Chapter 12

Arriving at the church, Ed was surprised to find Marguerite and Bob at the door greeting the guests. Dressed in a gorgeous white wedding gown, she looked beautiful as her figure was shown off in the best possible manner, with a very well defined cleavage. She took his hand within both of hers and told him, “I’m so glad that you came.”

“Our family wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“You aren’t bothered by the fact that it’s in a church?”

Puzzled by the question, Ed replied, “Why would that bother me?”

She didn’t know how to answer that question, having assumed that being a Druid meant he would have a little hostility towards the Catholic Church. Recovering, she said, “I just thought you might not be comfortable in a church.”

“The seats are hard?” asked Ed knowing what she meant and took the opportunity to tease her a little.

She laughed and replied, “Very.”

When Ed, followed by the family, entered the church, Father Donnelley greeted him. Shifting uncomfortably, the priest asked, “Would you mind sitting on the last row?”

Overhearing the request, Linda was furious. She was a practicing Catholic and felt that the priest had overstepped his bounds by asking them to sit in the back. It came as a shock to her when Ed replied, “No problem. In fact, that is a good idea. That way if the kids get bored during the ceremony we can deal with them without making too much of a disturbance. I appreciate your suggestion regardless of motive.”

The priest flushed at the implied chastisement of his actions. It was true that he didn’t want the three Druids in a location where they would be highly visible. In fact, he didn’t really want them present in his church, but the Bishop had told him that it would be best to allow them to attend the ceremony reminding the priest that pagans could be converted. He nodded and replied, “Thank you. May I make one additional request?”

“Sure.”

“Would you and the other Druids to remain seated throughout the service. I think it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to follow the rituals of true Catholics.”

“We shall honor your request, Father Donnelley,” replied Ed with a short nod of his head understanding the nature of the request.

Once the priest had left, a furious Linda turned to Ed and asked, “How could you let him treat you that way?”

Hoping to reduce her anger, Ed replied, “This is the house of his God and he has a right to protect it from desecration by individuals that he feels are a threat. He asked us to stay back from the true believers so that we wouldn’t undermine his ceremony. He asked us to remain seated so that we wouldn’t make a mockery of sacred rites. Those are all reasonable requests.”

Angry at the implications that her husbands would do anything sacrilegious, Linda retorted, “You wouldn’t do any of those things.”

“True, but he doesn’t know that. Would your grandfather allow Father Donnelley to participate in an Indian Ritual?”

Linda sat down much more subdued, understanding the point that Ed had made. As she thought about his reply, Ed turned to the others and explained the priest’s requests. John and Kelly didn’t see any insult in the suggestions and no reason not to follow them.

As the processional began, Ed turned back to watch the proceedings. Father Donnelley led the procession, followed by a cross bearer, assistants, the couple escorted by their parents and the bridesmaids with the best man. He had expected the traditional wedding march, but the music was some sort of hymn. She didn’t perform the typical step forward, step even, pause, and repeat type of walk that he had noticed in other services.

When she passed the row where Ed was seated, she winked at him with a large smile on her face. As she smiled at him, he was reminded that the first time Bob had declared his love for her was after the two of them had double-teamed her. To him, it seemed like the two of them had been engaged for years. In fact, they had been engaged for years, but this was the first June since Bob had recovered from his neck injury. His neck was still a little stiff at times, but it no longer hurt. It was hard to believe that she was finally getting married to Bob.

The priest went through a number of prayers and hymns before reaching the part in the ceremony where the couple exchanged vows. Ed sat through the whole ceremony while the others in the room stood, knelt, and sat at varying parts. He had never experienced a Catholic service and it all seemed rather odd to him.

As the time approached for the exchange of vows, the church seemed to fill slowly with the kind of feeling that Ed associated with Gods and Goddess, but it was slightly different. He knew that it was the Christian God coming to this place of worship to bless the couple. There was a brightening of the area around the couple as the priest led them through the exchange of their vows. The three Druids watched as the joining of the couple formed, seen by them as golden thread stretching from one to the other.

