Jennifer smiled. “I guess the shower presents should go first.”
She had a great time with Beth and Ruthann, putting away utensils and linens with Ruthann and Rick’s babies underfoot. Beth ran to the grocery store while the men went for another load from Harvey’s apartment, and when they returned, she was taking hot muffins out of the oven.
The location for setting up the computers was a quandary. They all discussed it over muffins. Upstairs there were four empty bedrooms, so Harvey and Jennifer could each claim one for a study, but Harvey said that seemed rather isolationist.
Eddie jerked his head toward the dining room. “What’s in there?”
“Nothing,” Harvey said.
“Nothing? Just nothing?”
“No, it was the dining room, but Mr. Bailey sold all the furniture.”
Eddie walked to the doorway and looked in. “Are you going to buy more dining room furniture?”
“Not right away,” Jennifer said, looking at Harvey.
Harvey nodded. “We like to eat in the kitchen.”
“What about when you have company?” Ruthann asked.
“We have company right now, and we’re eating in the kitchen,” Harvey pointed out. “Are you insulted?”
They ended up turning the dining room into the computer room, and Eddie and Rick helped them get everything up and running. By this time, Harvey’s apartment and Jennifer and Beth’s house were starting to look a little bare. They both had CD players, so Jennifer’s went in the living room and Harvey’s in the bedroom. Her TV and DVD player went in the living room, too, and they put Harvey’s in the sun room.
“This is obscene,” Beth said. “You have two of everything.”
“Maybe I should leave some of it for you,” said Jennifer. “You have a TV, though.”
“Hold it.” Rick held up both hands. “This is normal for two adults who’ve lived alone for years. No guilt necessary.”
Harvey had claimed he had much stuff, but once they started moving it, it kept expanding. Even so, his clothes took about a fifth of the closet space in the master bedroom. Jeff had brought Jennifer’s bike from home, and he put it in the garage. Harvey’s tools looked lonely out there, with the wide workbench around them nearly bare. Mr. Bailey had left the lawnmower and various other gardening implements.
“I’m starting to feel like a homeowner,” he told Jennifer. “For the first time in my life, I have my own hose and wheelbarrow.”
They transported more of Jennifer’s things—her desk, rocking chair, CDs, and books. When she took Harvey and Rick into her bedroom to show them the bookcase she wanted moved, Harvey stopped and stared at the wall. She had requested a photo of Harvey in his Kevlar vest after he’d been injured that spring, and a poster-size copy hung in her room.
Rick laughed when he saw it. “I guess we know who your hero is, Jennifer.”
“That’s not going to the new house is it?” Harvey asked.
“It most certainly is,” she said.
Her Van Gogh print found a new home in the sun room, and they agreed Harvey’s coffee table was ugly, so they kept Jennifer’s. He hung a small shelf on the wall near the kitchen table, and the flow blue plate he’d bought for her went there.
Beth turned on the evening news at six o’clock. Harvey and Mike starred in the lead story, with clips from that morning’s press conference. Beth recorded it while they unpacked. In the next half hour, she also caught a shortened version on national news. The arrest of the congressman and his henchman, along with the unraveling of the famous author’s murder, was a huge story. The police station had received calls from news agencies all over the country.
“Does it still bother you to watch yourself, Harvey?” Beth asked.
“Not as much. Our side won this one, and the reporters aren’t casting aspersions on the P.D.’s competence.”
The Bradleys, Eddie, and Jennifer took a straw vote and agreed he projected confidence during the press conference, and he and Mike looked sharp.
When the national broadcast was over, Jennifer kissed him on the cheek. “You did great.”
“Thanks.” Harvey stood. “Show’s over, folks. Eddie, I think it’s time we fed these people.”
“I saw a pizza place a few blocks from here,” Eddie said.
They brought back three pizzas and cold drinks, and they all crowded around the kitchen table once more. Harvey’s cell phone rang while they were eating. He looked at the screen then put the call on speaker with a wink at Jennifer.
“Hello, Mrs. Weymouth,” he said. Ruthann’s jaw dropped, but the rest of them weren’t shocked.
