“I know. Nolan offered me one, but I turned him down. Silly tradition or not, I want to help pay for my sister’s wedding somehow, and since I haven’t received a bill for your wedding dress, I decided that I would step in here, but only if you want me to. This is still your wedding.”
“But can you afford it? I mean, I can’t imagine spending that much on food… I wouldn’t spend it all, really, I’d give you the remainder, of course, but it’s too much. You have a family to think of—”
Craig interrupted her ramblings. “I’m beginning to understand Nolan’s frustration. He’s trying to provide for you—ok, a bit prematurely perhaps, but you’ve gotten to where everything is a matter of dollars and cents.”
Grace sat up and smiled. “You’re right. I’ll find a caterer tomorrow and have them send you the bill. I’ll keep it affordable but nice. And tell Mel that she’s a pretty lucky woman. She’s got herself a man that is almost as wonderful as mine.”
Feeling somewhat dismissed, Craig grabbed the stacks of egg rolls she’d asked him to store in their freezer and left for home. Knowing Grace as he did, she was still fighting her flesh. She knew that he was right but wasn’t quite ready to own it. In a day or two, the “old Grace” would be in place and no one would remember the day that Grace Buscher threatened to make her husband-to-be eat egg rolls until he learned to despise them.
Chapter Thirty-One
Nolan entered Grace’s home with some amount of trepidation. He’d known Grace was angry with him, and when he saw Craig’s reaction to the story, Nolan realized that she was likely angrier than he’d anticipated. He had no idea what kind of reception he’d receive.
He found Grace sitting at her kitchen table surrounded by price lists and a bowl of beef stew that looked like it’d been sitting there a little too long. All the lists worked on a ‘per head’ value. You could have very simple finger foods set up buffet style or a four course elegant meal. It all depended on how much you wanted to spend per person.
Grace heard Nolan’s entrance but didn’t respond. She was still fighting her frustration and didn’t want to say something she’d regret. Feeling his hands resting on her shoulders, Grace sighed. “I called the doctor. He tripled my dosage and called in a new prescription.”
“That’s good. And how are
we
? You feel like talking, or would tomorrow be better?”
Grace stood, scraped her bowl of stew into the trash, and moved into the living room. “I was furious at you yesterday.”
Sighing, Nolan took her hand. “I didn’t really understand it, but after talking to Craig, Mike, and Traci…”
“Did you tell all of them how you ducked out of a discussion by praying? That was a cheap shot.”
“I honestly wasn’t thinking about avoiding the discussion. I just wanted to kind of diffuse the tension. When I saw it fail, I left. Cowardly of me, I know.”
“Well… I can’t argue there.” Grace softened her words with a slow smile.
Many things were settled that evening. Grace learned a new appreciation for his desire to protect her from anything, even herself, that would cause her pain. Nolan learned that women need to talk, even when it seems irrational to try to communicate. Grace also learned that she’d made assumptions about his interest in the wedding. She’d plowed forward, making decisions without consulting her fiancée on his ideas and preferences.
As he left, Grace was excited to learn that their travel arrangements were made for the honeymoon. “You don’t mind me making our destination a surprise?”
“It’s not like I won’t find out soon enough. Just tell me what to pack, and I’ll be happy to wait until they announce departure times for our flight. I’m having a blast trying to figure it out. It’s kind of like a Christmas present, but you don’t have a box to help you determine what it could be. She winked at him.“Paige says we’ll be headed to some tropical island.”
Shaking his head, Nolan opened the door. “Feel that? Pack for that or a little cooler. I’m not sure of exact temperatures, but I do know it’ll be pretty cold.”
~*~*~*~
Three days later, Grace awoke feeling refreshed for the first time in months. With all preparation for the food being handled by the local catering company, Grace spent leisurely days searching for just the right gifts, shopping for a few new outfits to take on her honeymoon and choosing flower arrangements. Nolan hired a chamber group to play at the reception, and before Grace realized what had happened, she had a marvelous group playing for her wedding. All that remained was for Grace to pack for her trip and to get the house ready to close up for two weeks.
As she folded a new sweater into her suitcase, she heard a tentative knock. Grace eagerly welcomed Verily into the house, chattering all the while about her preparations. Noting that he seemed to be on a “mission,” Grace sat next to him on her couch and listened as he explained his visit.
