Life After the Storm a JOVAN story

Chapter 10     The Wedding

Things are terrific at work.  In the past month the firm has landed several new prestigious clients.  The associates in all of the departments are working like crazy and revenues have soared.  Mr. Blazevitch has reduced his hours at the office.  I do miss seeing him every day.  We still talk at least once a week.  He’s one the kindest persons I have ever met.  He took a chance on me and I don’t want to disappoint him. 

Recently I met with my old college professor, Professor Nolan. He finally got to meet John. When he came to Llanview years ago, John didn’t meet him because he was locked in an evidence room with Natalie. Well John made quite an impression on Professor Nolan. The meeting went quite well and Professor Nolan requested an invite to the wedding.  We assured him that we would send one to him. 

John and his team have closed several cases in the last month. They know that it is painstaking work but the new technology available has gone a long way in solving cases now that once seemed unsolvable.  

John and I have made major headway in our wedding plans. We’re getting married at my mother’s church.  That was one concession that we felt that we had to make to appease my family.  Anyway I grew up in that church so it wasn’t a terribly hard choice.  The reception will take place in a small ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel in my hometown.  Where I grew up in Maryland is not that far from DC so it’s not a bother for everything to occur there.  

My mother, Layla and Nora helped me to find my dress.  I chose a white Vera Wang wedding dress. It is beautiful.  John opted for a black tuxedo with tie and cummerbund to match our color of lavender.  Nora is my maid of honor and Layla is the bridesmaid.  Both Layla and Nora agreed to matching dresses in lavender. John chose Michael as his best man and Todd as an usher.  Todd’s inclusion was also a concession.  Although he and John will never be friends, I wanted my friend in my wedding so John conceded.  The flower girl is my cousin Brenda’s little girl and the ring bearer is Brenda’s son.  Uncle Clay and my mother will walk me down the aisle.  Other than Bo Buchanan, Nora, Michael, Marcie and Todd those are the only people from Llanview who will attend our wedding.  The rest of the attendees are my family members and friends, a few people from my office and John’s office, Mr. and Mrs. Blazevitch, and Margie and her husband.  In total we have only one hundred people.

We left our past behind in Llanview and didn’t want to bring it to our new life in DC.  We were both fine with a small wedding.  As long as we were husband and wife at the end of all the hoopla we were fine. The wedding takes place in two weeks.  Everything is done. Food, cake, flowers, music, decorations and that’s all I can think of right now. Although neither of us has been at our jobs that long we did get the time off to take a honeymoon.  We both decided that since we’re only getting married once then we will do it right. We will have two weeks off from work. John says that we’re going on a tour of a few of the major cities in Europe such as Paris, Rome, London, and Venice.  I badgered him to tell me because I needed to know if I had the proper clothing.  He caved in and told me and I am highly excited. John and I have never vacationed together.  This will be exciting.

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The wedding day finally arrived.  Everything went extremely well.  Everyone showed up and everything started on time and the food and entertainment were great.  The ceremony was lovely.  We opted for traditional vows.  The church looked magnificent.  The reception hall was beautiful.  We decided on a DJ so that we could have a wide assortment of music to choose.  He was outstanding. Everyone had a great time. The food was scrumptious and the cake was beautiful and delicious.  Michael and Nora didn’t disappoint with their toasts.  They are a pair of nuts.  Todd was on his best behavior and I appreciated it greatly. He and I talked during the reception.

“Well best friend are you still happy to be with McBain?  If not we can leave now and I will whisk you away from here.”

“Todd I am extremely happy with John.  You don’t have to worry about me.  We’re married now and that is how we will stay.”

“So I guess that I can’t visit you anymore.”

“Todd I don’t think that it would be appropriate for you to stay at my home now but you can always visit and stay at a hotel.  You are always welcome in my home.  You are one of my best friends and that will never change.  I love you Todd Manning and don’t you forget it.”

“I love you Evangeline Mc.. (cough, cough).  I think that I’m going to choke.”

“Todd stop kidding.  You are fine.  I am Evangeline Williamson for work but Evangeline McBain for everything else.  Now come and dance with me.  You’ll be okay and I will call you when I return from my honeymoon. Okay?”

“I will hold you to that Evangeline.  Don’t worry about me.  As long as he keeps you happy then I am fine.  The two of us have had some rough times but look at us.  We survived it all.  You helped me Evangeline when everyone gave up on me. Everyone except my sister Vickie and my daughter Starr.  I will never forget that and I will always love you for it.  Come on let us show them how it’s done.”

They danced and had a great time.  Todd felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see John behind him.

“Todd, may I cut in and dance with my wife?”

“Sure McBain. Just remember what I told you. You hurt her, you disappear forever.”

“Todd behave yourself.  Be good okay.”

“All right Evangeline.  Anything for you. She’s all yours John.”

“Yes she is. Finally. Hello again my wife.”

Hello again my husband.  Is it time to leave”

“Yes it is. We need to change and leave for the airport.  It’s a good thing that we booked a room here.  Did you remember to arrange with your sister to take our things to your apartment.”

“Yes I did. We can go up and change now and check out.  We will move our things to her room that is down the hall from our room.  Can you believe that we made it?  We’re married now.”

“Yes we are. We’re married forever.  Now let’s blow this joint and hit the road.  Europe awaits the McBains.  And I have a surprise for you.”

“What John what surprise do you have for me?”

“I’ll tell you when we’re on the plane.  Come on let’s announce our departure and say good bye to all of our guests.”

We said goodbye to everyone.  Went to the room to change.  Moved our things to Layla’s room and checked out of the hotel.  The limousine dropped off at our terminal at the airport and we checked in and went to our gate. We boarded the plane and took our seats.  It was a seven-hour flight and we slept for a few hours and then watched a movie.  We arrived in London first.  The surprise that John had for me was that we will travel to Ireland to visit the town where John’s grandparents lived.  They are all now deceased but he has cousins who live in the property now.  John’s mother had contacted these relatives to let them know that we would visit.  This was great. We had a marvelous time with them. After that visit we returned to London for a few days and then moved on to the rest of the cities.  Of course, Paris was simply marvelous with all the monuments and museums and restaurants.  Rome and Venice were spectacular as well.  This was a trip to remember.

Before we returned home we stopped and reminisced about our first night together again.  It was everything that I hoped it to be.  Our lovemaking took on a life of its own because this time it was different.  We actually made love. We make love with our bodies and with our hearts in sync.  That made all of the difference in the world and we realized that and vowed never to take each other for granted ever again.

The trip home was fine and we were both glad to return to our apartment.  John and I decided to stay in my apartment until we could find a place to call our own.  We didn’t have to rush to find a place. We were comfortable where we are. We had a few days before we had to return to work so we just stayed around the house and did much of nothing but make love, eat, shower, make love, eat, shower, watch a little television, read a book and make love.  It felt good.

We had to return to work but we were okay with that.  We are together and we can tackle anything together.