My Father's Gift (23 page)

He wanted to protect her from negative speculation and further innuendo; especially after the incident at the prison. 

****

Considering the fact that Cal had spent so much time with her, D’Cerner could have sworn he was falling in love with her.  She was told how long he had stayed at the hospital, refusing to leave, but then she thought, that would fit into his scheme of things with his announcement of their being engaged before he had asked her to marry him.

She thought about all the events that led up this night, the night before she was getting married.  She decided they were both probably overwhelmed with the flurry of activity and probably needed some rest.  She assured herself before falling asleep that tomorrow would be a better day.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Mentally reviewing everything that had been done and those things that still needed doing, catapulted D’Cerner into action on her wedding day. Everything she needed for their two-week honeymoon had already been given to Cal since they were using one of his limousines for the trip to the airport.  Most of her clothes and other personal property had been moved to Cal’s house with instructions left for Chantelle that if she came across anything else she might need to have it moved.  Re-arranging households was a big undertaking.  Don and Kathy were moving into her house so she and Cal would have some adjustment time alone.  Her father had come into town yesterday and was probably on his way to her house now.  The utilities were paid at both houses, mail temporarily on hold at Cal’s house, and newspapers cancelled.  Her mind moved on to the wedding details while she ate her breakfast. 

Fortunately, they did not have a big wedding party.  Angela was her Matron of Honor; Chantelle, Kathy, and Sarah were her bridesmaids.  Robert, Cal’s best friend was also his best man.  Don, Carlos, and Brandon completed the bridal party as ushers.  The only thing left to do now was for D’Cerner to get dressed.  Since she still did not feel one hundred percent recovered, she was glad that Cal had suggested that she wear a suit rather than a traditional gown.  She thought that the suit was much more convenient for her to get into instead of a long traditional gown.  Besides that, she couldn’t really picture her waltzing down the aisle in a long gown with a train, especially at her age.  The cream colored suit he had chosen was perfect.   So were the wine-colored suits that the bridal party would be wearing.  The color combinations were a terrific complement. 

She picked up the suit to admire it once more.  It was gorgeous!  The three quarter length skirt with matching tailored jacket suited her personality.  For jewelry, she chose a single strand of pearls with matching earrings and a diamond pendant watch to wear.  Matching pumps and purse were on the bed and all she had left to do was to brush her hair into place and put on the exquisite wide-brimmed cream-colored hat that Angela had purchased for her.

After dressing, D’Cerner gave herself the once over in the mirror and waited for her dad to come get her.  While she waited, she thought about what was ahead of her and that after sixteen years of waiting for the right man, the wait had proven worthwhile. Garrett would approve, she thought and would want her to be happy.

“Don’t think for a moment that I’ll ever forget you,” she said to the memory.  “Marriage to another man will never replace what we had.  Deep down, Cal is a good man and we’ll be all right.  I just know it.”

She had not spoken to Cal since last night, but she hoped he was just as excited as she was, although she had a hard time imagining him being excited considering his recent change in behavior.

“Oh well,” she laughed to herself.  “Some people just don’t get excited over emotional events.  I can imagine that all of his excitement is bottled and only exposed on rare occasions.”

D’Cerner thought that perhaps his military training in the Marines was responsible for his reluctant attitude.  She knew that sometimes, men were trained to not show any emotion in the military—real men don’t cry—attitude.  At any rate, she knew that it would get better in time.  Perhaps the strain of waiting and recent events was just as hard on him as it was for her. 

“Fortunately”, she smiled, “neither one of us will have to wait any longer, because today’s the day that we can enjoy each other without fear of succumbing to temptation.”

As she walked out of her room after she heard her father arrive, she looked back and sighed, realizing that nothing was ever going to be the same again—this was the end of a chapter in her life.

