Note: More wedding bells. : ) Tying the knot doesn't always go smoothly … take a guess which bumps got taken from real life (read: one of our weddings)! The song Tanya sings was written by Cole Porter, for the 1956 Bing Crosby movie "High Society". The vows Kat and Jason recite are adapted from original (anonymous) vows found at ultimatewedding.com. Enjoy, and as usual, please don't forget to leave a little something in the feedback box? DB/CR
Seasons To Remember
Chapter 16: A Memorable Day
"Mom, was your and Dad's wedding at least everything you dreamed of?" Lynne wanted to know next.
"Oh, definitely," Kat smiled. "After taking part in three ceremonies already, attending two of them as a bridesmaid, I was more than ready. After all, we'd started making plans ever since we set the date at your wedding, Tom."
In order, it had been the DeSantos, Park and Oliver nuptials – each of them beautiful and unique in their own ways. But none could compare, in Kat's mind, to the day when she and Jason had become husband and wife at last.
"So everything went fine?"
"Uh, not quite. The ceremony itself was just beautiful, but so many tiny things before and after went wrong – from the weather turning suddenly drizzly to having unexpected – and uninvited! – guests at the reception which made the whole seating order obsolete, three place settings missing despite place cards, a way too small amount of dessert on the buffet table … my mother nearly went crazy. She was such a perfectionist, and it bothered her a great deal that there were so many things spoiling the day – in her opinion, anyway."
"Remember how long the photographer took?" Tommy chuckled. "The old folks were dying for some coffee, but didn't want to sit down for refreshments without the bride and groom."
"Yes, and there was nothing we could do about it – not before we had all the formal pictures taken, anyway."
"Oh no, that must've been awful," Trini commiserated. "Mom and Mama Sarah organized everything so beautifully for Ramon and me!"
"Except when you tore the hem of your gown because you absolutely had to answer the downstairs phone while getting dressed," her brother reminded her dryly. "Not that we didn't have the answering machine on all morning … good thing Mom had her sewing machine at hand, or you'd have trailed more of your train down the aisle than you'd planned!"
Trini blew him a raspberry. "Like Lynne was any better?"
Jay looked questioningly at his wife, who blushed laughingly. "Well … if Grandma Helen hadn't come to my rescue, I just might have married you wearing black pantyhose," she admitted. "I was so fidgety with excitement, I ruined my special pair of white silk stockings and every neutral-colored hose I owned. Gran was an absolute angel and drove to the store to buy replacements."
"Hoydens, the both of you," Kat chided the younger women with a smile. "You can't imagine how glad Kim and I were to get rid of you and let your husbands handle you."
"Right – that's why you two cried whole rivers at both weddings," Tommy chuckled.
Quick as lightning, Kat stuck out her tongue at him, hoping her children hadn't seen. No such luck, though, and she reddened slightly. To divert everyone's attention, she got back to the original topic – glitches during her and Jason's wedding.
"To tell the truth, Jason and I couldn't have cared less about what outward detail went wrong. The important thing was that we finally were getting married." She paused to nibble on a cookie. "Although … there was one thing which could have totally ruined the ceremony, despite all the planning and preparations."
"Oh? What was that? You never mentioned anything of the sort – not that I recall, anyway," Tommy amended with a sheepish grin. "Did you?"
"Don't tell me you've forgotten Emma Price," Kat pouted. "That woman was almost enough to make me call off the wedding at the last moment just to get rid of her!"
"Good Lord, yes," Tommy groaned. "What a pest!"
"Emma Price?" Jasmine frowned. "Wasn't that Mom's first agent? What was she doing at your wedding, anyway, and how did she ruin it?"
"Her name should have been Nosy Parker," Tommy said.
"She just showed up along with Tanya," Kat shrugged. After 39 years, the memory was funny rather than annoying. "By the time we got to the church, she'd managed to get on everybody's nerves – especially my mother's. The only good thing about her presence was … wait, let me start at the beginning. Jason and I had decided to have a rather traditional wedding – mostly to please my parents, but also because after Rocky and Sarah's fiesta, the Buddhist-cum-African ceremony Tanya and Adam had and the outdoor wedding in the park, we kind of had run out of ideas." She suddenly grinned impishly, her slightly lined face transforming into that of a woman half her age. "I did suggest to Jason once that he might draw upon his family's Scottish heritage and wear a kilt, but he wasn't really happy with the concept."
"I'm not surprised. I wouldn't like wearing a skirt in public, either," Ramon muttered.
"It's not too bad," Jared commented. He'd performed a Highland Fling in full Scottish costume as one of his show routines a few years ago. "Once you get over the weirdness, that is."
