Wedding Weekend 2

It worked. They are married. On their way to the airport and to Mexico she called for a last few details and a birthday wish to her grandmother. She was excited. And they were off.

We sit on the couch on the porch drinking coffee and dissecting last evening, processing the events. The air is warm and sticky: back to true South Carolina weather. Yesterday the air was pleasant and cool with sunshine and white puffy clouds that sailed by not noticing the pictures below, under the oak tree.

I am not very good at standing still with a smile plastered to my face. After the 3rd or 4th arrangement I was ready to be done. I can only imaging how Mary's cheeks felt. She was in the most pictures, of course. Nancee Lee shifted us and shot us and the rest of the wedding party. She has such talent and such a great eye.

As requested I played the prelude, starting 30 minutes before. Having more music than necessary I should have chosen more intelligently. I did get in the two that Mary requested. I started with Ashoken farewell and ended with Appalachian waltz. The second to last was Meditations. The piece hinges on the fall from the explosive section. The notes climb and the volume picks with intensity which builds until it can go no more and slows with its own weight and then quickly and with exasperation it falls back down slowly until with a final breath the them returns even softer than before. In this most critical section the piano dies away. Leaving the falling notes open and vulnerable. It is so beautiful.

I missed a few notes on easy pieces and slid around more than intended. But the church was kind. The acoustics amplified the right notes and rang them when I let them fall flat. It is great to have a room that covers for you. But much like the rest of the weekend my time was soon finished and Kathy gave the stop signal from the back and I slipped off stage with my jacket and sat down near the front.

The pastor, came in with the groomsmen. The groom sat his mother and joined them at the front. The bridesmaids came down in pink. Their dresses, the same color, and their shoes as wild as the rainbow. And then she came down. Mary Laurel in white, beaming. My father, too, smiling. A simple ring of pearls accented her dark hair in the perfect way that only happens in tales. I returned to the front when It was time for me to read from genesis.

"God said, 'It is not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion.' So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he did not find a suitable companion.

God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.

The Man said,

'Finally! Bone of my bone,

flesh of my flesh!

Name her Woman

for she was made from Man.'

Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame."

On the porch and with the second cup of coffee we agreed with Adam - Finally! How good it is that God provides. The morning seemed to go as quickly as the wedding. Mary and Tim exchanged vows and rings and ran out shining with smiles. And with some quick scurrying around we were all at the reception.

The party was beautiful. The dancing was fun. Corrie latched on to me completely. I think we danced every other song. And for all the songs that I dance with someone else she stood to the side and glared and tried to cut in. For her age of 7 she is quite strong and very strong willed. But it was fun.

The food was good, the music better. There were smiles every where. At the beginning, when the wedding party was being introduced, the crowd was surprisingly quiet. So I did my best to clap, cheer, and make all sorts of noise when Mary and Tim were introduced. But the crowed warmed up after Mary and Tim's first dance. They dance and well. My father, nervous at following them, did well too. In fact he looked like he knew what he was doing.

Poor Drew worked hard. Drew, Katie's boyfriend, seeing my mom worried about something told her to send him instead. He found himself in a frantic search for the cake cutting knife and serving utensil. After going through the trunk and the contents of every bag in the trunk he returned empty handed. Only when we returned to the house did we realized that it had been misplaced with the piles of gifts and was returned to the car, but then only after Drew searched. When asked about the contents of the luggage of the bride Drew replied "what was in the trunk, stays in the trunk."

I danced till my shirt, tie, and jacket were soaked. I danced wild. I danced slow. I danced with Mary, my cousins, a few bridesmaids, and even, accidentally, with a married woman I didn't know. I looked for a ring when I passed by earlier. I guess I just didn't see it. Its always more exciting when unplanned. Mary, I think, was the only one who dance more, or had more fun. Mr. Yearick commented "Andrew, when you dance, you just go for it." Not quite the compliment, so I gave him my motto, "What I lack in talent I make up for with exuberance." I suppose I do believe that When it is time to celebrate, it is time to celebrate.

Before I got to eat enough, before I was able to speak to everyone, before I was able to dance with all that I wanted, we were instructed to grab the bubbles and head outside. We lined the brick path. The bubbles filled the space in between and danced in the dark night air, shimmering in a kaleidoscope of colors. At the end of the path, the Model A, looking sharp in shiny black, squawked and clamoured its horn repeatedly. It is hard to blow bubbles and yell at the same time, but we managed. And they were gone.

We swiped the flowers and made sure all the gifts were in the car. Katie, Nate, John and I took a survivor's photo. Meadors passed by and said "and then there was four."

On the porch the morning has moved on. And we slip back into the house.