“Excellent job, Larson,” the mayor said. “Blake’s murder solved, and some old cases to boot. I knew I made the right decision last week. You and Browning have exceeded expectations.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Harvey said. “It was hard work, but it all came together in the end.”
“I understand you’re getting married soon.”
“Yes, ma’am, a week from today.”
“Congratulations!”
“Thank you.” He smiled broadly at Jennifer.
“My invitation must be in the mail.”
“Uh—” The smile slipped.
The mayor laughed.
“Would you want to attend, Mrs. Weymouth?” Harvey asked cautiously.
“I’d be honored. I’m told the bride is lovely.”
“She’s—”
Harvey gazed at Jennifer, and she was glad the mayor couldn’t see her, sitting on a stool, bare-footed, in her cutoff jeans and dust-smeared Piglet T-shirt, with her hair in long braids and probably pizza sauce on her chin. She held her breath, waiting for his reply, her cheeks flaming.
“She’s perfect,” Harvey said, and Jennifer exhaled. “I’ll hand deliver your invitation Monday morning,” Harvey added.
Jennifer nodded, but she hoped the wedding wasn’t turning into a circus. She puffed out a breath when he’d signed off. “Wow.”
“Double wow,” Ruthann said. She turned to Rick. “Honey, can I get a new dress for the wedding?”
“Why not?” Rick shrugged. “It’s not every day you socialize with the mayor.”
He and Ruthann packed up the kids and left soon after. Eddie, Beth, and Jennifer stayed a little longer with Harvey. This would be his first night at the new house.
“We forgot to bring the games over,” Beth said. “The next Trivial Pursuit tournament can be held here.”
Jennifer smiled. She looked forward to evenings in front of the fireplace with their friends. The four of them prayed together, and she knew it would be a happy house.
Eddie and Beth went out, and she lingered in the breezeway with Harvey, seeing them off.
“I saw Margaret yesterday,” Jennifer said softly.
“Margaret Turner? Where?”
“At her office. My checkup.”
“Oh, right.”
Eddie and Beth drove out, and they waved. Harvey put his arms around Jennifer, and she said, “She had me make another appointment for September.”
“Something wrong?”
“No, just … she thought I might need it. Her office is really busy, and it’s hard to get appointments at the last minute.” She had her sandals on now, and she kicked at the cocoa mat. Surely she didn’t need to spell it out for someone as brilliant as Harvey, the man who wanted children while he semi-young.
“You had me worried, Pocahontas.” He tugged one braid gently so she’d look at him.
“Where are we staying next Saturday?” she asked.
“I made a reservation at the Oakwood. Eddie will take us to the airport Sunday.”
“We could stay here.”
His eyebrows lowered in a frown. “You don’t want to go to London?”
“I mean just Saturday night. It would save us a hundred bucks or so.”
“A hundred seventy-five,” he said. “You want to come here instead? No room service.”
“You can buy cereal and milk
and coffee.”
“You’d really rather stay here?” He sounded eager.
She looked deeply into his eyes. “I’m really looking forward to being here with you.”
He smiled. “You got it, gorgeous. Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
*****
The Wainthrops descended en masse on Thursday night. Jeff was working again after his two-day hiatus, but would have Friday and the wedding day off. The Wainthrops parked Travis and Randy at the apartment. The boys helped set up Jeff’s bed and move the couch to the new house.
Abby and Leeanne and their luggage went to Beth and Jennifer’s, and their parents and Grandpa Wainthrop would stay at Van Cleeve Lane with Harvey. He and Jennifer had managed to have the two furnished rooms upstairs ready for them. Beth, enjoying her summer vacation, saw that the family had what they needed while the bride and groom went off to work on Friday.
Jennifer’s father had promised Harvey he would visit the police station, and he and Grandpa went that afternoon. They seemed very impressed with the setup in the Priority Unit. Paula brought coffee to the break room for the three of them, and Nate and Pete came in to politely update Harvey on their cases.
