Nobody's Dream (74 page)

Cassie thanked each one, and soon the entourage made its way toward the church. Fortunately, the walk was not a long one. Despite the shining sun, the wind off the mountains was bitterly cold.

The nape of her neck prickled, and Cassie glanced at the windows and doorways they passed, expecting to see someone watching the procession of women. Given the frigid temperatures, she did not expect many villagers to join in the procession, but a few of their younger neighbors did so. Others would be waiting for them at the church.

Would Pedro try to disrupt her special day? He must know through the village grapevine that Cassie would be married on this day. She shuddered, then banished thoughts of the snake and his evil friends to the corners of her mind. She would not let him rule her life any longer.

Inside the mission-style church’s vestibule, she and
Mamá
were ushered into what was indeed a small room. On a bench, Cassie set down her bundle and unrolled the
k’eperina
. The blouse would not be tucked in, so she donned the three colorful polleras first before
Mamá
helped her into the blouse. Then
Mamá
placed the
lliclla
around her shoulders and pinned it with the silver antique
tupu
.

Her friend Maria brought forth the red hat with the upturned brim in the style worn by the women of her village. At the same moment, Maria placed the hat on Cassie’s head,
Tía
Sofia placed
Mamá’s
almost identical
montera
on hers. Maria’s fingers were cold as she fastened the strands of white beads to the hat and under her chin to hold it in place.

In the narthex, a whirlwind of activity ensued as
Tía
Sofia arranged the line of
madrinas
and
padrinos
for the procession, each carrying one of the symbolic objects so important in a Latino wedding.
Mamá
had agreed to be their
Madrina de Velación
and would walk down the aisle with Lucas.
Papá
would be the
Padrino de Las Arras
. Her parents would exchange their vows first followed by Lucas and Cassie, but most of the activity revolved around the wedding ceremony.

The processional music began and Maria handed Cassie the bouquet of Peruvian lilies almost the same shade of pink as the ones Lucas had given her for their first wedding. Had he chosen these this time, as well, or was it yet another sign of how perfect this ceremony would be for them?

*     *     *

Man, he wished they’d start. He couldn’t wait to see his bride again. Cassie was hidden in the dressing room nearby. His preparations had taken a lot less time. He wore the same clothes he’d worn on their first wedding day, given that he didn’t have a lot of dress clothes in his closet, that’s what he’d packed to wear at the ceremony to renew her parents’ vows.

Luke took his place about halfway down the line next to her
Mamá
, also serving today as the godmother whose role was to oversee their marriage. She held two lit candles.

Cassie’s father would be one of the first to enter the church. He carried a bag of thirteen gold coins, a symbol of prosperity and a sharing of resources for the newlyweds.

From this day forward, Cassie agreed to be his wife. Not just his friend, but also his
wife
in every sense of the word. She trusted him to care for, protect, and nurture her.

I’m a rich man already.

Eduardo carried a white lasso Luke had spent several hours fashioning into a rosary, placing knots where beads would be. A small wooden cross had been attached to the loose end. This might be the only time he would use his rope techniques on his wife, but what better reason than this. The rope symbolized the binding of the two of them as one. Cassie was going to commit to spending the rest of her life with him.

Of course, he’d made that commitment once before, but today would be special for them both. Later, he’d let her know that he hoped this would be the day they celebrated as their true wedding anniversary.

Eduardo might be domineering, but Luke couldn’t fault him for being overprotective of his sister. He also seemed to have a happy wife and family. Susana could hold her own in their relationship, as shown last night when the family gathered to discuss what to expect today.

His brother-in-law’s two older children, aged four and six, were near the end of the procession with flower petals and a ring-bearer’s pillow, while the youngest two must have been in the care of a family member.

One of the godfathers in the front of the procession held their true wedding rings. Taking that band of silver off this morning had been difficult to do, but when Cassie placed it on his finger this time, it would be forever.

He didn’t remember the names of everyone else, but each seemed to have an important symbol in his or her hand. The men and women both dressed in a colorful array of Peruvian clothing.

Father Rojas and two altar boys took their places behind the fidgety kids and music sounded from inside the church as the doors opened. When it came time for them to enter the nave, his gaze went to the quartet of musicians standing in a boxed area on the right. The guitar, drum, tambourine, and accordion made a joyful noise all right. He grinned.

Hard not to smile on the best day of my life—well, so far, anyway.

When they reached the front of the church, he guided
Mamá
toward her husband, then took his place and turned to face the back of the sanctuary. All eyes were on the ring bearer and flower girl who seemed to be taking their jobs very seriously and walking at a snail’s pace.

The priest and altar boys followed them, and then he caught his first glimpse of his bride. So beautiful in her traditional clothing. On her head she wore a red hat with at least eight strands of pearls holding it in place.
Mamá
had shown him a photo of a seven-year-old Cassie with a baby alpaca wearing a similar hat.

But Cassie was all grown up now. Best of all was the radiant smile on her face. No hesitation. No fear. When she met his gaze, it felt like a punch to his solar plexus.

Mine.

Her gaze never left his as she walked down the aisle toward him. He’d learned last night that it was not the church’s custom to have the bride given away to her husband. Luke liked that she was coming to him by choice.

At last.

When she was mere yards away, he stepped forward to meet her, crooking his elbow, and escorted her the rest of the way to stand beside her mother, with the men flanking their women.

The Mass began. Most of the words were in Spanish, so he didn’t really understand much, but caught a few words during the homily about faithfulness, perseverance, and fruitfulness. Cassie tensed on that word, but he stroked her hand with his thumb.

