Rained Out and Other Texas Holiday Disasters by M. R. Dimond

Author:M. R. Dimond
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781956204148
Publisher: M. R. Dimond

CHAPTER 4

SATURDAY AFTERNOON: THE HONOR OF YOUR PRESENCE

The shoulder-to-shoulder shopping crowd stood motionless, still in shock. The pastor-auctioneer started to offer a prayer of thanksgiving for our deliverance, but it dwindled to “thank you, thank you, thank you.” The women on horseback lowered their shotguns, which I hadn’t noticed before. We’d had even more protection than I thought.

When recovery started to set in, parents hugged their children and sobbed along with them, even the rough, tough, pumpkin brigade. Friends clustered together in group hugs, even Chantal and Darryl.

Ellen pulled Anna into her arms and declared, “I want to get married right now. We could die any minute, and I don’t want to die before declaring publicly, legally, and every other way possible that I love you and commit all of myself and my life to you.”

Anna, tears coursing down her cheeks, hugged her back. “Me too. But how?”

Chantal ascended into problem-solver mode, the best thing to get her back to normal. “We can do that. The sticking point, legally, is the license.”

“We have a license,” said Ellen. “We got it last month, but her parents…”

“…threw a fit, and we couldn’t decide what to do,” finished Anna.

“Anna wanted a big wedding, and I wanted her to have it, but without parents, a venue, and an officiant, we didn’t know where to start,” said Ellen.

I don’t usually volunteer legal advice, but I was rattled too. “You’ve still got time to plan. The license is good for eighty-nine days.”

Chantal clapped her hands. “We got this then. Parents? Who needs them? You have enough witnesses. Bridal party too. Venue? Right over there in the park next door in the gazebo. Officiant? Johnny’s the assistant justice of the peace.”

Johnny had returned with a handful of leashes and was clipping them onto the dogs who were not Cupcake. He looked up in alarm from Ragnar the German Shepherd, finally still enough for a quick exam, while his person, a slender man a few years older than me knelt by Ragnar’s head and petted him. “I handle dead bodies. Not weddings. They’re completely different things.”

Chantal plowed on. “Well, JD then. He got himself declared a minister by one of those online churches of universal whatever, and he’s married a bunch of our friends, gay people, unchurched people, whatever. He sounds all solemn and official in his courtroom voice. You up for this, JD? Your certification still good?”

“Well, I—”

“Okay then. I’ve got a robe from when I was in the Pride choir last summer. You can wear that so you’ll look like you belong in a pulpit. The brides have their outfits.”

The wedding couple and every other nearby woman put their heads together in a flurry of planning. I stepped away to avoid being assigned any more responsibility than I already had, just by opening my mouth once. After a few minutes, Chantal grabbed the bullhorn from the auctioneer and announced, “We’re having a wedding. Everybody go get what you need and be back here in half an hour.

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