Chapter 24

And then I was in a tuxedo. And then I was in the foyer of the church with my daughter and her stepdad. And we were all smiling, and maybe a tiny bit nervous; or, maybe a lot nervous.

I was actually happy.

“And who gives this woman in marriage?” said the Baptist minister of 2nd Baptist Sanctuary Church.

“I do,” said Carlton Hanson. I smiled at him, and I got a super sweet smile from my daughter. It was good day; yes, it was.

The reception was posh and held at the Waterbury; well, where else.

As it happened, I had met the groom just the week before the wedding. We all had dinner in town and then headed to the church for the rehearsal. I’d never been to one before, a wedding rehearsal, but somebody must’ve; everything went like clockwork.

At any rate, I liked the young man. And we did talk some and he was more than personable. It never came up, but I’m sure he knew my history. Oh, and I almost forgot. I was paired with Anna for the whole show that wasn’t part of the agreed upon ceremonial things that Carlton and I had split between us. I was beginning to have feelings for the not so lovely but super sweet Anna. I really was.

Anna was a bridesmaid of course, and she and I danced several times after my not too embarrassing tour of the floor with my Sarah. I was but a tad shorter than Anna was, so that was good. We got on good.

The food was good. The Champagne was the best money could buy. And the music to my taste—well, mostly.

I did get a few words in with my ex-fiancée at one point, but mostly it was me and Anna and some strangers who apparently thought that I was a somebody. Carlton was busy touring the tables and telling lies. He seemed very happy. The happy couple took off about an hour or so after dinner. The rest of the crowd began to filter out a couple of hours after them.

Anna said she’d be happy to give me a ride home. I called her bluff!

“Well, it was a nice wedding,” she said, as we arrived at my ridiculously cheap residence.

“Yes, it was,” I said. “I’d invite you in except for two things.”

“Huh?” she said, looking surprised.

“Yes, one my place is embarrassingly nothing. And there is the other thing. I’m afraid you might turn me down,” I said. She smirked.

“Well, you can hope for a better opportunity in the future,” she said.

“Hmm,” I said. “Well hope does spring eternal as they say.” She gave me a look that seemed to say that she couldn’t believe that I was serious.

“Yes, I guess it does for a few of us, losers,” she said.

“You a loser? Hardly,” I said. “Now me...”

“One of these days, Mister, you and me gotta sit down and talk,” she said.

“Could not agree more,” I said.

“You’re a serious history buff, aren’t you?” said Kari.

“Hmm, kinda,” he said. “I read a lot.”

“I love Rome,” she said. “It is so interesting.”

“Yes,” he said, “especially down here in the ancient part.”

“What’s that big building on the top of the hill there?” she said.

“That is the ruins of the palace of August Caesar,” he said. She nodded.

“Let’s walk down that way,” she said, “toward that big arch.” They did so.

They were in the shadow of a huge archway. “So, do you know what this big building by us there is?” she said.

“Yes,” there’s a sign right there.” He said.

“The Senate House?” she said.

“Yes, the ancient Roman legislature met in there,” he said.

“I’ve heard of that building. It’s where Julius Caesar was killed, right?” she said. “It’s in a Shakespeare play. I saw it, the play, not the assassination,” she said, and laughed.

“Yes, it was in the play, but no, he was not assassinated in it. It was being renovated at the time. He was killed in the curia, kind of a courtroom a few miles to the west. Over there,” he said, pointing in the indicated direction.

“Oh? Really? You really are a history expert,” she said. They continued the tour.

The day was warm. They trekked back up the Esquiline Hill toward their hotel.

The bed was firm, just the way, he liked it, and for her part, she wasn’t complaining. They lay together her breasts challenging him for supremacy: she won.