The
Wedding
Rick’s hands shook just a little as he threaded the antique mother
of pearl studs into the buttonholes of his tuxedo shirt. He was comforted by the feel of the polished
silver between his fingers. Today was
the culmination of weeks of preparation. He’d practiced tying a bow tie dozens
of times in the mirror, and he could now manage a passable waltz thanks to
hours of secret practice with his thirteen-year old niece, Alyssa. Where she learned how to waltz, Rick had no
clue. It must be one of those skills women are born with, like knowing what the
color “mauve” looks like. Cathi will be
so surprised when it comes time for their first dance as husband and wife at
the reception! Rick smiled at the
thought – impressing the woman you love is such a delicious accomplishment…
Rick
reminisced how amazing it was that they ever got to this point. Their first
date was nearly a disaster! He met Cathi
as a friend-of-a-friend and he planned to take the shy librarian to the Fall
Festival on a Friday night, but a front came through causing powerful
thunderstorms. The Festival was shut
down for only the second time in its history because of the high winds and
lightning. So they rescheduled for
Saturday night. Rick knew he probably
should’ve just made the date for the following week, but he really wanted to
feel the wind in his hair as the roller coaster went flying down the
tracks. He had figured at the very
least, he might get a good dinner out of it even if things didn’t work out…
Cathi sat
patiently at her dressing table as her maidens fussed over her. Adrienne took
pride in her ability to make her best friend radiant. Her hands danced deftly, blending half a
dozen colors and powders and touching them here and there on Cathi’s face,
performing that special magic it takes to artificially make a woman look like a
natural beauty. Cathi was transformed
from a cute girl into a breathtaking bride.
Meanwhile, Maureen fussed with Cathi’s wedding dress, with a little tug
here, a little smoothing there, and a strategic safety pin on each shoulder to
keep her bra straps neatly tucked under the dress’ narrow shoulders. Renea was late as usual, but that didn’t
upset Cathi as much as seeing Alyssa looking so tall and grown up in her bridesmaid’s
dress that Cathi nearly cried. To be
fair, Cathi was on the verge of joyful, stress-relieving tears all
morning. Today has been a dream come
true. To think it almost never happened…
The second
night of the Fall Festival started cool, dark, and damp as lingering clouds
from the front smothered an anemic sunset early. The pavement glistened with the wet
reflection of the carnival lights.
Cathi’s hands were cold as ice, and she shivered a little with both the
cold and more than a little nervousness.
Rick reached over and laced his fingers through hers and gave her a
gentle squeeze, and it soothed and warmed her inside as well. Not that other men hadn’t held her dainty
hand - but there was something in Rick’s demeanor that made him seem…special.
Cathi took her first easy breath of the evening and smiled.
This was not a traditional wedding – Cathi and Rick had decided to
celebrate with a civil ceremony having a Celtic flair. So Rick and his best man Dave were wearing
kilts and feeling a little…exposed. It
didn’t matter. Rick was just happy to give her the wedding she wanted. And Dave? Well, he’s always been game for an
adventure – especially after a shot of tequila… So Rick pulled out a silver
flask and grabbed two
Rick was
ravenous. He got two loaded hotdogs for
himself, while Cathi only wanted a small Coke.
He fairly inhaled both hotdogs before he heard the most musical
laughter. It was Cathi. “Here, let me get that” she said as she
licked the corner of a paper napkin and wiped some mustard from the very tip of
Rick’s nose. “Just don’t bite the hand
that cleans you!” she said, still giggling.
It was a sound as joyful as church bells on Christmas morning.
Cathi took a deep breath and looked around the room. All the flowers were ready, her vows were
memorized, the bridesmaids looked lovely, and thanks to Maureen, a thousand
details had been planned and executed. This
was her wedding, the day when she would be the most beautiful woman in the room
– the day when it was not only okay, but expected for her to be the center of
attention. She never realized how long
she had been on the edge of life, peeking at it from the shadows…
The
“mustard incident” as it came to be known, was just what Cathi needed to settle
down and be herself. If the guy could
look at her with endearing innocence wearing food on his face, there was
probably little she could do short of wetting her pants that could be more
embarrassing. It felt good to let down
her guard. From the very first she had
an urge to curl up in Rick’s arms and feel the warmth of his breath on her neck
and surrender to his comfort and guardianship.
Somehow, on just their fist date she had already gotten in too
deep. It happens sometimes. But as every woman knows, never let the guy
know it…
The wedding march started, and Rick’s heart skipped a beat just like
it did when Cathi first wiped the mustard from his nose. It was such a familiar and yet natural
moment. It was then that he knew she would
be a large part of his life. He spent
the next two years convincing her he was right.
There were the usual obstacles to overcome, and a few unusual ones. But all he had to do was bring up that
magical first night, and they usually found a way to make things right. And when they couldn’t make things right,
they leaned on each other and endured.
What more could a man ask of his wife?
Rick followed his groomsmen down the aisle to marry his soul mate…
It was time to say goodnight to Cathi. The clouds had cleared to reveal a bright
moon just a sliver short of full that now lit up the night and transformed
Cathi’s skin into something luminescent.
Rick’s neck burned in the bright moonlight. By tomorrow night, he would not be able to
keep the beast within. But for now, his
senses were heightened as the wolf
prowled just beneath his skin. He
could smell something on Cathi’s breath – something all too familiar. It was blood.
It was HUMAN blood…What the…???
Cathi realized this was the moment.
She could either drink Rick’s warm, inviting blood, or have yet another
glass of warmed over, tasteless blood from the refrigerator. As she was deciding, she saw a glint in
Rick’s eyes – something wild and ferocious…and lonely. She smiled and touched his cheek. He nuzzled her hand affectionately. All of a
sudden, she realized killing him would be like slaughtering the last
unicorn. So instead of ripping out his
throat, she kissed him goodnight. He
drank from her lips with a desperate passion.
She never felt so desired, or so hungry.
She hurried inside before she changed her mind.
In an age-old pagan ceremony held on a moonless night, Rick the
werewolf and Cathi the vampire gathered before their friends and family to be
married. As they toasted each other at
the reception, Alyssa asked Cathi how she knew Rick was the man she wanted to
spend her life with. Cathi said honestly
that she wasn’t sure at first – so never kill a boy on the first date…
