Skyler looked around the huge church in awe. They went to a little church in Smallville with his grandmother. He'd never been in a church like this. He leaned his head back against the pew to find the ceiling. It didn't look like it ever ended at first glance. It made him feel small. The church had big, pretty windows with pictures of stories from the Bible and stone walls. It was neat to look at, but he'd rather be in a small church. It seemed friendlier somehow.
He was here for Uncle Bruce and Aunt Chloe's wedding. They were getting married in this church in Gotham. It was the same church Uncle Bruce's parents had been married in. He was going to be their ring bearer and that made him nervous. He'd practiced once, but what if he messed up? He could tell that this was the kind of church you weren't allowed to trip in. It was still early, but a couple of people were already here. There were guards outside to make sure only wedding guests came because Uncle Bruce was so rich and famous. Great-uncle Gabe was supposed to be watching him. He was a part of the wedding party too. He had to walk Aunt Chloe down the aisle. Noel was at a babysitter's, so she wouldn't cry during it. His dad was Uncle Bruce's best man and his mom was Aunt Chloe's matron of honor or something like that.
He was out here so he wouldn't get in the way of preparations, but he was bored and it'd be fun to see the rest of the church. He was also curious about what you had to do before you got married. Uncle Gabe was talking to a cousin that he hadn't seen in years, so Skyler took the opportunity to sneak away. He had to decide where to go, to his dad or to his mom. They both might make him go back to the sanctuary with Uncle Gabe, but Superman and Batman seemed more capable of carrying it out. Aunt Chloe was the sympathetic type, so he figured he had a better shot if he found her.
He walked until he found their voices. He peeked through the crack in the door and listened before barging in. Aunt Chloe had a tissue and was pressing her lips on it.
"There you go," his mom said. "I don't know a lot about makeup, but you look stunning. Of course, that has more to do with your natural beauty."
"You're flattering my ego."
"It's your wedding day. You can have all the ego you want, and it's my job as matron of honor to keep up your morale."
Chloe's face fell.
"And apparently I'm not doing a very good job. Do you have pre-wedding jitters?"
"Kind of. Lois, how did you know you and Clark were going to be together forever? Were you ever afraid another woman would whisk him away?"
"It hasn't quite been forever yet," she smiled. "Are you worried Bruce won't be faithful? He's not that type, and he loves you."
"I know he does and I love him, but he's a billionaire, who up until recently had the reputation of being a playboy." Skyler wrinkled his nose. He didn't know how. Anyone could see Uncle Bruce was not a boy and that he hadn't played with toys in awhile. "Women are going to be throwing themselves at his feet. They already do. That's more temptation than most men get."
"Who do you think you're talking to? Clark's not rich, but he's Superman. You don't think women are constantly throwing themselves at Clark when he has the cape on? I know they do. He just had the title of most eligible bachelor. If they only knew he had a family, but of course, that wouldn't stop some women. The point is you just have to trust him."
"That's easy for you to say. Clark worships the ground you walk on. He doesn't even look at other women."
"The same applies to Bruce, and what about Lana? It's not like I've never had a competitor."
"That was before he fell in love with you and before you got married."
Skyler gasped. He'd never thought about his parents having boyfriends or girlfriends before. He hadn't even thought about them not being married. He just had this irrational notion that his parents had always been together.
"Bruce loves you, Chloe. It's as simple as that. Other women have tried to win his affections and failed. As you well know, his public image was a façade. He's not the easiest person to get to open up, but you did it without even trying. You certainly don't have to worry about the Batman side of things. Of course, some women are suckers for tights, I'd say you and I fall in that category, but with Bruce, the bat thing scares most of them away."
Chloe laughed. "That's probably true and they don't get a good look at him, since it's almost always night and he wears a mask."
"I'd even say they'd get a good chuckle out of his costume if Batman wasn't so serious and scary."
