Page 60 of That Thing You Brew
“Me, too. You ready?”
“More than ready.”
In an effort to further ensure the secrecy around the wedding, I’d hired two stretch Escalade limos, one black, one white. The first would collect me, Dad, and Penny’s extended family in one of the outer parking lots behind the mall. The other limo was at a resort in Colorado Springs where my family was staying. Mom and my sisters, along with Penny, Tasha, and their parents, would arrive twenty minutes after the rest of us. I’d also rented large privacy screens for each side of the barn doors to ensure no one with binoculars or a wide lens could see who was climbing out of the vehicles’ jet doors.
Just after eight thirty, our black limo pulled up to the screens at the barn entrance. I was the last person out and hurried inside ahead of Dad, who fell into step behind me. For a small wedding in between other events in the middle of the week, I wasn’t expecting the degree of elegance Brenna had coordinated. Sheer fabric swooped in arcs from the beams above us, chandeliers sparkled, and each table had a floral centerpiece of roses in pink and red tones. Only two tables were fully set, one on each side of the long white carpet that led to the dais where Penny and I would say our vows and exchange rings.
I took my place next to Brenna’s father, Quinn, who was a licensed officiant and knew how to keep a secret. He assured us he’d performed more than a few secret weddings over the last few years. We posed for Claudia who was photographing and recording the ceremony.
“They’re here!” Brenna announced.
Dad waited at the door to escort Mom and Daniella to their seats and then joined me on the dais. “You’re sweating,” he observed, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. “May I?”
“Thanks. I think it’s the hat,” I joked.
“Sure.” He dabbed my forehead and the back of my neck as the music began. Penny had chosen a recording from a string quintet she knew from the Ren Faire.
Edyta was first through the doors, dramatically stopping to pose and raise her arm every few feet and let the petals flutter to the ground. Trailing her, Karina opted for a more traditional petal toss, sprinkling them as she walked. Each wore a circlet of white flowers over their long dark hair, ribbons trailing down their backs. Their white satin dresses featured light blue ribbons that crisscrossed from the neckline to the waist and tied in a bow. The wide, bell-shaped skirts brushed the carpet, and I held my breath, hoping neither would trip.
Karina went to her seat next to Daniella, but Edyta climbed up the steps to the dais and dropped a handful of petals at my feet.
“For good luck!” she explained. “Why are you dressed so funny?”
“Thanks, kiddo. I’ll explain later.” She grinned and hurried to her seat. Tasha was halfway down the aisle, wearing a long-sleeved sheath dress with puffed sleeves in the color of my sisters’ ribbons.
My blue-tone ensemble had been a good choice indeed.
Tasha climbed the steps, her eyes sweeping me from head to toe, smirking as she turned left to take her mark.
Yeah, I looked funny. So what? All that mattered was what Penny thought.
The music paused, and I immediately recognized Penny’s rendition of “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You.” She must have recorded it while I was away.
Everyone stood, and I took the opportunity with their backs to me to rub the water from my eyes. The barn doors slid open, and my bride stepped inside.
It took all my effort not to break down weeping.
Good thing Claudia was taking pictures. I needed all the pictures. In frames, all over my apartment. Durable frames for travel. Prints to tape to my sticks and inside my helmet.
I wanted to tattoo the image of Penny in her wedding dress to the inside of my wrist so I could have her with me and kiss her for good luck before every game.
I forgot about my watery eyes as she neared me. Penny’s long hair cascaded in thick spirals down her back, under a crown of flowers and a sheer veil. The corseted top flared out from her waist to the floor, and her long, lacy sleeves trailed up her arm to satin poofs like a fairytale princess’s.
Her parents met her a few feet from the dais, and each took an arm, guiding her the rest of the way to the steps.
Mine. Gimme.
I didn’t even bother to scold my inner caveman for his uncouth nonsense.
Penny shifted her bouquet to her left hand. Her dad took her right hand in his and brought it to his lips before holding it out to me. In one giant step, I was at the stairs, with her hand in mine, holding it tightly as she climbed the steps.
Not to be outdone, I also kissed the top of her hand. Penny passed her bouquet to Tasha, and I quickly captured her free fingers in mine.Mine.I brought both of our joined hands to my lips and kissed each of her knuckles.Mine.I liked this version ofknuckiesway better than fist-bumping my teammates.
And I kissed her emerald. For good luck, of course. It was back on her right ring finger, just for the ceremony, she explained. That way the wedding band would be the closest ring to her heart when she returned the emerald to the left ring finger.
Penny smiled up at me, and I dropped my forehead to hers. “I love you,” I whispered. “You… You’re stunning.”
She turned her head to whisper in my ear. “I love you, too. And you’re … I don’t know… Handsome doesn’t begin to describe how dashing you look, and there’s a burning in my belly I’ve never felt before.”
