Chapter 30

Terri’s turn:

I’m telling this. It’s noon on a hot July Saturday and I’m standing in front of a roomful of people looking at me.

I’ve done the ‘roomful of people looking at me’ thing many times. I guess the first couple of times I was nervous, but now I’ve done it in front of Google’s R&D and Raytheon’s R&D and a team from DoD. None of those was as impactful on my young life as this.

I’m wearing a simple-lined linen dress, one that’s been worn by wives before me – Kimberly, Kara, and now it’s my turn to let this little dress work magic.

Beside me is The One. Jerry Stengall.

The air is still sweet with The Wedding Song, done perfectly by US – the community. Actually Cindy and her mom did the singing as a duet, accompanied by Johanna’s flute and Kara’s violin. Perfect.

There will be TWO officiants for this wedding. Brother Barry’s our pastor from church. I know his head reels from the thought of marrying a fourteen year old girl, IF he thinks of age. What he’s really marrying, though, are two college graduates. It doesn’t wreck his sensibilities. He’s talked with me alone, as well as Jerry, and he’s counseled the two of us together.

“Terri ... You have to understand that I have many questions...” he’d said.

“Sir – Brother Barry – I know what this COULD be. I read and watch the news. Exploited children. I’m not that...”

“Terri...”

“Sir, you’ve married a lot of people, I imagine...”

“I have,” he said.

“Can I ask you a frank question?”

“Yes. You and I are talking frankly.”

“How many of those brides do you imagine were virgins when they stood at the altar?”

“Uh...”

“Hard question to answer, I know. How would you know, right?”

He nodded.

“Well, I believe in what we preach in church and I and my family practice it in our lives. I am a virgin. I know – thirteen, almost fourteen – but you and I know that today, kids start earlier than this. Our homeschool group has ONE ... fourteen and pregnant.”

He hung his head.

“I don’t mean to be a downer, sir. I’m trying to explain that I am getting married like so many in our community, and we’re serious about it. I am doing it the right way...”

He told Dad and Tina that he’d NEVER sweated as much as that interview with me. “How do you handle that?”

With me and Jerry, we just stated fact. Jerry’s mom and dad were his example. I related the lessons of the broken vows that sent Dad out of my life and the miracle that put us back together, that Tina and Cindy and Susan and Nikki and everybody else showed me that marriage was the way people lived their lives.

“Sir,” Jerry told him, “We learned the lesson, not because somebody mouthed words, but because we saw people do it, starting with MY parents.”

So Brother Barry’s there to officiate. So’s Mister Charlie – Judge Charles Peebles, jurist emeritus of the State of Alabama, who by legal writ, made my wedding possible at the age of fourteen. Judge Charlie’s been an important part of the Community for years, starting by working magic for Cindy.

So I’m standing there looking at MY Jerry and Brother Barry starts the ceremony.

“Friends, families,” he said, “we’re here today to see the marriage of two people. This isn’t your ordinary wedding. I’ve learned that in this community, ‘normal’ is just a setting on your car’s air conditioner. That said, I’d like to invite Judge Charles Peebles, Alabama justice emeritus, to stand with me in this ceremony.”

Judge Charlie’s getting sooo old, but he stands and squeezes Mizz Helen’s hand and then he walks up the steps of the platform, taking his place at the mike.

“Thank you, Brother Barry,” he said. “Friends and family of Jerry and Terri, I have known these two for a couple of years. I’ve known parts of the group they call ‘The Community’ for much longer than that. I know ‘serious’ and I know ‘different’ and that’s why when they approached me about marriage, I listened. I made a judgment, that being what we judges are supposed to do. Brother Barry?”

The preacher asked, “Who gives this woman in marriage,” a question answered by Dad and Tina – “Her mother and I do.” Tina. Mom. Sister. Friend.

And now Jerry and I are standing in front of the assembly of friends and family. Dad’s standing beside Jerry, I guess as Best Man. I hand my bouquet to Rachel, who might be a bit young to be Matron of Honor.

Judge Charlie spoke again. “Kara, musicians, thank you for “The Wedding Song“, and part of the lyrics speak to this occasion: ‘the union of their spirits.’ We’re here today to celebrate that Jerry and Terri have united their spirits. We’ll get to the wedding vows in a moment, but I want to talk about those vows for a moment.

