Ch 16. The Day

One month later, October

The alarm clock went off and Mike reached to put if off. He rolled back on his back and poked gently Helen next to him.

"Honey, it's the big day today."

"Hmm, another few minutes huh", she mumbled back.

"Ok, then I assume that you go to the mayor in your spicy nightdress?", he replied with a grin.

Helen poked him back. "You're really cruel!", she murmured.

Mike got up and walked to the window. He pulled open the curtains to look outside.

"We're lucky today honey. It looks like we're going to have a real Indian Summer", he said turning to his future wife who was blinking against the bright light.

"Nice! Otherwise I really didn't know what to wear", she said faintly while she was stretching in bed.

"Yeah, I'm going to take a shower and meanwhile you can wake up", he said passing the bed and squeezing gently her toe.

When she came down for breakfast she noticed startled that he was already wearing the shirt and the trousers of his suit. "Oh Mike do you really dare to wear these already? What if you spill something on it?", she said disappointed as she sat down.

"Honey, it won't happen", he said as he poured her a cup of coffee.

"I'll keep you on that. Don't do it to me that my husband is running around with spots on his suit on our wedding day. I'll sink in the ground then!", she said irritated as she put a slice of bread in the toaster.

"Hmm, but you're still casual?", he said looking at her old jeans skirt and T-shirt.

"Sure, I want to keep it clean and you may not see the bride's clothes before the final day", she replied lifting one eyebrow as she smeared some butter on her toast.

"It's the final day today", he said with a smirk.

Helen rolled her eyes with the same smirk. "Until the last minute".

"I still don't know what it's going to be, a dress or a suit?", he tried.

"Nice try sailor, just wait and see", she replied mysteriously between two bites.

"Did you fix a baby sit?", he asked her after he swallowed a bite of bread.

Helen threw him an annoyed glance. "Do you still remember how they called me in my previous life?". Meanwhile she has put another slice of bread in the toaster.

"Uh, Princess Perfect", he said frowning, because he didn't know which direction she wanted to go.

"Well then, in that case you ought to know that I've asked the baby-sit to come along", Helen said smearing chocolate paste on her toast.

He nodded with a smile. "Yeah, yeah indeed, how could I forget!"

"Don't forget the rings", she added after she emptied her cup of coffee.

"Uh-hu", he mumbled biting from his toast.

After Helen had emptied a second cup of coffee, she looked at the clock at the wall. "We'd better hurry. I've made an appointment with the hair dresser and the town hall is not that far, but I don't want to hurry along the shopping street." She looked at his cheeky grin. "Why are you smiling?"

"I've ordered a cab. I know it's a small distance, but with that it will give us a more official feeling", he said smiling.

"Oh, that's nice; a real surprise. Thank you. But I really need to go now. Do you want to clear the table?", Helen said as she stood upright straightening her skirt.

"Yeah sure."

Helen took her handbag, pulled on a coat and slipped in a pair of shoes, but before leaving she poked her head back in the living room and yelled : "And watch your trousers and shirt!"

"Yeah, will do!", he yelled back from out of the kitchen where he was busy to rub on a spot on his shirt with the tea cloth.

Thank God she didn't enter further, otherwise she would have killed me for this!

A little hour later she was back.

"I'm back", she yelled. "What do you think?", she asked him when she walked into the living room. "I've asked to put some waves in it", she said enthusiastically.

"You look great", he admitted with a whistle.

Helen giggled. "Wait until you see the next part."

But all of a sudden she noticed something and her smile vanished from her face.

"Mike!", she said sternly.

Damn, she saw it!

"Honey?", he tried to answer surprised.

"What's … that?", she asked pointing to a faint spot on his shirt.

"Uh, oh, I don't know exactly. I rubbed it away after you left."

"Mike, don't tell me you've made a spot", she said desperately.

He didn't answer but looked at her with an innocent face.

Helen sighed. How can you be angry on that teddy bear with a puppy face?

She rolled her eyes. "Just keep your jacket closed, will you?"

"Yeah, will do."

She sighed again. "Ok, I really hope that this was the first and the last hiccup of today. It's our wedding day and it has to be good", she said nervously.

"Helen, be calm, it comes right. It's not that complicated", he said to comfort her.

She gave him a kiss. "You say so and now I'm going to get dressed", she said and hurried upstairs.

He turned towards the playpen and tickled Kate's belly whereby the little one started cooing. Finally he took a book to pass the time.

Somewhat later he heard her yelling from upstairs. "Close your eyes!"

Mike did and an instance later he heard again : "Now you may open them again."

He looked straight in the eyes of a broad smiling Helen in front of him. She wore a light olive green suit with a jacket and a skirt, a cream coloured blouse, shiny stockings and light olive green pumps. She wore ear rings and has used some make up.

"Wow! You're stunning!", he exclaimed.

"Thank you! It must be perfect. It's going to be the most important day of our life, not", she replied with a twinkle in her eyes.

"You look great as well", she said when she rubbed some imaginary dust particles from the shoulders of his light grey jacket.

The babysit arrived in time and a bit later the cab. The couple looked amused to the hustle and bustle on the streets when they drove to the town hall.

"It's silly for such a short distance, but it gives the feeling of a small ceremony", she said to Mike with a small chuckle.

"That was the intention honey."

In the town hall they saw colleagues of Helen and two of them agreed to be their best men.

When they stood in front of the mayor, the latter started the protocol.

Mike thought that he knew everything, but here he discovered something new.

