Today is your Day!

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Today is your day.
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You're off and away!

 

“Can you believe Mart and Di found us?” Trixie groused as she poked at the bowl of oatmeal she had ordered for breakfast. Now that it was in front of her, she had no desire to eat. “How much longer until we need to leave?”

Jim was cutting into a short stack of pancakes. It had taken twice his usual time to butter them before drizzling syrup on the top. He wasn’t too interested in his breakfast either. Saying goodnight to Trixie at the door of her room last night had been more difficult than he anticipated. Both of them had stood there holding hands, reluctant to retreat to separate bedrooms.

It had taken Trixie sliding her arms around Jim’s neck and whispering, “We’re not doing anything else by the book. We could start the honeymoon tonight.”

Jim shook his head and resolved to leave for the night. “We’re waiting. We’re doing that one thing by the book and face it, Trixie; we’re probably the only ones who are doing that. Waiting to be together that way is making us different. So, let’s wait.”

And with that heartfelt speech he had given her a tender kiss, pulled his favorite curl and left. Trixie had tumbled into bed, exhausted and frustrated, but more in love with Jim Frayne that she ever imagined possible.

Jim stared at the pancakes wondering whether time could move any slower. He would have bet his entire trust fund that he and Trixie were stuck in a space-time continuum where seconds had become minutes, and minutes had become hours. Trixie had to ask him again how much longer before he finally looked at his watch.

To his disappointment, five minutes had elapsed since the last time he checked. “The clerk’s office doesn’t open for another hour. I guess Mart and Diana are sleeping in,” Jim said, rattling his coffee cup.

“Diana let it slip that they are staying in one of the other honeymoon suites,” Trixie grumbled. “I still want to know how they found us. They’ll never convince me it was just the weather channel.”

Neither Jim nor Trixie had been convinced. In the end Mart and leaned forward, his blue eyes twinkling just as Trixie’s sometimes did. “You’re the detective, Beatrix. You tell us how we managed to end up here.”

Now she was determined to do exactly that. Mart couldn’t have given me a better wedding gift!

“No…” Jim answered slowly. “It’s no accident. But I’m glad they’re here. I thought they’d be down by now,” he glanced at his watch. “Mart knew we wanted to get to the courthouse first thing this morning.”

Trixie scowled. “Whatever possessed you to invite them to go with us?”

Jim shrugged. “It just seemed the polite thing to do. If it bothers you, we could leave early and explain we didn’t want to wait.”

“No, actually I’m not being fair. It doesn’t bother me in the least,” she admitted. “Besides, that’s the only way we’ll get any clues as to how they found us.”

Jim chuckled. I should have realized her real motives for not minding that Mart and Di would tag along with us this morning. “Well they’d better hurry. We’re leaving at eight for the courthouse. I don’t want anything to mess up our wedding. I’m going to be worried until I’m holding that marriage license in my hand.”

Trixie grinned. “We have all morning.”

“No, Miss Belden, we don’t. Did you forget that I’d still like to find my bride a wedding ring?” He picked up her hand and rubbed it. “You do want a wedding ring, don’t you?”

“Your wedding ring.” She blushed to the roots of her sandy hair as she answered.

The two of them sat at the breakfast table exchanging goofy, lovesick looks until they were interrupted by the clearing of a throat.

“Would you like to continue your moment together, or do you mind if we join you?” Mart inquired, his arm around Diana’s shoulders.

Trixie blushed again, and waved toward the two empty seats at their table.

“We were beginning to think you had changed your mind,” Jim said mildly as he removed his gaze from Trixie, but continued to hold her hand.

“Nope, just a bit of a late start this morning. It was a long drive last night.”

Diana seemed a bit pale and ordered a meager breakfast. Trixie frowned as she listened to her friend’s request for tea and dry toast.

“Have you been sick, Di?” she asked leaning forward in concern.

