Chapter 43 #2
‘It’s going to be a strange sort of wedding, with the groom walking down the aisle instead of the bride,’ Lilian said with a laugh.
‘And him not having a clue about it.’ Topsy’s eyes sparkled. ‘A surprise wedding. It’s the most romantic thing I ever heard of. I can’t wait to see Charlie’s face when he sees how beautiful you look, Birdy.’
Bobby was starting to feel nervous now. She had been so sure this was a good idea.
It seemed symbolic, in a way. So many times when Charlie had been eager for their wedding, she had tried to persuade him to wait until things were more settled.
She felt differently now. She needed to be with him, having come so close to losing him.
Needed to prove once and for all that it was him she wanted, no matter what.
And yet… would he be angry that she hadn’t told him what she was planning?
Suppose he said no – just walked away? She had spent the past week imagining the look of joy on his tired, haggard face when he saw her, waiting to promise herself to him at last. It hadn’t occurred to her, until now when she was on the brink of meeting him at the altar, that she might see a different emotion written there.
The chaplain and matron were waiting for them when they reached the orangery. The matron was so stern usually that it felt strange to see her wearing an unaccustomed expression of benevolence.
‘Oh, you look just lovely,’ she said to Bobby, and rather surprised her by kissing her on both cheeks.
‘Now, the chaplain will tell you where you all ought to stand. I’ll go prod the groom in this direction.
He was rather sullen this morning at not having heard from you, although he’ll be smiling soon enough, of course. ’
She bustled off, leaving the chaplain to take charge.
‘Who is the maid of honour?’ he asked.
‘Oh! I hadn’t thought.’ Bobby looked from Lilian to Topsy. ‘May I have two? I don’t want to choose.’
‘Neither of us are maids any more, Bob,’ Lilian said with a laugh. ‘All we have here are a superfluity of matrons.’
‘Well, it isn’t a requirement,’ the chaplain said, smiling. ‘Perhaps if you all take a seat, and the bride and her father may stand. We’re making up the rules as we go today, it seems. That does seem to be par for the course when it comes to wartime weddings.’
‘All right, girls, prepare to do your job,’ Mary said to the children. ‘When Reg and Uncle Charlie come down the aisle, you must follow and throw your petals. Elegantly, mind, not like you’re bowling a cricket match.’
The girls didn’t need telling twice, and skipped to the door that connected the house with the orangery to wait for the oblivious groom.
Charlie’s voice was audible outside now.
‘Honestly, Reggie, I appreciate you visiting but I’d like to be left alone now,’ he was saying. ‘I’m exhausted.’
‘You’re not exhausted, you’re sulking, you mardy little bugger,’ they heard Reg say. ‘You heard what the doctor said. You need exercise for that leg or it’ll seize up. Believe me, this is summat I do know about.’
‘You’ve been walking me around on it for an hour. Never mind seizing up, it’ll drop off if you make me go much further.’
‘Aye, all right, I suppose you’ve done enough. We’ll go to the end of this glass bit down here, then I’ll leave you alone.’
‘Can we not go back now?’
‘A bit more won’t kill you. Stop bloody complaining.’
Topsy gripped Bobby’s arm. ‘This is it,’ she whispered. ‘All the happiness in the world, Birdy.’
She gave her friend’s arm a squeeze and sat down. A moment later, the doors opened and Charlie came in, limping on his stick with Reg behind.
‘Well, here he is,’ Reg said. ‘And a devil of a time I had getting him here as well, the lazy little—’ He caught sight of the chaplain. ‘Ahem. Excuse me, Father.’
Charlie was blinking at the scene in front of him. ‘What’s going on?’
Bobby felt suddenly shy. She could feel herself blushing.
‘Um,’ she said. ‘Hello.’
‘Oh! We don’t have music,’ Topsy said. ‘All right, come along, everyone.’
She started humming the wedding march. The others joined in, which Jess and Florrie took as the cue to start tossing petals about with gay abandon. Charlie started to laugh, although he still looked dazed.
‘Come on then,’ Reg said, half escorting and half poking him down the aisle. ‘That lass there isn’t getting any younger. Lord knows we’ve all waited long enough for this.’
It was a strange little wedding scene: the groom being escorted down the aisle of a hospital chapel by his brother while the guests hummed the wedding march; the bride waiting for him in a pantomime dress and a garland of hedgerow flowers. And yet it felt right.
‘Bobby.’ Charlie took her hand when he reached her, then glanced at her father in his best suit, and at the chaplain. ‘What is it?’
‘Haven’t you guessed? It’s our wedding day, daft lad.’
‘You did all this?’
She stood on tiptoes to kiss him. She didn’t know if that was proper etiquette for a wedding – probably they were supposed to wait until after they were married. But it felt like the natural thing to do, so she did it.
‘I want to marry you, Charlie,’ she whispered. ‘I didn’t need any time to think about it. I always knew. Will you?’
‘I… yes.’ He laughed. ‘Too bloody right I will. Sorry, your honour.’
The chaplain smiled. ‘Plain Reverend is just fine. Still, if we could keep the colourful language to a minimum.’
Charlie’s dazed expression had lifted at last. His eyes kindled as he drank in his bride. His hand found its way to her hair, and he ran a lock through his fingers.
‘You are simply the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,’ he said softly. ‘Do I really get to keep you?’
‘Always, after today.’
‘Are you quite certain, darling? There’s no way back.’
‘Good, because I don’t want to go back.’
Bobby’s dad clapped Charlie on the shoulder.
‘Well, lad, take care of her,’ he said. ‘You’ve got a treasure there.’
‘I know it,’ Charlie said, smiling at him.
‘Welcome to the family, eh?’ Rob left them and sat down.
Charlie gripped Bobby’s hand tightly as they turned to the chaplain.
Bobby wasn’t sure what answers she gave during the ceremony.
There had been no time to rehearse responses.
The chaplain didn’t correct her, however, so she presumed it was all OK.
There was no ring, but Topsy darted forward to loan hers until one could be got.
Bobby felt a little dizzy as words ricocheted around her brain.
To love and to cherish… in sickness and in health…
till death us do part. For something so momentous, it seemed to go by in a rush.
And always, she kept her eyes fixed on Charlie.
She didn’t see, now, his unshaven chin, hollow cheeks, the burns around his eye or the drawn, haggard appearance that spoke of too many weeks trapped in pain and grief.
She only saw the expression of love in his open eye – that expression she feared had been an illusion.
But it hadn’t. He loved her. He had never stopped loving her, and now he was hers. Whatever challenges the future brought, they would face them together.
‘I think I probably ought to kiss you,’ Charlie whispered.
‘What?’
‘He just declared us man and wife, Bob.’
Bobby blinked. ‘Did he?’
Charlie smiled. ‘Come here then.’
He pulled her on to his lips, and the tiny congregation let out a cheer.
‘It’s done,’ Bobby whispered when he drew back. ‘Has it really happened, Charlie?’
‘It’s really happened. How does it feel, Mrs Atherton?’
She brought one hand up to caress his burnt face. ‘Say that again.’
‘I said, how does it feel, Mrs Atherton?’
She smiled. ‘It feels just wonderful.’