Greater Than Rubies, a Novella inspired by the Jewel Trilogy (27 page)

OBIN
put her hands in the pockets of her trench coat and waited for Peter to unlock the back door of the church. “I’m hoping for warmer weather tomorrow afternoon,” she said with a smile.

“Supposed to be lovely tomorrow. With everything else, you should not stress about that,” Caroline said, hugging her close. Their five foster kids played a game of chase on the lawn next to the building.

Peter finally got the door unlocked and opened it wide, letting Robin and Caroline precede him. “Lads and lasses,” Caroline sing-songed with a clap of her hands, and all five children never broke stride. They just pivoted on their feet and dashed into the open church.

The women slipped inside and Caroline went to a far wall, throwing switches to light up the room. They crossed the hall, passing administrative offices, and went through the door leading to the main sanctuary through the choir loft. Caroline threw some more switches, and the sanctuary lit up.

“Oh Robin, how beautiful!” she exclaimed. Then, her voice took on a warning note. “Kids, don’t touch a thing. Absolutely nothing.”

Huge bouquets of white roses, freesia, and lisianthus stood in tall pedestals at the end of the aisle near the main doors, and white cloth draped from the pedestals and swooping from pew to pew, closing off the main aisle. Where the cloth attached to the pew, red and white roses in bouquets held together with white satin ribbon were attached. At the front of the church, identical pillars of flowers flanked the pulpit next to large candelabras.

“Thank you. I think the decorators did a tremendous job,” Robin said, turning when the door behind her opened. In walked Maxine and Sarah. “Hi you two,” she said with a grin. Nervous excitement fluttered in her chest.

“Hello, bride,” Maxine said, hugging Robin. She stepped back and took off her coat. “Do you want me to hang up your coat, too?”

Robin shook her head, “No. I’ll leave it on for now.”

The door opened again and the photographer, Gerald Parr, came in. “Gerald,” she said, walking forward with her hand extended. “Welcome to Boston Bible.”

“Thank you,” he said as he shook her hand. “This architecture is amazing. I may take some time in the morning and just snap photos of the building.”

“Peter here is one of the pastors. I’m sure he could speak for the church and say they didn’t mind.”

“Absolutely,” Peter said.

The door opened again and Tony, Barry, and Derrick came in. Tony went straight to Robin. “
Cara
, my bride to be.” He gave her a gentle kiss, then hugged her tight, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “Are you ready?”

With a nervous laugh, she said, “We’re still missing a few people.”

As if on cue, the Rabonovich’s came in followed by Stephanie Giordano. Sofia Rabonovich set down the box she carried and went to Robin, putting her hands on her shoulders, kissing both of her cheeks. “My dear, how incredibly exciting.”

Robin nodded and whispered, “No one knows.”

Craig came in while Tony and Abram were shaking hands. “I’m not late, am I?”

“Not at all,” Tony said, walking to his future father-in-law with his hand extended. “We are so honored that you’re giving Robin away.”

“I’m thanking God for the chance to be doing things right for once,” Craig said, cheeks fusing bright pink with color.

The far door opened, and two high school boys from the youth group came in together. Peter held up a hand in greeting. “Good to see you boys. Thank you for arriving very nearly on time.”

The only redhead in the group said, “My mom said to tell you again how much she appreciates you asking us to do this, Mr. V.,” he said.

Tony smiled. “I’m sure you’ll do a great job ushering. There are twenty of you all together, and I know Stephanie has you meeting her for instruction and training in the morning, but you two will be part of the ceremony, so I wanted you to be here tonight.

“And now,” Tony said, putting an arm around Robin’s shoulders. “We have a surprise for you all.”

Robin’s fingers shook slightly, not from nerves but just from general excitement, as she worked the belt loose on her coat. As soon as it was loose, she shrugged out of it, revealing a white satin tea-length dress with short capped sleeves and a scrolling pattern of pearls sewn into the skirt.

