Walsh felt like a penguin. He was in a black tuxedo amidst a sea of white decorations. He tugged at his bowtie.
"Stop that!" Ashley yelled at her little brother before she came back over to adjust it.
"Billy, leave your tie alone so that you look nice when you walk your sister down the aisle." Their aunt chimes in
"Okay, but this is uncomfortable." He whines
Ashley laughs as they put the finishing touches on her dress. A man knocks on the door.
"Ms. Walsh, it's time to line up." He says
The bridesmaids take their flowers. Their Aunt exits quickly to go to her place. Billy picks up his sister's flowers.
"Mom and Dad would be proud." He smiles
Ashley fights a tear back. "I wish they were here."
Billy hugs his sister and in a comforting tone says, "They are here."
He smiles, "Now we can't keep them waiting can we?"
"No." She says as she takes her flowers.
They line up at the back of the church as the organist plays Pachebel's Cannon In D. The bridesmaids make their way up the aisle of the church and take their places as the front of the church.
"Ready?" Billy asks with a smile
"Yes." Ashley says as she takes his arm.
The organist wraps up Cannon and then begins into The Wedding March. Everyone in the church stands and turns to watch the entrance of the bride. It seems like it takes forever to get to the front of the church. It felt a lot like a fairytale for Ashley. They reach the front of the church where Andrew stands smiling. He is in awe of the beauty of his bride.
Ashley looks at Billy as he reluctantly steps back. The minister begins.
"Dearly beloveds. We are gathered here this day to join this man and this woman into the bonds of Holy matrimony. Who gives this woman to be wed?"
"I do." Billy says
"Today is the day that this man and this woman have chosen to become husband and wife. They are honored to be present in front of so many they love to profess their commitment to one another. Marriage is founded on sincerity and understanding which leads to tolerance, confidence and trust. We who are witnessing your marriage, hope that despite the stresses inevitable in any life your Love, Respect for each other, your trust and understanding of each other will increase your contentment and heighten your joy in living." The minister begins the ceremony.
Two candles are displayed to the sides of one candle.
"As a sign of eternal love, and two lives merging together to become one, we have lit two candles. One represents Ashley and one represents Andrew. Together they will each take their candle to light to larger Unity candle."
They perform the ceremony of lighting the unity candle.
"I must ask you in the presence of your friends, your family, and of our Lord, to affirm your devotion to each other." He pauses and looks to Andrew. "Andrew, will you take Ashley to be your lawful wedded wife? Will you love her and honor her through sickness and in health, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?"
"I will." Andrew smiles as he replies
The Minister then turns to Ashley. "And Ashley, will you take Andrew to be your lawful wedded husband. Will you love him and honor him through sickness and in health, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?"
Ashley looks quickly back to her brother who smiles before she answers. "I will."
"Andrew and Ashley have committed their love to each other, and as a symbol of that commitment they have rings for one another. A circle has no beginning nor end. The ring symbolizes the eternal circle of their love for each other." The best man hands the rings to the Minister who then distributes them to Andrew and Ashley.
Andrew takes the ring and turns to Ashley.
"Repeat after me." The Minister says, "With this ring, I thee wed."
"With this ring, I thee wed." Andrew says as he slides the ring onto Ashley's finger
"Ashley, repeat after me." The Minister says, "With this ring, I thee wed."
"With this ring, I thee wed." Ashley smiles
"Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited, it is never rude or selfish, it does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's faults, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope. It is always ready to endure whatever comes. True love does not come to an end." The Minister pauses, "You have declared before all of us that you will live together in marriage. You have made special promises to each other, which have been symbolized by the joining of hands, taking of vows and the giving and receiving of two rings. By the authority vested in me as a Minister in the State of New York, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife. Now that the ceremony is over and the experience of living day by day is about to begin, go and meet it gladly. You may kiss your bride."
The church erupts in cheers and applause as Ashley and Andrew kiss.
"Ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure to announce for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Sutton." The Minister proclaims as the church again erupts in applause. The organist resumes play and the happy couple head back the aisle.
Billy could not believe how proud he was of his sister. It was his turn for once to be proud of something that she had done. Andrew was a great guy for his sister. At least he didn't have to worry about her anymore. He knew that Andrew would take good care of her. At the reception the happy couple approached him.
"Billy, I want to thank you for escorting Ashley up the aisle." Andrew says
"It was my honor to be able to do something that meant so much to her." Billy replies
"Don't worry, I will take good care of her." Andrew adds
"I know." Billy smiles
The evening winds down and the guests slowly head home. Billy walks to his car. He looks around the August evening. The night was abuzz with the sounds of summer, but something wasn't right. Billy could feel that. He let his senses explore the evening, but he found nothing out of the ordinary. He got into his car and started to drive down the street when it happened.
There was a loud explosion and a fireball that blew out the windows in a diner down the street. Debris hit his car. He threw it in park and jumped out. He ran towards the diner to see what he could do. There were cries for help and screams of pain. The force of the explosion had thrown some patrons out of the building. He checked them quickly before he headed into the building.
He immediately found an elderly couple. They were injured and so he picked each one up and carried them out. He knew that it would be a few moments before the arrival of FD units and he needed to do what he could now. He fought through flames and debris to continue searching for survivors. He continued to help people out of the building and had re-entered just before a familiar engine pulled up out front.
Lt. Pratt surveyed the scene finding so many already evacuated. He sent DK and Doyle into the diner to continue the search. There was heavy fire in the kitchen area. They heard a familiar voice.
"DK there's one trapped back here!" Walsh called
DK and Tommy headed back to the voice.
"We got it from him Walsh, go on and get out of here." Tommy says
Walsh finds his way back out of the building in front of the two firefighters. Lt. Pratt is surprised to see Walsh there.
"I thought you took the day off." He grinned
"I did." Walsh replies
"Nice outfit." DK cracks
"Yeah, yeah." Walsh responds
"Walsh, you might want to get that cut looked at." Lt. Pratt tells him.
"Cut?" Walsh hadn't even noticed that he had a gash across his forehead. He took a couple of 4x4s and held them up to it to try to control the bleeding.
He walked back and looked at his car. The windshield was shattered. He just shakes his head. It was just his luck. He looked down at his tuxedo. The white had traces of black soot on it. The black coat and pants showed dirt as well. He laughed.
"Now that's more like it." He says as he gets into his car and slowly drives home.
He opens the door to his apartment and walks to the refrigerator. He pulls out a bottle of beer and heads to his sofa. He sits back and relaxes by slipping off his shoes, undoing his tie, and taking off his jacket. He was tired. Eventually he fell asleep on the sofa as the television played in the background.