Once Within A Lifetime (34 page)

They
all settled down and had dinner, then went into the living room afterward where they planned to have coffee and chat a while. They needed to get acquainted. They sat and talked and soon her folks came by to pick up Matt and his family to take them back to their place for the night. Triessa introduced her parents to Phylicia and told them that she was the friend she had told them so much about. She was the one who introduced her to Todd. She reminded everyone that tomorrow they would all get together after the minister left to go over the plans of who would do what. She asked her mom if she got in touch with Reese and Deanna. Her mother assured her that they knew and would be here right after lunch to get together with everyone.

“
Well, it looks like everything is all set for tomorrow then. It will be the last day we will have any business to take care of and then Friday we can relax. And I, for one, will definitely need it. Then it will be
THE DAY
. I am so very excited.”

They
all said goodnight and went to their respective quarters to get settled in so they could be well rested to face tomorrow. All would be worked out by the next evening and they could relax and take it easy on Friday. It would be a great relief. Only the very last minute details in the garden would be left.

With
all that was going on, they hoped Thursday would be a nice day but it was a little hazy. Everyone was concerned because they wanted to take the minister out to the garden and show him everything.

They
had breakfast, and soon her parents brought over the rest of the family and returned home. They reassured Triessa that they would be back in time to get together with the minister.

“
You have a lot of people here to deal with right now. Reese and Deanna plan to come over to our place and come back with us.”

Triessa
planned to get in touch with Leslie and make sure all was well with her plans. After they had finished breakfast and were ready to go outside again, the sun had come out and it was a beautiful day. They were very grateful because they wanted to go out to the garden again to look around one more time. It was a joyful place to be on such a glorious day.

They
all went out into the Rose Garden and Todd suggested, “Let’s walk about as if we were mingling after the wedding to get an idea how it will work for space.”

So
they all moved about the garden and stopped and talked. It looked very comfortable for space. He looked at Triessa and waved his hand around over the area.

“
Oh, darling, it will work out just great. There are quite a few people in here and there is plenty of room for more. So that is one rehearsal done that we had not planned on.”

They
walked about and talked a while and soon it was time to go in for lunch so they could be ready for the minister’s visit. The extra table had been delivered and set up. Everything was set and ready for lunch. It was perfect.

“
We must surely thank Nancy for all her work in this whole thing. She is such a jewel,” said Triessa. “We need to be sure to get her a great gift.”

They finished eating and got things cleaned up just in time to usher Mr. Whitmore into the area. Triessa introduced the family to him and he was amazed that there were so many.

“
Most of your wedding party is here, it seems,” he commented cheerfully. “How lovely that you’re able to get together like this. This will truly be a grand wedding.”

They
talked a while and then went out to the Rose Garden to show him where the wedding would be so he could see what he had to do and bring with him. When they arrived he was shown, first of all, where the platform would be located for the ceremony.

“
Oh, this is just the grandest setup I have ever seen. How beautiful and spacious. When you spoke to me of getting married here, I was doubtful of the space, but this will be just fine. And you have done so very well with all the decorations and plans. Most of the beauty is already here. A perfect selection for your wedding. It will certainly be a glorious experience. I am eager to show this to Jannelle. She will be thrilled. She is willing to help in any way you may need it, you know. She told me to be sure to remind you of that. Would you mind if I take some photos to have as a souvenir of such a glorious wedding? I think I will begin a wedding scrapbook. What a wonderful selection with which to begin the whole process.”

“
Thank your wife for us,” replied Triessa. “We will surely have something here she can help us with. We shall need someone to oversee one of the tables to be sure that all goes well as the guests mingle. Yes, please take all the pictures you want. We would feel honored that you want to.”

“
Janelle will love that. She is very good with people and it will go very well.”

“
Yes, I remember how well she mingles and talks with those at the church services. She is a real natural for it. I am so happy she can be a part of my wedding.”

“
Why can’t you, Todd, and I meet here and talk awhile? The rest can go back to the house and wait there for your meeting. How does that sound to you?” asked Mr. Whitmore.

“
That is swell,” and with that Todd called out to everyone, “Your attention, please. We would like to meet here with Mr. Whitmore for our private talk. Would you all mind going back to the house to wait for us? No doubt there will be goodies set up for all in the dining room, so please help yourselves. We won’t be long. Thank you.”

They
left and Mr. Whitmore went over to the platform and took his place. He asked Triessa and Todd to take their places.

“
Is there plenty of room for your feet and legs when you kneel?”

They
started to do so to check it out. Todd helped Triessa to kneel and then got down beside her.

“
Oh, yes,” assured Mr. Whitmore, “There’s plenty of room. This is wonderful.”

“
There is going to be a lovely rug here on Saturday,” Triessa smiled. “We are keeping it inside because of the weather. It is burgundy and will be a perfect contrast to work with all the lighter colors of the flowers. Isn’t the garden glorious?”

“
It truly is,” replied Mr. Whitmore. “It could not be better. And I understand the weather report for the whole weekend tells us the weather is supposed to be just splendid. Things are working very well for you. I know you two will be great with one another and there is not a lot of advice I feel I need to give you. I want you to know that you will be as one and will be even closer after you are married. There is a special bond that you will feel in a different way than you feel now. You cannot experience it until you are united by God’s Spirit as one.

