Ann A Love Story Ch 95

A huge thank you to Annanova for editing this chapter, and for her unwavering support. Another incredible job! You made this so much better.

© 2012, All rights reserved -- mimaster

~*~*~*~*~*~

"How are you holding up?" Dad asked as we waited in a small classroom in the church basement.

"I'm okay...just tired of waiting," I sighed. And I was. It seemed like that was all I'd been doing for as long as I could remember.

The morning, while eventful, seemed to drag on. Just to get to the time when Gene and I left for the church seemed to take forever, but a lot of that had to do with the incessant line to get into a shower. At least then I had Rebecca to keep me entertained in her own imaginative way. Sure, there was also the sideshow that was Paula, but I shoved that out of my mind almost as soon as it happened. I had other things to think about, like getting married.

Yet once we got to the church, there was more waiting. I had to kill time until the rest of the guys in the wedding party arrived. Then we all waited until it was time to finally get dressed. That was followed by waiting to take pictures with the groomsmen before the wedding. Although that was actually a blast, since Rose was so incredible and the guys were cracking jokes to keep me loose.

After that there were more pictures, both with my parents and then Ann's, followed by a final pep talk with Pastor Kane to let me know how things were going as the guests began to arrive. It seemed like one big stall tactic, all designed to keep me from getting to the part of the day I most anticipated. And it was wearing on me.

The rest of the guys had long since left, doubling as ushers to show people to their seats. Now it was just me and my Dad, who had sat down next to me. Putting his hand on my thigh like he had since I was a youngster, he gave it a loving squeeze.

"She's worth it, Neil," he grinned.

"Pardon?"

I could tell he was thinking about all that I'd been through. All of the pain and anguish that I'd suffered because of my ex. He'd seen it close up. He and my mother had been a huge part of getting me back to my feet and helping me start my life over, as it were. But he wasn't going to bring that up now. Not on this day. It was a part of my past, but it no longer defined me. It simply forged my strength and resolve, making me a better person.

Instead, he was looking forward, just like I was. "If ever there was a woman that's been worth the wait, it's Ann," he smiled.

"Thanks, Dad," I nodded. "It

has

been a long road to get here, hasn't it?"

"Don't think about that, Neil. Think about the long, amazing road you've started on with Ann." He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts, all the while slowly nodding his head with a gracious smile on his face. "You know, your mom and I have been married a long time, yet somehow she still makes me feel like a newlywed. When I look at you and Ann, I see me and Betsy. The sparkle I see in Ann's eyes whenever she looks at you is

exactly

what I get to look at every morning in Betsy's eyes. I can't explain it. I never could...but it's there, and I see it in Ann."

"It means she's horny, Dad," I joked.

"HA...Yes, that's probably true, but it means more than that. There's love, and trust, and excitement. When you see her staring at you like that, how does it make you feel?"

"It makes me feel alive," I grinned.

"Exactly! I'm as happy today as I was the day I got married, Neil. And it started when she gave me that look, walking down the aisle on her father's arm."

The two of us chatted for a while, him reminiscing about all the things that happened during their wedding when I was reminded of Pastor Kane's comment about how something always goes wrong and not to fret over it. In Dad's case, he and his best man missed the train coming in from Texas where they were stationed in the army, and they arrived just two hours before the wedding.

"Why'd you miss the train?"

"Bachelor party," he laughed. "Good thing it was a long trip to Indiana so I could sleep off the hangover."

"Was Mom worried you weren't going to make it?"

"No. We called at every major stop so they'd know where we were. Her mother was pretty frantic though."

"Anything else go wrong?"

"You mean with the wedding itself?"

"Yeah. That all happened before the wedding."

"I'd have to think the groom showing up at the last minute counts. Other than that, everything was fine. Don't worry about yours. Just remember that if there are any surprises that happen today, it doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day you're still going to be married to Ann."

It was a pleasant thought, really. With Pastor Kane telling us there was no such thing as the perfect wedding, it was better to think of them as surprises instead of things just going wrong. At that point, I was sort of looking forward to finding out what the surprises were going to be. Anything was better than waiting.

