Love Promises (Sully Point, Book 4) (24 page)

He opened the box and she saw two simple yet
elegant bands, each with a single diamond embedded in the center. "One for
you and one for me. Later we can pick something else or we can get your ring to
match this."

"I like them. Thank goodness your father
thought of them, and that Lucretia had some in stock."

Eric gave a laugh. "I think Lucretia was
still partially drunk from celebrating finishing all her Christmas orders. She
was very happy, if you know what I mean."

"That must have been something to see. Now
what do we do? We have until three this afternoon to do whatever." She
looked at him with a smile.

"Whatever, hmm." He took her in his arms
and kissed her deeply and thoroughly. "I think I have a few ways we could
kill time."

"I thought you might," she said.

Chapter 9

The limousine dropped Eric and Maggie off at the
church exactly on time. He was already dressed in his tuxedo, and wondered just
what he was going to do for the next sixty minutes. Maggie opened the door to
the changing room, and Eric heard a gaggle of women's voices call out to her.

Since she was now in the hands of the women, he
decided to go search out the men. They had to be around somewhere. He found his
father with Maggie's father, Ed. They were sitting in a classroom and as he
entered, he could have sworn he saw Ed tucking a flask away in his suit. But he
had more important concerns.

"Any last advice you two can give me?"
he asked.

"Never argue with a pregnant woman,"
said Ed.

"Never go to bed angry," said Grant.

"That's it? That's all?"

"Yep," his father said to him. "All
the rest you'll learn on your own."

"Besides, anything we'd tell you would only
be relevant to the women we're married to," said Ed. "And believe me,
Sophia is nothing like Maggie."

"Just remember son, lead with your heart, not
your head," said his father. "You won't go wrong doing that."

"Good point, Grant," Ed said, and the
two fist-bumped.

Eric decided to leave those two to their own
devices. He searched out the younger men next.

"There you are, Eric," Sam said, holding
out a flower for his jacket. "I was wondering where you were."

"Talking to the parents. The fathers, rather,"
he said as Sam helped him fasten the flower.

Cody walked up and said, "They helped me with
bringing in the booze at Jason's house earlier. They seemed on their way to
becoming fast friends."

"That's good, I guess," Eric said.
"Listen guys, what advice can you give me? About marriage?"

Cody shook his head. "Aside from things like
'don't leave the toilet seat up' and 'remember her birthday' I have none to
offer. Marriage is an adventure, unique to every couple. Be prepared for
anything."

"Sam?"

Sam said, "The bottom line is that you love
each other. Stick with that, remember it during the hard times and you'll be
okay. Mostly you will have lots of good times, but every now and then you'll be
ready to walk out the door. That's when you remember today, and how much you
love her."

Eric thought about that, and then said,
"Thanks, Sam. That does help."

Sam cleared his throat and Cody gave him a nervous
look. "There's something we need to tell you, Eric."

Jason walked up and said, "Did you tell him
yet?"

"Not yet. Okay, here's the deal. In all the
preparations we forgot about music, in the church to walk down the aisle to,
the wedding march and all that. And the only person we could find who can play
this organ--" Sam said.

"And believe me we did try looking
everywhere--" Cody said.

"Yeah, she was the only one," Jason
said.

"Is Maelynne," Sam finished.

"What? Maelynne is going to be playing at our
wedding?" Eric practically shouted.

"Calm down, lower your voice," Sam said,
looking around. "See, we all decided that you're the only one who can tell
Maggie."

"Oh no, Maggie. She's going to flip."

"So it's up to you, to make sure she doesn't
wig out coming down the aisle and seeing Maelynne at the organ," Jason
said.

"What time is it?"

Cody looked at his watch and said, "Twenty
after three. Go stand outside the changing room door and tell her. That way
there's a door between you."

"Hey, it's not my fault this happened,"
Eric said.

"Anyway, good luck, man," Cody said,
slapping him on the back.

Eric glared at him and then went to the room where Maggie was changing. He knocked and called out,
"Maggie?"

"You can't see her yet," yelled his
mother.

"I have to tell her something important. Is
she in the dress yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Then send her out here."

"She's in her underthings!"

"Then cover her up," Eric demanded.
"But I need to see her."

In a few moments, Maggie came out, covered up in a
robe two sizes too big for her. She had sparkling eyes and smiled at him.
"What is it?"

"Maelynne is going to be the organist for our
wedding," he blurted out.

"What?" she asked, in a dangerously
quiet voice.

"Nobody thought of the organist until it was
too late. She was the only one that could be found to play the wedding
march."

"Maelynne--is going to be playing--at my
wedding."

He watched her wondering how big the explosion
would be. Then his mouth fell open as she burst into gales of laughter. Heads
poked out the door of the changing room. Maggie just kept laughing.

"Um, you okay darling?"

"Oh my, this is just delicious. That woman!
Wouldn't you know she'd end up with a front row seat just so she can spread the
details all over town? I have to hand it to her. She's something else."

"Well, she was the only one available,
Maggie."

"Bull. I know for a fact that there are
several people in town who play the organ for this church. She got to them, got
to them all. Well, she wins this round. Was that all? No other disasters?"

"No, just that one."