Do
everything in consideration of each other and with and for each other. Share all things together. Any burden will be lighter and the good things will take on a greater glow for you both. When you have children, it will be a special blending of both of you. It will be a wonderful experience. But I would advise you to get to know one another well first. Though you will adore children, they will take you away from each other in many ways. Spend time together and build a special closeness and you will know when you are ready to share it with family. Take into consideration your careers and know how it will affect you as a family. You need to spend as much time together as a family as you can once you have children. Separations should be as short as possible and take them with you when you can to educate them. A little will be great, too much will bore and tire them. They will not see things as you do. They have a much smaller world and mind and can take in only so much at one time. It is so easy for us as adults to not remember that and to expect too much of them. They can process it only as their experience grows. We can see that in our own lives even after we are grown. I am sure you have encountered a great deal of that since you met, and at times it seems overwhelming, and we have to take time to assimilate it all. I know everything will be fine with both of you that way. I am so grateful to be the one involved in your life and will always be here whenever you need me.”

“
Thank you so much,” they both responded together.

“
We know you are right and will remember all you have told us, sir,” replied Todd. Triessa nodded in agreement.

“
Shall we go back to the house, now?” asked Mr. Whitmore. “I will stay a while and talk with some of your family, then I must leave for I soon have another appointment.”

They
walked back to the house slowly and talked on the way. Mr. Whitmore went into the dining room where he mingled with the guests to talk with them.

Soon
he came to Triessa and said, “I really must go if I want to be on time for my next meeting. I will see you on Saturday morning. The ceremony starts at eleven o’clock so I will be here by ten-thiry in case we need to cover anything beforehand. If you need anything or have any questions before that, please feel free to call me anytime. Goodbye. Stay with your guests; I will find my way out. See you then.”

Todd
spoke to get everyone’s attention.

“
Can we sit down for a few minutes to see if we are all aware of what is going on? Thank you.” He asked Lincoln if he would please take care of the meeting.

“
Yes, thank you,” he replied. “As you know, the garden is nearly ready and a few things will have to be done in the morning. Reese will check on the rest of the tables and see that they are in place. Deanna has called and will take care of the cake and the ice sculpture. The food will arrive at ten o‘clock. Esther, will you take care of that and see that it is arranged on the table attractively and in proper sequence? I will take care of the rug for the ceremony. Sheila ordered bouquets for the pedestals beside the minister on the platform. She will be sure they are all in place. Now we have Dirje and Chantelle, and I would like to ask you both if you will keep an eye on the tables to keep things flowing; food, conversation, and such and see if anyone has any questions. My wife, Sheila, will help you with that. Mrs. Whitmore wants to help so maybe you can take care of that. Sheila, when we see how things are going, fit her in where she can help.

Reese,
are the chairs coming with the tables? It would be nice to have them set up for the wedding and then move some of them afterward so people can mingle easily. Sheila, will you keep an eye on the gift table and help people place them properly so they will fit and look nice? Perhaps Esther can help you there. Phylicia, will you see after the wedding, that people are doing well and know where to go for things they need or want to do? Sheila and I will take care of the gifts after the occasion is over. It seems we have everything taken care of.

I
believe Reese is handling the picture taking and the video camera. He is good with those things. They will certainly be of professional quality. Can anyone think of anything else?” No one had any remarks or questions so he said, “Well, that is it, I believe, and now we can just take it easy for a while. Tomorrow is a day for us. We can relax and get ready for all the excitement. If anything else comes to mind, we can work it into the plan. Just keep your mind on the situation, and if any of you see anything that could be done to make things go smoothly, deal with it, please.”

Matt
reminded them, “Reese will be best man and Dirje will be maid of honor. Jonathan will be ring bearer and Carlita will be flower girl. We will need to rehearse this with them, I would imagine so they will understand what to do.”

“
Thank you so much, Dad,” said Triessa and gave him a big hug and kiss. “I love you so much and appreciate you more than ever. I think this project tops doing the house, though that was not a timely issue; we could take more time. But it was not the same pressure. We did not have a set date in mind as we do now. I want to thank you all in advance for all your help tomorrow. It has been a wonderful feeling to know we had so many cool hands to rely on. We do not have to think about any of it. Help yourself to the goodies and we will be around if you want to talk to us about anything special.”

Triessa
and Todd walked out on the patio and stood there looking out across the pool.

They
stood holding hands and she looked at him and said, “Oh, my darling, my precious, day after tomorrow we will be joined as one. It is still hard to believe, although we have been doing enough planning to make it seem real. When we decided to come back here to talk about our plans we had no idea at that time what we had in store in getting it all together but it has been a great experience and I am glad we did it and will never regret it, will you?”

“
No. I won’t either. We have all grown so close through it all and that is a very good thing. Life will be truly wonderful from now on.”

“
At times it has seemed like there would be no end. We will never again be the same as we are now. That seems kind of strange to speak of, though we long for the change with all our hearts. Please hold me and tell me it is real, that this is not a dream where I will wake up and it will all be gone.”