LUV U
KiirstiAan's email reply to me:
Here I go with the numbering. (You've got me so aware now that I do this, but I'm afraid I'll forget things unless I can easily count them off.)
1. That story about Kelsey is hysterical! I can hardly wait for Evan to call me on my afternoon work break, so I can tell it to him. However, it definitely was not a disaster. At least I wouldn't consider it one. It seems like people would have to have absolutely no sense of humor at all to not see the fun and laughter it would bring. It seemed to have brought levity to an otherwise serious and somber occasion. (You know, Mom, you have always taught me that the Lord has an amazing sense of humor, and frankly, I believe He enjoyed the spontaneity of humor as much as anyone else present at the wedding.)
I don't think even if you included more detail of a distressing nature, it would qualify as a disaster. I personally think it was just a wonderful example that the Lord loves us so much that He allows some things in our lives for our complete enjoyment. (It's kinda like how Daddy is. Some things he does on purpose just to make all of us laugh. And, they do. It's one of his endearing qualities.)
2. I don't know that this should get its own numbering, but I just wanted you to know that Evan's mom and dad went crazy over the story about Melissa and James.
Now here's the kicker... Evan's dad has driven by Angel's corner for what seems like forever! It's on his office route, so he drives by there both morning and evening. He said to tell you that weather permitting, he would try to drive at a speed that would coincide with the red stop light, put down the windows on that side and sit and listen to Angel play his violin. He said that he noticed a difference in the music selections he played toward the end before his death. Instead of Broadway show tunes, and 1940s big band music, he almost exclusively played hymns. He said there were a couple of times that he actually shed tears listening to Angel's rendition of "How Great Thou Art." And, when he'd throw Angel some money, Angel had a standard way of thanking him. He'd say, "The Lord make His Countenance shine upon you and give you peace." That's beautiful, huh?!
3. Angel might not be able to play in our wedding, but Evan and I want to know what you think about having trumpet and violin as our signature instruments at our wedding? It's not that we're against having the organ, but maybe something a little different would suit the bill. Anyway, think about it, 'k?
4. I definitely think we should have two lists. One for you, Mommy, and one for me. In fact, maybe it would be a good idea if we each had both, that way there's accountability on both our parts. Is that a good idea? Maybe I'm being selfish. You already have so much to do without having the extra chore of making two responsibility lists. I know you'll come through with your duties, but sometimes I wonder if I'll forget things that are really important that only I can do.
5. And now, for the biggie...
Evan and I are going nuts over the church! Friendly Bridge Bible Church. Its name actually fits it. Oh, Mommy, I don't think I can think of enough adjectives that describe it, but I'm gonna give it a shot: charming, vintage, fascinating, serene, "old world", charismatic, compelling, captivating, enchanting, and magnificent! And, if I looked up synonyms, I could probably find others.
Evan and I couldn't stand it. We had to look at the online tour. Oh, wow, I couldn't have dreamed up a church in my imagination that would be more perfectly suited to the look and feel we want at our wedding.
Evan was so funny. While we were "touring," he said that he sort of assumed he'd be wearing a tux for the ceremony, but now he's wondering if something more English-looking might be what's called for. He asked what about morning coats and gray-and-white striped pants for the guys. First, I asked him where he'd even heard of or seen that style worn. He said his family all went to a wedding last spring. It was in the late afternoon in a public garden park and that's what the groomsmen wore. I told him that I thought gray striped pants with morning coats were for actual morning weddings. But, I told him I'd ask you and he says whatever you say is great with him.
I think I've hit my saturation level with this email. I think I've covered just about everything of real importance.
I do plan to call you tomorrow morning. I'm having two dilemmas. One is with the bridesmaids and the other is, well, actually, I guess they're both with the bridesmaids. One is with regard to the bridesmaids themselves and the other has to do with their accessories. (I know Daddy is buying all the girls' dresses, but two of the girls I want to be in the wedding are having serious financial problems, and even though their dress is free to them...)