Once the vows were exchanged, the bridesmaids went to the pews and sat down as the couple knelt on pillows. Other Catholics came to the front to receive the Eucharist. Ed watched the proceedings interested in how the glow at the front of the church brightened as that part of the ceremony progressed. After all that wished to partake of the Eucharist had been to the front of the church, the priest gave a blessing and then a dismissal. There was much about the entire ceremony that Ed didn’t understand.

As the couple walked down the isle, both of them had the same kind of glow that Ed had felt each time he had married. The thought reminded him that tomorrow was their anniversary and it was time again for each of them to drink of the wine. Renewing their vows every year had the consequence that they never took each other for granted. Every year, the family pulled closer together as the magic worked upon them.

The bride and groom left the chapel and it was time for the guests to leave the church. The Carter Clan was among the last to leave the church and joined the line of people waiting to throw birdseed at the couple. Ed had cheated and taken two bags of the seed. When Kelly noticed, she slapped his shoulder and said, “You naughty boy.”

Grinning, Ed said, “Hey, I love throwing the seeds at them!”

Little John and Beth were excited about throwing the birdseed, although it took two attempts to convince them that they should take it out of the mesh in which it was wrapped. Little John had wanted to throw the whole package at once and Beth wanted to unwrap it immediately.

When the couple came out of the church, everyone started cheering and throwing the seeds. It didn’t take long for the kids to run out and they begged Ed for more. Smiling, they shared the extra bag of seed that Ed had taken. Kelly had seen him hand the little bag of seeds over to the kids and nudged him as she said, “Good Daddy.”

Shrugging, he said, “Hey, it’s good to see them have a little fun.”

By that time, the couple had reached the limousine and hurried inside with birdseed covering their clothes. The reception was going to be held at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens. Although it was quite a drive, Cathy had made sure that there were several vans to take people that would have a difficult time making it there on their own.

Beth looked up at the priest by the door with a confused look on her face. She went over to the priest, followed closely by Little John. In a discreet manner, John and Ed followed behind. Once there, she looked up at the priest and said, “Your God is a bright light.”

Father Donnelley stared at Beth in shock. As the priest stuttered, Little John said, “He’s not like our Gods and Goddesses.”

Beth replied, “Yes. It’s a different feeling altogether.”

“Good, but different,” added Little John.

Looking at each other, John and Ed wondered how Father Donnelley was going to react to the news. The priest still had a problem with the Druids, but he had never voiced it. Now, he didn’t know what to say. These kids had talked to him in total honesty and without guile. Ed whispered to John, “Why don’t you take the kids to their moms while I talk to Father Donnelley?”

After saying goodbye, the kids went off with their father to return to the mothers. Ed watched them leave and, turning to face the priest, said, “They know the Goddess already. When your God descended during the ceremony to bless Marguerite and Bob, we could all see him.”

Open mouthed, the priest stared at Ed unable to believe what he was hearing. These people claimed to be able to see God in his church. This was what he had feared about bringing these pagans into the church. They had mocked his beliefs and used children to accomplish it. Angry beyond belief, he shouted, “Blasphemer!”

Ed smiled in understanding at the priest and shook his head as the priest raved at him in outrage. When the priest finally wound down, Ed said, “Touch my medallion.”

Rather than reaching to touch the medallion, the priest in righteous anger grabbed it with the intent of tearing from his neck. The action died the moment his hand contacted it. His face went slack. After a minute, he released the medallion and stared at Ed. Moving in slow motion, he turned away from Ed and entered the church. Left outside, Ed wondered what the priest had seen.

When Father Donnelley had grasped the medallion, he was transported to a quiet meadow in which an attractive naked couple stood holding hands facing him with wry smiles on their face. The man said, “We are the Two-Sided One, the God and Goddess in one that Ed serves.”

