BOOK 2: COMMUNITY / CH. 19:WEDDING DAY

SATURDAY, 29TH JULY

John waited near the altar. He still had very little idea what Sarah's wedding dress would be like. It had been her mother's and her grandmother's before that, maybe even more generations than that. And it had white gloves. Well, those things limited the colour at least. It was very unlikely to be purple or orange for instance, which seemed to be this year's fashionable colours. He wasn't sure quite why anyone would want to buy a wedding dress that couldn't be passed on to the next generation because the colour might be wrong. White was a good symbol for purity, entirely appropriate for Sarah. He supposed that might be why it wasn't as usual as it had been in the general public. But why would anyone want a church wedding who wasn't at least pure in the sight of God, even if they hadn't come to faith when young?

He presumed also that as a heirloom dress with lacy gloves, there would be lace and ribbons too, a modest neck-line and maybe a train. Unless it was really old. He knew there was a time when lace and ribbons and trains had been considered so over ornamented they'd not even been used on wedding dresses. He tried to remember who'd told him that. His grandmother? Could have been. Neck-lines seemed to vary too.

He wished Sarah hadn’t forbidden him to check on her with the gift. Where was she? He knew it was expected for the bride to keep the groom waiting, and that it was still early actually, but he was getting nervous anyway.

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At that moment, Sarah was still talking to Karen, who'd been stunned to be nominated chief bridesmaid.

“But the others have known you for years, Sarah!” she'd protested.

“But you're my new-found cousin, my sister in the gift, and lets face it, if I chose one of them I'd be hurting the other one.”

“I won't be much help on these crutches, Sarah.”

“I don't need much help. I just need someone who can open doors, look beautiful and stop the other two from falling out. You'd just have to walk.”

“Hobble,” Karen had interjected.

“All right, hobble beside me, offer emotional support and pass on instructions. But they'd actually be helping with the train. Please say yes.” That had been two weeks earlier. Karen had discovered since about the emotional support. Sarah got nervous when she was under stress.

“You know, I hope John doesn't think this is too revealing. I don't want him to think I'm exhibiting myself.”

“It'll be fine, Sarah. It's a little lower cut than usual for a wedding dress these days, but not compared to other dresses. You look stunning, the dress is beautiful, and anyway, you don't want him to notice anyone but you, do you? You're supposed to be the centre of attention.”

“Oh, I'll be that all right.”

“Of course you will. You're the bride. Now don't worry. You look like a princess. The dress is obviously an antique heirloom, no one expects an antique dress to look like a modern one. How old did you say it was? It's so beautiful! And that train! Wow.”

“It's about a hundred and eighty years old I think.”

“And you're only going to have the chance to wear it once. If you're really worried you could still put that veil on, or the shawl.”

“What I really want is some motherly advice I think. I'm going to call Hannah.”

“Great idea. If she's not at the church yet. You know John's probably there already wondering where you are. It's five minutes to the official start time.”

“I'll be quick. No, actually, can you do it? I might get someone else.”

“Of course, Sarah.”

Karen called Arwood and Hannah's house, and then when that didn't get answered she called her wrist unit.

“Hi, Karen, is there a problem?”

“Our nervous bride is suddenly worrying about her neckline. Should she wear her gorgeous dress with pride, hide behind a veil, so that John's eyes only pop out part way through the service rather than at the beginning, or hide everything with a shawl?”

“OK, I'll just escape to somewhere a little more private, then you can point your camera at Sarah.”

“Thanks.”

“OK, show me Sarah's glory.”

Karen pointed her wrist unit at Sarah. “Oh, you're beautiful, girl. Nothing to worry about. My dress was far more revealing than that.”

“Really?” Sarah was more than a little surprised. Hannah always dressed so modestly.

“Yes, girl, You've got no problem dancing in that, have you? I would have done.”

“I'm shocked, Hannah!”

“Arwood claims he can't remember a word of the sermon. I can't imagine what he was thinking about. Come on, girl, don't spoil the look of the dress. John's been looking for you at least ten minutes now. If you don't get a move on, he'll start to panic.”

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John heard a commotion at the back of the church and turned to look down the aisle once more.

