There was a murmur among the crowd, as much over the fact that Tusker and Tessa didn't seem married as about anything else. I ignored it and moved along, "Now, I need to thank, again, the staff here at Trinkaus Manor for helping us get the ambulance in and letting us use the lounge." That was total bullshit, but it couldn't hurt. Maybe they wouldn't charge Big Bob for the linen. "I also need to thank Anna Lee Buckminster. She's the wife of my other usher, Harlan. Raise your hands, Anna Lee, Harlan." Again, this was pretty much a waste, since they were the only black people in the entire crowd. "Anna Lee is an obstetrical nurse, so Tessa couldn't have been in any better hands."
"Finally I want to thank my little sister, Suzie Buckman..."
"Woohoo!", she called out, hopping up and waving her arms like the little extrovert she is.
I kept on, though I was laughing, " ... for helping Anna Lee. Suzie's planning on becoming a nurse someday herself. Great job, Suzie!"
There was a lot of applause from the Buckman side of the family.
"Now, it's time to get back to the reception. The band is getting ready to start up, so everybody should be dancing and having some fun. At some point here, Marilyn and I are going to take off and go see our friends in the hospital, but even after we leave, keep the party going, use up all the booze, and make Big Bob go out and buy some more. I don't want anybody to forget this wedding!" I motioned the keyboardist to kill the mike and then handed it back to him.
Big Bob and Harriet were two of the first people to come up to us. "You throw a hell of a party, Bob!", I told him.
"I guess so!", he answered with a grin. "Remind me not to have you at any more parties!" He turned to his daughter. "Having fun, sweetheart?"
Marilyn hugged me. "Yes!"
I called over to the band. "Father-daughter dance, now!"
The band immediately started playing, and the band leader announced an immediate father-daughter dance, which wasn't quite on the schedule, but that was all blown to hell anyway. After that, I danced with my mother, then I danced with Harriet (like dancing with a drunken heifer, she had already had a few Manhattans) while Marilyn danced with my old man. I even managed to sneak in a dance with my wife! Finally we worked our way through a dollar dance, with Anna Lee and Tammy holding the bags for the money. I made sure I danced with both of them, as well.
At that point, I had one last dance with Marilyn, and then I dragged her off to the side. "It's time that we got going.", I told her.
Marilyn pouted. "It's too early!"
"They're your friends just the same as they're my friends. We need to go see them and then head over to Syracuse.
She sighed. "I know. I just wish we could stay longer. You're right."
"Go find Tammy and have her help you with that getup. Have I told you lately just how gorgeous you actually are?"
"Yes, but I love hearing you say it."
I nuzzled her neck and whispered in her ear, "Maybe sometime you can wear it again, and I can find out if you're wearing stockings or pantyhose." That earned me a little shriek and an embarrassed swat from my wife. I headed off to the lounge, where we had already brought in a travel bag.
There was a dichotomy in our travel plans. We were taking a cruise, and at least one night was a formal night, where you were advised to bring a tuxedo if at all possible. My mess dress would certainly work for that. However, Marilyn's wedding dress might never again see the light of day; it certainly wouldn't be suitable for the cruise. Tammy had promised to get it back to the house. After we got back from the cruise, and Marilyn had moved into the apartment with me, her family would ship her stuff to us FedEx.
I stripped out of my uniform and folded that up in my travel bag. I would get it cleaned and pressed on the ship. I then changed into some chinos and a sport shirt, and some much more comfortable boat shoes. Marilyn and Tammy came in during this time, so I simply went behind the bar to finish dressing. I also watched Marilyn changing. She was a little embarrassed, and made me turn away, so I watched her by way of the mirror behind the bar, which she also caught me doing. That earned me a one way trip out the side door to the lawn.
Ten minutes later Tammy opened the door and summoned me back inside. Marilyn had on a nice and simple sundress and some flat sandals, and Tammy was helping her fold the wedding dress up. I rearranged a few things in the travel bag and closed it up, and then went out and looked for the limo driver. He was in the kitchen eating a few pastries and drinking some coffee. I tossed him the bag, and he grinned and snagged it, and headed out to his limo. I then went back to the lounge and found Marilyn and we went back to the reception to make our final good-byes.
Predictably, my mother found the entire event quite disagreeable. Having a baby at a wedding reception like that, especially by people who weren't even married! Shocking! And Marilyn's family, well, really, couldn't I have done better? Children shouldn't be at a wedding reception, and Harriet had her latest baby, Miriam, in a baby seat, along with all the others running around the place. She didn't say that in front of Marilyn, not quite, at least, but she certainly told me about it, both in a previous life and earlier today. I just kissed her on the cheek and ignored her. Dad, on the other hand, found it all quite amusing. "Nothing like a little excitement, huh?", he asked Marilyn.
"I don't want any more excitement!", she replied, to which he and I both laughed. Mom just sniffed.
After that, Marilyn and I made a quick circuit of the room, thanking everybody for coming, and making sure to tell Joe and Harlan to get the baby presents to Tusker and Tessa. Then we scooted out the side door to the limo.
Chapter 52: Cruising
Before we climbed into the limo, I spoke to the driver about our plans. First I asked for his business card, and then I looked it over. "Tom Bouchet? That's you?", I asked.
"That's me.", he answered pleasantly.
"Nice to meet you, Tom. I'm Carl Buckman and this is my wife Marilyn."
Tom laughed. "I sort of had that figured out Mr. Buckman." He glanced at Marilyn, and nodded towards her, "Mrs. Buckman."
Marilyn grinned. "I like the sound of that."
I smiled too. "Well, Tom, here's the deal. Before we head out to the airport, we need to go over to St. Luke's to see our friends. You heard about that, right?"
Tom laughed again. "Oh, yeah!"
Marilyn and I had to laugh at this as well. Probably half the people in the Mohawk Valley would hear about this by the end of the weekend. "So anyway, we need to go over there and see how they're doing before we run out to Syracuse. I know this wasn't part of the deal, but if you can't run it through the original bill, send it to me directly, all right?" I dug out one of my business cards, with my address in Fayetteville.
"We'll figure it out at the office.", he assured me.
I thought for a second. "Are you busy tomorrow?", I asked.
Marilyn looked at me and asked, "Tomorrow?"