So in the summary of Part One I listed this as a 'musical, multichap, fairy tale.' I think I probably covered the music aspect, I hope you've discovered something musicky along the way, maybe something that you'd never heard before, I hear on the grapevine that Spiegel im Spiegel is used in the film Gravity. It has definitely been a multichap and thanks for sticking with it this long.
Which leaves us with the fairy tale…
You have been warned.
Watch out for the cheese. This was only two more chapters until I started tinkering. I was also advised (threatened?) to make them long and when the characters realised it was their last bit, somehow they just wouldn't stop talking. Sorry for the wait. So enjoy the final three but don't forget to leave a little smile to say you were here too.
Chapter Sixty-One
Sunday 15th December 2013
'I'll guess I'll never know the reason why, you love me like you do?'
Harry draped his jacket over his wife's shoulders.
"Cold?" he asked.
"No," she smiled but she snuggled into the jacket anyway. It was a beautiful evening, crisp with a nip in the air that hinted at snow. The clouds were heavy and pink, masking the stars but high lighting the fairy lights and illuminations that created a magical landscape within the garden.
"It's hard to believe this is really real!" Nikki whispered.
"It has to be real. I don't believe in fantasy remember?"
She ran her finger down the scar on Harry's forehead, the one that had taught him as a young boy not to believe in stories. The story he had told her once on Skype, when she was wrapped up in her bed and had lost her voice. He caught her hand and kissed the wedding band on her finger.
"Happy ever after?" Harry asked.
"You said you don't believe in fantasy!" she chided.
"Happy for now?" Harry asked again.
"I'm happy Harry. I really am, but none of us knows what lies round the corner."
"I know," he said, giving her hand a squeeze.
"I can't believe how lucky I am. This has been the most amazing day ever." She added.
"It's been good hasn't it?"
"Incredible." They drew to a stop in front of the lake, the lights dancing on the water and the happy chatter of their guests filled the air.
"I love you Mrs Cunningham," Harry said, bending down to Nikki.
"I love you too, Harry… Thank you," she added.
"Whatever for?"
"For all this, for the most wonderful wedding day, for for…"
Harry kissed her forehead. "It's been worth it. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a wedding so much. They're usually intensely boring."
"That's just because usually you're usually just trying to work out what line to use on the bridesmaid!"
"You didn't have any bridesmaids," he said petulantly.
"I had Jorge and Beto!"
"They were my best men…"
"And my bridesmaids!"
Harry laughed, agreeing to disagree.
"Did you see Audrey's face when we all walked in together?" Nikki exclaimed.
"No, I bet it was priceless!" Harry laughed again. "She's probably found it all a bit strange."
"Your mum seems happy though."
"You know she is Nikki, she adores you. Thanks for letting her help with the shopping."
"She had some really good advice. I like her. It's been a long time since I've had anyone in my life like her." They walked on arm in arm for a while.
"Trouble is," said Nikki glancing up at a fir tree shimmering blue. "It doesn't get better than this."
"THIS?" Harry asked incredulously. "THIS is only the beginning!" he pronounced kissing her again.
"But what if…" Nikki began.
"Then just as we promised, we work through it, we talk it out. You are too important to me. I won't lose you." They drew to a stop; they could hear the music of an old fashioned carousel in the distance and the laughter of children.
"But I'm so stubborn and…"
"You're not the one who is called 'Donkey,' by his supposed best friends!" Harry said petulantly and squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"They've done a great job, haven't they?"
"I was a bit nervous in Jorge's speech." Harry admitted.
"I think he was too! He's much more comfortable dressed up as Elvis." She chuckled. "It's a shame he couldn't sing."
"I think Stella and her band were the best choice," Harry said uneasily.
"You just don't want to get pulled up on stage! You were good you know. You are good, if you'd only give it a go again."
"I'm moving on remember, not going back." Harry shifted his weight from foot to foot.
"Hmm," she answered.
"It's true Nikki," Harry said holding out his elbow for her to slip her arm in and setting off again.
"What is?"
"What Mrs Finkelstein said: 'I won't ever give up on us. I promise.'"
"Thanks. I know you won't Harry. I won't either, I promise too."
They walked on contentedly back around the lake until the Conservatory came into view again. It looked every bit as stunning as the glossy brochure.
"This has been some day!" Nikki said.
"And it's not over yet!"
"So you're looking forward to dancing?" Nikki asked, Harry spluttered a response and quickly changed the subject.
"I can't believe THE Ben Stein came to our wedding!"
"It was a good job Leo left us the rest of the books so we could finish reading them!"
"He would have loved today wouldn't he?"
"Leo? Yes; he would." Nikki agreed.
"Come on, let's go back the band will start soon, and I think I heard mention of mulled wine earlier!" Harry said.
