Family Matters
Chapter 7
An ancient superstition claimed that it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before the ceremony. Matt had never been a superstitious man, and that had not changed as he knocked on the door to Room 12 of The Dodge House. He was wearing the stylish suit he had worn when they reconnected at dinner last week and jokingly credited with helping him to woo her back. His relationship with Kitty had survived every conceivable obstacle and a few unconceivable ones, including a sixteen year separation, so he was willing to bet that they could survive seeing each other on the morning of their happiest day. If he had fear of anything, it was that she and Laura had overslept and their guests would be standing around waiting for them.
October in Dodge City was completely unpredictable. It could be warm and sunny, cool and breezy, or gray and rainy—sometimes all in the same day. Planning any outdoor activity was risky, but after careful thought the bride and groom had decided to take their chances. They would hold their wedding under the tall oak trees next to the lake where their first date had occurred, perhaps with descendants of the fish they had caught that afternoon swimming through its fresh waters.
As luck would have it—or fate, some believed—Saturday turned out to be one of the most beautiful days of autumn. After a crisp morning, temperatures reached 70 degrees by noon with not a cloud in sight. In just a few days they had managed to get a judge, buy dresses, find a musician, plan a party, and issue invitations by word of mouth that promised to result in a respectable crowd despite the short notice. Matt Dillon was still a considerable presence in the community, and those who didn't know Kitty Russell personally certainly knew of her. Word of the impending nuptials had spread like wildfire among old friends, new friends, and curious townspeople.
Kitty quickly opened the door, to Matt's relief. She had chosen a silk beige dress with dusty rose undertones that were sure to shimmer in the bright sunlight. It had caught her attention the instant she walked into the shop, uncomplicated yet elegant and not too pricey. The pearl necklace and earrings she had in her jewelry case provided the perfect accents, both fully visible with her hair loosely swept up in a soft bun with curls around her face. Laura was delighted to be able to choose the yellow and brown dress she had seen in the window that first day, a stark contrast to the fiery red hair that hung well below the shoulders.
"I don't think I've ever seen two prettier women in one room," Matt remarked at the sight of his almost wife and daughter, and he couldn't have meant it more. There was no doubt in his mind at that moment that he was the luckiest man on earth.
"You clean up pretty well too, Cowboy," Kitty retorted as she brushed a stray hair off his suitcoat. "Why, you're almost fit for courting." It was an old private joke, one he got immediately, and they laughed and held hands as they headed down to a buggy that would carry them the twenty minutes or so to their destination.
Festus and Newly were already outside, loading up a wagon with some chairs that Hannah had loaned them to bring for older guests. Most people wouldn't mind standing, it was to be a short and simple ceremony with the main socializing and celebrating to be done at The Long Branch afterwards. Hannah had ordered quite a spread and instructed her barkeep to break out the best bottles of everything, including an aged French wine she had been saving for a special occasion.
Matt's conversation with Festus and Newly had gone as well as he could have expected. They were not happy about his leaving, but they understood. He told them as much about Laura as Kitty wanted to share, so the tone was set for dinner that evening to be a happy reunion with old friends as well as getting to know a new one. Matt was not comfortable with sentimental toasts and tearful farewells, and he had warned his friends that he was trusting them to keep the atmosphere light and cheerful at the wedding reception. This wasn't goodbye, it was so long for now. Much had changed in the years they had known each other-trains were faster, telephones allowed for direct conversations from miles away, and retirement meant that vacations were possible any time. He would be leasing his farm and coming back often to check on that as well. And someday, when Laura was grown and off becoming that doctor or science teacher, he and Kitty would settle back in the town they would always call home.
Festus didn't own a suit but had his smart looking light gray jacket and a new white shirt to go underneath it. Newly lent him a black tie, and with his one good pair of dark gray pants it looked like an ensemble that might have been professionally assembled instead of piecemeal. Newly wore his fanciest pin stripe suit for his honored duty of escorting the bride. After admiring each other for a few minutes, everyone climbed into their rigs and headed for the lake.
At least a dozen people had arrived early, and two of the Roniger girls—now women—had gathered a colorful bouquet of wildflowers for the bride and her daughter to carry. Bess and Will were both gone and most of their sizeable clan had moved to other cities, but all who were able had come. Kitty enjoyed a tearful reunion with the children of her dear friend as Matt shook hands with Judge Maddox and the other men set up the chairs. Every few minutes another buggy arrived, and soon people were searching for places to secure their horses.
Kitty mingled with the guests, introducing Laura and reconnecting with her past. She was overwhelmed with sincere sentiments and well wishes from people she never dreamed would still care. She had indeed left her imprint on Dodge during her years there, and it hadn't disappeared when she had those many years ago.
A tap on the shoulder caused her to pardon herself mid-sentence to greet the latest guest seeking her attention. She turned around to see her groom and figured it must be time to get started.
"I'll be there in one minute," she promised, holding up a finger.
"But I need to give you your present before the ceremony," he whispered in her ear. Kitty frowned. "I thought we agreed no presents?"
"Oh, I think you'll approve of this one." Matt stepped aside to reveal a man behind him, tall and lanky with salt and pepper hair and matching moustache. Kitty gasped and raised a hand to her mouth. "Is it really you?" she exclaimed in a shaky voice.
