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Emerald Bond

More Traditions

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Outside in the garden, behind a huge folding screen, Rory's staff quickly had built a solid dance floor and a small band-stand in one corner near the walls of the house. Except for the piano-player who was already placed close to one of the open glass doors anyway, the musicians moved to join the rest of the band outside. They were complete now with the already heard players of the piano, fiddle, cello and bass, plus a guitar player - electric of course - and the drummer behind his small drum-kit.

The music started playing again after the folding screen was removed. It has changed from unobtrusive background strumming into some classical dance music like waltz and foxtrot and such.

The bridesmaids Yazza, Letty, Nicky and Judith lined up all the way from the bridal seats to the dancefloor. Next to each woman the groomsmen Simon, Peter, Cedric and Liam took their places. They were led on there by Winston who had gone up to the seats of honour to say a few words to couple. First he addressed Barbara.

"You know, you won't get out of this at all, Sarge."

"Oh, no..." Barbara groaned and hid her face in her palms. She knew what was about to come.

Winston laughed. "It's time, you two. We all want to shake our limbs, but unfortunately we're not allowed to as long as you both had not performed the opening dance."

Tommy got up and held out a hand to his wife. "Come, my sweetie, let's fulfil our duty."

"Ha, ha, funny. You know that I'm a bad dancer." she hissed on their way past their bridesmaids and groomsmen. One by one they bowed to them or curtsied, all with a broad grin in their faces. The guests clapped their hands quietly and followed outside. Barbara groaned quietly. "And that's not helping either."

"I know how you mould into my body when I hold you on the dancefloor." Tommy whispered with a slightly naughty grin.

"And don't you dare do what you've done recently..." They had danced at home in the living room when they had been alone one evening and his fingers on her spine had made her lose control completely. "...or on New Year's Eve."

"At least I'm officially allowed now."

"Don't you dar-hmph."

They had reached the solid panels of the dance floor and Tommy had silenced her with a smacker on her lips. The music started. It was a slow waltz.

"Oh, blimey..." Barbara cursed quietly.

But when his right arm was around her waist, and her left hand was placed more in his nape than on his shoulder, and they had linked their other hands, her nervousness vanished in an instant. "Just keep your fingers away from my spine." she muttered.

"I love you." Tommy whispered.

"I love you too." Barbara replied.

Her eyes were lost in his. She did not even recognise that he had started swaying their bodies already. She simply followed his movements and then it had turned into real dancing. Only with their first turn she realised that they were actually dancing already.

That all their guest's eyes were on them was forgotten completely. They seemed oblivious to the world around them when they danced, so they did not see that, one by one, other couples joined them on the dancefloor.

But much to Tommy's surprise Barbara kept dancing with him even for a second song.

After she asked him to stop, Barbara and Tommy walked around in the garden. They mingled and talked with their guests for quite some time. Some of them were dancing almost continually. Tommy danced with his mother and with Yazza, and Barbara dared a few rounds with Winston before Stuart cut in. She also happily shared the dancefloor with Frederick, dancing the twist together. Both needed a drink afterwards.

Barbara met Stuart Lafferty and his wife at the table near the entrance where the waiters handed out drinks.

"Hello Andrea, Stu." she greeted them and sipped at her apple juice. "Do you enjoy yourselves?"

"Oh, very much so, thank you Barbara." Andrea answered. "This is a nice party."

"Thank you."

"When will you toss your wedding bouquet?" Stuart asked.

"Oh, actually I won't." Barbara smiled. "I'll keep the flowers."

"Ah, so there is a tossing the garter ceremony?" The pathologist's grin turned naughty. "What a pity that I'm already married." he mumbled.

"Stu!" That was his scandalised wife.

Stuart gave Andrea a loving kiss. "What?!" he asked with an innocent expression. "It's both tradition. You have to do at least one of it."

Barbara shook her head. "No, I don't have to."

"Why not?"

"Both are embarrassing in one or the other way. And the latter also is humiliating and sexist."

"Well..."

"No." Barbara emphasised it with an angry stare.

"Okay, I understand that tossing the garter could be considered sexist, but what about tossing the bridal bouquet? Why is it embarrassing?"

"You see, all unmarried women would be asked to gather, probably even told loudly to join, even if they don't want to. So what about those who suffer from the recent loss of a partner, or from the mere fact that they still are lonely? What about those who don't want to marry at all? And why should these women display themselves to be unmarried? There are too many biases in people's minds about that, or pity, or whatever. And then, if one catches the bouquet, should her partner ask her straight away? Here at someone else's wedding? What if that partner has other plans? In general. Why should I force them into something they haven't even thought about, because... well, because of different reasons? And apart from all that, most women here are already married, so I don't want to have three or four probably teenage women, or at least women who are a lot younger than me, standing there and being proof that I'm a little late with all this. And last but not least, to be honest, I'd rather keep my bouquet as a memento."