"You're smiling again," Harry noticed. It was one of the few times Leo had been mentioned without it causing her lip to quiver.
"I'm happy Harry. I am blissfully happy."
"Really?" he asked his old nerves rattling one last death gasp.
"Really." She smiled and led him back inside.
##
"Just to say," Beto began as most of the guests had wandered back into the conservatory some rubbing their arms to remove the chill of the evening air. "Nikki thinks she has organised the band for this evening…"
"I thought we'd had all the speeches," Audrey hissed to Anne. "What does this one want now? Mind you I haven't seen the other one for a while. I do have my doubts Anne, I really do."
"Oh hush," Anne said to her friend.
"But we do have a special guest here tonight all the way from Las Vegas…"
"Vegas?" Audrey asked. "This really is the most peculiar wedding I've ever been to… I thought those two knew Harry when he was in New York. Who have they dragged in from Vegas?"
"I didn't hear you complaining during the smoked salmon," Anne countered. She looked over to her son, he'd gone a peculiar shade of grey and was tugging at his tie.
"But what else could these two really do their first dance together to?" Beto continued. "There is no other song possible, Jorge and I decided, Stella and her band will take over soon but first can I present to you, live for one evening only, straight from Las Vegas: Jorge Fuentes as Elvis!"
There was a confused polite applause and some puzzled faces from the nearer the back.
"I didn't have Nikki down as an Elvis fan?" Jack whispered to Clarissa.
"Stranger things have happened," Clarissa retorted but Jack wasn't sure when Jorge walked out onto the low platform set up for the band in his full Elvis regalia.
"Not many…" Jack replied.
"Is that Harry's best man?" Audrey asked.
"I take it back," Anne whispered into Audrey's ear. "This is getting slightly odd, although I don't think Harry knew." She watched her son whispering urgently to Beto. She wasn't quite sure, why his American friend ruffled Harry's hair and pulled at his ears; she began to suspect there was more to the story of his friendship with these two men than she had yet discovered. Jorge's speech had left her feeling disconcerted to say the least. So she was relieved when Harry and Nikki walked out onto the dance floor.
"Mr and Mrs Cunningham!" Beto announced and Jorge began to sing:
'When no-one else can understand me
When everything I do is wrong
You give me hope and consolation
You give me strength to carry on
And you're always there to lend a hand
In everything I do
That's the wonder
The wonder of you.'
Jorge's voice made the crescendo perfectly, it was more powerful than Harry remembered it, his timing and style were as good as ever.
"It could have been worse," Audrey remarked to Anne.
"It's beautiful, just beautiful. So them. Worth the wait." Anne replied, hastily wiping a tear from her cheek. She was mesmerized by the sight in front of her. Her son's happiness, his beautiful bride, the rich tone of the singing, the warmth and friendliness of the guests and the ease with which the couple in front of her danced.
"Come on, let's join them," Jack said Clarissa.
'And when you smile the world is brighter
You touch my hand and I'm a king
Your kiss to me is worth a fortune
Your love for me is everything'
"So that's how you feel about me?" Clarissa asked cheekily.
"Oh, you just know it is!" Jack smiled back. "Well; all except the kissing bit," he clarified.
Clarissa drove at his toes.
"Did you do that on purpose?"
Clarissa shrugged and smiled.
Ben had managed to entice his grandmother to dance, and the floor began to fill with other couples. Harry saw his friend Matthew lead his wife to the floor and nodded at his old Lyell Centre colleague. Even Zak was trying a few moves on his latest girlfriend.
'I'll guess I'll never know the reason why
You love me like you do
That's the wonder
The wonder of you.'
"Mrs Cunningham?" Beto asked.
"Call me Anne," she replied.
"Shall we dance?" Beto offered her his hand and led her onto the dance floor with her son and new daughter in law. Anne couldn't help the smile that spread over her face as she joined the other pairs.
Audrey looked on from the side. She'd never seen a wheelchair user dancing before, she'd never seen a lot of things before that she'd seen that day, including her friend smiling and dancing in the arms of a handsome Colombian. Her Trevor's wedding had been a traditional affair and where had that got him? He'd been divorced for years. Maybe unconventional was alright after all. She looked at the bride and groom, there was certainly no doubt that they were in love. She hoped for all of them that it was the kind that lasted forever.
The song over, the dancers stopped and turned towards Jorge no one was quite sure what to do, it wasn't usual to clap the band at a wedding, but this wasn't just a band. Suddenly Clarissa wheeled to a stop right in front of Jorge, shouted "MORE," whirled the wheelchair around and started to clap. Immediately everyone joined in. Stella joined Jorge on stage and whispered in his ear.
Jorge put his hands together in a praying pleading expression and looked straight at Harry.
Wonder Of You: Knight Baker (Elvis)