"Wearing a skirt isn't weird," Rachel protested.
"It is too when you're a guy."
"It's an attractive outfit," Kat declared, cutting off the pleasant bickering. "Jason had a picture taken of himself in full Clan regalia once when he visited Scotland, and he looked very, very handsome wearing it. I've often wondered why Jason was so adamantly against my idea," she mused innocently. "He never said."
"Now that I do remember," Tommy snorted, chocolate eyes full of mirth. "Jase had no problems with a kilt per se – what he objected to was your suggestion that he wear it regimental style."
Lynne gasped, Oliver laughed out loud and Jared nearly choked over his coffee cup. All three then looked at their mother with a mixture of surprise, incredulity and laughing respect. Kat glanced back, her expression guileless, but with a wicked gleam lurking at the back of her eyes.
"Oh man, I would have liked to see Dad's face when you suggested that," Oliver snickered.
"No wonder he said no," his younger brother grinned. "But way to go, Mom!"
"Jared!" Lynne exclaimed, slightly shocked. "What a thing to say! Mom, you didn't – not really, did you?"
"Actually, yes," Kat confessed.
"Whoa, back up here," Ramon interrupted. "There's people here who have no clue about kilts and stuff. Somebody care to enlighten us?"
"Yes, what does 'regimental style' mean?" Trini wondered.
"Aren't kilts worn as uniforms by some of the British traditional regiments?" Rachel asked. "Like the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, for example. Maybe that's where the reference comes from."
"Not really," Oliver grinned. "But it does have to do with military tradition …" He let his voice trail off suggestively.
His wife whapped him. "Stop beating around the bush already, all three of you!"
"Yeah, tell us already," Jay chimed in, now fully curious – especially as Lynne seemed rather mortified, even if one corner of her mouth quivered in a tiny, reluctant grin.
She just shook her head. "Don't look at me. It's too embarrassing."
Both his brothers-in-law were laughing too hard to be coherent, and Kat just sipped her coffee, looking perfectly serene.
"Dad?" Jay pleaded, nigh dying of curiosity now. "What is 'regimental style'?"
Tommy had a hard time keeping a straight face. "Are you familiar with the expression 'commando style'?" All assembled shook their heads; not surprisingly, perhaps, as none of them had ever served in the armed forces. Jasmine's older brother Sloan would have known – he was in the Navy – but Sly wasn't here to help. Thus it fell to Tommy himself to give the sought explanation, with his voice trembling only slightly.
"Commando and regimental style mean basically the same thing. As Rachel mentioned, there are quite a number of regiments in the British Army which still wear a kilt as part of their dress uniforms. It is said that up until World War II, during inspection, the soldiers had to march over a mirror so that the officers could check if they were wearing the correct underwear."
"Which was …?" Trini asked, holding her breath. Surely it couldn't be …
It was.
"Nothing," Tommy said blandly. "Wearing a kilt regimental style means-"
"Going bare-assed naked underneath," Ramon hooted after a second of startled disbelief. "Oh man, no wonder Uncle Jason refused!"
Both Rachel and Jasmine broke into delighted giggles, looking at Kat with surprised awe. Seemed the lady had a decidedly wicked side! That was an aspect they hadn't known of the usually demure dancer, the epitome of class. But it was something they found they liked – a lot!
Rachel got up, still laughing, and hugged her mother-in-law. " I don't remember Uncle Jason as well as I'd like – I was too young when he died – but from the pictures I've seen, he was quite the hunk," she murmured. "For once I have to agree with Jared. Way to go, Mom!"
"Thank you, pet," Kat smiled back. "My thoughts exactly." She didn't mind admitting, even to her children, that she'd felt not only love for her husband, but also a healthy dose of purely physical attraction.
Her cheeks flaming – she did not want to think of her parents that way, no sirree! – Lynne cleared her throat.
"Guys, we're getting totally off the subject here," she said. "Mom was telling us about a major glitch at her wedding, weren't you?" Her blue eyes begged Kat not to pursue this further, and Kat willingly obliged. Those memories were too bittersweet anyway, and were best indulged in private.
"Yes, I was, sweetie. As I said, Jason and I had opted for a traditional ceremony, with more modern hymns and special music for the processional. We had asked an old school chum to play the organ for us, and Tanya had promised me a song when we exchanged rings …"
~*~
On the morning of her wedding day, Kat awoke in her parents' house, took one sleepy look out of the window and moaned in dismay. The weather had been changeable all week, and it seemed as if today, of all days, promised to be overcast at the least.
