Vanilla Beaned (22 page)

Sydney grinned and put her hand in Mel's as they left the salon with a wave and walked to the white stretch limo waiting for them outside the hotel.

The driver opened the door for them and tipped his hat as they climbed into the back.

“The gentlemen are waiting for you at the chapel,” he said.

“Oh, wow,” Mel said. She reached across the seat and squeezed Angie's hand in hers. “This is really happening. I'm really going to become Mrs. Joe DeLaura.”

“Yup,” said Angie. Then she burst into more happy tears.

“You're going to ruin your mascara,” Holly said.

“I know but I can't help it,” Angie wailed. “I'm just so ha-ha-hap-py.”

“She doesn't sound happy,” Sydney said.

“Here,” Holly said. “Pull gently on your lower eyelids. It'll make your tears recede back into your eyeballs.”

Angie sniffed but did as she was told. “Oh, hey, that totally worked.”

“I've been to a lot of weddings,” Holly said. “And I cry every time.”

Mel was surprised to find that at that particular moment she didn't feel like crying. Instead, she was ecstatic, giddy even, that her life was rocketing forward with Joe at her side as her husband. She had never felt luckier in her entire life.

The limo stopped in front of the small white chapel. It was adorable with a petite bell tower and circled by a tall white wrought iron fence, covered in yellow climbing roses. The place looked as if it had soaked in all the crazy, giddy, silly happiness from all the couples who had crossed its threshold over the years. Mel stared out the window as the others climbed out, pausing to take it all in.

Tate was standing out front, looking spectacular in a dove gray tux with tails, a snappy patterned waistcoat, and a black bow tie.

“Hey there, handsome,” Angie called out to him. When he looked at her in her spiffy pink dress, he grinned.

“Hey there to you, beautiful,” he said. Then he kissed her—per usual it did not remain chaste for long. “Dang! We need to get hitched quick. I've got wedding fever.”

Tate helped everyone out of the limo and then reached in for Mel. She took his hand and he gently pulled her out.

“Hey, buddy, are you nervous?” he asked.

“No,” she said.

“Good, that's good,” he said. He didn't release her hands but instead took her other hand in his so that they stood facing each other.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. When she met his gaze, he looked a little watery.

“Uh-oh,” Angie said. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Tate's cheek then she took Holly's arm and Sydney's hand and led them to the front door. “Have your moment, you two; we'll wait by the door.”

“You're my best friend,” Tate said. His voice sounded
gruff. He squeezed her hands and Mel squeezed his back and said, “And you're mine.”

“Everything's going to change now, isn't it?” he asked.

“In the best possible way,” she said.

He nodded, sniffed, and then nodded again. “And you're sure?”

“With all of my heart,” she said.

“Good.” He blew out a breath. “I'd have helped you escape if you got cold feet and changed your mind; even though I'm pretty sure Angie would hunt me down and skin me.”

“I appreciate the offer but it's not necessary,” she said. “I just hope . . .”

“What?” Tate asked. He frowned, clearly picking up on her anxiety.

“It's stupid . . . it's just . . . I want to be the perfect wife for Joe,” she said.

Tate smiled and then he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Do not worry. ‘It doesn't matter if the guy is perfect or the girl is perfect, as long as they are perfect for each other.'”

“Oh,
Good Will Hunting
,” Mel identified the movie quote. “You know that's in my top ten.”

“I've been saving it for your special day,” he admitted.

“It was perfect.” She laughed and hugged him close.

“Tate, the groom is getting antsy,” Oz called from the door.

“On my way,” he said.

When Mel joined the others in the vestibule, she could hear music playing in the chapel. Holly handed Sydney a basket of pink rose petals and showed her where to walk. Sydney gave Mel a thumbs-up and disappeared into the chapel, looking very serious as she meticulously scattered the petals while she walked. Oz, looking dapper in his tux, held his arm out to Holly and she took it with a smile. Oz winked at Mel and they, too, disappeared into the church. Mel tried to get a peek at her groom, but Angie blocked her.

“No! He can't see you yet,” she said. “Now wait until I am all the way down the aisle before you follow, clear? Marty, you're on point.”

“Gee, I can't wait to be in your wedding,” Mel said. Angie looked at her and she saw Angie's eyes water up again. “Oh, I'm sorry. I was just teasing.”

