AN ADVENTURE TO REMEMBER AND A MEMORY TO FORGET
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Victoria
My eyes were still closed as I
felt the rush of air as the attendant in the elevator moved past Rose and me to
open the gates. The clanging of the metal gates as they opened made me open my
eyes. He held out his hand and escorted me out of the elevator. He stepped
behind me to fluff out my dress and to make sure the backside of it didn’t get
caught when the doors closed. After helping Rose with her dress, I saw my
father slip a bill into his hands. After the attendant realized it was a tip, I
heard him say thank you, but it was as if I was listening from miles away
though a thick fog. I was about to be sick. I knew it.
Rose sensed my feelings and
squeezed my hand again. "Relax. Everything will be all right."
I let out a deep breath slowly as
I saw a figure dressed in a tuxedo coming towards us. "Harry!"
"Not hardly. He’s in
there." Lightoller pointed to the closed door of the ballroom.
"Moody’s in there with Jack and Lowe keeping them from bolting." He
saw the look of horror in my eyes after he spoke. "Joking. Just joking.
He’s been in there, waiting with Jack, for a bit now." He held out his arm
to Rose. "I see that I am to be your escort today. The pleasure is all
mine." Rose smiled as she looped her arm through his.
I was petrified. I stood still,
my knees unable to bend and the shoes on my feet feeling as if each weighed a
thousand pounds. I leaned against the wall beside the elevator, trying to catch
my breath. My gloved hand found its way to my racing heart.
My father walked over to me.
"Victoria, are you all right?"
I felt a weak smile spread across
my face. "Just nerves. Can I catch my breath a moment?"
"Anything you want. Do you
need a glass of water or a handkerchief or anything?"
I shook my head. "No, sir.
I’m all right now." Father held out his arm and I looped my arm through
it.
"Officer Lightoller, after
Shannon enters the room to drop the petals and gets to the altar, please escort
Rose through the door first. My daughter and I will follow."
Lightoller looked at me and
winked. "Sure. Rose and I are ready when Shannon is."
Father let go of my arm and
walked to Shannon. He kneeled down. "I see you have your petals. Are you
ready for your big debut?"
Shannon broke out into a huge
grin. "Yes, sir! I have my petals and thanks to Rose helping me, I can do
this blindfolded. But I don’t want to run into a chair, so I am going to leave
that part out."
Father laughed at Shannon and
kissed her on her head. "Whenever you’re ready, Shannon, the stage is
yours."
Shannon looked over at me.
"I love you, Tory." She smiled at me and I felt tears in my eyes.
"I love you, too,
Shannie."
My younger sister took a deep
breath and as the door opened, she stepped expertly in. I could hear the
organist playing the prelude to the wedding march as my father watched Shannon
throw petals onto the floor. Rose turned around to look at me. She smiled and
then looked at Lightoller.
He let out a sigh and looked at
me, then at Rose. "Ready?"
She looked straight ahead.
"As I’ll ever be." She looked at me over her shoulder one last time
and the wedding march filled the air as she started towards the flower-laden
altar.
I watched as Rose walked down the
aisle towards Jack and the minister. She had her arm looped through
Lightoller’s and her gown flowed with every step.
I took another deep breath as
Father announced it was my turn. One more time, I closed my eyes and exhaled
deeply as the wedding march started all over again as Father and I walked down
the flower petal draped aisle. My sister had done her job. Lilac and pink rose
petals draped the floor heading to the altar. I was doing my best to control my
breathing. Harry was standing to the left of Jack. His face relaxed and broke
into a smile as I started towards him. Once we locked eyes, I was sure I was
doing the right thing.
Harry
Lightoller had left the altar to
go get Rose, leaving Moody, Jack, and me to fend for ourselves as the minister
walked to us.
"Which men are the lucky
grooms-to-be?" He held out his hand as Jack and I shook it.
"This is Harold Lowe. My
name is Jack Dawson. My bride is Rose."
The minister laughed. "Glad
we got that out of the way. I’d hate to have to marry you to the wrong
lady." He directed Jack to stand in one place and me to stand in another.
The minister pointed. "When I come out from over there, the two men walking
them down the aisle will walk them to here." He pointed to a step below
where he was standing. "After I ask who gives these women in marriage, you
will take your respective brides by the arms and walk them here." The
minister stepped up two steps to another area. "I’ll be here and then
we’ll get on with the wedding. Any questions?"
