Chapter 9

September 10, 2000: Wedding bells

Narisa awoke at five and showered then said her morning prayers
while everyone one else rose at six. Even though there was a
detectable undercurrent of nervousness (and controlled chaos) that's
always associated with a wedding day, everyone was happy over the
day's upcoming events. The men couldn't tell who was more
anxious: the bride or her mother-in-law.

The women retired to the guest room so that Marie could put up
Narisa's hair, put on her make-up and generally help her get ready.
Josh sat and talked with his father, revealing that he had nervous
butterflies and was already antsy for the ceremony to begin.

Steve chuckled and told his son that this should be a snap. He's all
ready married and they're just making it legal in the U.S. Steve told
Josh he just had wedding day jitters. Josh agreed, but admitted he
still couldn't help being nervous.

Being satisfied with Narisa's bridal attire, Marie joined Steve and
Josh and started getting ready at eight while Narisa stayed
sequestered in the guest room praying. Steve wore a black suit and
red tie; Marie wore a simple, ivory semi-formal dress while Josh felt
a little funny in his penguin suit.

The photographer and the limo showed up at eight-thirty and after
the photographer had his gear set up for the pre-wedding photos,
Marie walked Narisa down the stairs. When his bride came into
view, Josh gazed in wide-eyed wonder at the virginal vision before
his eyes. Slowly descending the stairs in regal fashion, Narisa looked
like a real princess! Her doe eyes wide, bright and shining and her
exuberant smile was radiant with unrestrained joy. His eyes welled
up at seeing her and they lovingly embraced when they met at the
bottom of the stairs.

Marie retrieved Narisa's bouquet from the fridge and the photo
session began. They finished the pictures a little late and stepped out
the door at nine-ten. Josh and Narisa gasped in surprise upon seeing
the stretch limo. "Only the best for my kids!" Steve gloated.

After everyone was situated in the limo, they pulled away from the
curb and headed for the courthouse. With a secretive word to the
driver to take the long way, they arrived at the courthouse and were
waiting in the outer office of Judge Stile's office at nine-fifty. Mehar
and Zaara were waiting when they arrived. Steve went into chambers
when they were called to give the judge the translated documents. As
arranged, the judge informed his secretary to tell the others that they
would start a few minutes late. Steve must have been able to enlist
the judge's help after all, Marie thought. The two mothers smiled
knowingly to each other. The photographer showed up a few minutes
later and took a few formal shots.

The girls were their usual bubbly selves, tittering away and giggling
while Josh sat staring at his lovely bride holding her bouquet in
silent admiration. Finally, they were called into chambers at ten-
twenty. Once inside, Judge Stiles smiled as he started to get things
under way.

"Good Morning, everyone!" he said greeting them with a chuckle.
"Looks like we've got us a real, full-blown wedding here!

"Although everyone is dressed to the nines, unfortunately this will be
a simple civil ceremony. What we can do is arrange everyone like a
regular ceremony and afterwards, your photographer can take a few
shots. How's that sound to everyone?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Marie agreed. The girls nodded and
giggled, Steve nodded and Josh replied nervously with a polite "Yes,
your honor." Mehar stood at the back and smiled.

After getting everyone arranged in a row, going left to right, there
stood Zaara, Narisa, Josh and his father, who was acting as best
man. Judge Stiles asked the best man and maid of honor if they had
the appropriate rings in hand. After confirming the rings were with
the appropriate person, they were ready to begin.

"Alright, kids. Ready to start?" Judge Stiles asked with a jovial smile.

Both the bride and groom nodded "yes" and the ceremony began.

"Good morning ladies and gentleman, we are gathered here today to
witness the marriage of Joshua Williams and Narisa Assad-Williams.
Joshua Williams, do you accept Narisa Assad-Williams as your
lawfully wedded wife, to love, honor and cherish as an equal partner
in life?"

"I do."

"Narisa Assad-Williams, do you accept Joshua Williams as your
lawfully wedded husband, to love, honor and cherish as an equal
partner in life?"

