The day was as beautiful as Nicole Richardson had hoped when she and Frank had set October 10th as the date for their afternoon wedding. Spring was her favorite season of the year. She hated the long, cold winters of New York City, loved the way the city, and especially Central Park, came alive with the fresh blooms of the magnolias, the cherry trees, the dogwoods; loved the freshness of the air after a nice shower. But Frank had proposed to her the end of June, and neither had any desire to wait a good six months before becoming Mr. and Mrs. Frank Reagan.

October had it's own beauty and charm, with the deep rich Autumn foliage of the maples, the oaks, and the elm trees. The air was cool, and crisp. Summer was over, and the disappearance of summer meant the disappearance of the crowds of tourists in the city, a good time for the city's police commissioner to take a short time off to honeymoon with his new bride before the arrival of the holiday visitors.

Nicole sat on a stool in front of the full length mirror in the small dressing room of the Catholic church, as her best friend Sybil Rosseni styled her hair.

"How's that?" Sybil asked when she was done with the loose updo, secured with a delicate mother of pearl flower comb accented with beads, pearls and Swarovski crystals.

"Perfect! Thank you," Nicole replied as she looked into the hand mirror Sybil offered her, turning her back to the full length mirror to view her friend's creation.

"Of course it's perfect! Nothing less for my precious friend. So, I did good setting you up with the perfect man, didn't I?"

Nicole laughed. "Yes, you did! Took you several tries, though, before you got it right. But you did get it right, and I thank you!" Nicole hugged her friend, then asked, "What time is it?"

Sybil glanced at her watch. "Time to get dressed, I think."

Nicole slipped out of the simple shift she had chosen to wear to the church. She had done her makeup before leaving her home, but left her hair for Sybil to do. She didn't want to be caught "at her worst" — sans makeup, in case reporters and photographers were waiting for her outside her home, or the church. She had been pleased to notice none, but knew there was always at least one hiding somewhere with a zoom lens. It had been impossible to keep the date quiet, but Frank had asked members of the press to allow them privacy on this day, and so far they seemed to be honoring that request.

Sybil helped her slip into her dress. Nicole had chosen a 1950's vintage tea length sheath dress in ivory. The high-collared lace dress had capped sleeves, and sheer lace back and front above the sweetheart bodice. The back zipper was hidden by a line of delicate pearls. Sybil's dress was similar in style, but of Damask fabric, and red in color.

Once Sybil had zipped the dress for her, Nicole asked, "Now, where are my shoes?"

"Right there in that shoebox. You're not nervous, are you?"

"Me, nervous? Why would I be nervous? Just because I'm about to marry the Commissioner of New York City, head of the great Reagan family, and the majority of the guests today are his family and friends, and I'm probably going to trip and fall in front of them all walking down the aisle in these high heels—"

"You are not going to trip and fall, Nicole. You are the most graceful woman I know. Besides, if you do, Frank will be right there to help you up."

XXXXX

Frank and Henry climbed into the backseat of the beige SUV parked outside their home. Once they had buckled in, Frank said, "Let's get to the church, guys."

After a few minutes of silence, he turned to his dad and asked, "You did get the ring, right, Pop?"

"The ring?"

"Yes, Pop. The ring. The one I gave you last night, to take care of as my best man. The one that I'm supposed to slip onto Nicole's finger in less than an hour. That ring. Are you telling me you don't have it?"

"Jesus, Francis. I left it on my dresser."

"Your dresser. At home."

"Yes, Francis! My dresser at home. Where else? I'm sorry. You shouldn't have trusted me with it."

"In hindsight, I can see that!" Frowning, Frank said to his driver, "Turn around, Jerry, we need to go back to the house."

"Francis, are you sure we have time for that?"

"Well, I can't very well show up at my own wedding without a ring, now can I!" Looking at his watch, he said, "We've got plenty of time."

"Sorry, son."

"No harm done."

Frank reached inside his vest, pulled out his cell phone, checking it for missed phone calls, text messages. He was tempted to call Nicole, he wanted to hear her voice, but he certainly didn't want to confess to her that he had left the house without her wedding ring. And he didn't want to disturb her, in case she was still getting ready. She had not allowed him to spend the night with her, saying it was bad luck. They'd had a quiet family dinner following the rehearsal at the church, then he'd taken her home, where they'd spent quiet cuddle time on the sofa. He had called her earlier in the morning, but hadn't talked to her since. He missed her, couldn't wait to see her.