“So, you’re the boss here now,” said George, stirring sugar into his coffee.
“Make sure you boss Jennifer at home, too,” said Grandpa. Harvey had never met him before, but he liked Grandpa Wainthrop. In his late seventies, he was still active and witty.
“I get enough bossing in around here,” Harvey said. “I think I’ll just want to be coddled at home.”
“Coddled or cuddled?” Grandpa hooted.
Jennifer was waiting for them in the parking lot when they arrived at the church that evening for the rehearsal.
“Harvey, we got twenty more RSVP’s today.”
“Wow. Okay.”
“Do you think we’ll have enough cake?” she wailed. Her gray eyes looked a little panicky. “I think every cop in Portland is coming, and bringing his family along.”
“Good day to rob a bank,” observed Eddie.
“Oh, shut up,” said Jennifer. They both stared at her.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She was crying now.
“My exit line,” Eddie said, and high-tailed it into the church.
Harvey took her in his arms and gave her his handkerchief. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll figure everything out.”
When the tears abated, he took her inside to seek advice from her mother and the Rowlands.
“How many people?” Marilyn Wainthrop asked.
“Around two hundred seventy-five, at the last count,” Jennifer said.
“Seating’s not a problem, but you might need more ushers,” the pastor said. “Maybe a couple of our church ushers would help out.”
“They won’t match the other guys,” said Jennifer.
“They don’t need to. They won’t be standing up front. They can just help seat people, then disappear.”
“My brother will do it,” Beth said.
“Get Dan Wyman,” Eddie suggested. “He’d do anything for Harvey.”
Beth went to call Rick and Dan.
“The mayor is coming,” Jennifer quavered. “I’ve never even met her, and she’s bringing her husband.”
“Just pray Tony Winfield doesn’t bring his uncle,” Harvey quipped. Jennifer started crying again.
“Let’s call the bakery,” said Marilyn.
Mary Rowland, the pastor’s wife, nodded. “Good idea. And the church ladies making sandwiches and salads can just make more. I’ll go to my house and start calling from there.”
“And call the florist, please,” Jennifer yelled after her mother. “We’ll need extra boutonnieres for Dan and Rick.”
The rehearsal went forward, and Marilyn emerged from the pastor’s study halfway through. “Mrs. Lundquist has extra cake layers frozen,” she announced. “A customer broke her engagement at the last minute, and she’d already baked the layers. They’re thawing as we speak, and she’ll frost them to match the other cake.”
“We’re going to have two cakes?” Harvey asked. Dollar signs were ringing up in his brain.
“Yes. She and her husband will be here by 8 a.m. to set them up and do the final decorating.”
“We should have invited her to the wedding,” Harvey said.
“Your baker?” Marilyn was startled.
“She helped us out a lot on the Blake case. She was his classmate, loaned us her yearbook and everything.”
“Why don’t we just invite the whole class?” Jennifer said, her voice rising impossibly high.
“Well, Thelma Blake asked me if she could come, and I said yes,” Eddie said.
Jennifer put her hands to her temples, her eyes wild.
Pastor Rowland said, “Stay calm, everyone. Let’s have the wedding party back on their marks and get through this.”
Harvey and Eddie found their masking tape markers at the front of the church, and the girls practiced coming down the aisle again. Beth, then Leeanne, then Abby, then Jennifer on George’s arm.
Eddie, as the only bachelor in the wedding party, divided his smiles among the bridesmaids. He had met Abby only briefly, and he seemed a bit awed by her. She had a strong resemblance to Jennifer, and she wore a long braid that night, the same hairstyle Jennifer often chose. Leeanne’s dark hair was loose, and she was beautiful in her own way—the kind of dilemma Eddie relished, but Harvey hoped the sisters weren’t headed for hard feelings. Beth got her share of Eddie’s attention as well, but he understood Jeff was staking out that territory.
They practiced stepping up on the platform for the vows, and Jennifer practiced handing Abby her flowers. Pastor Rowland made Harvey repeat the vows until he could do it without stumbling. He just had to think about it. It would have been simple if Jennifer hadn’t stood there, looking him expectantly in the face.