I cleared my throat. "I’d
like to say something to my bride, Victoria, before we say our vows. Is this
proper?"
The minister nodded. "You
may say anything you like. I’ll let you know when it’s time."
The organist caught the
minister’s eyes. "Looks like we’re ready." He took off to the side
entrance of the room. I turned to face the still-closed doors of the ballroom.
A musical number was being played on the organ as I saw the doors swing open
and Shannon step in. She sprinkled some sort of flower petals all over the
carpet leading up towards the altar. When she got there, she motioned for me to
bend down.
"I love my sister. Take care
of her."
I looked at the concern in her
eyes. "Yes, ma’am. You have my word. Your big sister is in good
hands." I kissed her hand and she stepped to the side, waiting on her
father.
Rose and Lightoller stepped
through the doors next. Another musical piece was playing. This was the bridal
march. I’d been to enough weddings to recognize this one. Rose was holding onto
Lightoller’s arm as they slowly made their way to the altar. I checked out my
partner and his face was aglow as he watched Rose come towards him. I was about
to whisper something to him when the door opened one more time. I caught my
breath as I saw Tory for the first time in her wedding gown. She glowed with
radiance as she and her father made their way towards me. I could see her face
relax as we locked eyes. What Lightoller had said was true. All I felt was
love, true, deep love, as I watched Victoria come to me.
Victoria
I was still holding onto my
father’s arm as the minister came from a side room. He saw Rose and I standing
there and smiled. "Who gives these women in marriage?"
My father spoke up. "I do,
sir. I give both of them in marriage."
"Very well." The
minister stepped aside to give us room to come up to where he was. As he turned
to move up the few steps, Father lifted my veil and kissed me on the cheek. He
handed me to Harry, who took my arm in his.
He kissed Rose next, as did
Lightoller, and she was handed to Jack. Together, the four of us walked to
where the minister was. I was on the inside with Rose and Jack and Harry were
on the outside.
"We are gathered here today
to celebrate the unions of two special couples, Victoria Anne Metcalfe and
Harold Godfrey Lowe as well as Jack Dawson and Rose Bukater. The contract of
marriage is most solemn and is not to be entered into lightly, but thoughtfully
and seriously with a deep realization of the obligations and responsibilities.
No other human ties are more tender and no other vows more important than those
you are about to pledge. As individuals, they have each had a unique and
life-shaping past, and now they willingly choose to set aside the solitary
exploration of their individual lives to discover who they are in the presence
of one another. We celebrate with them, their arrival at this point in their
lives. We are incredibly happy for them that the story of their lives now
includes each other. And that their love has brought them and us to the joyous
occasion of their marriage ceremony." The minister smiled as he flipped to
another passage in his Bible. "Jack, Rose, Harold, Victoria, please turn to
face me." We all did as we were told and the minister continued.
"Within the nurturing shelter of marriage, you will continue to grow and
develop, so you can discover your individual paths and offer your gifts back to
each other and the world. Marriage, then, makes you free--to see, to be seen,
to love. Your souls are protected, so your hearts can open. To get married is
to embark on the journey of getting to know each other, of coming to see each
other as you really are. This companionship on life's journey is the hallmark
of marriage, its natural province, and its sweetest and most fundamental
gift."
Harold broke his stare at the
minister to look at me. "You look wonderful," he said in a low
whisper.
I didn’t want to say anything, so
I just smiled as the minister continued. "Will you please, as an
expression that your hearts are joined together in love, now join your hands
and face me." I handed my bouquet of flowers to my sister and Rose did the
same. When our hands were free, we found the hands of our husbands-to-be.
"Do you, Jack Dawson, offer yourself wholly and joyfully, and do you
choose Rose Bukater as the person with whom you will share your life, in
laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, loving what you know of
her, and trusting what you do not know yet until death do you part?"
Jack swallowed hard. "I do.
I do take Rose to be my lawfully wedded wife, until death do us part."
"Very well." The
minister turned to Rose. "Do you, Rose Bukater, offer yourself wholly and
joyfully, and do you choose Jack Dawson as the person with whom you will share
your life, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, loving what
you know of him, and trusting what you do not know yet until death do you
part?"
