Chapter 18: Wedding Bells

Dexter tugged at the collar of his tuxedo, while watching Calvin lead Samantha down the aisle to the church atrium. She was a beautiful bride ... as most brides are on their wedding day. He didn’t know how it was, but it was a fact that even the most plain looking woman could look good on her wedding day. It had to be some sort of magic. Of course, it didn’t require any magic for Samantha to look spectacular.

Now that the newlyweds were out of the church, he relaxed a little. He had successfully discharged his responsibilities as best man, for the ceremonial part of the wedding. All he had left was the toast at the wedding reception. He wasn’t looking forward to that. He didn’t like public speaking.

He looked over at Amber and held out an arm for her to take. Best man and maid of honor marched down the aisle after the bride and groom. Calvin had thought it was kind of fitting for the two of them to be members of the wedding party. After all, they had been on his first date with Samantha.

Dexter glanced over at Janet seated in the back row. She was his date for the wedding. He could only imagine the kinds of thoughts going on in her mind. He was pretty sure that she was thinking about how it should be her turn next. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He sighed wondering when he would have to bite the bullet and ask Janet to marry him. It was only a matter of time.

His kids were seated next to Janet. They looked bored, but it was nice to know that they were doing things together as an almost family. Cycling had become a regular activity. The city had a couple of cycling and hiking trails in local parks. They were making the rounds, trying one and then another. Some of the trails had given them quite a workout. Others were simple flat trails that allowed a little speed.

Mary, from the apartment above his, was there with Charlie. They weren’t dating, but she didn’t feel right about attending something like this alone. Charlie had gone along with it, knowing that Dexter and Janet would be there as well. It never hurt to make an appearance at a social event with your clients.

Xavier, the reclusive next door neighbor, had come with his boyfriend, Timothy. Over the course of a few evening patio conversations, Dexter had learned that Xavier had been the target of a number of bullies through high school. While in college studying art, he had been beaten severely coming out of a gay bar one night. Since then, he didn’t trust many people. It was a big step for him to come out in public with his boyfriend.

Dexter was rather surprised that he recognized so many people. A number of select clients from the gym were in the audience as well. At best, they were acquaintances of his, but still the number of people he recognized from there surprised him.

Janet and the kids joined him for the drive over to where the reception was being held. He was still driving the same old car that he’d had while working at the old firm. It was well past its prime.

Dexter had just finished buckling his seat belt when Sarah said, “It sure is going to be strange when we go to our own parents’ wedding.”

“I agree. There’s nothing quite like having your mom and dad getting married when you’re eighteen,” Will said. “It makes you feel kind of illegitimate.”

Janet said, “Your father hasn’t asked me to marry him, yet.”

“He’s going to,” Sarah said.

“Why do you say that?” Dexter asked while backing out of his parking space.

“We know you two are doing the nasty together,” Sarah said.

“What!” Dexter asked hitting the brake and turning back to look at Sarah.

“You’re having sex,” Will said.

Embarrassed, Janet asked, “Why do you think that?”

“Well, let’s see. You come home from your dates happy,” Sarah said.

Dexter turned back to drive towards the reception. Fortunately, it wasn’t far and they would be there within ten minutes. If he was a little heavy with the foot, they could make it in seven or eight minutes.

“Our dates have been very pleasant, so of course I’m happy,” Janet said.

“Mom, we know you and dad have been doing it.”

“Why are you so sure of that?”

“You’ve stopped making out in our driveway at the end of your dates,” Will said.

Dexter nearly drove off the road on hearing that. He thought they were hiding their dating activities better than that.

“Your clothes are actually on straight when you come in the house after he drops you off,” Sarah said.

“It used to be that you’d come home with your blouse done up with one button off,” Will said.

“And you’d be looking all hot and bothered,” Sarah added.

“Now you walk in like nothing has happened,” Will said.

“But we know that something has happened,” Sarah said.

Falling back on a trick that worked when the kids were a lot younger, Dexter pointed out the window and said, “Hey kids. Look at the horse.”

“That’s not going to work,” Sarah said rolling her eyes since she hadn’t fallen for that trick since she was five.

“There aren’t any horses in this neighborhood.”

“So when are you going to get remarried?” Sarah asked.

“Or are you going to live in sin for a while?” Will asked.

“Impressionable minds want to know,” Sarah said causing Will to burst out laughing.

“I’m in a hurry and get stuck behind a granny,” Dexter muttered.

Janet said, “It’s not up to me, kids. You’re going to have to ask your father.”

“Your father is busy driving,” Dexter said.

Dexter followed the granny all of the way to the place where the reception was being held only to learn that granny was actually Charlie. He kind of figured that Charlie would be a faster driver than that. Charlie and Mary were laughing about something when they exited his car.

They all went into the reception.

Dexter was busy mixing socially with a number of the guests there. As best man, he felt it was his duty to know a little about the parents of the bride and groom, as well as other guests. Janet stood by his side meeting the others.

Many things surprised Janet about this event. Dexter spent a lot of time talking with an openly gay couple. She hadn’t thought he would have been so accepting of that alternative lifestyle. Of course, that situation had never arisen before, so she would have no real reason to believe that he would have reacted any differently. Still, he was so ‘old school’ in a lot of ways.

She wasn’t entirely surprised when he had come across like a protective father whenever he was around Amber’s date. Despite knowing the guy for many months, he was always questioning the guy about his intentions and warning him not to hurt her. Amber had been embarrassed but pleased by Dexter’s attention to her future happiness. Janet would have been upset, but she could see that it was concern for Amber rather than jealousy of her date on Dexter’s part.

In a way, it had been years since Janet had seen the social side of Dexter. When they had first married, he had been an engineering geek and uneasy with idly chatting about the weather. He had been a private person. Now, although he still claimed to be a private kind of person, he was much more forthright. He asked questions about life and listened attentively to the answers.

People often asked others about what they did for a living as a polite conversation filler, but when Dexter asked the question, it was clear that he was truly interested in the answer. He asked about what they liked about their jobs, and what displeased them. He listened to their answers, and asked follow-up questions. Janet was impressed with the way he managed to get people to open up and discuss their lives.

She spent fifteen minutes listening to some guy explain to Dexter the ins and outs of a recent lawsuit that had been filed against the guy. The man was angry about the matter. A young couple had changed lanes in front of him nearly clipping his car in the process. As soon as their car was in front of his, they had slammed on the brakes despite the fact that there was no reason for it. Of course, he had no time to react and his car had hit their car. The young couple testified that they now suffered from whiplash and claimed lifetime compensation. The court agreed with the young couple.

Janet understood the man’s outrage. At first, she didn’t understand why Dexter seemed to take it so personally. Then, he started talking about how lawsuits like that were costing everyone money. It wasn’t the first time that he had heard stories of individuals setting up accidents and then attempting to retire off the money they received in the settlement. Sure the money came from the insurance companies, but everyone with insurance was paying for it.

After the conversation with the man had finished, Janet asked, “Are you going for tort reform, next?”

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” Dexter answered sadly. “I fear that is one area where even God would fail. The whole legal system is set up for ever increasing judgments, and less and less application of common sense. That young couple intentionally created an accident and got millions for doing it. There’s something wrong about that ... something very wrong about that.”