Dance on my Wedding

Disclaimer:Still not mine

Note:Please let me know what you think so far ;-)

Get the party started

"You okay to drive?" Kevin asked when Joan headed towards her car.

"Sure, why wouldn't I?"

"How are you going to get home tonight?" her brother asked.

"I'm gonna share a taxi with Mom and Dad and stay at their place. You know I don't drive drunk."

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, I know. I was just wondering."

"Stop wondering and get into that car. There's a wedding we've to be at."

"Really? Who's getting married?"

Joan raised her hands to threaten him and started to say something but stopped halfway and stowed the wheelchair in the trunk.

When they were both in the car and on their way to the church, she asked out of the blue, "Are you happy?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"The question the best man or the little sister is allowed to ask the groom on his wedding day. Are you happy? Happy with Siv, with getting married, with your life?"

Kevin looked at his sister in the driver's seat and thought about it for a moment. But to him the answer was clear. "Yeah, I am," he said without a doubt. "I'm really happy. I have a great job, a nice apartment and I'm going to get married to the best woman I ever met." He hesitated, then said, "It's been a long way, hasn't it?"

Joan nodded. "Yeah, it has. And I wanted to let you know that I'm really proud of you. When you came back home from hospital, after the accident, I thought you wouldn't make it. You were so depressed, knowing you wouldn't be able to play football anymore and … everything…, but you've changed so much since then… and…" She stopped as if unsure to continue. Then she said, "I love you and I'm proud of you. And I'm proud to be your little sister."

She could tell that he was touched by what she'd said and since she didn't want him to be in a bad mood when they arrived at the church she said, "Guess that's Girardi Power. AuuuughhhhAuuuughhhhAuuuughhhh."

Her comic relief had the desired effect and made Kevin laugh. "Gee," he said. "Tim Taylor is driving me to my wedding."

It didn't take long for them to reach the church and when Joan was already opening the door to get to the trunk, Kevin held her back. "I love you too, you know," he said quietly. "And I'm proud to be your big brother."

Joan smiled and hugged her brother. "Thanks. And now let's get the party started."

A minute later they entered the church where their parents as well as Luke and Grace were already waiting for them.

"Thank goodness, you're here," their mother said and hugged both of them. "Luke was already doing the maths and…"

Joan laughed and said, "Will you ever stop being a nerd?"

Grace smiled. "I guess not. You gotta love him for that, don't you?"

Joan looked down at Kevin and mouthed, "I'll win."

He shook his head and grinned.

"Hey!" Luke interrupted. "Would you two mind telling me what this is about?"

His brother and sister shook their heads, but their mother said, "I think it's the bet they have running."

"What bet?" Will Girardi asked, stepping closer to the rest of his family.

"The bet on who's gonna get married next. I win, because you two are seeing each other for almost a lifetime now and I don't even have a boyfriend," Joan explained and Luke and Grace looked at each other incredulously.

Ignoring them Kevin asked, "Are we going to get ready? Siv could be here any minute and I don't really want to have to overtake her in the aisle."

Joan nodded. "Okay. You guys get your seats and we'll find our place at the altar." She tapped Kevin on the back and he wheeled through the aisle, for the first time noticing all the people who had come to celebrate with them.

He was finally getting nervous. The butterflies in his stomach, that had been there but pretty quiet all morning, suddenly started to dance salsa and made him feel really excited.

"You okay?" Joan asked.

"I'll be fine if you've got the rings."

"What rings?"

"Joan!?" Kevin shouted appalled.

She grinned and pulled the little box from her handbag. "Relax, Kev, everything is fine."

The priest came from the sacristy and greeted Kevin and Joan. "Ready to take the big step?" he asked.

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Joan looked around and suddenly it felt strange to be in a church. It had been Siv who'd had the last word in the where-to-get-married question and she'd decided that they'd get married in church. Kevin hadn't protested. Somewhere along their mother's search for God he'd more or less accepted for himself that there had to be a higher power and even if he didn't like the burdens he had been put on in the past, he felt it was okay to let his wedding and the future be blessed by whoever was out there. Joan on the other hand couldn't stop looking if God himself had come to the wedding, but so far there was nothing to be seen.

She saw that Siv's mother had entered the church and sat down on the first bench, smiling at Kevin who smiled back. Joan cleared her throat and put a calming hand on her brother's shoulder when the organ started to play.

The doors opened and in came Siv and her father, followed by her bridesmaids.

A big smile appeared on Kevin's face when he saw her approaching him and he knew that Joan had been right. She was the most beautiful woman and she was going to be his wife.

Joan remembered the night he'd brought her home. It was the Sunday evening dinner that had become an institution at the Girardi's home. Everybody would come home for dinner, even Kevin who'd already moved out. Her Mom had obviously known because she'd gotten a fifth chair. Luke had realized it first. "Mom, don't you think Kevin's going to bring his own chair?" She had only smiled and said, "Set the table for six and stop talking."

