Chapter 4

2007 – One Year Later

"Do you, Marianna Catherine Dalton, take this man, Eddie Gluskin, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" The priest boomed loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I do," Mara replied. She glanced at Eddie and smiled enthusiastically. Eddie glanced at her, taking in how beautiful she looked.

"And do you, Eddie Gluskin, take Marianna Catherine Dalton, to be—"

"I do," Eddie cut him off, igniting laughter throughout the church and the priest.

"Excited for the post-wedding activities, are we?" The priest asked curiously, making the audience laugh more. Eddie looked at the packed church, not at all affected that only a handful of them were his guests, none of which had any relation to him other than being his friends in college and co-workers in St. Mary's. The rest were his bride's friends and family, though he was happy to welcome them all, but the wedding planner didn't use the traditional way of separating the bride's guests from the grooms guests to make it even. "Then by all means, by the power invested in me by the Holy Spirit, I now declare you husband and wife."

Eddie turned to Mara, lifting the veil from her face. "You look absolutely beautiful, darling." He leaned forward as they kissed in front of the altar. The visitors clapped and cheered so loud that what the priest said next was drowned out that he dejectedly sighed and smiled as he shrugged at them, motioning for them to walk back down the aisle.

"We have our forever now, Mrs. Gluskin." He leaned toward her, kissing her on the cheek.

"Forever and ever and ever," She giggled. "And I'll be yours for that long."

They reached the giant arch and exited the church, followed by friends and family. Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, despite being on the front row, were the first to reach them.

"Oh my baby girl, you look so radiant," Her mother wailed through the tears and ruined mascara. She had made a commotion of herself by loudly crying when Eddie stopped the ceremony just to recite a speech he made for her the night he proposed a year ago, before he went to sleep, and Candice, the wedding planner, had to bring her a fan and a bottle of water in case she fainted. She turned to Eddie, placing her motherly hands on his face. "And I have a son now…please call me 'mom' now dear, you're my family now! What a lovely speech!"

"There he is, my son-in-law!" Mara's father approached, wrapping a soothing arm around his wife, patting her. After four years, he had graying hair and started wearing thicker glasses. He patted Eddie on the back a bit hard. Mara's mother left to go back to her daughter, who was pulled away by her bridesmaids to one side. "I should tell you now that, well, you married my daughter—don't expect an easy day for the rest of your life!"

Mr. Dalton hooted at his own joke and Eddie laughed with him. "But seriously, Eddie, my daughter can be a handful. Did I ever tell you that you were the first—and well, only—boyfriend she's ever had?"

"The day we met, sir." Eddie said respectfully.

"There's no room for 'sir' in the family—call me 'dad'." He said firmly. "But yes, at times, Mara has dreams in life, and I know you're just the guy that complements her crazy. Married life is not about perfection—it's about complements. My advice as a father is this: don't expect a perfect life without fights, but expect that you and her will be there for each other at the end of the day."

Eddie couldn't help but smile. He looked at his new father, and then at Mara, who was looking at him too and waved before her friends pulled her in for a photo. He couldn't remember ever fighting with Mara—though they didn't agree on many things, they always managed to get past those issues. He looked at his "mom"—she had gray hairs as well, and based on the old photos Mara once showed him, gained quite a lot of weight since the sixties. Would Mara and I be as happy as they are in the future?

"As for your father…" Mr. Dalton said nervously.

"I didn't send him an invitation." Eddie said flatly. "Figured he didn't want to attend the wedding of a stranger and his bride."

"Yes, well," Mr. Dalton's lips curled into a smile. "With the riff-raff he brings over to your house ever since your mother died—hell, even before the funeral services came he was already bringing those scarlet women in—I'd say you'll be better off without him."

Mr. Dalton patted him on the back once more and gave him a hug before joining his daughter and her friends. Eddie heard Mrs. Dalton boasting to a group of middle-aged women—probably her sisters—how Mara had graduated and has earned her license to teach just a month ago, as well as the fact that Eddie was a high-paid nurse in a private hospital. He fought back a guffaw as his college friends and college friends and colleagues came over to congratulate him, and the photographer took snapshots of them.

