The Probability Factor

Chapter Twelve-Wedding Mania

Christmas had been a welcome respite, but the months afterwards were filled with busy wedding work. My parents were so relieved that I was getting married; they were pulling out all the stops. We actually had a wedding planner, which I felt was overkill, but my mother insisted. We managed to get the Westin Bayshore for both the ceremony and the reception. I didn’t want a church ceremony, and I insisted on having it outdoors, otherwise my mother would’ve had me all dolled up in St. Andrews United up the road. Haldir and I had surreptitiously managed to obtain some false documents for use with getting the marriage certificate. I couldn’t get Haldir a Social Insurance Number, but we managed with a fake birth certificate and a forged passport, which I was assured would pass muster with US Customs since they were the most paranoid.

Haldir was dragged out by my Dad to get fitted for his suit. Since we had opted for a small ceremony of less than sixty guests, I had decided that Haldir should wear a suit and not have a tux. I wasn’t wearing the big ballroom dress either. I had found a simple tea-length golden cream dress with a simple bodice, beaded around the décolletage, wrists and hemline. Alistair was not going to pull bridesmaid duty, much to his chagrin. As he was Haldir’s only friend here, he was standing up as his best man. June was acting as my maid of honour, and we had a friend of my Dad’s who was a Supreme Court Justice acting as our JP or marriage commissioner. My mother insisted on loads of flowers and I had to draw the line at table arrangements that were taller than I was.

Finally the beginning of July rolled around and our wedding day approached. Haldur woke me up the day before the ceremony, kissing me gently while he stroked my stomach.

“Nrgh,” I mumbled as I tried to turn over onto my side.

“Good morning to you too,” his rich timbered voice brought me back into awareness.

“Yeah,” I stretched and curled myself into his prone form.

“Do you remember?”

“’Member what?” I said groggily.

“It has been exactly one year since you came into my life,” he whispered into my ear.

I opened my eyes, “It has?”

“Yes. Do you not remember?”

It came flooding back, the day, the circumstances, everything. “Why did you go with me that day?” I asked, still unsure about how everything had fallen together.

“I just knew you,” he said simply.

“Whaddya mean?”

“It was like,” he propped himself up on an elbow, “I knew you from before. Like we’d met in a dream somehow. I just knew you and knew I’d be all right with you.”

He had mentioned that when I first met him, but I still couldn’t believe it. Not that I was unhappy with how things had turned out. Haldir had proven to be my soul mate. We hardly ever argued, and when we did it lasted for such a short time, we’d forgive each other before we even left the room. We had the same tastes in music and movies, and Haldir had learned enough so that he could read my books and found he was quite fond of my collection of Buddhist literature. He enjoyed cooking and usually had a meal on the table by the time I got home from work. It was a nice domestic relationship. Until you got to the sex. That was mind-blowing. With one look, he’d have me so hot and bothered I would be making a bee-line for the couch or bed. Once, he called me at work to tell me what he was making for dinner, and he was so sensual in describing the meal, I was soaking wet by the end of the call and had to go clean up in the bathroom. I had never experienced anything like that before. I knew without Haldir, I would never experience anything like it again.

“I’m glad,” I said finally, “I’m all right with you too.”

Haldir’s fingers slid underneath my PJ bottoms and I felt him stroke my mons. As I sucked in some air, I spread my legs to let him have freer access. He kissed me deeply and rubbed me into a sexual heat. I wanted him inside me, so pulling down my pants, I rolled on top of him and pulled his erect member out. His eyes glazed as I stroked him a few times before I guided him inside me. Pulling myself up and down on his hardness, I felt the familiar sensation of fullness and the beginnings of the wonderful tingle of orgasm. He thrust up as I came down, forcing himself deeper inside me, and we melded into a rhythm that brought us teetering close to the edge. I knew we’d be interrupted soon, as we had the rehearsal and the last minute preparations. Haldir reached down and began to rub the tiny bundle of nerves, grasping it between his fingers and stroking it like a small erection. That was enough for me. I fell into the abyss of my climax and Haldir soon came after. We lay shaking slightly in each others arms, a sheen of sweat coating our bodies, when the phone rang.

