The first bars of Mendelssohn’s wedding march echoed through the church. Patrik felt his mouth go dry. He looked at Erica standing next to him and fought back tears. He had to draw the line somewhere. He couldn’t very well walk down the aisle sobbing. But he was just so incredibly happy. He squeezed Erica’s hand and got a big smile in return.
He couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked. Or that she was standing next to him. For a second he had a flashback from his first wedding, when he married Karin. But the memory vanished as quickly as it came. As far as he was concerned, this was the first time. This was for real. Everything else had been only a dress rehearsal, a detour, a preparation for the moment when he would get to walk to the altar with Erica, and promise to love her in sickness and in health, for as long as he lived.
Now the doors were opened into the church, and they began walking slowly forward as the organist played and all the smiling faces turned towards them. He looked at Erica again, and his own smile grew even broader. Her dress was cut simply, with small embroidered accents in white on white, and it suited her perfectly. Her hair was done up loosely, with a few locks hanging freely here and there. White flowers were fastened like tiny jewels in her hair, and she wore simple pearl earrings. She was so beautiful. Once again tears welled up in his eyes, but he stubbornly blinked them back. He was determined to get through this without crying, that’s all there was to it.
They saw friends and relatives sitting in the pews. Everyone from the station was there. Even Mellberg had squeezed into a suit and coiled up his hair with a bit more flair. Neither he nor Gosta had brought dates, while Martin, who was Patrik’s best man, had his Pia with him and Annika had her Lennart. Patrik was glad to see all of them there. Together. The day before yesterday he hadn’t thought he’d be able to go through with the ceremony. When he saw Hanna and Lars disappear into the deep, he was overwhelmed by a sorrow and a weariness that were so painful that he couldn’t even imagine celebrating a wedding. But when he came home, Erica put him to bed, and he had slept for twenty-four hours straight. And when Erica told him a bit timidly that they’d been offered a night with dinner at Stora Hotellet and asked whether he felt up to it, he decided that was exactly what he needed. To spend time alone with Erica, have a good meal, sleep next to her, and just talk and talk.
By today he felt more than ready. The blackness, the evil, now seemed far away, banished from a place like this. From a day like this.
They reached the altar rails and the ceremony began. Pastor Harald spoke about love as requiring patience and kindness, he spoke about Maja and about how Patrik and Erica had found each other. He succeeded in finding just the right words to describe both of them and the way they viewed their life together.
Maja heard her name mentioned and decided she didn’t want to sit on her grandpa’s knee anymore; she wanted to be with Mamma and Pappa, who for some strange reason were standing up in front in this unfamiliar house wearing funny clothes. Kristina struggled for a moment to make Maja sit still, but after a nod from Patrik she released her into the aisle and let her crawl forward. Patrik picked her up, and with Maja on his arm he put the wedding ring on Erica’s finger. When they finally kissed each other for the first time as husband and wife, Maja pressed her face against theirs with a laugh, enchanted by this amusing game. At that moment Patrik felt like the richest man in the world. The tears came again, and this time he couldn’t stop them. He pretended to cuddle Maja so he could discreetly wipe off the tears on her clothes, but he quickly realized that he wasn’t fooling anyone. And what did it matter anyway? When Maja was born he had cried without restraint, so he ought to be able to allow himself a few tears on his wedding day as well.
Martin held Maja as Patrik and Erica slowly walked out of the church. After waiting in a side room for everyone to pass by, they went out on the church steps and were showered with rice, while the cameras clicked and flashed. The tears came again. Patrik let them flow.
Erica rested her feet for a bit, wiggling her toes now that they had been mercifully freed from the white high- heeled shoes. Darn it, how her feet hurt. But she felt incredibly pleased with the day. The wedding had been wonderful. The dinner at the hotel had been superb, and there had been plenty of solemn speeches. What had moved her most was the speech that Anna made. Her sister had to pause several times because her voice broke and the tears fell. She had talked about how much she loved her sister, and she wove the serious bits of her speech together with funny anecdotes from their childhood. Then she had touched on the difficult time just past, and concluded by saying that Erica had always been both sister and mother to her, but now she had also become her best friend. Those words had warmed Erica’s heart, and she had to wipe her eyes with the serviette.
But now the dinner was over and the dancing had been going on for a couple of hours. Erica had worried about Kristina’s verdict, considering all the objections she’d had to their wedding plans. But her mother-in-law had surprised her. She had really cut a rug on the dance floor, including with Patrik’s pappa Lars, and now she was drinking liqueur and talking to Bittan, his girlfriend. Erica was baffled.
When her feet had recovered a bit, Erica decided to go out and get some fresh air. Inside the hall the air had grown hot and stuffy from all the dancing and warm bodies, and she longed to feel a cool breeze against her skin. With a grimace she put her shoes back on. Just as she was about to get up she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.
‘And how is my dear wife doing?’
Erica looked up at Patrik and grabbed his hand. He looked happy but dishevelled. His suit no longer fitted properly after a couple of rounds of the jive with Bittan. Erica had noted that her husband wasn’t the best dancer when it came to the jive. But he got points for enthusiasm.
‘I thought I’d go out and get some air, are you coming?’ said Erica, leaning on him, as the pain stabbed through her feet.
‘Whither thou goest, I will go,’ Patrik intoned, and Erica noted with amusement that he was a little tipsy. Good thing they only had to walk up one flight of stairs later on.
They went out on the steps leading down to the flagstone courtyard, and Patrik was just about to open his mouth to say something when Erica shushed him. Something had caught her eye.
She motioned to Patrik to follow her. They moved cautiously towards the people Erica had seen. Nobody could claim that they moved noiselessly. Patrik giggled and was about to stumble over an urn full of flowers, but the man and woman who stood embracing in a dark corner of the garden didn’t seem aware of the noise.
‘Who’s that over there making out?’ Patrik said in a stage whisper.
‘Shh,’ Erica said again, but she too had a hard time not laughing. All the champagne and all the good wine with dinner had gone straight to her head. She crept forward another step. Then she stopped short and turned to Patrik, who abruptly bumped into her. Both of them stifled a giggle.
‘Let’s go back,’ said Erica.
‘Why? Who is it?’ said Patrik, craning his neck to try and see. But the couple was so tightly entwined that it was hard to make out either face.
‘You idiot, it’s Dan. And Anna.’
‘Dan and Anna?’ said Patrik with a sheepish look on his face. ‘I didn’t know they were interested in each other.’
‘Men,’ Erica snorted scornfully. ‘How could you avoid noticing? I knew something was going on even before they did!’
‘Is that okay then? I mean, your sister and your ex?’ said Patrik nervously, swaying a little as they went back inside the hotel.
Erica cast a glance over her shoulder at the couple who seemed oblivious of the rest of the world.
‘Okay?’ Erica laughed. ‘It’s more than okay. It’s fantastic.’
Then she dragged her new husband to the dance floor, kicked off her shoes, and rocked away in a barefoot boogie. Much later that night, Garage played ‘Wonderful Tonight’, the ballad that was always their last song, dedicated to the happy couple. Erica pressed close to Patrik, rested her cheek on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
Patrik’s wedding had been a fun party. Good food, free booze, and Mellberg was sure he had made a good impression on the dance floor. Showed the young bucks a thing or two. Although none of the ladies at the party could hold a candle to Rose-Marie. He had missed her, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask Patrik if it was all right to invite a date on such short notice. But they were seeing each other again this evening.