His heart jumped with joy at seeing Sarah coming. It was an old dress. No lace at all, except on her gloves. She was accompanied by three bridesmaids. Karen, who had obviously decided she could go on one crutch for the short distance up the aisle, was beside her, carrying the flowers so that Sarah's hands could hitch up her skirts enough that she could walk up the steps. Two other bridesmaids were carrying her train, which was of pure white satin silk like the dress, but seemed to have a slight irridescent sheen about it. The dress had a tight bodice with almost transparent straps. John decided he'd better call it decent. The skirt of the dress was full, deeply pleated and made John think of waterfalls for some reason. There was no lace, no ribbons, no pearls, but there was a faint swirling embroidery pattern around her waist. Celtic looking he decided. He wasn't sure, but it could have been gold thread. She had her engagement ring on her finger of course, and delicate dangling earrings which sparkled in the sunlight. John was sure they had diamonds in them. Her hair was loose except for a silver tiara, which as she approached, John saw was also set with gems. He'd been right, she was beautiful and radiant and his heart felt like it would explode with joy.

[Smile any more, John, and your face will hurt for a week,] she thought at him.

[You're beautiful, and your dress! Its fit for a princess, my princess!]

[Tell you the story later. While you're taking it off me.]

[What are you trying to do? See if feedback can work through gloves?]

[It can't!]

[It did with thoughtful chicken. Now pay attention, Arwood's speaking!]

[Hannah tells me her wedding dress distracted him so much he didn't hear a word of the sermon.]

John decided that the best way to avoid Sarah trying to make him laugh or blush was not to answer. She was radiant and lovely, and the dress was beautiful. But if she'd been in an old T-shirt and mucky jeans it wouldn't have mattered to him. The marriage was the important thing, and when they got to the ‘I do's and exchanged rings, he was sure that they were the happiest two people in the city.

For the rings, Sarah had removed her gloves and John hid his thoughts so they could concentrate. Then, once Arwood declared that they were man and wife, he unhid. He did get slightly stuck but freed himself quickly after his practice the previous night. They kissed. Of course feedback came, but for the brief time of the kiss it was tolerable. They belonged to each other now, so what had been a temptation towards behaviour that would dishonour God was now different. It was a promise of greater intimacies to follow. Getting caught up in it wasn't such a problem now, except that they were in public. They broke the kiss, becoming aware of the applause and cheers that were surrounding them.

[That was quite a kiss, guys,] Karen thought to them. [I didn't time it but it was at least fifteen seconds, if not half a minute. Caught up by feedback?]

[Yes,] Sarah replied, [only felt like a couple of seconds.]

[Ah. Maybe you should merge thoughts next time, just so the world doesn't end before you notice the need to breathe. We wouldn't want the photographer to have to throw a bucket of cold water over you, would we?]

[You're enjoying this, aren't you?] John accused.

[Of course we are,] George said. [We're here to share in your big day and witness the beginning of your life together. We've just witnessed the power of your feelings for each other, which I'm sure is a great reassurance to the old ladies I heard earlier saying, ‘I don't know what they feel for each other really, there's such a difference in age, and I've hardly ever even seen them holding hands after church.']

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

[Did you hear Arwood say something half way through?] Karen asked, curiously.

[No, what did he say?] John asked.

[That he wondered if perhaps we should all slip off to the reception while you're busy.]

[Time for a hymn first,] John said. [Great is thy faithfulness indeed, Lord,] he added in prayer.

Arwood signalled for silence and announced the final hymn and John turned round and added. “We chose this hymn not just because it is appropriate for every occasion, not just because it is has a nice tune, not just because it is an affirmation of great spiritual truths, not just because it speaks of the unchanging reliability of the Lord, but also because it is true. If you do not know God's strength for today or the bright hope for a future eternity that will be a long way from boring, then talk to Arwood or one of the other church elders. Sarah and I would be happy to talk too, except we're going to be rather busy the rest of today and unavailable for the next fortnight.” Once more joyous laughter broke out, and Arwood had to wait for it to die down.

“In case some of our visitors don't know who the elders are — that's a church term for people in the leadership team, in case you're confused — can you stand up, please? And so there are some younger faces with wise hearts available to talk to too, I'd like Karen, Samantha and Tony to stand too.” This had been discussed beforehand, and while George was there, it didn't make much sense for him to go from hiding in the safe house then standing up in church offering to talk to strangers. Dirk and Eliza weren't that happy about Karen offering to be named either, but she'd insisted. After all, she was highly visible anyway as a bridesmaid.

After the hymn was sung and they'd gone through the precision manoeuvres that were needed for Sarah's train to be turned around, it was time for the photographs. The first photo was the most complex, with John and Sarah in the middle of the steps and the train circling them. Now John understood why Sarah had organised a squad of church members to spend a lot of time cleaning every inch of the stone stairs outside the church, and then to vacuum clean them when all the guests had entered. The train was beautiful, and it was surely easier to clean steps than all that fabric.

