Holly was wearing one of the hotel's white terry-cloth bathrobes as she finished blow-drying her hair. Then she heard an unrelenting pounding on the bathroom door and Blake urgently calling, "Mom! Mom! Mom!" over and over.
Holly quickly turned off the blow dryer and set it aside, unlocked the bathroom door and flung it open, causing Blake to nearly fall into the bathroom. "What? What's wrong? Is it one of the boys?" Holly asked anxiously, rushing into the bedroom, her hairbrush still in her hand. She stopped short when she saw Kevin and Jason lying in their portable crib, both wearing bodysuits that looked like little tuxedos-long black sleeves and legs and tiny feet, with the front of both bodysuits looking like white tuxedo shirts and black bow ties surrounded by what looked like the lapels of a tiny tuxedo jacket. Both Kevin and Jason's bodysuits even had what looked like white pocket squares peeking out of where the pocket would be on an actual tuxedo jacket. "That is adorable!" Holly exclaimed. "But really, Blake, did you have to scare me like that to get me out here to see them?"
"It's not the boys' outfits!" Blake exclaimed. "We didn't go to Victoria's Secret! You don't have anything for tonight!"
Holly smiled. "Actually, I do," she replied calmly. "I got something yesterday."
"Has Dad seen it?" Blake asked.
"Not yet," Holly replied.
"But it's suitably bridal?" Blake persisted.
Holly looked at her, amused. "If you're asking if it's white, no."
"It doesn't have to be white," Blake said.
"Oh, there are rules about this sort of thing? I didn't know that," Holly said.
Blake tilted her head and looked at Holly. "Are you making fun of me?" she asked.
"No," Holly assured her, taking Blake's hand and squeezing it reassuringly. "But you're more nervous than I am."
"You're not nervous at all!" Blake said. "Why is that?"
"Because I know this is right," Holly replied calmly. "Marrying Roger is the most right thing I've ever done. It feels like I've been waiting for this for forever."
"Did you feel like this the first time you married Dad?" Blake asked. At Holly's surprised look, she said, "Never mind, forget it. Ancient history. It doesn't matter anymore."
"No, it does matter," Holly said. "And no, I didn't feel anything like this the first time we got married. Neither one of us really knew what we were doing then."
"But you know now." Blake's tone was both hopeful and questioning.
"Yes," Holly said. "This is it, Blake. Your father and I are going to be together for the rest of our lives. All those walls we each built to keep the other person out, or at least at arm's length? They're gone now. There is no one in the world that I feel closer to than Roger, and it's not a fleeting feeling this time. We're finally getting it right. We have the love, we always had that, even when we didn't realize we had it. But now we have the kind of trust we never have before. Nothing is more important to me than my relationship with Roger, and nothing is more important to Roger than his relationship with me. We're finally ready to truly, completely commit to each other in every way."
"I'm so happy for you and Dad," Blake said. "And I've never seen you like this, Mom. Having...well...having been at your other weddings, two of them that I remember anyway...you were never this happy before, or this excited, or this eager. Even with all the stuff with Hart and Dinah still not being resolved, you're not..." Blake trailed off and bit her lip, looking a lot like Holly when she did.
"I'm not looking for an escape route," Holly said.
"I didn't say that," Blake replied.
"But you were thinking it," Holly said. "I do have the habit of running away from Roger, whatever the reason. It gets too be too much, or I get scared, or I don't want to face my true feelings for him." Holly gripped Blake's hands then. "All of that is done. These past two years..."
"I thought that you two were happy together that year you were together in Springfield," Blake said. "But then everything fell apart so completely and so fast, I thought I must have been at least a little bit wrong." Blake had never had a truly in-depth conversation with either Roger or Holly about their breakup in late 1994, but she had witnessed firsthand how painful it was for her father especially. Holly had never been one to let Blake see her true feelings unless those feelings were anger or disgust aimed at Blake, so seeing Holly so open and happy now, and knowing that the reason was Holly's relationship with Roger, was a new experience for Blake. She wanted to trust it, but wasn't entirely certain if she should, because the last time she trusted it, everything spectacularly imploded, and almost before she knew it, her mother was shacking up with and marrying Fletcher Reade, and her father was marrying Dinah, leaving Blake to wonder how everything had come to that.