"Well if it ain't, Mister Dillon's gonna be awful mad about them train tickets," quipped Chester Goode with a delightfully familiar ear to ear grin. Kitty threw her arms around him and the two embraced hard for several seconds. Matt watched with warm satisfaction, grateful that Chester had been available to make the trip from Colorado at the last minute. Chester was retired now too, from a successful career as a judge's assistant in Denver. It had been a difficult decision to leave his friends in Dodge some twenty-four years ago, but Matt knew he couldn't offer him that kind of opportunity and reluctantly encouraged him to take it. Matt had stayed in close touch with Chester ever since, but when Kitty left for New Orleans they had sadly, though understandably, drifted apart. This was the best present Matt could possibly have given her.
"Miss Kitty, I'd like you to meet my wife, Millie," Chester gestured proudly to the pretty petite brunette standing next to him. She had kind eyes and an equally toothy grin and looked exactly like the sort of woman everyone hoped Chester would find after his string of bad luck romances as a young man in Dodge. They had met the year after Chester moved to Denver and were married shortly after, having two sons who were now grown.
"It's awful nice to meet you, Miss Kitty," Millie said sweetly, extending her hand. "Chester has told me so very much about you, and I'm just thrilled we could be here for such a happy event." She had the kind of voice that instantly put one at ease, and Kitty hoped this was but one of many visits she and Matt would have with Mr. and Mrs. Chester Goode.
"So am I," Kitty replied, squeezing her hand.
"Shall we begin?" came the booming voice of the Honorable Judge Grady Maddox, loudly enough to attract the attention of the scattered crowd. Matt and Kitty gave each other one final look before becoming husband and wife. "I'm ready if you are," Kitty announced. "Honey, I've been ready for a long time," he returned, giving her a kiss on the cheek before heading over to take his place in front of the judge.
The crowd quickly found suitable places to stand or sit, split almost evenly on each side of the officiant, making a row down the middle. The lake glistened to their left, and bright leaves of red, yellow, and orange lightly rustled in the gentle breeze. Judge Maddox nodded to Butch Ledbedder, who began a slow, deliberate rendition of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March," on the fiddle he normally used to play barn dances. He had spent two days perfecting the piece on the instrument he now proudly called a violin.
Matt stood straight and tall with Festus by his side. Laura took her place up front and then Newly extended his arm and—finally-escorted Miss Kitty Russell and her bouquet of Kansas wildflowers to the man she had surely been destined to marry. Chester winked at her from the front and she winked back. Judge Maddox began the ceremony with the words everyone had become accustomed to hearing at such occasions. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here…"
Unsurprisingly, not a single attendee interjected with any reason this man and this woman should not be united in matrimony, with good-natured laughs at the mention. Each in turn, Matt and Kitty promised to love, cherish, and honor, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, forsaking all others, until death. Laura cracked a smile at the omission of the word "obey" in Kitty's vows, typically uttered by all brides during a wedding ceremony. Her parents were clearly anything but typical, and that was fine by her. Matt slipped a plain gold band over Kitty's finger, one she had chosen herself after careful consideration. She owned more fancy rings with jewels than she could count, but at this stage in her life nothing seemed quite as beautiful on her finger as that simple, universal symbol of commitment.
When Matt Dillon kissed his wife for the very first time, the group erupted in cheers. Butch began playing an upbeat ditty and Festus led the crowd in a dance. Laura hugged her father without provocation, with a budding affection that had grown in the days she had spent getting to know him. She still had a few things to figure out, but she had high hopes for this family of hers. The usually stoic former marshal held onto his daughter as though he might never let go. At last, his life was complete.
Judge Maddox had traveled to Dodge with a friend, whom he introduced to the couple after the ceremony. "Matt, Miss Russell—excuse me, Mrs. Dillon—this is John Quinlan, a photographer from the Hays City Free Press. I thought you might enjoy having some keepsakes from your special day, so I hope you'll accept his services as my gift to you."
"Photographs!" Kitty squealed. The idea of being able to actually see the faces of her friends and family on this day for years to come filled her with excitement, and what a lovely treasure to pass on to Laura. "That's mighty nice of you, Grady," Matt expressed appreciatively. "Just tell us what to do."
Mr. Quinlan opened up a large black case and began assembling its pieces. "Why don't you gather up a few people and we'll start with some pictures next to the lake. Give me a little time to get set up."
Kitty and Matt knew exactly what they wanted, and a few minutes later a small group stood by the lake, fixing hair, smoothing coats and dresses, adjusting ties, and figuring out where they should stand so that no one was blocked from view.
"Move in a little closer," Mr. Quinlan instructed as he peered through the tiny window of his contraption, and they obliged. Matt Dillon found himself wedged in the center of a small crowd that he couldn't have imagined even a short time ago would be happily standing together at this event. There was Chester Goode, the assistant who was with him in the very beginning when a fresh faced beauty stepped off that stage and changed his life forever; Festus Haggen, the trusted deputy and stalwart friend who had never wavered in his support of the couple, even when it seemed hopeless; Newly O'Brien, loyal and capable protégé who had made it possible for him to finally pry that badge off his chest and discover a whole new life of desires and opportunities; Kitty Russell, his one and only, the woman he stupidly let go forever until fate stepped in and gave him another chance; and his beautiful, precious Laura, conceived in love, whose youthful inexperience had led to a foolish decision that now seemed almost predestined to reunite her parents. They were all here—his past, his present, and his future.
There was one person missing. Matt wrestled his arm out of its tight quarters with some effort and reached into his vest pocket. He pulled out a gold watch, the one Doc Adams had carried for his many years in Dodge and had given to Matt before he died. Doc would have enjoyed this day more than anyone, and by golly he was going to be in this picture too.
"Very good," Mr. Quinlan remarked as the group held their poses. "Now hold it…hold it…"
*Flash*
The End