No, wait. This is going to take a while to explain. I think I'll just wait until tomorrow. I could really use your counsel.
LUV U THIS MUCH… (my arms are open wide as far as I can stretch), plus ten thousand miles! (Remember when you did this with me each night when you put me to bed, and I'd ask you how much you loved me?)
My email to KiirstiAan:
I know you won't get this until you get up in the morning, but it's 3:30 a.m. and I just got a call from your Uncle Bill. Aunt Serena had a stroke during the early evening and they don't know if she's going to make it through the night. He asked if I would come be with him until the actual status is known. (He sounded so pitiful!)
I have already packed and your daddy is taking me to the airport in the next few minutes. The flight leaves at 5:15 a.m., so I'm going to really be cutting it close.
I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I don't want you to panic.
I am taking my wedding planning materials with me and Uncle Bill says I can have full ownership of his laptop while I'm there.
I have completed a portion of another story, but only to the "it's a travesty, a disaster, what will we ever do?" part. ( I haven't even named it yet.) I've attached it to this email. We'll talk later.
Your dad just called me to come on to the car.
Gotta go.
Pray for Uncle Bill and Aunt Serena.
BTW... I love you this much (my arms are stretched to capacity) plus two fishie kisses, four nose kiss pecks, and unlimited numbers of crooked mouth kisses.
Uh-oh... your dad is yelling up the stairs.
Bye!
*****
Chapter 25
"Victoria," Mona yelled up the stairs, "I need to talk with you about this guest list."
"Mother, give me about fifteen minutes and I'm all yours. Ask Rena to bring you a cup of tea while you wait."
"You said the same thing last night. I had tea and you still weren't down here. It turned out to be thirty-five minutes instead of fifteen."
"Tonight I'll set my alarm clock."
"Don't be ridiculous! Just get down here as quickly as possible. This wedding isn't going to plan itself!"
"Fifteen minutes, Mother. I promise."
*****
"Lord, this is turning into a Broadway production, and my heart is breaking. Neither Trevor nor I want this big huge wedding. Mother is trying to bump up the guest count from three hundred and twenty-five to three hundred and fifty. I've looked at the list. I don't know these people. I think most of them must be from Daddy's firm and Mother's charity work. I counted the guest list a couple of days ago. I only knew forty-three out of the whole list of invited guests. The invitations are already sent. I'm crushed, Jesus. She's saying she's going to have to order at least twenty-five more invitations! She doesn't ask me anything of value, and even when she asks me things of little to no importance and I give my opinions, she goes behind my back and does what she wants.
"And, the church, Lord... it's like a huge mausoleum. Mother said it would comfortably seat four hundred and fifty. I'm afraid she'll try to fill up the whole place.
"Last night Mother told me that I am welcome to add more attendants to my wedding. I've already asked everyone I want, all five of them. She says I'm welcome to have up to fifteen bridesmaids, if I want. I don't want! I've never wanted! I'm scared she'll ask some girls I don't know well (or at all!) to join the bridal attendants group. What do
I do then?
"A five-tier cake, two grooms cakes, heavy hors d'oeuvres followed by a five-course dinner? I didn't even get to pick out my own cake. And, I have no idea what the dinner menu includes. She did all of it herself 'just to help me out.'
"And the reception hall in the fifteenth floor penthouse of a hotel. That room is gigantic! And, so impersonal! I told her that I really preferred a small, more intimate place, but she said that was impossible if she was going to be able to fit in all the guest tables, a bride-and-groom table, a wooden dance floor, a harpist, and the fifteen piece orchestra. She said the baby grand piano and orchestra pit alone would 'eat up' a good third of the room.
"The only thing I really do like is my wedding gown. Although I really wanted a straighter skirt, I do love this princess ball gown. Mother doesn't even know that the tulle skirt is detachable, and underneath is a knee-length lace dress. Not that it'll make any difference. She would have a heart attack if I removed the overskirt for the reception. But, knowing this bit of secret information is the only part of this wedding that feels like I've had any control over.
