Chapter Three
"And then, I'll say: 'By the powers invested in me through the power of Almighty God and by the laws of the State of California, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife. Then I'll tell you two to kiss each other, and after that you sign the register and you'll be Mr. and Mrs. Peter Petrovsky."
Those words came from Rev. Lucy Camden Kinkirk, the minister of Glen Oak Community Church. She was going through the motions of the rehearsal for the wedding. But it was also the very first marriage ceremony she was going to conduct, and she was as nervous as any wet-behind-the-ears minister.
"That's cool, Luce," said Ruthie. She was wearing a semi-formal business suit that evening, while her fiancé, Peter, was wearing a jacket, denim shirt and slacks. "You're just forgetting one thing."
"What's that?"
"Peter and I already agreed I'm keeping my maiden name. I'm not changing my name; I'm not taking his name either before or after mine. I'm still going to be Ruthie Bernadette Camden. The only difference is that now I'll be Ms, not Miss."
"You're okay with that, Peter?" asked Lucy.
"Sure I am, Rev," said Peter. "The name Camden is a great name, and as soon as we agreed to get married, I promised her I'd let her be her own person. She's not going to be my property, and what she does is her own business."
Lucy nodded, remembering how Matt nearly flipped out when he discovered that his wife, Sarah Glass, had kept her maiden name nearly a year and a half after they had tied the knot at her father's synagogue. That Peter was willing to make such an important concession early on told Lucy that Ruthie had not rushed into a decision to get married to her love – which she had thought this one through.
"Well, I think it's time for all of us to go to the rehearsal dinner," the minister finally said. "It's not going to wait for us, I don't think."
The rehearsal dinner, consisting of the entire wedding party and Lucy herself, went off without a hitch. It was almost like old friends night as the group caught up with each other's lives. Towards the end of the meal, Rod and his fiancée, Shelby, in dress Marine uniforms, stood up and said they had an announcement to make.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Shelby said, "it is with great pleasure that we announce that we got married last night in a chapel ceremony at a military base just outside of Las Vegas. We're on leave for the next four weeks, and we're going on honeymoon, the day after tomorrow, in Honolulu."
"No kidding!" said Ruthie, in total shock. "That's where Peter and I are going, too!"
"Yeah, congratulations!" said Peter. "What hotel, by the way?"
"It's a hotel run by the military, just for servicepersons and their families," said Shelby. "It's right near the Western end of the Waikiki district. The rates are great, and the security is too – Military Police on guard duty, 24/7."
"Then I think we're just going to be a few doors down from you," said Ruthie. "We're staying at the Aston, right on the beach. Mind you, I think Peter and I are going to be too busy, too."
Everyone laughed. They all then went in different directions. Peter decided to spend the night at the hotel where he and Ruthie would spend their first night as a married couple, a few floors below where the honeymoon suite was. Ruthie spent her last night as a single woman in her attic bedroom.
She chose to sleep under her covers, unclothed. As she pulled over her blindfold to speed up the process of semi-unconsciousness, her mind went back to the evening nearly three years ago when she and Peter first made love. It was the first time for both of them, and while it was relatively brief, it was the culmination of nearly three years of a cat and mouse game of flirtation. She recalled how their liaisons had gotten increasingly torrid, until finally both decided they really needed a break if they had any chance of salvaging their relationship.
To that evening, and even now, she did not regret in the slightest their decision to take things "all the way;" even if her sister and their father were both ministers. But now, twelve hours before the ceremony, Ruthie Camden was coming to the realization that starting tomorrow, she would be legally bound to one and only one person and that she would have relations with only that one person for the rest of her life. For the first time, she wondered if perhaps she should have played the market some more, having relationships (both platonic and physical) with other young men before she decided on Peter.
It was not that she didn't love Peter; she loved him more than anyone else save and except God. It was just that now, she was committing to a relationship that could last fifty years or more. If she suddenly became disfigured in some way, or was unable at some point in the future to have an intimate relationship with Peter, would he leave her? If the same happened to him, would she betray his trust?
Across town in his hotel room, Peter Petrovsky was going through the same emotions. From his perspective as a man, however, it seemed strange that he was about to marry the first and only woman with whom he had ever had sex. And technically, they were breaking the law as they were both under eighteen when they had become lovers. He loved Ruthie more than anything, but wished that maybe – just maybe – he had sowed a few wild oats with some other women before settling on Ruthie.