“Miss Grace, honey, I had to come see you before your weddin’. I’ve watched you grow into a fine woman and nothing pleases me more than to see you married to a good man like Mr. Burke. My Marlee never had much that was really special, but after we were married for about twenty years, I decided to save up enough to buy her something nice for our fiftieth anniversary. She got the cancer about five years too early, so I took what I’d saved and went and bought her the prettiest thing I could find with it. Marlee wore it until the day she died. I wanted you to have it.”
Grace’s eyes filled with tears as Verily handed her a hand carved jeweler’s box. When she lifted the lid, she gasped at the lovely bracelet of hand knotted pearls that lay on a bed of velvet. “They’re exquisite, Verily! Thank you!”
Her beloved neighbor beamed. As he showed her how to operate the unusual clasp on the little string of pearls, Grace remembered the many lessons she’d learned at his side. Verily had been the only one able to convince her to try to ride a bicycle and the first person to come to Grace’s rescue when a large mastiff “attacked” Grace at age five and attempted death by slobber.
“Verily, have I ever told you how much you’ve meant to me all of these years? You taught me the names of all the trees and flowers when I was eight, you listened to me cry when Paige and I had that awful argument in junior high, and you were at the hospital with me while Dad and Craig buried Mom. You’ve been the grandfather that I didn’t really have, and I want to thank you.”
Overcome with emotion, her lifelong friend simply took her hands in his as he struggled to speak. Finally, Verily Wirth chose to pray. Grace sat in a contemplative silence as Verily walked to Nolan’s house to offer similar words of encouragement and support. “Lord, you’ve blessed me in so many ways. I’ll never be able to express my gratitude enough. I can’t believe he picked me.”
~*~*~*~
“And then I’ll ask you if you’ll love, honor, and the rest—you’ll be encouraged to kiss and then…”
Before the minister could continue, Nolan kissed Grace lightly on the nose. “Will that do?”
A titter of laughter rippled through the room as they skipped down the aisle like children at a Maypole. The wedding party left to attend the rehearsal dinner while Grace and Nolan took one last look at the church before the minister locked the doors. “One more day, Grace. I was beginning to fear it would never come.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
February
“Will you, Nolan, promise to honor, cherish, and love Grace as Christ loved the church? Will you be faithful to her in word, deed, and thought for as long as you both shall live?” Nolan’s reply resounded proudly throughout the church.
Turning to Grace, the minister smiled and spoke. “Will you, Grace, promise to love, honor, respect, and submit to Nolan, as our Lord bids us to in His Word? Will you be faithful to him in word, deed, and thought for as long as you both shall live?”
Grace’s “I will” was strong and confident. They exchanged their rings, kissed, and the minister spoke the words that the congregation waited eagerly to hear.
“It is my privilege to be the first to introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Burke.”
Grace startled as the skirl of a lone bagpiper in the corner of the room began to draw the plaintive tones of “Amazing Grace”
from his instrument. Nolan’s grin, combined with Grace’s rosy cheeks, sent a low chuckle throughout the crowd. As the music swelled, tears formed in Grace’s eyes and only willpower held them back. Bagpipes always tugged at Grace’s heart in a way she never quite understood.
The couple meandered their way down the aisle, stopping to hug and accept congratulations from those who sat along the aisle. It was a custom at The Assembly to greet as many people as possible on the way down the aisle to reduce the time and wait in the receiving line. Those already greeted were ushered directly to their seats and encouraged to enjoy a few appetizers while Grace and Nolan greeted everyone else.
After the final posed photographs, Grace and Nolan hurried into the reception hall to begin the festivities. A cheer rose as the couple entered, and Nolan smiled to see Grace’s blush. He’d never realized how much Grace disliked being the center of attention, but her discomfort was obvious to him, even if not to the rest of the room. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as they sat at the head table surrounded by the wedding party.
Aunt Fran stood. “Before everyone starts their pietistic speeches, I want to say something.”
Grace’s heart thudded as she waited for what horrible thing her aunt would say. Nolan’s jaw tensed, but Grace reached for his hand and squeezed it. “It’ll be worse if we protest, just smile,” she warned.