"I just hope it won't rain," she murmured, drawing her blanket over her head for just five more minutes. They were over too soon, though, and with a sigh Kat got up, had a light meal and then went back upstairs to take a long, leisurely bath until her attendants arrived. The warm water and some scented bath oil managed to relax her, and she was feeling cheerfully excited by the time she started getting dressed. Clad in lacy underwear and a silk kimono, Kat applied her own makeup, then greeted Kim, Aisha and Tanya with a genuine smile when they arrived.
However, there was a startled pause when a large woman in her mid-forties, with flaming red hair and dressed very flamboyantly in bright purple, breezed past Tanya and descended on Kat, shaking her hand heartily.
"So you're the bride, dearie? My, you're a tall one, aren't you? And so pale … be sure to use lots of rouge, or people will think you're consumptive. I just hope your dress'll be long enough – nothing worse than ankles showing, I always say. Is that your groom? Ooh, a real hunk!" She picked up, then carelessly dropped the picture of Jason Kat kept on her nightstand on the bed and made a circuit round the room, looking at and touching everything. "Pretty flowers. Pink is SO dated though, darling – especially for blondes. Oh well, your choice. Tanya, honey, get out of that draft! You want to sing later, you keep your throat covered! You gals look nice. Well, I'm off. Need to check the church. And the music. Buh-bye!" With a flutter of chiffon, she disappeared, her rather strident voice floating back towards the friends as she called for someone to drive her to Trinity Church – RIGHT NOW!
The four younger women had watched her silently – not that they could've gotten a word in edgewise through her disjointed, inconsequential chatter – exchanged bemused glances when she sailed downstairs, then broke out in giggles. "Who the heck was that?" Kim wanted to know.
Tanya looked slightly guilty. "Her name's Emma Price – she's my agent. Kat, I'm terribly sorry to do this to you at the last minute, and without warning, too, but when she heard I was planning to sing at church, she absolutely insisted on coming along. Honestly, she's a pain, rather loud and can be obnoxious, but she's a real whiz in the business and I need her, so …"
"It's okay, Tanya," Kat reassured her best friend. "One person more won't make a big difference, and I'd rather have you here with her than not at all!"
"Thanks," Tanya replied, relieved.
"I just hope that Skull can do an adequate job today," the bride worried . "I don't want him to ruin your song …."
"Don't worry, Kat," Tanya soothed. "I talked to him by phone a couple of times, and he knows what I need. I'm sure everything will work out. Trust me?"
"Why is it always making me nervous when someone tells me that?"
"Maybe because it usually means something is gonna get really wrong?" Aisha ventured, only to be glared at half-seriously by Katherine.
"Oh, now that's comforting!"
"Sorry," Aisha murmured, sounding not at all contrite.
They were distracted by the arrival of the hairdresser. While the woman went to work on Kat's long tresses with comb, hairpins and curling iron, the three friends slipped into their own gowns. In accordance with Kat's color scheme, they wore salmon pink – tea-length halter-top petticoat dresses in matte satin, with a sheer mantle-like, long-sleeved overdress in a slightly lighter shade. The style was vaguely reminiscent of the 1950s, and very becoming. Their nosegays were made of cream-white roses with salmon-pink ribbons.
Kat's hair was done at last – the blonde locks curled and pinned in a loose chignon at the back of her head. She put her mother's antique diamond studs into her earlobes, then fastened a thin platinum chain around her neck. The iridescent blue opal pendant had been Jason's last birthday present to her, and matched her eyes to perfection.
"Old and borrowed, new and blue," she smiled. "All in two!"
Next Kat put on her dress – a deceptively plain, strapless silk A-line gown which just brushed the floor in a hinted-at train. The only 'decoration' was the wavy décolleté. Over that came a long-sleeved lace camisole with understated silver embroidery. Tanya volunteered to fasten the long row of pearl buttons in the back. Kim and Aisha interestedly watched her struggle with the tight buttonholes when suddenly, the irrepressible Aisha snickered.
"Girl, Jason will die of frustration tonight until he's peeled you out of that thing! Couldn't you have found a way to torture him a little less slowly?"
Kat blushed promptly.
Kimberly giggled naughtily. "Don't worry, Ish; if all else fails, he's strong enough to simply rip it apart."
"Now that would certainly make for a wedding night to remember," Tanya commented, struggling to keep a straight face. "Somehow, though, I can't picture Jason to be so … well, rough. He has too much control and self-discipline."
The bride's blush deepened, and involuntarily a mysterious little smile was playing around her mouth. During their long engagement, there had been enough times when Jason had shown her exactly how passionate he could be. Naturally, Aisha noticed.
