"Mary, Wilson, I'll marry you." Eric finishes. "But not right now, this afternoon maybe."
"Thank you." Mary cries, throwing her arms around her father, something she hasn't done in a very long time.
Wilson shakes Eric's hands and hugs Annie who is crying.
"You two think about this now. If you have any doubts, let me know."
"Thanks Dad, but we won't."
Eric and Annie go upstairs, and Mary gets up from her chair and sits in Wilson's lap.
"We're getting married!" She says enthusiastically.
"Yeah, and soon. Really really soon."
"Are you having second thoughts? Tell me the truth."
"No, not at all. This is all just a little mind boggling- but a good mind boggling."
Mary kisses his lips lightly, and he returns the kiss.
"We have so much to do." He says. "We have to get rings, and you need a dress and I need a tux and…"
"No we don't. Spontaneity is the spice of life."
"I thought that was variety."
"Well I'm changing it." She laughs. "Besides, we don't need any of that stuff. The only thing I want is you, and I don't need and dress and you don't need a tux for that."
"We should at least get rings. You need rings, they're part of the ceremony."
"Okay." She agrees. "But not right now."
"How come?"
"Its not even 8 o' clock yet."
"Oh."
"We could go back in the living room and sleep a little while longer…I'm going to need my rest for tonight." She says mischievously.
"Is that what this is all about? Sex?" Wilson asks playfully.
"No, honestly its not. I just really need you. My love for you runs so deep; I had to do something with it. This, getting married, feels so right. I need you to be my husband."
Wilson's mouth captures hers in a passionate kiss before she can finish her thought. They make out for 20 minutes, until someone comes downstairs and interrupts them.
"You've already besieged the living room, must you have the kitchen, too?" Simon says bitterly.
"What's your problem?"
"Nothing, except I haven't had a girlfriend for four months now."
"Sorry." Mary retorts unsympathetically.
Simon walks out of the room, but in walks Lucy.
"Good morning." She says, kind of startled to see them in there. "How are feeling today Mary, better?"
"Yes, much. And how 'bout you Luce?"
"I…uh…"
Mary laughs. "You know what Luce, would you mind if me and Wilson drove you guys to school? We have some shopping we have to do."
"No…I guess that would be fine." Lucy is skeptical of Mary, but doesn't press her on it. She knows that she wouldn't tell her anything in front of Wilson.
****
Mary and Wilson return home at 10:30, with two wedding rings among them. They walk inside the back door and find Annie sitting there.
"Oh good, I'm glad you two are home. How's four o'clock sound?"
"Great."
"And, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I booked a hotel room for you two for tonight, my treat."
Mary blushes. "Thanks Mom," she says looking at the floor, pushing her hair behind her ears.
Annie says good-bye and walks upstairs. Mary turns to Wilson and smiles.
"What?" he asks, looking at her face. She doesn't say anything. "What?" he asks again.
"You know, you're cute when you're confused."
"Thanks…I think."
Mary laughs. "Now, what do you want to do? We have 4 hours to kill."
"Um…we could go back upstairs."
The two of them walk upstairs and into Mary's bedroom. They sit down on Mary's bed, and she leans her head against Wilson's shoulder. He puts his arm around her and leans down to kiss the top of her head.
"You OK?"
"Yeah…its just…"
"What? Cold feet?"
"No!" she replies quickly. "Well, maybe a little I guess."
Wilson smiles. "Look, how about I go home, leave you alone for a little while, and I'll be back at 3:30."
"I love you."
"I love you too. Now, clear your head. Everything is going to be fine. And if it's not fine, and you want to wait, that's OK with me. Its up to you."
Wilson leaves, and Mary lies back on her bed. She closes her eyes and tries to get some sleep. She naps for a while, and awakens up at 2:54. She stumbles downstairs, still not fully awake, and sees Lucy sitting in the kitchen, after just arriving home from school. Mary tries to run back up the stairs, but Lucy sees her.
"Hey! Get back here!" she calls after her.