Then again, there were no other women but her. She was his equal in every way: intellectually, emotionally, practically and sensually. Every time one raised the ante, the other called; and in every case it was a push. He had many female friends, but in the end none could ever match up to Ruthie in any of the preceding respects, even if many of them were far more beautiful on the outside. It didn't matter: when it came to respect and on morals, Ruthie Camden won, hands down. Peter fell asleep, knowing that whatever a huge leap of faith marriage might be, he was making the right decision marrying Ruthie, and getting married now.
Meanwhile, back at the Camdens, Lucy and Kevin had just finished making love. Lucy was just as nervous as any young woman could be the night before a wedding – her own or someone else's. Kevin's reassuring words and touch put her mind at ease; and as they fell asleep in each other's arms, the minister was determined not to let anything go wrong with her sister's wedding.
She thought back to her own wedding day. With less than a couple of hours before the ceremony, she had gotten cold feet thinking a twenty-one year old divinity student had no business getting married before she had gotten her first charge as a Protestant minister – let alone to a Catholic divorcé who had survived his first marriage by the skin of his teeth. At the last minute, her older brother Matt came to the rescue saying that someone like Kevin was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she had to embrace the moment. Her turnaround was so enthusiastic that she had said "I do" even before her father had finished reading out the vows.
Ruthie was now the fifth Camden sibling to get married, and by far the youngest, getting married at just eighteen. This would have been a concern for all her siblings, but especially her older ones. But Peter had been part of their lives for so long now that making his addition permanent seemed only natural. Lucy thought it was going to be great having yet another in-law she actually liked.
The next morning, Lucy got up before Kevin did. Still naked, she stepped into the shower and starting washing up. As she reached for her hands, the unthinkable happened. Both her engagement and wedding rings fell to the bottom of the stall. Panicking, Lucy reached down. She managed to salvage both rings just in the nick of time. But as the minister put them back on and stepped out to dry off before anything else could happen, she thought it had to be a bad omen for her sister and future brother-in-law. For now, however, she decided she'd keep this to herself.
"And then, I'll say: 'By the powers invested in me through the power of Almighty God and by the laws of the State of California, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife. Then I'll tell you two to kiss each other, and after that you sign the register and you'll be Mr. and Mrs. Peter Petrovsky."
Those words came from Rev. Lucy Camden Kinkirk, the minister of Glen Oak Community Church. She was going through the motions of the rehearsal for the wedding. But it was also the very first marriage ceremony she was going to conduct, and she was as nervous as any wet-behind-the-ears minister.
"That's cool, Luce," said Ruthie. She was wearing a semi-formal business suit that evening, while her fiancé, Peter, was wearing a jacket, denim shirt and slacks. "You're just forgetting one thing."
"What's that?"
"Peter and I already agreed I'm keeping my maiden name. I'm not changing my name; I'm not taking his name either before or after mine. I'm still going to be Ruthie Bernadette Camden. The only difference is that now I'll be Ms, not Miss."
"You're okay with that, Peter?" asked Lucy.
"Sure I am, Rev," said Peter. "The name Camden is a great name, and as soon as we agreed to get married, I promised her I'd let her be her own person. She's not going to be my property, and what she does is her own business."
Lucy nodded, remembering how Matt nearly flipped out when he discovered that his wife, Sarah Glass, had kept her maiden name nearly a year and a half after they had tied the knot at her father's synagogue. That Peter was willing to make such an important concession early on told Lucy that Ruthie had not rushed into a decision to get married to her love – which she had thought this one through.
"Well, I think it's time for all of us to go to the rehearsal dinner," the minister finally said. "It's not going to wait for us, I don't think."
The rehearsal dinner, consisting of the entire wedding party and Lucy herself, went off without a hitch. It was almost like old friends night as the group caught up with each other's lives. Towards the end of the meal, Rod and his fiancée, Shelby, in dress Marine uniforms, stood up and said they had an announcement to make.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Shelby said, "it is with great pleasure that we announce that we got married last night in a chapel ceremony at a military base just outside of Las Vegas. We're on leave for the next four weeks, and we're going on honeymoon, the day after tomorrow, in Honolulu."
