2004-09-29 - 10:26 AM

Two weeks ago, roughly, Billy came to visit. He'd decided, rather suavely, to make the wedding part of a week-long vacation, the majority of which was spent in Tucson, with I.
The first night he was here, Harvey had brought back some friends from Pheonix. So Billy slept in the living room with some complete strangers. Which is to say, the next day while I was at class, he stumbled off into my room and crashed on my couch. Then we woke him up for breakfast, and saw the original 1931 Frankenstein. You know. Just because. The rest of the time in Tucson was a fantastic testament to everything vacation can and should be. We watched episodes of Buffy and Firefly for hours, hours on end. Did not even remotely sleep on a regular schedule. 'Specially Billy. I'd ask occasionally if he wanted to go out and do anything, because he'd sort of cabin-fevered last time he was here. But the response, perfect as it was, "But... the SUN's out there."
A couple nights we sat on the porch and talked for hours, and it was fabulous in a "all is well with my universe" kind of way. As our flight date approached, we fell into a mild and quiet state of awe about the whole thing. A Jungle Gym Boy was getting married.
Thursday night was when we left for the wedding, a ride to the airport fell through. Andrew generously loaned us his for the weekend, which we dropped in long-term parking in Pheonix International. About 10 hours later we were sitting in Evansville International, waiting for our ride. Tea was supposed to be there. Tea wasn't there. I called Elena to see what was going on, and throw in a quick disclaimer so I didn't get her heel in my back for being late.
About an hour of speculating later, This blue-clad blur with flaming orange hair shoots past us, way off in the distance. Which sort of meant she was here. I had been on the verge of wigging out right around now. If I missed the rehearsal, I wouldn't know what to do. I'd been to a wedding once at the age of 15. I hadn't paid any attention to the best man. I was what you'd call... lost.
We finally got there, and met half the wedding party.
I MET DAVE'S MOM! She's awesome, you can totally tell after meeting her where he and Lissa get the dorky aspects of their personalities.
Once everyone had showed up, The Rev(tm) started what he affectionately referred to has "rehearsal". I assumed we'd be doing a dry run... I could stand places and learn cues and things. He just ran through the whole thing verbally like he was some sort of sports announcer. Then he left because he had a basketball game to announce or something. Yeah. Turns out I'd totally called that.
We had dinner at this place called Windows. We made stupid jokes about the place catching. I eyed the food warily and made some joke about Windows having a virus. Sooner or later, after the food, most of us wandered out to the deck to watch the sun set over a lake, and smoke a cigarette. "Fresh air,", Elena's dad had called it. You're supposed to call him Sam.
Dave didn't want a Bachelor party. This was fine with me, it would have been my responsibility to organize one, and strippers cost money. But I'd kind of wondered how to properly spend his last night of bachelorhood. I shouldn't have even bothered to ask. We ended up doing the right and good and decent thing. We played Samurai Warriors, and watched episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and smoked a lot. Saw the musical Buffy.
Yeah. We sang along.
The next day was sort of a gradual, then all-at-once affair. Woke up, went and talked to the girls, wandered back, more video games, more smoking, a little bit of napping, then we started trying to put on Tuxedos. Zack, Zack of all people knew how to put on Cufflinks. I was impressed. I should say, grateful. Because I sure as hell didn't.
After dropping off my camera with Clara, I spent about an hour doing the whole "Wedding Pictures" thing with the professional photographer, who wanted me to hold my jacket and turn a couple degrees to the right, and who wanted Dave to stand on the little hill because I was too tall.
The actual ceremony, well, there's no poitn in a playbyplay. You know what one looks like. But there are highlights. The Maid of Honor had told me that she might need to dig nails into my arm in order to keep her balance in some painful-lookin' shoes. She palmed my arm instead, and I thanked the god I wasn't sure existed for small miracles. Walking down, I vaguely remember "Oh god, don't trip, oh god, don't trip, this is high school graduation all over again, Please Clara, for the love of GOD, have the flash off so I don't go blind and fall over," and various other things.
Before the ceremony, they had asked The Rev(TM) not to go into that whole "obey" thing. It would have been a stupid thing to say to Elena, anyway, like saying to me "Do you solemnly swear to go for a jog every morning." Sure, I swear, as long as you won't be checkin' up on that. But what did he say instead? Submit. He used the S word.
At this point, and one other in the ceremony where he told them there was a 50% chance their marriage would fail, I looked at Elena, my friend and the bride of my friend, and I wondered if she was going to suckerpunch him right then and there. Her face had been glowing, positively glowing with an inner joy I'd never seen in her in as long as I'd known her, and her face didn't waver from that smile for even an instant throughout the whole ceremony, even at those two parts. But I'd looked down at those wayward moments, and seen a fist clench.
That's Elena.
Afterwards, instead of rice, there were Bubbles. And then a reception, which we all tried mighty hard to sneak out of for a cigarette. At some point in the Buffet line, I think it was Billy, tried to move Dave along, and Dave said something along the lines of "Gimme a second, I'm helping my wife!" Then he paused, and grinned. "Oh my god, that was so cool!"
Elena's cousin, probably 9 years old, made goofy faces at us throughout dinner. I'd make goofy faces back, she'd squeal and laugh and clap her hands, then when she pulled on the sleeve of an adult to point at me and show what I was doing, I'd go back to eating and not even make eye contact.
I love kids.
Billy and Zack caught the garter, but Billy got to keep it. Elena's friend's mom made the cake, and it was really, really good. At some point, yours truly stood up, clean-shaven and combed hair, in a tuxedo, and spoke publicly.
The toast was a desperate attempt not to fumble, since I started before I thought to take the notes out of my jacket pocket. But it went something along these lines.
The first time I met Elena, the very first thought that entered my head was, "I know the perfect guy for you." Well, the first thought was, "Holy crap, she IS that short." (Cue the laughter, which helps my knees shake a little less). The first time Lissa met Elena, she thought the same thing. It's sort of incredible, everyone who knew them instantly thought they belonged together. When they got together, there wasn't really surprise, so much as everyone going, "Yeah, I was right!", and when they got engaged, we were all glad it hadn't taken them forever to figure it out.
Then a little more that I don't remember because I was nervous as bloody hell, and I made with the glass-raising, and Elena was thrilled I hadn't incriminated her, and I swear I almost made Dave cry, but he'll probably never admit it.
It's true though. Everyone who knew them apart thought they needed to be a couple. Everyone who knows them as a couple sort of recognizes it as a sort of great cosmic truth that they belong together. Not many people got the angle I did during the ceremony, to see the way they were smiling, the way that they looked at eachother, but if anyone was dense enough to miss it before, they would have figured it out from seeing that. Hell, the two getting married were practically the last to know.
So an e-toast, to the happy couple.
D--|
-Alex
Some wedding pictures

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