Chapter Twelve - As Long As You're Mine
A year after they'd made love for the first time, their own personal and secret anniversary, cascading branches of lavender wisteria bloomed once again. The flowers bloomed with a hint of the color that echoed Sharona's dress from that first special, perfect night. The branches flowered with the intimation of romance and mystery as they burst forth in the warm spring afternoon. Their long racemes of purple crept softly and relentlessly to scale rectory walls and earthquake-cracked stone arches. Their prolific blooms and leafy vines framed the church windows, softening the old architectural elements as they artfully hid sharp edges. White, fragrant wisteria twined on the arbors and the trellises of the garden, the scent was at once overwhelming and comforting. To Adrian, the fragile scent was Sharona; fresh, inviting, warm, womanly, and most of all delicate with some type of steel inside the vine.
She had been right, of course; in late April the garden next door to the respected St. Francis church was the perfect place to have a wedding. Next door, the Norman Gothic church stood proudly with its elegant twin campanile in bold relief against the bluest of skies. Adrian had read that the interior of Saint Francis Church had been decimated in the great earthquake of 1906. The mighty brick walls of the church, however, together with its badly scorched towers, remained entirely intact. After much consideration and careful study, the diocese decided to rebuild a new church within the original walls. Engineers drew up the plans to support the floor and roof with steel girders. In March 1919, the Catholic community of San Francisco rededicated the newly restored church. It was lovely and stately, although Adrian, not a Catholic, didn't feel entirely comfortable inside. Mostly because of his odd relationship with God, but partly because the cracks in the walls made him uneasy. They'd compromised, he'd said, "no religion," and she got a spot that was alive, blooming, and seemingly looked after by the almighty himself.
The sun was just winding down its ascent to midday. The late morning light filtered through the vines and warmed him wherever the rays touched. He stretched his neck side to side and straightened his jacket before moving off to look at the rest of the setting for his wedding day.
Inside the church, Sharona sat in the first pew; the soft, faded wash of the paint on the wood was warm and inviting. She'd waited so long for this day. So many years, her whole life, it seemed. She looked out the side door and over towards the garden next door. She could just make out the place on the makeshift altar where the Mayor would stand in about an hour and gave her thanks to God. The God whom, for so many years, she'd believed had abandoned her. She felt one small tear of joy trickle down her cheek and she swiped it with her natural impatience. The diamond solitaire on her hand sparkled in the midday light and pearls glistened in her ears and at her throat as they caught the fire of the noontime sun through the stained glass.
Outside, in his flower-sheltered solitude, Adrian wished with every fiber of his being that he could be one hundred percent sure that he was doing the right thing today, taking this chance, opening up to the possibility that he could lose her someday; but he'd learned that there were no guarantees and that nothing was one hundred percent. He loved her desperately and completely whether or not she was his wife, she was his whole world, and that love, with rings and a certificate or without, could make her a target for someone to take her from him, or for illness to claim her or an accident to seize her, either way, married or not, it would still be devastating to lose her. His life would most certainly end as well. That was the rationale his brilliant mind spun. Married or simply "together" it would feel the same to him to lose her, but marriage meant permanence, and this way he didn't have to chance losing Benjy too.
Life was fragile, and Sharona had taught him that you had to live it or watch it leave you behind. He'd wasted far too much time watching – it was time for him to rejoin the world of the living. Aside from which, the only thing he'd ever been one hundred percent certain of where his feelings for Sharona and for Benjy. He walked towards the gate that separated the church from the public garden in order to get to the rear door of the church. He was on his way to the small rectory where his bride was most likely impatiently waiting for him to come and get her. The scent of the wisteria and the other flowers followed him and drifted along the warm breeze.
