Chapter 82

Beth held out her hand to Carol, who indicated me. She stepped up to Beth and whispered something to her. Beth nodded and Carol returned to her place. I took the small leather pouch out of my pocket and handed it to her. Beth extracted the two wedding bands. She handed one each to K.P. and D.J. She explained to Karen and Bob as she gave the rings to the children, "These rings are Carol Anne and Ben's wedding presents to you."

"Karen, please remove your diamond." Karen took off her diamond engagement ring. Beth took it from her for safe keeping, promising to return it later.

Beth and her apprentices raised their arms high, the children raising the rings. Her voice rose in supplication. "May the Goddess bless these rings and what they symbolize. These rings are the symbol, worn every day, of the knot you will tie." Then she and her tiny helpers lowered their arms, holding the rings in front of them.

She had D.J. hand Bob her ring. "Bob, place Karen's ring on her hand and say. 'Karen Michelle Roberts, I thee wed'."

He slipped her ring onto Karen's hand "Karen Michelle Roberts, I thee wed."

Karen's ring fit the ring finger of her left hand perfectly.

Beth handed Bob's ring to Karen. "Karen take Bob's ring, and place it on his hand. Say 'Robert Scott, I thee wed'."

Karen spoke with a clear voice. "Robert Scott, I thee wed."

Beth then had them join their ring hands. Aside from repeating Beth's words, no one had spoken a word while they exchanged rings. Once they held each others' hands, Beth produced a string, long, strong, and quite ornate from that invisible pocket in her gown. She wrapped it around their hands such that they were bound securely, and tied a tight, secure knot. Beth intoned. "Now, under the sacred knot you will bind yourselves to each other. Say together after me. 'We, Karen Michelle Roberts and Robert Scott take solemn oath and promise before these witnesses that we are now wed, each to each in love and friendship forever."

They repeated the vow together.

I spoke in clear tones, my voice ringing in joy and pride, "I am Witness to this joining of two hearts. Let no man put it asunder." My Wives each repeated my words.

From her traveling bag Beth took out another of those special cakes, that wasn't a wedding cake per se, but more like bread. She had them cut it into two more or less equal pieces with their still-bound hands using a small knife she also drew out of her traveling bag. She bade each take a bite of a piece then a bite from each others' so both pieces had been bitten by each of them. Then she took the remaining bits and passed them to the rest of us. She took a small bit of each herself. By the time everyone had a bite of each piece, the cake was all gone.

Beth spoke again. "You two, Karen and Bob are now joined by the sacred bridal knot. Today the two of you have exchanged rings and said a vow to each other declaring and promising eternal love and friendship. You have shared the bounty of the earth represented by this cake with each other and your friends. As Her earthly representative present, I give you the blessing of the Goddess and pronounce you Wed in Her sight and to the world. Bob, please kiss your bride."

Bob wasn't any slow coach. He took Karen into his embrace and kissed her hungrily. It was a little awkward with their left hands tied together like that but they managed very nicely.

When they separated from their kiss, Beth kissed each of them sweetly on the lips. She then motioned for me, My Wives and the twins to do the same. I got a sweet kiss from Karen, and a hug and handshake from Bob. The twins got huge hugs and kisses from both. I was immensely proud of my little princesses.

After all the kisses, hugs and handshakes, Beth spoke again. "Now your circle is complete." Now that I knew what it meant, I was happy indeed for Bob and Karen

Beth unraveled the string without untying the knot, and gave it to Karen, saying. "Save this string as your remembrance of this day." The she took Karen's left hand and replaced her diamond on her ring finger. "I told you I'd give it back." Then she hugged Karen again.

She turned to us, and in a new twist, she grinned and said. "Family and friends, I present Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scott."

Beth had even more surprises. Out of her bag she produced a small ornate book. She wrote in it, then asked Karen and Bob to sign it. Then she asked us to sign as Witnesses. She explained. "This isn't an official document, but I like to keep a record. I call it the 'TempleRegister'. I left a blank page for your tribe, David. In all the commotion over Ben the other night, I forgot to have you and yours sign it. I'll get Robbie and Jamie this afternoon."

After we had all signed her 'Register' for Bob and Karen, she filled out the blank page she'd left for us and had us sign it except for Karen. Basically it was just the date and the Rite performed. I leafed idly through the book, and was pleasantly astonished at the number of multiple marriages. Beth certainly was no stranger to the concept, and we were far from unique!

We wanted Beth to stay for coffee, but she had other things to do. Before she left, I asked her about my conclusions regarding Princesses. Beth explained that Princesses were born to it as I suspected. To all intents and purposes they were, to use her words "crudely put, they're the 'breeders' of the old Blood families, for in them the Old Blood flows the purest." She confirmed they had traits and behaviors in common, but knowing when you're pregnant was the rarest one of all. She'd never seen anyone with that ability yet. She was stunned beyond words when there were three confirmed in the room, one probable, and one confirmed at home. Like me, she suspected an actual family connection somewhere along the line with Karen, but thought it would be almost impossible to check.