Angie waved a handkerchief at her. “It's not that. I'm just so ha-hap-p-py. We're going to be sisters for real now.”

Mel stepped forward and hugged her friend. “You've always been the sister of my heart.”

At this, Angie let loose a sob that shook her tiny frame from top to bottom. Tate ran his hand down her back, trying to soothe her while she mopped up her tears.

“I love you,” Angie said and she hugged Mel hard before she placed her hand on Tate's elbow and turned to walk down the aisle.

“I love you, too,” Mel called after her.

Marty watched them before turning back to face Mel. He looked her over and said, “You look beautiful, Mel.”

“Thanks, Marty.” Mel beamed. She felt beautiful. It was a pretty cool feeling.

“Listen.” Marty paused to clear his throat and he hooked a finger into his tuxedo shirt as if trying to loosen his tie or at least widen it for greater air intake. “I know this is a special moment reserved for dads and daughters, and I know your dad can't be here, and I just want you to know, and it is totally okay if you say no, but I, well, I love you like a daughter, and I would be, er, honored to escort you down the aisle.”

His bald head was a deep shade of red and his faded eyes looked watery. Mel didn't hesitate. She threw herself against Marty's bony chest and said, “Yes, please. It would
make a perfect day even more so if you would give me away.”

At that, Marty howled great big, messy sobs, and Eleanor, the little lady in the cute yellow suit, who organized the weddings at the church, came running with a box of tissue.

Oz appeared in the vestibule, looking alarmed. “Is everything all right? I thought someone was strangling a duck.”

“Do you mind?” Marty snapped. “Me and the bride, here, we're having a moment.”

Oz glanced between them and a slow smile spread across his face. “Sure,” he said. Then he pushed aside the fringe that always hung over his eyes, and he let out a wolf whistle. “I meant to tell you, you're hot stuff, boss.”

“Thank you.” Mel laughed and shooed him back into the chapel. “We'll be right there.”

After Marty had blown his nose several times, and dabbed the tears off his cheeks, he straightened his lapels and crooked his elbow for Mel to take.

Eleanor handed Mel a ribbon-wrapped bouquet of pink roses and lilies of the valley. It was simple and lovely, and breathing in the sweet scent of the flowers helped to ground Mel. In three short steps, she and Marty entered the chapel and Mel glanced up to see Joe standing at the altar.

Her breath caught at the sight of him not just because he looked so very dashing in his tuxedo but because the look in his eyes was one of such total love, she was overcome by it, by him, by the two of them pledging their lives
together. She felt her own eyes well with tears of joy, but she blinked them back.

“Ready?” Marty asked. She nodded and together they began their walk down the aisle, matching their steps as Mel took in the faces of the people in attendance who were all so dear to her—Holly and Sydney at the altar beside Angie, looking as pretty as the bouquet in her hands, Tate and Oz standing beside Joe, with Manny standing as witness in the first pew of the tiny chapel.

When Mel and Marty were halfway down the aisle, the music swelled, and Elvis, the young hot version with the bangs falling over his forehead and in a sharp black suit, stepped out from the curtain behind the altar and he began to croon “Love Me Tender.” Marty lost his footing for a second and he leaned into Mel and said, “This guy is even better than the brochure promised! He's a ringer for the King and that voice!”

Mel met Joe's gaze and he looked as amused as she felt. She glanced down at her flowers to keep from laughing. They had agreed at city hall to let Marty handle the details of the ceremony, including hiring the minister. She might have known it was going to be Elvis. Somehow it seemed pretty perfect.

Marty solemnly kissed Mel's cheek as he handed her off to Joe and he took his spot as witness in the first pew on the bride's side, mirroring Manny.

While Elvis sang, Joe leaned forward and whispered in Mel's ear, “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I can't wait to call you my wife.”

Mel trembled at the words
my wife
just as the thought
of calling Joe
my husband
filled her with a giddy sense of rightness that she had never known existed before.

“My husband,” she whispered back. “I love that, and I love you.”

Joe squeezed her hand as Elvis ended his song and the music faded. Mel turned and handed her bouquet to Angie, who looked like she might weep, but was stoically holding it together while surreptitiously tugging on her lower eyelids. Holly looked weepy, too, but she gave Mel a watery smile before ducking her head.

