Friday, May 06, 2011
Excerpt #15, from pages 99-101 from STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
A few hours later, you won’t believe what happened. Jen ran up to us and told me that Jared had proposed to her there at the club. He must have brought the ring aboard the ship or bought one the day before. At any rate, Jen accepted and there was a pastor on board who decided he would marry them that very night. But it gets weirder. So sit down if you’re not already seated. Molly caught wind of the excitement and told Jadan that she really did want to be married. So he actually lowered himself from his wheelchair and faced her from his knees asking her to officially marry him since they’d already done the live-together thing, the kid thing, and the subsequent separation thing, and then the get-back-together thing.
So two weddings were planned for the next half an hour. Both couples went back to their cabins to change into the nicest dresses they’d brought and I did the same. The pastor asked us if we wanted to renew our vows while he was at it and since we were coming up on our thirteen year wedding anniversary in May, we decided to go for it! Why not? So, it would be a triple wedding of sorts. As fate had it, I happened to pack my wedding necklace since it was simple but elegant with one lovely pearl wrapped inside of a platinum molded flower. I was getting so excited and even a bit nervous, but why? I guess it was just the energy and the spontaneity of the whole thing. I sure was glad that Eric still wanted me after thirteen years of marriage and almost seven years of dating. At this point in life, marriage was starting to actually get easier. Intimacy was more real. Struggles merged and we were a team. And now my brilliant and crazy idea for this triple-date cruise was turning into a huge success for all of us.
We all raced up to the front of the ship on the upper deck where we could see the pastor adjusting his tie and his black suit jacket. He held a red leather Bible in his hands and even had a boutonnière on his breast pocket. It’s weird how pastors are just prepared for this kind of stuff. And if someone dies they could just turn around and perform the funeral the next hour. I don’t think I could ever be a pastor or a banker. Couldn’t exactly be a doctor either since I hate the sight of blood. But anyways, I should try to focus on these vow renewals. I’m gonna have to find someone who can take some pics because the kids will love them. My mom will think they’re great as well.
“Excuse me Mam, would you mind watching this wedding and our vow renewals and taking some pictures for us? I’ll pay you fifty bucks,” I said in my most charming sun-kissed voice.
“Oh sure thing Darling. But I’ll do it for free. Do you mind if our whole family watches you guys?” she asked in the sweetest middle-aged southern voice.
“Oh please, make yourself at home,” I said sounding odd, as if this were my ship or something. Of course they could watch; it was a public ceremony after all.
Jen, Jared, Molly and Jadan all said their “I do’s” while Eric and I said “I still do.” The ceremony was only like five minutes long. Rings were exchanged, or re-exchanged for Eric and me. And I’m not quite sure about this, but Eric snuck in some gorgeous red roses somehow just after the kiss. They looked strangely like the ones from one of the tables at the club, but I wasn’t going to judge him for his altruistic deed. Meanwhile onlookers clapped and cheered. All three couples kissed while the Atlantic’s evening sky twirled and danced with pinks and purples, mixed with oranges and blues. It was the most picturesque sky I’d seen in my thirty five years of life. So I counted it a huge blessing that I got to be a part of this wonderful night and this wonderful promise of commitment between the six of us.
My best friend was finally married and to a guy who I’d totally misjudged and written off as creepy and egotistical. Jadan was happily and officially committed to his daughter’s mother once again. And Eric and I were more in love than ever before. The night’s fun continued on but I can’t tell you all of those details here. Those are private, obviously. Meanwhile the picture lady named Karen, turned out to be the perfect photographer. She got like fifty shots of us and took some video as well. It turns out her husband owns a small camera shop in Atlanta, so she had certainly been the right person to ask. She put my camera on all different kinds of settings, even ones that I’d never discovered in the three years I’d owned it. The pastor sent us to sign official documents before we returned to our cabins. He even printed out an unofficial one for us to sign for our vow renewals. The more I thought about the evening, I felt really thankful and joyful. I’d never realized how important thirteen years was for me until I reminisced about that being the year that my own parents had gotten their divorce. We really wanted our marriage to go differently, for the better. And making it to thirteen was a huge mile-stone, especially since things were going so well for us and our family.
The next morning, we all got room service and stayed in our cabins until lunchtime. Why rush the morning when you don’t have to, right? I called the operator to see if I could find a place on the ship to develop our pictures. And I actually found one for only one arm and a leg. But it was worth it to spread the love and to hand them out to Jen and to Molly, to make it feel official. You know how people sometimes do crazy things on cruise-ships that they regret the next day? Well that wasn’t the case with our group of six. Everyone seemed very purposeful and peaceful when we joined up for a late lunch around two in the afternoon. Caesar salads and shrimp cocktails filled the table, along with scrumptious warm rolls and a variety of soups and sandwiches.