“Just a bit queasy first thing in the morning,” her sister-in-law admitted. “It will pass as soon as I eat some toast. Then I’ll be fine the rest of the day.”

“Yep, and she’ll more than make up for her skimpy breakfast by supper time,” Mart announced. “Once her stomach settles down, she can’t seem to stop eating.”

Trixie glared at her brother on Diana’s behalf.

Even Jim seemed taken aback by his blunt comment. He glanced over at Diana, noticing the tears gathering in her eyes. “Uh, Mart, my man, that wasn’t exactly a tactful thing to say,” Jim said.

“What? I think it’s great!” Mart declared, reaching over to squeeze his wife’s hand. “For the first time ever, we’re actually sharing a hobby of eating. It’s not like she’s getting fat. Just look at her, she’s never been more beautiful.”

That was enough, and big drops of tears spilled over from Di’s eyes. “Oh, Mart! You’re just being nice. I’m as fat as a cow.”

“No, you’re not,” he reassured her, leaning over to kiss her nose. “You’re just a little bit pregnant, even I can hardly tell it. All your clothes still fit, you walk extra every day. Quit worrying about it, sweetie-pie. The doctor told us everything is fine.”

Diana blinked and nodded mutely. “I’m sorry, Trixie. Everything makes me cry these days. I’ll probably bawl like a baby at your wedding this afternoon.”

“Cry away,” Trixie answered cheerfully. “I’ll understand you’re not crying because I’m marrying Jim, you’ll be crying because you’re married to Mart.”

“Hey now!” her almost-twin protested. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“Why else would she be crying, dear brother?” Trixie asked sweetly.

“Okay, you two,” Jim interrupted. “Trixie and I want to leave in just a bit, will you be ready?”

“Um, well…” Mart glanced at Diana who gave him a small nod. “Diana and I were talking, and we thought maybe you two should be alone this morning. Diana forgot a couple of things and wants to do some shopping before lunch.”

“Oh, okay, if you’re sure.” Jim strove to keep the jubilation out of his voice. He ignored Trixie’s nudge, certain she was telling him to make a run for it.

“Well, let’s go, then.” Trixie pushed back her chair leaving her oatmeal untouched.

“We have plenty of time,” Jim protested, standing as well. He cast an uneasy glance at his future in-laws. “Are you two sure you don’t want to go?”

“We’re sure,” Diana answered. “Go on, enjoy the morning. I expect the rest of the family will get an early start and be here by lunchtime. We can be here to greet them for you, since they may not as generous as we are.”

“Thanks, we’ll see you two later,” Jim answered as he left with Trixie.

Mart watched them closely, before pulling Trixie’s untouched oatmeal in front of him. “You were right sweetie, they only asked us to be nice. They really did want to be alone.”

Diana nodded, “They want us all here, but they don’t want us here, if you know what I mean.”

“Absolutely,” Mart picked up his coffee cup. “Will my beautiful wife be ready to return to our honeymoon suite after her tea and toast?”

“Oh, definitely!” Diana smiled. “We’ll need a morning nap if we’re going to be up late tonight to ring in the new year.”

 

 

Jim and Trixie exuberantly exited the City of Newport town hall, the required paper safely tucked inside Jim’s jacket pocket. Holding hands, and frequently exchanging lovesick glances, both of them felt as if they were walking on air.

“Next stop, Benson’s Jewelers!” Jim chortled. He finally felt some of the pressure easing, finally trusting that the very thing he had desired for years was actually going to happen that very day.

“Yep, and after that, I need to make a stop at the Newport Town Center. Mary told me it had several shops--” Trixie stopped. In a swift movement she pulled Jim’s hand so that he turned to face her. “Kiss me right now,” she demanded. Her tone had him complying without question.

Trixie returned the kiss with fervor before sliding her arms around his neck and whispering in his ear. “Whatever you do, don’t look, but we’ve been followed.”

“What?” He whispered, pulling back and looking anxiously at her face. He struggled not to change his expression, fighting an intense urge to look around them.