The few invited guests were standing in the shade of an ancient oak tree when he passed. He raised his hand in a hesitant wave as he looked at all of them. Leland and Karen Stottlemeyer talking with Gail Fleming. Adam and Anita Kirk joined them. Monk felt no resentment towards the reinstated officer, his life was turning out better than he could have imagined and his own reinstatement, although it had happened a month previous, just wasn't as important to him as it once was and it might never be again. Scott Gregorio wandered over towards a group of people that included Dr. Kroger and his wife. Scott had begun seeing the psychiatrist on Adrian's advice, and apparently, he was getting over Erin Hammond's death, because he had a beautiful redhead with him today. Kroger seemed to work wonders for regular people, it took him a bit longer with someone like me, Adrian thought with benevolence. Dolly Flint appeared to be "reading" Randy Disher's skull in the last row of seats, and Adrian smirked when he thought back to Dolly's admission of being a fake and how she hadn't wanted Sharona to know.
In fact, he'd used Dolly's "gifts" to help him propose to Sharona. As always, Dolly had been open to a bribe and so he'd contacted her and paid her and primed her with harmless little secrets about the two of them, things no one else could have really known about. When Dolly had "run into" them while they were doing errands one afternoon, Sharona decided to make another appointment with Dolly, as Adrian had known she would. Sharona was a pretty smart woman, but she had a blind spot when it came to the supernatural and the psychic stuff, and she was predictable in some ways...unpredictable in others. He said he'd go with her and try to be open-minded. He had made sure to have Dolly ask the right personal questions to make it look authentic, and then the psychic predicted a very hard and very brilliant crystal conglomeration of carbon, time and pressure was in her very near future. Sharona looked quizzically at Dolly then and turned to Arian, who was already on one knee with a diamond winking and shining from its black velvet box. "Rocks for jocks," as geology 101 was often called, came back to Sharona in a flood… carbon, time, and pressure…equaled diamonds. Her eyes had shined as brilliantly as the stones set in platinum in front of her. His eyes asked the question before his lips could move. "Yes," she had whispered, "yes!"
Elderly Ruth Parlo and her granddaughter, Julie, were sitting in the shade of a primordial-looking eucalyptus tree. Julie had insisted on making their wedding cake as her gift, and it was beautiful, he'd had the opportunity to peek at it earlier with Benjy, both of them hoping not to get caught by Sharona, Cheryl, or Julie. Now, it sat safely in the refrigerator where the reception would be held. It was dairy-free, so Adrian could happily eat it. Julie had certainly turned out to be a better baker than she would have been a lawyer.
Mayor St. Claire was just coming in with his wife, Miranda. Monk still felt uncomfortable around her, but Sharona had insisted she be invited along with the Mayor who had agreed to officiate at their wedding. So many people from the cases they'd solved … everyone wanted to share their joy. As he passed, they smiled indulgently at him, but no one said a word to him, he was clearly concentrating on something…or someone they each thought to themselves, not without a little amazement, even after all of this time.
In the front row of the white wooden folding chairs, a television sat upon the end chair with a camera attached to the top. Benjy was fiddling with the equipment, and Adrian saw Ambrose appear on the screen briefly and then disappear… not because of Benjy, but because he'd left his living room momentarily. Then he was back, he saw Adrian staring and waved. Adrian lifted his hand again in a brief gesture and shook his head in amazement that a house-bound person could attend their wedding along with a future baseball legend, a fake psychic, and the Mayor of the city and that fourteen-year-old Benjy had the know-how to make it happen. Adrian shrugged and continued his journey.
The sight that greeted him when he arrived at the rectory was sheer pandemonium, not an unusual occurrence in his life now, but once upon a time, he would have been annoyed. Now he just looked in at the scene as a wide smile spread across his handsome face.
"Sharona! Calm down," his mother-in-law-to-be said from her place on the velvet-covered chaise.
"Mother, I will not calm down! I have to find that earring! Adrian gave them to me for our wedding!"
"If you'd stop whirling in circles, maybe you'd be able to see it a little better."
