NEW IMPRESSIONS
Chapter Fourteen
"Okay, okay...I think it's time."
Rose turned her head to the sound of the
voice just as Seth was beginning to stand from his place at the end of the
white table. She saw him smile as he whispered quickly to Caroline and seemed
to check his jacket pocket for something, but he gave Rose no indication of
what that might be. This she had been looking forward to...Seth's toast as best
man. She knew enough about her former professor to expect something both
creative and sincere, and today he seemed more outgoing even than usual. Rose
moved her eyes to Jack, who was sitting next to her. Obviously he had just said
something quite hilarious, because across from him Aunt Helen was laughing
softly, her kind features bent into a smile of happiness that was not weakened
by her age in the least. His short blond hair was ruffling slightly in the
gentle afternoon wind, and she could tell that he wasn't aware of her gaze just
yet. His eyes were contented and sparkling, as his fingers ran idly over his
champagne flute. Rose bit her lip and smiled, still unable to believe that she
was staring at her husband. Oh, how she loved that word. Her eyes traveled to
his left hand, where the shining band of gold was now in place, a partner to
the one she wore.
For a split second, Rose closed her eyes and
sighed, reliving in her mind the way it had felt to slip the ring onto his
finger during the ceremony beside the makeshift altar. She had been surprised
to discover that his hand was shaking slightly, but his eyes had glowed with
love and strength as she made her eternal promise to him. From there, all she
could remember was his warm touch on her waist as the pastor had pronounced
them man and wife, and his lips gently finding hers afterward. As if almost by
magic, Rose felt Jack's hand take hers under the table. She awoke from her
reverie and opened her eyes to find him staring lovingly at her, his eyebrows
raised in amusement.
"Thinking about something?" He
smiled and raised his other hand to her cheek.
She took a breath and only nodded, lost in
the blue of his eyes and the strong curve of his face. From somewhere behind
them she heard the tinkling of a fork hitting a glass. She felt Jack's hand give
hers a reassuring squeeze, and then he motioned for them both to turn. Seth was
standing at the head of the table furthest in front, his chin raised
expectantly. The brilliant sky and magnificent, colorful gardens behind him
served as the perfect backdrop to his speech. The guests shuffled in their
chairs to face him, pushing the emptied china plates away from them to make
room for dessert.
"Hmm." Seth cleared his throat
again, waiting to be sure that he had everyone’s attention. As he took another
glance around the room, he took a minute to reflect on this day. Never having
been a best man before had been a bit of a daunting experience for him. The
ceremony had been the least of his worries. The worst had been calming his good
friend down prior to the service and now this toast. He knew that in his
position as a journalism professor and good friend, Rose and Jack and the
guests were waiting for something special. The little presentation he had
planned surely would please them. At least he hoped so. Seth pulled a small
piece of paper from his pocket and looked to Caroline for one more reassuring
smile before beginning to speak.
"Well, I know we are all happy to be
here today, to celebrate with Rose and Jack." He paused as he watched the
guests smile and murmur happily to themselves. "This really was a wedding
that I certainly never expected to attend. You’ll forgive me, if I explain
things here. You see I have this friend Jack," Seth turned and grinned at
a blushing Jack before continuing. "Anyway, the guy always acted kind of
settled, old for his age. I thought he was satisfied with his art, his teaching
and being a part of other people’s families. We tried to fix him up with one
girl after another, but he never seemed interested in any of them. I pretty much
thought that old Jack was going to remain a confirmed bachelor. Boy, was I
wrong."
Jack raised his eyes to the sky, not knowing
now what else Seth was capable of revealing. He knew though that Seth meant
well and he was just enjoying these moments next to Rose, when they were not
the center of attention.
"He goes and gets himself married and in
the process throws a monkey wrench into the works of my newspaper by falling in
love with my student editor. Thanks a lot, Jack."