Sarah noticed John's growing agitation as he saw how long arranging every fold seemed to be taking.

“John, it's a traditional pose, don't worry,” she whispered to him.

“How do we do the other poses without getting the train dirty?”

“Fear not. It's almost time for it to go away.”

“Oh, it comes off?”

“Your first husbandly act will be to discretely undo the fastenings at my waist while the girls roll up the train.” [Like this. {image}]

“Discrete. Those little buttons hold the whole weight of the train?”

“Not directly. They hold cords that hold the train in place.”

“Clever!”

“As long as the cords don't get stuck, yes.”

“You're just teasing, aren't you?”

“Only slightly. Apparently it happened to my grandma.”

“What happened then?”

“Her husband picked her up and shook her. But maybe grandma was teasing.”

“Probably.”

“Maybe he crawled under her skirt to sort it out instead.”

“It's very nice to see you in such a good mood, Sarah,” John laughed. “So how should I be standing in this pose, milady?”

“Oh, I don't know, how about you gaze into my eyes in delectation of their beauty and the wicked thoughts that are bubbling behind them?”

“That's easy to do. And how wicked are your thoughts?”

“That maybe we pretend the train is stuck.”

John sighed, “Maybe we play that game later, love. I expect your bridesmaids would carry it, Sarah. Especially if they thought the alternative might be embarrassing to you in a few years' time.”

[Yes, we would,] Karen thought. [Your whispers are carrying at least this far, Sarah, so don't scandalise the on-lookers.]

[Oh, all right.]

[If the photographer wants many more “final adjustments,” I'm going to scream,] Karen commented. [How many photos are there going to be? Sarah?]

[I can't actually remember. Sorry.]

Eventually the photographer decided all was perfect and took about fifty photos just in case someone blinked.

Then it was time to carefully fold the train.

John unhooked the silk chords from the buttons and the ends disappeared into the waist band of the dress. There was a silken rustle as the folding finished and Sarah was left with a dress which now only stretched behind her about a metre, rather than five.

Thankfully, the rest of the photographs didn't take nearly as long to arrange.

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The lunch itself was an informal buffet affair. Sarah and John hadn't felt the need to assign tables or to employ waiting staff. One half of the large church function room had been cordoned off to be a dance area and cleaned meticulously. The food was on tables in the centre of the other part of the room, and while there were seats around the walls, most people ate standing up. Nothing they'd cooked needed cutlery, after all. The practicalities of the dress, even without its train, meant that it was far better if Sarah stayed in one spot, near the dance area, and John took pleasure in bringing her plateful after plateful of food. Of course, there was far too much. But that had actually been part of the plan. Sarah and John would be taking some of it with them as food for the first few days of their life together, and the rest was their contribution to a church lunch the next day.

Offering her a small plate of chocolate filled coconut balls, John asked, “Has it gone well, milady?”

“Of course, don't you think so?”

“Of course it has. But I do believe the time has come for me to dance you round that spotless floor a few times and then sweep you off your feet to prepare for our departure.”

“I'll just eat another few of these, they've turned out very well.”

“The whole plate is for you, my love. We made hundreds, remember?”

“And you're going to insist on carrying me?”

“It's that or we wash the floor over there first. Putting the drinks near that door wasn't the best idea if you didn't want to be carried.”

“Ah, but I could walk part of the way there.”

“No, my love, you couldn't, because that would still risk getting the dress dirty.”

“You're just going to enjoy yourself, no matter what I say, aren't you?”

“Don't tell me you won't enjoy it too?”

“Of course I will.”

“Then shall we ask Karen to help you with the dress when the time comes?”

“Not on the other side of those doors, no.”

“Of course not. I meant make sure the skirts don't drag.”

“Good idea, already thought of. You do your speech, we dance the first waltz and then she'll be here to assist as you carry me away.”

[And try to work out how to release you from your dress. There's no zip!]

[Certainly not. Shall I tell you? It would save time you know.]

[But just think of the fun we can have while I'm exploring it.]

[But we've learnt that feedback robs us of time. We don't want to be too long.]

[Yes, love. Robs us of time and removes earlier doubts about how much of me you should expect to be functioning tonight.]

[Praise God! {humour} He has been saying don't worry, hasn't He?]

[Let's not worry, And I know you're excited, but past experience says we should to give ourselves plenty of time, and not be in too much of a hurry.]

[I will trust you in this, my husband,] Sarah said formally. [But maybe we should try and leave earlier than strictly necessary?]

[Yes, my love, {joy} my wife! We can certainly do that, or we can make the most of the party, stay ‘till everyone else is gone, and spend the night at our house and sleep late tomorrow morning.]

