The Wedding

It was a lovely spring day. The morning air still had a bit of crisp to it, but nothing a light shawl couldn't keep at bay. Pigeons were cooing merrily while pecking at the offerings left by night's revelers. The sun was behind the church, shining through the stained glass windows. Ribbon, bows, and flowers were strewn over anything holding still. It was the kind of day that could make one want to slice her wrists.

I love my cousin Nathaniel. I really do. And I like the girl he is marrying. She's smart and beautiful and driven. I just don't know how to talk to them. They're both conservative business people who are getting married in a catholic church. I'm pretty sure they think I've suffered brain damage and am incapable of regular conversation. Then there's the rest of my family to worry about. While we would win no original awards in a dysfunctional contest there was just enough to make me dread the coming event. I needed my armor, I needed protection, I needed Leviathan.

Though I hate to admit it, I was relieved when Braylon had to cancel as my date. He had yet to meet my family and I had been sweating it. Literally. Three nights in a row I woke up in a cold sweat. My bed sheets damp from the nightmares. I would roll over to the other side of the bed, grateful that I was sleeping alone. I would be unable to remember anything about the dreams except they involved my family, things falling over, general chaos, and catching a bunch of flowers. Hence the sweating.

It took some convincing to get Roger to agree to accompany me. While we had served as each other's dates previously, it had never overflowed into our families. It was accepted amongst our colleagues that we were friends only. I'm sure there are some that assume we're sleeping together, but the jokes and innuendos had died off a couple years ago (except for Roger's fellow speech writer, Barry who doesn't know how to stop talking. He makes jokes that range from annoying to incredibly inappropriate in a formal setting. The filter between thought and mouth is totally broken. In short: he's a jackass).

Braylon cancelled after the star student at his martial arts school won a district competition and was advancing to state. The state competition happened to be the same day as the wedding. Braylon was apologetic and thought that I would like to take the opportunity to get out of going to the wedding. He was surprised that I wanted to go still, but this was my cousin. Despite not connecting with him since we've grown into adults, when we were children, we were great friends. Braylon actually accused me of not being supportive of his business by not wanting to go with him. I attempted to assure him that me wanting to be there with my family is not being unsupportive of him, but we both walked away from it upset. I don't understand his thinking on this matter and I guess he doesn't understand mine either.

When I asked Roger if he would go with me, he first asked about my family's reaction. Would they understand that we were just friends or would he have to endure questions and jokes the whole night? I told him that would most likely be the case, but he could handle it. My family is impressed by intelligence and being successful. They would probably like him, the fast rising politician, over me, the lowly bookstore owner. He paused to think for a moment and then seemed to suddenly remember that I have a boyfriend. When I told him the story of Braylon cancelling and our subsequent argument, he didn't say anything, but his mouth became a thin line of disapproval. I didn't tell him that I actually preferred him going with me rather than Braylon. It could have given him the wrong idea or a big head.

Why did I want Roger instead of Braylon? How to explain the sense of comfort Roger gives to me in awkward situations? While I'm quiet and usually need a few drinks before I'm relaxed enough to socialize with people I'm not close with, Roger is at ease around almost everyone (the only exceptions are people that he has admired from afar and then finally meets. It's actually quite sweet to see my friend who is usually so collected and cool act nervous and geek out from meeting a guy that most people don't even know exist). Roger cracks tasteful jokes, tells engaging stories that draw people in, and can be the life of a party without being obnoxious. All that plus there's no sexual pressure. Perfect wedding date.

So here we are. Walking up to the church to watch my cousin marry his girlfriend of nearly ten years, I felt Roger stiffen under my arm. I thought I was nervous until I looked up into his face. Roger looked petrified.

"You never said it was a Catholic church."

Was Roger prejudice against Catholics? The thought never occurred to me. "Yes. Michelle was raised Catholic. Is this a problem?"

"Aren't there large amounts of water throughout a Catholic church?"

Oh. "Well, I think so. This is my first time in one too. I think you're going to be okay. You're not getting baptized."

"But what about when we go in? Aren't we supposed to dip our fingers in or something?"

"I don't think they expect the non-Catholics to do the cross. If anyone says anything, just tell them you're Jewish. If all else fails: pretend. We should be all right."

Taking a deep breath, Roger and I climbed the steps into the church.