“You’ll have to be content with sparkling cider, Matt.” Merry disappeared into the kitchen to get him a glass.
Jason suspected it was because Matt was on Ritalin, not just because he was only seventeen. When she returned with his glass of cider, he clinked everyone’s glass again and said, “To season tickets!”
Merry arrived at the Old North Church in a stretch limo with her father and Roz. The same limo would whisk her and Jason back home to change and then away to Logan Airport and St. John’s Island in the Caribbean. Two receptions would be held later in the year. One in Minnesota and one in Rhode Island.
Her heart fluttered with excitement.
A gentle snow had fallen earlier in the day, but now that evening had arrived, the dusting served to whiten the dirty snowbanks without the bride needing a pair of white boots to wade to the church steps. The sidewalk had been scraped clean.
Her father jumped out of the limo’s passenger side and opened Merry’s door. He looked so handsome in his tux, and he beamed as he extended a hand to help her out. Her shoulder-length veil, winter white velvet gown, and long, white gloves showed off her dark hair and glowing tan skin to their best advantage. A string of white pearls had been a gift from Jason earlier that week and she wore them proudly.
Roz had hugged her and told her how happy she was for her about a hundred times that day. She looked almost as radiant as Merry felt. Her gown was midnight blue velvet and highlighted her blue eyes. She wore her medium brown hair in an up-do and her pearl drop earrings reminded Merry of those in the famous paintingGirl With A Pearl Earringby Johannes Vermeer, sometimes called the Dutch Mona Lisa.
“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” her father said.
“Thanks, Dad. I feel beautiful.”
“Are you nervous?”
“No. Happy, excited, but amazingly calm.”
“Good. Me too.”
It’s about time!
He jogged around to the other side of the car and helped Roz out while Merry waited on the sidewalk. Her breath created fog in the chilly January air and amused her for the few seconds shehad to spend in it.
She hoped everyone would be cozy and warm inside. The old church could get drafty on cold winter nights. Jason had pulled some strings and landed the historic site for their wedding with permission for Merry’s family pastor to perform the ceremony. She glanced up at the tower where the Revolutionary War soldiers watched for the famous signal “One if by land; two if by sea” and imagined two lanterns hung there to herald the approach of British ships.
“Ladies, are you ready?”
“Ready when you are, Mac,” Roz said.
Merry smiled. “Lead the way.”
At the top of the few steps, he held open the outer door. Inside the vestibule, two larger, white doors faced them. They were closed to keep out the chill. Beyond that, her anxious groom would be waiting beside her brother. Matt was so ecstatic when asked to be Jason’s best man, he had to sit down before he passed out.
Jason’s own brother hadn’t been sure if he could make it or not. Eventually he committed to attending, but by then the arrangements had been made. Merry couldn’t imagine things working out more perfectly since she knew the brothers weren’t close, and Matt would walk around with a permanent grin for the rest of his life.
Mr. MacKenzie escorted the ladies to the side and slipped through the door. He returned with Merry’s older brother, Rob, while her other brother, James, threw open the doors and wedged them with a door stop.
Merry took a deep breath.Any second now. She started toward the door, but her father held her back.
“Not yet, honey.”
The wedding march resounded from an old organ. Rob extended his arm to Roz and the two of them walked throughthe doors and down the aisle. Merry had checked out the church with Jason and knew it was filled with enclosed booths. These booths had been purchased by families for their exclusive use in generations past and still wore brass name plates claiming them.
The guest list had been so limited, she imagined only a few of the booths at the front of the church would be filled. She had confessed to Roz that even though Jason had wanted a small wedding, she had thought the sight of only a couple of rows filled would be sort of sad.
“It’s time, honey,” her father said, and smiled.
Merry nodded. As they approached the open doors from the side, she heard a loud rustling. She imagined the guests standing and turning to get a glimpse of her walk down the aisle, but it sounded like more than a handful of people.
Please, Lord, don’t let me trip.
To her amazement, the church was filled. Some guests she knew, and some she didn’t. Scanning the room of smiling faces, she realized that in her surprise, she had almost forgotten to smile herself. Then she caught sight of Jason at the front and beamed.Damn, he looks gorgeous. How did I get so lucky?
She glided, dreamlike, toward him. The closer she came to the front pews, the more people she recognized. Aunts, uncles, and cousins. Old neighbors from Rhode Island. Baseball players from pictures Jason had on his walls. And right up front, stood Jason’s parents, Ralph and Dottie, and his brother’s family.