"Oh, oh, look at our innocent little kitty! Methinks the lady has been keeping secrets!" she chuckled with a sly grin, wagging her finger.
Kim and Tanya seemed startled for a second, then Kimberly smiled slowly, knowingly. "Well, well, well!"
"Kat? I know you and Jason haven't waited until today, but … you haven't done anything, um, outrageous, have you?" Tanya asked, sounding slightly scandalized.
Katherine couldn't help it, she pressed her hands against her flaming cheeks. With a cautionary glance towards the hairdresser, who was doing her best to appear unobtrusive (and failing miserably), she lowered her lids in a deliberately suggestive fashion that told her friends a great deal.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she muttered softly.
Impulsively, Aisha hugged her. "You bet we do, girl!" she hissed into Kat's ear. "And the next time we're having a girls' night out, you're gonna tell us!"
"Maybe," Kat smiled noncommittally, regaining control of herself. Good thing they can't see what thinking of Jason ripping my dress off is doing to me! Out loud, though, she only said, "Shouldn't we get ready?"
"Sure," the three acquiesced, reluctantly curbing their rampant curiosity. Fascinated, they watched as Kat's veil was pinned to her coiffure – a floor-length cloud of tulle simply edged with a half-inch-wide strip of satin. It was fastened with an arrangement of silk blossoms that sat just atop her chignon at the back of her head.
"What's that green stuff?" Tanya wanted to know, eyeing the tiny leaves nestled among the white blooms with interest. They provided a lovely contrast to the silk and Kat's flaxen hair.
"Myrtle," Kat replied. "It's an old European custom to wear it on your wedding day – a traditional carryover from my mother's side of the family. Jason has some in his boutonniere, too."
Aisha grinned. As a veterinarian (and thanks to Ashala's teachings) she had acquired a good knowledge of herbal lore from all over the world. "It's also a fertility herb," she said innocently. "You do have plans for that groom of yours, it seems!"
The bride adopted a positively angelic look that fooled none of her attendants.
"Who, me?"
Laughing, Kim picked up Kat's bouquet – an exquisite cascade arrangement of trailing ribbons, white and salmon-pink roses – and handed it to the tall blonde. "Yes, you. Let's get you married – before I die of curiosity!"
~*~
Meanwhile, Jason was getting ready as well, under the ribald comments coming fast and furiously from Zack and Tommy while Billy watched with obvious amusement. All were wearing classic black tuxes with gleaming white shirtfronts, dark red bow ties and cummerbunds. Only Jason's accessories were an understated silvery-grey, so as not to clash with the boutonnière he had pinned to his lapel – a single pink rosebud matching Kat's bouquet.
"I just hope it's not going to rain," he echoed Kat's earlier worries. "The limo can't quite drive up to the church steps, and I don't want anything to spoil things for Kat!"
"Even if it does, there's this handy little invention called an umbrella," Billy murmured soothingly. "I've taken the liberty of renting a few extra large ones. They're in my car, and if there really should be some precipitation, we can easily shelter the ladies on their way to the portal."
"What, no mad dash down the aisle?" Zack mock-pouted. "Here I was, all ready to catch Isha … you're taking all the fun out of things, Bill!"
"You and Aisha had enough fun two days ago, from what I've heard," Tommy said dryly. "Kim wouldn't tell me exactly what the girls were up to for the bachelorette party, but that stripper you and Rocky found … " He shuddered melodramatically as the others laughed, Jason hardest of all. When the classic number had blared out from a boom box at the Youth Center, he'd been worried that this time, the two inveterate jokesters – namely, Rocky and Zack – had gone too far, but when he saw what they'd come up with he'd been as hugely amused as the rest of his friends. For the stripper in question had been a woman slightly past her prime, obviously overweight, who'd given a hilarious performance of seemingly losing her clothes by accident – stopping when she reached her underwear. He just hoped the videotape had come out right; it was too funny not to share with Kat eventually.
"Where is Rocky, anyway?" Billy asked. "Was there a special reason why he is not here with us? Given that you and he are business partners, I assumed you would have chosen him to be one of your groomsmen, too."
"I did ask him, but with Sarah so close to giving birth, he preferred to stay at her side. I can't blame him for that," Jason explained. "He's one of the ushers, though."
"Ah. A prudent – and presumably satisfactory – decision."
Jason hid a smile. Billy still had a tendency to use half a dozen big words instead of a couple smaller ones. Without Trini around to translate for him, they all had to expand their own vocabulary at last. Thinking of their gentle friend, dead these four years, brought a tiny, sad sigh to Jason's lips, but he was cheered again by his best friend's next remark.