“Our culture is Judeo-Christian in its origin, and our customs and laws are derived from that origin. Jerry and Terri, by your vows to each other and your exchange of rings, you are, in fact, observing the Jewish tradition of establishing a covenant.” He nodded to Sim and Beck and Tara and Aaron, our Jewish friends. “We’ve been doing this since the Garden. Today we’re going to do it again.

“Our Jewish friends among us will understand instantly the word “covenant”, but the others may not. A covenant is much like a contract, but with much deeper meaning. When I was a student here at Auburn and later at the University of Alabama, I was struck by the similarity between “covenant” and “contract”, almost immediately.

“Our laws regulate the enforcement of contracts, but you’ll note that our laws don’t deal with enforcement of marriage vows, because it cannot be done. You all know that the success of a contract depends entirely upon the honor of the people making the contract, and the same is true of a covenant. Jerry and Terri, the success of your covenant, your marriage, depends entirely upon honor, and I’m convinced that you are both people of honor. Brother Barry, If you will officiate in joining these two before God, before family, before community, and before the State of Alabama...”

Brother Barry was smiling now. “I think we’re missing a ring-bearer.”

I’ve been to weddings where they have somebody’s little kid act as ring-bearer, sometimes with very spotty results.

This is OUR kid. Bot-bot, wearing his formal bow tie, his head raised, whirred forth. For today he’s got two arms with grippers, holding onto a velvet pillow with the rings atop it. He stops at just the right place, raises the tuffet.

You know, it’s one thing to know something’s going to happen. It’s quite another, sometimes when it actually happens. This is one of those times. I almost fainted. It’s HAPPENING!!!

Vows. Jerry’s face is central to my universe. All the rest is a blur and voices and Jerry looking into my eyes, that look conveying something so very much more than the mere words, “I do.”

A chaste kiss for the assembly. Promise. Oh very much yes, the promise...

Judge Charlie and Brother Barry took the mike again. First, brother Barry, “Friends and family, I present to you husband and wife, Jerry and Terri Stengall. Judge Charlie, will you do us the joy of the final blessing?”

I saw tears in Judge Charlie’s eyes. I know he believes the words he said. “Lord, look upon our little gathering today as we bless the union of man and woman, as You ordained from the beginning. Bless these two, bless their going forth, let them be rich in joy and love, and Lord, extend Your blessings to this congregation as we gather to rejoice with them. Amen.”

I grabbed Jerry’s hand, tugged. We didn’t have a ‘wedding rehearsal’, we don’t have a format, and I need something to make this Jerry ‘n’ Terri’s wedding. I tugged him behind the mike.

“Our friends, our family, I am Terri Addison Stengall. This is MY husband. Now excuse us while we make preparation to leave.”

My Jerry looked stunned but he followed right along as we almost ran down the aisle.

No rice – Grandma Desai’s provided us with flower petals and spices and I know Brother Barry noted the little shrine to Shiva in the corner.

You know how in a NORMAL wedding, the bride and groom escape in a car...

This is the pTerridactyl’s wedding, and like Brother Barry said, ‘normal’ is a setting on the air conditioner. We hop into one of the Community four-wheelers, growl off to the airfield. The bathrooms at the big new hangar hold our street clothes.

I almost bust in on Jerry, but no ... I’ve – make that WE’VE held off this long...

Our airplane’s fueled, ready to go, luggage for the week is stashed, and before we mount up, I grab Jerry and get grabbed right back, in full public view, the KISS. I’m on fire now...

“Baby, there’s a hotel right up the road...”

“Angel,” he replied, “Do NOT tempt me...”

“Just so you know...”

“C’mon. Wave!”

I waved, then we fired the engine up and closed the canopy. Five minutes later we’re in the air. Hundred and thirty knots.

“Should’ve gotten Cindy to fly us in a Pilatus,” Jerry said.

“Baby,” I said.

“Yes, love?”

“Don’t take this wrong, but...” I reached over and touched him. There.

“Ohgod!!!!” with a visible jerk.

“Did I hurt you?”

“Terri, baby ... I have been wanting you BAD...”

“Two-way street, baby,” I said. “I’m nervous, though...”

“Nervous? We just got married and NOW you’re nervous?”

“What if I’m not any good for that?”

“First,” he said, “you’re the pTerridactyl and there’s NOTHING you’ve ever put your mind to that you weren’t great at. Second, I love you and the idea of me and you exploring each other has been occupying entirely too many of my thoughts as we got closer to today. And third, I adore you and I find you endlessly fascinating and desirable and ... no, I just hope you enjoy ME. I love you, you know...”