"Fine!" Sharona exclaimed and dropped down in a cloud of off-white silk and taffeta on the chaise next to her mother. Sharona was dressed in one of designer Monique L'Huillier's show-stopping gowns. The only reason Adrian knew this was because earlier in the year, they'd solved a case that involved the owner of a bridal salon. He'd gotten a crash course on designers and gowns and many more things he'd never really wanted, or needed, to know. Right now, however, he was glad he knew and he was even gladder that Sharona had gotten exactly what she wanted to wear today. The sumptuous off-white gown had a beaded lace bodice and was slashed at the waist with a ruched turquoise satin cummerbund. The color matched her eyes perfectly. The gown was handmade with imported fabric, hand-beaded lace, and exquisite embroidery. The result was feminine, sexy, and timeless. Adrian was enchanted as he watched her twirl around the room looking for her earring. Amazed by her, this creature is mine, he exulted to himself with a wide grin, he simply stood and watched for a moment.
Sharona and Cheryl sat in silence for a moment, as well, both pairs of eyes scanning the carpeted floor, unmindful of the man in the doorway watching them.
It was Adrian who spotted the missing pearl reflecting in the deep pile of the rug and went down on one knee to retrieve it from beneath the bench. It was from this position that he looked into his fiancée's eyes and said, "Are you ready?"
"Yes," she smiled back into his eyes, hers dancing with excitement and joy. She fastened her earring back through her earlobe, stood, and smoothed her already perfect dress. Adrian rose and held out his hand to his bride. Cheryl slipped out the door and left them alone.
"Ms. Fleming… are you ready to give up your name and your past for a future certain to be interesting, if not completely insane?"
"More than ready, Mr. Monk. Are you ready?"
"I'm ready. Really, really, you know…ready."
They walked down the aisle together, because they had already given themselves to each other, and there was no one they felt the need to ask permission from, except Benjy… who had given it many months ago and now stood beaming at them from the altar with the Mayor. He didn't need to give his mother away, but he did need to be the best man for his new father, and he smiled at them both as they approached him.
Benjy felt the noose of his tuxedo tie tighten, or maybe it was just emotion that threatened to choke him, but he had a father, and even if he was nearly fifteen, he didn't mind needing him, and wanting him, and admiring him and most of all loving him. When they'd first told him about their "new" relationship when he came out of the hospital last year, it was all he could do to control the whoop of joy that threatened to scare the entire neighborhood, he'd been so thrilled and to top it off, they gave him a lot of the credit. While he waited for them to arrive at the altar, he thought back to another day, one of the happiest days in his young life… Adrian watched Benjy's face as they approached him and had the same flash of memory.
Adrian sat down with Benjy six months after the accident and asked for his permission to ask Sharona to marry him. Benjy had actually cried. He would be embarrassed to admit it now, both Adrian and Benjy acknowledged to themselves in the present, but he had been so happy that his mother would be happy again, forever… and that they'd have a family – a real family…even though he'd kind of always thought of them that way anyhow.
Adrian had reached into his pocket then and brought out some papers. Benjy looked at them, and then looked up into Adrian's eyes, confused. He was pretty sure that permission for someone's hand in marriage didn't require a contract. At least not in fairy tales and sappy girl-movies.
"Benjy, this may not be what you want, so before I do anything about these papers, I wanted to ask your opinion. If you say 'no way,' that's fine; but I want you to know that this is what I want. When I marry your mother, I want to be your father. I know we have a great relationship, despite my … my difficulties and I know I don't play many sports, but I'm glad that you do. I know I'll be vastly different from… and I hope vastly better than Trevor or the fathers of your friends. I promise you that I will be a good father, and I will never take for granted that your mother has chosen to share her life and you, her most special gift, with me. Benjy, I'm asking you for your permission not only to marry your mother but to make a commitment to you as well. I want to adopt you, and give you my name just like I'm giving it to your mother."
Benjy was speechless. "What about my real dad?" he whispered with dread. "Won't he try to stop you?"
Adrian sighed, the boy was so perceptive but did he tell him the truth, or as Sharona was coaching him, tell the teen a creative white lie to protect him. He went for the latter. "Benjy, it was quite an argument, but we got his permission and his signature. Now, all we need is your okay." Adrian showed the papers with Trevor's signature to Benjy. The truth was when he'd tracked down Trevor with Stottlemeyer and Disher's help, Sharona's former husband had been drunk and would have signed anything. They waited until he'd sobered up enough and said yes. He obviously hadn't wanted Benjy to begin with; now the bastard could pretend that Benjy didn't exist. But Adrian wanted him. Wanted him as much as he wanted anything he'd ever sought to have for his own.