That's when Matt knocked on the door and stuck his head inside. "It's time, Neil," he grinned.

I felt the lump in my throat at the same time the butterflies appeared in my stomach. My mouth suddenly dry, I checked my watch in disbelief, I felt my eyes widen.

"It's time...already?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

When Matt walked away from my side and down the front steps of the altar, it stunned me. He was supposed to be my wingman. After all, he was my best man, and that meant he was supposed to be standing off of my left shoulder, so that made him the ultimate wingman in my book. Yet there he was, joining his sister Marie, who'd left her spot among the line of bridesmaids.

"Why did we even bother to have a rehearsal?" I wondered as we went off script once again.

Not that it upset me. I figured it was yet another surprise, like how Mindy and Allison helped start off the wedding by walking down one of the two main aisles as flower girls in little red satin dresses that matched those of the bridesmaids perfectly. Actually, Mindy was a flower girl. Allison was also carrying Ann's wedding ring tied to a little pillow. Down the other aisle came Penny and Garrett's daughters, just like we'd rehearsed the night before. They were roughly the same age as Dana's girls, with the older one carrying my ring, the younger one gripping her flowers.

I had wondered when I took my place why Dana was standing at the back of the church. She was giving her girls directions on the fly and they pulled it off perfectly. Well, Allison did, since she was older. Mindy didn't stop at the bottom like her sister and the other girls had. She proceeded up the steps, walking to me with a big smile on her face. I knelt down as the guests in the pews let out an affectionate 'Awwww" at how cute she was.

"Hi Mindy," I whispered.

"Hi. I'm a flower girl," she informed me.

"I can see that. You're doing fantastic."

"Thanks. Uncle Neil?"

"Yes?"

"Is it time for me to cry happy tears yet?" she asked, thinking of the little talk we'd had at the rehearsal dinner.

I almost started misting up just from her question. Taking her into my arms, I gave her a big hug, and said, "Not yet. Your mom will let you know when it's time, okay?"

"Oh...okay."

"Now go stand next to Allison," I said, letting her go. She quickly took her place, waving back to her mom, who was already in tears, her hands clutching at her heart as she smiled at her daughter.

When Gene escorted our mom to her place, followed by my dad, I thought we were back on track. Ann's brother Alan brought Jean to the front, and things seemed to be going just like the rehearsal. That is until Matt left my side and met up with his sister, walking to my left in front of the stage.

Maria sat down behind a piano, which surprised me because I never knew she could play. When Matt stepped up to the microphone next to it, I was starting to panic. But I caught Tina's eye and she just gave me a little wink and a smile. At that point, all I could do was watch and listen.

Matt stood tall, and spoke with a confident smile. "While he's never told me this, I've heard this song enough in his car to know that this is Neil and Ann's song. And if it's not, well...it should be."

Marie started playing, the distinctive beginning of

Right Here Waiting

by Richard Marx resonating throughout the church. It was remarkable how well she nailed the melody. Perhaps it wasn't that difficult a piece to play. I had no idea, since I had no discernible musical talent other than using a stereo and singing along. All I knew was that to me, she was playing it perfectly.

As surprising as that was, I was floored when Matt began to sing. His voice was slightly deeper than the recording, but that didn't matter, especially when Maria joined him, singing high harmony on the chorus.

For a moment, I couldn't help but stand there with my jaw open, my heart soaring as they sang. It was such a wonderful gift. Not just the talent they'd kept hidden from me, but also that they were sharing it at our wedding. I wondered if Ann could hear them from wherever she was waiting in the wings. Then again I wondered how she couldn't, what with the sanctuary feeling like a concert hall.

The interesting thing about weddings is that they're all very similar, and yet they're so different. The ideas are always the same along with the ultimate purpose. People gather to see a friend or family member make a commitment to someone that they love, promising to devote their life to making their new spouse happy. It's a tradition that literally dates back centuries.