"It was a surface happiness," Holly said. "We didn't trust each other the way we should then, and we didn't put each other and our relationship first the way we should have then. But your father and I have both learned some hard lessons in the past two years, and I can't speak for him, but for the first time in my life, I know exactly what I want: to be with your father, to be married to him and build a life with him. When I run in the future, I'll be running to Roger, not away from him." She looked deeply into Blake's eyes now. "I've never felt this happy, excited, or eager before in my life," she continued. "I've never felt such a calm and such an inner peace. I can't wait to stand there with Roger and hold his hands and look into his eyes like I'm doing with you now and tell him this and everything else that's in my heart."
Blake teared up. "I always wanted this," she admitted. "Not just because you're my parents, but because I could see it. Somehow I could see all along that you and Dad loved each other in a way that you could never love anyone else, and that if you'd just get out of your own way, maybe you'd find yourselves together." She laughed then. "Sometimes I thought maybe that's how it would have to happen, that it would be an impulsive thing, and then I could only hope that you'd stick it out if you did get married impulsively. This wedding is kind of impulsive, but then it's not really impulsive at all, because in a way you've been waiting a long time for this."
"A lifetime," Holly agreed. "And I'm so glad you're here for it, honey."
"Me too," Blake said. She hugged Holly then, and Holly hugged her back. "Now," Blake said when she released her mother and wiped her eyes, "let's get dressed. We don't want to keep Daddy waiting."
"We certainly don't," Holly agreed, beaming as she went and got the garment bag containing her dress out of the closet where Blake had hung it when they had arrived at the suite.
Across the hall and a few doors down, Michael had just finished tying his bow tie when his cell phone rang. "Hello?" he said. "We're getting dressed," he continued after a few seconds' pause. Roger was sitting on the edge of the bed in his tuxedo pants, socks, shoes, and white crewneck t-shirt, putting the studs in his tuxedo shirt. "No, she's across the hall with Blake and the babies and they're all getting ready too...No, we're not all riding to The Harbor Club together, Donna. Roger and I still have to pick up the flowers." Even Roger heard the shriek of protest from Donna on the other end of Michael's phone. Michael pulled the phone from his ear for a moment before putting it back. "Donna...Donna...DONNA!" he finally bellowed, slowing her rapid-fire stream of upset rambling. "We will get the flowers and be right there. Everything will be fine. We will start on time. We have the place for the whole evening anyway...No, I am not being flip when I say that, it's true!" Michael sighed then. "Donna, down. We'll be leaving in a few minutes...Yes, of course I have the rings!" He shot Roger a look then and exaggeratedly mouthed, "Where are the rings?"
"Holly still has them," Roger replied. He finished putting the last stud in his shirt, put it on, stood up, quickly fastened the shirt, and picked up the phone from his bedside table and called Holly's room.
"Hello?" she answered in the middle of the second ring.
"Hi," Roger said.
Holly beamed, and Roger could feel her happiness through the phone line, which ramped up his happiness even higher than it already was. "I didn't think I'd hear from you again until the altar," she replied. "I'm so glad you called. I'm just waiting for Blake to finish her makeup, and then we're heading over to The Harbor Club."
"Michael and I have to pick up the flowers, and then we'll be there," he replied. "Donna's giving Michael a hard time about that right now over the phone, as a matter of fact."
"Our wedding means a lot to her," Holly reflected. "Our wedding means a lot to everybody. Blake, I expected, but the others are a wonderful surprise."
"It's nice not to have people predicting catastrophe or trying to talk you out of marrying me," Roger agreed.
"No one could talk me out of marrying you," Holly assured him firmly. "You're going to be stuck with me for life."
"You're gonna be stuck with me," Roger disagreed. "I'm getting the better end of this deal, that's for sure."
"I'm getting exactly what I want," Holly told him. "To be your wife."
Roger's heart skipped a beat when Holly referred to herself as his wife. "I can't wait to marry you."
"I can't wait to marry you either." They were silent for a few seconds, and then Holly said, "I still have the rings."
"Right. How are we handling that? Michael told Donna he has the rings because she asked, and I guess she's making a thing about it-"
Michael had ended his call across the room and, hearing Roger on the phone with Holly, said, "Is she ever!"
"I think Blake wants to hold onto my ring for you," Holly said, "but Michael does need your ring for me. I'll have Blake bring it over when you get to The Harbor Club, okay? I'm sure Blake, and Donna as well, won't want us seeing each other until the ceremony."
"I'm sure they won't either, and I would like a minute with Chrissy before the ceremony," Roger said. "Okay." Michael tapped the face of his watch then, reminding Roger that they had a bit of what Michael had taken to referring to as "a covert Cupid operation" to launch before leaving The Bayshore. "Well, Michael is motioning to me that it's about that time, so I will see you at the altar."