When they arrived back at the house, Henry offered to run in and get the ring.

"I'll get it. Keep the motor running, Jerry, it won't take but a minute."

Once upstairs and in his dad's room, Frank checked the dresser. He found the ring box, but no ring. He glanced around the room, no sign of the ring. He checked the top drawer. No ring. He reached inside his vest for his phone.

"Damn!" He'd left his cell phone in the seat of the SUV.

"Looking for this, Francis?"

Frank turned to see his dad standing in the doorway, holding his cell phone.

"Where's the ring, Pop?"

Henry reached into the pocket of his suit trousers, pulled out a ring. "Right here."

Frank looked at him with confusion. "Are you telling me you had it in your pocket all along?"

"I guess I put it there when I was dressing, and forgot. Sorry, son."

"It's okay. We're all a little nervous. Let's just get to the church, shall we?"

Back in the SUV, Frank said, "Let's try again. Get me to the church."

"About that, sir. We have a problem," the front seat passenger, Marty, said.

"A problem? What kind of problem?"

"A bad accident just occurred on the bridge. Traffic stopped both directions."

"Are you telling me I can't get to my own wedding?"

"That's about it, sir."

Frank sighed. "Just head that way, see what it looks like when we get there."

"Will do, sir."

Frank rubbed his hand over his mouth, looked at his cell phone, then made the call.

"Hey, Dad, where are you? Thought you'd be here by now," Danny answered on the other end.

"We're on our way, son. Everyone else there?"

"Everyone but the groom and best man."

"Be there as soon as we can."

"Okay, Dad. How ya doing?"

"I'm good."

Frank disconnected the call, returned his phone to his pocket, sighed.

When they reached the Brooklyn Bridge, they saw the stopped, backed-up traffic. They could hear the screams of sirens in the distance.

"What chance of this opening up in the next few minutes?" Frank asked.

"Very little. Want me to light it up, sir?" Jerry asked.

"No, let's just give it a few minutes."

They sat in silence as the minutes on his watch ticked away. Ten minutes later, they still sat.

"It's getting late, Francis. You're going to be late."

"I can see that, Pop. What do you suggest? You know as well as I do it's not proper protocol to use the lights for my own personal use."

"Once in a while it's necessary to bend the rules a little, son."

"And you know I don't do that."

"Your call, it's your wedding," Henry replied, frowning.

XXXXX

Nicole had just slipped into her beige three-inch heels when someone knocked on the door.

"How's it going, ladies?" Erin asked, as she opened the door and stepped inside the room. Seeing Nicole, she said, "Oh, Nicole. You just look absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you, Erin," Nicole replied. "How's your dad? Have you seen him?"

"Actually, Nicole, Dad's not here yet."

"He's not?"

"It's okay. Danny just talked to him. He and Pop are on their way."

"Everyone else here?"

"Yes. Lot of guests out there. I thought you guys kept the guest list small."

"Well, I did. Seemed like Frank just kept adding."

"How delicious!" Sybil said. "I thought that was always the bride who did that."

"It usually is," Erin replied. "Anything you need?"

"Just Frank," Nicole replied.

Erin smiled. "He'll be here soon. I'm going to go back in and make sure Danny's behaving himself. We'll let you know as soon as Dad gets here."

"Thanks, Erin," Nicole replied. Turning to Sybil once Erin closed the door behind her, Nicole said, "I wonder why he's not here yet."

"Who knows? Last minute grooming of that mustache, or something. He'll be here soon."

"I hope so." Nicole twisted her engagement ring on her finger. She knew she needed to move it over to her right hand for the ceremony, but she didn't want to do that until last minute. As she waited for Frank to arrive, she recalled the evening she and Frank had shopped for it. He had made arrangements with the jewelry store owner for them to shop after closing.

"Aahh, Frank, she's even more beautiful in person than in the photos," the owner had said when Frank introduced them.

"That she is, Mario." Frank had replied.

"I thought you might want to sip on a nice Champagne while you shop." Mario pulled a bottle out of an ice bucket and opened it.

That is so sweet," Nicole said after having taken the glass he offered her.