"Jesus, I'm asking you to... I don't even know what I'm asking. I just know that this is not the wedding of my dreams. It's the wedding of Mother's dreams.
"If I could have anything I wanted, I'd have a small group of family and friends, maybe thirty-five people at the most, tucked away in a tiny little chapel. A small assortment of white roses up front, and the only music would be from someone who played a portable type instrument like a violin, a harmonica, a flute, or... I don't know. I'd wear my short knee-length lace dress with a simple tiara on my head, and plain white satin ballet slippers. Trevor could wear anything he's comfortable in, because I love him and would want him to really enjoy this.
"Lord, I've always wanted to share our first married communion together as bride and groom, but Mother nixed that. She said it would be tacky at such a grand wedding. Plus, it might offend guests that aren't Christians.
"We'd have a tiny little two-layer white cake that was simple, very, very simple. Maybe just one dance that Trevor and I would start, but the others would join in toward the end. Then, we'd all dance for a while.
"Jesus, this wedding is not going to be what I want it to be. Everything about it is contrived and pretentious. Lord, please do something. I need a miracle from You in the worst way.
"Lord, in Your Word, John 16:23,24 says, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full'
If I'm taking this out of context, forgive me. It's just that I'm desperate, and You are the only one who can help me.
"I'm going to leave it in your Hands.
"Help me, Jesus. I have nowhere else to turn."
*****
Victoria quickly swiped away the tears that trailed down her cheeks as she was walking down the stairs. The clock above the fireplace mantel showed that she had made it downstairs in under fifteen minutes, two minutes under to be exact. While the prayer time alone with the Lord had given her some peace, the problems were not solved. She still hated everything about this wedding, other than the knee-length white lace dress minus the tulle overskirt, and the groom-to-be. She could undergo anything to finally be the wife of this amazing man God had given her. She could hardly wait to escape the wedding travesty and disappear with this man. She needed him to hold her in his arms and reassure her that everything would be ok.
She couldn't bear it, however, if her mother began grilling her about why she'd been crying, reminding her that she had nothing to cry about. She was going to have the wedding of the century, after all. With this in mind, she gave one final wipe down each cheek with the back of each hand.
Trying to smile, she sat down next to her mother. Her glance swept to all the fabric swatches, linen samples, flower arrangement pictures, and other items that covered the coffee table and floor. She didn't care enough about all the items to even visually examine them.
Victoria was just preparing to ask her mother what details needed to be discussed just now. But, before her lips could even form the first word, her mother began the "showdown." It was going to be a war of wills, and Victoria knew Mona would win, so why bother to fight it? These were not "hills she was willing to die on."
"Rena, we're going to be here a while, so would you bring us some finger sandwiches, celery and carrots with dip, and some hot tea." Mona demanded this of her housekeeper, with no little amount of condescension. Victoria had always been shocked at the little grace her mother showed the woman who was more responsible for holding this household together than anyone else.
When the food and drink arrived some ten minutes later, Mona simply dismissed Rena with the whisk of her hand. Victoria quickly compensated by telling Rena that no one could make tuna sandwiches as good as hers. She threw in the question to which she already knew the answer. "Rena, what is it you said you put in the tuna salad that makes it so amazing?"
"Curry."
"Oh, that's right. Maybe as a wedding gift to Trevor and me, you would make a small cookbook with the tuna salad recipe, and I guess you already know the other things I love so much! I think that gift I would cherish more than any other gift we'd get. Oh... and could it look exactly like the one you made yourself?"
Mona quietly humphed.
"I'd be honored, Victoria. Enjoy." And with that comment, Rena gratefully vanished from the room.
No time at all passed and Mona was on her overpowering way to making this her own dreamed-of wedding.
"I just wanted you to know you don't need to worry. I've already ordered the additional wedding invitations. I told you twenty-five before, but I decided to go ahead and order fifty. I'll get those out as soon as they're delivered in the next couple of days. You can add any guests you want, but keep it down to about fifteen to twenty. I'll need all the rest for your dad's golf buddies, their families, the town council members. And, somehow I feel like I'm forgetting some others. Better keep yours down to fifteen total.