"Yes, you will," Holly agreed. "I love you."
"I love you too," Roger said. Then they hung up at the same time. Roger put his cufflinks in, then threaded his bow tie around his collar, stepped to the mirror over the dresser, and tied it. "I'm sorry Donna's being so high-strung about the wedding," he told Michael apologetically.
But Michael waved it away. "Donna is being Donna. Your wedding means a lot to her. She's never had a girlfriend before, and she's really gone all out to make this wedding and reception special and memorable for you and Holly. She's in her element with these things. John's stepdaughter Josie is planning to get married next spring, but Donna has had to hold herself back because Sharlene and Josie and Frankie are doing all the planning. Frankie has always been really close with Sharlene and Josie. So some of this is because she doesn't really get to participate in the planning for Josie's wedding, and Sharlene and John are married, and Victoria and Marley are finally married to the right men, and our oldest grandchild is seven, so it's gonna be a while before she gets to have a hand in planning his wedding, so you and Holly are her last chance for quite a while to do this, and she's making the most of it while adhering to the wishes of the two of you. She would rather have given you a big gala-"
"I think there's a part of Chrissy that wanted that too," Roger agreed as he finished tying his tie and then straightened it before putting on his cummerbund and then his tuxedo jacket, adjusting his pocket square and buttoning the jacket before giving himself a once-over in the mirror.
"-but she knows that's not what you and Holly wanted, and she's determined to give you what you wanted. She really only got to do a gala for Marley and Jamie."
"Jamie is Rachel's son, right?" Roger asked.
"Yeah," Michael said with a nod. "So she and Rachel were both heavily involved in the planning and believe me, there was a good deal of sniping at each other involved. They were able to put their differences aside when Victoria and Ryan finally got married, but they were more on a par with you and Holly. They had been back together for a long time, engaged again, and finally they decided to just do it, so it was a small ceremony but Donna and Rachel, working with Marley and Victoria and Bridget, Victoria and Ryan's nanny/housekeeper/mother-grandmother figure, pulled together a wonderful wedding, and I know Donna has done the same thing now for you and Holly. She's just in that 'anxious for everything to go off without a hitch' mode now."
"Well, it will go off without a hitch," Roger said then, turning from the mirror to look at Michael. "This time, finally, it will go off without a hitch."
A knock came at the door then. "That'll be Ned," Michael said, and he headed into the living room to answer it, Roger trailing after him. Sure enough, it was Ned the concierge.
After Ned greeted both Roger and Michael, Ned said, "I saw your daughter and grandsons and Ms. Lindsey leave the hotel myself five minutes ago, Mr. Thorpe. The coast is clear."
"Thank you, Ned," Roger replied.
Ned held up a key then. "An extra key to Suite 1717," he said. "Which of you gentlemen will be taking this?"
"You'd better, Michael," Roger said.
"Right," Michael agreed, plucking the key from Ned's hand with a thank you. Roger returned to the bedroom, retrieved the necessary bags and boxes, his black dress overcoat slung over one arm, and said, "Let's go. I want to do my part first, and then Ned, a lot of it will be up to you. But we probably won't be back much before 11:00 PM or midnight."
"Not to worry, Mr. Thorpe. Everything will be ready just as you requested upon your return," Ned promised.
"Just remember, Ned: after tonight, you'll have to call Holly 'Mrs. Thorpe,'" Roger said as they left Suite 1714 to head across and down the hall to Roger and Holly's suite.
Ned smiled. "I'm looking forward to it, Mr. Thorpe. Congratulations to you and Ms. Lindsey. I'm very happy for you both."
"Thank you, Ned," Roger replied. Michael opened the door to Roger and Holly's suite, and the trio headed inside to start getting the room ready for Roger and Holly's return after their wedding and reception.
Meanwhile, Holly, Blake, Kevin and Jason had arrived at The Harbor Club. The first people they encountered were Paulina McKinnon, in a purple formal dress with sparkling sequins in its design, and her husband Jake, clad in a black tuxedo with a white bow tie and vest and carrying one of the large, heavy video cameras that were part of his stock in trade. "Paulina," Holly said, surprised, after the coat check girl had taken hers and Blake's coats (Blake had opted to hold onto Kevin's and Jason's winter outerwear).
"Hi, Holly!" Paulina greeted her. "You remember my husband Jake, don't you?"