Cassie and the priest had agreed to speak both English and Spanish during their parts of the Rite of Marriage, so that Luke would know what was going on. Not that he’d remember a thing they said. His mind was focused solely on the lady standing at his side.

Now and for the rest of their lives.

The ceremony continued and her parents renewed their vows first, in Spanish. When he heard Cassie’s sniffle, he squeezed her hand, brushing his thumb over her knuckles.

Next, in English, Father Rojas addressed Luke and Cassie. He repeated some of what he had said about marriage in his sermon before asking them a series of questions.

“Casandra Beatriz and Stephen Lucas, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?”

Together they answered, “We have.”

“Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?”

“We will.”

“Will you accept children lovingly from God?”

His response was spoken more quickly than Cassie’s, but when she said, “I will,” Luke’s heart soared. They were young and had plenty of time to worry about children, but that she allowed this to remain part of the ceremony was encouraging.

“Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and His Church.”

Father Rojas continued, reverting to their informal names as Cassie had requested. “Luke, do you take Cassie to be your wife? Do you promise to be true to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love her and honor her all the days of your life?

Luke smiled down at Cassie who met his gaze. “I do.”

She continued to stare into his eyes while the priest continued. “Cassie, do you take Luke to be your husband? Do you promise to be true to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love him and honor him all the days of your life?

She spoke in a firm voice. “I do.” Cassie smiled and visibly relaxed.

“You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with His blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide.”

The congregation and wedding party all said “Amen.” The priest had given them permission to exchange their own profession of love and Luke listened when it was Cassie’s turn to read the words she’d spoken once before.

Beside me and apart from me,

in laughter and in tears,

in sickness and in health,

in conflict and serenity,

asking that you be no other than yourself.

Loving what I know of you and

trusting what I do not yet know,

I bind my life to yours

until death parts us.

For the first time since he’d penned those words the night she’d agreed to marry him in Colorado, he had more hope that those promises would be fulfilled than he had three months ago on their first wedding day.

I am blessed.

The rings were brought forward, blessed, and exchanged. His hand shook a little just like the first time he placed the symbol of his love on her finger.

Her
papá
brought the bag of thirteen gold coins to Luke. He had explained to Luke earlier he had given these same coins to his own bride all those years ago. The older man poured them into Luke’s hands slowly before returning to his wife’s side and kissing her cheek. Luke took the coins and turned to meet his bride’s gaze.

“Cassie,” he began to drop the coins slowly into her cupped, outstretched hands, “I pledge to be a good provider, to earn your trust and confidence, and to support and care for you all the days of my life.”

As the last two coins fell into her hands, Cassie teared up. She continued to hold the coins in her outstretched hands. “Lucas, I accept these coins as a representation of the trust and confidence you have in me and I promise to return that trust and confidence thirteen-fold to you.”

After the coins had been returned to their pouch and handed to one of the attendants, Eduardo and Susana came forward carrying the large white rosary fashioned from soft rope. Luke tried not to be disrespectful, but he was about to be bound to his wife’s side by the very brother who probably had facilitated her deciding to marry him the first time. The priest indicated that Luke and Cassie should kneel once more on the pillows one of the godparents had carried in earlier. His brother- and sister-in-law formed a figure eight with the rosary rope and draped it around Luke’s and Cassie’s shoulders while the priest spoke in English again how the two were now bound together as one for infinity, as the sideways eight symbolized.

Luke’s mind went places it shouldn’t during a solemn church wedding ceremony. Would Cassie ever let down her guard enough to try a little kink? There were so many things in the lifestyle that could help her relax and enjoy her sexuality more, but she seemed to have an aversion to the topic whenever it came up.

Don’t push your luck, Denton.

The ceremony continued until Eduardo and Susana were invited to receive the lasso from them and to keep it safe until they gave it to Luke and Cassie later.
Mamá
came toward them holding the lighted taper candles, the flames causing her tears to shimmer in her eyes.

Each of them accepted one of the candles, and he placed a kiss on his mother-in-law’s cheek. Luke didn’t know if he was supposed to or not, but he reached for Cassie’s hand as they made their way to the unity candle near the altar. Together, they lit the candle and a single flame represented their coming together in marriage. With two puffs of breath, they extinguished the separate flames representing the end of their lonely pasts.

They’d been brought together by a wildfire and an avalanche—fire and ice—but this flame depicted a bright future. Like the flame, their marriage would burn hot and bright, no doubt. Cassie had an underlying passion just waiting to be unleashed. He couldn’t wait to get home to their ranch and have her all to himself for a while.

When they returned to the priest, Luke was told he could kiss his bride. He framed her face. She seemed more serious now. Maybe the kiss would take her out of her head. He leaned down, no intention of stopping short this time, but wanted to hoot and holler when Cassie leaned toward him, impatient for their lips to meet again.

That’s my girl.

My wife.

My love.

The ceremony ended and the congregation stood. The godfathers and godmothers, led by Cassie’s parents, were each handed a long-stemmed gladiolus as they took their places on opposite sides of the aisle, women on his right, men on the left, evenly spaced. Each raised one of the long-stalked flowers and formed an arch for them to pass under. It reminded him of the saber arch at Adam and Karla’s wedding.

Cassie and Luke were handed one of the flowers, too. She set the pace, slower than in wedding recessionals back home, as the quartet played
Amazing Grace
. The congregation greeted them with smiles and applause.

*     *     *