In contrast to the first few days of the cruise, we were all getting along so well now and felt united as friends; the recently captured bonds of commitment and love changed things for the better. It felt like we should be inside of a book or a screenplay. Who knows, maybe I’ll squeeze it into my book somehow if I could ever get some time to work on that darn thing. I think I left it with the female protagonist, Dianne, trying to figure out what to do with Alvin residing in their attached attic apartment. That would have to wait though. For now, we were busy being in love.
So two weddings were planned for the next half an hour. Both couples went back to their cabins to change into the nicest dresses they’d brought and I did the same. The pastor asked us if we wanted to renew our vows while he was at it and since we were coming up on our thirteen year wedding anniversary in May, we decided to go for it! Why not? So, it would be a triple wedding of sorts. As fate had it, I happened to pack my wedding necklace since it was simple but elegant with one lovely pearl wrapped inside of a platinum molded flower. I was getting so excited and even a bit nervous, but why? I guess it was just the energy and the spontaneity of the whole thing. I sure was glad that Eric still wanted me after thirteen years of marriage and almost seven years of dating. At this point in life, marriage was starting to actually get easier. Intimacy was more real. Struggles merged and we were a team. And now my brilliant and crazy idea for this triple-date cruise was turning into a huge success for all of us.
We all raced up to the front of the ship on the upper deck where we could see the pastor adjusting his tie and his black suit jacket. He held a red leather Bible in his hands and even had a boutonnière on his breast pocket. It’s weird how pastors are just prepared for this kind of stuff. And if someone dies they could just turn around and perform the funeral the next hour. I don’t think I could ever be a pastor or a banker. Couldn’t exactly be a doctor either since I hate the sight of blood. But anyways, I should try to focus on these vow renewals. I’m gonna have to find someone who can take some pics because the kids will love them. My mom will think they’re great as well.
“Excuse me Mam, would you mind watching this wedding and our vow renewals and taking some pictures for us? I’ll pay you fifty bucks,” I said in my most charming sun-kissed voice.
“Oh sure thing Darling. But I’ll do it for free. Do you mind if our whole family watches you guys?” she asked in the sweetest middle-aged southern voice.
“Oh please, make yourself at home,” I said sounding odd, as if this were my ship or something. Of course they could watch; it was a public ceremony after all.
Jen, Jared, Molly and Jadan all said their “I do’s” while Eric and I said “I still do.” The ceremony was only like five minutes long. Rings were exchanged, or re-exchanged for Eric and me. And I’m not quite sure about this, but Eric snuck in some gorgeous red roses somehow just after the kiss. They looked strangely like the ones from one of the tables at the club, but I wasn’t going to judge him for his altruistic deed. Meanwhile onlookers clapped and cheered. All three couples kissed while the Atlantic’s evening sky twirled and danced with pinks and purples, mixed with oranges and blues. It was the most picturesque sky I’d seen in my thirty five years of life. So I counted it a huge blessing that I got to be a part of this wonderful night and this wonderful promise of commitment between the six of us.
My best friend was finally married and to a guy who I’d totally misjudged and written off as creepy and egotistical. Jadan was happily and officially committed to his daughter’s mother once again. And Eric and I were more in love than ever before. The night’s fun continued on but I can’t tell you all of those details here. Those are private, obviously. Meanwhile the picture lady named Karen, turned out to be the perfect photographer. She got like fifty shots of us and took some video as well. It turns out her husband owns a small camera shop in Atlanta, so she had certainly been the right person to ask. She put my camera on all different kinds of settings, even ones that I’d never discovered in the three years I’d owned it. The pastor sent us to sign official documents before we returned to our cabins. He even printed out an unofficial one for us to sign for our vow renewals. The more I thought about the evening, I felt really thankful and joyful. I’d never realized how important thirteen years was for me until I reminisced about that being the year that my own parents had gotten their divorce. We really wanted our marriage to go differently, for the better. And making it to thirteen was a huge mile-stone, especially since things were going so well for us and our family.
The next morning, we all got room service and stayed in our cabins until lunchtime. Why rush the morning when you don’t have to, right? I called the operator to see if I could find a place on the ship to develop our pictures. And I actually found one for only one arm and a leg. But it was worth it to spread the love and to hand them out to Jen and to Molly, to make it feel official. You know how people sometimes do crazy things on cruise-ships that they regret the next day? Well that wasn’t the case with our group of six. Everyone seemed very purposeful and peaceful when we joined up for a late lunch around two in the afternoon. Caesar salads and shrimp cocktails filled the table, along with scrumptious warm rolls and a variety of soups and sandwiches.
In contrast to the first few days of the cruise, we were all getting along so well now and felt united as friends; the recently captured bonds of commitment and love changed things for the better. It felt like we should be inside of a book or a screenplay. Who knows, maybe I’ll squeeze it into my book somehow if I could ever get some time to work on that darn thing. I think I left it with the female protagonist, Dianne, trying to figure out what to do with Alvin residing in their attached attic apartment. That would have to wait though. For now, we were busy being in love.
Labels: excerpt #15, Stream of Consciousness
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