Looking at the man, Father Donnelley didn’t know what to say. After a moment, he croaked, “Demon.”

The woman smiled and said, “So your church has labeled us for centuries.”

The man said, “Your God wishes you to enter his house.”

The priest scoffed, “You claim to speak for God Almighty.”

“No, we are delivering a request to you from him,” said the woman with a trace of amusement in her voice. At that time, the vision ended leaving the priest disoriented.

Inside the church, Father Donnelley knelt in confusion and prayed for guidance from his God. He spent ten minutes in deep prayer as Ed waited outside for the return of the priest knowing that a changed man would exit the church. John came over and asked, “What’s up?”

“He’s inside praying.”

“Looked a little angry to me.”

Ed smiled at the mild description of the priest’s state of mind. He answered, “He was furious until he went to rip the medallion off my neck. I think he met the Two-Sided One.”

Raising an eyebrow at the idea, John said, “The rest of the family is ready to go to the reception. What about you?”

“I’ll wait here for Father Donnelley. When he comes out, we’ll ride together. If he doesn’t want to ride with me, I’ll take my car.”

“Okay, we’ll see you there,” replied John. He was a little disappointed that it was Ed that had faced the priest. In a way, he felt that as head of the Druids, it should have been his role to be the bridge among the various religions.

Observing the look, Ed winked and said, “Don’t be so sad. Your service is to save lives, remove evil, and provide people with choices. Mine is to the truth.”

As always, John was amazed at the insight of his husband. Shaking his head, he replied, “I know. It’s just that there is so much more that I want to do.”

Ed sat down on the steps watching John gather up the family and head over to the cars. With so many people, including the family and the staff, they had brought five cars. Ed was left with a single car in which Linda was waiting for him to finish his business.

Linda, a good practicing Catholic, was worried. Ever since their arrival at the church, she was afraid of what would happen between the Druids and the Father Donnelley. The requests of the priest had angered her, as her spouses had done nothing wrong. The comments of the kids had upset the priest and the altercation between the men had suggested that Ed had said something that angered the priest.

Her abdomen rippled and a light sweat broke out on her brow. This was not the first time she had felt that way. In fact, she had not felt well since she had gotten pregnant after her visit with John and she was beginning to worry that she was getting ill. Pensive, she waited to see what would happen next.

The door behind Ed slowly opened and Father Donnelley stepped out of the church. For a moment, he stood on the steps and looked at the sky around him. There was a look of wonder on his face as if he had just rediscovered the miracle of the world around him. His hair, what little remained of it, had turned white. The priest, feeling contrite for his previous actions, sat down on the steps next to Ed and said, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“My hostility in the past. I didn’t understand.”

Ed shrugged and replied, “It never bothered me.”

“So you saw my God.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement by the priest to confirm what Ed had said earlier.

“Yes. I take it you saw mine,” remarked Ed with a smile as he privately wondered in which form the priest had encountered him.

“Yes I did.”

“I take it you also saw yours.”

“Yes, I did,” answered the priest as his hand went to his chest to feel the wooden cross hanging around his neck. He looked over at Ed and recalled that Ed’s service was to the truth. What did it mean to be in the service of truth? All religions valued truth and it was the one meeting ground that all holy men shared.

“Ready to go to the reception?” asked Ed.

Nodding his readiness, the priest replied, “Yes, I am.”

“Come with us. We’ll bring you back here when you are ready to return.” Ed made the offer fully expecting the priest to accept it.

Father Donnelley had not realized that Ed had waited to give him a ride to the reception. It proved to him that Ed was thoughtful and concerned about his well being. He doubted that he could actually drive himself and replied, “I’m afraid that I won’t be very good company.”

“I understand. It takes time to recover from such meetings.”

The priest broke out in laughter, realizing that Ed probably understood better than any other individual within the Church. The irony was not lost on him as he replied, “I never thought I would find understanding from a pagan.”