"You freelance at KBAY," Holly said as Jake set aside his video camera and shook her hand.
"I'm your videographer," Jake said with a smile. "And given my history with the Hudsons, especially since Vic and Ryan aren't gonna be here, Rachel thought it was a good idea if Paulina came along to baby-sit me, isn't that right, my little kumquat?"
Paulina rolled her eyes. "He acts like he forgets that I used to work for him years ago, and I know my way around the equipment," she told Holly. "I think it's an ego thing. When he's working for the station, he reports directly to me."
"You know I love it when you tell me to do!" Jake insisted. He took a beat, then said, "Oh, wait, that's in the bedroom." He grinned cheekily.
Paulina made a frustrated noise. "I swear, Jake, I can't take you anywhere!" she said. She looked at Holly, embarrassed. "I apologize for Jake."
Holly laughed. Paulina and Jake's nickname among the staff at KBAY was The Bickersons, and more than one staffer had warned Holly to steer clear of the editing bays whenever Jake was in there with Paulina and they were heatedly arguing about work, since more than one staffer had walked in on the McKinnons "in flagrante delicto," as Matthew Cory had tactfully described it to Holly. Jake and Paulina bickered a lot, but they also loved each other fiercely and from what little Holly knew of them so far, most of their bickering served as foreplay.
"It's fine, Paulina," Holly assured her. "Nothing can upset me today, because today is the day I finally marry the love of my life."
Paulina and Jake exchanged a look, and then both turned to look at Holly, smiles wreathing both their faces. "Well, we know how that is," Paulina said. "Congratulations to you and Roger, Holly, and all the best."
Jake hefted his video camera again. "Congrats, Boss Lady," he said. "And I'll do a good job for you."
"Thank you both," Holly said, "and I've seen your work, Jake, so I have no doubt that you will."
While Holly had been talking with Paulina and Jake, Blake had wheeled the boys, snoozing in their double stroller, into the dining room proper, where Donna, in a strapless black-and-silver gown with a black satin shawl draped across her shoulders, greeted Blake, quietly fussed over the sleeping babies in their tuxedo-print bodysuits ("You simply must tell me where you got those tiny tuxedo suits for your sons! I hope they make them in Christopher's size. My eight-month-old grandson."), and they went over the music choices. Blake was intrigued when Donna told her, "As soon as your parents agreed to have the reception here, I knew exactly what song they have to dance their first dance to, and I got a copy of it. There's a story there, but we don't have time to go into it right now. I will tell you later, though."
Holly entered the dining room proper while Blake was still puzzling over what song had such meaning for Roger and Holly that Blake herself didn't know anything about, and gasped when she saw the full décor. Donna had transformed The Harbor Club's dining room. The tables and chairs had all been moved out, and two small groups of chairs were set up on either side of a long, white runner serving as the aisle. The aisle stopped right in front of the huge picture window that took up one whole wall and overlooked the bay, and Holly could already see boats festooned with Christmas lights and decorations gathering in the harbor. The chairs were draped in white, with green swags matching the shade of Blake's dress ("Thank God you don't clash!" were the first words out of Donna's mouth upon seeing Blake enter the dining room.) tied in bows at the back. Strands of tiny, steadily glowing white Christmas lights surrounded the picture window and were placed all around the room. There was a long, large step that normally led to the table and chairs that stood by the picture window, but with the furniture gone, that would be where Reverend Watson and Roger and Holly stood during the ceremony, with Blake standing at Holly's side, and Michael standing at Roger's side, just below that step. There were flowers everywhere, beautiful arrangements of white and red roses intertwined with baby's breath that would match the white roses and baby's breath in Holly and Blake's bouquets and Roger and Michael's boutonnieres.
Holly looked all around the room, then at Donna, whose face betrayed her anxiety about what her best friend would think of the décor for her wedding. Holly's face was shining. "Donna, it's perfect," she said softly.
"Really?" Donna asked hopefully, her shoulders loosening in relief.
"Absolutely," Holly said firmly. "I didn't picture anything half as beautiful as this."
"I'll second that." Holly turned to look, and there stood Rachel, resplendent in a long-sleeved gown of burgundy satin and a small, matching clutch bag with a pearl clasp. "Everything looks lovely...especially the bride."
Holly carefully hugged Rachel hello. She was already wearing her dress. Then she said, "Come meet my daughter. Blake," Holly said as she led Rachel over to her," this is my friend Rachel Cory. Rachel, this is my daughter Blake Marler. And the two sleepyheads are my grandsons, Kevin and Jason."
