The limo slowed to a stop outside the church on Elmwood Drive and Robbie patted her hand; Luna had been fretting all the way from Novato, from Sarah’s house, wondering where on earth her uncle was; he’d promised her he’d be there to give her away, but the time came when she couldn’t wait any longer, she, Robbie, and the twins had to leave, and Jonah hadn’t shown-up. Luna was deeply disappointed; this was her big day, and, Jonah, Jethro and Jeremiah, her uncles, and, until recently, her only family, were no-shows.
She swallowed her disappointment and willed herself not to cry. This wasn’t the day for tears. Instead smiling as Robbie opened the door and slid out. As she stepped out, a white-gloved hand took hers, and she looked up in surprise into the face of Jonah, in full dress blues, his chest covered in ribbons and medals, and the sleeves of his dress tunic covered in service stripes.
“Uncle Jonah, I thought… where..?” she tried to speak, relief flooding through her.
“Don’t you say nothing, Girl, this is your day, you just smile and be beautiful!” he grinned, and Luna smiled happily, swearing silently she’d have a word some time soon with Robbie and Joey for keeping her in the dark like this. Time for that later, though, she smiled, as she took Jonah’s proffered arm, and walked proudly into the church, where the twins, her bridesmaids, in matching white dresses waited in the Narthex, the inner vestibule, to follow her down the aisle. Joey’s young sister, Caitlin walked ahead of the Bridal Procession, carrying a basket of white roses, and Casey brought up the rear, as Matron of Honor, and holding the long embroidered train, Frank and Caitlin’s gift to her, clear of the ground. When all was ready, the twins finished arranging her veil just-so, and took up position, holding her train as proper Bridesmaids should do. Luna was radiant in a white satin dress embroidered with seed pearls, with a long, sweeping train also embroidered with seed pearls, and held in place with her grandmother’s sapphire tiara. Sarah’s emerald pendant was fastened around her neck, and a modern angular silver filigree bracelet decorated her right wrist, a gift from Robbie and Casey, fulfilling the requirement for ‘something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue’.
Luna walked proudly down the aisle on Jonah’s arm to the strains of ‘The Wedding March’, to stand happily next to Joey, who was already waiting at the rail with Robbie, his best man. Luna glanced around quickly, and smiled to see Kat sitting with Frank on the Bride’s Side, being there for her friend Jodie, Luna’s mother, with her grandmother also sitting there, her family.
The service was traditional, simple, but all Luna could have asked for, ecclesiastic rather than theatrical, her Catholic upbringing evident in her choice of music and the wedding vows themselves, and holding back the happy tears when Jonah gave her away. As she and Joey exited the church, they stopped in surprise at the twin rows of young marines, in full dress blues, with their swords drawn, standing at attention.
“Detail… present… swords!” came the order, and in perfect unison, they presented their swords in an arch for Joey and Luna to walk through. Luna looked at the Detail Commander; it was Jonah, who winked at her, then schooled his face into an impassive mask again. As the pair walked through the arch, the last pair of marines, two sergeants, dropped their swords to bar their way. Luna looked in them in puzzlement, then her face split in a wide, happy smile as Jethro and Jeremiah smiled at her.
“Well don’t just stand there boy,” hissed Jeremiah, “kiss her!”
Joey was happy to comply, as all the family and friends clapped and cheered. The swords were lifted, and Joey and Luna walked through, while behind them the marine detachment stood at attention. Jonah stepped forward, kissed Luna, and shook Joey’s hand.
“You all go and have a good life, you two earned it!”
As the bridal couple gathered with their friends and family for hugs, kisses, and congratulations, Jonah dismissed the honor guard, grinning as the young men made a bee-line for Moira and Morag, each one hoping to capture one of those fiery-haired beauties before his friends got there first. While Sarah, Kat, Robbie and Casey shuffled and marshalled everyone into place to take photographs, Luna found herself alone with her three uncles.
