The First Wedding of 2027.
Marley woke the next morning to the sound of her mother knocking on the door of her bedroom. She answered and the door opened to admit Mrs Rose, carrying with her a tray on which breakfast awaited. Scrambled eggs on wholewheat toast and a glass of juice were exactly what Marley would have made for herself if the opportunity had arisen, but although she was grateful, she nonetheless scolded her mom for preparing it for her.
"It was no trouble on today of all days; it is the least that a mother can do on the day her daughter gets married. I am so pleased for you; Ryder is a good man, and exactly the sort of person that I would have chosen for you if I had been given the chance."
"He is kind of perfect, I guess," Marley replied. "He has a good job with prospects, is not the jealous type and is fully supportive of me and my career. Having said that, we have both decided that once we have enjoyed this summer, we are going to try for a baby. We both want a family, and with all of the money that I have saved from my salary as Mary, and will continue to save during my time as Maria, we will be in a position where I can stay home and raise them myself for a few years and not suffer."
"If that is what you both want, then I am more than happy for you to do just that. Now eat your breakfast before those eggs get cold. You have a busy day ahead after all, and once those girls get here, you will not have a minute to yourself…"
Mrs Rose left, and Marley realised that her mother was correct. The second that Jane and Kitty got there, she would not be left alone for a second, and there definitely wouldn't be an opportunity to relax and eat. She was also aware that despite what she had just said, her mom had her doubts about her plan to stay home and be a mother fulltime, but if she was being honest, such things were not set in stone. If she was offered a very good role, and the terms and conditions were excellent, then her future husband had already said that he had no issue with being a stay-at-home dad. The only thing that they were both absolutely certain of was that they would not allow their child to be raised by a nanny, not even if she was a real life Mary Poppins…
She had finished her breakfast and stepped into the shower when she heard the doorbell ring and then the sound of voices. Naturally, Kitty's voice was much louder than Jane's. She did not hasten to join them and her mother, enjoying her shower and the fact that she had privacy for a brief period. Eventually, having dried herself off and put on her robe, she headed out to join the others. The moment that she stepped into the room, she found that she was the focus of all of the eyes in there.
"Okay, so you have already done the first thing on my checklist," said Kitty, in full chief bridesmaid mode. As Jane rolled her eyes behind her, she continued, "By my estimate, you have fifteen minutes to sit down and relax before they arrive…" Marley looked at her friend quizzically, as Jane shrugged her shoulders to show that she had no idea what Kitty was talking about. "I asked Artie to contact one of the hairstylists that he worked with on the Harry Potter movie, and she will be here to style you and the mother of the bride as well in just under quarter of an hour. I have also arranged for someone to come and do your nails and make-up. Consider it my treat for you on this your big day."
"I don't really know what to say to all of that!" responded a slightly shocked Marley.
"No thanks required! You just need to relax and enjoy the pampering," replied her friend. Then, as Kitty headed to set everything that was needed up in Marley's bedroom, Mrs Rose headed to the bathroom to wash her hair in preparation for the hairdresser's arrival. That left Marley on her own with Jane. "She means well," the other bridesmaid said. "I know that you wanted to keep things as simple as possible, but well, you also want to look a million dollars on your wedding day…"
Marley nodded, and thus when the stylist arrived on schedule, she willingly placed herself in their expert hands. The bigger shock came when the person came to do her nails and make-up. Kitty had managed to secure the services of Pam Anderson, who was now the go to person for the great and good after styling two duchesses. That fact meant even more to Mrs Rose, given that Pam also gave her a full treatment. To say that she had been made-up by the woman that had performed the same service to two future Queens a few weeks before was a great honour.
Across town, the groom had no such worries. He had taken the time to go for a trim at his preferred barber the previous day, his short and easy to maintain style needing no further attention. Mason had insisted that he take a bath, a luxury that he really enjoyed given that he and Marley had no tub in their apartment. That was one of the reasons why he was intending to suggest a home move to her once they were married; a child was easier to bathe in a tub than to try and shower. He luxuriated in the warm water, to which have been added a pleasantly masculine smelling bath oil, which left him feeling relaxed and smelling of pine.
His suit had been professionally cleaned and pressed and hung on the rack in a garment bag, ready to be put on just before they left for the church. He had also taken time to speak to his parents, who had enjoyed a comfortable night in their hotel in town and had arranged to meet them at the church. He knew that the moment he got there, his mother would fuss over his appearance and check his tie. Normally, that would have annoyed him, but he was just too happy that day to allow such things to bother him. He was finally going to be a husband and for that he was capable of enduring anything.