"I've heard a lot about you from your mother, Blake," Rachel said as she and Blake shook hands.
"I can explain," Blake said, drawing laughs from Holly, Rachel, and Donna all three that Blake didn't entirely understand. "It's nice to meet you, Rachel."
"It's nice to meet you too, and you make a very lovely matron of honor," Rachel replied. "Actually, Holly, I'd like to talk to you in private for a moment if I could. Blake, you're welcome to come along."
"I need to talk to you about something as well," Donna said.
Just as Holly was fearing that Donna and Rachel would start sniping at each other like they had the day she went shopping both of them for a dress for her date with Roger last summer, Frankie and Cass walked in arm in arm. "There's the bride!" Frankie, in a peach satin sheath dress, announced.
"And what a beautiful bride she is," Cass, in his black tuxedo, added. After Blake had been formally introduced to Frankie and Cass, Donna took charge and herded all of the women but Paulina into her office, giving Paulina, Jake, and Cass instructions to send Roger and Michael to the employees' break room if they arrived before Donna, Holly, Blake, Rachel, and Frankie returned, assuring them that Michael knew where the employees' break room was. Blake was going to bring her sleeping sons with them, but when Cass offered to watch the boys while the women were in Donna's office, Blake looked to Holly and Holly nodded imperceptibly, so Blake trusted Cass, especially after he hastily added that he and Frankie had a two-year-old daughter themselves so he knew how to take care of babies.
Once they were in Donna's office, Rachel said, "I know we didn't discuss this, but when I was getting ready, I found this in my jewelry box, and I felt like it was a sign," she began as she opened her clutch bag.
"I'm sure it was a sign, Rachel," Frankie said.
Rachel, well familiar with Frankie's beliefs in signs and karma, looked at Frankie fondly before drawing out a stunning bracelet of white sapphires in sterling silver. "That's at least 12 karats," Donna said in a hushed voice.
"It's exactly 12 karats," Rachel replied. She held the bracelet out to Holly. "This was Mac's present to me on our third and final wedding day. If you don't have something else already, I would be honored if you would wear it as your something old. Our third wedding was the one that took, you know, the one that lasted until death did us part, so Frankie, you're the expert. That fact means the bracelet has good karma, right?"
"It sure does," Frankie agreed.
Holly was visibly moved. "Rachel, I don't know what to say," she said softly.
"Say that you'll wear it," Rachel replied with a smile.
"Okay, I'll wear it," Holly agreed. She held out her right hand, and Rachel fastened the bracelet around her right wrist, since Holly was wearing her watch on her left wrist. Rachel fastened the clasp, and then all the women admired the bracelet on Holly's wrist.
"I was thinking along the same lines as Rachel," Frankie said then, reaching into her own purse, withdrawing her closed hand, then opening it to reveal two strings of diamonds that Holly saw were earrings. "These are the earrings I wore when I married Cass in a courtyard in Venice, Italy," she said, extending her open hand to Holly. "And our Venice courtyard wedding was the one that took. So I thought these could be your something borrowed."
"Yes," Holly said. "Thank you, Frankie."
"I've never seen two people more meant to be together than you and Roger...except me and Cass," Frankie added as Holly took the earrings from her hand. There was a mirror hanging on the wall opposite Donna's desk, and Holly went over and switched the small pearl earrings she had been wearing in her ears for Frankie's diamond earrings, which reached almost to her shoulders once they were in.
"It seems that although we didn't consult each other, we all had the same kind of idea," Donna said when Holly turned away from the mirror, Frankie's earrings in her ears. Donna opened her top middle desk drawer and removed a small velvet jewelry case. "I didn't know Rachel was going to give you a white sapphire bracelet to wear," she said as she crossed the room to Holly and gave her the jewelry case, "but I do know that these won't clash."
Holly opened the box to reveal a beautiful necklace. A single blue round-cut sapphire surrounded by glistening round-cut diamonds and set in 14-karat white gold, on a white gold chain. "You know my track record with marriage," Donna said wryly, "but this was Michael's Christmas present to me six weeks after we got back together for good. He said that he chose the sapphire because I didn't have much sapphire jewelry and because we have three grandsons-though Christopher had not yet been born, we knew he was going to be a boy-and all of that is true. But I did some research, and the jeweler told me that blue sapphire is a stone of love, commitment, and fidelity, so I couldn't think of anything more fitting to be your something blue today, Holly."