Groaning, I reached across Haldir’s chest for the phone on the nightstand. “Hello?” I croaked.

“Oh Susan! You’re not coming down with something now are you? The wedding is tomorrow!” It was my mother, calling to snap me out of my reverie induced by great sex.

“No Mom. I was asleep until recently. It’s early remember?” I said archly, reminding her I had a life outside the wedding.

“Yes, I remember. Now, get yourself out of bed, lazy bones. We’ve got things to do!” she cheerily chirped.

I sighed into the phone, “I’ll meet you at the planner’s in an hour and a half.”

“An hour,” my mother countered.

“I have to shower Mom, or do you want me to smell like spunk?”

A pause on the other end, “Uh, no. An hour and a half.” The line went dead.

Haldir took the phone from my hand and put it back in the cradle. “So, no leisurely day spent in bed?” he asked teasing me.

“No. But don’t think you’re getting out of it that easily. Alistair has a day planned for you too,” I retorted.

Haldir’s forehead wrinkled as he frowned, “We had that tradition you called a bachelor’s party. What else could he want from me?”

“Ahhh grasshopper, do not ask such questions. All will be answered in time,” I rolled out of bed and tapped his foot, “C’mon. We need a shower.”

“Shower?” Haldir eyed me hopefully as he chased me into the bathroom.

An hour and a half later I was with my Mom and June, going over final plans for the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception. Haldir, I hoped was having a good time with Alistair. I knew Alistair had planned a whole day hiking out on the North Shore, and had hired a guide to show them some new trails. It was his way of acknowledging Haldir’s affinity with the forests. He promised they’d be back by five, so that they could get ready for the rehearsal and the dinner. We’d arranged for a light supper to be served next door at Cardero’s, as it was such a small party consisting of my parents, my brother’s family, June, Alistair, Steve, Haldir and I. My Dad’s friend had to leave shortly after the rehearsal, as he was expected at a dinner party with his wife.

By lunch, I was exhausted, and June and the planner had effectively shut my mother down from trying to push me into an early grave by having me work through lunch. You can only confirm things so many times before you lose your sanity.

Mom went home to get ready for the rehearsal at seven, and June and I spent lunch at the Stanley Park Teahouse in tranquillity. I was so glad June had flown in for the wedding. I missed her when she was home in North Carolina. We gabbed about her burgeoning relationship with Michael, the Australian. Michael had planned to come back to Canada to work for a year and see about immigrating via the Skilled Worker entrance, so June was looking into a similar situation so she could be closer to him. It seemed as though this was serious enough that I could be seeing her wedding in the next year or so. She hoped so and said as much.

After lunch we walked around the West End and relaxed. The rehearsal was informal, so I didn’t worry about getting all dolled up. I just needed a shower from the sweat accumulated from the early heat of summer. June was going to wear a sundress, so I decided to follow suit. We went back to the apartment to pick out my dress. It felt so quiet with Haldir out and Roxy with him. Haldir had decided when Alistair showed up to tell him of his plans that Roxy needed more exercise, and took her with them. Roxy was so excited about a car ride, that I wondered if she thought she’d died and gone to doggie heaven after her day of tromping around the woods of the North Shore.

June and I plugged in a movie to kill time before the guys got back, and I was glad I’d taken off the day before my wedding. I don’t think I’d be sane enough to work, and I really needed the break from the office. Meg was all in a snit about not being in the wedding party, even though she was invited. I told her we would only have two people standing up for us, and June was flying in especially for the event. Meg’s a bit of a sore loser when it comes to things she wants. I stood firm with her, and as such was treated to the cold shoulder for the entire month before the wedding. Which was sort of a relief. Not having her interrupt my work seven times a day was a nice break.