[I do want to get to those mountains you've promised me, John.]

[Well, yes, but it's not really that far. We don't need to start THAT journey tonight. We'll see them tomorrow even if we don't leave until after lunch.] [So we could build some important memories in our own bed rather than an anonymous hotel room? Why didn't we think of this earlier?]

[We were too busy avoiding the subject, my love, for fear of feedback.]

[So give your speech, then we can dance and see what feedback that brings, shall we? {grin} I love you, John.]

[I love you too, Sarah.]

“FRIENDS!” he called with a loud voice. “The time has come for us to demonstrate that Sarah's beauty, grace and elegant attire can't make up for the fact I'm not that good at dancing. Then I'll steal my beautiful bride away from your midst, and we'll find her something that's just a little more appropriate for more than one couple on the dance floor. Of course it might take me a while to help her out of the dress because she's not telling me how and I can't see any fasteners on it at all. So I hope you'll have a lovely time eating, drinking and dancing while we're away, we do plan on dancing more than once today, honest.”

“Is that it?” Sarah asked as the laughter and cheers died down.

“No, of course not.” John replied, and then spoke again. “Sarah thinks I should give the rest of my speech too. I know some of you have heard how God brought us together, and there are some who haven't. I won't bore you with all the details, but you know that we both lost loved ones in the Clear Sky shopping centre attack. I hadn't ever expected to fall in love again, and Sarah's friends are probably amazed that she can be in such a large crowd without screaming. The short explanation is that God has brought us together, helped us to heal together and over and over again surprised us with new depths of his grace and mercy. Thank you for celebrating with us the love that He's given us for each other and for witnessing the holy vows that we have made in His presence.” then turning to Sarah he continued, “Sarah, my beloved bride, shall we dance in honour of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the love He has given us?”

“Of course, my husband!”

Someone, probably Karen, started the music.

Despite what he said, John was a perfectly acceptable dance partner, Sarah knew, and they'd been practising this waltz ever since they'd decided to do it. If anything, she was the worse dancer, but no one could see what her feet were doing under her dress.

[I liked your speech, John. Of course the reason I'm not telling you how to open it is because you told me not to.]

[I know. I also know I'm going to trip over your gorgeous dress and my own feet if I don't concentrate.]

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[George?] Karen called. [Are you watching?]

[As though your happiness depended on it, Karen. It looks complicated.]

[Hold on, I'll try a diagram. {image} Did you get that?]

[Yes, Karen! You're getting better. That's where his feet should go?]

[Yes.]

[I think I can see. Was that a mistake?]

[No, well maybe, but he turned Sarah, see? That's allowed.]

[Yes. How are they doing it without feedback?]

[Merged thoughts?]

[Oh, no contact, look! No need for feedback. Gloves save the day again.]

[Good job her dress has a high enough back though. Modern fashions often don't.]

[Does your ball gown?]

[We'll have to check when we visit next week.]

[I'm glad Kate doesn't object to you going. And if it doesn't?]

[Then I'll have it modified. If nothing else, a skin-tone insert would do it.]

[Or a contrasting colour? It might look good.]

[You're thinking of becoming a dress designer too?]

[If so, then only, or at least primarily for you, my love.]

[George, what do you think of Sarah's dress?]

[She looks radiant in it. It's certainly impressive. Is it very old? The style looks it, but is it a modern copy?]

[No, original, a hundred and eighty years or so.]

[It must be worth a fortune.]

[Yes, but what do you think of the dress itself? Pretty, ugly, glamorous, over the top, too outrageous for this century? Tell me.]

[I think it's probably the most beautiful wedding dress I've ever seen, not that that says much of course. But yes, it far outshines anything I've seen in window displays or anything like that.]

[Good. I'm glad.]

[She's going to lend it to you?]

[Sort of.]

[Why sort of?]

[It's got strict conditions on it. Sarah really only holds it in trust. All the daughters of the sons or daughters and so on of the original owner have equal right to wear it as long as it's in the family, and it can't be sold or given away.]

[And Sarah knows this?]

[Oh yes, she told me.]

[So, you get to look like a princess on your wedding day, and if she has no daughter and we do we'd eventually need to find somewhere to keep it safe?]

[Yes. I'm not aware of any other relatives who can claim it.]

[I'd better come up with some really good programming ideas then, I expect that it needs more than just a box in the cupboard.]

[It has a special box, but yes, it'll need a big cupboard.]

[So, who owned it originally? Was she a princess?]

[Sarah hasn't told me yet.] Karen replied.