Chapter 81: Husband and Wife and Wife

December 15, 1985, Chicago, Illinois

On Sunday morning, Jessica, Kara, and I had a quiet breakfast together just after 9:30am. All of us had slept in, and were feeling well rested, but excited not only for the day but also for the night to come. We ate lightly — fruit, toast, juice, and tea. It was a cold day, but not bitterly so, with the temperature predicted to be in the mid-to-upper 20s during the late afternoon.

"Are either of you nervous?" Jessica asked.

Kara and I both shook our heads.

"No," Kara said. "Are you Jess?"

"Just a bit."

"Why?" Kara asked.

"I don't know. I've been looking forward to this day since I first had coffee with Steve in January. But this morning, my stomach is doing backflips."

"It'll be OK, Jess," I said.

Kara smirked, "Or is it tonight you're really worried about?"

Both Jessica and I laughed.

"Maybe," she said. "I've been thinking about it since March and it's finally going to happen."

"What happened to the confident young woman who said she was going to knock my socks off?" I teased.

"Oh, she's here, she's just nervous about having sex for the first time."

"Steve, go play your game or something," Kara suggested. "Let me talk with Jess privately, please."

I nodded and got up and went to my study, shutting the door so that I couldn't hear them talk. It was a bit amusing, Kara talking to Jessica about sex like a mother talking to her daughter about it before a wedding in times past. I was sure that Kara would soothe Jessica's nerves, and I had experience with nervous girls, which had included Kara.

"Hey, Big Brother," Stephanie said, opening the door and sticking her head into my study. "The mother of your child wants you to come have tea with her and Josie, if your fiancées will permit it."

"They will. They're off somewhere plotting against me!" I grinned.

"Good!" she said with a smile. "Are you doing OK?"

"Everything is perfect, Squirt. Let's go see Jen and Josie."

We went to the coach house where Jennifer and Josie had tea made and were waiting for me.

"Hi, Steve," Jennifer said. "Everything going OK?"

"That's what everyone keeps asking!" I chuckled. "So far, so good. How are you three doing?"

Jennifer smiled, "Josie, the baby, and I are just fine! Jesse is starting to kick. Josie felt that last night."

"It was awesome!" Josie said.

"He's sleeping now, I think," Jennifer said. "Or at least he's quiet. I hope you have a chance to feel him kick."

"Two months or so, and we'll all actually be able to hold him!" I declared happily.

"Yes!" Jennifer agreed triumphantly.

"I can't imagine there are too many twenty-two-year-old guys that are as eager to have a baby as Steve is," Josie said.

"Stephanie told me that Steve has a friend named Anna who has a nephew that was Steve's little buddy for a few years, until he stopped going to Milford so often," Jennifer said. "She was supposedly here last night, but I didn't get to meet her. Everyone says that Steve is really good with kids, and I think he will be a great dad."

We drank our tea and talked about what it was going to be like with a baby around, and about their plans for finding a baby sitter. We talked about what we'd look for and generally agreed on needing someone from 7:00am to 5:30pm daily, to make sure that the three of us would be able to work uninterrupted and allow for travel time for the girls.

"There you are!" Jessica said, walking into the coach house about forty minutes after I'd gone there.

"Hey, Babe," I said with a grin. "Just hanging out with my baby!"

"I'm guessing that you'll spend a lot of time here once he's born."

"Absolutely, though I have a sneaking suspicion that his moms are going to be in charge of his life, not me!"

"You have that exactly right!" Jennifer said matter-of-factly.

I received hugs from both Jennifer and Josie and followed Jessica back to the house. I didn't ask her about her talk with Kara, assuming that they would tell me anything that they felt I needed to know. We ate a very light early lunch, and then it was time for us to dress and head to the country club, so I went to my room and Jessica and Kara went to Kara's room to shower and dress. Twenty minutes later, properly dressed, we walked out to my car for the drive to Wheaton.

"I guess we're not going with the traditional 'groom does not see the bride in her wedding gown' idea," Jessica observed.

"Neither of you is wearing a traditional wedding gown!" I replied.

"True," Jessica giggled.

