Chapter 8: The Wedding
Clarifications: I only have time to write 2 more chapters, this one and the epilogue. I wanted to write one about a wedding shower, but I don't want to fry out my eyeballs. Anyways, enjoy!
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"Do you think that it's too much?"
"No! I think that the veil looks absolutely stunning with it. Who says that a woman's wedding dress always has to be white?"
"My mother."
Courtney Dalai, soon to be Courtney Jones, sighed as she dreamily gazed into the floor-length mirror that lay ahead of her. Bridgette, who looked lovely in her white bridesmaid dress, smiled as she adjusted Courtney's veil. Duncan and Courtney decided to get married on a beach instead of somewhere in New York. They liked it that way. And it was only about ten minutes until she would be a married woman. And, like any sane person, she was a little nervous.
She looked gorgeous in her outfit. It was a strapless violet and silk floor-length dress with tiny crystals at the hem of the top. Her light purple veil brought out her eyes and jewelry. Her strappy silver sandals made her taller, about Duncan's height. Courtney's brown mascara, silver, and plum eye shadow made her face glow. She sighed one more time and sat down on one of the plush chairs.
"So, this is it, huh? No more being-a-bachelorette. Just me and Duncan," she said with a laugh, "it just seemed like yesterday that he proposed."
"I can still remember when you two used to fight ALL. THE. TIME. It was living hell!" said Gwen, who also looked nice in her bridesmaid dress.
"Only a little bit. But this is all so exciting! This is, what, the 4th wedding that has to do with the ex-campers? Well, I guess more about the fifth, in a couple of weeks." she said with a smile. Everyone stared blankly at her for a minute, but then their faces lit up..."Nuh-uh! Geoff proposed?! Bridgette!" said Courtney as she crushed her with a hug.
"Easy, easy! One wedding at a time!" she giggled. "Come on, guys. We better get going." she said as she pointed toward the doors that lead to the beach.
*******
Courtney paced the room with last-minute panics. She turned around one more time, glanced at the mirror, and then stepped into the hallway. Her mother and father were waiting in the hallway, both of them beaming. Her mother took her arm and pulled her off to the side.
"Courtney, my one and only, you look like a princess! Oh, I feel terrible for the way I have been treating you for the past few weeks... I really must learn how to indulge myself with calmness." she said with a grimace.
"I think you mean 'to calm down.' But that works, too." said Courtney with a laugh. "Promise to come visit?"
"How could I not? You're moving right down our street!"
"Right."
"Oh, my Courtney. Good luck out there. You no longer need me..."
"That's not true, mom. But let's skip the sappiness. I need to get this thing moving along, here." she said with a weak smile.
"I suppose so... goodbye!" said Mrs. Dalai. She hugged her daughter and walked out through the double doors.
"Well," said Mr. Dalai as he slipped his arm through Courtney's, "good luck out there."
"Thanks, dad. But I'm not, like, moving to Siberia or anything. If I don't want to cook I can just come down to your place." she laughed.
"I guess... but I'd rather order pizza. You're mom can't make ICE."
*******
Courtney and her father pushed open the door that led outside. The beach was covered with purple and white flowers, matching her dress. White and violet folding chairs were set in equal rows along the beach. Just near where the tide came in, the priest and Duncan stood under a flowered trellis, the bridesmaids and groomsmen on either side. The guests all looked up and smiled at Courtney, now teary-eyed. Her father let go of her arm and took his seat. Courtney took her place and stared at Duncan with a smile on her face. The priest began.
"Duncan and Courtney, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?"
"Yes."
"Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?"
"Yes."
"Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?"
"Yes."
"May the Lord in his greatness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. May I have the rings?"
Duncan's little brother, Jonathan, brought up the rings in his little tuxedo.
"May the Lord bless these rings which you give each other as a sign of your love and fidelity."
Duncan slid on Courtney's ring; vice-versa. Duncan smirked down at her face while tears streamed down her face.
"I proudly present to you, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Jones!"
*******
"God, everything went by so fast." said Courtney as she flopped down onto the plush chair in the honeymoon suite.
"Nah, it wasn't that fast. It kind of seemed like it was in slow motion to me." said Duncan as he slipped off his tie.
"Again, you pay attention to the smallest things."
The night did seem to go by fast. The reception consisted of everyone dancing, laughing, and talking. Courtney's father seemed to be a really great dancer during the father-daughter dance. All of the former TDI and TDA cast mates had their own separate tables, everyone talking about how excited they were to move to their new neighborhood when they got back to New York. But tonight, Duncan and Courtney just cared about each other.
"Well, when we go to Italy for our honeymoon, I get to brush up on my old high school foreign language skills."
"YOU took Italian? You seem like the kind of person who would take Spanish."
"Look who's talking!" he said as he raised his eyebrow.
"I did take Spanish." she giggled.
"Well," he said as he flopped into her lap, "you have an unfair advantage of being Hispanic. Some people in Italy speak Spanish, maybe."
"I
don't think you're giving yourself enough credit," she
whispered into his ear, "not many people get to actually go
to Italy."
"Oh? Well, I'd take you there every single day
if you wanted me to. But after a while, you'd just be too busy
complaining about me leaving clothes around the house and such..."
he said as he kissed her neck. It was one of those deep, passionate
kisses; the kinds that made little kids go 'Ewww'. Courtney let
out a small moan, enjoying his company. After a moment, they parted.
"Love you too, Delinquent." she said with a wink.
*******
A/N: It's almost over! In my final chapter, it will take place with their children in their new neighborhood. I can't wait to write the last chapter! Thanks again for all the reviews! :)