"Did you know they're expecting twins this time?" Tommy grinned.
"No way," Zack exclaimed. "Really?"
"Uh huh," Jason nodded. "Typically DeSantos – has to have a whole bunch of kids."
"He's never heard of the planet's overpopulation then?" Billy smiled, pleased for Rocky and his wife's good fortune.
"Nah. And if he has, Rocky wouldn't care," Zack opined. "Besides, I can't really picture him with just the regulation 1.5 kids."
"How do you have half a kid, anyway?" Tommy wanted to know. "That's always puzzled me …"
They were interrupted by John Scott entering his son's room after a perfunctory knock. "It's almost time to leave, boys," he announced, looking at his only son with a somewhat peculiar expression … a mixture of pride, puzzlement, and wistfulness. The young men caught it and wisely decided to let the two men alone. There were some moments between father and son that needed privacy, even from best friends.
"I'll wait for you in my car, Bro," Tommy said quietly, giving Jason's black-clad shoulder a supporting squeeze in passing before closing the door behind himself. Jason hardly heard him, focussing his attention on his father instead.
John walked up to his broad-shouldered son and needlessly straightened Jason's bow tie. It was a gesture strangely unlike him – John was hardly the fussy type. But the need to reconnect in some fashion with the boy his mind sometimes still insisted on seeing wouldn't be denied, even though it was the man standing before him now. Then he took a step backwards and met Jason's patient, serious dark eyes.
"I hardly know what to say to you, son," he murmured. "It seems like it was only yesterday that I taught you how to play ball, or that I drove you to your very first karate class. And now here you are, a teacher, a businessman … about to get married. Where has my little boy gone?"
"He's still there, Dad," Jason replied softly, feeling unaccountably touched. His father was not a very sentimental man – quite the contrary. Usually, John was ebullient and not given to emotional displays. It meant the world to him that John would show him his love and support like this today. "I think he's just taking a time-out, waiting for the right time to return."
John smiled, recovering his poise. "Yes. And I'm pretty sure I know when that time will be."
"Oh?"
"Yes – the day you'll hold your own son for the very first time. I know, because it happened to me, too."
"Shouldn't that be the exact opposite?" Jason wondered. "I'd always thought that becoming a father means having reached adulthood at last … sort of like the last outward sign of having grown up."
"It is that, too – but how will you understand your children if you forget what it's like to be a child yourself?"
"Good point," the younger man conceded. Then he grinned sheepishly. "But Dad – I'm not even married yet, and you're talking about me having kids already; can't that wait? I'm nervous enough as it is."
"Why would you be nervous?" John asked. "You're not having doubts about Kat, or getting married, do you?"
"No – not about Kat or me," Jason replied instantly, quiet conviction ringing in his voice. "I love her, and I'm absolutely sure she's the one for me. Marrying her is … right. No, it's just ordinary stage fright, I guess."
"I see. Trust me, son – that'll disappear as soon as she'll be coming down the aisle towards you."
"Been there, done that, Dad?"
"You got it," John smiled, then drew his son into a brief hug. "Now come on, let's get you hitched. Tommy's waiting for you."
"Now there's a first," Jason grinned cheekily as he left his room.
~*~
Billy's umbrellas weren't needed after all, and Kat disappeared into the small room near the church portal, to shake out her dress, fix her makeup one last time and wait while the ushers seated their guests. Peeking carefully through the door, she could see Rocky guiding a very pregnant Sarah to a third-row pew while Adam was looking after an elderly aunt of Jason's. Soft organ music filled the nave – Skull was indeed playing the complicated instrument as well as any concert grand piano.
The blond head of Jeremy Scott, Jason's cousin, suddenly appeared next to her. Giving Kat a beseeching look, he pleaded to be let inside. "Help me, coz!"
Puzzled, she opened the door a little wider, letting him duck inside. "What's the matter, Jeremy? You look as if someone's after you."
"Right on," the younger man grinned. "It's that fat redhead who's been all but chasing me," he explained. "She keeps trying to corner me with talk about screen tests and stuff."
It wasn't that far-fetched a notion; Jeremy shared his older cousin's good looks, only his coloring was light where Jason was dark.
"Is she for real, or just a crackpot?" he complained, but with a small, pleased smile.
Tanya groaned in comic dismay. "She's real alright," she sighed. "Her name's Emma Price, and she's my agent. I'll have a word with her to leave you alone after the ceremony, okay?"
