Page 233 of Everything Under the Sun

“We’re gathered here today…”

THAIS

Atticus and I stood arm-in-arm, facing the reverend—I didn’t even have a bouquet. It was all happening so quickly; there wasn’t time to rehearse or to do the traditional things people used to do before weddings, but neither of us cared about any of that. There would not have even been an official wedding dress if Ona hadn’t stepped in and offered hers when she heard the news an hour after Atticus had asked me to be his wife.

“Oh nonsense!” Ona had said earlier in the evening. “You aren’t getting married in that”—she wrinkled her nose at my casual attire—“I have just the dress for you to wear.” And Ona took me into her tent and she showed me the dress she was going to wear to marry the man she loved.

“I won’t take no for an answer,” Ona had said, holding the dress up against my body.

And I would never have said no. Especially after Ona told me what had happened to the man she loved, and why she never got to wear the dress herself. It was an honor to wear it.

“…these two people come together now to be joined…” Reverend Raymond went on.

ATTICUS & (THAIS)

I settled with the jeans Thais had given me after I had a bath, and a plain gray T-shirt.

“I don’t really have anything nice for you to wear that’d fit—my pants’d be floodin’ your ankles,” Ossie had told me.

“That’s all right,” I had said, standing outside Ossie’s and Edith’s tent after Thais had been whisked away by an excited Ona. “I think what I’m wearing will be just fine; Thais doesn’t care about stuff like that.” I sighed then, and glanced at the woods, my face shadowed by regret. “I don’t care much, either,” I had said, “but I wish I could give her a nice ring at least; I mean I know she wouldn’t care about that, either, but I do care.”

Ossie and Edith looked at one another, and something private passed between them.

Then Edith held out her hand and slid her wedding ring from her finger.

“I don’t need this anymore,” she told me, and placed the ring into the palm of my hand. “Ossie and I have been married forty years; we have each other, and that’s all we need.”

I looked at the ring in my hand, a small white diamond sparkling amid an intricate golden band. I looked up at her, and shook my head, started to give it back, but she wouldn’t let me.

“You’re right,” she said. “That girl needs a ring. And I have one to give. What’s a wedding without the rings?”

“I uh…thank you.” I wanted to say so much more, but I didn’t know how to put it all into words; not like Thais could put things into words.

Ossie took his ring off then and gave it to me.

“And after you’ve been married forty years,” he said, “then maybe you can pass them on to somebody else, too. Or keep them if you’d like.”

“Thank you…both of you.” I shook hands firmly with Ossie, and I hugged Edith like I would my mother.

“…and in these tryin’ times, God knows we all need more unions like this one…” the reverend continued.

As I stood next to Thais, and the reverend performed the ceremony, I thought of my mother and my sisters, wishing they could all be here with me.

“Wait!” someone shouted, and every head in the crowd turned simultaneously toward the voice.

Reverend Raymond grumbled. “Now, I said before I started that I didn’t want anybody interruptin’ with objections.”

“No objection, Reverend,” Ona said as she broke through the crowd, out of breath, and ran up carrying a bouquet of wildflowers wrapped and tied with a yellow ribbon. “The bride’s bouquet!” Her smile was radiant, her face filled with sweat and happiness.

“Thank you, Ona,” Thais said, beaming, and she took the bouquet and then kissed Ona’s cheek. “Thank you so much.”

“Oh, you’re welcome! Can’t be having a wedding without a bouquet.”

After a second of awkward silence, Reverend Raymond cleared his throat and said, “Is that all, darlin’?”

Ona’s face flushed. “Oh! So sorry!” She walked backward to get out of the way, and went to stand next to her grandmother.

Reverend Raymond turned back and said, “Now repeat after me…”

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