Jack squeezed Rose’s hand tightly as the
guests laughed at Seth’s remarks.
"God, I hope he does not embarrass us
too much," he whispered into his bride’s ear. He recalled that morning
when Seth had learned the truth about his relationship with Rose. The look on
Seth’s face that day had been priceless. He only wished that he’d had a picture
of the comical stare of disbelief in his friend’s expression.
Rose smiled back at him, her hands tingling
with the warmth of Jack’s reassuring touch. "I don’t think so. After all,
we pretty much behaved ourselves…most of the time," she added teasingly.
Those idyllic afternoons spent on Rick’s boat last summer had enhanced their
romance and provided them with a privacy they were able to attain nowhere else.
Not even Seth himself had known the place to which they had disappeared.
"I was desperate for one last interview
for the paper at the end of the school year and Jack grudgingly agreed. So I
sent Rose to do the article." Seth turned, unable to resist teasing Rose.
"I only asked you to interview him. I didn’t want you to write his life
story."
Everyone present applauded at Seth’s witty
remark and directed their looks to the flustered couple. Ruth shook her head
knowingly, remembering how horrified she had been when she had imagined the
worst about Rose’s new artist friend. Now she only saw him for what he was. A
kind, gentle, responsible human being, who was now her son-in-law. If she had
picked him herself, she could not have found a more perfect match for her
daughter. Ruth glanced over at her daughter now. With a luminous expression of
love on her face, diamonds sparkling in her lovely green eyes, and her hand
lovingly clasped by Jack, Ruth was sure now that Rose’s future was secure. She
herself had never felt the same sense of serenity and happiness at her wedding
that she saw written on her daughter’s face. It heartened her to see that such
fairy tale love still existed and she wondered if ever in her lifetime she
would experience such a feeling.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a quiet
sniffing next to her. Ruth turned and saw Jack’s Aunt Helen dabbing tears from
her eyes. The kindly woman had kept her composure throughout the ceremony, but
now for some reason these humorous comments had moved her to tears.
"Helen, are you all right?" Ruth
rested her hand on the woman’s arm, trying to comfort her. Helen was a bit
older than herself and Ruth suspected that not only was she remembering Jack as
a boy, but thinking about her deceased sister as well.
Helen bit her lip tightly and nodded her
head. She wiped the moisture from her cheeks and gave Ruth a tentative smile.
Her words confirmed what Ruth had been thinking. "Oh, Ruth, dear. I hope
that wherever she is, my sister Maureen and John can see what is going on here.
They would be so proud of their son. He has her smile." She put her hand
to her mouth and shook her head from side to side, feasting her eyes on her
handsome nephew and his lovely bride. Grateful that they had once more picked
up the threads of their relationship, hopeful that they would continue to be a
part of her life by corresponding and visiting Chippewa Falls from time to
time. She patted Ruth’s hand gently to indicate she was better. With a wistful
expression on her face, she turned her attention back to the best man’s speech.
"Anyway, you didn’t really come here to hear me speak. I know that, as my
wife is poking me to get on with it." He beamed lovingly at Caroline.
"We came here to celebrate a marriage. The union of Rose and Jack. If you
would all now raise your glasses to my special friends that we all love. To the
health and happiness of Rose and Jack."
As the sound of clinking glasses surrounded
them, Rose and Jack stared lovingly into each other’s eyes. This whole morning
had just flown by and soon it would be just the two of them, alone. Jack
surreptitiously pushed back his sleeve and checked the time on his watch. It
was already 1:30 P.M. They had planned for the reception to last until about
three. Their flight for Hawaii left at eight this evening. Only a few more
hours now and he would have Rose all to himself.
Jack suddenly realized the silence in the
room, as if the guests were waiting for something to happen. He looked around
the table where he saw the expectant smiles of their friends and family. They
probably were waiting for him to kiss Rose once again and he would gladly
oblige them. Rose was eyeing him expectantly, as if the same thought was on her
mind as well. He saw her lean into him, closing the distance between their
lips. Just before they made contact, he caught a glimpse in her eyes of the
sultry look, visible only to him. As their mouths melted together, he could
only think of one thing. That surely he must be the luckiest man in the world.