“I thought you weren’t coming, all of you, I… I…” she stopped, afraid she was going to cry and ruin the makeup that had taken Kat over an hour to get just right.
Jethro leaned down to touch his forehead to hers.
“There was no way in Hell we was gonna miss this, believe me, Lu-Lu! It was kinda touch and go for a while, but Jonah made a special request to his old CO, and he made it happen, so thank Jonah, li’l girl, he got us here for your day!”
Jethro and Jeremiah suddenly stiffened into a brace, and saluted together as an officer approached, a full colonel.
“At ease, gentlemen,” he smiled, “and, on behalf of the United States Marine Corps, may I be the first to congratulate you on your marriage, Mrs. Anderson!”
Luna blushed, looking flustered.
“How did, I mean, Uncle Jonah…” but the colonel came to her rescue.
“Sergeant Hollister was my best Staff Sergeant; he asked for permission to give you away in uniform, and I was pleased to give it; the Corps is a family, Miss Luna, for many of our men it’s the only family they have, and we look after our own. Your uncles have served their country well and gallantly, this was the least we could do for them. Semper Fi!”
Luna smiled dazzlingly, her eyes alight.
“Thank you, Colonel, you made my day truly special; please, I’d be honored if you would join us at the reception at the Hamilton, on O’Farrell Street.”
The colonel smiled and nodded.
“Thank you, Miss Luna, I would indeed be happy to join you; besides, if I’m not there, I might never see my men again!”
He nodded at the tall young marines clustered around Moira and Morag, all vying for their attention, and smiled at Frank’s bemused expression.
“I guess those two young ladies are kin to you, Miss Luna, so I best be reminding my men just whose kin they also are! Until later…”
He returned the salutes from the three brothers, and walked off to rescue Morag and her sister from the mob of eager young marines. The three brothers watched him rescue the twins and escort them back to the family party, then turned back to Luna. Jeremiah was the first to speak.
“As I was about to say, how could we miss your day, baby-girl? You, marryin’ Miss Sarah’s boy? Try stoppin’ us! You got yourself a good man there; everyone thinks so. Miss Sarah’s got every right to be proud of him, so you go and have a happy life with him, Lu-Lu, you deserve it. I know he’ll give you the moon if you ask him for it. Miss Sarah brought him up right. And don’t you worry; we know who his daddy was, and yours, and that don’t matter none to us; the past is past, and that’s all over now. Both of you go and be just as happy as you can be, and that’s an order!”
Luna gaped at them, at Jethro’s nodded agreement, at Jeremiah’s relaxed expression, and the smile on Jonah’s face, then smiled with them, relieved that they’d accepted Joey, and that the bitterness, anger and hate was finally over.
*
The reception was held at the Hamilton Hotel on O’Farrell Street, a present from Robbie and Casey, with a buffet that defied description, courtesy of Elio and Angie, and three bands, to give an unbroken night of dancing and celebration.
Luna eventually decided that she couldn’t dance in her wedding dress, she was too afraid of damaging it, so she disappeared to go change. Joey noticed after a while that she was missing, and Casey pointed him at the room where she was changing. When he slipped into the room, all the lights were off. Only a faint light from under the door gave some feeble light, just enough to navigate the furniture in the room, but he could hear the soft, subtle rustle of cloth.
“Luna…?” he whispered, and grinned when he heard her soft chuckle.
“You don’t need to whisper, husband of mine, there’s no-one here but us! Come over here and help me with this thing!”
Joey could see her outline in the dim light, and reached out as he sensed her nearness in the almost complete darkness, his reaching hands encountering only softly yielding flesh and the stiff points of her nipples. Luna gave a faint gasp, and placed her hands over his, holding his palms against herself as she moved closer. Joey felt her nearness, and knew she was leaning in to kiss him, and so his hands slid down her sides to her naked hips, his fingers gently kneading the firm, pliant softness of her buttocks as he drew her closer.