Chapter Thirty—Wedding Jitters
June 15th dawned sunny and warm with the high predicted for the upper 70’s. It was a beautiful day for a wedding. Lara and her attendants were ensconced in their suite on the fourth floor while Ken and his brothers had a suite on the third floor. Most of the out-of-town attendees had rooms in the same hotel, where the reception would be.
At 9:00 a.m. the female members of both families met in Lara’s suite to get ready for the ceremony at a local Catholic church near the hotel. But Lara noticed one family member was missing when she scanned the room.
“Grandma, isn’t Lois coming?” Lara asked, leaning to whisper in Martha’s ear.
“I left her a message last night after the rehearsal dinner, so maybe she’s just running late,” Martha said reassuringly. “It’s too bad she ran into bad weather and her flight got in too late to make the dinner.
“I know. I think I’ll give her a call anyway.” Lara stood up and walked into her bedroom. “Lois? It’s Lara, are you coming up?” Lara asked when Lois picked up the phone.
“Good morning, Lara. I’m sorry, I’m running a bit behind that’s all. I didn’t get a lot of sleep getting in as late as I did,” Lois replied apologetically. She hadn’t planned on meeting the other women this morning because she was nervous about the reception she’d get from the others. It would be bad enough at the reception when everyone except Lucy and Martha would be wondering who she was.
“Okay, as long as you’re coming. Everyone is here already and they’re looking forward to meeting you. By the way, I’ve already explained to everyone about our ‘situation’ so no one should be asking awkward questions, in case you’re worried.” Lara hoped to calm any fears Lois may have had.
“Thanks, Lara, I appreciate your kindness. I’ll be up in 15 minutes, room 412, right?” Lois replied, relieved that she wouldn’t have to spend all morning answering uncomfortable questions.
“See you soon!” Lara hung up the phone and returned to the living room to find everyone chatting away. Lara had performed introductions when everyone had first arrived so now her friends and family had broken up into little groups to get to know each other better. When the knock on the door sounded Lara opened it.
“Lois! I’m so glad you’re here. Please, come in.” Again Lara performed the introductions, pointing out Ken’s mother and grandmother as well as her friends, Sally, the Maid of Honor, and Ashley, the Bridesmaid.
“My Lara, you certainly resemble Lois, don’t you?” Mary, Ken’s grandmother observed. “You two could almost be twins!”
“That’s very kind of you, Mary, especially given my age,” Lois replied humbly.
“I saw a picture of Lois when she was my age and you’re right, we could have been twins. I just hope I look as good when I’m her age,” Lara said smiling proudly.
Lois got a cup of coffee and was just stirring in the creamer when Lydia, Ken’s mom stepped up beside her.
“I’m glad you made it, Lois, we were all so disappointed when we heard that your plane was getting in too late to come to the rehearsal dinner,” she said sadly.
“Yeah, just my luck. There was a big thunderstorm over Metropolis that delayed my plane for over three hours! I didn’t get in until after midnight,” Lois said frustratedly. “I wanted to say thank you too, it was very nice of your family to let Ken give Lara that beautiful ring from your grandmother.”
“It was our pleasure! Lara’s such a wonderful girl, so well brought up and polite and she sure loves my Ken, a mother can always tell.”
“I know what you mean, Lydia. The first time I met Ken I knew he was the perfect man for her. You and Charles must be very proud of him.”
“Oh we are, Lois, we are. We have three wonderful boys and their wives are just like daughters to us. We were wondering if Ken would ever find someone, then, out of the blue he met Lara and that was it. By the way, how long are you staying?”
“Through the weekend. I haven’t seen the Kents since Thanksgiving and it’ll be fun to catch up.”
“That’s good, maybe we can get together as well. You know Clark sure is a handsome man, isn’t he?” Lydia said conspiratorially, “I bet his dance card will be full today!” she said with a chuckle.
“I’m sure it will, but they’ll have to get in line if you know what I mean,” Lois said ominously though her smile took some of the threat out of her statement.
“Come on, I want you to meet my mother, she loves the Daily Planet and she’s looking forward to meeting you.”
While Lois and the other family members chatted Sally and Ashley helped Lara into her gown. When Lara reentered the living room all conversation stopped. She wore a long white gown with a pleated waistline and beaded back, her hair was in gentle curls that framed her face and fell to her shoulders.
Martha, Lois, and Lydia stared at the beautiful bride before them with tears in their eyes. Martha walked over to her, followed by Lois and Lydia, and took her hand, kissing her on the cheek.
“You’re so beautiful, Lara. I’m so proud of you!” Martha said, her eyes sparkled as memories of the baby that she held in her arms overwhelmed her.
“Thank you, Grandma, I owe it all to you. You’ve been my role model since I was little. You taught me what it meant to be a good person and a good woman. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Lois and Lydia, who had been hanging back, stepped in to give Lara hugs.
“My Ken is a lucky man to have a woman like you marry him,” Lydia said and she kissed Lara on the cheek.
“I’m the lucky one Lydia. He’s the man I never thought I’d meet and I love him so much!” Lara said as she kissed her new mother-in-law.
Turning to Lois, Lara gave her a fierce hug. “And thank you, Lois. I owe you a lot too.”