But the weddings themselves take on different tones. I'd been to one where the service was so rigid, I left thinking that I'd just been indoctrinated into some faith I didn't fully understand. I'd been to one so relaxed I sat in a folding chair on a pristine lawn with a glass of wine in my hand. Yet most fall in between, where the guests sit and wonder just what kind of ceremony it's going to be.

It had to be pretty obvious to anyone that was looking at me that I'd been surprised by Matt and Maria walking away, and flat out stunned when they started singing. It had to be clear that we were going off script. Yet as I enjoyed the rendition of our unofficial song, I realized that's who I was; who Ann and I were together, making things up as we went along. Why should our wedding be any different? The only question left to be answered was how the day would be received by those attending.

When Matt and Maria finished, there was a noticeable pause where the guests must have wondered what kind of wedding they were attending. Being in a church, the obvious reaction was to be reserved, thinking it was going to be a formal occasion. Maybe it originally was supposed to be. Ann and I had never really talked about the tone of the wedding, other than we wanted it to be about who we were as a couple.

But that was the gist of it. We were anything but formal. We were more along the line of being spontaneous. As that pause started to turn into appreciative silence, I reacted the only way I could, the way my heart led me to. I started clapping, and the rest of those in the room filled that silence by joining me. There were even a few whistles as Matt and Maria smiled on their way back to their places, but not before I hugged each of them.

"That was awesome," I said out loud to Matt as we embraced through the applause. "And you," I said to a blushing Maria as I moved to hug her. "I didn't even know you played piano. That was perfect!"

"Well, we've been practicing that for months," she admitted.

"Thank you...thank you both so much."

~*~*~*~*~*~

The organ started playing 'The Bridal Chorus' as I stood stoically, Matt back at my side. The organist had been playing sort of a prelude leading into it, but I noticed once the actual song started, that she hadn't kicked into another gear like she had during the rehearsal. The sound was in the same octave range, instead of being one higher like we'd practiced.

Still, the veterans among the guests, those who had been to numerous weddings before, knew the musical piece when they heard it. With them now thinking they were attending a more relaxed ceremony, and rightly so, they stood as one ready to greet the bride. I was ready to greet her too, but she'd yet to appear from the doorway where I knew she was waiting. And I knew why; Marlin didn't hear the musical cue he'd been expecting.

With the music playing and the guests standing, I found myself waiting just a little longer for Ann. I smiled, knowing that this was really our moment. It was our little problem with the wedding, the one to which Pastor Kane alluded when he said there was no such thing as a perfect wedding. Indeed, there would always be something that didn't go quite according to plan. I saw his wry smile as he waited with me, the look in his eyes saying 'I told you so.'

I smiled back. Sure, it could have been upsetting to some, but Ann and I had been through so much getting to this point in our lives that an octave change seemed so insignificant. We hadn't anticipated the addition of two more flower girls the night before, and we certainly didn't know about Matt and Maria's performance for us. This was just a delay, and not that long of one. We'd been waiting for each other so long, what was another few seconds?

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye to the back of the church, and from the way heads were turning, I knew that Marlin was leading Ann toward the aisle to my right. With the odd design of the church, and the people standing, I didn't see her at first. When the top of her head appeared as they were halfway down the aisle, I grinned wider.

She wasn't wearing a veil, at least not in the traditional sense. She still had the long white netting, but it was flowing down over her shoulders and back, hanging from a stylish hat. Her face was beaming, framed by her long curly brown hair and she looked at home floating down the aisle, clinging to her father's arm.

When they turned the corner, I'm not so sure my heart didn't stop for a moment from the beauty of Ann in her gown. It was rather risqué, what with her having it designed and created at a lingerie store, and it was more revealing than any wedding dress I'd ever seen in my life. There was no doubt that it fit her personality perfectly.

The gown had full length sleeves, which surprised me a little bit. I'd assumed she'd go with a sleeveless design. Then again, she might as well have, since they were mostly lace. Actually so was most of the dress above the waist. The front dipped down between her breasts and Camilla had woven a floral pattern into the material, strategically covering up all the necessary places while exposing a great deal of skin.