"Don't worry so much. It will all be
fine," Maggie said, reaching up to caress his face with her hand. "If
you get the chance, could you track down my father? He likes to get drunk at
weddings. I'm sure he won't at mine, but just to be safe, maybe you should keep
an eye on him."

Eric felt his eyes widen. "Sure, right away.
I'll find him. See you later!" He dashed off leaving a startled Maggie
behind him.

He jogged down the hall into the classroom. The
two men were gone. He began searching everywhere, and then realized he was
hearing singing coming from above him. He ran up the stairs and into the cupola
where he found his father and Maggie's father singing loudly.

"Get me to the church," sang Ed.

"Get me to the church," sang Grant.

"Get me to the church on time," they
sang together.

"Guys, guys," Eric said and waved at them
to quiet down.

"Hullo, son, come sing with us. We both know
all the words to the songs from My Fair Lady. Great songs."

"Dad--"

"Here, have a wink--have a drink with
us," Ed said, holding out a flask.

"Oh man, we need coffee. Come on downstairs
with me. Hurry up," Eric started dragging his father by the elbow and Ed
followed. He ran into Sam, who took one look at the two men and said, "Ooh
boy."

"Coffee?" Eric asked. "They're both
smashed."

"Yeah come on, there's a kitchen here
somewhere...never mind, let's throw them in the car and go to the Bakery. The
machine there will have coffee in no time."

Eric and Sam got Ed and Grant into the Lincoln and
Eric drove a few blocks to the Bakery. Sam unlocked the door and went
immediately to the machine. He flipped on the Keurig, looked for k-cups with
the strongest dark roast, and within minutes had the men sipping coffee.

Sam said, "I can't believe he did this again.
Always at weddings for some reason. Did you take the flask from him?"

Eric shook his head. "He's your father, you
do it."

Sam chuckled. His phone rang and he tossed it to
Eric. "Better answer that. They'll be looking for us. I'll get the
liquor."

Eric answered to hear Anna yell, "Where are
you guys?"

"It's me, Eric. There was a problem with Ed
and my father. We're pouring coffee into them now. We still have a bit of time,
don't we?"

"Oh. Yes, you do. Twenty minutes and you have
to be here, no later than that."

"Don't worry, we'll be there. But don't tell
Maggie about this."

"I'm not an idiot." Then she hung up.

Eric walked over to the table where his father was
sitting with Ed. "So, how are you guys feeling? Ready to walk Maggie down
the aisle, Ed?"

"Sure. Let's go do it."

"Not quite yet." He turned to Sam, and
asked, "Can we do anything else? Walk them around outside in the cold
maybe?"

"Hmm. Probably couldn't hurt. I'll make them
another cup in to-go mugs. Then we can walk back to the church. It's only a few
blocks. I'll bring your car back to the church afterwards. Give me your
keys."

Eric handed them over. Shortly, they were outside
walking back, encouraging their fathers to drink the coffee down. Eric wondered
how it would be one day for him, to see his own child get married. He might
want a few drinks then, too.

As they approached the church, they saw cars being
parked and people walking up to the entrance. It was time.

* * * *

Maggie stood in the room after everyone had left
except her mother. Sophia twitched her veil into a perfect fold and nodded.

"You look spectacular. Be sure to get some
photos with the cape, though. It will look great."

"Photos! Did we get a photographer?"

"Yes, some guy from here in Sully Point. He's
supposed to be good. He'll take pictures of the wedding party, formal and
informal."

A knock on the door meant it was time for Sophia
to be taken to her seat and for Maggie to wait in the vestibule.

"I love you, Mom. Thank you so much for
everything. Not just for the wedding but for my life."

Sophia smiled at her daughter and then hugged her
carefully. "I love you. You're a wonderful daughter and I'm proud of you.
Let's get you out there to start your new life."

They left the room and soon Maggie was standing
next to her father. He smelled of strong breath mints and she looked at him
inquisitively, but he just smiled at her. Then it was their turn to go down the
aisle and she felt nervous flutters in her stomach. But no nausea, for which
she was very thankful.

As she came into view of Eric, she saw him look
stunned. She smiled at him and thought that the dress was a success to get that
look from him.

The wedding march was played perfectly, and she
gave a slight nod to Maelynne. Within moments her father had placed her hand in
Eric's and she had given her bouquet to Anna.

The words of their vows were barely heard by
Maggie as she stared into Eric's eyes and saw them so filled with love. As they
promised to care for each other through everything in life, she knew he would
be there for her, and she for him. They still had much to learn about each
other, but their connection was strong. She felt as if she was embarking on the
grandest adventure life could give her, and she was no longer nervous, just
filled with joy.

They said "I do" and exchanged rings.
Maggie knew she'd never want a different wedding band than this one, no matter
what other ring she got to go with it. This was her one and only wedding band,
and she would cherish it.

Then it was time, and Eric kissed her. She kissed
him back, putting all her love into that kiss, feeling all his love toward her.
It was a kiss of hope. It was a kiss to start their life together.  It was a
kiss filled with the promise of love for a lifetime. They finally moved apart
and smiled at each other, then turned and faced the audience of friends and
family. Their joy was almost palpable, and everyone started applauding and
cheering. They clasped hands and walked down the aisle into their future.

# # #

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