The man who had caused all this stress was waiting for me, and I suddenly remembered that I wanted to do this, go through with this ceremony so he and I could be merged, the way marriage ceremonies were supposed to do that subtle magic.
I took a step forward, aware of Mr. Simons holding out his arm and me clinging to his fancy silk jacket sleeve. He looked down and gave me an encouraging smile. Behind me I felt the presence of the four ladies following, each escorted by a handsome groomsman. There were no flower girls. As I’d wished, the wedding was supposed to be simple.
I was unconsciously doing the sedate slow-step march. Had such a pattern once been utilized to give the bride lots of time to question this grandiose decision? Did brides often reach the altar and then cry out “no” just before they ran off into the night? Or was the slowness of the movement only for drama, allowing all those seated in the aisle time to analyze the bride’s dress and hair?
Timothy was smiling broadly, his smile so big, his mouth must be stretched to breaking. When I’d almost reached him, I turned to hand my bouquet of red roses and baby’s breath to Simone, who was indicating that I should pass them to her. Then I turned back to accept Timothy’s outstretched hand. His was warm and only slightly sweaty. Did that mean that he, too, felt intimidated by all this?
“It’s not too late to back out, Penelope, if . . .” he whispered into my ear.
I lifted the fingers of my other hand and placed them over his mouth to stop his words. “I love you, Timothy. No second thoughts.” I was pretty sure that my words were firm and honest. I wanted Timothy, there was no question about that.
Hand and hand, the two of us turned to face the officiant. The man, a complete stranger to me, nodded at us, then gave a kindly smile. Looking into the man’s face, I almost burst out laughing. He was like Santa Claus without the red suit and bag of toys: a whitish beard and hair, blue eyes as clear as the sky on a sunny day, ears the slightest bit flappy, and a rotund belly only partially covered by a yellow three piece silk suit. His tie was vibrant in shades of green and yellow. He seemed like a caricature, a buffoon of a marriage officiant, but since Simone had chosen him, I was sure he was authentic.