Mary walks back downstairs. "Luce! How was your day at school?"
"Don't Luce me. You're getting married this afternoon?!"
"Yeah, I am."
"And when were you going to tell me?"
"When you got home."
"Well I walk in the door, and had to find out from Mom!"
"Why are you so upset about this? It's not like it your wedding."
"Well, yeah, but…"
Lucy looks away from Mary. Mary sits down next to her at the table.
"Are you crying?"
"No," she says, sniffling.
Mary gently turns her Lucy face towards her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, its just that…are you leaving me?"
"No Luce, I'm never going to leave you. I might not always be with you, but I won't leave you. And mom said that they're going to build an apartment over the garage, for Wilson and I. I 'm not going anywhere, don't worry. But even if I were, even if I were across the country, it wouldn't change anything. You'll always be my sister, my right hand girl." Lucy smiles, and lets out a nervous laugh. "Lucy, we'll always have a special relationship. You and me share something Wilson and I never will, we're sisters. And beyond sisters, you're my best friends. Nothing is ever going to change that, not marriage, not kids, nothing."
"I know. It's just going to be weird. You won't be one of us anymore, you'll be his."
"What?"
"You won't be a Camden anymore."
Mary rolls her eyes. "I'll always be a Camden. I won't even have a chance to turn un-Camden like, I'm going to be over the garage, whenever that is ready."
"Where are you two- three- going to live until then?"
"I don't know."
"Oh. Are you going on a honeymoon?"
"Not quite, hotel room in Glenoak."
"How romantic!" Lucy says sarcastically.
"It doesn't matter. The only thing I want is him. I don't have to go somewhere exotic to have him, I can have him here in Glenoak, and for a lot less money, too." Mary smiles, and attempts to break the tension. "So, will you be my maid of honor?"
"It would be my pleasure." They sit for a couple of seconds in silence. "So you're really going to do this? You're getting married this afternoon?"
"Yeah." She says smiling with enthusiasm.
****
About and hour later, Mary is standing in the kitchen, with her sisters and mother. She is wearing her mother's wedding dress, and Lucy is fixing her make-up. They complete the finishing touches, and Mary begins to pace back and forth. Her hands are clasped together, and slightly quivering due to her nervousness.
"Sit down, you're going to wear a hole in the floor," Lucy jokes.
"I can't sit down. I'm too nervous to sit still."
"Mom said she was the same way when she married dad." Ruthie comments.
Mary continues to pace back and forth, back and forth. Lucy suddenly jumps in front of her. "Stop, you're driving me nuts!"
"Ok, ok, ok!" she screams, turning the other way.
With that, Matt walks inside from the backyard. "You look beautiful." He says, looking at Mary.
She smiles. "I just hope Wilson thinks so."
"He will, don't worry." He walks over to Mary and takes her hands. "It's time."
Lucy and Ruthie run outside, giggly, and disappear through the door. Mary and Matt walk to the door. She waits until she hears her mother playing the wedding march on the piano, wrong notes and all, and steps outside.
Wilson and Mary's eyes meet from a distance, and they fall in love all over again. As she paces her steps towards Wilson, she is no longer nervous.
I love him, and he loves me. He's going to take good care of me, and I'm going to take care of him and Billy. We will be perfect together, we already are. There's nothing to worry about. It will all work out in the end, because we were meant to be together. This is right.
***THE END***
This is the end of this series. I am done with this, but knowing me I'll go back and write a little something about after they are married. I really want to break away from this plot though, and start something new. I realize the wedding, the whole concept of Annie and Eric agreeing to it, as well as it happening that afternoon is absurd, but that's why it's FICTION. I didn't go into detail on the wedding because I always find weddings to be extremely boring, whether it be to read or watch on T.V.. Anyways, if anybody actually finishes the story, I hope you liked it. If you didn't feel free to review and tell me how I could have improved it. Look for a new story from me, hopefully sometime this week, (week of Nov. 3) because I only go to school Wednesday.