Track 38 Into the Mystic
Track 38
Into the Mystic
Ben
“Daddy, Daddy,” Maisie cried, “please fix my bow like that one.”
Little Maisie Morse pointed to a small sculpture of a pair of flower girls dressed in dresses that matched her own, their entirety made from clay except for two pale yellow satin bows tied behind them, not unlike a Degas ballerina. Ben’s wife, Addison, was a sculptor. A critically acclaimed one, actually. She had created clay replicas of the flower girls as a wedding gift.
Ben did his darndest to tie the satin bow on the back of Maisie’s precious flower girl dress in the same fashion as the sculpture. He did a pretty good job except for the fact that he tied his finger into it as well.
“I guess I have to walk down the aisle with you!” he joked, before carefully wiggling it out.
“No way, Daddy!” Maisie objected, taking a step forward when freed and proudly twirling around in circles as if it were her job.
The two little girls collected their baskets of petals. Just one piece of the lovely floral creations that Veronica had managed to throw together in a few hours’ time.
The family of four, his family of four, traveled up the block, where Maisie and Juno stopped to ooh and aah over the bride. Renee looked ethereal in an ivory satin sheath, holding a bouquet of local wildflowers tied in the same color ribbon as the one on the dresses of the girls. It was remarkable how a last-minute cry out to the community for flowers had produced such perfection.
“You guys know what to do?” Addison asked her daughters confidently. Of course they did. Since learning they would be flower girls, they had treated every corridor, path, and hallway as an aisle.
Maisie nodded her head, yes, but her sister’s hand went right to her mouth, chomping on her nail like it was lunch. Her dad gently placed it back at her side, but once she got a hold of his, she wouldn’t let it go.
“You got this, Juno, just like we practiced.”
Her eyes filled with fear.
“You can walk with her,” Renee said before bringing Ben in for a hug.
“I feel her too,” she whispered in his ear.
She was referring to Ben’s first wife, her best friend, Julia. Her physical absence was palpable today, but he was comforted by the fact that Renee felt her spirit as he did.
Juno breathed an audible sigh of relief, causing their serious mood to shift to laughter. Together, they peeked out at the beach.
It felt as if the whole town had come out to see the two lifelong Fire Islanders tie the knot. Aside from the invited guests seated in rows of chairs on the sand, the beach stairs of the surrounding blocks were covered with onlookers, as was the length of sand in front of the dunes. Everyone stood close enough to see, but far enough away not to intrude.
Renee motioned that it was time to begin, and a trio of musicians played the first notes of Van Morrison’s musical voyage “Into the Mystic.”
A perfect blend of nostalgia and hope, as if the words were written for this exact occasion. The crowd settled soon after the music began, the tune blending beautifully with the crashing waves.
Jake and Dylan walked barefoot across the sand first, their fingers intertwined as tightly as their hearts. It wasn’t lost on anybody there that these two had a bond beyond most fathers and daughters. For thirty years they had been each other’s person, with no one to come between them. Of course, it was time for them both. They held their warm embrace at the end of the aisle before Jake took his spot under the chuppah.
Ben sent Maisie on her way, spinning down the aisle, dropping petals in her wake, before escorting Juno on his arm. He had a hard time controlling the boyish grin that sprung right from his heart.
Next, Matt reached out his hand to his mother. The two embraced at the top of the stairs, inspiring another collective “aw” from the crowd. They walked, barefoot and hand in hand, to the groom, who was doing his best to fight off tears. It was both shocking and heartwarming to see Jake so verklempt.
Matt and Renee embraced. Matt kissed his mother on the cheek and whispered “I love you” before meeting Dylan under the chuppah. Jake took two steps forward and gathered his bride close and the two did an impromptu dance in the sand, inspiring laughter and happy tears from all the onlookers.
There was something so special about it, as if no one had done this exact dance before.
The rabbi’s words of welcome that followed were carried away by the breeze, causing everyone to take a few steps closer to hear them. He spoke about the beauty surrounding them, matching the beauty in Jake and Renee’s hearts. The two sweetly spoke the vows they had written themselves to the soundtrack of waves crashing to the shore, before repeating after the rabbi in Hebrew.
Ani L’dodi, v’dodi li.
I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.
They exchanged rings and one long passionate kiss under the warm glow of the setting sun. Matt and Dylan joined them, basking in the glow of their new family. Well, three of them were basking; Matt seemed to be somewhere else. Ben followed his eyes to the row behind him, where he was not surprised to find the object of Matt’s mystic gaze—Maggie.