Kara had on her royal blue sari with gold trim, and Jessica had on her emerald green one with similar gold trim. I had on my long gold shirt with red trim over red pants with gold trim. All three of us wore soft shoes, rather than dress shoes or high heels. I was certainly far more comfortable than I would have been in a tux, and I was sure that the girls were more comfortable than they would have been in bridal gowns.

When we arrived at the Country Club, Elyse, Kathy, Kurt, Dave, and Julia were already there, having overseen the preparations. The string quartet was unpacking, and the DJ was setting up, even though he wouldn't be called on for several hours. Dustin, the photographer who had shot pictures of my house, had set up as well, including a video camera that would record the ceremony. Everything looked exactly as it should, so Kara, Jessica, and I all went to what would normally be the bride's room and had soft drinks while we waited for more of our guests to arrive.

About 1:15pm, Dave and Julia came to get us, letting us know that a good number of people had arrived and that we should join the party. We had planned the vows to start at 3:00pm, so we had about ninety minutes to spend time talking with our friends while the string quartet played softly in the background. There were a few people at the wedding who had not attended the party the previous day, including my grandparents, Doctor Bauer and his wife, Scott Bannerman and his wife, and Doctor Barton and his family.

When I greeted Doctor Barton and his family, he pulled me aside.

"Fawn saw the house this morning, and she approved," he said with a smile. "I handed in an offer at their asking price, so I'd say it's a done deal."

"Congratulations and welcome to the neighborhood!"

We shook hands, and I went back to join my lovely brides-to-be in greeting as many people as we possibly could. I was happy to see Bethany with Nick, who was in his dress blues, making him one of five sailors in dress uniform. The only one that was missing was Aimee, but she had another week of exams at the Academy before she was free. Bethany looked very happy on Nick's arm, and I was happy that she was happy.

"Steve, am I going to get in trouble for kissing you?" Melanie Carston asked.

"That depends," I chuckled. "Are you asking me or my fiancées?"

"I'll let you slide today, Mr. Adams," she said with a smile. "But when you come back from your honeymoon, assuming that you're still alive, the kisses begin again!"

Pete rolled his eyes, and I laughed. Melanie was just being Melanie, and both Pete and I were sure that she'd never change.

"So, how was the third semester of law school?" I asked.

"Straight A's again. I'm halfway through!"

"Halfway to being an ambulance chaser!" I teased.

Melanie rolled her eyes, ignoring me baiting her for once, and settled for a hug. Jessica, Kara, and I moved on and continued to circulate amongst our guests.

Jessica's friend from California had arrived very late on Saturday night, so she hadn't attended the party. When she arrived, Jessica led Kara and me to her and introduced us.

"Abby Fontaine, this is Steve Adams, and this is Kara Blanchard, my intendeds!" Jessica said with a huge grin.

"And I thought San Francisco was crazy!" Abby laughed.

She greeted us both with a hug and 'air kisses' where we just touched cheeks. A few minutes later, Susie Bennet walked in with Jesse, her boyfriend, ever since I'd first met her. I hadn't seen them in years, and Jessica had never met them, so we spoke for a few minutes so she could get acquainted.

"Two girls?" Susie said mirthfully.

"Hey, if you got it, you got it!" I chuckled. "I have to live up to my Milford reputation, you know?"

Susie laughed, "Kara told me that it was well-deserved!"

"Kara talks too much!" I chuckled.

"It was true, Snuggle Bear!" Kara smirked.

"Did you sleep with EVERY woman under thirty in this room?" Jessica asked.

"No!" I said. "Despite Susie's teasing, she never even got a kiss!"

As we walked away, I saw Kent and Jennie Sanders come in with their kids. Now there was a woman OVER thirty in the room who I had slept with!

"Hi, Jennie," I said, hugging her.

"Hi, Steve!" she said.

"Kent, Jennie; please meet Jessica and Kara. Girls, please meet Kent and Jennie Sanders, who is Elyse's aunt, and their two kids Colin and Chelsea."

We spoke with them for a few minutes and then continued on circulating around the room. With the exception of my Swedish friends who simply could not come to Chicago, and Red and Stephie, who, in the end, hadn't traveled because of her chemo, all of my friends were in attendance. My only regret was that I didn't have enough time to talk to people who I didn't see very often, such as Mary and Josh, and some I hadn't seen in quite some time, including Marty and Tracey.

