Chapter 2: The Wedding

"Who gives this woman away?" the celebrant asked.

"I'm not giving her away, but I'm happy to make sure she marries this man" a cheeky 15 ('but I'm almost 16!') year old Chloe spoke up as she guided her mother to Stephen's side. He was already beaming, but he and the celebrant, together with the more than two dozen witnesses there had a quick chuckle at Chloe's unexpected remark. Katherine was too uptight to do anything other than look nervously and adoringly at her husband-to-be.

Stephen was standing proudly on the lawn by the National Carillion, on Aspen Island in Lake Burley Griffin. He was wearing his sports coat and trousers; his open necked shirt contrasting nicely with his jacket. While he had been waiting for Katherine and Chloe to arrive, he had been enjoying the view across the lake to Canberra City centre on one side of the lake and the stately buildings on the other side, including parliament house and the various museums, high court, etc. It was a very picturesque setting.

Katherine looked gorgeous in a knee-length cream-coloured silk dress, the décolletage displaying her cleavage to its best advantage, while her shoulders were bare apart from the very thin straps loosely supporting her flowing dress. Even Chloe looked quite grown up in her trendy dress that displayed her blossoming figure. She had had her hair, make-up and nails all professionally done just that morning and was clearly going to be a beautiful woman in a very few years.

During the nine month period after they had returned from their Gold Coast holiday, Katherine had managed to make a few friends, but neither she nor Stephen had any family to invite to their wedding. Stephen didn't really have many friends either, apart from his mate Dan and a couple of neighbours. He had also become rather friendly with his literary agent, who was only too happy to attend the wedding of one of her clients who she was hoping would turn out to be a very successful author.

Chloe was allowed to invite a few of her new friends along for the occasion, especially her closest friend, Jacinta, who not only was a fellow horse rider, but was also in the same class at school.

Jacinta's parents had agreed that Chloe could stay with them for a week, enabling Stephen and Katherine to go on a brief honeymoon together as a couple. Chloe was just as excited as her parents at the prospect of being able to stay with her best friend while the honeymoon couple were away doing their thing. Although she couldn't help feeling just a tiny twinge of jealousy that it wasn't her going on the honeymoon.

Even though they were enjoying an exciting and satisfying sex life despite the presence of Chloe in the house, Stephen and Katherine had agreed to have a week with just the two of them, deciding to rent a luxury cottage on Norfolk Island, just a few hours by air from Sydney. The island had a reputation of catering mainly for two types of couples; 'the newlywed and the nearly dead'. Although there were a number of good eating establishments on the island and many daytime activities to enjoy, many relating to the island's convict heritage, there was little in the way of nightlife, which suited both honeymooners and elderly folk alike.

Stephen had read in the travel brochures that the island had been a penal colony during the period 1788 to 1814 and then again from 1825 to 1855. Finally, in 1856 it was settled by descendants of Fletcher Christian and Bounty mutineers, together with the Tahitian women who had resided on the second largest of the Pitcairn Islands. This Island had been unable to support 200 inhabitants, so Queen Victoria offered them Norfolk Island.

Today, he read, Norfolk Island was almost entirely populated by descendants of these Pitcairn Islanders and they even had their own language, although all spoke English as their first language. The permanent population of the island was about 2,000 people, and there were nearly that many again temporary workers, mainly Australians and New Zealanders. Tourists then boosted the total population of the island, sometimes as many as another 2,000. The island couldn't support more than 6,000 people.

Fortunately, the weather on the day of their wedding was kind to them, with a cloud free day and a pleasant temperature. There was just a gentle hint of a breeze as they stood on the lawn around the National Carillion for their simple wedding ceremony. While they sipped on a glass of champagne and nibbled on the platters of beautifully prepared hors-d'oeuvres after the brief ceremony was concluded, they were entertained by a performance played on the 55 bells of the Carillon. The melodic sounds could be heard on both sides of the lake as the music drifted across the water. It was a very popular spot for tourists and for weddings.

The wedding party and their guest then adjourned to Stephen's house for the late lunch, sitting outside at tables and chairs that had been set up on the back lawn. They were pleased that their contingency plans were not required, as it was such a lovely day.

The food was delightful, the wine flowed and the service from the caterers was first class. Fortunately the speeches were kept short, although Dan had to make a few humorous references to Stephen's past. Both bride and groom felt like a pair of teenagers.