by Harmon, AJ
Now, as the two of them stood outside the cathedral, she didn’t really care what she wore either. All she cared about was the groom and he was standing beside her, their hands joined, fingers entwined.
Mark’s other hand felt in his pocket for the two rings they had just purchased. There was a small cart on the corner a few blocks away from the church. An old woman was selling jewelry made from coral and shells that she collected on the beach. They had found, miraculously, two rings that didn’t match exactly, but complimented each other in their color. They were made of sea shell and Mark had purchased them both after trying them on. They now sat in the bottom of his pocket, waiting for the moment when he could officially slip it on Katy’s finger and make her his wife. Nothing would make him happier.
At 6:40pm, they walked into the cathedral and the kind secretary was waiting for them. She smiled and welcomed them.
“We never do this,” she said. “You must be a very special couple. But please don’t tell anyone. We wouldn’t want this getting out. There would be a run on the cathedral,” she winked.
Mark and Katy looked at each other and grinned.
“You are very special,” he mouthed to Katy. He thought perhaps, for the first time ever, she blushed.
The secretary followed the last worshipper out of the building and shut the door behind her after a placing a small ‘closed’ sign on the outside.
“Mass begins at 7:30pm so we have a very small window,” she explained.
As they began walking towards the front of the church, Father Carlos appeared with two gentlemen at his side.
“The witnesses,” Mark whispered.
The priest shook their hands as they approached him and he introduced them to the two men that would serve as witnesses. They were Father Carlos’ brothers and they were very happy to assist.
Mark expressed their appreciation and the service began. Father Carlos offered a short prayer.
“Because of the uniqueness of this situation, and the time constraints, we will dispense with the readings,” he smiled.
Mark and Katy promised to be faithful and kind. They promised to be truthful and considerate. And they declared to Father Carlos, the witnesses and to God that they did all of it of their own free will.
Then they recited their vows, Mark going first.
“I, Marcus Peter Lathem, take you, Kathryn Estelle Miles, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”
“I, Kathryn Estelle Miles, take you, Marcus Peter Lathem, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”
“You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide,” Said Father Carlos. “Now you can exchange rings. Do you have rings?”
“Yes we do,” nodded Mark and pulled the rings from his pocket and placed them on the bible in Father Carlos’ hand.
“Lord, bless and consecrate Mark and Katy in their love for each other. May these rings be a symbol of true faith in each other, and always remind them of their love. Through Christ our Lord.”
Mark picked up a ring and slid it onto Katy’s finger. “Katy, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
It was Katy’s turn so she took the ring from the open book and held Mark’s hand in hers and gently slid the ring over his knuckle and down his finger. A tear fell from her cheek and landed on his hand.
“Mark, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Father Carlos nodded and smiled. “You may exchange a kiss.”
Mark gently pulled Katy to him and kissed her sweetly.
“I love you,” he whispered as he let her go.
“You are now husband and wife,” the priest proclaimed. “Let me leave you with a blessing.”
Father Carlos blessed them with happiness and with love and understanding. And then he hugged them both and wished them joy in all things.
And it was done. They were married. Finally.
*****
As dinner was served, Janie looked around their table and noticed several family members were missing. She wasn’t surprised. Adam and Tyler were with Derek and Ben in the city. Andrew and Rory had decided to have dinner in San Juan too.
“I thought Mark and Katy were coming back,” Maureen said, almost reading Janie’s exact thoughts.
“Me too,” Matt said. “They must have found a great restaurant.”
“Well, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking today and I wanted to talk to Katy. I guess it will have to wait,” Maureen sighed.
“Anything important?” Janie fished.
“Well?” Maureen thought for a moment. “Yes. Yes it is important. I wanted to tell her that it doesn’t matter when she and Mark get married. I am done interfering and hoping. When she is ready I know she’ll marry my son, but in the meantime? Well, I will just enjoy my family. All of you.”
Janie dropped her fork. Matt’s jaw plummeted open. David’s eyes almost popped from his head and Peter choked on his mouthful of water.
“Well I think that’s very sweet,” Patty smiled. “I’m sure she would really like to hear that.”
*****
There was a car waiting outside the church. Mark opened the door and they slid into the backseat and off they went.
“Where are we going?” Katy asked.
Mark just smiled and told her to wait and see.
“When did you do all this?” she asked.
“While you were buying your dress,” he said as he ran his fingers over the smooth fabric covering her legs.
“Oh,” she smiled.
They drove for about an hour, away from the bright lights of downtown. They drove east along the coast, the sun beginning to set behind them. The driver pulled onto a gravel road and drove towards the ocean and when he couldn’t drive anymore he stopped.
Mark opened the door and he and Katy climbed from the backseat. The driver retrieved their small shopping bag containing the clothes they wore off the ship that morning and handed them to Mark.