As the credits rolled on our movie, the door opened and Roxy bounded in, followed by Haldir and a very tired looking Alistair. I hugged Alistair and thanked him for showing my family such a good time. He smiled weakly, and grabbed June, saying she simply had to help him convince Steve that velvet wasn’t a good choice for a rehearsal dinner. Once the door was locked behind them, Haldir fell into my arms.

“I missed you,” he said softly.

“Missed you too.”

“I’m glad you don’t have to spend the night away from me. I do not think I could deal without you in my bed,” he said, holding me tighter.

“Well, so m’I. I don’t like that tradition. It’s kinda daft,” I snorted.

It was just after five, so we lay down for an hour before we got ready. The wedding was just a formality for me now. I felt completely married to Haldir, and had since the day we bonded in the forest and the Inn the previous summer. We showered quickly and got dressed for the rehearsal. Roxy was staying at home, but she was pooped out from the hiking, so I fed her and Haldir walked her before we left. We walked over to the hotel gardens and met my family near where we were planning to have the ceremony. It was near a public walkway, but we didn’t really care if there were lookie-loos. The reception was where most people would be, as the ceremony was just for family. We couldn’t fit sixty people into the small garden, so they would watch from the windows of the reception room. After we’d walked through the ceremony a couple of times, the Judge bowed out and went off to his dinner party. We retired to Cardero’s for our celebratory supper and took up a whole section of the restaurant. There were only eleven of us, but since Cardero’s is not a big place to begin with, it made the place seem even smaller. June kept sending me meaningful looks as this was the same place that June and Michael had met up again at, mostly due to my interference.

After dinner, we broke up, and Haldir took me out of the restaurant before my mother could try and insist on my spending the night apart from my fiancé. We walked home and hit the pit as soon as we could. Haldir was tired from being around Alistair, as he says the boy wears him right out. I was tired from all the wedding stuff. I just wanted the day to be over and done with, so we could get on with our lives.

The next day, we spent making love until noon, and then we took Roxy out for a leisurely walk, before I was commandeered for the balance of the day. June showed up at four to take me to the hairstylist and get my makeup done. Our dresses were going to be at the hotel, with the wedding planner. I had made sure to eat properly so I wouldn’t do something silly like faint. June was in the chair next to mine, as we had our hair set. We joked about my Mom and the wedding planner. They were a pair made in wedding hell. I was the only girl in my family and my Mom felt I should have the princess wedding, which the planner loved, until I put my foot down and insisted on low-key and elegant. As a concession, I allowed for a string quartet playing during the ceremony and part of the reception. I didn’t want dancing, and I wanted to keep the vows short and sweet. June was with me on that one. Some of the stuff we’d come across in our research was incredible. It made me feel like women were set back a century from some of the stuff we’d read. I obey no one. Dumb promise in the first place.

At seven on the dot, my Dad escorted me to the Judge and Haldir. My Mom kept dabbing at her eyes as we said our vows in the garden. Several people stopped to watch. All I could concentrate on was Haldir. He looked at me the whole time with such an amazing amount of love. It would’ve been embarrassing if I didn’t feel the exact same way. After the ceremony we entered the small ballroom off the garden to applause. We’d taken the wedding photos a week before, so all we had to do was get seated, and the balance of the evening could begin.

The reception was a simple affair too. Lamb was served, with a vegetarian option for those who didn’t partake of meat. Dessert was a crème brulee. A couple of toasts and a speech later, and then it was time for me to toss the bouquet and for Haldir to toss the garter. We were showered with rose petals as we left the reception, and raced off in a chauffeured Rolls Royce. Dad had sprung for a night at the Opus hotel, before we flew out for our honeymoon in Hawaii.

As soon as we got into our suite at the hotel, we practically fell upon each other in a ravenous hunger. We made love on the couch, the bed, in the shower and in an easy chair by the window. It was like we hadn’t touched each other in years, everything was so electric. I laughed as Haldir told me I’d be the death of him. I told him that’d be a first, for a guy who had seen more battles and hard times than I could imagine.

We fell asleep in each others arms under the soft hotel sheets. Happy and exhausted. Looking forward to the rest of our lives.