"Tom, are you sure about this?" I asked with a smile.
"Don't be a dick," he replied offhandedly, and then blushed when he remembered he was in church. Thankfully, we were both speaking softly so no one heard. My smile turned into a grin.
Tom and Tina dated for the last six years and there was no doubt that she was the right girl for him, but that didn't stop Tom from having pre-wedding jitters. He kept glancing nervously down the aisle and waiting for his first sight of Tina in her wedding dress. I figured it was my job to distract him.
"Not too hung over I hope?" I asked. Tom looked at me and grimaced.
"You know, there was no need for you to drag me out and get me drunk the night before my wedding just because you couldn't make my bachelor party last week," he groaned.
"Drag?" I said incredulously. "I mentioned going out for a drink and the next thing I knew we were in a shaker joint and you were handing out singles left and right."
"Church, remember?" he snapped. I fell silent, but continued to grin. I did force Tom to go out the night before. I even made it my mission to get him good and drunk, but I wasn't taking credit for the shaker joint. That was all his idea.
My tuxedo fit better than I expected considering I sent in my measurements over the phone. I was lucky because I wasn't able to try it on before the wedding. I worked across the country. My boss wasn't thrilled when I told him I needed some time off, but there was no way I was missing Tom's wedding. I was his best man.
My boss convinced me to stay until the day before the wedding because of an important project. Tom understood, but I think he felt bad that I missed his bachelor party. That was why I decided to give him my own mini-bachelor party last night.
Of course, that didn't make my aunt particularly happy. Not only did I miss the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner the day before because of a delayed flight, but I also carried her drunken son in at three thirty in the morning the day of his wedding. She didn't say anything to me all morning, but she kept giving me nasty looks as she pumped coffee into Tom.
"I'll never forget the look on your mother's face," I said with a shake of my head.
"This morning?" Tom asked. I shook my head. I was thinking about something that happened six years earlier.
"No," I reply, and then grinned and added, "The time Janet and I were covering for you and Tina during that vacation. Your mother walked in on you and Tina, and started screaming."
"Don't remind me," Tom said, but he was smiling slightly.
"It took Janet and I a few minutes to realize what was happening," I said carefully, baiting the hook.
"Why?" he asked in confusion. I grinned.
"Well, we heard all kinds of screaming coming from your room that week," I said, landing my fish.
"You're going straight to hell!" Tom said as he gaped. I laughed quietly.
"Wait until you hear my toast," I teased. Tom groaned. I'm sure he was thankful that Tina arrived a moment later. The two ushers joined us and the pianist started playing.
It was a small wedding party, but there were a large number of guests. Tina's oldest sister's daughter Bethany was the flower girl. She was a cute little blond haired child who looked almost as nervous as Tom. She came down the aisle far too quickly. I sighed as I noticed my aunt frown. Tom's mother was a bit of a perfectionist. I thought Bethany's rush down the aisle adorable. I noticed Tom smiling as well.
Next came Tina's sister Cheryl. She wasn't Bethany's mother. That was the matron of honor, Bette. Both sisters were light haired. I already observed that most of the women in Tina's family were blond.
Janet came down the aisle next. She was just as beautiful as I remembered. She glanced at me after the she climbed the steps to the altar and smiled. I returned it. We hadn't seen much of each other in years. My mind started drifting back to the same vacation where his mother caught Tom and Tina. I'd never forget that vacation for many reasons. It seemed like a different lifetime.
'I really am going to hell!' I thought to myself as I forced my mind back to the present.
Bette, the matron of honor and Tina's oldest sister, came down the aisle and the pianist switched to the Wedding March. Tina walked in from outside on her father's arm. They traveled down the aisle and I smiled as I watched Tom stare at her. Tina was an attractive woman and she looked beautiful in her wedding dress. She was also kind hearted. Tom was a lucky man and he knew it. I saw him swallow hard once before moving forward and taking Tina from her father.
The rest of the mass went as expected. It ended with Tom and Tina kissing while everyone clapped. Afterwards, the wedding party greeted the wedding guests on the church steps as they left.
"Time to hit the Limo and have a drink!" I said once we were done.
"Amen!" Tom added.
Of course, neither of us took into consideration the photographer. He made us go back into the church and reenact certain parts of the mass. Tom and Tina weren't particularly pleased with the concept of reenacted pictures, but the photographer insisted and Tom's mother agreed.
He took all of the group pictures first and then dismissed everyone but the bride and groom. We all slipped out the back of the church. Tina's sisters and the ushers went directly to the limo. I pulled Janet aside.
"I heard about you and John," I said quietly as I held her arm. "Are you okay?" Janet smiled sadly and shrugged.
"I'm fine," she said. "John and I separated last month, but it's not like it was a surprise. We've haven't gotten along in quite some time." Janet married John three years earlier. I never much liked him, but I knew I wasn't particularly objective when it came to Janet.
"Do you need to talk?" I asked.
"Not really. I'm okay," she said, and then smiling added, "Besides, now is not the time." I blushed slightly. Janet was right. Her brother's wedding wasn't the place to talk about her pending divorce.
"You two want a drink?" George, Tina's only brother asked as we neared the limo. He and my cousin Hank were the two ushers. I didn't know George very well, but he seemed like a nice enough guy.
"It's a little early for drinking," Hank wined from his seat. I sighed. Hank was blood, but that didn't make him any less annoying. Tom didn't get along with him any better than I did, but his mother insisted Hank be included when an extra usher was needed.
"George, I've love a drink," I said.
"Me too!" Janet said as we entered the limo. It was a stretch so that the whole wedding party could fit in one car.
Cheryl moved over to make room for me, but I maneuvered Janet next to her and sat with George. Cheryl looked disappointed, but Janet smiled. It was no secret that Cheryl was interested in me, but I didn't like her.
Cheryl was a bit chunky, but that wasn't the reason for my dislike. She was actually attractive despite the weight. It was her personality that made her unappealing. She was pushy and classless. It amazed me that she and Tina were raised in the same house.
"George, switch seats with me," Cheryl said to her brother. I hid an internal groan.
"Cheryl, let him be," Bette, the oldest sibling said. She acted like a mother to all of her siblings and they responded in kind.
"I just want to be by a window," Cheryl wined. Bette laughed.
"George is fine where he is," she said, giving me a wink. She knew why Cheryl wanted to move, but she also knew I wasn't interested.
Bette was around my age. She was also a bit overweight, but her personality more than made up for it. She had an earth mother quality about her and she seemed to always be laughing.
"Mommy, is there any soda?" Bethany asked Bette.
"Uncle Tom bought a bottle of grape soda, just for you!" Bette replied as she reached into the refrigerator.
"I'd like some..." Hank started to say, but I cut him off.
"Hank, have a beer and relax," I snapped. There was probably enough soda for him to have a glass, but it seemed unkind to take some considering the girl's excitement. Hank frowned at me and began to open his mouth.
"Hank, there's coke in there as well," Janet put in. "Have some of that." Hank continued to frown, but nodded in acceptance.
"George, I need a refill," I said as I finished my drink. I didn't know who was worse, Hank or Cheryl.