“In the southeast corner of the parking lot. It’s Brad’s tan Honda Civic.” She smacked him on the lips and grinned. “That’s just window dressing. Jim, you absolutely can’t glance over there.”

He couldn’t help it, but Trixie still noticed the tense twitching in Jim’s jaw. It was clear he was struggling with the revelation. He finally took a deep breath and blew it out. “Trix, there have to be millions of those particular cars. How do you know that one is Brad’s?”

“Because it’s a 1998 tan coupe with the same dent in the back driver’s panel that Brad’s car has, and the driver’s side exterior mirror has been replaced and doesn’t match the paint on the car. It’s Brad’s car. I can’t tell if Brad is the one driving it, but it’s definitely the car he was using while he was at Frayler.”

“So what are you going to do?” Jim picked her up and twirled her around, demonstrating a carefree exuberance that belied his instinct to stop and search out the car in question. “That’s just window dressing. You absolutely can’t glance over there either.”

Trixie snorted. “As soon as we get in our car, I’m calling Molinson on the cell. Then we’ll watch to see if he follows us to the jeweler’s.”

“You don’t want me to try and lose him?”

“Nope. Why do we care if he knows we go to the jeweler’s?”

“Good point.”

True to her word, as soon as they had their seatbelts buckled, Trixie was placing the call to Captain Molinson.

 

 

“Honey!” Diana cried, greeting her friend. “You must have left bright and early to be here already.” She couldn’t believe Honey and Brian had arrived at the inn before noon.

“Well, we sort of cheated,” Honey admitted. “We joined Mother and Daddy on the plane. Brian needed a sleep-in and it was wonderful flying. Just not having to worry about airport security was a treat.”

“I know! It’s crazy isn’t it, how strict they are.”

“Where are Jim and Trixie?” Honey looked around anxiously. “I can’t wait to see them. This is so exciting!”

“They’re not back yet,” Diana remarked, leaning against the counter and grinning at her friend.

“Back from where?” Honey was puzzled. She remembered her own wedding day had been frantic from the moment she finished breakfast until she started walking down the aisle at a fashionably late ten minutes past six.

“They had to get their license this morning. They didn’t make it here in time yesterday. Jim mentioned doing some shopping as well. I don’t think they had any rings.”

Honey’s jaw dropped in surprise. But it was Brian, overhearing the last remark, who spoke first.

“They didn’t have any rings?” he asked, his tone incredulous. “Good grief! What else have they forgotten? She’s not out shopping for a dress or something ridiculous like that, is she?”

Diana frowned. “No…” she answered slowly. “She said she had a dress.”

“Well then, I can’t think what’s so important to shop for at this late time.” Brian looked at his watch. “They did say the wedding was at four-thirty, right?”

“Yes.” Diana bit her lip. She wasn’t sure how to respond to her brother-in-law, but she knew he didn’t need to be around Jim and Trixie with that tone. It was Mart however, who leapt to Trixie’s defense.

“Careful, there, Bri,” Mart said casually, placing his arm around Diana. “Jim and Trixie have everything arranged. There’s no need for them to be here to when everyone arrives. We sent them on their way this morning and told them we’d take care of greeting everyone and explaining the schedule.”

“Good heavens, Mart! Did you and Diana leave last night?” Grace Wheeler had joined the group in time to hear Mart’s explanation.

“Yes, actually we got quite the head start,” Mart said cheerfully, not willing to let the rest of the Bob-Whites in on their detective work. “We were already on the road for a quick New Year’s Eve getaway when discovered that the party of the season would be here in Newport. So here we are. We actually made it in last night.”

Honey smiled. She knew how Mart and Diana had made such good time. Bob Murphy had told her that someone at the terminal believed she had thought about leaving the previous evening. That was enough to let me know my brother-in-law had pulled one on his almost-twin. I’ll play my card with Mart and Di later, when the time is right. She placed a gentle hand on Brian’s arm. “Come on Brian, let’s go find our room. We can talk to Jim and Trixie after lunch.” She steered him toward the steps. It would take all of her tact to let him know, in the sweetest possible way, that he was being a complete boor.