She said where Princesses were the true 'mothers' of the Old Ways, being born to it, Priestesses were the 'mothers' to the people of the faith, studying long and hard to achieve that status. Witches were similar, but filled a more practical role. In old times they were midwives and healers. At the thought of witches, she looked up. "Roberts? Karen Michelle Roberts? I knew of a Michelle Roberts years ago. She was a very powerful witch in Vancouver. She should have become a priestess, I don't know why she never did. Karen?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know a Michelle Roberts, like your second name?"

"Yes, that's my grandmother. I was named after her."

"Is she still among the living? Does she practice the Old Ways? Someone taught you."

"Oh, yes! She's in her late sixties, but doesn't look a day over fifty, maybe younger. I hope I look half as good at her age. Yes, she told me she was a witch, but when my parents took to Christianity, she got very quiet about it. She taught me secretly, but I embraced it openly and my parents never forgave her."

"Praise the Goddess! I only met her a couple times. She's very nice, and a powerful witch. Karen, you make sure she gets that towel. She'll be so proud and pleased! And here's my card. Give it to her and tell her she has my prayers. Oh! Look at the time! I must get changed and be on my way!" It was still only a little past nine thirty, but she acted like it was past midday, and bustled off to change out of her gown.

Despite being a Witness for Karen and Bob, I managed to get quite a few pictures of their wedding. Bob was really pleased. We stood about kibitzing for a bit, but Carol soon rounded us up for various chores. Bob and Karen were sent off to get dressed. Carol told them in no uncertain terms to be quick about it, too. Hanky-panky could wait 'til later. Before they went to get dressed, Beth returned from changing. She hugged them both and wished them well in their new life together, congratulating them on their marriage and the new baby. We all said our goodbyes and 'Happy New Year'. As she hustled and bustled out the door, she said, "Say hello to your mother, The High Priestess for me. Tell Lori I'll call after the New Year when things slow down a bit. May the Goddess protect you!"

After she left, Karen asked me incredulously, "Your mother is The High Priestess? You just said she was a Priestess Holy shit! What kind of family am I in?"

"Yup! Isn't everybody's? Magical, Karen Michelle, magical." I always thought Mom was a High Priestess. It never occurred to me there might only be one. Hmmm. More questions.

After Beth left, Carol organized us to get things cleaned up and packed for her. Bob and I brought all the empty boxes up so she could start packing. We didn't have any packing paper until Karen suggested using the used gift wrap. With that suggestion, all Carol's small items were soon being packed. Diane and Riekie got laundry. There wasn't a lot, but they decided to not only do the bed linens and table services we used, but also anything of our personal clothing that needed washing. It's a lot nicer to travel with clean clothes than a smelly old laundry bag. We figured we'd get grungy enough on the way home.

It never ceased to amaze me how well my wives got along at domestic chores. There was a minimum of fuss and bother. From the beginning, way back when, Carol and Riekie had always functioned like a well-oiled machine. Adding Diane to the mix seemed to make it run even better. Their happy chatter and banter as they worked was always a source of pride and delight to me. It still is. Now we had Karen, at least temporarily, and she fit in just as smoothly as Diane. Bob and I had always worked well together, and although it had been years, we still had that ability, an almost uncanny way of knowing what tool the other needed for a job, and have it ready to hand for him. I guess that's basically the way the girls worked and continue to this day.

It wasn't long before Bob and I had most of the stuff Carol wanted to take out of the basement and into the garage ready to load. We would have to wait until everything was moved up and packed, before we loaded, though. I hate like hell getting a load almost built only to find most of it has to come off to fit some last minute item. Better to survey everything you have to load, get a mental picture of how it will go in the vehicle and build the load accordingly.

Carol's bed was the only one being moved, as it was part of the set she inherited from Oma, and also the only large piece of furniture except for the dressers and the end tables. The one that had been in her room was stored in the basement. Bob and I checked it out, ready to switch them around, and discovered the two were virtually identical. To save moving that item twice, we suggested she take the one from the basement and leave hers in the room. Then we'd only have to get her cabinetry out. She thought that was a good idea, so we moved the one from the basement to the garage.

I didn't want to disturb Bob and Karen from their room, but we needed to move that cabinetry out. The originals were in the basement as replacements. With Carol's blessing, we moved her cabinetry to the garage, and brought the originals back up from the basement. We had her old bedroom completely changed over by noon. Lunch was left-over-turkey sandwiches. The last things to be packed would be our clothes and the kids' toys.

Everyone worked until one then we broke to change for the service. The family was eager to get on the road, but we had to perform this last function for Ben. Karen had only the clothes she came in, plus the kilt and sweater Carol had loaned her. Her old apartment wasn't that far away, maybe fifteen minutes. About eleven thirty she broke off from helping Carol pack and Bob drove her over to get her clothes.

Bob was funny as blazes when he reported back to us what transpired when they got there. Her roomie was in, as Boxing Day was a holiday for her, too. He said she was exactly as Karen described — Riekie's Temperance Lady made real with bells on. Karen wasn't in the door two minutes when she started into Karen about running around like a loose woman, and started running down Bob, whom she'd never seen before, for corrupting the morals of a young woman.