“I will return for you tomorrow at noon,” he said and got back in the car and drove away, leaving the newlyweds in front a small house that literally sat on the beach.
“This is beautiful,” Katy whispered.
The shades of blue in the sky had turned to oranges and pinks as the sun slowly set. A heavy-set Latino woman opened the front door and greeted them warmly.
“Welcome,” she smiled. “Everything is ready for you. If you need anything, anything at all, I am in that house down there.” She pointed about one hundred yards away to the small house painted a bright shade of green.
“Thank you very much,” Mark said as he shook her hand.
“You are most welcome,” she said and strolled towards her house.
“How?” Katy asked.
“Angela works miracles,” he grinned. “As soon as Matt actually retires like he keeps threatening to, I’m snatching her. If there was a Nobel Prize for secretaries, she would win every year.”
“It’s so quiet here,” Katy said as they began walking to the front door. All they could hear were the waves of the ocean lapping up on the sand.
Stepping inside it was like walking into paradise. The floors were tiled in red clay squares. The walls were painted a clean white and there were two large ceiling fans moving the air. It was really one large space; a small kitchen off to the right and a dining table with four chairs and a door that opened on the far left which appeared to be a bathroom. There was a sofa and chair and a flat screen television and in the middle of the room was a half wall that doubled as a headboard for a king-sized bed on the other size that was filled wit
h pillows of every color of the ocean. And then the rear wall of the house that opened to the beach wasn’t a wall at all but massive accordion-style glass doors that were wide open making the room feel as though they were already outside. There was a patio off the rear of the house with a grass hut style roof overhead and a table and chairs and a barbecue. In the middle of the table were a metal bucket filled with ice and a bottle of champagne and two crystal flutes standing next to it.
“Welcome to your wedding night Mrs. Lathem,” he grinned.
*****
Janie sat on the edge of the bed after trying Katy and Mark’s room for the third or fourth time.
“It’s late. Should I be worried?”
“No.”
“But why haven’t they come back to the ship? Maybe I should try his cell phone.”
Matt chuckled. “No. Mark’s a big boy and he can take care of them both. They are probably dancing the night away learning how to salsa, or rumba, or whatever. Now put down the phone and attend to your wifely duties.”
Janie’s eyebrows rose high. “Duties?” she asked.
“Your wifely…benefits?”
“That’s better,” she giggled as she removed her nightgown and crawled into bed.
*****
With the sand squishing between her toes, Katy stood on the beach and filled her senses with the ocean. Ever since her childhood, water had become a magically calming influence over her soul. She smelled the salt water and felt the grains of sand beneath her feet and the light ocean spray on her face. She watched the small waves breaking on the shore and she listened to the gulls above her high in the sky. Closing her eyes, Katy wrapped her arms around her body and filled her entire being with the magic of the water.
Mark stood in the doorway and watched his wife. My wife. I like the sound of that, he thought.
From the moment he had seen Katy for the first time many years ago, restrained and terrified, he had known that she would become a part of his life. But back then, he hadn’t had the slightest idea that she would become his entire life.
He stood behind her and engulfed her with his arms. He softly kissed her shoulder.
“This is so perfect,” she smiled. “I couldn’t have dreamt anything more perfect.”
“I’m very pleased you like it. Now, come to bed with me.”
Katy took her husband’s hand as he led her through the large opening and into the bedroom. The pillows that covered the white duvet were every shade of blue and aqua and pale greens. They looked like the sea. She removed them from the bed and carefully stacked them in the corner.
Mark’s fingers slowly slid up her arms sending shivers down her spine. She closed her eyes and let her sense of touch take over. Mark caressed her shoulders, her neck and her back that showed above her dress. Slowly, he pulled the zipper down till it stopped and the dress fell from her body to the cool tiles on the floor.
He kissed her shoulders and he pushed aside her hair and kissed her neck. He stepped away and removed his shirt and trousers and returned to his place against her back. Their skin brushed and they both felt the jolt of electricity that shot between them, igniting the spark that filled them with passion and desire.
Marks hands cupped her breasts and the warmth she felt went through her skin and straight to her heart. Why had she held out for so long? How could she have wanted to avoid this overwhelming sense of belonging and rightness?
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I know you do,” he smiled. “I love you too.”
She twisted in his arms, and found his lips, their bodies desperately needing the other. Yet the kiss was soft, sweet, a promise of love and fidelity.
Katy pulled away and placed her hand on his cheek.
“Thank you for waiting for me.”
Mark smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.
“You are worth waiting for,” he whispered.