"No kidding!" said Ruthie, in total shock. "That's where Peter and I are going, too!"
"Yeah, congratulations!" said Peter. "What hotel, by the way?"
"It's a hotel run by the military, just for servicepersons and their families," said Shelby. "It's right near the Western end of the Waikiki district. The rates are great, and the security is too – Military Police on guard duty, 24/7."
"Then I think we're just going to be a few doors down from you," said Ruthie. "We're staying at the Aston, right on the beach. Mind you, I think Peter and I are going to be too busy, too."
Everyone laughed. They all then went in different directions. Peter decided to spend the night at the hotel where he and Ruthie would spend their first night as a married couple, a few floors below where the honeymoon suite was. Ruthie spent her last night as a single woman in her attic bedroom.
She chose to sleep under her covers, unclothed. As she pulled over her blindfold to speed up the process of semi-unconsciousness, her mind went back to the evening nearly three years ago when she and Peter first made love. It was the first time for both of them, and while it was relatively brief, it was the culmination of nearly three years of a cat and mouse game of flirtation. She recalled how their liaisons had gotten increasingly torrid, until finally both decided they really needed a break if they had any chance of salvaging their relationship.
To that evening, and even now, she did not regret in the slightest their decision to take things "all the way;" even if her sister and their father were both ministers. But now, twelve hours before the ceremony, Ruthie Camden was coming to the realization that starting tomorrow, she would be legally bound to one and only one person and that she would have relations with only that one person for the rest of her life. For the first time, she wondered if perhaps she should have played the market some more, having relationships (both platonic and physical) with other young men before she decided on Peter.
It was not that she didn't love Peter; she loved him more than anyone else save and except God. It was just that now, she was committing to a relationship that could last fifty years or more. If she suddenly became disfigured in some way, or was unable at some point in the future to have an intimate relationship with Peter, would he leave her? If the same happened to him, would she betray his trust?
Across town in his hotel room, Peter Petrovsky was going through the same emotions. From his perspective as a man, however, it seemed strange that he was about to marry the first and only woman with whom he had ever had sex. And technically, they were breaking the law as they were both under eighteen when they had become lovers. He loved Ruthie more than anything, but wished that maybe – just maybe – he had sowed a few wild oats with some other women before settling on Ruthie.
Then again, there were no other women but her. She was his equal in every way: intellectually, emotionally, practically and sensually. Every time one raised the ante, the other called; and in every case it was a push. He had many female friends, but in the end none could ever match up to Ruthie in any of the preceding respects, even if many of them were far more beautiful on the outside. It didn't matter: when it came to respect and on morals, Ruthie Camden won, hands down. Peter fell asleep, knowing that whatever a huge leap of faith marriage might be, he was making the right decision marrying Ruthie, and getting married now.
Meanwhile, back at the Camdens, Lucy and Kevin had just finished making love. Lucy was just as nervous as any young woman could be the night before a wedding – her own or someone else's. Kevin's reassuring words and touch put her mind at ease; and as they fell asleep in each other's arms, the minister was determined not to let anything go wrong with her sister's wedding.
She thought back to her own wedding day. With less than a couple of hours before the ceremony, she had gotten cold feet thinking a twenty-one year old divinity student had no business getting married before she had gotten her first charge as a Protestant minister – let alone to a Catholic divorcé who had survived his first marriage by the skin of his teeth. At the last minute, her older brother Matt came to the rescue saying that someone like Kevin was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she had to embrace the moment. Her turnaround was so enthusiastic that she had said "I do" even before her father had finished reading out the vows.
Ruthie was now the fifth Camden sibling to get married, and by far the youngest, getting married at just eighteen. This would have been a concern for all her siblings, but especially her older ones. But Peter had been part of their lives for so long now that making his addition permanent seemed only natural. Lucy thought it was going to be great having yet another in-law she actually liked.
The next morning, Lucy got up before Kevin did. Still naked, she stepped into the shower and starting washing up. As she reached for her hands, the unthinkable happened. Both her engagement and wedding rings fell to the bottom of the stall. Panicking, Lucy reached down. She managed to salvage both rings just in the nick of time. But as the minister put them back on and stepped out to dry off before anything else could happen, she thought it had to be a bad omen for her sister and future brother-in-law. For now, however, she decided she'd keep this to herself.