After a while, Candice managed to round up the photographers, and prepared for the photo shoot of the new couple and the guests. The first were a few shots of the couple alone in front of the church, followed by the family shot with Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, and then so on. After that, the party was lead to the multi-purpose room behind the church, where the wedding party would be held. Eddie, Mara, Mara's parents, Eddie's best man, his best friend Peter, who was a co-worker in St. Mary's, and all the bridesmaids sat in front on a platform, but Eddie and Mara were seated on a platform that was slightly higher than those on their sides.

For Eddie, the party was a blur. He and Mara had spent half a year planning it, but he couldn't remember all the details of it. He couldn't remember how good the food tasted, or the floral arrangements in the tables, or the color scheme on the guest tables. All he knew for sure was that Peter was his usual joking self during his speech, Mrs. Dalton was in tears half the time, and he knew that a big part of the photographer's shots would be candid moments of him and Mara stealing kisses when people weren't looking at them.

"Darling," he entwined his fingers with hers under the table as his father-in-law gave his second speech to thank the guests for being there. "You know I love you, right?"

"Really?" She asked as though she didn't know, and then laughed, kissing him on the cheek. "If I had a nickel every time you told me that…"

He held her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I love you, and I'm just so happy I get to say it every time and wake up next to you for the rest of my life. And did I forget to mention how beautiful you looked?"

They were so distracted with each other that they didn't hear what the MC was saying until the spotlight shone on them. They looked at each other, not knowing what to do, until Peter leaned towards his best friend.

"Couple's first dance," Peter whispered. "You're welcome, Ed."

Eddie stood up, his hand still locked with Mara's. They made their way to the dance floor, the spotlight still on them. "I'm truly sorry if you get a foot injury in the next ten minutes."

Mara grinned, shyly not looking at the crowd. Neither of them knew what song to pick, and got Mara's mother and her friends to choose the song. As the band started playing a slow melody, Eddie figured Mara's mother might have forced her song to be the first. He carefully lead the dance, and saw the male singer began to sing.

When I was a boy my mother often said to me

Get married boy and see how happy you will be…

"Do you think your mom picked out this song?" He asked, amused.

"If Gabby, Leila, Quinn, or Sophie picked the first song, we'd be dancing to Chasing Cars or Keep Holding On or something done this year," She laughed. "Nope, mom used to play this around the house, said it reminded her of her home in Colorado—they broadcast it lots of times on one of the radio stations."

I have looked all over, but no girlie can I find,

Who seems to be just like the little girl I have in mind,

I will have to look around until the right one I have found.

I want a girl, just like the girl that married dear old Dad

She was a pearl and the only girl that Daddy ever had,

A good old fashioned girl with heart so true,

One who loves nobody else but you…

"It's lovely, darling," He began to like the song. "It has a really catchy tune, and the lyrics kind of remind me of you."

"In what way?" She asked.

"Not the 'just like married dear old Dad' part, you're absolutely nothing like my mother." He assured her. "You're my good old fashioned girl, the type of girl I've always dreamed of—oh, sorry."

He had stepped on her foot, and she grimaced in order to stop yelling. "It's fine, though I'd like to see my reaction when the videographer sends our wedding tapes." Eddie laughed, and enjoyed the rest of the song without stepping on Mara's feet. The next few songs, Mara got right, as they danced to a duet of Keep Holding On, followed by a bunch of Celine Dion's famous love songs, and then a mixture of new love songs. After the second song, others were allowed to dance on the floor as well, but everyone gave the couple their space as they danced through the night.

As the party drew to a close, Eddie couldn't help but look around after he gave another heart-warming speech not only to Mara, but to the guests for being there—and he meant every word. His wife adored him, his in-laws loved him, and all of Mara's girl friends were rooting for him. Peter and his friends knew the hectic schedule of a nurse, and knew how much he meant to them with the fact that they stayed at the party until eleven at night. He was also happy in his career—even if he wanted to be a writer in the first place, the fact that Mara loved his poetry was enough for him. He realized, that, for once, he was truly happy.