Chapter 19: Chapter 19
The wedding
"Are you nervous?" My dad asks me this as the music begins to play and Hannah begins to walk down the stairs with flower petals.
"Is it really so plain to see?" I ask. Now for the small boy who will bear the rings.
"Just a little bit, sure." It is now the responsibility of Jackson, Mark's best man, and Charlie to usher their dates to their seats.
"Thanks dad for making me feel better." Maya and Levi, who was Mark's best man, went down the aisle together.
"Hello, I just responded to your query," you said. He showed a shrug. Next up is Mark's cousin Kelly, who is joined by another groomsman named Brandon.
"Please don't try to outsmart me like a smart Alec father." Let's go on to Sophie and Mason.
"You are stunning, and I have no doubt that you will achieve all of your goals. I love you." My dad says. The wedding march starts playing, and before I have a chance to do anything else, I'm being led down the aisle by my father.
"Don't let me fall." I speak quietly enough for only my father to hear. He just chuckles.
As I near the conclusion of the story, I notice that Mark is putting on an act of laughing through his tears, and the pastor is asking, "Who provides this woman to this man?"
"I do." My dad reacts. Although I keep waiting for my mother to walk in and say "me too," she never does. After placing my hand in Mark's, my dad kisses the top of my head and then removes my hand.
"Looks like we went with the right veil." Mark jokes. I give a small giggle.
As the minister continues, before you know it, it's time for the vows to be exchanged. Even though John wanted us to compose our own vows, it was physically impossible for us to do so.
"Repeat after me, I, Mark Hernandez grabs Alyanna Romero." He pauses to allow Mark to repeat himself.
"I, Mark Hernandez, take Alyanna Romero."
"To be my lawfully wedded wife." The minister will proceed further.
"To be my lawfully wedded wife."
"to get a hold of and to keep. Through thick and thin, in good times and bad." It's almost over; only a couple of lines more, and then it will be my turn.
"To have and to hold through thick and thin, in good health and bad."
"So long as either one of us continues to breathe. If so, say I do." Mark has just a couple more words to say before I take over the conversation.
"I do." He says with self-assurance. He smiles to make it more believable.
"Are you going to repeat that after me now?" He asked me. "I, Alyanna Romero, take Mark Hernandez."
"I, Alyanna Romero, take Mark Hernandez."
"To be my lawfully wedded spouse." He is a reader.
"To Be my lawfully wedded spouse."
"To have and to hold through thick and thin, in good health and bad." We're getting close.
"To have and to hold through thick and thin, in good health and bad."
"So long as any or both of you continue to live. If so, say I do." There is no turning back from this point forward.
"I do." I say this while biting the inside of my lip and putting on a fairly decent false smile that seems almost natural but is still phony so that I can cover my nerves.
"May I have the rings, if it's possible?" The minister puts the question. The ring bearer is a little child who comes up to the minister and offers them the rings. "Now, Mark, will you lay this ring on Alyanna's finger and say, with this ring, I thee wed?" "Now, Mark, would you place this ring on Alyanna's finger." He asks.
"By means of this ring. I will wed thee." He makes the statement while looking first at my hand and then into my eyes.
"Now, Alyanna, I need you to put this ring on Mark's finger and then you need to say, with this ring. I will wed thee." I swipe the ring off of his finger.
"By means of this ring. I will wed thee." My voice is shaking as I say it.
"You are now officially recognized as husband and wife as a result of the authority that has been bestowed upon me.
Mark you may kiss your bride." According to the ministry.
Before I get a chance to respond, Mark grabs me in his arms and gives me a passionate kiss, acting as if he had been itching to make that move all day.
Before I get a chance to respond, Mark grabs me in his arms and gives me a passionate kiss, acting as if he had been itching to make that move all day.
As we make our way back down the aisle, the wedding party will follow close behind. After getting into the limo, we drive for a short distance to a larger beach home where the reception would be held.
—
The celebration following the wedding
"I wanted to let you know that I consider Mark to be a brother figure in my life. And because brothers are the type of people that tell each other everything, I'm really angry with you because you didn't tell me about this incredible woman you met three years ago who completely altered the course of your life. Yet, because I love you and it is your wedding, I will forgive you for what you did." It was the speech delivered by Jackson, who was Mark's best man. My ideal length would be between between short and sweet.
"Is he ignorant of the situation?" I hush my voice and go over to Mark.
"No. On my mom's side of the family, only my dad is in the know about this." He says. I feel horrible now. I have informed a great number of people. First there was Charlie, who was difficult to sidestep, then there was Maya, who was as challenging to avoid. She also failed to remember. Hence, I am guessing that's not a very large number of people.
"OK, here we go," I said. Charlie says in a strange tone, indicating that he is about to do something that will make me look foolish in front of other people.
"Charlie," I mutter, clenching my teeth together.
"Don't fret; I've got this covered." Why does that cause me to be concerned?
I let out a sigh and sit back in my chair, getting ready to be embarrassed.
"Alyanna and I first became acquainted when we were both five years old. I was in kindergarten, and she had just started her first day of preschool at that point. The kindergarteners were now given the same amount of time for recess as the preschoolers. As I was hurrying along and minding my own business, I came across this unhappy preschooler who was playing by themselves. I approached her and introduced myself with a simple hello. I started middle school exactly six years after that fateful day, which meant that I had to switch schools. Even though we were in the fifth and sixth grades at the time, we continued to ride the same bus together, and we also continued to visit each other's homes nearly every day. I relocated exactly 11 years after the day we first met. And for an entire fortnight, we were unable to communicate. I was a miserable freshman who lived by himself. Until such time as she coerced her father into giving her a ride to Utah from here on out. Today, exactly 14 years after the day on which we first met each other, we are gathered here to celebrate the marriage of my best friend and her new spouse, who just recently tied the knot. So, the lonely preschooler no longer has to feel as isolated as she did before. Now I'm not turning into the miserable 19-year-old boy who has no idea what he's doing with his life because the fact that I know she's not going to be alone for the rest of her life makes me think that I'm not alone... so I guess what I'm saying is that I love you, Alyanna, and I hope you know that you're never alone." He comes to an end.
Darn it Charlie, I don't see why you have to treat me like this. I can't help but feel that I'm not the only one in this room to have tears welling up in their eyes. I stand up from the table to give him a hug when he returns to the room. "Thank you." I tell it to him with complete sincerity.
"Anytime. Now, I hope you continue to have fun at this celebration." Before taking a seat, he makes the statement.
—
The wedding reception meal
The waitress poses the question, "Chicken or fish?"
Weird. "Chicken." I answer. I can't stand eating fish of any kind. The one and only exception to this rule is shrimp, and I've been told that it's possible that shrimp aren't even related to fish at all.
When we got back to the table, I didn't have to wait more than a few seconds before I heard the clinking of the silverware on the glasses. Ugh, I really don't want to do this, but the general public is insisting that I do it anyhow. We kiss as we were 'told to do,' and then we continue eating our food.
I am just about in the middle of the meal when I hear the noise once more. Once more, Mark and I lock lips, and after that, neither of us hears anything else.