Diana let out a breath of relief. Honey will take care of Brian. Now is there anyone else who’s going to want to meddle?

“That was very well done, Mart.” Grace Wheeler remarked, a half smile on her face. “With your gift for languages , it’s quite possible you should have considered a career in foreign service. I can see you being quite effective as a diplomat.”

Mart bowed with a theatrical flourish. “C’est le ton qui fait la chanson. En plus, de toute façon, tout que je désire est le bonheur de Jim et de ma sœur.”

Grace applauded. “C’est superbe! Magnifique! Vous avez le sang-froid et les meilleurs mots!”

Diana giggled at the sight of Mart’s face. He was pleased, yet embarrassed by Grace Wheeler’s praise. “Ayons l’amusement!” She exclaimed. “On aura une soirée, et mon chéri portera le premier toast aux nouveau maris.”

 

 

Trixie and Jim left the jewelry store appearing oblivious to their surroundings. “Are you okay for a bit of shopping?” Trixie asked as Jim opened her door.

“Shopping? What kind of shopping?”

Trixie hedged. She really didn’t want to say. “I forgot to pack something I’ll need later. Mary said the Town Centre would have anything we needed.”

Jim refrained from asking what that something could be. He realized he wanted to take care of a private matter as well. “Sure, we can split up for a bit if you don’t mind. It would give us a chance to see which one of us Brad follows.”

“Do you think any of our family has arrived yet?”

Jim glanced at his watch. “Probably Mother and Dad. If anyone else came with them on the plane, they’re probably here. Dad would want to get an early start so that Bob could have the rest of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day off. I imagine they’ll fly back on the second and send Bob back to get us on the third. I wish we could stay a bit longer, but Ron and his family will be arriving to begin work at Frayler.”

“It’s fine.” Trixie was quick to reassure him.

“No, it’s not,” Jim said. “But later, when we can both be gone for a week or two, we’re going to head out for a traditional honeymoon. Maybe we could spend a few weeks on a nice warm, sandy beach; or a romantic spot like Paris or Florence.”

Trixie wrinkled her nose. “I vote for Florence if we go overseas. You know Honey is the one who speaks French.”

“So does Mart,” Jim’s eyes twinkled at the thought of Trixie’s almost-twin crashing another honeymoon.

“Humph, maybe we better plan around his new son or daughter,” Trixie sniffed. “After all, technically he was invited this time, but next time, I’m not sharing.”

“Agreed. Have you considered he might end up with both?” Jim speculated.

“Both what?”

“Both a son and a daughter? It’s pretty obvious that Diana’s family is prone to twins.”

Trixie’s mouth formed a perfect O as she pondered the thought of Mart dealing with twins. She threw back her head and laughed. “We can only hope!”

 

 

“I can’t believe the girls left us to go shopping!” Brian flopped heavily onto the comfortable sofa in the Inn’s lounge.

Dan shrugged. “They’re females. Shopping is their number one sport. If they had a shopping Olympics, I suspect Liz would take home the gold medal.”

Mart snorted. “She’d have tough competition from Diana. But you’re right, I can see it now – competitions like the fastest to max out a credit card and most items purchased in five minutes.”

“Yep,” Dan added. “Don’t forget the best bargain finder competition and who can try on the most shoes in fifteen minutes. I don’t think I’ve seen Liz wear the same pair of shoes twice.”

Brian’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve noticed what kind of shoes Liz wears?”

“Well, yeah. Don’t you notice stuff like that?”

“No!” Brian and Mart answered together, exchanging knowing looks.

“Must be the police training,” Dan replied casually, checking his watch.

“Must be the fact that you are a goner!” Mart retorted. “When did you fall in love with her?”