Their Mom had been right, of course. She was always right. When Kevin had come, he'd introduced Siv and they all had liked her right from the start. That Kevin would ask her to marry him was just the natural next step after her moving to his apartment. The call had reached her in the middle of the night and she was sure something horrible must have happened when the ringing of the phone woke her up. Kevin's excited voice hadn't helped to calm her, but when he'd finally brought the message out, she'd laughed in relief and was happy for him.

The priest brought her back to reality when he asked for her to read something from the bible and later, when he asked for the rings. The ceremony passed in a blur and before she'd even realized it, they were standing in front of the church.

Everyone seemed to be hugging each other and a lot of pictures were taken before they moved on to the restaurant where the reception was taking place.

After an appetizer all guests started to look for their seats and a few minutes later Kevin was the one to speak up first.

"I know that you're all hungry," he said smiling, "And that's why I'm going to spare my speech until after the starter. Enjoy your meal, everyone."

When the waiters had cleared the tables and all guests were waiting for the main course to be served, it was again Kevin who clung his glass. "There are a few things I'd like to say and everyone be warned: it's gonna be sappy. If you want to complain, please tell my sister, because she was the one who started my personal sentimentality on our way to church." Most guests giggled and Joan grinned embarrassed. Kevin continued, "First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming and sharing this day with us. Besides that, I want to especially thank my family, because I know that without them, I wouldn't be here tonight. I know that we've had some rough times and that not only my dreams were shattered, but yours too and still you were there all the time, helped me when I needed it and pulled me out of my self-pity when I couldn't do it myself. You're the reason why I got back into life, who forced me to get a job and because that was how I met Siv, I guess I have to thank you for making me work, too. The reason I'm saying this now is because even though I found Siv and married her and even though we promised to be there for each other in good and bad times, I hope that you'll not disappear in case I need your help again. Mom, Dad, Joan, Luke… you're the best family one could wish for. I love you and I will forever be grateful that I'm part of this family."

He hesitated, seeing how his father put his arm around his mother, but continued. "The other people I want to thank are the Pedersons. If they hadn't raised Siv the way they did, she'd probably not even have looked at me. But she did and so I guess I don't only have to thank you for giving birth to her, but also for helping her turn out the person she is. The other reason I want to thank you for is for accepting me as boyfriend and now husband of your daughter. I know that parents want the best partners for their children and I know that I'm not exactly the stereotype of the perfect guy. But I promised to Siv in church that I'll be there for her and I promise to you now that I will not let her down. I will work hard not to disappoint anyone who has trusted me to be the right one for her. I'll prove to you that she couldn't have found someone better."

Now it wasn't only his mother who needed the supporting arm of her husband, but also Siv's. But Kevin wasn't finished yet. He turned to his wife who was sitting beside him in her beautiful dress, smiling happily. "Siv… I really don't know what to say to you but like I felt that our families needed to be thanked, I feel that I need to say something to you too. I still don't know why you gave me your number, I still can't understand why you wanted to go out with me. But believe me, I'm incredibly happy and thankful you did. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and looking back now I believe that my life only started when I met you. You light up every single day of my life and I can only repeat what I told you when we first kissed. I'll never again let you go." Finally his voice broke and he had to fight to say his last sentence. "You're the one who made me whole again. I love you."

When the newlyweds leaned closer to kiss, some more people had to pull out their tissues to wipe away the tears of emotion.

The tension was rapidly taken when the waiters brought the main course and everyone started chatting. When the main course was done, it was Joan's turn to cling her glass and stand up to say something. "Since Kevin asked me to be his 'best-man' I thought, I should say something too. I still consider it a big honor that he asked me instead of a real man, but I hope I did okay and he didn't regret his choice. What Kevin said earlier about me being the reason for his sappy mood… well, I guess he's right. But all I did was to ask him if he was happy. Turned out he is and so all I can wish him and Siv is that it'll stay like that. Please, be happy. There's so much drama in this life and we've seen so much of it, please do us a favor and stay happy. That's all I ask from you. Let's all raise our glasses and wish them all the happiness in the world. And Siv, you know that if you don't treat him well, you'll start a fight with the whole Girardi family and believe me – that's not going to be pretty." Joan raised her glass and said, "For Siv and Kevin. May they live happily ever after."

When Joan sat down again, her mother said, "Gee, I'm happy you weren't so melodramatic. I didn't know if I would have been able to stand that." Everyone at the table laughed, but they all knew that for Kevin it had really been a need to say the things out loud. They weren't big on I-love-yous or thank-yous and so it meant even more that Kevin chose his wedding to say it in front of all their guests.

TBC