Although even with a simpler wedding there was a lot to prepare in those two weeks after returning from their trip to get the cache. They planned the wedding to be in the town hall’s auditorium with the ceremony itself limited to family and friends, which still made for a packed room, while the reception was open to the town. That meant the auditorium had to be decorated somehow, which meant a bit of scrounging around town finding things Sam, his mom, and April found suitable. While he was doing that Matt did his best to find something more formal to wear than a white shirt, tie, and slacks.
The days of feeding all wedding guests were well behind them, unfortunately, since even with the meat they’d butchered the town’s supply of food was long gone and nobody was about to donate from whatever individual stores they might have, not even for a wedding. His mom had suggested doling out what few cans of peaches, pears, and sweet corn they had as a little treat, but after Sam had asked everyone to picture how doling out a spoonful of food to each of a roomful of guests would go over they’d agreed to take food off the menu.
At the very least Mayor Tillman offered them a container of powdered Gatorade as a present, and between that and good spring water the guests wouldn’t go thirsty.
Things weren’t going well for the town as the days got colder and food got scarcer, but in spite of that Matt was almost certain the wedding was improving people’s moods. When he was at the storehouse, the town hall, or even on the way to or from patrols people constantly came up to him offering their congratulations, and he quickly learned that he wasn’t the only one who’d formed a high opinion of Sam during her short time in town. He passed on to her a great deal of praise about her cheerfulness, kindness, and willingness to help.
The people around him all seemed to get just a little bit more cheerful when he was around, especially when Sam was with him, even when those people were obviously hungry and even sick, desperate for any pleasant distraction to latch on to. Matt and his fiancee spent most of their time around other people fielding questions about the wedding, quite honestly answering that yes, they were lucky to have found one another, yes, they were very excited about getting married, and yes, they did love each other very much.
It was almost a relief to escape the flurry of wedding planning to wade through ankle deep snow patrolling the town. Sam even started going with him, since between sleeping in the shelter and wedding plans it was one of the few chances they had to spend time alone together. Matt felt bad about forcing her to tramp through the cold, but he certainly couldn’t ask for better company.
Finally the day of the wedding arrived, with Matt nervously standing in the changing room to one side of the stage trying to piece together the tuxedo he’d borrowed from Carl Raymond. As he understood it Sam, in the other changing room across the stage, had no less than four women helping her fix her dress, hair, makeup, veil, shoes, and everything else just right. Not that he needed or wanted anyone to help him dress, of course, but it would’ve been nice if someone had thought to tell him how to put this thing on. He’d had no idea it was going to be this complicated.
Finally, though, he thought he managed to get it right and did some last minute comb work on his hair, which April had cut for him last night. He also ran a hand along his jaw, although if he’d missed a patch shaving this morning it wasn’t like he’d be able to do anything about it now. Less than a minute later there was a soft rap on the door and he was ushered up to stand at the front of the auditorium. Ben Thompson started playing the wedding march on the piano and the noise in the auditorium died down to an expectant hush, as Matt turned to look anxiously down the aisle searching for his first glimpse of his bride to be.
Although he did pause to glance at the first row in the audience and smile at his nephews, who were both standing on their chairs waving wildly and yelling helloes to him as an embarrassed Tam tried to get them to sit back down. Behind him he heard Terry making shushing noises, and on the opposite side with the maids of honor April finally broke away two steps to sit them back down and furiously whisper reprimands.
When he looked back down the aisle it was in time to see Sam step into view on his dad’s arm, starting toward him.
Matt felt his breath catch when he saw the woman he loved. His mom had lent Sam her wedding dress, which was a bit big on the petite woman even after the two of them and April did their best to make adjustments, and April had lent her a pair of her nicest shoes stuffed with a bit of cotton at the tips so they fit. Her dark hair shone from brushing, hanging loose down her back with two simple clips holding it away from her face.
He didn’t think she’d ever looked more lovely, especially when her eyes met his through the veil and her smile became radiant.
Catherine took their vows in her position as Mayor, and Matt hoped Sam could glean his sincerity among the nervous fumbling of words that didn’t seem adequate to express his true feelings. Her own words were quiet and fervent, as if for his ears only, leaving everyone on the benches leaning forward and straining to hear. Anything left unsaid was expressed in their first kiss as man and wife.
They had the reception, swamped by the congratulations of what seemed the entire town, and after hours of celebration and well-wishing changed into warmer clothes and left the auditorium, shivering in the clear cold midafternoon sunlight.
As Matt looked around his hometown, Sam’s hand holding his tight, it struck him that nothing seemed to have changed in Aspen Hill since entering the building that morning. The town was in the same bleak situation it had been before and everything looked the same, aside from one difference:
Whatever the future held, he and Sam would face it together.
Their honeymoon left something to be desired, since Matt had to continue his duties protecting the town and Sam had her own day to day work to do. There was also the fact that they had to share the underground shelter with 6 other people, which made intimacy a bit awkward even with the privacy screens. It often led to the rest of the family finding vague but important things to do outside that had the adults ushering the boys out with them to give the newlyweds some time to be alone.
In spite of the awkwardness Sam didn’t complain, insisting that she actually didn’t mind being a part of the close-knit family unit with loved ones all around. And, perhaps because they were so hard to come by, Matt treasured their opportunities to spend time alone together all the more.
Still, when he brought up building a house in the spring Sam definitely didn’t seem opposed to the idea, although she insisted that it was a secondary concern when they already had a place to live and so many more important things to worry about.
One nice thing about living with the rest of the family in the shelter, same as they had before the wedding, was that their new life together felt like it flowed seamlessly from their old life with no awkward interruptions, and their honeymoon never seemed to end as they settled into being married.
It also helped that Christmas came just over a week later. Matt’s family had never been much for celebrating holidays, and according to Sam her family’s Christmas tradition was a half hour or so of opening presents in the morning and then the rest of the day was pretty much normal.
This year, however, Matt had a bit more insight into the much anticipated and eagerly celebrated event he’d seen in old classic movies or read in stories from the Old West or Victorian Era. It made sense in a way, since without television or internet to distract them, and with so much worry and suffering around them, any holiday would be both entertainment and distraction, an excuse to forget everything and celebrate with loved ones for a while.