“What are you talking about? I’m not in love with her!” Dan sat up straight.

Brian snorted. “I dare you to show me one man that is not in love that notices what a kind of shoe a girl is wearing.”

“Be careful there, Bri,” Mart warned. “You know the guys on that designing show Di watches, those guys always notice shoes.”

“Fine, show me one straight man.” Brian revised the challenge.

“You guys are crazy,” Dan insisted. “There is nothing like that between Elizabeth and me. She can’t stand to be around me. She likes the pretty-boy type, you know… Honey’s cousin, Ben Riker. Guys like that.”

Brian shook his head. “You’re wrong.”

“Nope, I’m not. She likes to change clothes three and four times a day, and eating at fancy restaurants and guys that treat her like a princess, bring her chocolates, peel her grapes, you know – high maintenance. Like some of those girls Mrs. Wheeler was always introducing us to when we were at school in the city. Snooty.”

Mart frowned. “Liz isn’t the least bit snooty.”

“Nope, she’s not,” Brian agreed. He leaned back, folding his heads behind his head and speaking directly to his brother. “That just proves our theory. Danny boy is sunk. The girl has him hooked and he doesn’t even know it.”

“You two are crazy!” Dan muttered, shooting a fulminous look at both men. “For the last time, she thinks I’m rude, crude and obnoxious.”

“Well, of course she’s right about that!” Mart grinned. “But Brian’s right. We’ll make you buy us both a beer when we’re proven right, but you have been hooked.”

“We’ll make him buy us a case of beer,” Brian corrected quickly. “I give him a year. He’ll be shopping for a diamond ring by this time next year.”

“Six months,” Mart countered.

“Wanna make a bet out of it?” Brian offered.

“Yep, it’s a bet.” Mart reached out to shake Brian’s hand.

“And if you’re both wrong?” Dan demanded.

“We’ll buy you a case of beer,” Mart said cheerfully.

“Maybe we should buy him some shoes,” Brian suggested.

“Yeah, high heels or sandals. Maybe a pair of pumps.” Mart nodded.

Dan threw a pillow at Mart, hitting him squarely in the head. “Sheesh, you’ve been my best friend for years and you don’t even know that boots are my best look in footwear!”

 

 

Trixie had been disappointed when no one exited the car. She had felt sure they would be followed inside the shopping center. With her brief errand completed, she had ten minutes left before she was to meet Jim at the doors where they had entered. She decided to poke around inside a gift shop, to see if there was anything that caught her interest.

“May I help you with anything?” The sales clerk approached her as she was studying an oriental puzzle box.

Trixie looked up, a smile on her face. “No, just looking.” Her eyes immediately went to his name tag. It was a habit to study names and faces. Her jaw dropped when she saw the name – Brad Thomas – printed in gold letters.

“Is something wrong?” he inquired.

“No,” she stammered, before quickly regaining her composure. “Your name, it took me by surprise,” she explained. “I have a friend named Brad Thomas and well, that was the last name I expected to see.”

“Yes, I suspect it’s a fairly common name,” he admitted. “There are at least four of us in Newport.”

The light bulb went off. Trixie carefully placed the puzzle box back on its shelf, thanking the man for his help before making a beeline for the doors. Now it all makes sense.

***

”Diana! Put down that camera! I don’t care if you are having my first niece or nephew; you are not taking pictures of me in my underwear!” Trixie protested as Honey helped her get ready. Diana was busy with her camera, taking pictures.

Diana shook her head. “You know that I develop my own pictures. No one will see them unless you let them, Trixie. I promise.”

Trixie submitted and decided to ignore the occasional clicking coming from Diana’s camera. With Honey’s assistance she was able to get dressed without any mishaps. Problems she had worried about with buttons dissolved under her capable hands and before she realized it, she was blinking at the girl looking back at her from the mirror.