"And, I know you said you wanted your girls in pale blue. I agreed until I went back to look again at the church sanctuary. Their stained glass windows have an overwhelming amount of smoky blue in them, so I notified the wedding gown vendor to change all the attendants' dresses to deep smoky blue instead of the pale ice blue you chose. While I was at it, I ordered three extra dresses. I thought maybe you should call your Aunt Glendell and ask her if Chauncy, Preanda, and Mendolin would like to be bridesmaids as well.
"What kind of weird names are those, anyway? She must have been drugged up at the hospital when she came up with those. They sound like they belong to pet goats. And, frankly, after getting your Uncle Austin's nose and mouth, maybe the names aren't that far from being right for them."
"Mother! That is really unkind. All three of those girls are so sweet. I like all of them. But, I'm not close to them, and I think it would really be awkward to include them, since I only see them about once every other year."
"Well, if awkwardness is your only complaint about having them, then ask them to arrive a few days early, so you can spend some time with them before the wedding."
Before Victoria could further protest, her mother had already moved on.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. The church called and said that they are updating and upgrading all the chandeliers in the sanctuary. They gave me the webpage address to go look at the ones going up over the stage. The address is chandelierium.co... I don't know why I'm telling you this. I wrote it down on stationery. There it is on the coffee table to the left of the bridesmaids' dress fabric swatch. When you go online to see them, it's the biggest one for over the pulpit, and the next size down for either side of the big one. They will be hung during the week before your wedding. The minister said they are very large and impressive, just like their sanctuary. Make sure you go online and look. You'll love them!"
"Ok, let's go to the next item on my
list. I really like the white roses you chose for the flower arrangements, but I got to thinking about it, and that would probably be a little washed-out. So, I called the florist. He's going to add just a smidgen of blue Volkenfrieden Delphinium. It'll pull the blue out in the stained glass windows and the girl's dresses."
"Mother, I wanted the flower arrangements to be all-white."
"Ok," Mona sighed. "I'll call the florist Monday morning and have him go back to the all-white," she whined.
"Never mind," Victoria quietly acquiesced.
"Never mind? Ok, the blue is back in. Whatever you want. It's your wedding."
If only that were true.
*****
Chapter 26
The organ was droning some hideous piece of classical music that sounded more like a death dirge than something for the celebration of holy matrimony. Victoria just slightly shook her head and remained planted in her assigned location in the vestibule.
Looking around to locate her father's whereabouts, she saw him all right. Her father would offer his arm to her at the appropriate moment to walk her up the aisle, but right now he was standing far to the side talking to one of his golf cronies. They were discussing something. At first she thought it was probably something important until her father busted out laughing and the other man pursed his lips together in the signal for him to be quiet. She had hoped he would be more engaged in the wedding. But, typical for him, he would probably run to her side at the appointed moment and take on the prototype of the doting father that adored his little girl and couldn't believe she was actually marrying today. When he handed her over to Trevor at the altar, he would no doubt swipe an imaginary tear from his eye, then kiss her cheek with the one and only kiss she had received from him so far this year.
Thank goodness Victoria's mother had already been led into the sanctuary and seated in her "throne of honor." This would at least give Victoria a few moments in which someone wouldn't be instructing her to stand up straight, pull her shoulders back, smile (for heavens' sake!), and remember that she is representing the family.
The ceremony processional continued.
Three ministers were officiating. Three! Victoria caught glances of them when the double doors opened to let in the participants. Reverend Black was the primary. After all, this was his church. Then, there was some other minister. Victoria didn't even remember his name. Apparently he was an associate minister at this church. His duty was to read some sort of love poem that Mona had coerced them into incorporating into the service. And then, there was Pastor Art, Victoria's pastor at the church where she and Trevor met in the Singles class. His responsibility was all prayers offered up in the ceremony. Victoria smiled when she spotted him. Now this was truly a man of God. His prayers would be heard by the Lord and answered as a father would for a beloved child, which he was.