The spark that had flickered ignited into a fire burning with need. Their hands were all over each other, their lips following behind. Katy hooked her thumbs in Mark’s briefs and shoved them down to his ankles and ordered him to remove them. Likewise, Mark slid her lace panties down her thighs but his fingers were gentle and he dropped to his knees to remove them from her feet. Slowly rising, Mark kissed his way up; up her legs, over her hips, across her flat tummy, over her round breasts and up her breast bone to her neck.
“I could do this all night,” he breathed into her neck as he tasted her.
“I couldn’t,” she panted. “I want you. I need you.”
In one swift move, Mark picked her up behind her knees and laid her on the bed, now sprawled in front of him, her eyes filled with longing.
Katy opened her arms, an invitation he accepted without hesitation. He climbed on top of her and her legs parted, ready for him to fill her.
“Forever,” he whispered as he slid inside her.
“Forever,” she agreed as she eagerly accepted him.
Their bodies joined together in perfect rhythm. Their hearts were joined forever.
14.
DAY 12 – SAN JUAN
Janie and Matt sat eating breakfast in the dining room with Peter and Maureen.
“I don’t know where they are and I’m getting worried,” Janie said for the third time since they had sat down to eat.
Peter chuckled. “And you two never went missing for a couple of days before Ella was born...”
Matt looked at Janie, eyebrows raised and trying not to laugh.
Janie sighed. “I suppose. But where did they sleep?”
“They probably didn’t sleep,” Matt said.
“Matthew!” Maureen exclaimed. “Not at the table. While we’re eating. Please!”
Matt chuckled at his mother and patted Janie’s hand.
“The ship sails at two,” he said. “I assure you they will be back by then.”
“And if they’re not?” she asked.
“Then we will deal with it then. There is no point getting anxious when you have no reason to be.”
With breakfast finished and the waiter clearing their plates, Janie sipped on her orange juice, concern written all over her face. Sadly, the last time Katy went missing it didn’t end well and although the images came rarely to her mind now, they were forever etched in her brain. The panic that she was starting to feel was real, however unnecessary it may be.
Peter and Maureen excused themselves. They were off to see a couple of museums today. Peter had only agreed to go because there wasn’t enough time for a round of golf.
Matt turned to his wife and took her hand in his.
“I know where your mind has gone,” he said seriously.
Janie looked up at him and frowned.
“Mark will never let anything happen to her. Of that I would bet my life,” he said.
Comforted by his words, Janie sighed and attempted a weak smile.
“Come on,” he said pulling her from the table and leading her from the restaurant. “There is a glorious day waiting for us out there and I, for one, am going to enjoy it.”
*****
Mark watched Katy sleep in his arms, her cheek resting on his chest. He would let her sleep even though it was well into the morning. They hadn’t fallen asleep until almost six. As the sun was rising, they lay in bed propped up on pillows, completely satiated and exhausted, watching the brilliant colors dance across the water. The ocean was calm and quiet and they finally drifted to sleep.
Stretching his neck, he could see the clock on the wall. It was almost eleven. The driver would be back to pick them up in just over an hour. The kind lady who took care of the cottage had fixed them a meat and cheese plate for supper the evening before that they had devoured on the patio just after midnight but Mark was hungry and his stomach was starting to rumble.
Katy’s arm moved and she patted his tummy.
“Is that my alarm clock?” she joked.
“Sorry,” he winced.
“What time is it?”
/> “We have about an hour till we have to leave.”
Katy groaned and then yawned. “I think the driver will have to wait.”
Mark chuckled.
“Tired?”
Katy lifted her head and smiled. “We didn’t get a lot of sleep.”
“No, but we can sleep when we get home.”
Mark lifted her chin up to him and he kissed her softly.
“You have made me the happiest man alive,” he grinned.
“And I do believe I have just made your mother the happiest woman alive,” she joked.
“Ah! My mother. How are we going to tell her?”
“Let’s not.”
Mark’s eyes shot open.
“Not yet,” she clarified. “Let’s have a day or so with it being just our little secret.”
“Okay,” Mark agreed. “You let me know when you’re ready.”
*****
Lester had called Patty’s cabin that morning to see if she would like to accompany him on a walk through the city, staying relatively close to the pier. Patty had explained that she had offered to have the children while Matt and Janie were off the ship.
“Well, then may I accompany you on your babysitting assignment?” he had asked.
Patty was shocked at first by his request and then a smile appeared on her face and she was quite flattered at his offer.
“Well I don’t want to keep you from enjoying the day in San Juan,” she had said.
“If I have to choose between the two then I would choose to stay with you,” came his reply.
So after Christopher was fed and asleep, Patty met Lester on the pool deck with the children; Ella was walking holding her hand and Christopher in the stroller. They found a table and the two adults read stories to Ella and played with her dolls.
“I haven’t done this since my daughter was this age. That was a long time ago,” Lester said. “I have all grandsons,” he explained. “It’s all about cars and shooting things,” he laughed.