Benjy looked at him shyly, in lieu of an answer he asked, "Can…can I call you Dad?"
Adrian's heart stopped for a moment, he never thought he'd hear that title applied to himself. But before panic could set in, he smiled and said, "Of course. If that's what you want." Inside, that's what Adrian wanted; he waited with bated breath for Benjy's answer.
"It's what I want." Then he nearly knocked Adrian over with the force of his ferocious hug.
While Benjy and Adrian were each remembering, the younger, newly-minted Monk watched as his parents… he smiled at the thought…. his parents faced the Mayor, waiting as he intoned the traditional "We are gathered here today…"
The ceremony could have been completely traditional, the vows and the rings exchanged as had been preordained hundreds of years before, but the bride and groom felt that in exchange for their happiness, they should tell their witnesses exactly how they felt about one another, so they decided to write their own promises and vows.
Sharona smiled her incredible smile at him and began to speak. "Adrian, I wandered into your world with what I imagined were wide-open eyes. I had experienced a lot before I met you, but I hadn't really lived. You've taught me the meaning of integrity, of honesty, and kindness. You've shown me that people can be so different, and still be so much the same on the inside where it counts the most.
"Adrian, I want to be your partner and your best friend, and I want to be with you – always. I love you, Adrian. I love you morning, noon and night. I love you when you talk with Benjy because you really listen to him. I love you when you're cooking up a solution to a case or when you're quietly sleeping. I have never been happier in my life – I mean every single happy moment all put together haven't been able to equal the happiness I've had since the day I met you." Sharona bit her lip, as she was wont to do when a case of nerves or insecurity struck. She looked up after she was finished, unafraid, at last, to look into Adrian's eyes and see her feelings reciprocated.
Adrian stood quietly during the flood of words that Sharona spoke. His arms were wrapped loosely around her waist. They were so close he could see the pulse beating in the temple by her right eye – another sure sign she was very nervous. He smiled at her and lifted her chin with his left hand. "I wasn't sure what I wanted to say to you that could possibly convey everything I feel for you, about you, for Benjy, about us as a couple and us as a family. If this were a case I'd solved, there would be an easy summation. Something like: how we met, what we went through, how we realized we loved each other, how we 'get' each other, the fact that none of it was normal or easy, but here we are. And that would be the end. Summation over." He smiled down into her eyes solemnly and continued, "That just won't do today. Because today…today is a beginning, so a summation isn't the right choice today. And we aren't a case I've solved…more like a puzzle that we solved together. What I most wanted to tell you today is that I can't imagine my life without you in it. Not a day comes or goes, not one single moment, that you're not somehow a part of my life and I need you to always be there. At first, I worried if you would leave me, now I worry that you'll be taken from me. But I've learned to accept that that is a part of loving and being loved. I'm constantly amazed by our relationship. Just when I can't imagine that it can get much better for much longer, it only seems to get stronger, deeper, simpler, truer, richer, and clearer."
Adrian felt the weight of the rings in his pocket. For a moment, in the beautiful April sunshine with his bride smiling widely up at him, he thought back to the day that Sharona had wanted to discuss getting these particular rings. He knew now that Sharona had been unsure of how to approach this conversation. They needed to buy rings. It was early March, and the wedding had been just over two months away. He'd known he would have to take off his old ring. What he hadn't known was although she also wanted him to take off the ring Trudy had given him – it wouldn't be forever.
She'd approached quietly from the direction of the bedroom, and he could sense she had something on her mind. He'd really developed that ability in the last ten months. It was in her stance, her approach, her breathing, the set of her shoulders. Not to mention he'd heard her pacing the length of her bedroom like a caged lioness.
"Adrian…"
"Hm?" He looked up expectantly from the newspaper and over his coffee mug at her.