Hearing Zaara's translation, Narisa replied, "I do."

Judge Stiles leaned over and whispered to Narisa, "Sweetie, hand
your bouquet to your maid of honor, please and take Josh's ring."

Zaara instructed her and, as Narisa gave Zaara her bouquet, Zaara
handed her the ring. Steve removed Narisa's wedding band from his
pocket and handed it to his son.

While nodding to Josh, Judge Stiles said, "As you place the ring on
her finger, repeat after me."

Josh nodded and began to slide the wedding band onto Narisa's
finger. Josh repeated each phrase as instructed saying, "With this
ring, I thee wed. For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness
and in health, 'til death do us part."

Nodding to Narisa, the judge began again. "With this ring, I thee
wed. For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in
health, 'til death do us part."

Narisa waited for Zaara's translation and repeated the words in Farsi
as she slid the ring onto Josh's finger.

With a confirming nod, Judge Stiles announced, "By the power
vested in me by the Commonwealth of Virginia, I now pronounce
you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

With tears in their eyes, Josh gently raised his bride's veil, took her
in his arms and kissed her tenderly. When the kiss broke, the judge
announced, "I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Williams."

Zaara, with tears of joy handed her "sister" her bouquet. The wedded
couple turned and everyone clapped and cheered. After another kiss
between the newlyweds, Narisa fell into her mother's arms and they
cried together, emotionally swept up in the moment. Zaara was still
crying as Josh rubbed his wife's back. Steve, also caught up in the
moment, misted up while Mehar tearfully looked on from the
sidelines.

While all this was going on, the judge signed the marriage license
and put it in an envelope. He handed it to Josh and said, "Now
you're official, son."

"Thank you, sir. Thank you very much."

"My pleasure, son."

Narisa gave the judge a warm, affectionate hug and a kiss on the
cheek to which he said, "Nothing like a little sugar in the morning to
make one's day, is there?"

Everyone laughingly agreed.

"All right folks," the judge said," I do have other things to do so if
we're going to take some photos, let's do it. Some of us have to work
for a living."

The photographer took some photos with the various family
members, after which they bade the fatherly judge good bye and left
the courthouse. While the wedding party was standing in front of the
courthouse talking, passersby honked their car horns and waved at
the newlyweds. Everyone waved back excitedly in appreciation and
acknowledgement.

Earlier, as soon as the limo pulled away from the Williams' curb, Bob
Freeman's crew pulled up. Once the family was out of sight, they
prepared to go to work. A few minutes later, Tariq and Kamya
arrived with the keys. As the crew started unloading the vans, Tariq
escorted Bob Freeman to the back yard. Bob knew what he was
doing, but Tariq wasn't quite as familiar with a Persian wedding as
the women folk were. Once the temporary floors had been quickly
laid on in the lawn, Bob began setting up the spread with its
necessary items. Intrigued, Tariq asked Bob to explain everything to
him.

"Believe it or not," Bob began, "in modern Iran, the wedding
ceremony is more a celebration of their ancient culture than it is
religion, even though it has been influenced by religion. A Persian
wedding, like all weddings, is in two parts. The actual ceremony itself
is called the Aghd. This word actually means 'knot'. That's where the
expression 'tying the knot' comes from. The celebration afterwards is
called the Jashn-e Aroosi. In ancient times, this celebration would go
on for three days or more.

"The center piece of the celebration called the Sofreh-ye Aghd and is
set upon this spread I'm laying down called a Temneh. This four-foot
by seven-foot spread, or cloth, is made of the world's finest cashmere
and hand stitched and decorated. I'm placing it facing east, in the
direction of the sunrise. This is so the bride and groom are facing
'the light'.

"On this spread we'll place specific items. First are the mirror and
two, single candelabras representing the bride and groom. The
groom will enter first and be seated on the bride's right. In times of
old, the place to the right was one of respect and honor. The bride
follows after the groom, is seated and when she sits and removes her
veil, the first thing the groom sees in the mirror, or Aayeneh-ye
bakht, is his bride-to-be. Now, back to the spread. Next comes the
tray of seven multi-colored herbs and spices. They are to drive away
evil, witchcraft, shaitan, and the evil eye.

