Chapter 83

Almost everyone in attendance took the time to speak with us during the cocktail hour, but we actively sought out the ones we wanted to tell how happy we were to have them there.

Most people have been to enough of these events to develop a repertoire of greetings from supportive to laudatory.

The majority of the people Jeff and I didn't know well would approach to shake our hands and start off with, "Congratulations," and then pause with an amused look on their faces as if they had no idea what to say next. Most would follow it with a slight head shake or shoulder shrug and say something like, "That was a new experience. It was fun."

I was amazed that just by being ourselves, Jeff and I had managed to encourage something often lacking at large public events - sincerity.

We had not been able to get all the "candid" shots like the bridesmaids finishing preparation with the bride, the garter shot and the spontaneous poses with all and sundry relatives smiling as if they had never been happier in their lives. My mother agreed we would be better served by taking actual candid shots than hunting down everyone who should be in a proper wedding album and delaying our arrival at dinner. We certainly would not be able to grab everyone who would be in those shots in the time allotted to hors d'oeuvres and cocktails.

I like hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. Jeff certainly seemed to like the hors d'oeuvres, but he didn't drink. I hadn't been able to get out of him whether that was because he didn't care for alcohol, or because it was illegal for him to drink it and he would not break the law gratuitously.

I was pretty sure he would become a law breaker if he felt the situation called for it, but underage drinking was not such a necessity.

"Now that's how a wedding is meant to be," I heard from my left. It was Sunny's mom, Hari. "An expression of who you are."

"I'm not quite sure I'm that girl, but I certainly felt like it today."

"We love you to pieces, Ashley. You should have a long and happy life together like Sam and me."

She gave me a big hug and so did Sam.

"We love you too, Jeff," she added. "But she's getting close."

Sam and Hari needed nothing to stimulate their sincerity. It was pretty much the only way they communicated.

They were followed closely by Sunny and Louis. He smiled, gave me a meaningful look and hugged me. He had started the meaningful looks and other forms of non-verbal communication after his heart attack. He saw me as having made a substantial contribution to his recovery. He might have been right.

"So, are we finally finished with having to convince you how wonderful you are?" asked Sunny. "That was pretty amazing."

People have a natural psychological affinity for their family. Even when the parents do a horrible job raising them, when they subject them to various kinds of abuse and neglect, children retain a strong bond of love for their parents whether they get along or not. I suppose that was the situation between my mother and me. But I loved her nowhere near as much as I loved Sunny.