"I want to ask you something, but I don't want you to get angry or upset."
"Alright." He placed the paper, neatly folded by the side of his plate.
"Adrian, we need to talk about wedding rings." He glanced down at his left hand and his stomach lurched. "You know I don't want to make you take off that ring because
I know what it means to you… but Adrian, you can't be married to two people at once, and therefore you can't wear two rings."
"I knew…I knew that," he said with hurt in his voice. After all of this time, she still didn't have faith in what he felt for her.
"It's also not that I think you don't love me or love me less… and I don't think we need to remove Trudy from our thoughts or our vocabulary or our lives. So, I have a suggestion."
He was confused and upset. His stomach hurt. He didn't want to have this conversation, although he knew it would happen eventually. He just didn't want to be there when it actually occurred…and now he was here and it was happening. He swallowed hard and said, "Okay, what's the suggestion?"
"I don't think you ever should forget Trudy, and I don't want to either. She's a part of you and I love you, so she's a part of what I feel for you." She rushed on without taking a breath, "I'd like to take your ring from her… and the ring that she wore and have them remade into new rings – maybe we'll add something to the metal, like stones or another color gold… and I'd like to make three rings from the two old ones. One for you, one for me, and one for Benjy. I feel like it would keep Trudy a part of our family and a part of our lives, and you wouldn't have to give up her ring, just share it with Benjy and me."
She sat silently waiting for his panic or tears or refusal.
His eyes shone with tears and appreciation. That was an amazing gesture from an amazing woman. He had been speechless and overwhelmed by the huge amount of love he felt, that he couldn't imagine living without ever again.
Back in the present, at their wedding, the Mayor cleared his throat for the second time, and Adrian's attention was retrained on the next task. Adrian slipped Sharona's new wedding band over the ring finger of her left hand before he spoke. He took her left hand with his right and lifted them to eye level between them. "I give you this ring Sharona, as a symbol of my promise to protect you and take care of you. You and Benjy. What I didn't say just now, or six months ago when I put the first one on your hand, what I'm sometimes afraid to admit, even to myself, is that these simple bands of gold, platinum, and stones really represent the reasons I feel for you the way I do. The platinum is the unbreakable strength in you that I find remarkable, the gold is the emotional warmth you radiate that I crave every day, and the diamonds are cut like the brilliant facets of your personality. Loving, determined, clever, devoted, maternal, funny… I could go on, but it would take me forever to try to put into words everything that you are and everything that you mean to me. You are all to me." He paused and looked around at their families and their friends. "The first time I said these words to you, I never thought I'd say them in front of everyone we know. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to stand with you as an equal partner in a relationship, no less a marriage. But, today I'm going to do it right and our friends and our family will be the only witnesses we need. I love you. I love you. I love you." The look he sent her was devastatingly intimate and loving and at the same time boyish and nervous.
Sharona took Adrian's left hand, ring finger empty for the first time in a very many years and for only a very few more moments. "I give you this ring, Adrian because I love you. Not just for who you are, but for who I am when I'm with you. Not for what's gone before, but because of what comes next. I give this ring to you as something we can share. It symbolizes an unbreakable bond, an undeniable promise, and an unending circle of love, life, and memory." She paused to look up at him meaningfully. Only the two of them knew the secret of the origins of their rings. Trudy wasn't between them any longer; she was with them, a guiding, spiritual part of who they were individually and together. She, after all, was the reason they'd met in the first place. "This ring is a symbol of how you're changing your life and of what you've done to change mine. I love you for making me feel special...and happy…and whole. Because that is what you do for me, Adrian. Sometimes without a word. Sometimes with just a gesture. Always without a doubt. Just by being yourself. Such a simple thing... but no one else in the world could do it. Only you." He ran a finger along the line of her jaw, sending a frisson of love into the deepest parts of her being.
Mayor St. Claire said to the couple, "Those of us who are already married know that marriage, like life, brings with it many joys and also many challenges. We also know that love, while beautiful, does not always show its prettiest face. There are days when we may find it hard to express the depth of our love for one another. It is my hope that the rings you exchange today, ancient symbols of love, eternity, and unity will always remind you of how you feel today. When words fail you, or when the challenges of life or marriage begin to weigh on you, look at your rings so that you will remember this moment. These are your first gifts to one another as a married couple."
