A Nantucket Wedding(98)

Felicity followed, biting her lip so she wouldn’t dissolve into tears.

“Okay,” Alison said to her flower girls. “You know what to do.”

Off the little girls went, Canny first, then Daphne, and finally, Alice.

Alison took a deep breath, and followed.

Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” sounded as Alison stepped into the tent. On either side of the aisle, people rose, their finery fluttering. Her best friend, Margo, wore a fabulous fascinator and a huge grin. Dr. Abbott and his wife, and all three of the dental hygienists Alison had worked with were together in one row. Heather and Cecil were there, at the end of an aisle. Charlie and Henry sat next to them, not a muscle twitching, elegant in their black bow ties. Other friends of David’s were there, and two of the girls who had been friends of Jane and Felicity since childhood. A bolt of nerves struck Alison, and for a moment she paused. Then she saw them waiting for her, her family, all of them, and her beloved David, so handsome in his tux. Alison broke out into a great huge smile that lasted as she went down the aisle to stand by his side.

    They had wanted the ceremony to be brief, and it was. It passed in a blur. The minister’s words. The vows, when she and David gazed into each other’s eyes as if gazing into the future. The exchanging of rings. And finally, the kiss.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister proclaimed. The congregation cheered and applauded. David and Alison proceeded down the aisle, and Alison smiled and wept tears of happiness.

They stepped out of the tent and onto the green velvet lawn. In front of them, the harbor waters glittered in the sunlight.

“Look, Grandma,” Alice cried excitedly. “The water is covered with diamonds!”

The attendees filed out of the tent onto the grass. Near the outdoor patio stood a long table centered with an enormous arrangement of flowers and piled high with delicious finger foods. As people gathered on the lawn, waiters appeared with trays of champagne and sparkling water. People congratulated the newlyweds, and everyone told everyone else how gorgeous they were, and as friends met friends, cries of delight flew up in the air like small birds. Patrick helped Poppy to a chair on the patio where she sat in her expansive black pantsuit, hundreds of sequins and her mother’s diamonds flashing in the sunlight, her belly proudly bulging. Ethan introduced Esmeralda to the guests. Esmeralda, wearing an impressively tight and low-cut emerald gown, languidly extended her hand, allowing people to shake it.

    And then the family went to the boardwalk in front of the harbor and gathered together for the photographer to snap some formal shots. The little boys mugged and twitched and couldn’t hold still. The little girls giggled and preened. Scott stood with his good arm around Jane. Felicity and Noah stood side by side, not touching. Esmeralda insinuated herself into the family, standing with one possessive hand on Ethan and one on Canny. Poppy pulled Patrick’s arm and led him to the opposite side of the group. Everyone in the party gathered on the lawn to watch the photographer.

“Throw the bouquet!” Felicity ordered her mother. She called out, “Heads-up, everyone. The bride is tossing the bouquet!”

The party gathered expectantly on the lawn, laughing, the few unmarried women coaxing each other forward.

“Right!” Alison yelled back. “Here goes!”

She turned her back to the crowd and tossed the bouquet.

Charlie, the Lab, seeing something fly his way, performed a spectacular leap and caught the flowers in midair. The crowd cheered.

Alison slipped off her heels. The grass beneath her feet was warm and soft. In front of her the crowd returned to their conversations and champagne. Behind her, the harbor waters beckoned like magic.

Holding on to David’s arm, she stepped onto the beach.

“I want to wade in the water,” she said.

“On your wedding day?” David asked.

“Absolutely on my wedding day.”

“But what about our guests? Dinner should be served soon.”

“David, look at our guests. They’re happily guzzling fabulous champagne and being served delicious canapés.”

“Well,” David said. “You continue to be an unconventional woman.”

Alison lifted up her wedding skirt to a few inches above her knees. She smiled at David.

    “I suppose I need to be an unconventional man,” David said, and leaning over, he untied his black dress shoes and slipped them off, then removed his black socks and rolled up his trousers.

Hand in hand, Alison and David waded into the water until it was up to their knees.

“It’s cold,” Alison said.

“It will feel warmer in a minute,” David assured her. He put his arms around her. “Maybe if I hold you, you’ll warm up.”

“Maybe if you kiss me, I’ll warm up faster,” Alison said.

David kissed her, a slow, deep, satisfying promise of a kiss.

“Hey, Grandma! Granddad!”

Alison and David turned to see who had called them. Five grandchildren held their phones high, snapping shots of Alison and David, radiant and joyful, in the gleaming blue water. These would be the photographs they would frame in silver and set on their mantel and in David’s office and in their kitchen.

They waded out of the water onto the shore, and walked barefooted among their guests, and toasted each other with champagne, and went into the enormous white tent with its King Arthur banners flying, and sat at the head table for dinner. Later, there were speeches and toasts and wedding cake.