"You see, Stu?" Lafferty's wife asked him with a grin. They probably had talked about it beforehand. "I've told you she won't. Now come and bless me with another dance."

Eventually the music turned into something in a not so danceable style until it was just piano, violin and cello again. The bridesmaids quietly spread the word that the cake would be brought in soon and so the guests slowly moved inside again. Some sat down at the tables, some kept standing, and everyone was in expectation of the wedding cake ceremony.

Yazza went to stand near the bridal table. Everyone looked at her and the room turned quiet, so she started speaking.

"Hello everybody." she waved a hand into the room. "Since by now you've probably all exchanged a few words with each other you might have gotten acquainted with new friends. I also recognised that some of you already have changed the seating arrangements." She grinned and nodded towards Simon and Deb who now had sat down next to Jackson McDermott, Barbara's friends from Acton, and his wife. "But I'm sure you still don't know everyone. So, let's figure out who is who here with a little game. The bride and groom? Haha, yes you. Hi. Wave to me." Barbara snorted a laugh and exchanged a glance with Tommy before they waved their hands to their guests. Yazza went on. "Now, Barbara's family. Hi, wave to us!" Most of them waved. "Thanks for coming. And the Lynleys? Hi!" More people waved their hands now. "Thanks for coming. And friends and colleagues?" Yazza waved her hand with them. "Hello, thank you for joining the party."

"It's our pleasure!" Stuart interjected loudly and earned a few laughs.

"Good. Now, let's get into detail. Who's got Cornish ancestors?" Yazza asked. Tommy's sister quietly groaned but of course she was not really annoyed. The bride's witness turned to Judith. "Yes, Judith, again. I've heard you... Dorothy, what about you?"

Daze had not lifted her hand and felt the need to explain. "Of all my bygone family, I'm the first one born in Cornwall, my dear."

"Oh, I didn't know that. Okay, then, who's from London? Ah, quite a few more. Something different: Who has a library card? Oh, not so many. Advise for the others: you should get one." Yazza winked. "Who's fond of cricket? So many? Seriously? Well, and who prefers football?"

More people waved their hands and they were mostly Barbara's friends and family. Yazza, who also had waved, commented it with "I see a tendency here." and laughed.

"Who works for public service? Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. And who doesn't go to a daily work at all? Oh, you lazy bones, get a job."

Since most of those who did not work were the elder people she earned some laughs for her remark.

"And who ate some of the green beans here?" Yazza shuddered.

Barbara knew that her friend was not exactly fond of green beans and laughed out loud at the face she made.

"Uh, awful. I don't know how one would like to eat that. I'm glad we were offered other side dishes too. And these delicious variations of dessert, right? Well, I hope you haven't stuffed yourselves already with all of that, because... Who would like to have a piece of the wedding cake?"

Now every hand went up waving and they all laughed and finally clapped their hands when the exceptional cake was brought in on a rolling table. A handful of waiters already had lined up at the wall on the entrance side of the room.

The rolling table was brought to the small space were Tommy and Barbara had cut the cricket bat earlier. Of course all the sawdust was swept away straight after they had finished sawing.

Out of nowhere Yazza produced a huge cutting knife. She held it out to the bridal couple who got up from their seats and rounded their table.

Both had not seen the cake before. After they had heard of the accident yesterday they knew it would not be the traditional white dinosaur, like Barbara had named it, which they had chosen initially. Yesterday Tommy and Barbara had been kept in the dark about it but now they both agreed that what had come out of the catastrophe looked quite perfect for a wedding cake surrogate.

On the table in front of them was a round étagère with three levels. On the top level was one small round cake. In the middle were three and on the bottom level were five of those small cakes. The couple knew that they were rather simple chocolate and nut cakes but they did not look simple at all. They were turned into several fancy cakes, covered with a light pink cream and dotted with small swirls of white cream and tiny strawberries. Every cake also was unobtrusively but perfectly sprinkled with a bit of silvery glittering sugar. In the gaps between the round cakes tiny two-level étagères with different tiny chocolates were placed They had a height of about 7 inches. And if there was any more unused space between the cake parts, it was filled with strawberries and red roses.

On the top cake there was of course the inevitable bridal couple figure.

"Oh, wow, this looks fantastic!" Barbara rejoiced and searched for Rory who stood in the double door to the entrance hall with Mr Denton. Both were almost bursting with pride. She nodded appreciatively and gave them a thumbs-up, because it was Denton's idea and Rory's skilful hands, probably for half of the night, that had created a wonderful substitute for a traditional wedding cake.

Tommy and Barbara made a step towards the table. They laughed at each other and shared a brief kiss before they joined their hands on the knife handle and cut a piece out of the top cake. Somewhat clumsily they shoved it on a plate and amid the applause of their guests fed each other with the first bites.

When that was done they kissed again and cut another piece out of the top cake before they went back to their seats. With the couple out of the way, the waiters quickly dismantled the construction one by one, cut the other small cakes and brought the pieces to the tables, together with the tiny étagères with chocolates.

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