One Hundred Thirty-Two
The Bear had been out with the guys till about 11:30, folding paper airplanes for the reception. As a rice-bubble-alternative. We slept in later than usual.
“How’s the shower?” The Bear called in to Puck.
“Ah! Dad! You startled me! I like the soap! I think it’s going to wash my hair beautiful!”
That was the idea anyway.
The Hermitage.
We had a modest assembly gathered from St. Louis, including Grandma Combs, Dad, Mom, and Carrie, just driven in. And of course Relevance, Kitts, and baby would have to take it all in through pictures. So while the boys got their photos, Puck and I walked around the grounds for about two hours, examining the fields and cabins…
“Where’s the aquarium where they’re getting married?” he continued to ask me.
Never really figured out what that one meant. But he did find a special “secret creek” behind one of those cabins near the woods which he thought was pretty awesome.
And then they were pinning on corsages. Puck got a flower, too. Even I got a rose. My very first corsage, actually.
The white-bearded man found me before the ceremony, which he was officiating…
“Well, I was going to wear these nice wood cufflinks my wife gave me,” he said, “but they broke. They were made out of wood from a seat at the old Busch Stadium.”
Yup. I knew I liked that guy.
So it was probably the fastest ceremony I had ever seen, on the back porch of the 1940’s cabin, and white lights of mini lanterns. I’d guess about ten minutes. Maybe fifteen. Joe and Magnus watching from their three-man line. Because we were sitting in the front row, I walked Puck through the ceremony carefully so he would sit extra still, I hoped…
“Now, watch Curly’s about to come out, and then Joe and Magnus, and…”
“What!” he whispered loudly. “They’re not all marrying her!”
Joe holding the ring. Curly wiping tears as Lulu walked up in white lace and baby’s breath in her hair. Lulu’s brother crying. Gloria snagged some tissues. And that was that.
A buffet featuring little chicken-stuffed croissants, tomato mozzarella bites, cheese, crackers, olives, croutons, sparkling orange water and spicy ginger ale, chocolate cake, key lime pie, tables draped in quilts and wild flowers. Music on records. The white-bearded man updating me on the game in St. Louis. Then Puck found a little friend with red hair and pigtails. I followed them and the little girl’s mom into the back field where they explored the cabins…
“I’m Kristyn,” she smiled.
“You from near here?” I asked.
“Well, yes. We’re originally from Ireland, actually.”
“Oh… You’re the Gettys.”
As in Keith and Kristyn Getty who wrote those famous songs like “In Christ Alone” and “Hear the Call of the Kingdom”. Her little girl with red pigtails and Puck ran around together for awhile, exploring life, practically hand in hand…
“And that’s how it starts,” Kristyn said. “Years from now another wedding and it’ll all have started running around at Andrew Jackson’s home.”
Yeah, I guess that’s how things can happen…
“Did they exchange phone numbers yet?” Grandma Combs asked, laughing.
Grandma Combs, who had already been bogeying with the white-bearded man’s wife after the ceremony.
So it was getting “late”. Curly and Lulu said their goodbyes, ran out slapped with the bon voyage of mini green, blue, and purple paper airplanes, and literally walked off into the sunset, to Italy, France, and Spain. I guess it really was one of the better weddings I’d been to, thinking about it. Sometimes things kind of click like that – green lawn, late gold sun, the right music, the right food, the right people.
While Puck and the little girl with red pigtails collected airplanes, the groomsmen already had more ideas going…
“Pizza?” Joe asked.
“Ah!” Magnus’ eyes popped. “We have to do that.”
And there was still enough time for my boys to go swimming back at the hotel. Puck walked out of the bathroom buck naked for The Bear to remove the tags from his new Target swim shorts. When they walked back some time later, The Bear told me…
“When we left he said, ‘Bye, pool. See you tomorrow.’”
Life is interesting.