Rose looked straight into Jack’s
eyes as the words poured out of her mouth. "I do. Forever, until death do
us part."
The minister turned to face Harry
and me. "Do you, Harold Godfrey Lowe, offer yourself wholly and joyfully,
and do you choose Victoria Anne Metcalfe as the person with whom you will share
your life, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, loving what
you know of her, and trusting what you do not know yet until death do you
part?"
Harry squeezed my hands. "I
do, until death do us part." I saw the love in his eyes and returned the
squeeze as the minister turned to me.
"Do you, Victoria Anne
Metcalfe, offer yourself wholly and joyfully, and do you choose Harold Godfrey
Lowe as the person with whom you will share your life, in laughter and in
tears, in conflict and tranquility, loving what you know of him, and trusting
what you do not know yet, until death do you part?"
This was the moment of truth. I
took a deep breath and without thinking, out came the words, "I do, until
death do us part."
The minister turned to face
Lightoller, Moody, my sister, and my father. "Mr. Lowe has requested that
he speak a few words to his bride before the rings are exchanged."
Harry cleared his throat and
looked into my eyes. "Victoria Anne Metcalfe, I love you. I promise to
love you completely, to console and comfort you during difficult times, to
encourage you to achieve your full potential, to laugh with you and to grieve
with you, to share with you life's simplest but most enduring pleasures, to be
truthful and honest with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall
live. I will never break your heart."
I was speechless. Harry’s words
were from the heart. I wiped a tear away with the fingertip of one of my
gloves. I began to speak. "With the greatest joy I come into my new life with
you. Besides the gift of salvation, you are the most precious gift God has
given me. I know that along with the new joys God has given me, I face new
responsibilities that I cannot fulfill in my own strength. But by God's grace
and power working within me, I desire to be trustworthy as your wife, to serve
and love you in all circumstances, to obey you, to allow God to use you to
build His qualities in me, as long as God give us life on this earth. I praise
God continually for you, Harry, and for your love and friendship."
"And will you now be giving
and receiving rings?" Harry and Jack both answered that we would be.
"Rose, as you place the ring on his finger, will you repeat after me, ‘May
this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing love. With this ring, I
thee wed.’"
Rose slipped the ring on Jack’s
hand. "With this ring, I thee wed."
The minister turned to Jack.
"Jack, as you place the ring on her finger, will you repeat after me, ‘May
this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing love. With this ring, I
thee wed.’"
Jack took Rose’s hand in his and
slipped the band on her finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."
The minister turned to face Harry
and me. "Victoria, as you place the ring on his finger, will you repeat
after me, ‘May this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing love. With
this ring, I thee wed.’"
I took the ring for Harry off the
minister’s Bible and held it in my hands. As I slipped it on Harry’s finger, I
locked eyes with him and repeated, "With this ring, I thee wed."
The minister turned to Harry
next. "Harold, as you place the ring on her finger, will you repeat after
me, ‘May this ring forever be to you the symbol of my growing love. With this
ring, I thee wed.’"
Harold picked up my hand and held
it for a moment before he slipped the ring my father had given my mother many
years ago onto my awaiting finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."
Jack let out a small laugh, and I
made a mental note to ask what that was about. Harry turned around as if the
two of them had an in joke that no one else knew about.
The minister broke up their
little joke and stated, "Please turn outwards now."
We all turned to face my father,
sister, Lightoller, and Moody. The minister finished the ceremony. "Before
these witnesses, you have joined yourselves in solemn matrimony. May you strive
all your lives to meet this commitment with the same love and devotion you now
possess. For love is truly the greatest gift we are given to share. Delight in
each other's company and never take each other for granted. By virtue of the
authority vested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you, Jack and
Rose, and you, Harold and Victoria, husband and wife. You may kiss the
bride."
I watched as Jack lifted Rose’s
veil slowly. She whispered something to him and they met with a kiss.
Harry lifted my veil and looked
me in the eyes. "Mrs. Lowe."
"Mr. Lowe." He met my
lips with a kiss.
The end march to the wedding was
played and Jack and Rose turned towards the exit and, arm-in-arm, started their
new life with their first steps as husband and wife. Harry and I started in
behind Jack and Rose. We were man and wife.
The End.