Holly had tears in her eyes now, and so did Blake. "You're all going to make me cry, and I had planned to at least hold out until my vows," she said with a watery smile. Donna removed the necklace from its box and fastened it around Holly's neck for her, Holly almost absently holding her hair up while Donna did this so her hair didn't get caught in the chain. Holly looked at each of them in turn: Donna, then Frankie, then Rachel. "I've never in my life had friends like the three of you," she said. "In other circumstances, I would have people trying to talk me out of marrying Roger, or thinking that I had lost my mind to want to marry him as much as I do, let alone actually going through with it."
"Then those people were no friends to you," Frankie said.
"Frankie is right," Rachel added. "When you find a love like the love you and Roger have, or the love Mac and I had, and Frankie and Cass have, and Donna and Michael have, there is no substitute for it. And once you know that, first you don't ever forget it," here the other women, including Blake, murmured their agreement, "and then you fight for it and you hold on to it no matter what for the rest of your life, and a true friend will be happy for you and be supportive of you in your marriage."
"And we are your true friends, Holly," Donna concluded.
Holly hugged each of them in turn, then turned to look at Blake, wiping the tears from her eyes, and surprised to see that Blake was wiping tears from her own eyes. "I've never seen you have friends like these either," Blake said. "It's so great, Mom."
"It really is," Holly agreed.
Now it was Blake's turn to go into her small bag. "And I have something new for you," she said. "A garter. I picked it up when we got our dresses and you weren't looking." Blake held out the scrap of ivory and white satin and lace.
Holly gave Blake the biggest hug of all. "Thank you," she whispered in her daughter's ear. "I completely forgot about this...probably because there's no one to throw it to."
A knock came at Donna's office door then, and Donna opened the door to reveal Cass, pushing Kevin and Jason in their stroller. "I'm sorry," he said, "Jason was fine with a diaper change, but I think Kevin wants to eat, and I'm of no use to him. Also, Reverend Watson just arrived. He's in talking to Roger and Michael now, and then he said he wants to meet the bride and matron of honor."
"I'd better hurry then," Blake said, rushing forward to scoop Kevin up.
"We'll give you some privacy," Donna said, herding everyone but Blake, Kevin and Holly out of her office. Holly put the garter on while Blake fed and burped Kevin.
"You really have your own little community here," Blake reflected to her mother.
"We do," Holly agreed.
"Not like Springfield," Blake said. "If Ed were here, his head would be exploding right now. Good thing he's in Africa."
"Ed has his reasons for feeling that way," Holly said, "but I don't think I could ever make him understand how I feel now...how I know I will feel for the rest of my life. Donna, and Michael, Rachel, Frankie and Cass...they weren't witness to all of the bad parts of your father's and my history. Of everyone, I'm guessing Michael and Frankie know the most, if not everything, but they've never said anything to us about it, they've never tried to make us feel like us being together again, being married to each other now, is wrong, or bad, or insane. It's nice to have encouragement and support instead of a lot of strong disapproval and harsh judgment."
"I'm really glad that you and Dad have found true friends," Blake said as she finished changing Kevin. "You deserve this, Mom. You and Dad deserve the best of everything."
"We don't need everything. We just need each other, and you, and Kevin and Jason," Holly replied.
A knock came at the door then. Reverend Watson, a sixtyish man with gray hair, a warm smile, and a manner that instantly put everyone at ease, dressed in his clerical collar, said, "Holly?"
"Yes," Holly replied. "I'm the bride."
"I could tell," Reverend Watson replied. "Your smile matches Roger's. I've just spoken to him briefly. I've heard a lot about you both from Donna. Roger tells me that you'll be saying your own vows, and then you want the traditional vows as well after you've said your own?"
"That's right," Holly said. "That's not a problem, is it?"
"Of course not," Reverend Watson assured her. "It's your wedding. The two of you are calling all the shots tonight. You're marrying each other. I just okay it for the state."
"You're also taking care of the marriage license?" Blake asked. Being a lawyer's wife herself, she knew the importance of having the marriage license on file with the local courthouse.
"I will be filing it first thing in the morning. We'll all sign it after the ceremony, once everything is official," Reverend Watson said. "You must be...I've heard you referred to as both 'Chrissy' and 'Blake.' Which name would you like me to use?"