When they arrived at Christian Life Center, D’Cerner discovered that Cal had already been there for about ten minutes and was talking to Pastor Thomlinson in the minister’s office.  She couldn’t see through the doors to get a glimpse of the crowd, but the wedding party was in the vestibule waiting for her.  They looked marvelous!  All of the women wore wine-colored velvet suits and the men wore light gray tuxedos with wine-colored cummerbunds, except Cal, who she knew was wearing a wine colored velvet tuxedo with a cream cummerbund.  As she looked at everyone, she had to acknowledge that Cal’s taste was exquisite.  She could tell that Angela was crying, and probably for the umpteenth time, so she walked over to her and hugged her. 

It wasn’t until she hugged Angela that she realized her how dry her mouth was and she was too nervous to really talk to anyone. 

As the music began, she willed her mental meanderings to cease and concentrated on taking her place behind the bridal party.  Walking down the aisle holding onto her father’s arm, she had the strangest sensation, as she looked towards Cal who was waiting for her at the altar, noticeably expressionless.

“It’s not too late,” she thought, “to change my mind.”

She glanced at the audience of well-wishers and friends and though she smiled brightly, she felt a sudden iciness come over that caused her to shiver inwardly.

“Okay
Daddy
.  I know what you said and what you promised.  So why is it that on my wedding day, which should be a very happy occasion, I feel like a sheep headed for slaughter?  There’s something not quite right here.  Show me something, anything, that proves this is really what you want me to do!” D’Cerner prayed anxiously.

The moment she reached Cal, she searched his face for a show of emotion and thought she saw a glimmer of a twinkle in his eyes.  She blinked and thought perhaps the candlelight was playing a trick on her.  But no, there it was.  Though his lips were sternly pressed tightly together, his eyes reflected the glow of the candles and twinkled in response to their light. 

“Okay
Daddy
,” she continued thinking to herself. “I hope there’s more here than meets the eye.”

You will not be disappointed.

“Dearly beloved,” began Pastor Thomlinson.  “We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony in the sight of this company and Almighty God.  Who gives this woman in marriage?”

“I do,” her father responded.

After his response, he kissed her on the cheek and placed her hand in Cal’s.

“If there is anyone here who can show just cause to object to these two being joined in matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace,” Pastor Thomlinson stated.  He paused before going further.

“Now is the time,” D’Cerner thought bleakly, “to get out of this crazy situation,” but she didn’t have the courage to embarrass herself and him in front of their friends.

Not hearing any objections, the pastor continued with the ceremony.

“D’Cerner,” he asked looking at her, “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband and do you promise to love, honor, and cherish him above all else, for richer or poorer in sickness and in health, for better or worse, until you are separated by death?”

“I do,” she replied barely above a whisper.

“And do you Calord,” he asked as he turned to him, “take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, do you promise to love, honor and cherish her above all else, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, until you are separated by death?”

“I do,” Cal responded solemnly.

“May I have the rings please,” the pastor continued.

After Angela and Robert passed the rings to D’Cerner and Cal, they in turn handed them to the pastor who blessed them.  He reminded them that the rings signified the unending circle of love, which was symbolic of Christ’s love for the church and should represent their own unending love.  He handed D’Cerner’s ring to Cal and had him to repeat:  “With this ring I do wed and pledge my unchanging love to you.” Cal slid the ring on her finger.

Then the pastor handed D’Cerner Cal’s ring and had her to repeat the same vow and she slid his ring on his finger. 

After they exchanged rings, they were served communion and instructed to commune each other with a wafer and goblet of wine.  After the communion, they lit candles together and knelt in prayer.  When the pastor finished praying, they stood facing the pastor. 

“In as much as these two people have consented to become one before God and this company, let no one attempt to come between what God has joined together.  By the power vested in me by the state of Michigan and Almighty God, I pronounce you husband and wife.  You may salute your bride,” Pastor Thomlinson finished, smiling at Cal. 

Even though Cal was holding D’Cerner’s hand through most of the ceremony, there was no comfort or warmth emanating from him.  She began to wonder again if she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.  But then, she continued thinking, maybe not. 

