly replaced by shock.  Her head cocked slightly, as she jerked closer to me as if we were still dancing.  I could feel the acceleration of her heartbeat.

"Nobody knows about me...they can't know," she whispered.  She was scared.  God help me, she was scared.

"What's wrong?" I breathed into her ear.  "There's no way anyone could know about it."

She pulled back a little so our eyes met.  "Then why is Senator Martin talking about Don Lydecker's new weapons systems?"

*********

Translation of the Spanish:

Justin:  When I am with you, everything is perfect.  You are the single most beautiful, incredible woman I've ever known.  There is no one to compare to you.

Jhondie:  I love you.  For always.