"'Blake' is fine," Blake replied. "My first name is 'Christina,' and my dad called me 'Chrissy' when I was a little girl and never got out of the habit, but I've gone by my middle name, 'Blake,' since I was 20."
"Blake it is, then," Reverend Watson replied. "Larkin Watson. I'll be officiating your parents' wedding ceremony tonight."
"I can't thank you enough for doing this," Blake said.
"It's my pleasure," Reverend Watson assured her. "Is there anything specific you'd like to add to the ceremony, Holly?"
"Did Roger add anything?" Holly asked.
"As a matter of fact, he did," Reverend Watson informed her. "But I'm not at liberty to say what it is. He wants it to be a surprise for you."
Both Holly and Blake wondered what Roger had asked to have added to the ceremony as a surprise for Holly, but Holly moved on to the issue at hand before Blake did. "I'm not sure if you have many secular readings memorized or if you have a book of them or anything like that," she said.
"More than most people, probably," Reverend Watson said affably. "What did you have in mind?"
Holly thought for a moment, excerpts of Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and several other poems and readings from literature crowding into her head. "Nothing specific," she admitted somewhat ruefully. "But in the past, trust and forgiveness have been..." She paused just slightly to consider how best to phrase it to the minister. "...difficult for us in the past. We've worked very hard to get to where we are now with our love and our ability to trust one another above everything else and being able to forgive what we needed to forgive each other and ourselves for. So if you have anything that speaks about that, I'd really like to have that in the ceremony."
Reverend Watson grinned. "I have just the thing," he said. "I know exactly what to say on that subject. Or I should say, I know exactly whom to quote."
Holly grinned now too. "Wonderful," she said. "Thank you."
"Well, I'm ready whenever you ladies are, and I know the groom and the best man are too," Reverend Watson said then.
"All we need are our flowers and oh, Blake, you have to give Michael my wedding ring for your father," Holly said.
"I'll go and do that right now," Blake said, handing Kevin to Holly. "Kevin, don't you dare spit up on Grandma in her beautiful wedding dress," she said mock sternly.
"We'll be fine," Holly said. "I'll take him back out with Jason. There's no shortage of people to keep an eye on them both until we get out there."
"Okay," Blake agreed. While Holly took Kevin back to the dining room and put him in his stroller with Jason, Blake had a word with Reverend Watson and asked to have something added to her parents' wedding ceremony as well, and she was thrilled when Reverend Watson made a suggestion, which she enthusiastically accepted. Then Blake went and found Roger and Michael in the employees' break room. "I'm looking for the groom," she said, knocking on the door, which was ajar.
"Your mother's not with you, is she? Because I think Donna might do bodily harm to me if she is," Michael said half-jokingly as Blake peeked around the door.
"No, it's just me," she assured Michael, but she only had eyes for her father, who did indeed look like he had just stepped off the top of a wedding cake. His tuxedo was immaculate, his boutonniere of white roses and baby's breath pinned to his lapel, the smile he wore wider, brighter, and more sincere than Blake had ever seen in her life.
Roger eagerly drank in the sight of Blake. "Chrissy, you look so beautiful," he said, his voice hushed and his tone proud.
"If you think I'm beautiful, wait 'til you see Mom. She'll take your breath away," Blake said. She walked up to her father and straightened his tie, which didn't really need straightening. "You look so handsome, Daddy, and so happy."
"I don't know about the handsome, but I've never been this happy, ever," Roger said, sounding awed at the fact. "Your mother is going to marry me in just a few minutes here. I'm going to be with her for the rest of my life. I'm going to get to love her and take care of her and make a life and a home and a future with her, and we're going to get it right this time, after all the wrong turns and bad decisions and all the hurts and catastrophes. This is the greatest day of my life, and having you and Kevin and Jason and Michael and our friends here...It's all so much more than I ever thought I would have, or deserve."
"You do deserve it. You and Mom both deserve it," Blake said. "You two deserve the best of everything."
"I already have it," Roger said. "I have Holly, and to me, she is everything."
Blake hugged him then, blinking back tears. "I love you, Dad," she whispered in his ear. "And I am so happy for you and Mom."
When she drew back, she was surprised to see tears swimming in Roger's eyes. "I'm happy for myself too. That's quite a novelty for me," he said, swiping at his eyes.
Michael had been hanging back, letting Roger and Blake have their father-daughter moment, but now he unobtrusively cleared his throat. "Blake, I have yours and Holly's bouquets here, and I believe you have something for me," he said then.
