The morning after the rehearsal dinner started earlier then usual. By seven AM the house was buzzing with people, more people then usual, more people then I knew could actually FIT in our house. Clare and I tried in vain to sleep later then seven but it was impossible. If it wasn't a doorbell that woke us up it was a shout of "where's my tie?" or "where's my jacket? I thought you picked it up from the dry cleaners yesterday!" A door slammed, I guess someone had forgotten to pick it up at the dry cleaners.
"Clare, are you awake?" I turned on my side facing my wife.
"Who isn't?" She said. We both laughed.
I put my arm around her stomach and leaned my head on her, "I don't wanna get up, Mommy!" I whined. "Make them stop yelling." Clare giggled. "Mommy pwease?"
"Where's the coffee?" Someone bellowed.
"In the kitchen," I said to my wife. She chuckled.
"Where's Dad?" Another shout.
"He forgot to pick up the dry cleaning," I said into my wife's chest.
"WHERE'S THE LOVE!?!?" Zac shouted.
I picked my head up off my wife. "OK, that's it." I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a few minutes. Clare moved over to me and put her hands on my bare shoulders, massaging them gently. "Ah," I moaned. "That's nice."
She stopped massaging my shoulders and patted my arm. "We better get ready," she said. "As I've heard there is coffee in the kitchen, your father already left the house, and Zac can't find the love."
I smiled and turned my head towards hers. "I think he'll find it come 11 o'clock this morning."
Clare smiled back, "I think you're right."
I stood up and pulled on a pair of sweatpants from the suitcase that was on the floor. I turned to Clare. "Do you think we should get dressed NOW or wait until it gets closer to the time we have to be there?" I looked at my tuxedo which was hanging up on the closet door next to Clare's dress still in the plastic bag because she didn't want me to see it yet.
She stood up off the bed and picked her robe up off a chair. "I think we'd better wait," she said wrapping the robe around her body. "We'd better get some coffee, find out if we can help, dress the girls, and then get ready ourselves."
"Deal," I concluded tossing a flannel over my torso.
Within minutes we were put to work downstairs, we barely had enough time to drink our coffee before we were kicked out of the kitchen to do other things. I was given the task of calling the limo company to make sure they were coming promptly at 10, and then I was ushered upstairs to get Isaac's boys into their tuxes. Isaac was doing something else and no one could locate him at the moment, no one could locate ANYONE at the moment. I myself ran into Zac only once all morning.
When Clare and I finally reunited it was nine. She had dressed the girls, our own and our niece. Now it was time for ourselves. I could still hear people rushing around downstairs double checking things, triple checking things, remembering things they had forgotten to do before and yelling at themselves for forgetting such an important task.
I grabbed my tux off the closet door and sat on the bed, holding it in my lap, starring at it. "Remember our wedding day?" I asked my wife. I didn't turn around because she didn't want me to see her dress yet, even though I didn't know how we would accomplish that if we were dressing in the same room. I respected her wishes and didn't look.
"How could I forget?" She said. "It was as hectic as this one!"
I stood. "I guess they all are." I quickly pulled on the pants and shirt, leaving the jacket on it's hanger so it would not get wrinkled just yet. I picked my tie up off the bed and walked to the mirror that was inside the closet door. I put it around my neck and was about to tie it when Clare said, "You can turn now."
I turned towards my wife. I smiled. The dress DID look beautiful on her, everything always did but this was gorgeous. It was a lavender one piece with a half jacket, and Andy was right, it did bring out her already gorgeous features. "You, Mrs. Hanson, are an angel," I said finally, meaning every word of it.
"I just hope these shoes still fit," she commented slipping her feet into the lavender shoes. She half smiled as she took a few steps, "they got tighter, but I can deal."
I walked towards her and took her arm. I kissed her lips gently. "I just won't step on your feet while we're dancing," I said as I pulled away. I put one arm around her waist and with the other hand I grabbed her hand. We waltzed slowly around the room.
"Taylor, let me get your tie," she said stopping the dance. She fixed my collar up around the tie and tied it for me. "Too tight?" She asked.
I shook my head, "perfect."
"Let me get my earrings and then we can go downstairs."
"All right," I nodded. I grabbed my jacket off the closet door and put it on.
"Tay, you're wrinkled," Clare said.
"How!?" I asked alarmed.
"Stand still," she instructed. She smoothed out my jacket at the shoulders. "There we go," she concluded.
"You're wearing the earrings I gave you on our one year anniversary!" I exclaimed when I turned to her.
"They're my favorite ones, didn't you know that?" My wife asked. I gently touched the small diamonds on her ears.
I nodded my head. "I guess I should have known because you wear them on the best occasions." She grinned and nodded quickly. I threaded my arm through hers. "Let's go, Mrs. Hanson. Our chariot awaits."