As the time for the ceremony to start grew near, Dave and Julia came and asked us to go wait in the bride's room, and he'd call us as soon as they had the guests seated and Mark was ready. We sat on the sofa in the room and I had to admit to the girls that I was feeling a bit nervous myself.

"You?" Kara protested. "Come on! I can't imagine you are nervous about anything!"

"We're taking a big step. I mean, I'm ready. I'm willing. I'm prepared. But the gravity of what we're doing is really hitting me right now. A lifetime commitment!"

"And that bump in Jennifer's belly? THAT wasn't a lifetime commitment?" Jessica said with a grin.

"Well, yeah," I chuckled. "Though in eighteen years he'll be responsible for himself!"

"That doesn't end your commitment and you know it!" Jessica said.

"I know."

"And I thought you believed in giving kids responsibility as soon as they could handle it!"

"I do," I said. "I expect my kids to mostly run their own lives once they're teenagers, if not before."

There was a soft knock at the door, and then it opened.

"Guys?" Julia said with a big smile. "It's time!"

"No, not for a couple more hours!" Kara giggled.

"Sorry, but you have to marry each other first!" Julia laughed.

The girls and I stood up, and I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. As we'd agreed, once we were out the door, we looped arms with Jessica on my right and Kara on my left. We walked into the ballroom and up the aisle between the rows of chairs where our guests had moved, though nobody was sitting. Mark was standing at the front of the room waiting for us, and Susie, Abby, and Kurt were waiting just to the side. Just in front of Mark was a table that held one large, and three small candles, three white ribbons, three blue and one white blanket, the three rings, and a glass goblet filled with red wine.

Jessica and I had discussed the issue of wine, and she had said that she was making an exception for the day, as well as for the honeymoon, but after that, any drinking would be limited to a single glass of champagne on our anniversary. She insisted that Kara and I continue to do as we'd done before, and that her decision to drink had nothing to do with an aversion to alcohol, but with a lifestyle choice that followed that of her mentor.

When we reached the front of the room, we stood before the table and our friends moved behind us — Kurt behind me, Abby behind Jessica, and Susie behind Kara. The girls placed small wreaths of flowers on Kara's and Jessica's heads, and then Dave spoke.

"Friends, the blue blankets are a Cherokee tradition, signifying the individuals, later to be replaced with a white blanket signifying unity. The colorful clothing signifies the joy that we all feel today. The three smaller candles represent three individuals, and the one larger candle again symbolizes unity. The three ribbons will signify the bond between our three friends. The rings are the public sign of their union. I now turn this over to the Reverend Mark Agnini, who will officiate the union of our friends."

Dave turned and lit incense in the small censer that Anala and I had bought several years before and then stepped aside. Mark picked up a narrow, multi-colored stole and put it around his neck.

"Welcome, friends!" Mark said in his deep, booming voice. "It's not often I get called upon to officiate at weddings, and I certainly have never performed one quite like the one I will perform today! In addition to the obvious fact that there are three, not two, the symbolism is a mix from many different traditions — Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Cherokee, and pagan."

Mark nodded and Abby, Kurt, and Susie retrieved the candles from the table, lit them, and stood close to us.

"Stephen, do you come here of your own free will, and with no reservations?"

"I do!" I said emphatically.

Kurt handed me my lit candle.

"Jessica, do you come here of your own free will, and with no reservations?"

"I do!" she declared firmly.

Abby handed her a lit candle.

"Kara, do you come here of your own free will, and with no reservations?"

"I do!" she exclaimed happily.

Kara accepted her candle from a smiling Susie.

"Do the three of you each wish to be bound together in this life, and the next?"

"We do!" we said together, having agreed to use 'we' instead of 'I' for the symbolism it provided.

Mark nodded, and Dave handed the blue blankets to each of our friends standing behind us. They draped them over our shoulders and then stepped back. Once that was done, Mark began to read a Cherokee wedding prayer that Jessica had provided.

Julia brought a red and black cloth belt that she handed to Jessica, who gave it to me. I handed it to Kurt, who put it on me, signifying the union between us. She and Kara had worked together to make it, and it had been a real effort as neither of them were particularly proficient with sewing, though Kara had done quite a bit growing up. Surprisingly, and unknown to me, Cindi was an expert seamstress and had helped them get it just right.