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Rain looked at Black, Shy and Wanda. “Y’all get outta here,” she said. “If they can’t get it done, I’ll make sure we get everybody out in time,” she promised, and they left the ladies’ room.
“Now, can you do it?” Rain asked the second that they were gone.
“We got this, Sunshine, trust me,” Monika said and went back to work defusing the bomb. “If we haven’t got it defused when the time hits two-O-five, then you need to evacuate.”
“Understood,” Rain said.
Out in the club, the wedding was just getting ready to start. April’s need to keep it simple meant that there would be no songs sung or procession of dancers nor poems read. Each would make a short declaration of their love and commitment to one another and then they would exchange vows.
Since circumstances in The Family forced a change in venue for the ceremony from a church to a night club, April had to make changes to the choreography. She decided that Reverend Jones would conduct the ceremony in the middle of the dance floor. Nick and Marvin would be waiting there with him.
Her sister and maid of honor, August would enter and take her place, followed by April who would be escorted by her mother and father and the guests would gather and make a circle around them.
“As your husband I promise to love you without reservation,” Nick began, “to comfort you when times are difficult, to rally with you, to anticipate your needs, to give my all, to work toward our happiness and revel in our good times. I will respect you, honor you, and cherish you as long as we both shall live.”
“I believe in you and in everything you want to be. I believe in us,” April said to Nick, “in our power as a couple, in our future as a family. I believe in myself, that within myself I am capable of loving you the way you deserve. I believe that you and I should spend all our days together, me as your wife, I believe in you as my husband. I believe we were meant to be.”
Meanwhile, back i
n the ladies’ room, Rain paced back and forth nervously as Monika removed the keypad to reveal the module where there were panels for wiring the device.
“What’s the wire sequence,” Monika asked.
“Within this module there are several panels with wires on them, but only one panel is visible at a time.”
“I see that,” Monika said.
“You’re gonna need to switch to the next panel by using the down button on the previous panel,” Carla said.
“Right.”
“But don’t switch to the next panel until you are sure that you have cut all the necessary wires on the current panel. There are three wire occurrences over all panels within the module,” Carla said showing Monika a diagram of the deadly device. “A red occurrence, a blue and a black occurrence, so you’re gonna need to cut the wires in order.”
“The engineering principles are pretty impressive, but there must have been an easier way to manage nine wires,” Monika commented.
“For sure,” Carla agreed.
Monika took a deep breath. “Ready,” she exhaled and started to cut the first red occurrence. To Rain, it all seemed to be a painstakingly slow process, but Carla talked Monika through each of the first eight occurrences and they were still alive.
“Last one,” Carla said, and Monika proceeded.
“What’s the word ladies?” Rain asked as the time hit two-O-five. “I need to know now,” she demanded.
“April, will you have this man to be your wedded husband to live together after God's ordinance in the Holy Estate of matrimony? Will you love, comfort, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.”
“Nick, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife to live together after God's ordinance in the Holy Estate of matrimony? Will you love, comfort, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.”
“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
When Nick took April in his arms and kissed her, Black turned and saw that Rain was standing next to him. Then he saw that Monika and Carla were standing off to the side and they both had tears in their eyes.
Chapter Nine
Now that the bomb had been defused, the wedding and the reception could proceed without any further incident. After the reverend said, “I present to you for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Nick Simmons,” they went immediately into their first dance. Marvin had suggested that they break into a choreographed dance routine, but neither Nick nor April were feeling that, so, the new married couple danced their first dance to Always and Forever, a slow and sweet sentimental song, that made that moment shine for them..