“Lack-a-mercy on me, this is none of I!” She twirled, and as she had hoped the full skirts which hit her just below her knees billowed out. Just like the sheets hanging on Moms’ clothesline in the summer breeze. She ran a finger along her skirt, smiling as she felt the silky fabric.

Her mother’s exclamation when she appeared was sufficient approval. “It’s the perfect dress! I still can’t believe you managed to sneak my wedding dress out with you.”

“Moms, I hate to tell you but that was almost the easiest part of all.” Trixie grinned at her mother.

“Okay, but at least you’re not wearing green shoes with it!” Helen couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease a bit.

“I thought about it!” Trixie smiled. Even the elegant sling back pumps with their higher than normal heel were bearable. I never expected to look this good!

“This makes me wish I had never let Alicia borrow the veil. You would have had that as well.” Helen sighed.

“Oh, we have something to replace the veil,” Liz spoke up, diving into the shopping bag and producing a small oblong box. “We did a spot of shopping ourselves once we found out you were dressing up.”

“We all thought for sure you’d be wearing jeans to your wedding,” Honey explained. “We all packed dresses just in case, but we also packed our best jeans and blouses.”

“I thought about it,” Trixie admitted, “but then I decided…” She stopped, not really sure if she wanted to say what changed her mind. After struggling for a moment with the box top, she opened it and stared at the elegantly decorated hair comb. It was small and understated, perfect for her.

“What did you decide?” Honey asked.

Trixie blushed and shook her head. Taking the comb from the box, she began to fiddle with how to place it in her hair for the best effect.

“It’s Jim,” Diana spoke up. “She decided something about Jim, and she’s embarrassed to tell us.”

Honey shot a grin at her sister-in-law and friend as she pushed Trixie into a chair and began to play with her hair.

“It doesn’t matter. You look beautiful, sweetie,” Helen assured her only daughter, doing her best to suppress the tears that threatened.

“Do you think Jim will like it?” Trixie asked her mother anxiously.

“Of course, he will,” Helen did not hesitate. “Sweetie, Jim would like it if you showed up wearing your jeans and a t-shirt.”

“I know, Moms. I almost did that. But I wanted --” she stopped and blushed again. “I want to knock Jim’s socks off.” She finally managed to finish.

Her friends exchanged knowing grins. They all knew Trixie would rock Jim’s world no matter what she wore to their wedding. Helen was the one to speak.

“Of course you did. That’s why brides dress up anyway, to wow the groom. Jim loves you so much, you’ll never need to worry about that. But I promise you, Jim won’t know what hit him.”

Trixie reached and gave her mother’s hand a grateful squeeze. “Thanks,” was all she could manage.

“We have more,” Liz announced, handing Trixie another box. “If your dress doesn’t have the impact you want, you can always use this.”

Trixie eyed her friends suspiciously. “Do I really want to open this?”

“Absolutely!” Helen vowed. “You never could resist a wrapped box and you know it.”

Trixie smiled and tore the paper off as her friends and mother watched. She felt her face grow hot again as she lifted the silky, shimmering ivory gown from the box. “You don’t expect me to wear this, do you?” Her voice squeaked.

“Well, yes, we did think you might want to wear it, at least for a few minutes,” Honey spoke up.

“It’s just the traditional bridal nightgown,” Diana interjected.

“Besides, if you don’t want to wear it you’ll still need it,” Liz drawled. “You can fold it up nice and neatly and set it next to the bed. Just in case there’s a fire in the middle of the night you won’t have to run out of the room naked – or is it nekkid – I’m not sure which one means you’ve been fooling around.”

The rest of the room laughed while Trixie decided her face would likely stay some shade of red for the duration of the day and several weeks into the New Year.

 

 

Jim was pacing nervously; the last two hours had seemed to last forever. The knock on the door was welcome relief. Jim was pleased to find his father standing there looking distinguished in a fashionable tuxedo and holding a boutonnière.

