MORE SUMMER... Ups and downs (Part 46l)

After I was done I drove back to the college and set the alarm for 7am. I showered and dressed in my suit. At first I was afraid it wouldn’t fit because it had been over a year since I’d last worn it. There was no problem as I’d actually lost weight over the Summer. I drove to the church and it wasn’t until I got out of the car that I started to get nervous. When I walked inside and didn’t see Elle, Jane and Clyde I really got nervous. Finally, Jane and Clyde appeared but not Elle. Clyde had pretty much the same goofy grin on his face as the night before. Jane told me to go get a seat and not to turn around and made me promise not to. Just as I started to walk away someone grabbed my arm. I turned and after a few seconds recognized the man as the State appointed track veterinarian. It turned out that he was a church official. He had also seen Clyde but it took some time to recognize us as he’d never seen us with a tie on or in a suit. He’d read the banns and didn’t recognize the names but now he knew.

The regular service began and ended without me seeing Elle. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. When I stood up I looked around but still didn’t see Elle. I saw Clyde but not Jane. The minister came up to me and said the ceremony would begin as soon as the last parishioner left. He told me to go to the front of the church and he’d meet me there. I did as I was told and about 10 minutes later he appeared. He had me turn towards him and then, much to my surprise, I heard the organ playing “Here Comes the Bride”. I started to turn but the minister stopped me. I was really puzzled. Then, the veterinarian walked up with Elle. I almost didn’t recognize her. Her hair was all done up and she had on a hat with a veil. She was wearing her gray wool suit which I had seen before but even so, she looked different... and very scared. The minister started the proceedings and when he asked who would give the bride in marriage, Dr Z said he would.

That’s all I remember. I know Clyde had the wedding ring but I don’t remember putting it on Elle’s finger. I chose not to wear a wedding ring as I’d been advised by any number of my horsemen friends not to wear any kind of ring as I would get hurt. I’d seen the damage done to some of them and chose not to take a chance. Elle was OK with it. When the service was over, Dr Z stepped up and told the four of us that we were invited to his house for our “reception”. Earlier, he had called his wife to tell her to prepare for four guests. None of us could believe it.

We all had a wonderful time. Dr Z and his wife were just so nice. He went up into his attic and found the “Just Married” sign that had been hung on the rear of their car when they got married and put it on the back of mine. They took pictures and when we were leaving gave us the camera as a present. I can say, without equivocation, that the Z’s made our day. We left their house around 6pm and, as bizarre as it may seem, I had to get Elle back to the sorority by midnight. Of course we did make a stop on our way. I wish I could remember the name of the town where we stopped or the name of the motel but they were not details that I was interested in at the time.

I checked in and carried Elle through the door. I had but one thing on my mind but Elle wanted to be coy. She insisted on doing a slow striptease. As a guy, I never paid much attention to the “little things” that girls sometimes get hung up on. Jane had not only done Elle's hair but she'd dressed Elle up with black stockings along with the garters that she’d worn on her wedding day. Elle wanted to make sure that I got to see them. I grabbed the camera from Elle’s bag and took a picture, for posterity. Once she was finished with her "show" we made straight for the bed.

Neither of us had ever been much for “back to back” sessions but on this night it was different. Thankfully, I didn’t fall asleep. Elle did and I let her sleep for a while, keeping an eye on the clock. My guess was that it would take about an hour from where we were to get back to school and by the time we got back we had little time to spare. I think the hardest thing that I’d ever done up to that time in my life was in leaving Elle that night. I sat in the car, out on the street, for almost an hour. When I got back to my fraternity I couldn’t sleep. The next weekend couldn’t come fast enough.

To be continued...