Karen got angry, and soon had her choking on her words when she waved that rock and wedding band under her nose. The roomie was pissed, as we suspected, and tried to give Karen a very hard time about moving out, but when Bob wrote her out a cheque for a month's rent without batting an eye, she soon calmed down. It seemed money and fine jewelry was the key to that woman. They were back by twelve thirty. Karen was still angry when she got back to the house, and couldn't wait to get her own things out of that apartment.

While she was at the apartment, Karen called her job to give her notice 'til the end of the week, because she'd gotten married and was moving to Vancouver. Her boss, a newlywed himself, accepted her resignation, and told her she didn't need to come back, to take the rest of the week off. She gave him Bob's address in Vancouver to forward her last cheque and record of employment. She and Bob got a honeymoon of sorts, anyway.

By one thirty, we were all ready for the service. Carol could still get into her little black number, although she complained it was a little snug around the waist. It'd do for a couple hours at least. I got three cuffs upside the head when I suggested they wear their wedding gowns. Riekie and Diane made do with the most demur of their black pullovers, of which they all seemed to have an abundance, and dark coloured skirts. Karen, strangely enough, brought similar style clothing with her, and dressed accordingly. They all went braless, naturally. In deference to the cold, they all wore pantyhose, and complained about it from the outset.

The limo from the funeral chapel pulled up in front of the house at one thirty just as the boys said. Bob and Karen decided to follow in Bob's car, rather than crowd the limo. My wives, two kids and I climbed in. My friend Ben was gone. Now I had to deliver a eulogy to a room full of strangers.

We arrived at the small chapel a few minutes after the limo picked us up. Robbie and Jamie were already there with their girl friends. They introduced us to their ladies and greeted us like true family, calling Carol 'Mom', despite the hot kiss she gave them the night before. So much for me being a prognosticator. Except for them, we were the only family present. Several of Ben's oldest friends had also arrived early to act as honourary pall bearers.

Despite it being the Holiday season, there was a very large turn out. Some of the attendees were the boys' own friends, there to support them. Ben knew and was respected by a large number of people. We needn't have worried about our dress for this memorial. Everyone, including the boys was dressed very casually. The whole affair was casual, without that air of morbid sentimentality that I normally associate with funerals.

When we were seated, the boys accorded us 'next of kin' status. We occupied the whole front row. The boys sat side by side, their girl friends on Jamie's outside, with Carol next to Robbie, then me, Riekie, Diane, Karen and Bob. Diane and Riekie nominally held the children, but being kids, they played musical laps and often were on the boys, much to their delight and their girl friends' chagrin. The boys never did marry those girls. I remember them as being stylish and pretty in a self-absorbed sort of way, and to this day cannot remember their names.

It quickly became apparent that this was a celebration of Ben's life. While everyone except Ben's boys, and Beth Richards was a stranger to me and mine, they all knew Ben, and had positive, happy memories of him. Carol knew a few people, especially those friends he had through the business. Almost all the ones who knew Carol had to be introduced to her. They didn't recognize her at first, and were stunned at the transformation.

A few knew a little of our story, and were solicitous of her pregnancy. Those who noticed it but didn't know anything discretely kept whatever they thought to themselves. It was obvious Robbie and Jamie had no problem with it. Jamie even patted her tummy once and asked once how his new 'little brother and sister' were doing.

All four of the ladies in our group drew appreciative stares from the men again much to the chagrin of the boys' girlfriends. They were used to being the centre of male attention, and although Karen and Diane were actually not far from their own age, resented being upstaged by these four 'older' women.

A truly pleasant surprise was the number of children present as well as our own. Their happy chatter helped brighten the proceedings considerably. A surprising late arrival was the two nurses who had been so kind to us. I noticed they both joined Beth when they took their seats.

The service didn't follow the usual format. It was totally non-denominational. The preacher, if you could call him that, was more of a moderator, and it turned out, he actually knew Ben. He was very low key and I liked him immediately. He read a brief biography of Ben highlighted with a few of his own memories of Ben. His text was a collection of Ben's favourite poems and quotations, and his own thoughts on what it was to be a 'good' person. Robbie and Jamie spoke together, taking turns, remembering all the good times, and some of the bad they had with their dad. They remembered his support, strength and friendship, especially during their mother's prolonged illness. Beth Richards spoke and described Ben as a caring, loving man she was proud to have known.

The moderator asked the congregation to volunteer remembrances of Ben. As usual, people were a little slow coming forward, but after the first one or two, speakers popped up all over the room. Most people just had an anecdote to tell that illustrated how Ben touched their lives. The picture that built up from all the stories and testimonials was of a man respected for his fairness, generosity of spirit, and his respect for other people. At the end of the open testimonials, the preacher called me forward as his 'closer'. He told me after that Robbie and Jamie specifically asked that I speak last because I was the last to speak directly with Ben. They thought it was fitting.