Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 05 - Till Death Do Us Part (38 page)

“Okay, walk slowly,” Pedro said.

I looked at Dad and he smiled. We walked around the house with Pedro fussing with the dress’s train and the veil the entire way. I could hear the music, a soft instrumental.

When we came to the end of the white cloth aisle I could see the beautiful arbor, all the attendants, and Tom. Michael was fidgeting; he had already stood too long waiting for me. Jordan had tears in her eyes and Kenny wore the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face.

I met Tom’s eyes. He was smiling and my heart felt light and happy.

“Are you ready, Liza?” my dad asked.

I nodded. The music changed to the wedding march and Dad led me down the aisle. When we got to the end I looked into Tom’s eyes and mouthed, thank you. He gave a slight nod of his head to acknowledge my words.

“Who gives this woman in marriage?” The minister, a graying middle-aged man dressed in a black clerical robe with a white stole embroidered with red flowers said.

My dad raised the short veil in front, kissed me on the cheek and whispered, “I love you, Liza.”

“I love you, too, Dad,” I whispered back.

Then Dad pulled the veil back over, squeezed my hand and said, “Her mother and I do.”

Tom extended his hand; my dad shook it and then led my own hands into Tom’s.

We repeated our vows, exchanged rings, and then the minister said, “You may kiss your bride.”

Tom lifted the veil and we both leaned together for a very long kiss.

“Stretch,” I heard Kenny whisper, “Save it for the honeymoon.”

Both Tom and I chuckled and then turned toward the guests. It was kind of a funny scene. I didn’t have any family except my Dad and sister, so my side was filled with teachers. Tom’s side was mostly cops and FBI agents, and Doreen, David’s wife, and a few of Tom’s relatives.

“I have the pleasure of presenting Mr. and Mrs. Tom Owens,” the minister said.

The crowd clapped and Tom and I walked down the aisle as husband and wife to the song
When I’m Sixty-Four
by the Beatles. It was perfect.

We went into the little room where I got dressed and waited while the guests filed into place under the white tent where they would enjoy appetizers.

Tom held my hand and never let it go.

Then a man holding a camera came in and said, “My name is Ted and I’m the photographer. Let’s get those pictures taken so you can enjoy your reception.”

We went back to wedding arbor and Ted, with Pedro’s help, took what felt like a million pictures with multiple arrangements of me, Tom, the attendants, and family members. Then Pedro brought us back to the dressing room, so Julie and Jordan could take off the veils and bustle up my dress. It was amazing that you could loop that much material under the dress not make it look like I had a huge butt!

“You need to go outside and get into the carriage,” Pedro said.

“Let’s give them a few minutes,” Kenny said.

I looked at Tom. We hadn’t actually even spoken to each other since we exchanged vows.

“We’ve got a schedule to keep,” Pedro told him.

Kenny nodded and said to Jordan, Julie, Duane, David, and Michael. “Let’s go take our place for our introductions. That will take a few minutes.” Then to Pedro, he said, “You go and make sure the carriage is ready.”

Everyone left with Pedro nodding and ushering them out.

Kenny looked back from the door and said, “You’ve got a minute, maybe two.”

When the door closed, Tom pulled me into his arms. I melted into him like we were two parts of the same whole. He brushed his lips up my neck and whispered next to my ear, “Hello, Mrs. Owens.”

I sighed and said, “Hello, Mr. Owens.”

I felt him smile against my cheek. We just stood there and held each other.

We were interrupted by Pedro’s voice, “it’s time for you two to get into the carriage.”

Tom and I sighed together, then turned and followed Pedro.

The beautiful carriage was pulled by two white horses that were also decorated with red and white flowers. Charles, the driver, had his little beagle, James, dressed in a gray pinstriped tux next to him.

Tom got in and then he and Pedro helped me into the carriage. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded wearing a wedding dress.

Charles drove the carriage out the back of the Gardens and onto the street. The hooves of the horses clip-clopped on the road and it felt strange riding in a carriage with horses on a street lined by tract houses.

“This is very nice,” Tom said.

I smiled and thought horses and cowboys just went together, didn’t they?

James shook his head back and forth and I heard Charles say, “What the hell?”

Just as the two white stallions reared up onto their back legs and the carriage was jerked backwards.

Chapter 38

Tom caught me just before I flew off the seat and onto the floor of the carriage.

Charles fought for control of his horses.

James started barking which set the horses off even more. It seemed they just couldn’t get their footing stable.

Tom grabbed the dog and petted him saying, “Easy boy.”

Charles jumped down from his seat, grabbing the reins as he went. He started with one horse by bringing its head down, petting it and calming it. The other horse responded to his words to the first and was soon settled as well. Charles stroked both horses’ noses, continuing to speak to them in his soothing voice.

Tom set the dog back on the seat and said, “Are you okay, Liza?”

“I’m fine.”

