The Girl from the Ouachita Ch. 10

So here he stood on July 18, on the right center of the gazebo, with Father Joseph standing on a riser that also covered the pipes and electrical for the hot tub that would be added next week. Beside him were Trey, Bob, Carlos, Ed, and Frank.

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata was playing as the bridal party entered one by one, beginning with Diane. Kate was next, followed Sandy, Debora, Sally, and Donna. All were stunningly beautiful, possessed, and moved perfectly with the music. When Donna was aligned on the gazebo, the music ended.

There was silence for at least twenty seconds, and then a very proud Dan appeared, with a vision of loveliness attired in white on his arm. Jo rarely wore makeup, but her bridesmaids had won out tonight. The makeup wasn't overwhelming, but the mascara and glitter eyeliner made her always-striking emerald eyes hopelessly captivating.

Her elegant shoulders were bare, and the satin and lace dress presented her lovely mounds in an enticing but not overtly sexual way. It hugged her chest and tiny waist before flaring over her magnificent butt and ending at her knees. She wore a short veil; her shapely legs were clad in white thigh high stockings, and white sandals with three-inch heels adorned her feet.

Jo's only jewelry consisted of the pair of diamond stud earrings, the ruby necklace, and the white gold anklet Chris had given her.

The nearly two-hundred men and women in attendance, scattered about the lawn to create social distancing, stood as Schubert's Ave Maria was played by the pianist and sung by the choir director. Dan looked as proud as a peacock, but few paid attention to him once they caught sight of the vision in white.

She was nineteen years old, and only nineteen months removed from her rough beginnings, but she controlled the moment. Her eyes locked on her fiancé, her graceful steps precise, a beatific smile on her face, she proceeded down the sidewalk with Dan as if she were a royal princess.

When he had escorted her onto the gazebo and presented her to his son, the priest asked, "Who gives this woman to be married?" A composed voice projected through the speakers from an open computer on the gazebo answered, "I, her mother, do."

Dan turned and took his position as best man.

They had chosen the traditional service, and Father Joseph conducted it with aplomb. When he reached the proper moment, he paused, and told the crowd. "I have to confess; I extorted Miss Kennedy by telling her I would conduct this ceremony only in return for her contribution to the music of the ceremony. I know I sinned, but when you hear her voice, you will know why I'm certain that God will forgive me.

"I present Amy Jo Kennedy."

Jo turned to face the audience, and the open laptop on the table. Though she had tortured herself with fears of what would go wrong, hours of practice with the choir director and pianist had given her the confidence to face the audience and her fears. She held her hand up to deter the pianist, and spoke to the crowd and the laptop.

"I believe most, if not all of you. know the story of our meeting, and of the love that developed and grew from that 'chance' meeting. Mr. and Mrs. Ellison, Mr. and Mrs. Beck, and my wonderful soon-to-be in laws, Debora and Dan Alexander, all believe it wasn't chance that brought us together, but rather that our meeting was ordained.

"The more I come to know my husband, the more certain I am that they are correct. When I raise my voice in praise, please know that my efforts are to exalt He who ordained this moment. I'm not a professional singer -- in fact, I've never sung in front of an audience by myself before. Yet, I want to offer this to Him, in thanks and praise for all he has done for me and given me, and especially for bringing Christian Michael Alexander into my life."

The pianist began playing, and Jo's angelic voice joined impeccably.

Oh Lord, my God

When I, in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art...

Chris had heard Jo sing many times and thought he knew what to expect. Like all the others present, however, he stood in awe of the power and beauty of her voice as she offered her praise and acknowledgement. As she began the final verse, he was almost overcome with love for his matchless bride.

And when Christ shall come with shout of acclamation

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow in humble adoration

And there proclaim

My God, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art...

When she finished, she blew a kiss to her mother, and returned to her position facing Chris. Their guests rose as one and thanked her with applause and cheers, and she saw that Chris had tears in his eyes. She looked at the other men, and at Father Joseph, and saw all had been moved to tears by her effort.

She remained composed, but squeezed Chris' hands and smiled at him. Father Joseph waited for the applause to end, raised his hands to the heavens, smiled, and asked "Surely I am forgiven, Father!"

He turned then to Jo and said, "I thank you, everyone here thanks you, and I'm sure the heavens above thank you. That was simply incredible!

"And now, let us begin your solemn vows of matrimony. Christian Michael, repeat after me..."