"Next we have a specially baked and decorated flatbread called
Mobaarak-Baad, a bread with a hand-decorated blessing on it. This
is usually decorated in cinnamon. This symbolizes prosperity at the
feast and for the couple's life thereafter. A separate platter of this flat
bread, feta cheese and fresh herbs is present to be shared with the
guests after the ceremony to bring the new couple happiness and
prosperity.

"Then we have a basket of decorated eggs, and a basket of decorated
almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts in the shell to symbolize fertility.

"Then we place a basket of pomegranates and apples. Pomegranates
are considered a divine fruit while apples are a symbol of the divine
creation of man, followed with a cup of rose water called Gol-e
Mohaamedi, extracted from special Persian roses to perfume the air.
Next is a bowl of crystallized sugar, or Kaas-e Nabaat, to sweeten the
life of the newlyweds and a brazier holding burning coals sprinkled
with special incense called rue. This is to bring a long life of good
health.

"A bowl of gold coins to represent wealth and prosperity and a shawl
to be held over the bride and groom's head during the ceremony. A
threaded needle to symbolically sew the mother-in-law's lips shut to
preventing her from speaking ill to the bride. Then we have two
sugar cones to be used during the ceremony. There's a cup of honey
and both the newlyweds will dip their pinky fingers in and feed it to
each other symbolizing the sweetness of their love.

"In a Muslim wedding we place the opened Qu'ran, but in this case,
we'll also include an open Bible to represent the two faiths and the
importance of prayer in times of good fortune and bad.

"Finishing up, we have a prayer kit, which consists of a prayer rug, a
small cube of molded clay with prayers written on it and a strand of
prayer beads; and last, a tray of assorted pastries and sweets to be
shared with the guests."

"Amazing!" Tariq marveled, shaking his head. "The symbolism,
intricate detail and beauty of it all are simply beautiful!"

"I agree, Father." Kamya put in.

After the spread was painstakingly put together, the buffet was set up
and chairs put in place. The DJ was almost finished his set-up then
all the vans were moved around the corner. The mullah arrived a few
minutes before eleven and Tariq and Kamya greeted him with their
salaams. Now, all there was to do was to wait for the bridal party to
arrive.

On the way home, Josh was itching to get out of his tux and started
to take off his tie. Marie told him to leave it on and Narisa asked,
"Why? Everything is over, now we can relax."

"Not quite," Marie replied. "We want some more pictures of you two
when we get home."

Kamya was standing watch at the back gate when she saw the limo
pull up. "They're here, Father."

Mr. Freeman set everyone in their place, waiting to surprise the two
unsuspecting teens. When everyone had exited the limo, Josh
noticed the gate to the back yard was open and asked about it. Marie
took him by the arm and replied, "I don't know, Sweetie. Why don't
we go look?"

Mehar and Zaara followed with hand-covered smiles as Steve gently
held Narisa back. When Narisa heard all the noise, she tried to scoot
ahead to see the commotion, but Steve held her back.

"Why can't we see what's going on?"

Feigning ignorance, Steve answered, "I don't know, Sweetie. I'm just
following orders."

Narisa giggled, pulled playfully on Steve's hand and said, "Come on,
Papa. Let's go see!"

Still gently holding her back Steve replied, "Not yet, Princess."

Marie stepped out into the front yard a few minutes later and told
Narisa, "Come on, Baby. Let's see what all the fuss is about, shall
we?"

When Narisa entered the gate and turned the corner, she gasped in
open-mouth wonder and fell to her knees in shock at the sight of seeing the spread. She was so emotional, Marie had to lift her up and they embraced, crying openly.

"Oh Momma! You knew my dream! A Persian wedding! I just can't
believe this is all true! Someone wake me: it's all a fairy-tale dream!
Praise Allah for all His special blessings! I love you, Momma!"

