Chapter 20:

Here it was. The Big Day.

Daphne was ready; after rehearsals, the whole process was instinctive. Even so, she was just a tad nervous that having a huge crowd of nearly two hundred would somehow make everything different. She also felt just a tad guilty that most of the guests were hers, but it wasn't like Freddie couldn't have invited more people if he wanted to... his family simply wasn't very close-knit. Not that Daphne's was a whole lot closer, but they knew a lot of people, mainly her father's business associates and golf buddies. And it was mostly her father paying for the wedding, so they didn't dare argue.

Besides, Daphne thought to herself, the single rain cloud that could possibly appear on a day like today, he really wants this day to be special, to share it with everyone he knows. It's one of the last happy occasions he might ever have.

Daphne shook the thought. She couldn't let that ruin her day. She was a bride, starting her future as a married woman today. Nothing could stop that. Nothing...

The church was very beautiful as Daphne walked down the aisle. She wondered why she was so surprised; she had picked the colors and flowers, after all. Yet somehow the vast bouquets of lilies and violet ribbons enchanted her all the same.

She made her way to the alter. She had never been prone to being self-conscious, but it did feel awkward somehow to have almost four hundred eyes following her. She had attended many weddings in her day, but never one where the bride was pregnant-- at least, not visibly. And here she was, walking down the aisle in a light purple maternity dress...

The preacher spoke, but Daphne was really only listening to every third word. She already knew that Freddie would be hers, in sickness and in health... he had proven that already. Really, they had both proven that they loved each other, a long time ago... when, though, exactly? Or was it possible that all these years, the love had been there even when they weren't? That the real reason Daphne had broken up with all her other boyfriends was that she knew from square one they weren't right for her, that somebody else already loved her, that she loved him back?

It seemed to take forever, but finally the preacher asked, "Do you, Frederick Jones, take Daphne Blake as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"And do you, Daphne Blake, take Frederick Jones as your lawfully wedded husband?"

Definitely! Daphne thought to herself. Then, smiling, she went with the traditional response.

"I do."

"Then I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

It's not fair, Daphne thought amusedly during the reception.

She was being swarmed. Everyone seemed to want pictures of the bride, to tell her how beautiful she was, to inquire about the honeymoon.

Freddie, meanwhile, was helping himself to seconds on the food. Sure, he was mingling with the guests, and had maybe four or five of his college friends bunched up around him, but he was far from being suffocated. Why did everyone care only about the bride?

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Daphne looked across the room and saw Mr. Blake sitting at the back. He had gotten much worse since that fateful meeting months ago. His hair had completely fallen out by now and was replaced by a toupee. It looked like perfectly natural hair at first glance, but after growing used to the bare patches Daphne took this only as a sign that things were really getting worse. And they were. Mr. Blake's cancer was incurable; things certainly couldn't be getting better.

Will he really live long enough to meet his granddaughter? Daphne wondered to herself. She longed and yearned more than anything to break away, to leave this crowd exactly where it was and be only with her father and with Fred. She wished there were some distraction...

There was.

The details were very difficult to describe, since Daphne was facing away from the diversion when it hit. She turned around briefly only when she heard a metallic clang! and witnessed Shaggy standing there, dripping with some sort of soup. The crowd gasped as Daphne ducked away from them; then they began laughing uncontrollably. Someone was in the midst of cleaning it up when Daphne slid into the seat next to Mr. Blake, having motioned for Freddie to come with her.

Mr. Blake smiled at his daughter. Somehow, in spite of his weakness, he gave her the strongest smile he ever had.

It was almost time to leave. Daphne had just tossed the bouquet, turning around traditionally but making mental note as to where Velma had been standing. She was her best friend; she deserved something good. Now if only Freddie could make sure some attractive guy Velma deserved caught the garter...

Actually, Shaggy caught it, still red, partly from embarrassment and partly from soup stains. Ah, well.

Walking out to their waiting limosine, Daphne and Fred felt the gentle gliding bubbles from their guests caressing their skin. This was better than the best day of their lives.

Today was the day that would give rise to even better days to come.