“I didn’t think Grace would ever find someone Craig or my obnoxious brother approved of. I expected to have to leave her my money just to keep her off welfare, but apparently I don’t have to die precipitously.” Fran winked at her niece. “However, I have to say, of all the men she could have picked, I think Nolan is probably the most tolerable. I know he has to love her, why I can’t say, because a man like him could have had someone beautiful, wealthy, sophisticated…”
Her aunt’s unique blessing on their marriage struck a humorous chord in Grace. She pulled Nolan’s ear closer and whispered, “You know, all the things her plain, fat, socially-backward niece isn’t.” Grace’s obvious amusement kept his irritation at bay.
“—so I just want to tell that man that now that he’s married her, he’d better make her happy.” Fran swallowed, and a hint of unexpected emotion deepened her voice. “Or I’ll make sure he wishes he had.”
A round of hesitant applause followed Fran’s unexpected speech. Grace stood, wove her way around the table, and hugged her aunt. “Thank you, Aunt Fran. I love you too,” she whispered. Louder, for the rest of the room to hear, she quipped. “I’ll pay you once I get my hands on his checkbook, ok?”
Despite careful plans to ensure that they didn’t spend their reception on their feet, that idea failed. After twenty or thirty minutes, Nolan led his bride to the dance floor. “I’ve waited so many years to finally dance with my bride at our wedding. Many were more than a little impatient. If I had known the prize at the end of the journey—” Nolan paused and pulled his wife a little closer. “I’d have been even more impatient!”
The room erupted in laughter. Paige sighed in delight as Grace and Nolan waltzed around the room as though they’d been dancing for years. “Isn’t that beautiful? I’ve waited for so many years to see her that happy.”
Nathan started to reply, but Chuck interjected before he could speak. “I’m surprised she didn’t try a diet or something, but for Grace, she looks kind of nice.”
Paige and Nathan’s eyes met, and they stifled a laugh. Nathan leaned over and whispered, “You know, if Grace’s Aunt Fran were just a few decades younger…”
While the reception festivities drew to a close, Nolan and Grace made preparations to leave. Grace’s reaction to the sleek white limo that sat in front of the church was priceless. She was as excited as a teenager at her first prom, while fighting her tendency to balk at the extravagance of something as expensive as a limousine. “It’s beautiful!”
Nolan helped her into the waiting automobile and smiled into the last of the photographer’s incessant camera shots before firmly closing the door and signaling the chauffeur to drive away. “I have never been so thrilled to get away from dear friends in my life!”
Grace whispered her absolute agreement as she leaned back into the comfortable cushions. The couple looked at each other with strange expressions on their faces. “Do you feel it, Grace?”
“Yeah. Weird. Really weird.”
Nolan nodded. “I want to roll the windows down to show we’re not doing anything ‘unseemly.’”
“Well, it’s too cold, so let’s don’t and pretend we did, ok?”
“Are you feeling alright? Tired today?”
“Nope. A little worn out from the last few days and today’s little tensions, but mainly I’m just hungry,” she confessed. Grace hadn’t found time to enjoy any of the food at the reception.
“I thought you would be. I have dinner reservations at Gatekeeper’s Tea Room. Would you like to go now, or would you like to take a drive in the car first?”
“Who knows when I’ll get to ride in such luxury again? Let’s drive and let what is left of my nerves completely settle so I can enjoy the meal.”
Their drive was quiet and lovely. Instead of popping corks of champagne, they stopped at a mini mart to purchase bottled water and candy bars, making their driver scratch his head. What an unusual couple! They drove to Lake Danube and watched the water lap onto the ice rimmed shores from the warmth and comfort of the vehicle.
After their drive, the car delivered them to the front door of The Stafford House. They sat in the Tea Room at dinnertime, feeling very self-conscious about their clothing and the obvious attention they attracted. As much as she hated the attention, Grace loved her gown and was determined to wear it as long as possible.
“I feel like I’m in a glass house.”
“You are. Don’t move right!”
Grace jerked toward him in their little corner settee involuntarily. “What?”
“Gotcha.” Nolan’s playful smile prompted Grace to bop him with her napkin.