Mel and Joe joined hands and faced each other. Elvis the minister, who really was a ringer for the deceased famous singer, glanced between them with a warm benevolent smile that lifted up a little higher on one side. Mel wondered if he practiced that in the mirror.

“Dearly beloved,” he began, “we are gathered here today to witness the union of Joseph DeLaura and Melanie Cooper in holy matrimony.”

Eleanor, the petite woman who had been coordinating their event, let out an “Amen!” and Mel felt a giggle start in her middle. She glanced at Joe and noticed he was pressing his lips together as if to keep from laughing.

Elvis continued the traditional ceremony. Mel and Joe exchanged vows, smiling and looking deeply into each other's eyes as they promised to love each other all the days of their life together.

They exchanged the rings that they had bought in a sketchy jewelry store on the Strip. Mel's fingers were shaking as she pushed the white gold band up past Joe's knuckle. When he put the matching diamond band on her finger, he
raised her hand to his lips and kissed the knuckle that would keep the symbol of their promises to each other from slipping off her finger.

It was so romantic, Mel thought she might faint, but she didn't because she didn't want to miss a second of this magical moment in her life.

“And now by the power vested in me by the state of Nevada and the soul of the King, I pronounce you—”

Then all hell broke loose. Three different doors that led into the chapel slammed open and men in flak jackets and face shields and carrying big, lethal-looking guns erupted into the room, surrounding them.

“Everyone freeze!” one of the men shouted.

Mel couldn't have moved if she'd tried.

“Hands in the air!”

As one, they all lifted their hands above their heads.

One of the men put a gun to the back of Elvis's head and shouted, “You, down on the ground.”

“Wait!” Joe cried. As Elvis was crouching, he said, “‘Say man and wife. Say man and wife.'”

“Yeah, I'm kind of busy now,” Elvis snapped.

“
The Princess Bride
,” Oz said.

“Not playing the movie quote game right now,” Tate said out of the corner of his mouth.

Manny stepped forward while reaching into his jacket. One of the officers turned and aimed his gun right at Manny's head.

Holly shrieked and the tension in the room ratcheted even higher.

“Easy,” Manny said. He slowly took his hand from
his coat. “I'm a police detective from Arizona. I'm on your side.”

“Keep them up,” the officer said. He then reached into Manny's jacket and grabbed his ID. He flipped it open and studied it then used his shoulder radio to talk to someone. “We have an out-of-state officer in the chapel. I'll bring him out.”

He pushed Manny toward the door. Manny looked over his shoulder at them and said, “I'll see what I can find out.”

“Todd Sedowski,” the officer with the gun on Elvis said, “you have the right to remain silent . . .”

Another officer cuffed Elvis's hands behind him while he lay on the altar floor on his belly. Mel looked at Joe, who stared back at her in a look that mirrored her complete and total shock.

“Hey, watch the suit, man, these things don't come cheap,” Elvis griped.

“I'm pretty sure you can afford it, given that you've scammed a small fortune off of unsuspecting couples,” the officer said.

“Oh, Todd, what did you do?” Eleanor cried.

“What did
I
do?” he protested as the officer hauled him to his feet. “This was your idea.”

“My idea! Todd, how could you turn on your own mother?” Eleanor squeaked. She looked at the officer beside her. “I swear I had no idea what he was up to.”

“Right,” the officer said and he clamped a hand on her arm and led her out of the chapel. “Let's go have a chat, shall we?”

As Eleanor was led down the aisle, her head spun around not unlike a demon in a horror film and she screamed, “You're a bad, bad boy, Todd!”

Mel felt the hair on the back of her neck rise.

“See? It's her,” Todd said. “She made me do all of this. She's crazy! I didn't do anything wrong, I swear.”

“Yeah,” the arresting officer scoffed. “We have warrants on you for burglary, assault, and my personal favorite, fraud.”

“Fraud?” Joe asked.

“Sorry, sir,” the officer said. “But this”—he paused and waved his hand to encompass the church—“is all bogus. This guy isn't ordained to be a dog walker, never mind a minister.”

“So, we're not married?” Mel asked.

“Nope,” the officer said.

She and Joe exchanged stricken looks.

“I can't believe this! I can't even elope right. Oh, my god, my mother is going to kill me,” Mel said.