Ann's areolas and nipples were covered, but she was showing off the sides of her breasts, particularly an incredible amount of cleavage. She was obviously braless, but there had to be some kind of built-in support. That or it was just so tight that it naturally pushed her tits together. Either way, I'm not so sure I didn't lick my lips as I stared at her chest.

The bottom half of the dress had a great deal of lace as well, but there was also white satin underneath, creating more of a traditional look. A long satin train trailed behind as she turned to walk toward me; a beautiful bouquet in left hand as she held onto her father's arm with her right. It was the most incredible dress I'd ever seen. Yet something told me there was more to it than met the eye.

I can't explain the thrill that went through me when Marlin gave his daughter to me. The loving look in his misty eyes said it all, as he first kissed Ann on the cheek and then gracefully offered me her hand. He was proud of her, and he genuinely seemed to have the same feelings for me. In fact, it was hard not to feel the love in the entire room, the hundreds of people gathered showing affection in their eyes and their smiles.

Yet as Marlin sat down in the first row next to his wife, the only eyes I saw were Ann's beautiful brown ones as we faced each other, holding hands. The only smile I noticed was hers, illuminating the sanctuary. It was like an angel had descended from the heavens and was there before me. Getting lost in her radiance, it felt like it was just the two of us standing there.

At least, until Pastor Kane began the ceremony in his deep, booming voice.

"Dearly beloved, we gather here on this beautiful December afternoon to share with Neil and Ann as they begin their journey together as one."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Ann and I remained kneeling after lighting the unity candle, listening to an arrangement on the piano with our backs to the guests. To some, the timing of when we'd lit the candle must have seemed odd, but Ann wanted to show everyone that we were already of one mind as a couple before we exchanged rings. To her it was symbolic, and I didn't question the logic of it. Somehow it seemed right, even if we were bucking tradition.

So we were holding hands, having already said our vows. She'd done an incredible job of remaining focused, whereas the night before she'd cracked up every time Pastor Kane suggested that she obey me. Actually, she busted out laughing just hearing her given name, thinking about how whenever I called her Anna that meant she was naughty. It took me bringing her to an orgasm to calm her down so we could get through the rehearsal. So it was with great relief that she made it through the actual vows flawlessly.

"You did great," I whispered under the melody, tenderly squeezing her hand.

She let out a quiet giggle as she looked at me. "I had a little help from Tina," she whispered back.

I'm not sure if the snort or the cough happened first. They were almost simultaneous as I reacted to her little admission. I could only imagine what Tina had done to calm her nerves before the wedding, but I had to believe it wasn't much different from my eating her in the coat room when we took a little break during the rehearsal so she could 'compose' herself.

Now I was the one that needed to compose. I got myself together rather quickly, but that didn't stop me from smiling from ear to ear.

"Just how did she help you?" I finally asked.

"The same way you did," she winked. "Don't worry though. Rose took pictures for you."

I felt my cock beginning to grow and started to get a little nervous that I'd be showing a huge bulge by the time I had to stand up again. I worried if I'd even be able to stand the way my shaft was wedged down the pants of my stylish black tux. Fortunately, I was able to get up once the song ended, and when we moved back to the front of the stage area with Pastor Kane I was facing her again.

Soon after, we were taking our cues and placing rings on each others' fingers. Rings that she'd bought in California from her friend Dave at a jewelry store in the mall where she worked at the time. It was the first time I'd seen either of them. She'd meant to show me them before, but it never happened. We'd always been too busy, or apart. It was a little odd, I suppose, but at the same time it was part of our history together.

I'd gotten past the fact that my lack of awareness had forced Ann had to buy her own engagement ring. And it didn't bother me that she'd purchased our wedding rings at the same time. While it had been a painful moment to realize how awful she must have felt telling people she was engaged without being able to show off a ring, we'd grown from it and moved on. It was part of the story of who we were as a couple.

Now that same ring fit perfectly against the big diamond wedding variety as we held hands. And there was the intricate gold band on my finger she'd picked out for me, complete with five little diamonds set diagonally in the design across the width of the band. It was perfect. They both were, and I couldn't stop smiling.