Lauren was trying to reach her. That was the only solution that made sense. Linda decided to check the wedding photo one more time after she finished her nap.
While she lay on the daybed, she reminisced about her wedding. To her it was hard to believe that the seven-year anniversary was coming up. She could picture all of the details in her mind as if it had happened last weekend. Her mother and father insisted on helping to pay.
This even though she made more money than her father and way more than her mother. They held the fancy church and wedding reception in Illinois, which meant that most of Stephen's family had to drive distances of two to three hundred miles. There were not many motels around the small town where Linda had lived, and many of them filled up with people who'd come to see a monster truck rally that same weekend. As a result, her mother and father's house filled up with out-of-town guests. The morning of her wedding, it looked like a flophouse.
Tradition dictated that bridesmaid dresses were ugly and in unbecoming colors such as seafoam green or unappealing shades of teal. Linda wanted her bridesmaids to feel good about serving her at her wedding. She chose strapless, shimmering gowns with gathered bodices in a flattering shade of dusty rose. Since all of her bridesmaids, including her sister, amped up their makeup a few notches for the event, Linda overheard someone snotty say "They all look like a bunch of high-class hookers."
Stephen wore a simple black tux, with only his silver tie differentiating him from his groomsmen. For all the preparation, the sending out of invitations, the flowers, reserving the VFW hall and choosing a cake and a buffet menu for the reception, Linda broke into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as she walked down the aisle, arm-in-arm with her father. What was going on, she wondered? Aren't I supposed to be crying my eyes out? As she met Stephen at the altar and took his hands in hers, the words the priest said boomed in her ear. When he got to the part where he said "If there's anyone here who does not want to see these two young people get married, speak now or forever hold your peace," Linda imagined a scene.
She wondered whether Seth would show up, banging at the back door of the church, the way Benjamin Braddock did in The Graduate, saying "Don't do this! You love me!"
However, no such thing occurred. No one responded when the priest asked for any dissenters and he soon gave the magical command: "You may kiss the bride." Linda had gone traditional all the way and had chosen a veil that partially draped the sides of her face. Stephen, with a look of pure love on his face, and tenderness, reached up to part the veil as he leaned down to give her a kiss. It was a sweet, shy kiss and when he pulled back from her, he was smiling widely and glowing. Linda suddenly understood why so many women cried at wedding ceremonies.