The Mayor faced the guests and continued, "Not only are Adrian and Sharona creating a marriage today, but they also are forming a family with Benjy." He turned to the boy then, "Just as it is appropriate for Adrian and Sharona to declare their love for each other in the gift of a ring, they also wish to show you, Benjy, how much they love you with the gift of a ring of your own." The bride and groom turned to Benjy and they looked at their child a moment with love and pride. Sharona drew him to her in a fierce hug, and whispered, "I love you." Adrian took a smaller version of their wedding bands out of his pocket and handed it to Sharona so she could slip it on her son's finger. The boy looked at his parents, eyes sparkling with the thrill of being included. Adrian shook his hand, man to man, and then quickly drew him into a warm embrace, taking to fatherhood immediately as he'd never taken to anything else before. They grinned at each other – conspiratorially as if they'd been related for fourteen years rather than the fourteen weeks since the adoption had been finalized.
It was time for the traditional vows that would join them officially and forever. Adrian pulled Sharona closer to the altar, held both of her hands in both of his, and said, "I, Adrian Monk, take you, Sharona Fleming, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as we both shall live. I will honor you and protect you. I will love and protect the child you have chosen to gift me. I will love you every day for the rest of my life." He smiled as he dropped one of her hands to reach into his pocket. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his ever-present handkerchief.
Adrian cleared his throat and continued, "You are the other part of my being that I didn't even realize was missing until you came storming into my life with the force of an earthquake," he grinned. "Your love and understanding washes over me each time you look at me or touch me with your gentle kindness. I never want you to think that I could live even one day without you. I love you." His expressive eyes smoldered with the passion and emotion he felt, Sharona smiled through her tears. The guests sat in stunned silence to hear that type of depth of emotion, from Adrian, or from anyone… perhaps for the first time ever.
"I, Sharona Fleming, take you, Adrian Monk, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as we both shall live. I will honor you and protect you. I look forward to raising our child together because Benjy is as much yours as he is mine. In every way that counts you are his father and have been for a long time. I'm proud that he can call you 'Dad' and so is he." She looked past her fiancé's shoulder and into the eyes of her son, who nodded and smiled his encouragement. Blue-green eyes returned to velvety brown, "I will love you every day for the rest of my life. I will never leave you and I will always try to do what I think is in your best interest, even when you don't agree with me." He chuckled. Sharona went on, "Adrian, I love you with everything inside of me, and I'm not sure I ever knew what it meant to live before we met. I think I just existed, waiting, until you came into my life. You make me feel safe and protected, treasured and cherished. I will always be honored to call you my husband but most of all, my best friend. Thank you for loving me."
Before the Mayor could say a word, Adrian pulled Sharona toward him for a kiss that was restrained but so telling. The search was over for both of them. It was in the way he held her. It was in the way she leaned into him. It was the way they looked into each other's eyes. It was in this moment when two desire nothing more than to be one for eternity. They had just pledged before their family and friends, under the bluest of blue skies, to love one another for the rest of their lives. No ceremony that was ever performed in that garden could have been more heartfelt or true. Just a simple covenant between Adrian and Sharona with God, their families, and their friends watching over them as they made their promises and declarations.
Adrian whispered against Sharona's lips, "Thank you, Sharona, for giving me all of the things I never imagined could be mine." Sharona smiled and pulled him closer. No one watching doubted that their marriage would be a happy one, while it would also be protective, loving, argumentative, steadying, and profoundly honest.