Maxine gasped. “Seriously?” she asked, laughing. “I love it!”

“What’s going on?” Sarah asked.

“We decided instead of the big hoopla tomorrow, we wanted to experience our most special day with the people closest to us rather than share it with another thousand people,” Robin said.

Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “What am I not understanding?”

Maxine put her hand on her hip. “They’re actually going to get married tonight. This isn’t practice – it’s for real.”

Caroline clapped her hands and threw her head back and laughed. “Fantastic!”

“Wait,” Derrick said. “What about tomorrow? Did you cancel everyone coming?”

“Not at all,” Tony said. “We’ll still go through all the motions. But Robin thought, and I agreed, that she would enjoy the day much more if the added stress of getting married wasn’t weighing down on her.”

Barry frowned. “Isn’t that the point of tomorrow? The stress of getting married?”

Robin walked up to him and slipped her arm around his waist, hugging him to her. “I’ve been trying to get him to elope with me since he proposed. Don’t stop this now, Barry.”

He laughed and squeezed her then released her. “I’m glad you didn’t elope. Well, until now. Tony enjoys the hoopla too much.”

With a sigh Robin said, “I know. God help me, I know.”

Stephanie smiled and said, “She told me about it last week, and I have been absolutely bursting with it. What a fun and clever idea!”

Sophia opened the box she carried in and handed simple bouquets of white roses and fresh greenery to Maxine, Sarah, and Caroline.

“You want me to go ahead and walk you down the aisle now,” Craig asked, “or wait for tomorrow?”

“We still need to practice for tomorrow, so we’re going to go through all of the motions. But, the ceremony will be real and we’ll say our vows,” Robin said.

The door opened again and the church’s organist and sound manager came in together. They stopped briefly to confer with Abram and Stephanie before she went to the huge pipe organ and flipped switches to get it turned on and the sound manager went back out the door to go up to the sound booth in the balcony.

Abram clapped his hands. “Is everyone ready?”

Robin, her sisters, and Caroline, with Angel Dove and Isaac, all went to the back of the church with Craig while Tony, Barry, Derrick, and Peter went out the side doors at the front of the church. They left the doors propped open so that they could hear Stephanie’s directions.

Sarah fiddled with the ribbon on her bouquet. “I wish you’d told us. We could have been prepared.”

Robin put an arm around her shoulders. “We intentionally didn’t tell anyone but Stephanie, who needed to make flower and dress arrangements for me, and Abram, who will be officiating. We wanted it to be a surprise.”

Sarah looked at Maxine. “You didn’t know?”

With a shake of her head, Maxine confirmed it. “No. This is a huge surprise for me. I’m thrilled though.” She turned to Robin. “What are you guys doing tonight?”

Robin felt her cheeks heat. “We will still have dinner as planned, catered at Barry’s house. Only afterward, instead of going back to the hotel, Derrick will take my room and I’ll go home with, ah, my husband.”

Her upper lip dotted with sweat. Maxine ran a hand over her arm. “You okay with that?”

Robin nodded. “Way more than I would be if it were tomorrow. I can’t even handle the thought of dealing with all those eyes and all those people -- the small talk and networking -- along with the wedding night stress. It was just too much. Tony came up with this idea. I just hope …” She trailed off, not really sure what she meant to say.

Maxine hugged her. “Everything will be magical,” she said in Robin’s ear. “I believe that.”

Robin fanned her face and turned to Craig. “Ready, dad?”

“Kinda glad to be getting a practice in before the real thing, that’s for sure,” he said, offering his arm. Gerald came down the aisle and snapped a photo just as Robin put her hand on his arm.

From the front of the church, Stephanie held a microphone and tapped it to make sure it was on. “Okay, here’s the order of services. Before any of the wedding party come out, there’s a soloist. She’s going to come and take microphone B and move to here,” Stephanie said, walking to the left side of the stage. “She’ll sing, and when she finishes, Tony, you, Abram, and your party will come through the doors together and take your places.” She paused. “You can come now.”

