love. God blesses all who love, and God will certainly bless Luke and Becky today as they exchange their vows.”
He turns to me, and I can hear the rustling behind me as people try to get a good view.
“Do you, Rebecca, love Luke?” he says. “Do you pledge yourself to him for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health? Do you put your trust in him now and forever?”
“I do,” I say, unable to stop a tiny tremor in my voice.
“Do you, Luke, love Rebecca? Do you pledge yourself to her for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health? Do you put your trust in her now and forever?”
“Yes,” says Luke firmly. “I do.”
“May God bless Luke and Becky and may they have happiness always.” Michael pauses and looks around the room, as though daring anyone to argue with him, and my fingers tighten around Luke’s. “May they know the joy of a shared understanding, the delight of a growing love, and the warmth of an everlasting friendship. Now let us applaud the happy couple.” He smiles at Luke. “You may kiss the bride.”
As Luke bends to kiss me, Michael determinedly begins to clap. There’s a slightly uncertain pause… then a smattering of people join in, and soon the whole room is applauding.
Gary is murmuring something in Luke’s ear, and he turns to me, looking puzzled.
“What about the ring?”
“Don’t mention the ring,” I say through a fixed smile.
My heart is beating so hard, I can barely breathe. I keep waiting for someone to stand up. For someone to say, “Hang on a minute…”
But no one does. No one says anything.
It’s worked.
I meet Michael’s eye for an instant — then look away before anyone notices. I can’t relax yet. Not quite yet.
The photographer comes forward and I take Luke’s arm firmly in mine, and Erin gives me my bouquet, wiping away her tears as she does so.
“That was such a beautiful ceremony!” she says. “The bit about the warmth of an everlasting friendship really got to me. You know, because that’s all I want.” She clasps my bouquet to her chest. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Well, you know, I’m sure you’ll find it,” I say, and give her a hug. “I know you will.”
“Excuse me, miss?” says the photographer. “If I could just get the bride and groom…”
Erin gives me my flowers and ducks out of the way, and I adopt my most radiant, newlywed expression.
“But, Becky,” Luke says. “Gary says—”
“Take the ring from Gary,” I say without moving my head. “Say you’re really embarrassed that it got left out, and we’ll do it later.”
Some guests have come forward to take photographs, and I rest my head on Luke’s shoulder and smile happily at them.
“Something else is wrong,” Luke is saying. “Michael didn’t proclaim us husband and wife. And don’t we have to sign something?”
“Sssshh!” There’s a bright flash, and we both blink.
“Becky, what’s going on?” He pulls me round to face him. “Are we married?”
“That’s a good shot!” says the photographer. “Stay like that.”
“Are we married?” Luke’s eyes scan my face intently.
“Well… OK,” I say reluctantly. “As it happens, we’re not.”
There’s another blinding flash. When my eyes focus again, Luke’s gazing at me incredulously. “We’re not married?”
“Look, just trust me, OK?”
“Trust you?”
“Yes! Like you just promised to do five seconds ago! Remember?”
“I promised to do that when I thought we were getting married!”
Suddenly the string orchestra launches into the “Bridal March,” and a team of minders usher away the guests with their cameras.
“Go,” says a crackling, disembodied voice. “Start walking.”
Where on earth is it coming from? Are my flowers talking to me?
Suddenly my eyes zoom in on a tiny speaker, attached to a rose-bud. Robyn’s planted a speaker in my bouquet?
“Bride and groom! Walk!”
“OK!” I say to the flowers. “We’re going!”
I grab Luke’s arm tight and begin to walk down the aisle, back through the enchanted forest.
“We’re not married,” Luke is saying disbelievingly. “A whole bloody forest, four hundred people, a big white dress, and we’re not married.”
“Sssh!” I say crossly. “Don’t tell everybody! Look, you promised if things were a bit strange you’d go with it. Well, go with it!”
As we walk along arm in arm, rays of sunlight are piercing the branches of the forest, dappling the floor. Suddenly there’s a whirring noise, and to my astonishment the branches creakily begin to retreat, to reveal rainbows playing on the ceiling. A heavenly chorus breaks into song, and a fluffy cloud descends from the sky, on which a pair of fat pink doves are reposing.
Oh God. I’ve got the giggles. This is too much. Are these the tiny additional details Robyn was talking about?
I look up at Luke, and his mouth is twitching suspiciously too.
“What do you think of the forest?” I say brightly. “It’s cool, isn’t it? They flew the birch trees over from Switzerland especially.”
“Really?” says Luke. “Where did they fly the doves over from?” He peers up at them. “Those are too big to be doves. They must be turkeys.”
“They’re not turkeys!”
“Love turkeys.”
“Luke, shut up,” I mutter, trying desperately not to giggle. “They’re doves.”
We’re passing row after row of smartly dressed guests, all smiling warmly at us except the girls, who are giving me the Manhattan Onceover.
“Who the hell are all these people?” says Luke, surveying the rows of smiling strangers.
“I have no idea.” I shrug. “I thought you might know some of them.”
We reach the back of the room for a final session of photographs, and Luke looks at me quizzically. “Becky, my parents aren’t here. And neither are yours.”
“Er… no. They’re not.”
“No family. No ring. And we’re not married.” He pauses. “Call me crazy — but this isn’t quite how I expected our wedding to be.”
“This isn’t our wedding,” I say, and kiss him for the cameras.
I can’t quite believe we’re getting away with it. No one’s said anything. No one’s questioned a thing. A couple of people have asked to see the ring, and I’ve just flashed them the band of my engagement ring, turned round.
We’ve eaten sushi and caviar. We’ve had an amazing four-course dinner. We’ve drunk toasts. It’s all gone according to plan. We cut the cake with a huge silver sword and everybody cheered, and then the band started to play “The Way You Look Tonight” and Luke led me onto the dance floor and we started dancing. That was one of those moments I’ll keep in my scrapbook forever. A whirl of white and gold and glitter and music, and Luke’s arms around me, and my head giddy from champagne, and the knowledge that this was it, this was the high, and soon it would be over.
And now the party’s in full swing. The band’s playing a jazzy number I don’t recognize, and the dance floor’s