In the past, she had always chosen men who wanted her to become something other than what she was. He had chosen one woman he believed would save him from himself and when he lost her, he thought he'd never recover. Each had been looking for a fantasy "right" to correct their imagined "wrongs." They hadn't recognized at the time they had first collided that in this one instance, two "wrongs" might just make a right. They couldn't have – circumstance had created the opportunity, but time had created the bond and woken the realization. They had won. He had banished his need for the perfect princess and woke up each day to the most perfect life he could imagine. She had stopped looking for white knights on white horses and destiny gave her a hero, a superman, in crisply starched shirts on a mission of resolution. Adrian and Sharona challenged each other to be better, they dared each other to love harder, occasionally they appalled each other, or perplexed each other; they always thrilled each other, fought with each other, loved each other madly, made passionate love with each other, recognized themselves in each other, motivated each other and in the end, each would always understand the other, even without words. There were truly two sides of one coin.
"Well," said Mayor St. Clair with a laugh, "I happily pronounce you man and wife, and since you've taken care of the kissing part, Adrian, let me be the first to congratulate you both and introduce the new Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Monk." That gave the assembled crowd a reason to applaud and cheer, so they did. The newlyweds turned towards their guests and smiled, Sharona widely, Adrian somewhat bashfully. The Mayor added, "The bride and groom request your presence at the celebration of their marriage at Christophe on Mason Street. Directions are available for those that need them."
Adrian and Sharona walked back up the aisle, husband, and wife at last, and were met at the end with a flurry of good wishes, happy hugs, and kisses which Adrian discretely shied from. They rode alone together in a beautiful white limousine the few blocks to the restaurant and sat close together in a contented silence full of all the feelings and the soft, unspoken emotions that lovers have for each other.
They arrived at Christophe ahead of their guests and were escorted to the open-air rooftop where the luncheon in their honor was being held. The maitre'd left them alone and together they surveyed the view and the tables and the flowers. The band, without an audience, entertained themselves with soft music of their own creation. The umbrellas swayed gently in the spring breeze. The same breeze picked up the curls around Sharona's face and they swayed in rhythm with the umbrellas and both seemed to move in time with the music. Adrian took her hand in his and he asked her, "May I have this dance?"
Her response was another of her wide smiles, and as he took his bride into his arms, Adrian felt his world straighten and regain some ballast after all of this time. They danced alone and contented. They looked deeply into each other's eyes without words, smiling smiles for one another that held love and happiness, moving effortlessly in time to the bands' changing tunes. Exchanging soft kisses and murmured words of love, they circled the floor over and over again. Neither wanted these moments to end – their first dance went on as if it would last forever. A few at a time, their guests wended their way upstairs and found them there, alone, dancing, gazing into each other's eyes, happy. The romance was palpable, the love was evident, and the moment sheer perfection. No one had the heart to break the spell that wove around the newlyweds and in turn, around the group. Leland squeezed Karen's hand, Mayor St. Clair pulled Miranda closer to his side. Oblivious to their audience, despite Adrian's keen observational skills, the couple lost themselves to the music and each other, and that was all there was for long minutes.
Finally, a busboy dropped a tray of water glasses and broke the quiet spell and everyone gasped. Of course, Adrian took off towards the sound to see if he could help clean up the mess…Sharona pulled him over to their family and friends instead. Trays of hors d'oeuvres were passed by the wait staff and another waiter circulated with champagne flutes filled with Veuve Clicquot and a raspberry which floated merrily in each tapered glass.
The band leader caught everyone's attention and asked for Gail to come to the microphone to toast the bridal couple. Rather than a toast to the couple or tritely welcoming Adrian into a family that he'd been a part of for a long time, Gail had decided to read a poem written many years before by Eben Eugene Rexford called "The Art of Marriage."
A good marriage must be created
In the marriage, the little things are the big things
It is never being too old to hold hands
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once each day,
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values and objectives.
It is standing together and facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful,
It is not only marrying the right person
It is being the right partner
Love can never more grow old,
Locks may lose their brown and gold
Cheeks may fade and hollow grow,
But the hearts that love will know
Never winter's frost and chill,
Summer's warmth is in them still.
"To Adrian and Sharona," said Gail with a sincere smile, "a long and happy life together." The assemblage lifted their glasses. "To Adrian and Sharona," they echoed. Adrian looked down into Sharona's eyes and saw everything he ever needed or wanted reflected there.