"Whew. Thanks, Mrs. Park," Jeremy smiled. "I think I can keep out of her way that long. Now I better go and see if Jase isn't wearing a hole in the altar steps! And don't worry, I won't breathe a word about how gorgeous you all look!" Before anyone could thank him for the compliment or ask what he meant, he had already let himself back out into the nave.
"That's so Jason," Kimberly giggled. "Pacing up a storm!"
"Isn't Tommy supposed to help him keep calm?" Aisha asked.
"Well, yes, but … knowing Tommy, he's likely almost as frazzled as Jason himself," Kim admitted. "After all, it's his Bro and his Ex getting married today!"
"Is Jason there yet?" Kat asked wistfully. She hadn't seen Jason since the rehearsal brunch yesterday, only talked briefly to him on the phone before going to sleep. "I want to know what he looks like – when I wouldn't let him see my gown, he refused to show me his suit, too!"
Tanya opened the door a crack. "Up at the altar, waiting as calmly as possible with Tommy," she reported presently. "And looking very dashing indeed. You two will make a gorgeous couple – as if you wanted to pose for a bridal magazine."
The organ music had slightly increased in volume as the last guests were being shown to their places. Mr. Hillard was already checking his watch, taking a first step towards the waiting room.
"I think your father is ready to come here, Kat," Aisha remarked. Then, she frowned. "What is that tune Skull is playing? It sounds familiar somehow …"
Tanya and Kim strained their ears for a second or two. To a casual listener, it seemed like an ordinary hymn, but both were trained singers; when they recognized the melody over the majestic chords, both snickered, and Tanya began to hum merrily.
"Going to the chapel, and I'm gonna getting married …"
"Good Lord, it's 'Chapel of Love', that old Fifties song," Kimberly gasped, her eyes dancing with humor – and chagrin. "I'm going to kill Skull – I just know I won't get the tune out of my head for hours!" Now that they'd become aware of it, they noticed that Skull was playing any and all songs with a wedding theme, only thinly disguised as hymns.
"How will we ever be able to concentrate on the service?" Aisha murmured. "The tunes are so catchy, I keep wanting to sing along …"
Just then, the melody changed to another, very familiar to Kat.
"Oh no, that's the cygnets' dance from Swan Lake," she wailed, involuntarily rising to her toes and doing a couple of tripping dance steps – floor-length gown, veil and all. "I performed that on stage so often, I can do the steps in my sleep! If he doesn't stop that, I'll be dancing down the aisle on my toes!"
"Now that I'd pay to see," Aisha chuckled. However, seeing that Kat couldn't quite share her amusement – indeed, the blue eyes were moistening suspiciously – she sobered quickly. "I'll tell him to stop," she offered.
"Th-thanks," Kat gulped. But before her friend could slip away, the door opened and the tall, distinguished figure of Robert Hillard filled the frame. He glanced with pride and concern at his daughter, more beautiful in her bridal finery than he'd ever seen her.
"It's time, kitten," he murmured. "Are you ready?"
Suddenly, all levity disappeared, and Kat managed to compose herself in an instant.
"Yes, Daddy," she replied softly but firmly.
Kim and Aisha gave Kat a last hug before lining up at the door where Billy and Zack were already waiting for them. Rocky quickly handed over his oldest daughter to Aisha; three-year-old Sophia looked adorable in her pink gown and was clutching her basket with rose petals in a death grip.
"Remember, Sweetie – don't start scattering the flowers before we get to the carpet," she cautioned. The tiny flower girl nodded solemnly; Sophia had driven her mother to distraction this past week, practising with Styrofoam chips in the living room.
Tanya placed the bouquet into Kat's hand, kissed her quickly on the cheek, then joined Adam. She suppressed a giggle when Skull managed to incorporate the opening theme from Star Trek into his play. Her husband gave her a curious look.
"What's so funny?" Adam whispered. It wasn't like Tanya to act silly on such an occasion.
"Don't you recognize the tune? 'To boldly go …' down the aisle," she snickered.
Adam started, grinned, but was prevented from commenting when on a cue from up front, the light-hearted music segued seamlessly into the more solemn processional, and the three couples walked sedately towards the altar, Sophia in the lead.
Robert offered his arm to Kat. "I love you, baby girl," he whispered when she placed a slender hand on his sleeve, but Kat didn't answer. All her attention was now directed forward, down the aisle where the man she loved beyond anything was waiting for her. She never noticed when or how she fell into step after measured step with her father, never heard the awed murmurs at her beautiful gown … she was drawn towards Jason's glowing dark eyes like to a magnet, and the world around her practically ceased to exist.