It was only as he was getting into his suit that there came a knock at the door, and the wedding party was finally complete. The person in question had been delayed on route but that was forgiven now he had arrived. The day would not have been the same after all without the presence of Ryder's one time rival for Marley's affections, Jake….
It had been a long time since Jake had been in New York; indeed, the last time he had been in the city had been for Mike and Tina's wedding. Since then, he had been much too busy with work to be able to take a vacation trip to the city to meet up with his old friends, although he had not neglected to stay in touch online. The fact of the matter was that he had needed to work hard to rebuild his career after the accident that he had suffered in the aftermath of the great L.A. earthquake, which had left his ankle in a perilous state. That event still haunted his dreams at times, nightmarish visions filled with falling debris, raging fires and landslides.
In Chicago he had been able to find the perfect balance in both his career and his private life. In the Windy City he had made for himself a niche, starting of by enrolling at Columbia College. The Dean of the school was a personal friend of Carmen Tibideaux, and had also known two of the people that had been teaching him in L.A. His name had come up in conversations that they had had before the west coast city had been wiped from the map in a matter of minutes, and as a result of that and a word from the NYADA Dean, he had been accepted into the school on the spot.
He had proceeded to flourish there, his injury put behind him, and had graduated at the top of his class. Unlike Mike, he had decided that he wanted to have a career in contemporary dance and after a short search, he had found a spot open at the Ruth Page Center in one of the resident dance companies. As well as performing with them, he also taught, and he had been highly successful in bringing other young men from a background similar to his own into the classes on offer. He taught them the contemporary styles, but he was just as happy when he was teaching a room full of seniors in the art of ballroom. Saying that, the age of the average participant there was not as old as it once was, largely due to the effects of Dancing with the Stars.
If career satisfaction was not enough, he had also managed to find love in the workplace, when he met one of the administrative staff for the first time. She was older than him, but the attraction was mutual, and neither of them saw the age difference as a problem. The fact that she had two children of her own of elementary school age might have been, but the kids took to him as well. In general, he was happy with his lot. However, there was a management role coming up within the center, and he had been asked to apply. He was keen, but the whole process had begun to worry him…
There would be time for him to have a proper catch up with everyone after the wedding, and he was intending to stay in the city for a few days to ensure that that could take place in more relaxed surroundings. He also wanted to have a talk with Mike, as a fellow dancer, and to see how his move from performer to director of the City Ballet had gone. The Christmas show at the Ballet that year had been left to Mike to organise and the first show that he had directed solo had been rapturously received by both the audiences and the critics. Mike, however, had shunned the limelight as usual and stated that all of the credit had to be taken by the cast and crew that had come together to make his whole concept work. If Jake wants to take on a management role, then he needed to be able to make the same things happen in Chicago and he hoped that Mike might be able to give him some pointers.
All of that was for later; for now it was time to congratulate Ryder on his wedding day. "It must have been hard organising a wedding around the needs of Broadway," he remarked, and Ryder had just laughed at his words.
"It isn't ideal I admit; January is hardly the prime month for weddings, although financially that will have its rewards. Our honeymoon will be short, but warm, which will make it even better at this time of year. I have no complaints really; Marley's career is the most important thing to me right now and I am sure that she will delight the audiences as Maria just as much as she did when she was Mary. Her new understudy is also in place and in all honesty, she is a vast improvement on the previous one."
Jake chuckled and replied, "Yeah, I heard all about the previous one. She certainly could not have got away with portraying a novice nun. I can just picture it now; her standing there in the full bloom of pregnancy. That would have been the kind of problem that the nuns could not solve simply by singing…"
Back across town, Marley found herself alone in her bedroom, looking in the mirror. Her hair was styled in flowing waves, so different from the style that she had been sporting as the practically perfect nanny for so long. Her nails had been filed, buffed and given a coat of clear varnish, which made them shine; coloured nails were not her thing and never really had been. She had said as much to Pam before she had started on her make-up and she had concurred. "You have a natural beauty that does not need great enhancements, much like the Duchess of Cambridge. A little gloss to enhance your already nicely coloured lips. A spot of blusher on your cheeks so that they are not left bright red from the cold outside. A light touch of mascara to finish off and well, I think that you will look every inch the Princess yourself."