"That's probably true too. I know I'm being silly. Our marriage will be fine. "
"No, it'll be great, but I'm going to miss you like crazy around the Planet."
Chloe leaned over and hugged her. "Thanks. It's not like you'll never see me just because I'm moving to Gotham."
Skyler was tired of the boring adult conversation and decided it was now or never. Aunt Chloe was wiping away what was called happy tears. Skyler never understood it. If he was happy, he just smiled or jumped up and down.
"Hey, Skyler. What are you doing here?" Chloe asked him with a smile.
His mom asked the same thing only more sternly.
"I got bored. How much longer until you get married to Uncle Bruce?"
Chloe laughed. "About 30 minutes. Are you ready to be ring bearer? It's a big job you know."
"What if I trip?" Skyler asked, worried.
"Is that bothering you?" his mom said. "It's not that big a deal. The rings are sewn onto the pillow, so they won't be going anywhere and they're not the ones that they're going to be using. Your dad has those. All you have to is walk with a pillow in your hands. To tell you the truth, I'll probably trip before you do in these high heels."
She pulled him on her lap, as there were no other chairs in the room.
"You might wrinkle your dress if you're not careful, Lois," Chloe teased.
"I like living on the edge," she replied in an equally teasing tone.
He felt much better about it. This might even be fun. He'd never been to a wedding before. He liked sitting on his mom's lap. It made him feel warm and safe. He dreaded the day when he'd be too big to sit on her lap. The dark green silk she was wearing was cool to the touch. He was sure it was more comfortable than the stuffy suit and clip-on tie he was wearing.
Aunt Chloe stood up and whirled around in her wedding dress. "What do you think?" she asked him.
His mom picked up the tiara that was on the table. "You almost forgot this."
Chloe placed it on top of her curled, upswept hair. "Now what do you think?"
"I think you look like a princess," he said in admiration.
They both laughed, making him blush. Aunt Chloe kissed the top of his head.
Skyler got tired after awhile. The conversation his mom and Chloe were having was boring and he thought great-uncle Gabe might start to wonder where he was. "I'm going back to Uncle Gabe," he said.
"Okay, be good for him," his mom said.
Once Skyler was out of the room, he sighed. One thing was for sure, waiting around for weddings to take place was no fun. When he got back to the sanctuary, some people that he knew were there like Uncle Perry, Uncle Jimmy, and his grandma. They talked to him for a little while and it wasn't long before it was time to start the ceremony.
His dad and Uncle Bruce didn't have to walk down the aisle. They got to wait up front. He on the other hand, had to walk down the aisle in time with the music, but he did it without tripping. Aunt Chloe was the last one to come out. The preacher was at the top of the stairs. Uncle Bruce and Aunt Chloe went to the top of the stairs, while he, his parents, and Alfred's niece, the flower girl, waited at the bottom of the stairs. Alfred was in the front pew. He had turned down being best man and Uncle Bruce said he was more like father of the groom anyway. Skyler didn't listen to most of it, but he figured it basically boiled down to 'I love you'. He scrunched his eyes shut, when the preacher said 'you may now kiss the bride'. He hated watching grownups kiss on the lips. It was disgusting.
After the wedding was the fun part. There was a party with dancing and food. Uncle Bruce and Aunt Chloe shoved cake in each other's face, which Skyler thought was funny. The only complaint he had about the cake was that it wasn't chocolate.
That evening, Aunt Chloe and Uncle Bruce drove away for their honeymoon, but he wasn't quite sure what that was because no one would tell him. His dad had told him it was a vacation, but it had taken him a little while to think of it, so Skyler figured there was more to it. It must be one of those things adults said you would understand when you were older. Skyler wasn't sure about that. How were you ever going to understand if no one told you?
Everybody waved as Aunt Chloe and Uncle Bruce got into their limo. He hoped they had a boy to play with soon, now that they were married. The only family he had to play with was Noel and his cousin Susie, who was bossy.
TBC