"Yes," Blake said, drying her tears before crossing to Michael. She pulled Roger's wedding ring for Holly from her left pinkie finger and handed it to him. "Lose this, and you won't have to worry about Donna doing you bodily harm, I'll get to you first," she said.
"I will guard this ring with my life," Michael said solemnly. He then gave Blake Holly's wedding ring for Roger, then opened the box containing the two small bouquets of white roses and baby's breath, the larger of the two meant for Holly. Blake thanked him as she cradled the bouquets in her arm.
"Mom and I will see you out there," Blake said, turning her attention back to Roger. She gave her father a one-armed hug and kissed his cheek, then headed back to Donna's office, where Holly was waiting.
When Roger and Michael were alone again, Michael said, "It's almost zero hour."
"Good, I thought it would never get here!" Roger exclaimed. "What about the music? Is there going to be some song played when Chrissy and Holly are walking down the aisle?"
"It's been taken care of," Michael assured him.
Roger looked at Michael seriously then. "I just realized something," Roger said. "All the times I've been married, this is the first time I've had a best man, which is fitting because you're the best man I know. You always have been."
Michael knew that was how Roger really felt, but to keep himself from getting emotional, he tried to play it off by answering, "Marrying the love of your life makes you sappy, Fox Head, and there's no better reason."
"I think I'm allowed at least one sentimental moment here," Roger retorted. "Seriously, Michael, six months ago, I felt like I had nothing. I didn't know that Holly was going to come back into my life and vow to stay forever, and prove to me that I could trust that she would stay forever this time. And I had no idea I would find you again, but I'm so glad I did. And now I'm just a few minutes away from getting everything I've ever wanted. I'm about to marry Holly, for real and forever this time, and the best friend I've ever had is standing up with me."
Michael swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He clapped a hand on Roger's shoulder. "I didn't expect to walk in here six months ago and see you sitting at a table either, Roger, but I'm glad I did. I didn't know how much I missed you until we started working together again, and I'm really glad you're sticking around."
"I am too," Roger said.
The door flew open then and Donna was standing there. "It's time," she said simply, "and you two have to be out there first."
"Yes, dear," Michael said. Donna just gave him a look before turning on her heel and hurrying back out so that she could cue Blake and Holly when it was time for them to make their entrances. "Come on, Roger," Michael said, "it's time for you to marry your girl."
Beaming, Roger and Michael headed out and took their places with Reverend Watson.
Kevin and Jason were sleeping in their stroller again, and they were seated in the front row with Rachel, Frankie and Cass. Sharlene and John Hudson, she in a cornflower blue dress with beading in the bodice and he in a navy blue three-piece suit and maroon paisley necktie, were sitting across the aisle from Frankie, Cass, and Rachel, with a chair waiting next to Sharlene for Donna to sit in.
"I'm going to take my seat," Donna told Holly and Blake. "Once I'm sitting, I will cue the music, and when it starts, Blake, that's when you start down the aisle, and once you've reached the front, then Holly, it's your turn. Do you have everything?"
"Yes," Blake assured Donna.
"All right, then, this is it," Donna said. She squeezed Holly's hand. "I'll see you after you and Roger are married."
Holly just beamed at Donna in reply.
After Donna had headed in to take her seat, Blake said, "Did you want me to walk you down the aisle, Mom? Because I will, if you want me to."
Holly looked at Blake, surprised. "In a way, that would be fitting," she said. "You believed in your father and me even when we didn't, or didn't think we could or should. But every time I've ever gotten married before, including the first time I married your father, someone has given me away. If I were going to have anyone do it this time, it would be you. But Roger and I had to find our way back to one another by ourselves, and we did, so this time, I think it's fitting that I walk down the aisle to meet him by myself."
Blake nodded. "Yeah," she said, "I see that." A piano intro wafted out to the vestibule of The Harbor Club then. "That's my cue," Blake said. "Are you ready to marry Dad, Mom?"
Holly opened her mouth, then closed it. Blake was puzzled, and for one eternal second, she was terrified Holly was going to back out of the wedding.
But Holly wasn't backing out of anything. She pulled a white rose from her bouquet, broke off most of the long stem, and tucked the flower into her hair, behind her ear, like the flower Roger had tucked into her hair behind her ear so long ago when they were in Acapulco, the trip where they had finally forgiven each other for the rape and for their destructive, dysfunctional first marriage. "Now I am," Holly said.
"I'll see you at the altar, then," Blake said. She blew her mother a kiss, then started her walk down the aisle.