A few seconds later, Charles climbed back into his seat, turned to us and said, “I don’t know what happened. Misty and Stone have never done that before. They are two of the gentlest horses we have.”

“What do you think spooked them?” Tom asked.

“I don’t know,” Charles said as he settled into his seat.

“James was shaking his head, could it have been a noise?” I asked.

“It’s possible. Both dogs and horses can hear sounds in a higher pitch than us,” Tom said.

“Maybe some kid with a dog whistle thinks he’s being funny,” I suggested.

“It wasn’t funny,” Charles said.

Both Tom and I shook our heads in agreement. Then we started down the street again.

I heard Joe introducing Kenny as we turned through the gates of the Gardens. Coming up to the twinkling lights, white hanging lanterns, round tables with white and red linens, the candy bar and all the beautiful floral arrangements made the scene magical. It was perfect.

The guests stood, clapped and cheered as we came down the driveway. My dad came over and helped me out of the carriage and then Tom followed.

We went behind the head table through a long garden arbor to the dance floor.

“Now, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Owens will dance their first dance as husband and wife,” Joe said.

Tom took my hand and pulled me in close. I wrapped both hands around his neck. The music began and I recognized the song immediately. I had heard it in a karaoke bar once. It was
After the Loving
usually sung by Engelbert Humperdinck. Then Tom’s beautiful voice came through the speakers.

I leaned back and looked at him.

He smiled and said, “I wanted to sing it to you but knew it would embarrass you, so I came early and Joe helped me record it. Now, I get to sing it to you and hold you at the same time. It’s a win-win situation.”

“It’s perfect,” I told him and we held each other tight.

After the dance, we went over and sat at the head table. My dad sat next to me, then Kenny, Jordan and Sam and Julie. Next to Tom was his son, Michael, then David and Doreen, and then Duane. It was a tight fit and now I understood Kenny’s comment about adding a person to the head table. He had added my dad.

When they set my plate down in front of me, I looked over at Tom.

He was eyeing his plate, too.

I glanced toward my dad who smiled and said, “I added to the menu, too.”

On my plate were two filet mignons wrapped in bacon and smothered with a béarnaise sauce, mashed potatoes, and baby carrots covered in a shiny glaze. All three are my favorite. The entire head table was fed the same meal, except Michael, who was given a burger and fries from In-N-Out Burger, his favorite. If there ever was a day to spoil a child, it was the day he was getting a stepmother.

The guests were released table by table by one of Amelia’s people to get their food at the buffet that was set up. They were served what Tom and I ordered which was also very good, but not quite the same caliber as our meal. Joe played lively but soft music that was a nice background to the conversations at the tables. Charles gave rides in the carriage to everyone. Michael enjoyed them the most, especially since Charles even let him sit on the top with him and James.

As soon as we finished eating, Tom and I got up and visited with our guests. The next hour was a whirlwind of wandering from table to table meeting people. Tom’s Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Henry were quite the couple. She was over six feet tall and thin as a model with huge platinum blonde hair, he was balding, shorter than me and just as wide. I could smell the alcohol when he kissed me. Their daughter, Stella, had the stature of her father and her mother’s beautiful face.

“Where’s the flask?” Tom asked.

Uncle Henry gave a sheepish grin and said, “It’s empty already.”

Tom shook his head and hugged his dad’s only sibling.

It was nice to see all my teaching friends. Usually we don’t see each other in the summer after spending every day together during the school year. We talked about having a standing lunch date, the second Saturday of the month, after I moved to Gainesville.

Tom’s cop friends kidded him about being married and not being able to work those late hours anymore. Then they realized that one of them would have to work them and they started backpedaling immediately; it was hilarious.

“It’s time for the father-daughter dance,” Joe announced, so Tom and I went to the dance floor. It was set up to the left of the head table. As I walked toward the head table, I stopped to admire the cake. It was gorgeous. Pedro made a beautiful arrangement for the top, adding a few real flowers to the sides of the cake. The placement of the table in front of where Tom and I sat was great. The floral arrangement at the head table looked like an extension of the flowers on the top of the cake.

My dad stood on the dance floor waiting for me. He extended his hand, and I took it. He wrapped his arms around my waist and whispered. “Are you happy, Bobby?”

“Yes, I am,” I told him.

They played
I Loved Her First
by Heartland while Dad and I danced. Then my dad let me go and Tom took my hand, as Jordan danced with our dad.

Joe invited everyone else to join us, just as Kenny cut in saying, “You’ll have her all to yourself soon enough, Tom.”

Tom rolled his eyes and he danced with his Aunt Charlotte. Soon the dance floor was filled with everyone dancing. There were enough singers in the group, including some of my teaching friends, that each song was accompanied by people singing. Joe encouraged us to sing. I think he hoped to avoid breaking out his karaoke music.