"Before I close," Seth continued,
"I have a little presentation to make. A little remembrance for Rose and
Jack." Seth reached down behind his chair and lifted up a large wrapped
package.
Rose glanced nervously at Jack. "What do
you think it is?" she whispered. She knew Seth’s sense of humor and it
could be anything from a bizarre piece of art to some outrageous object that
made no sense whatsoever and had no practical use.
Jack shook his head, groaning softly.
"Well, I guess we will find out soon."
Seth set the gift on the table and motioned for
Rose and Jack to come and open it. As he stepped close to Seth, Jack could not
help make a few remarks as well. "This is probably some sort of revenge
for stealing his student from right under his nose." There were a few
giggles around the table as Jack with Rose’s help peeled the gift-wrap from the
present.
When it had been revealed to them, they
stared at the gift for a moment and then at each other. Someone at the table
shouted, "Aren’t you going to share this with us?" A few more
good-natured taunts followed and finally Jack turned the gift to his audience.
It was a lavishly framed photograph of the
two of them, taken at Seth and Caroline’s last fall. It appeared that neither
of them had been aware that a picture was being taken. Their arms were around
each other and the look of love on their faces was undeniable. Also in the
frame was the article that Rose had written about Jack that had appeared in the
Berkleyan over a year ago.
Rose traced her fingers over the words of the
clipping, remembering in detail how she had felt when Jack had pulled the pen
from her fingers to make a correction in her notes, of how flabbergasted and
ridiculous she felt when she had been unable to string two words together the
morning Jack called to ask her out. She was only vaguely aware that Jack was
speaking now, thanking everyone for coming, telling Seth how grateful they were
for the gift and acknowledging the efforts that everyone had made in joining
them today.
"And finally, I want to thank Ruth, my
mother-in-law, for having such a beautiful daughter. She has made me feel most
welcome in the family. I am grateful to her for treating me like a son of her
own and thus filling that void in my life." Jack met Ruth’s eyes and
noticed that she too was dabbing away her tears, just as Aunt Helen was.
"And Seth, whose harebrained scheme for
filling his newspaper space gave me the chance to meet and fall in love with
the most beautiful woman I have ever known. What can I say, friend? I went from
wanting to strangle you that afternoon I was waiting for the interview to take
place to enjoying keeping you in the dark when our romance started."
The guests clapped, thinking that Jack was
finished with his remarks. He held up his hand to indicate he had more to say.
"There is one more individual who could not be with us today who deserves
some of the credit for Rose and I being together."
Rose exchanged a glance at her mother. She in
turn gave Rose a worried look. Surely Jack would not be so crass as to include
their estranged father and husband in this glorious celebration. When she
turned again to Jack, she caught a playful expression on his face, giving her
some hope that her father was not the one he was going to speak of.
"My dog, Claude." Jack paused for a
moment as their guests chuckled noisily. "Yes, he and Rose took to each
other right away. And at first, I was afraid she was dating me just to see
Claude. But now I know differently. Anyway, there is still more of the
afternoon to enjoy. Thank you all again for coming."
Jack waited until he was satisfied that
everyone had gone back to their conversations or finishing their food. Then he
slipped his arm around Rose’s waist and drew her close to him. A look of
happiness and desire washed over his face. And in return he was rewarded with
Rose’s brilliant smile. "If I would have stacked my luck on a hand of
poker, I don’t think I would have been so fortunate to find you. I love you,
Rose." He planted a kiss on her forehead and whispered to her at the same
time, "When can we get out of here?" He didn’t need to look to know
that his remark had made Rose blush charmingly. But then, wasn’t that something
that brides were supposed to do?