They lit the candles to make sure they’d light. He practiced blowing out Jennifer’s candle, so she wouldn’t catch her veil on fire. They even practiced kissing, so it wouldn’t be messy the next day. Pastor Rowland approved the three-second version.
Finally, the pastor declared they were ready for the wedding, and they all went to eat a late supper at a Chinese restaurant.
*****
People started arriving shortly after noon, an hour before the wedding was supposed to begin. Mike and Carl had their tuxedoes on and were ready. Rick Bradley and Dan Wyman stood by in the entry in their best Sunday suits to help seat people.
The photo session had taken place earlier. It had taken some persuasion to overcome Jennifer’s bias about Harvey seeing her in the wedding dress before the ceremony, but George was on Harvey’s side in the interest of efficiency, and he had convinced Jennifer it was best to get the pictures out of the way.
Jennifer had been gorgeous at the session, wearing the traditional white gown, the gold locket Harvey had given her hanging at her throat. Her eyes were like the stars in the Van Gogh painting, and her hair braided and wrapped on top of her head like the bridesmaids’.
After the photographer was done, Eddie made Harvey stay in the room they had dressed in. They peeled off their jackets, vests and ties to keep from getting all sweaty before the ceremony. A fan hummed before the screened window. Somebody had left sandwiches, cookies, and soda in the dressing room, but Harvey couldn’t eat anything. After twenty minutes or so, he started pacing.
“You’re doing the right thing,” Eddie said.
“Of course.” No doubt about that, but his stomach was still rioting. Harvey took a deep breath and looked out the window. The parking lot was jam-packed.
Finally Pastor Rowland came in. “Better get dressed, guys.”
“How many people?” Harvey asked.
“It’s filling up fast. We’re having the men bring more chairs up from the fellowship hall.”
“Is the mayor here?”
“Not yet.” Rowland went out.
Eddie helped Harvey with the vest and bow tie, and Harvey
helped him. Eddie started putting his holster on over the vest.
“You’re not really going to, are you?” Harvey asked. It suddenly seemed
inappropriate.
“Well, what am I supposed to do? Leave it in the Sunday School room for an
hour or two?”
Mike came in. “You guys ready?”
“Mike, are you wearing your gun?” Eddie asked.
He opened his tux jacket and displayed his badge and holster.
“See?” said Eddie.
“There are about fifty officers out there in uniform, anyway,” said Mike. “They’re all wearing their sidearms.”
“Okay.” Harvey had meant to leave his in his locker the night before, but he’d forgotten. He pulled it out of his garment bag and put it on, then the jacket. “Jennifer will probably scalp me.”
“You’ve got backup.” Eddie took his badge off his discarded shirt and pinned it to his vest, where it wouldn’t show under the tuxedo jacket, and Harvey did the same. It felt right to have it there.
Mike looked him up and down. “You look great.”
“Where’s the mayor?” Harvey asked.
“On the groom’s side with most of the cops and your sisters and your ex-grandmother-in-law. Oh, and Thelma Blake and all the Thibodeaus.”
Eddie grinned. “This is going to be a great party.”
Mike handed Harvey a folded piece of paper. “Gotta run.”
He unfolded it and saw Jennifer’s handwriting. Today and always. He smiled and tucked it in his pocket.
“You want to send a reply?” Eddie asked.
Harvey got his notebook and pen and stood there, thinking. “It’s got to be something romantic, but not silly.”
“How about, You’re my top priority now?”
“That’s corny.”
The pastor came in and told them it was time to follow him to the anteroom. Harvey scrawled, I love you. When they stepped out into the hallway, he saw Leeanne in her royal blue gown, peeking over the railing where steps went up to classrooms and the balcony. She looked grownup with her hair up, but childish hanging over the railing. Maybe all the Wainthrop girls had that knack.
He stepped over and handed the note up to her. “Take this to Jenny?” She nodded and disappeared up the stairs. Eddie watched her go.
Fort Point (Maine Justice Book 2) Page 34