“D-dad?” he stammered. “Is everything okay? Mrs. Chandler said she would take care of things, but what if she forgot something?”

Matthew smiled and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Everything is fine, Jim. Your mother has sent me in here to ask if there's anything else you might need?” Matthew didn’t try to suppress a grin.

“Like what?” Jim asked. “I’ve never been married before and we aren’t exactly following convention here.”

“Oh, I imagine you’ll be following the convention your mother was thinking of,” Matthew laughed.

“What on earth are you talking about Dad?”

“Tonight, son. Do you need anything? Do you have any questions? Your mother seems to think we need a father-son talk right now.” Matthew was straightforward and frank.

“Oh!” Jim thought of what would happen later that night. “Dad, I’ve been prepared for that for some time now.”

“Good. I didn’t say anything to your mother but I figured you had.” Matthew hesitated, but he felt the words needed to be said. “Win would be very proud of you today, Jim. Both he and Katie would very much approve of Trixie.”

Jim looked at his father with sudden gratitude. “Do you think you can help me with my tie? For some reason, I’m all thumbs this afternoon.”

 

 

“Are you ready, princess?” Peter Belden choked the words out. Trixie has no idea how much she looks like Helen did on our wedding day. I’m not sure I can do this.

“Daddy,” Trixie said smiling. “Bet you never thought you’d end up as your daughter’s maid of honor, huh?”

He managed a smile. “You’ve always been unique, sweetheart. I’m not sure why you and Jim decided to confide in Matthew and me, but we’re glad we’ve been able to help you both. Jim loves you very much. If I wasn’t absolutely certain of that, I’d be standing here trying to talk you out of the wedding.”

“Not every Dad would give his blessing when his daughter told him she was going to elope.” Trixie attempted to explain. “I love Jim so much, sometimes, it hurts. Did you love Moms like that when you got married?”

“Yes,” he answered, picking up her hand. “I still do. Listen, princess. You know Jim loves you the same way, right?”

Trixie nodded. “I know, Daddy.” She tugged his hand. “Let’s go. It’s time.”

 

 

Jim was standing with his father at the front of the room when the doors opened to reveal Trixie standing with her father. He didn’t hear the swell of the familiar wedding march being beautifully played by the musicians. He didn’t notice the stunning view of the ocean at sunset through the glass windows of the elegantly appointed room. He had eyes only for a familiar, freckled blonde whose simple, white wedding dress literally took his breath away.

Trixie took a deep breath and expelled it slowly before taking the first step towards Jim. She glanced quickly among the gathered people, taking in their smiling faces and the glory of the setting sun before settling on the tall, auburn haired gentleman standing patiently next to a similar looking older man, waiting on her to come to him. Trixie looked only at Jim’s face as they made the short walk down the aisle. Peter Belden slid his daughter’s hand into Jim’s as he stepped back and took his place at her side.

“Hi, Cinderella!” Jim said as he caught her hand. “Some dress! You look wonderful.”

“Thanks!”

“You’re just missing one thing.” Jim turned to his dad, who handed him the single white flower he had purchased earlier that day.”

“It’s an orchid!” She was suddenly transported back to a Valentine’s Day memory. “It’s not my first orchid,” she reminded him.

“It’s not going to be your last orchid either. What do you say we get married?”

“I say, let’s do it!” Together they turned to face the minister, who had followed the exchange with pleasure.

“We are gathered together today, in the sight of God and these witnesses…”

“I, Beatrix, take thee James, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer…”

“I, James, take thee Beatrix… for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and cherish, til death do us part, and thereto I plight thee my troth.”

Oh, the union of your spirits here has caused him to remain
For whenever two or more of you are gathered in his name
There is love, there is love

They were wed against a backdrop of beach, rocks and a fiery setting sun painting the water with a brilliance of orange, yellow and red. Before the New Year began they would be joined together – legally, spiritually, emotionally and physically. The room erupted with joy when the final words were uttered –

“What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”