Pam had said everything with so much conviction that Marley had decided that she would just sit back and allow her to do whatever she thought would work best. Looking at herself in the mirror now, she had to admit that Pam had been right. She looked younger, radiant and unspoilt. Her mother had also suited the make-up that Pam had done on her and looked fabulous. Checking the clock, she realised that it was almost time to get into her dress and prepare to head to the church…
By the time that she was making her way carefully over the sidewalk to the waiting town car, her future husband, his best man and the two other groomsmen, Alistair and Spencer, were at the church, along with the majority of the guests. Ryder's mother had almost keeled over in shock when she discovered that the photographer that had taken her picture, alongside her husband and son was from Vogue, and for her then to be in front of Isabelle Wright, being asked where she had obtained her outfit was quite a coup.
She was immensely grateful she had taken the advice of a friend that had informed her that vintage outfits were all the rage this season, and the wool twinset that had once been her mother's was in excellent condition and fitted her perfectly. It had been an expensive purchase for the lady back in the day, tailored and made to order, by a young designer that had gone on to work for one of the major fashion houses. Mrs Lynn had taken her seat in the church with a smile on her face, aware that her photograph would at least appear on the Vogue website, and that would impress all of her friends no end.
Ryder what's kept busy increasing all of the guests, who had been instructed not to choose a side by whether they were friends or family of the bride or groom, but to mingle freely. He welcomed the Schuesters warmly, two people that were known to them all, but were rarely seen outside of Ohio. Their work commitments and the triplets, who would become teenagers in just a few weeks, kept them fully occupied. Emma's parents had been able to take care of them for once and so she and Will had taken advantage. As well as being able to attend the wedding, they had been in the audience for the final performance of Mary Poppins the previous day, unbeknownst to Marley.
Of course not everyone could be there; Puck could not get leave from the Air Force and Quinn had decided not to come alone. She had however sent a beautiful gift instead. Joe and Sugar would also be absent that day, the Motta family still angry about their relationship; given the high profile of the event, they had reluctantly decided that it was best for all concerned if they stayed away.
Cooper and Grace found themselves joined in their pew by Nick, Jeff and little Wes and that was something that the Broadway actor had not been looking forward to. Jeff had not spoken to him since Christmas and part of him was certain that was down to the fact that Caleb, entrusted to his care, add needed to have emergency surgery on Christmas Day itself. With that in mind, the first thing he enquired about when they sat down what's the health of the cat.
"Oh, he is much better and although I did not say this at the time, I am grateful that you took action the moment that you realised he was ill," reply Jeff.
"So you're not mad with me over it all?"
"Far from it. There was nothing that anyone could have done to have stopped it. On another note, how long is it now until we all get to hear your German accent as you portray the Captain?"
"We have our opening night scheduled for the end of March, so that we can still catch a nomination for the Tony Awards this season. It should be spectacular and hopefully a glowing tribute to all those that first brought it to the stage, as well as all those that starred in the film version. You will all need to hear Marley on the guitar as well; for someone that couldn't even play one three months ago, she is now virtually a virtuoso. The only thing about the show I am not looking forward to is meeting the youngest of the actors playing the Von Trapp children. it was bad enough at times with two in Mary Poppins, but now there will be so many more!"
"I can imagine that it would be! I was roped in to help out with a kindergarten nativity play whilst we were living in London," replied Jeff, shuddering at the memory of so many precocious children and worse, their parents. "And that was just behind the scenes, not actually being on stage and starring with them…"
Jeff had to end the conversation there as word spread around the church that the bride had arrived. As silence fell, Ryder took a deep breath, knowing that in a few moments he would finally see Marley in the dress that she had talked about for weeks. It would of course be beautiful, but to him it would be nowhere near as attractive as the young woman wearing it. He had told her that she could arrive at the church in sackcloth and would still be the only woman in the building worth looking at. As the organ began to play the old familiar Wedding March, his best man whispered in his ear.
"First of all, please remember to breathe for me and secondly, I have to admit that your bride looks stunning…"
Ryder took a big breath, realising that he had indeed been holding it and then he saw in his peripheral vision a site that was worthy of a Hollywood star, something that would deserve to be featured by Isabelle on the front cover of her magazine. Marley's dress was magnificent, tiny pearls stitched into the bodice of a traditional dress, inspired by the designs that had been popular prior to the First World War. Arriving at his side, she lifted her veil and Ryder smiled widely at her flawless appearance.