~*~
Oblivious to the music, Jason had been conversing quietly with Tommy while the ushers guided the last guests to their seats. As soon as Skull intoned the first bars of the Wedding March, though, he cut himself off in mid-sentence, straightened and turned towards the portal, waiting for his bride to appear. As his father had promised, now that the time was at hand all lingering nervousness fled. This is right.
Rocky waited until his daughter energetically dumped the last petals from her basket on the altar steps, then scooped his little girl up and with a last, encouraging wink at the groom, went to sit with Sarah. Jason smiled back, pleased at the lovely picture Aisha, Kim and Tanya made in their pink dresses, feeling his heartbeat speed up once they aligned themselves to one side of the altar. Then, with a subdued gasp, he froze, eyes wide in mute admiration.
Standing next to his best friend, Tommy could understand perfectly why. To him, Kimberly would always be the most beautiful bride, but he had to admit – Kat came a very close second. Her slender height was set off to perfection by her gown and long veil, she seemed to float on air as she gracefully walked down the aisle on her father's arm, and the soft blush tinting her cheeks made her look as beautiful as he'd ever seen her.
During the rehearsal, Jason had waited for Mr. Hillard to lead Kat up the two steps towards him, but now he couldn't help himself. Before his Best Man could stop him, he descended and reached for Kat. As if in a dream, she withdrew her hand from her father's arm and without hesitation placed it in Jason's palm.
He lifted her fingers to his lips and kissed them tenderly. "I love you," he whispered almost reverently.
"I love you," Kat replied just as softly, her gaze never leaving Jason's. For both of them this single moment in time sealed their union; all else was just a formality.
~*~
Only Kimberly's sentimental sniffle brought them back to reality, and hands still intertwined they ascended the altar steps once more to face the minister. Smiling benevolently, the elderly man who had known Jason since he was a little boy conducted the ceremony, giving the age-old words a special significance by the way he said them.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of God to join this man and woman in holy matrimony …"
The words spoken were short, familiar and yet deeply moving, especially when their rings were blessed to a few dulcet bars from the organ. Tanya then started to sing softly, her mellow voice gradually gaining power and volume until it filled the church.
"Suntanned, windblown …
Honeymooners at last alone.
Feeling far above par.
Oh, how lucky we are!
While I give to you
And you give to me,
True love, true love.
So on and on
It'll always be,
True love, true love.
For you and I
Have a guardian angel
On high, with nothin' to do.
But to give to you
And to give to me,
Love forever true."
She repeated the chorus once. Skull managed to make the song even more poignant by his subdued, expert accompaniment. When Tanya finished, the minister raised his hands for silence and addressed the couple in turn.
"Do you, Jason, take Katherine to be your wife?"
"I do."
"And do you, Katherine, take Jason to be your husband?"
"I do."
Their answers were given clearly and without hesitation.
"Jason and Katherine have decided to speak their own, private vows to each other." Reverend Carlsen nodded towards Jason, who swallowed once, then his voice rang out, low and sure.
"Today, Katherine, I join my life to yours, not merely as your husband, but as your friend, your lover, and your confidant. Let me be the shoulder you lean on, the rock on which you rest, the companion of your life. With you I will walk my path from this day forward."
He took the smaller gold band from the salver held out to him by Tommy and slipped it onto Kat's left hand.
Kat's lips were trembling in a gentle smile, but her own voice was just as steady when she replied in kind.
"Today, Jason, I join my life to yours. I pledge to be true to you, to respect you, and to grow with you through the years. No matter what we may encounter together, I vow here that this love will be my only love. I will make my home in your heart from this day forward."
She put the other ring onto Jason's hand, and they kissed, softly, almost chastely, but the deep, abiding love they felt for each other was apparent to all who witnessed the exchange.
Next, both knelt. The minister placed his hands on their heads and invoked a short blessing.
"This man and this woman are now husband and wife. Go forth from this day onward united forever in love and the peace of the Lord. Amen."
"Amen", chorused the wedding guests.
As both rose, the organ swelled up triumphantly, but any sentimentality the newlyweds might have felt was sublimated into wide, bright smiles when they recognized the melody Skull was adapting now. Barely disguised under the ringing chords was the theme to 'Star Wars'.
"Let the Force be with you," Zack tittered under his breath as he gallantly offered Aisha his arm and they followed Jason and Katherine towards the exit. "Good thing we're supposed to be smiling now, or I'd bust my gut laughing!"
"Hush," Aisha chided him, but she, too had a hard time keeping her mirth under control.
