“I think everyone is here. The church is packed.” Ruth closed the door and turned around.
“How many people did you invite again?” Carla, Helen’s cousin and bridesmaid, opened the door again so she could take a look.
“She invited two hundred.” It had seemed liked two thousand the night they wrote out the envelopes. Ruth’s hand had ached for the rest of the evening.
“Only one hundred fifty said they were coming.” Helen walked over to them when the photographer put down his camera and tried to look out.
One hundred fifty guests was still a huge number. Unless she married a man with a large family, her own wedding would be much smaller. Both her mom and dad came from small families, and she only had one brother.
Helen’s aunt, who’d acted as an unofficial wedding planner for the past year, entered the room. “Okay, everyone, it is time to line up.”
A seasoned pro at wedding proceedings, Ruth took her place in line. Then as they’d been instructed the night before, each bridesmaid crossed the threshold into the historic church and passed by the filled pews. Once Carla, the last of the three bridesmaids, reached the halfway mark of the aisle, Ruth began her own march toward the front, and the doors behind her closed, preventing anyone from seeing the bride. She’d only passed by the first two rows of pews when she spotted someone who shouldn’t be in the church seated alone. Pausing for half a second, she stared at Warren who gave her a smile and small wave. He said he’d meet her at the church. She’d assumed that meant once the ceremony ended not for the ceremony itself.
Glancing away from Warren’s distracting smile, she spotted Will and his brother with the reverend, and her brain went back into play. Keep walking. With her eyes focused on Helen’s soon-to-be husband, she made it to the front and turned as the “Wedding March” began, and the doors opened again.
Two of her other friends had married at Trinity Church the previous summer, and the same reverend had performed those ceremonies. Since she’d heard the entire script before, Ruth let her thoughts wander back to Warren’s unexpected visit. True, it was not unheard of for Warren to stop in if he was in the area. However, she couldn’t recall the last time he’d been in Newport during the winter. His offer to accompany her today had surprised but not shocked her. They’d been friends for a long time, and the Warren she’d come to know was kind and helpful. But that didn’t explain his presence right now.
Warren’s invitation to dinner tomorrow was the thing that bothered her the most. Sure they’d had meals together before. On several occasions they’d eaten lunch on the beach or stopped at Pirate’s Cove for ice cream. None of those outings had taken place on Valentine’s Day, the most romantic day of the year. Should she take that as some kind of sign? He had left his own family’s party on New Year’s Eve to spend time with her last month. Maybe Helen was right about the differences in their social standings not bothering him. Not once had he ever treated her as anything but his equal. And it had been his idea to come with her today. She hadn’t mentioned her lack of a date because she hoped he’d step up.
Ruth looked away from Helen and back at Warren as the couple exchanged vows. Their eyes met, and he smiled at her. For half a second the crowded church disappeared. He became the only other person there. Before she looked away, he winked at her, and her stomach went into its own version of the twist. What is going on? Man, she wanted to know. Before she could contemplate the situation any further, the reverend gave Will and Helen permission to kiss.
With her arm through Mitch’s, she followed the bride and groom down the aisle. “Where’s the fire?”
“What?” Ruth looked away from the back of Helen’s head and at Mitch. She’d locked her eyes on Helen to keep from looking at Warren again.
“If you walk any faster you’ll be jogging down the aisle. What’s the rush? It’s not like anyone is running off.”
The bride and groom were not rushing off to their limo, but she was in a hurry to reach Warren. She wanted to catch him before the photographer started snapping more photos. Once he did, there would be no escape.
“I want to use the ladies’ room before the photographer gets a hold of us again. He was brutal this morning. I didn’t think he’d ever finish.” She didn’t lie. The photographer had taken endless pictures.
They passed by the final row of pews. “His assistant was just as bad. The restrooms are to the left of the front door. If anyone asks where you went, I’ll let them know.”
Thanks to the previous weddings she’d attended there, she didn’t need directions to the ladies’ room. “Thanks. I’ll be quick.”
Mitch released her arm and headed in one direction while Ruth made a beeline back the way she’d come. Guests had started filing out, but she’d not seen Warren exit. Inside she scanned the pews as some of the guests mingled. Unable to see well over all the standing guests, she moved farther inside. When she saw him still seated, she stepped around one of her high school friends with nothing more than a wave.
“Hi, Warren.” She slipped into the pew and sat down. “What are you doing here?”
“I was coming to pick you up anyway, and I didn’t think Helen would mind if I came to the ceremony.”
The tiny bubble of hope in her chest burst. She’d known it was a long shot, but she hoped he’d say something like ‘I came to see you’ or ‘I missed you and couldn’t wait to see you again’.
“You’re right.” She didn’t add that more than likely Helen had not even noticed Warren. When Helen walked down the aisle, she’d only had eyes for Will. And on the off chance she had noticed, Ruth knew Helen wouldn’t mind. In fact, Helen would probably start pressuring her to ask him out again the second she saw her, like she had done after Ruth told her Warren was her date for the reception.
“You look beautiful today.”
She could have said the same thing about him. Warren looked good no matter what he wore. He was fortunate that way. Most people, herself included, had certain colors or styles they should avoid no matter what the fashion magazines said was in style. Not him. In all the years she’d known him, he’d never looked anything but amazing.
“Thanks. I’m glad Helen picked this color and not her original choice. When she planned on a summer wedding, she wanted us all to wear sunflower yellow. That would’ve been only slightly better than the peach gown I wore to my friend Rhonda’s wedding in June.” Ruth doubted anything would ever look worse on her than the peach gown and white sunhat she’d worn to Rhonda’s wedding. And she hoped she never found out.
“One of my cousins got married a few years ago, and her bridesmaids wore peach. I didn’t think it looked bad. The peach tuxedos were horrible.”
She’d seen photographs of men wearing various colored tuxedos including baby blue, peach, and yellow. Whatever fashion expert came up with that idea should never be allowed to design clothes again. Thankfully that trend hadn’t lasted long. “Why would anyone do that?”
“No idea.”
“There you are.” Carla’s voice stopped Ruth from saying anything else. “The photographer is ready to do the group picture with Reverend Ellison. Then he’ll do the rest at the hotel.”