D’Cerner turned up her face expectantly thinking that finally, he’ll show some emotion, but no—all she received was a chaste kiss on the lips as his barely grazed hers.

As they turned to walk down the aisle together, her eyes burned as they filled with tears and most people probably thought they were tears of joy, but they were tears of anguish.  Her legs felt as though they had become wooden blocks and she thought she was walking a little funny, but the people on each side of church were cheering them on so they must not have noticed.

“What have I done,” she cried inwardly.  “This is a nightmare.  Surely I’m going to wake up soon. 
Daddy
, what an awful trick you’ve played on me.  I thought you loved me.”

I do love you and it will be all right.

As they stood side by side to receive their guests for the reception, D’Cerner determined within herself to making the best of the situation. She couldn’t stand the thought of allowing others to see how miserable she felt, even though she heard the reassuring voice of God.

No sooner than they were seated at the table of honor and one toast was made, Cal motioned to those serving that they wanted to cut the cake now since they had to leave immediately.

“We thank you for sharing this day with us and we want you to enjoy yourselves,” he said smiling, “but we really need to go and I’m sure you understand.”

While there was some good humored chuckling among the crowd as they picked up his meaning, D’Cerner was not amused.  They moved to the table where the cake stood, seemingly mocking them and posed for the photographer while they cut the cake. 

Cal sensing her tenseness, leaned closer to her and whispered, “smile please, people are watching.”

So, she pulled a smile from deep within, but her heart wasn’t in it.  Finally, after cutting the cake and leaving final instructions about the gifts, they left the reception.

Their luggage was already in the limousine that was waiting for them.  As the driver held open the door for them, D’Cerner felt like she had just embarked upon a trip to the twilight zone.  There was no intimacy during the ride.  They didn’t even talk.  They were each too full of their own thoughts.

Cal thought he had barely made it out of the church in time.  He agonized over the fact he wanted D’Cerner so badly that all he could think about was getting her to the hotel and ending his agony and hopefully make up for his apparent insensitivity.  He carefully guarded his attempt to glance at her and noticed her tears.  He sighed as he sat back in the seat and thought to himself that it would all change soon.

D’Cerner sat in a corner of the limousine with tears streaming down her face, staring out of the window, not daring to look at Cal or even to attempt conversation.  She knew from experience he was not particularly fond of public displays of emotion so she shouldn’t have been surprised.  Yet she was.   And so hurt she didn’t even pay attention to the scenery that flashed by as they drove to the airport and she could only shudder when she thought about what lay ahead of them.

Twenty minutes later, when they arrived at the
Chateau Grand
hotel, the driver again held the door open for them and took their luggage inside the hotel.  As Cal checked them in, D’Cerner looked around the lobby and thought about how beautiful it was and if she hadn’t been so miserable, how much she would have enjoyed it. The lobby’s decor included tiny fountains spraying gentle streams of water into a simulated lily pond that looked as though it should have been in the middle of a forest instead of a hotel lobby. Magnificent forest-green  sofas and matching chairs invited one to rest and linger in luxury.  Glass top tables with marble stands holding them and a circular glass elevator with gold handrails completed the decor.  As they got into the elevator, her stomach bubbled and she actually felt as though she was going to be physically ill.  She rubbed her stomach with one hand and clenched the other hand around her purse tightly, now wishing this day had never happened.

Chapter Twenty-nine

 When Cal noticed D’Cerner rubbing her stomach, he immediately became concerned.  He thought for a moment that she might be suffering after-effects from the surgery.

“Are you all right?” he asked, genuinely concerned.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she replied testily.

When they arrived at their floor, the bellhop unlocked the door and preceded them into the room.  As he placed their luggage in the closet space, Cal reached into for his wallet and withdrew ten dollars.  He also asked him to put the “do not disturb” sign on the doorknob on his way out.  As soon as the bellhop left the room, Cal locked the door and then turned to D’Cerner.