"You look like an angel," he whispered, making the smile that was already on the face of his bride to be even wider. Then the celebrant was there and seeing the first words of the wedding service let all in the congregation had heard before…
The ceremony was extremely traditional, which was exactly what both bride and groom had wanted. They had kept what some saw as old fashioned vows, the words that had been uttered for generations, those promises to love and honour, although Kitty was relieved to hear that Marley had not chosen to obey… There were no gimmicks, which heartened all of the congregation; there had been online speculation that the bride would walk down the aisle to meet her future husband to the orchestral version of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? from the film version of The Sound of Music, to promote her next stage role. What was true, not that Marley would ever say, was that there had been a suggestion in the production offices that she should have that music played, but she had told them in no uncertain terms that she would quit the show before that happened…
The moment that they were declared husband and wife was one for celebration and a little applause rang out as it happened. The couple then sealed their new bond with the traditional kiss. Certificates were signed and the newlyweds emerged from the church to the sound of bells, the four in the tower of the gothic building ringing out loudly. Marley had also point blank rejected the suggestion that they used a recording of the bells heard in the feature film at this point…
They paused from a few photographs before heading to their reception in a nearby hotel. That was also a simple affair, a buffet completed by a fine wedding cake which had been created by Nick as one half of Marley's request for a wedding present; the other half would come later, a drawing of the couple in their wedding outfits, which they would display in lieu of a photograph, by Jeff. He had been only too happy to accept the task and would work from the images that had been taken by photographer from Vogue.
The reception did not last well into the night unlike some. The bride and groom had an early flight to St Lucia the following morning and of course, most of the guests had another ceremony to attend the following day. The happy couple took time for a lengthy chat with Roderick and Hillary, apologising for the fact that they would not be present the following day, although neither of the other couple felt that that was necessary.
"We knew when we chose our date that you would be elsewhere and rightly so. You'll be back on the stage in no time, so you deserve the break," Roderick had said pointedly to Marley.
"I'm not going to disagree on that one; I do feel quite tired and well, I intend to just lie back on the beach and do nothing," replied Marley.
"I will see that she does just that," said Ryder. "I intend to wait on her hand and foot for the whole of the next seven days. Better still, I will have her to myself in the evenings for a few weeks when we get back as well. I couldn't do what she does. I do miss the days when she was in the radio orchestra sometimes; it was all so much easier back then."
"I miss the radio orchestra too," said his wife. "When I sang with them I was giving pleasure to thousands of people across the country every time that I performed."
"The new version of the orchestra and their current singers are not a patch on the way it used to be," sighed Hillary. "The networks here are so short sighted and driven by dollars, unlike the BBC; they have long forgotten the need for quality output. The BBC also has the benefit of longevity – don't they have a radio show that has been on the air for almost 80 years?"
At that precise moment, Adam had been passing the table that the two couples had been sitting at and he made them all laugh out loud by going "Dum De Dum De Dum De Dum, Dum De Dum De Dah Dah," aping the theme tune to the show in question, The Archers…
The following morning, Roderick had been awake for a couple of hours when Mason arrived at his front door. He let him in and the other man noted all of the packed boxes with a mix of pleasure and regret. Yes, his friend will be moving closer to him, but the day he moved out of his basement flat mark the severing of the link that the two of them had to the house upstairs, which had been Mason's first home in New York. Roderick was as calm as ever, the prospect of getting married in just a few hours not causing him to bat an eyelid; as he said to Mason, they had everything planned and if something went wrong, then it did. There was no point in worrying about any of it.
He had sent a message to Hillary first thing that morning and she had replied with a message that was full of joy and anticipation for what was coming later that day. Mason found that he had very little to do, unlike some groomsman did; he did not have to peel the groom out of his bed, wash and dress him, then desperately try to sober him up enough that they would be able to stand unaided whilst they waited on the bride to arrive. Roderick was not only sober, he was also washed and shaved, and only needed to get dressed to be ready for the big moment.
Thus they were able to sit and enjoy a chat together and have a bite to eat, noting that Marley and Ryder's flight was well on its way to the Caribbean island where they would spend their honeymoon, enjoying the warmth of the sun whilst lying on a beach. They both looked pointedly out of the window at the street, where the temperature was struggling to reach the high thirties. Then soon enough, it was time and Roderick went to dress. When he came back out of his bedroom, Mason made a quick adjustment to his tie, just for the sake of it, which made Roderick laugh. After that all they could do was wait for the cab to arrive which would convey them downtown to the old Chapel at NYU...