Here Comes the Bride, page 29
She could see tons of friends walking into the hotel. She wanted to say hi, but they were whisked into another half hour of photos. They finished photos just before the grand entrance.
As they were waiting in line to go in, it became it extremely obvious who the title of wedding drunk belonged to. It was Oma. Usually, the drunks didn’t surface until a couple hours into the reception. Judging from the way she was dancing, there could only be one excuse. She was hammered. She stood on the dance floor, solo, doing the chicken dance to Lionel Ritchie’s “All Night Long.” Bowlegged, she moved around the floor flapping her folded arms like wings. It took two of Ethan’s friends from college to drag her away so they could start introducing the wedding party.
The band went above and beyond her expectations. They’d had backup singers and a horn section, and the pianist was amazing. They’d taken the program director’s advice and only focused on one another. They hardly noticed anything else in the room. The first dance went by smoothly and without any hitches, and after the song ended they were received with a round of applause.
They decided to start making their rounds of saying hello to all the guests early. She was heading off the dance floor when Nana grabbed her elbow.
“Well hello,” Nana said. For a moment Cate thought it was one of the rare occasions when Nana had a moment of clarity and actually remembered her.
“Hi, Nana.” She hugged her.
“You look pretty,” Nana said.
“Thank you.”
“But the bride and groom really look the best.”
“Who are the bride and groom?” Cate asked.
“Well don’t you know? The couple dancing on the dance floor. The one right there.” She pointed to Emily and her father.
Cate was tempted to point out that she was the bride, but thought it was a little obvious, considering what she was wearing. They helped Nana to her table then made rounds to some of the tables.
The evening flew by as quickly as the day had, and before she knew it they were cutting the cake and getting ready for the final song by the band.
“I’ve had the time of my life,” Ethan said as they listened to the band play “Hey, Hey Good-bye.” “I honestly feel like I’m floating.”
The last of the guests trickled out. It felt bittersweet as she realized it was all coming to an end. The videographer managed to corner them for some final words.
“Tell the camera how you feel about the night,” he said.
“Everything has been perfect,” Ethan said with the microphone in his hand. “I have never been happier. In all my dreams I would’ve never expected anything like this.”
Cate sort of felt like they were on a cheesy episode of The Wedding Story and wasn’t as comfortable expressing herself with a microphone and a bright light shining in her eyes. “There is a bright light shining in my face, but it’s not as bright as the love I feel for this guy right here.” She elbowed Ethan in the ribs. He leaned down to kiss her.
“Great,” the videographer said. The camera was still running. “Plans for the future?”
They thought for a moment.
“Do you think you’ll have kids any time soon?” Connie chimed in from the background.
Ethan and Cate exchanged glances then turned back to the camera. “That’s a secret.”
They smiled into the camera then walked from the wedding, hand in hand, toward their new life together. The future was bright.
Whitney Lyles, Here Comes the Bride
