AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She fainted dead away and the wedding march trailed off.
Agnes looked at the bandleader. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
He nodded to the band, which struck up the wedding march again, and Maria began her walk down the white cotton runner, her chin up, her long dark hair ruffling in the breeze, and Frankie on her arm, still beaming.
Lisa Livia uncapped a bottle of water and poured it over her mother’s head, ruining her hair and makeup and making Maria smile, and Brenda came to sputtering. Lisa Livia grabbed one arm and hauled her into her seat. Maria and Frankie reached the end of the aisle as a lot of the guests on the bride’s side of the aisle suddenly developed a pressing need to be elsewhere.
Maria gave her maid of honor her flowers, Frankie patted her hand and gave it to Palmer, and then they both turned to Reverend Miller, Maria’s smile fading as she saw him.
Frankie sat down beside Agnes and said, “Damn fine wedding, Agnes.” Then he leaned forward so he could look past her and Lisa Livia to the dripping Brenda and said, “Hello, Brenda. I’m back. Miss me?”
She gazed hack at him with such loathing that both Lisa Livia and Agnes pulled back a little.
“Hello, Frankie,” she snarled. “Maisie’s in the back row if you want a quickie.”
“A marriage is a lifetime bond,” Reverend Miller intoned loudly, gazing sternly at Maria, who stepped back a little. “One that should not be entered into lightly.”
“I saw her,” Frankie said. “She hasn’t held up like you have, baby. What’d you do, kill a virgin and drink her blood, you murderous bitch?”
“They were a hell of a lot easier to find once you left town, you cheating bastard,” Brenda said.
“Shut up,” Lisa Livia hissed. “This is my kid’s wedding.”
“Much soul searching should be done to ascertain that the two souls seeking to be joined forever are indeed soul mates,” Reverend Miller said to Maria, whose shoulders slumped, “coming from the same kind of communities, speaking the same language?—”
“Hey, I was just trying to find a little fuckin’ warmth” Frankie said. “Which I sure as hell wasn’t gettin’ at home.”
“You weren’t gettin’ it at home because you were gettin’ it everyplace else,” Brenda said. “Fuckin’ everyplace else.”
“Shut up,” Lisa Livia whispered savagely, and Agnes smacked Frankie on the arm and nodded toward Maria and Palmer.
“—because those who come from different backgrounds, from different cultures, may never truly find a common ground to bond upon.” Reverend Miller looked sternly at Maria while Palmer continued to look off into the distance for a hangover remedy, having missed the entire speech.
“What the fuck is that minister saying to my little Maria?” Frankie said, startled.
“You let the goddamned minister alone,” Brenda said. “Did he just say my kid wasn’t good enough for Palmer?” Lisa Livia said.
“Oh, for the love of God.” Agnes stood up to face Reverend Miller.
“I don’t know what ‘celebrate’ means in your vocabulary, but in mine, it doesn’t mean making the bride feel like an outsider and everybody else want to kill themselves. You’re done here. Go away.”
“I tried to leave before,” Reverend Miller snapped.
“I know,” Agnes said. “But you were a real putz about it, so I’m not giving you any points for that.” She looked around for Carpenter but saw only Shane, who was standing next to a large black trunk on a dolly. That’s new, Agnes thought. “Carpenter?” she called.
“Right behind you,” he said, and when she turned around, he was there, straightening his tie.
“Saw this coming, did you?”
“Didn’t everybody?”
She leaned closer and whispered, “You swear to me this will be legal?”
“Yes,” he whispered back. “I’m legal everywhere except Utah, North Carolina, and Las Vegas.”
Agnes closed her eyes. “Okay,” she whispered. “The bride and the groom are a little depressed. That hag from hell Brenda has convinced Palmer that Maria is marrying him for his money and convinced Maria that Palmer only wants her because she’s beautiful and that he’ll cheat on her. One of them might even say, ‘I don’t.’“
“Got it covered,” he said, and moved to the front, majestic in his black suit.