"Michael George Flynn, do you want to take Helen Elisa Porter as wife?"

He threw a quick look at her and she gave him a wink back.

"Uh, yes, of course", he added quickly.

"Helen Elisa Porter, do you want to take Michael George Flynn as husband?"

"Yeah!", was her convinced answer.

Later when they stood outside and after they received the congratulations of her colleagues he turned to her.

"Honey, I didn't know that your second name is still Elisa?", he said quietly.

She shrugged. "Well I convinced the Feds that I absolutely wanted to keep my second name, so I could say that I still have at least something of my own, you see."

"Yeah, exactly", he said and he took her hand to walk to the church

The service in the Anglican St George Chapel went smoothly and the drink in the Old Tom pub afterwards also. Mike looked how his brand new wife chatted with her colleagues in a mixture of English and Dutch. He made a mental point that he was going to learn that language also. After an hour they greeted the last leaving guest and he put his hand at the lower part of her back.

"So, after all you became finally Mrs Flynn", he said.

She sighed and leaned against his chest. "Yeah, there were moments I thought it would never come."

He kissed her on the top of her head. "Come we've deserved now a good diner now."

They left the tavern and walked to the Regina restaurant that lay at the other side of the market square. He noticed that Helen walked slower and that her face turned into a thunder cloud. All of a sudden she stumbled and she lost a shoe.

"Damn!", it escaped her and she slipped in her shoe again.

"Darling what's the matter? You look like you want to kill someone."

"Aargh, can nothing go perfect now? These bloody shoes! When I bought them, I tried them at the end of the day with bare feet and they fitted, but now with these sheer stockings they slip off like mad."

"Darling, the end of the day is not the best...", he said but he stopped when he saw her glare.

"Darling, it's not that bad...", he tried again.

"Not that bad? Yes, it is! It's our day today and I wanted that everything goes perfect!", she cut him off.

"Honey.."

"No Mike!",she raged further.

He looked at her. If she was in a state like this, then not a single argument could be brought in. There was just only one solution.

"Lieutenant-Commander!", he said sternly.

That seemed to work. She looked at him all of a sudden. She had been always more than correct when it concerned the correct naming of ranks and the according obeisance.

"Yes?", she asked quietly.

"I know that you want to do everything perfect, but you have also to learn that not everything will run perfect. You have to make a difference what's really important and what's not. Otherwise you will never enjoy something and you will always have something to be unhappy about. Let's take this day, our day. Be happy and forget the shoes" ,he said to her.

Helen became quiet and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. You were right so many times at the Hammersley and now here too."

"Right, come our table is waiting and I'm starving", he said while he wrapped his arm around her waist and started to walk to the restaurant.

"Hey, not that fast, my shoes you know", Helen replied but he tickled her in her waist creating a giggle.

A few hours later they left the restaurant. Outside they took a deep breath and looked at the classic hustle and bustle of a late Saturday afternoon at the sunny market square in Ypres.

"Thank you darling. That was a splen..did diner and the wine was g…gorgeous", she said a bit difficult to him.

"Yeah, a pleasure honey" he replied offering her his arm to hang on.

"Although, a bit too much w…wine. I'm a bit tipsy. Hihi", she giggled.

He gave her a cute smile and a gentle squeeze in her arm.

"Well, it's the first time in my life, I think, yeah, it has to be, hihi", she continued.

"It's good that I can hold you, otherwise I th…think that I s…swayed from one side of the s…street to the other one".

"You little silly", he replied giving her a gentle squeeze.

"How is it with the shoes?"

"Oh? It's just like f…flip-flops, but I don't … give a damn anymore! Haha", she chuckled.

"Well, you see, it doesn't have to be perfect to be good."

"Yeah, you…'re rrrright."

They reached their house and Mike took the house keys. He looked at his brand new wife and saw how she straightened her back and how she took a deep breath.

Yeah, she's composing herself again, just like we were on board.

"Ok, let us be normal again, for the baby-sit, keeping up appearance and … afterwards … pouf, haha", she roared with laughter by the last bit.

He opened the door and let her in. He caressed her back when he followed her inside.

"Hallo Katrien. Isss allesss goed ver-lopen?", she asked difficultly. (Did everything went fine?)

"Oh ja mevrouw, geen enkel probleem", the girl answered. "En nog eens gefeliciteerd met jullie huwelijk", she added. (Oh yes madam, not a single problem, and congratulations again with your marriage)

"Dank je", Helen answered. "Mike s..she congratulates us with our marriage."

"Dank ie", he tried to answer.

Helen grabbed her purse to pay Katrien.

"Alsssjeblieft ", she said handing over the euro's to her. (Here you go)

"Dank u en tot later!", Katrien said and left. (Thank you and see you later)

"Ok. That was it!", Helen said while she pulled out the jacket of her suit. She put it over the chair and she kicked out her shoes which flew a bit further in the living room.

"There you go, sssstupid sssshoes!", she mumbled.

Next she has herself dropped on the couch to lay down.

He went to sit down next to her and she shuffled a bit to lay her head on his lap.

"That was a miraculous day darling", she said faintly while he was caressing her body shapes.

"But what are you going to do now? I don't get the impression you like the job that you have now", she asked him.

"Hmm, not exactly, but it's better that anything else. At least I have something to do with the sea. Although one hour driving from Ypres to Zeebrugge is boring at the end. But I have an idea, … a project."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, the whole area here is a huge open air museum and the history interests me, so I thought…"

To be continued

7