"Amy Jo, repeat after me..."

"By the powers vested in me by the Episcopal Church and the State of Texas, I pronounce you man and wife. Christian, you may kiss your bride!"

****

Epilogue

The reception line was socially distanced, so they spoke to and thanked each guest from six feet away. It greatly reduced the intimacy, but on the other hand, none of the lechers who so wanted to kiss the bride got to. Chris knew it was tradition, but he was the jealous type who felt his wife's kisses ALL belonged to him.

Pancho had another secret -- he owned a food trailer. He had traded a couple of his south Texas friends his work on their restaurant for the food trailer they no longer needed, and had used it to feed his crews when they were working out in the distant reaches of the sparsely settled Frontera county. He was a pretty good cook, but the 'hands' who signed on with him to cater the reception dinner had wives who were much better, so the beans, potato salad, Cole slaw, and apple cobbler were their creations.

Pancho did smoke the brisket, using Chris' secret sauce and his pit, and it was fork tender; he happily accepted praise and thanks.

Guests moved their chairs from the gazebo area to the tables scattered about under strings of party lights, and stood in line to be served before taking their plates back to the tables.

The warden who permitted Jo's mom to participate in the wedding allowed her to remain on the laptop in the prison library for the reception. In her mind, Josephine (Josie) Parker was a model of how rehabilitation should work, and she fully intended to support her in every way she could, while documenting everything she could use to push for more funding and more slots for the model program for which Josie had been chosen.

When her daughter and the wedding party at the head table ate, Josie was served a meal from the prison cafeteria.

The story of Jo and her cowboy had been shared by her daughter on a visit, and so she cried with the rest as they sang their song, and then had their first dance as a married couple while Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke sang their song via Apple Music.

When Chris asked her to dance while his dad was dancing with the bride, she accepted, and they carried the laptops with them as they swayed to the music.

Debora held the laptop while Chris and Jo ran through a rain of confetti to his decorated pickup, and escaped down the lane with cans jangling. She pledged to visit Josie, encouraged her to stay the course, thanked her for raising such as wonderful young woman, and promised they would take good care of her little girl until she was released.

Both mothers cried, but only one sobbed with heartfelt sorrow, knowing it was in spite of rather than because of her that her daughter was such a wonderful young woman. When she closed the laptop, she laid her head on it and made another pledge to herself and her God that she WOULD stay the course, and be the kind of grandmother Jo would be proud to share her children with.

The honeymoon was... exactly what you would expect of the two healthy and highly sexed young people. It exceeded Jo's expectations in every way, and Chris admitted he would rather be here with her than in Bora Bora or any other exotic locale.

The ring on her finger proved to be the key to tapping the molten lava within, and she reached new heights of ecstasy, bringing Chris with her. There were untouched surfaces when they left, but only a few.

When they returned, they opened the myriad presents and wrote thank you notes for each. They finally reached the final gift; a small, flat, rectangular box addressed to Christian Michael Alexander. He made a puzzled face, wondering why someone would send a wedding gift to him alone.

Jo also appeared puzzled, although he saw a hint of a smile playing around her mouth. She got up and stood behind him while he opened the box, and then stared at the contents: an empty birth control case marked June 10-July 9, with a No Refills label.

Incredulous, he pivoted on his seat and stood up. "Jo, does that mean what...?"

"It means exactly what you think! Being as how you're so slow and cautious about making decisions, I made the decision for you -- for us!

"I'll be taking classes from home for the foreseeable future anyway, you have an eight-to-five job in the office now, and I don't want you to get too old to get up at night to care for our babies, so..." He scooped her up, carried her upstairs, and proceeded to give it his best try!

Debora's Christmas Eve gift that December was a skimpy tee shirt with World's Hottest Grandma printed on the front. That stopped the show.

****

I appreciate those who stuck with me through this one. TMI for some, maybe not enough for others, but I hope those who read all ten chapters came to enjoy the development and growth of the characters and the adventures they shared to reach this point in their lives.

I have a few shorter stories clamoring to be told, including a tale or two about a loving wife. Additionally, the paranoia in west Texas is at a new high, folks have been wondering how Silas and Lilly are doing in 1880s Austin, and others are curious about Caelan and Barbara Ann in 1980s Port Aransas.

As always, my stories appear in differing categories, so you can follow me or check my profile from time to time if you have interest.

Again, thanks for reading.