The men came together and Stephanie directed them where to stand. “Okay,” she said, “once they’re in place, then the two ushers will take the cords on the runner that’s back there and walk forward, together pulling it open.” The two youth rushed to take the cords and started walking. As the runner opened, Robin could see the beautiful scrolling “V” and the intricate artwork around it. “Come all the way to the front and it should run out just –” the roll ended and they were left holding the cords and an empty holder right in front of Tony and Abram. “Perfect!”

Stephanie continued, “Now the organist will be playing some music the whole time. As soon as they finish the roll, Angel Dove and Isaac will walk together.” She looked at Tony but continued to speak into the mike. “Is he still going to carry the rings?”

Tony nodded. “We’ll exchange rings again tomorrow. No one need know our practice was the real thing but us.”

“So, Angel Dove and Isaac will come down the aisle, followed by the bridal party with Caroline first, then Sarah, and finally Maxi.” Stephanie looked at notes as she spoke. Isaac held his sister’s hand as they walked with some trepidation, down the long aisle. Eyes wide behind the round glasses, he kept his face focused on his father’s, who waited for him at the end.

As soon as they were four rows into the march, Stephanie said, “Okay, now Caroline.” She directed Sarah and Maxine at the same time. As they came up front, she told each of them where to stand and how to face the audience. When Maxine was in place, the organist paused for one heart beat, then two, and then played the beginning chords of the wedding march.

Robin looked at Craig. “You ready?”

“As ever,” he said, patting her hand that gripped his other arm. While the familiar music played, Robin and Craig slowly walked down the aisle, and she looked at Tony and smiled. His face was serious, almost intense, but when she smiled, he relaxed and smiled back.

It seemed to take forever to reach the front. She and Craig stopped in front of Tony and Abram.

“Who gives this bride to this groom?” Abram asked.

Craig cleared his throat twice before he spoke, “I do.” His voice rang clearly through the church.

Stephanie said, “Craig, at this point, you’ll raise her veil.”

Craig mocked raising her veil. He looked so uncomfortable, that Robin hugged him. Blinking back tears, she stepped forward and took Tony’s hand. Holding her hand, he turned and faced Abram.

In a strong and rich voice, Abram said, “It really is a joy to be here tonight, gathered with you, Tony and Robin, and surrounded here by friends. It is such a privilege to officiate this celebration. You two are very special to my Sofia and me, and I thank you for inviting me to be a part of it.”

Robin thought about the first time she met Abram. While she and Tony had sat in the Rabonovich’s home and had after-church cake and coffee, he had very kindly and lovingly instructed her on how to start reading her Bible.

“After the ceremony today, I will sign the marriage certificate. Everyone who has been married in recent years has a piece of paper that certifies that they had a wedding. Some folks have it in a nice frame, up on the wall somewhere in their house. Some might have it in a lock box with other important documents in order to keep it safe. Regardless of what you do with this piece of paper, I want to tell something I hope you never forget – it’s just a piece of paper. Really. That’s all. A piece of paper is not a marriage. In fact, everything we are doing today is not a marriage.”

Robin looked at Tony. He must have felt her glance, because he shifted his eyes from Abram and looked over at her. They had conspired to get married tonight instead of tomorrow so that this moment, this ceremony, could be something just them and the people closest to them could share. She grinned a secret grin meant for Tony alone. Despite nearly bursting with the desire to share the plan with her sisters, she didn’t spoil the surprise. That made this all the more fun, she thought.

“Don’t get me wrong, this is a great day – a beautiful day. It is wonderful to be here in this place, with all these friends, witnessing your vows to one another in this historic building where thousands of others through four generations have said their own vows. But as good as it is to be here, we should all remember that this is a wedding, not a marriage. What makes a marriage is what comes next.”

It was hard not to lean over and kiss Tony. He had looked so intense, his dark eyes so serious. But when she gave him that secret grin, everything about him softened and he smiled and winked at her.