“Me? You don’t owe me anything,” Lois said softly her voice choked with emotion. “I abandoned you because I thought I’d be a horrible mother. If anything I owe you an apology. I wish I’d dared to be your mother.”
“You’ve already apologized and I accepted. There’s no need to go over that again. I am glad you’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”
“Lara, honey, the photographer should be here soon,” Martha said, “Do you have your something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue?”
“My engagement ring is my something old and I bought new earrings for today but I don’t have anything borrowed or blue,” Lara said.
Martha handed Lara a handkerchief made from a very familiar blue material. “Here, this is made from the same material as your cape,” Martha whispered in her ear.
Lois reached into her purse and pulled out a beautiful diamond solitaire necklace which she fastened around Lara’s neck. “This is your grandmother’s necklace. She wanted you to wear it as your something old or something borrowed so you’re all set!”
Just then a knock sounded announcing the arrival of the photographer.
**********
Down in suite 312, Ken and his brothers were also getting ready.
Ken was dressed with his tuxedo shirt open halfway, tucked into his tuxedo pants as he walked out of the bedroom. His two brothers, his dad, and grandfather stood around the coffee service, chatting amiably. When there was a knock on the door Ken opened it to find Clark and Jonathan standing there.
“Clark, Jonathan, come in, the guys are here already. There’s coffee and croissants if you want them.” Ken led them over to the gathering.
“Guys?” Ken called out. “You remember Clark and Jonathan Kent, Lara’s dad and grandfather?” After handshakes all around Clark and Jonathan grabbed a cup of coffee and set about mingling.
“Charles, we didn’t have a lot of time to talk last night and I want to congratulate you on having such a wonderful man for a son,” Clark said. “Lara’s an only child, as you know, and I’m probably overprotective of her, but when I met Ken, I knew he loved her as much as she did him and I couldn’t have been happier. I couldn’t have picked a better man to marry my little girl.”
“Thanks, Clark, that’s very kind of you. We all love Lara, she’s a wonderful woman. She’s told us many times it was you and her grandparents who were her role models growing up so you should be proud as well. It’s just too bad that we’re all so spread out, geographically. Maybe this year you and your family can come for Christmas?!” Charles asked hopefully.
“Sounds good, Charles, we’ll certainly try. It looks like my dad and yours are getting along well,” Clark said, nodding to the corner of the room where Jonathan and Michael seemed to be deep in conversation.
“Yeah, they hit it off at dinner last night. It’s nice to see Dad so involved. I think he’s been a bit lonely since he moved to Arizona.”
“If I know my dad, he’ll be on the phone to Michael a lot now that they know each other. I know Lara has been teaching him about internet video calls so they will probably connect that way now,” Clark said.
Over the next hour, the conversations turned to sports teams with everyone extolling the merits of their respective home teams until the photographer arrived. After a few moments to straighten ties and put on jackets he took picture after picture of the wedding party then it was time to head over to the church for the ceremony.
**********
The priest, Father Philip O’Malley, was standing at the front of the church as friends and family of the happy couple streamed into the pews. While most of the younger attendees seated themselves a few of the more traditional women waited for Ken’s brother to escort them to their seats. Last month he’d met Ken and Lara in person for the mandatory counseling session and was very pleased to see the obvious love and affection they had for each other. Over the years he’d counseled a lot of couples and he’d developed a sense of which couples were a good match and which were not. Lara and Ken most certainly fit into the first category, as he’d rarely seen two people so in tune with each other so he had cut the session short, seeing no need to drag it out any longer than necessary.
Now he was waiting for Ken and Dave to enter, the signal that festivities would soon commence. Looking over the bride’s side he saw a thin brunette woman seated next to Lara’s grandparents. This person had to be Lara’s mother who had been unable to make the rehearsal dinner due to bad weather. Looking closer he noticed the obvious resemblance between mother and daughter. Both were strikingly beautiful women, with similar builds. Returning his attention to the crowd he saw that the flow of people had dried up and were waiting expectantly.
When Ken and Dave walked out to stand beside him the excited chatter grew louder in anticipation of the arrival of the bride.
**********
Clark, Lara, and her attendants were waiting in a room off to the right of the vestibule for their cue.
“You about ready, Pumpkin?” Clark asked with a slight catch in his voice.
“Come on, Dad, no crying, you’ll get me started and I don’t want my makeup to run,” she replied, her eyes shining brightly. “I may be getting married but you’ll always be my Daddy you know. I couldn’t have asked for a better man to be my father.”
“I know sweetheart, and I am so very happy for you. Ken’s a wonderful man and I know that he loves you… almost as much as me,” Clark said with a grin.
“Did you talk to Lois about giving me away?” Lara asked, changing the subject.
“Yes, she was surprised but very pleased. You’ve come a long way from that woman who walked into the Daily Planet and chewed out the Editor in Chief!” Clark said with a grin. “I’m so proud of you, Pumpkin.” Just then Clark heard the opening strains of the Wedding March. “It’s time.”
Offering Lara his arm, they followed Ashley and Sally through the door where they picked up their flowers as they exited.
**********
Continued in Chapter Thirty-One