"We Persian women dream alike don't we, Daughter?"

After a hanky and a few minutes of still unbelieving wonder, Narisa
was led shivering with emotion to her seat next to Josh's left at the
wedding spread.

The mullah, being the master of ceremonies, stepped forward and
introduced himself to the newlyweds. He wanted to start the
ceremony and asked that all unmarried females retire to the house.
Zaara and Kamya looked at each other and thought the same thing.
Kamya spoke up saying "We're Iraqi: not Iranian. We can both find a
husband tomorrow - we're staying!"

Everyone laughed at her response and agreed to proceed.

Mehar and Tariq unfolded and held the shawl over the heads of the
couple. After some preliminary blessings and readings from the
Qu'ran, the mullah asked the guardians if they wished the marriage
to proceed. After gaining their consent, he then began to ascertain
the bride and groom's consent. "Joshua Williams, do you wish to
marry Narisa Assad?"

"I do."

"Narisa Assad do you wish to marry Joshua Williams?"

"The bride is surprised and is pondering your question, your
holiness," Marie responded.

"I see. To be certain, do you, Joshua Williams seek the hand of
Narisa Assad in marriage?"

"I do seek her hand in marriage, your holiness."

"And you, Narisa Assad. Have you pondered and decided if you wish
to marry Joshua Williams?"

"Forgive her, your holiness, she's very emotional and has gone to
pick some flowers and ponder some more," Marie answered.

Josh had to laugh at this for the second time and looked at his
giggling wife. She sure doesn't look like she's picking any flowers to
me!

"Ah, the flighiness of a woman! Do you Joshua Williams wish to take
Narisa Assad as your wife?"

"I do wish to marry her, your holiness."

"And you, Narisa Assad, having pondered the question and after
picking your bouquet of flowers, do you wish to marry Joshua
Williams?"

"Yes, your holiness. I state my intentions and give my answer freely
and of my own free will. As the only virgin daughter of Nazir Assad, I
have espoused myself to Joshua Williams," Narisa stated in Farsi.
Marie translated for the others as Narisa spoke.

"And do you, Joshua Williams, do you accept Narisa Assad as your
wedded wife?"

"I have accepted her, your holiness."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. What God has joined let no
man put asunder."

During the entire ceremony, Marie was rubbing the two sugar cones
together. It sprinkled on the shawl above their heads, symbolic of
sweetening the couple's life. When the actual ceremony was concluded, Marie took hold of one side of the shawl and Mehar picked up the needle and thread. She then attempted to make a couple of
stitches on the edge of the shawl.

"What are you doing?" Josh asked looking up.

"I'm symbolically sewing your mother's lips together so she can't say
naughty things to her daughter-in law, but I'm so nervous I forgot
how to sew! Looks like you'll have to hear her mouth, Narisa."

That was good for a chuckle or two. The onlookers laughed as Mehar
was finally able to sew two stitches. Kamya and Zaara held hands
and looked on as the bride and groom dipped their fingers in the
honey and fed each other. As they did, the mullah said, "Let the
words that pass your lips forever speak sweetly to each other in
love."

Narisa asked the mullah, "I have a poem I'd like to recite that my
mother taught me. Is this permissible? It's an old Persian poem
called This Marriage."

"Yes, Child, recite your poem."

"May these vows and this marriage be blessed.
May it be sweet milk, this marriage, like wine and halvah.
May this marriage offer fruit and shade like the date palm.
May this marriage be full of laughter, our every day a day in
paradise.
May this marriage be a sign of compassion, a seal of happiness here
and hereafter.
May this marriage have a fair face and a good name, an omen as
welcome as the moon in the clear blue sky.
I am out of words to describe how spirits mingle in this marriage."

After an emotional silence, everyone applauded as Narisa gave a
blushing smile and a reverent thought in remembrance of her
mother and whispered "Thank you, Momma. I love you."

"There's one more thing — no,,, two that still need to be done," the
mullah stated.