Pedro came to the dance floor and said, “I’ve got to go because I have another wedding this evening. Everything is on schedule. I added a few more small bouquets around the cake to spruce it up for the pictures, so make sure you cut the cake in thirty minutes, okay? I don’t want those flowers to wilt. And I think it will be a great picture if the entire wedding party, including your dad, is sitting behind the cake at their spots. They did that at another wedding I worked and it turned out to be the bride’s favorite picture.”

I gave him a big hug and said, “Thanks, that’s a great idea. We couldn’t have done this without you.”

“That’s okay. Enjoy the cake and the rest of your lives together.”

After Pedro left, Tom and I wandered by the candy bar, which seemed to be very popular. I used a scoop to get a handful of peanut M & M’S and Tom got a piece of black licorice. It was nice that we liked the same candy.

I was tired of walking, talking, and standing so we walked back to the head table and sat for a few minutes.

“Everyone seems to be having a great time,” I said as I looked over at the dance floor filled with people dancing and singing
Summer Nights
from Grease.

“Cops and teachers seem to get along just great,” he said.

I put my hand on his and said, “It’s the uniform we know that you all wear, we just can’t get over the uniform.”

He laughed and kissed me.

My dad came over and sat down next to me, his two FBI guards within a few feet of him.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I am tired of having a shadow everywhere I go,” my dad said.

“When
are
you going to testify and be done with them?”

“They’ve got it moved up to early next month from the original court date six months from now.”

“The sooner the better.”

I looked over the table at the cake and said, “I’m ready for dessert, how about you?”

“Sounds good to me,” my dad agreed.

Tom glanced at his watch. “We’ve got fifteen more minutes, if we want to keep to the schedule before we can have cake.”

“I want cake,” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Then the woman will have cake. I’ll tell Joe.”

“I’ll find Ted and let him know, too.” Dad went in search of the photographer.

A few minutes later, Dad brought Ted over. Ted frowned at the cake.

“What?” I asked, looking over the table at the cake.

“I don’t like the lighting here or the background. Why isn’t the cake where it usually is placed?”

I shrugged. “Where does it usually go?”

“Amelia usually places it to the left of the head table between it and the dance floor,” Ted said, still frowning.

Then I remembered what Pedro said about the picture. “I’d like it here, Ted. That way all my attendants can be in the picture, including my dad. They’ll be watching Tom and me cut the cake. It will be a great picture.”

“That sounds nice,” my dad agreed. “Why can’t you just take the pictures here?”

“To be honest with you, I don’t want to take them here because of the large floral arrangements on the edges of the head table. Both your husband and you are not tall, so you will look like you have flowers coming out of your head. Is that the look you’re going for?”

“No, can we move it?” I asked.

“Let’s see what Amelia can do.” Ted left.

Tom came back and said, “Joe’s going to announce that we’re cutting the cake as soon as this song is over.”

“Go tell him to stop.”

“What? You changed your mind about having cake? I can’t believe that.”

“No, I still want cake but Ted says we have to move the cake.”

“Why?”

“Ted says in the pictures it will look like flowers are growing out of our heads.”

Tom looked at the cake and frowned, clearly as confused as I was.

“I don’t get it either,” I told him. “But go tell Joe not to announce the cutting of the cake until they get it moved.”

Tom huffed and walked toward the dance floor again.

A few minutes later, Amelia and four of her staff members dressed in white aprons came over. Two of them picked up the cake, Dad helped Amelia gathered the extra bouquets, and the other two moved the table.

When they set it down, Amelia said, “Let’s leave these extra bouquets off. I think it’s too much.”

She set the bouquets on the edge of the head table.

A few minutes later, Joe said, “We will be cutting the cake in a few minutes, if everyone will gather on the dance floor.”

Tom and I started toward the cake, as did the rest of the guests.

That’s when we heard someone scream. It sounded like Michael.

Tom and I turned to see what was causing the commotion. There was a little brown monkey jumping around the containers on the candy bar table. Michael was trying to catch it and screamed every time he got close to the monkey.

“Damn it,” Tom said. “Aunt Charlotte brought one of her monkeys.”

It was like a school of fish changing directions. Everyone, including Joe, wanted to see the monkey.

When we got close, Aunt Charlotte was cooing at the monkey, “Come on, Nelly, and don’t be scared.”

“I want to hold her,” Michael was whining.

“Then you have to stop screaming, honey,” Aunt Charlotte said.

“Why is the monkey at my wedding?” Tom said, using that tone of voice usually reserved for me. It was nice to see it directed at someone else.

“I brought Nelly so Michael could play with her, but when I went to put her in his lap, she saw the candy. She loves Peanut M&M’S, they’re her favorite.”

The monkey put her hand into the peanut M&M’S jar, grabbed one and then stuffed it in her mouth. She would run around the jars and then go back to the peanut M&M’S.

“I can understand that,” I told her, then chuckled.

“She’s got great taste in candy,” Kenny added and laughed.

Soon everyone was laughing and watching the monkey stuff her cheeks with peanut M&M’S.

We all stopped laughing when the explosion threw us to the ground.