~*~
"It took me days to get rid of all the bits of birdseed the wedding party had been showering us with as we left Trinity," Kat chuckled. "We were just lucky that the weather held until we were at the hotel and sat down for dinner. Of course, what with Ms. Price as an unexpected addition, her dragging Skull along, the minister being accompanied by an Elder and someone bringing his grandmother, of all people, all our careful seating arrangements went out the window."
"But that was only five people; how difficult can it be to add a few extra plates to the table?" Oliver wanted to know.
"It's not if you have one big table," Kat agreed. "But we wanted something a little different and had asked the management to set up several round tables with ten places each," she explained.
"That must've looked nice," Trini commented.
"It did. Oh well, somehow we got it all sorted out; the food was excellent even though how anyone could think that one standard, family-size bowl of fruit salad would be enough for sixty people still has me baffled. Luckily, the cook managed to refill it in time."
"What about Mom's agent, though?" Jasmine wanted to know. "Did she make as much of a nuisance of herself at the reception as before?"
Tommy chuckled. "Some of the time, yes. Your mom was totally mortified, but there wasn't a blessed thing she could do about it. That woman was worse than a Megazord at full power once she got going!"
"The rest of the time, we were saved by Skull, of all people," Kat smiled. "Ms Price was so impressed with his talent, she kept hounding him every minute he didn't manage to hide. Not that I can blame her; he really did an excellent job during the ceremony, especially considering that he's not a trained organist."
"Skull looked scared to death of her, poor guy," Tommy laughingly remembered. "But as long as she was after him to fly with her to New York to audition for some producer, she at least wasn't criticizing the guests' clothes, the food, your mother's hairdo, the food, Helen's modest jewellery, the food …"
"She didn't like the food? Whyever not?" Jared wondered. He'd found one of the personal menus tucked behind his parents' wedding picture. "Consommé, smoked fish, cold salads, several meats and side dishes, served buffet style, followed by a dessert cart with everything from ice cream to a cheese selection – what did she think was wrong?"
"I honestly have no idea," Kat shrugged. "Every time I saw her, she had a heaped plate in her hand and was eating as if she were in danger of starving the next day."
"Figures," Jay muttered. "I hate folks like that!"
"Anyway, I guess Skull just got tired of protesting eventually, agreed to go with her, and the rest is now history," his mother smiled. "Meeting Emma Price was the best thing that could have happened to Skull. He got a recording contract, changed his name from Eugene Skullovich to Gene Lovich and has been quite successful ever since. If she hadn't met him on our wedding, and hadn't bullied him so much he was ready to agree to virtually anything just to get her off his back, who knows what he might be doing now."
"It sounds as if you and Dad had quite a day," Lynne smiled. "My wedding sounds pretty tame in comparison; the worst thing that happened was our flower girl overeating on cake and getting very sick all over her mother's dress."
"Just be thankful it wasn't more," Kat sighed. "Because we can thank your mother for the crowning glory to an already eventful day, Ramon."
Tommy's son-in-law frowned. "Huh? My mom? How so?"
"Oh Lord, yes," Tommy laughed. "Rocky's face was priceless!"
"Why, what happened?" Trini asked curiously.
"Remember that Rocky wasn't among Jason's groomsmen because Sarah was very, very pregnant with her twins?" Tommy grinned. "She was getting exhausted, her back hurt and she felt she couldn't sit any longer on the hotel's chairs. The dancing had just begun, and Rocky talked her into staying just long enough so he could have one dance with the bride."
"Sarah agreed, and even let Jason persuade her to make a very slow, token turn around the dance floor while Adam was getting Rocky's car from the parking lot," Kat took up the tale, eyes sparkling merrily. "We were just about done, saying our good-byes, when Sarah suddenly turned pale, gasped … and her water broke, right in the middle of the Marriott Hotel's ballroom."
"Oh no," Jasmine groaned in sympathy. "And I thought it happening to me in the garden was bad enough!"
"Sarah would have been in tears from embarrassment if she hadn't gone into labor so hard and fast. I think Rocky broke several landspeed records getting her to hospital," Kat explained. "As it was, we were all waiting to hear from him, and nobody left the reception until he called with the good news that all had gone well. Your sisters were born within the next three hours, Ramon, and trust me, none of you kids had more toasts given in their honor!"
"It's just like them to make such an overly dramatic entrance," Ramon grumbled. He had a very cordial relationship with all four of his older sisters, but would die rather than admit it to anyone.
"In any case, it made a memorable day even more so," Katherine smiled.
"As if we could ever forget. But it sure was an event that got retold at
each and every one of our anniversaries."
To Be Continued …