Mario reached for Nicole's hand. "Ahh, Frank, she has such long, delicate fingers. I hear they can take a man down, though. You keep that in mind at all times, Frank Reagan."

Frank blushed. "I always do."

"Now, Nicole, what did you have in mind? Big? Solitaire? Most women do, but I think such a ring would overpower such dainty fingers as yours. Might I recommend something else?" Mario asked.

"Please do." Nicole's engagement ring from Daniel had been a one carat round solitaire set in gold. Ten years later he had surprised her with a much larger marquise cut solitaire for their anniversary. She had loved it, but had felt it overwhelmed her long, slender finger.

"Allow me to suggest a round shape with a wider band to complement the length of your finger. Perhaps something like this one." Mario pulled out a ring, handed it to Nicole. The ring was classic in design, with a center round brilliant diamond encircled by two rows of bead-set diamonds. The band's hand-set diamonds added to the elegance of the ring.

"It's beautiful," she replied.

"Slip it on her finger, Frank. See how it looks."

"Okay."

When he did, Mario gasped. "Ahh, even more perfect than I imagined. Of course it's too big, but we can take of that. That is no problem."

"What do you think, Nicole?" Frank asked.

Holding her hand out in front of her, she said, "I agree with Mario. It's perfect. What do you think?"

"If you think it's perfect, so do I. You sure you don't want to look at a few more before deciding, though?"

"No. When you find the right one, no need to keep looking," she said, smiling at Frank.

"I couldn't agree more," he said, smiling back at her, and then kissing her. "Let me see it."

Nicole slid the ring from her finger, handed it to Frank.

"I didn't have a ring the first time, and you wanted it done right, so here goes." Frank got down on one knee and, for the second time, proposed to Nicole.

And, for the second time, Nicole said yes.

"Ahh, Frank," Mario said, holding both hands over his heart as Frank stood. "That was so touching, I almost said yes myself!"

"Sorry, Mario, I'm already taken," Frank had replied, smiling. And then he had cupped Nicole's face in his hands, and said, "Very taken," before he kissed her.

Nicole smiled now as she recalled the tenderness of that kiss.

XXXXX

As Frank sat in traffic, thinking about what his dad had said about the need to bend the rules, his phone beeped. He glanced at it, saw that it was a text message from Nicole.

Frank, please tell me you don't suddenly have cold feet on our wedding day.

He didn't return a text, he called her instead. She answered on the first ring.

"Frank, what's going on?"

"My feet are quite warm, Nicole. I'm just stuck in traffic. I will be there when I can, even if I have to get out and walk."

"Frank, I need you here, whatever it takes."

Frank could hear the anxiety in his fiancé's voice, the voice he was accustomed to oozing composure, self-confidence. "I'll be there, Nicole, I promise. I love you."

"I love you. Please hurry."

Frank sighed as he returned his phone to his pocket once more, glanced over at his dad sitting to his right, then out at the traffic in front of them that was going nowhere, the lanes to his left void of any traffic at all.

"Light it up, Jerry. Get me to the church. Just be careful, don't get in the way of any of the emergency vehicles."

"You got it, sir."

"Good call, son."

"Think so, Pop?"

"I do."

When they reached the site of the accident, Jerry stopped just short of a patrol officer in the middle of the road, rolled down his window. Frank did the same. The officer approached, recognized the commissioner immediately.

"How bad is it, Officer?" Frank asked.

"Well, sir we have a big mess, as you can see, but fortunately no serious injuries."

"Glad to hear it."

"Sir, aren't you supposed to be getting married about now?"

"Yes, I am, Officer. Just having a bit of a problem getting there," Frank said, looking ahead at the damaged vehicles blocking the way.

"Hold on, sir. We'll get you through."

The officer called out to another officer, who was standing next to a patrol car blocking traffic from passing through. "Williams, get that squad car out of the way! The Commissioner needs through."

"The Commissioner? I thought he was getting married this afternoon?" Williams replied.

"You get your car out of the way, and he will!"

The officer jumped in the car, backed it up and then pulled it over out of the way, so that Frank's detail could pass.

"Thank you, Officer," Frank said to the first officer.

"Thank you, sir. You're always there for us. My pleasure to do something for you. Congratulations."

The officer backed away from the SUV, saluted as it drove away. The other officers did the same as the Commissioner passed.