Chapter 9: The Wedding
"You keep pacing like that you'll wear a hole into the carpet," P.T told Phillip. Phillip stopped pacing immediately. "Cold feet?"
"No," Phillip lied. P.T gave him a 'really' look.
"Phillip, you're a horrible liar, but that was the worst one," P.T said. "Phillip, it's okay. I had cold feet on my wedding night. It's pretty normal."
"Since when is anything about us "normal"?" Phillip said.
"Point," P.T responded. "Well at least time no one's forgotten anything."
"How could you lose the veil?!" Lettie exclaimed.
"I didn't loss it, I gave it to W.D," Anne responded.
"Annie, you KNOW he losses EVERYTHING he gets," Lettie said.
"Did you really loss the veil?" Charity asked as she walked in. They nodded. She groaned. "Not again!"
"We'd better not tell the boys," Lettie said. "Phillip's nervous enough as it is. Charity, could you go find W.D? I think he's in the guy's dressing room."
There was a knock on the door. Charity pocked her head in.
"Can I borrow W.D for a minute?" Charity asked.
"Something wrong?" Phillip questioned.
"No, I just need to ask him something," Charity responded. W.D questioningly walked to the door and left the room with Charity.
"Should we be concerned?" P.T said.
"Where's the veil?" Charity asked W.D once they got into the girls' dressing room. He looked surprised.
"I thought Anne had it," W.D said.
"She said she gave it to you," Charity responded.
"Oh, um, I think I may have left it at our place," W.D said.
"Seriously?!" Lettie exclaimed.
"Yeah, something's wrong," Phillip said.
"No kidding," P.T responded. "Something's DEFINATLY wrong if Lettie's yelling."
"You're kidding?" Anne asked.
"Sorry Anne, I wish I was," W.D responded.
"But we don't have time to run back and get it," Lettie said.
"Charity do you still have your veil?" Anne asked.
"Yes, I'll go run and get it," Charity replied. Charity ran out of the room.
"How long till it starts?" Lettie said.
"Thirty minutes," Anne answered.
"So…what did they want?" P.T asked.
"Nothing," W.D said hastily. P.T and Phillip looked at each other as if to say "is he lying or is he telling the truth?'. So they decided to drop it.
"So how are Helen and Caroline doing in the girls' dressing room?" P.T asked.
Fifteen Minutes Later
"Come on, where is it?" Charity asked. She was rummaging through her stuff to find it and several things were thrown across the room. After five minutes, she found it. Then she saw the clock. "Ten minutes?!"
"It's almost time!" Lettie fretted.
"We could always go without the veil," Anne suggested.
"But it's traditional!" Lettie said.
"Lettie, this isn't exactly a traditional wedding," Anne responded.
"I know, but the veil is…a staple," Lettie replied. Someone knocked on the door and it was opened by W.D. "Is it time?!"
"Not yet but everyone's getting seated," W.D told them. "But it'll be soon. Sorry I forgot the veil."
"Someone forgot something didn't they?" Phillip guessed.
"That would explain W.D and Charity's jitters," P.T responded. "I'm betting it's the veil."
Charity ran into the girls' dressing room panting.
"I've got it," she said. She handed it to Anne.
"Just in time," W.D stated. "We're ready to start."
Charity took her seat since she wasn't in the wedding. Since Phillip and Anne didn't have very many close friends, they decided to only have a maid of honor, Lettie, and a best man, Phin. The congregation was made up of the circus troop and Harold and his family. Her little girls are the flower girls and Charles was the ring-bearer because they didn't have anyone else to do it.
The wedding march began and her little girls started trotting along with their little flower baskets, tossing flowers every few steps. Then Charles came with the cushion that had the rings on them. When they reached the end of the aisle, the girls went to the left and Charles went to the right. Then P.T and Lettie walked down the aisle together arm-in-arm, as is traditional. Then P.T went over and stood next to Phillip where Charles was as well. Lettie went and stood where the girls were. Then Anne came in arm-in-arm with W.D.
Phillip's jaw dropped. She was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress, was holding a bouquet of red roses, and was wearing a veil. Their eyes locked and they smiled. When they reached the end, Phillip removed her veil, Lettie took Anne's bouquet, and W.D went and stood next to P.T. They stood facing each other and held hands.
"Dearly beloved," the priest began. "We are gathered together today to witness the union of Anne Wheeler and Phillip Carlyle…" The rest of the ceremony seemed to drown out especially for the lovebirds. They didn't come back down to earth till the priest said, "Anne, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? In sickness and in health? For better or for worse? For richer or for poorer? Till death do you part?"
"I do," Anne answered.
"And do you, Phillip, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest continued. "In sickness and in health? For better or for worse? For richer or for poorer? Till death do you part?"
"I do," Phillip answered.
"May I have the rings?" the priest said. Then Charles presented the rings in front of the priest. He took them off their cushion and turned first to Anne. He gave her the ring and Anne held Phillip's right hand. "Anne repeat after me. 'With this ring'."
"With this ring," Anne repeated.
"I wed thee," the priest said.
"I wed thee," Anne said.
"To be my lawfully wedded husband," the priest said.
"To be my lawfully wedded husband," Anne repeated.
"Till death do us part," the priest finished.
"Till death do us part," Anne finished. She slid the ring onto his ring finger. The priest then turned to Phillip and gave him the ring.
"Phillip, repeat after me," the priest said. "With this ring."
"With this ring," Phillip repeated.
"I wed thee," the priest said.
"I wed thee," Phillip repeated.
"To be my lawfully wedded wife," the priest said.
"To be my lawfully wedded wife," Phillip repeated.
"Till death do us part," the priest finished.
"Till death do us part," Phillip finished. He slid the ring onto Anne's ring finger.
"By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest declared. "You may now kiss the bride." They didn't need to be told twice. They kissed almost immediately after he stopped talking. The crowd roared in approval.
"So where are you guys going for your honeymoon?" Harold asked Phillip.
"We're planning on going to London," Phillip answered. "And we'll be there for two weeks. So how's the bakery going?"
"Great," Harold said. "And we've been able to pay for mother's medicine. Though you REALLY didn't have to pay collateral for it."
"I know but after indirectly destroying the fist one, I figured I should at least pay for the collateral for this one," Phillip said. "I'll have to stop by and visit when I get back."
"OR…I could give you a sample of it now," Harold said. He then pulled out a box of cookies from behind his back. Phillip's eyes widen.
"Are these your filling…" Phillip began. He nodded. Phillip grabbed a cookie and began to wolf it down. "I forgot how good these are."
"Thanks for letting me borrow your veil," Anne said to Charity.
"Of course," Charity responded. "I'm glad I was able to get it in time. Think the boys suspected something?"
"Probably," Anne said. "But it turned out okay. So it's not a big deal."
"So, are we still going to do the bouquet toss?" Charity asked. Anne shook her head.
"Since it would only be Lettie we decided to cut it," Anne answered.
"Would you care for a dance, Mrs. Carlyle?" Phillip asked. Anne smiled.
"Of course," Anne responded.
"What?!" W.D exclaimed. "You're serious?" It had been a year and a half since their wedding.
"It's true," Phillip told him.
"Well, I'll be darn," P.T said. "Looks like we're gonna have another little one running around here." Anne rubbed her abdomen, which was currently the home to her and Phillip's child.
"Yes," Anne responded. "Yes, there will be."
The End of One Story
Is the Beginning of Another