Turning to Marie, he asked, "Bring a bowl of water and place it on
the threshold of the door, please?"

Marie scampered inside and returned with a plastic cereal bowl half-
filled with water and placed it inside the patio doorway. The mullah
had Narisa walk up to the bowl and directed her. "Spill the water
across the threshold."

Putting her foot on the edge, she tipped the bowl, spilling the water
across the doorway. "Why'd she do that?" Josh asked.

"It represents enlightenment, happiness and purification to her new
home. Now, I want the two of you to act as if you're struggling to get
through the door at the same time. Narisa, I want you to playfully
step on his toes as if fighting to get inside first. Joshua, you are to let
her win after a playful struggle, understand?"

"Yes, but why?" Josh asked.

With a smile and a chuckle he answered, "I'll tell you afterwards."

The crowd laughed as Josh and Narisa giggled and playfully
struggled to get into the house first with Narisa stepping on his toes.
After a few minutes of this, Narisa triumphantly stepped inside the
door, turning to face everyone victorious.

"What does it mean?" Josh asked.

"By her stepping on your toes and getting through the door first, she
has made it known to all that she is master of her home." the mullah
chuckled.

Everyone broke out into laughter as Josh grinned, knowing he'd
been had. Narisa, with a twinkle in her eye, said sweetly, "And don't
you forget it!"

Narisa was then led to a chair set in the center of the yard. All the
guests started bringing the bride gifts. It being traditional to give
fine jewelry, Marie and Steve gave her a beautiful opal necklace. The
Khalids had bought gifts for their daughters to give and Narisa
received a ruby ring from Kamya and a matching set of earrings from
Zaara. Tariq and Mehar gave a box to Narisa and one to Josh. When
they opened them, they were shocked to see two new cell phones.

Tariq said, "There, Josh. There's your one gift for the day, as is
customary. Along with the phones from Mehar is one year's free
calling as a wedding gift from me."

After Narisa had finished opening her gifts and the couple profusely
thanked everyone. The mullah, being the master of ceremonies,
happily exhorted, "Let the feast began!"

A whole roast lamb was served with jeweled rice called Morrasah
Polo and sweet rice called Shirin Polo along with many other
traditional Persian dishes. There were a variety of baklavas,
mulberry almond paste, almond flour cookies and honey-roasted
almonds.

As they ate and chatted away, an elderly woman looking to be in her
sixties peeked her head around the corner of the house. "Hi!" Marie
greeted the woman. "What can we do for you?"

"Hello," she said as she surveyed the celebration. "I'm your next door
neighbor, Betty Hodges. Looks like a wedding."

"Yes, Betty. My name is Marie Williams," Marie answered happily.
"Why don't you join us and have something to eat. I hope you like
Persian food, because this is a Persian wedding."

"Oh, how interesting!" Betty replied." May I go back and bring my
husband?"

"Sure! The more the merrier!"

As the elderly woman was leaving, Mehar joined her friend and
asked about the visitor. Marie answered, "Darn it! I didn't think we
could keep it a secret for long."

"That's okay, Marie. She's a harmless old woman. Did you invite her
in?"

"Yes. She's bringing her husband over."

"Excellent!"

"What?"

"Excellent, I said. This is the perfect opportunity for you to be a real
Persian at heart and tell the world your child is getting married!"

A few minutes later the elderly woman reappeared with her husband.
After everyone was introduced to Betty and her husband, Carl, Marie
led them to the table where Kamya and Zaara gave up their seats and
sat on the deck steps. "May I get you something to drink? The food
is over there on the table. Help yourselves," Marie said politely.

"We'll both have water, please?" Carl answered as he and his wife
rose to plate their food. When she had sat back down, Betty observed,
"My, the bride and groom look rather young."

"Oh, they're older than they look." Marie replied tactfully as she
thought of their maturity.

"I think they make a damn fine looking couple, Betty and she's the
prettiest little thing I've ever seen, if I do say so myself!" Carl said in a
heavy southern drawl.