Epilogue
Later the same day...
The early afternoon sun sparkled like a giant ball of yellow fire. The sky was a clear, robin’s-egg blue. The temperatures hovered just below seventy. A perfect day for an outdoor wedding.
They had all agreed to have the weddings take place in Toots’s garden. She had hired a team of gardeners to trim, shape, and sculpt the shrubbery. The giant angel oak, dripping Spanish moss, reminded her of an old wedding veil that still remembered its very own special day. The sweet scent of the bubble-gum trees added an extra dose of sugary sweetness to the gardens. Camellias, gardenias, and magnolias added just the right amount of floral scent. Not too heavy, but just enough.
Chairs with big white ribbons tied to the backs were lined up in neat rows. At the end of each aisle, a garnish of fresh flowers from Toots’s garden was tied to the backs of the chairs. A white silk runner spread out on the grass led to the pulpit, where the Reverend William Wainwright would perform his first quadruple marriage.
Upstairs, in Toots’s master bedroom, Abby and her godmothers took turns in front of the mirror. When they all decided to get married together, Ida came up with the idea of matching dresses, in material but not design. No, they each knew what complimented their figures and at their age, they were sticking with what they knew. Creamy silk, lots of tiny white pearls, and smatterings of delicate lace. Four creations made in less than two weeks, courtesy of Mavis and her team of seamstresses. The dresses were totally unique, one of a kind.
After they each had a turn admiring themselves, Abby insisted that she should touch up their makeup, even though Ida’s team of professional makeup artists had just left them. They were downstairs in the formal dining room getting a head start on the festivities. Goebel acted as bartender since he was the only man of a certain age not making a trip down the aisle today.
They had invited a few of their close friends but wanted to keep the ceremony as low-key as possible. Toots had hired members of the Charleston Symphony to play the harp, the flute, and the guitar. She didn’t want loud rock; she wanted calm and slow.
Jamie had made four separate wedding cakes, each a different flavor. Toots had chosen red velvet, as this was her and Phil’s favorite dessert. Ida and Daniel picked carrot cake with cream cheese frosting because they thought having a vegetable in their cake would promote good health. Bernice and Robert opted for good old-fashioned red devil’s food, and Mavis and Wade wanted an angel food cake. Jamie had delivered four masterpieces this morning.
And, lastly, they all agreed that Jonathan and Amy should take part in the wedding, but Abby feared if she let them loose, they would just plop down and play in the dirt. Toots had a bright red wagon FedExed for them. They would ride in the wagon, with Coco and Frankie, and Chester would pull them down the aisle.
Soft notes from a flute wafted up to her room, her two-minute warning. Toots took a deep breath, and said, “It’s time.”
Sophie, dressed in a pale green knee-length dress, ushered the four brides down the stairs. They had all agreed that they didn’t want the men to see them until they met at the altar, so Abby devised a plan to reroute them to the side of the house so the men could walk down the white silk aisle to meet them at the altar.
With Sophie in the lead, Toots, Ida, Bernice, and Mavis slow-stepped to the altar to the Platters’ “Only You.” Their eyes shone bright with unshed tears of happiness as, one by one, they walked to the pulpit to stand by their husbands-to-be.
Chester held the wagon’s handle firmly in his mouth as he carefully pulled the precious cargo down the white silk aisle. There were many oohs and ahhs from their guests when they saw Jonathan and Amy and the two pooches inside the wagon. Amy said “Hi, hi, hi,” and moved her little fingers up and down in a wave. Jonathan smiled and kissed Frankie right on the muzzle. More laughter, then Abby and Chris stood next to the wagon, just in case.
The music stopped, and the ceremony began.
“Dearly beloveds,” the reverend began, “this is my first time marrying four couples at once.” The guests laughed again, and so did the reverend. “Now, dearly beloveds, we are gathered here on this beautiful summer day to join Teresa Loudenberry and Philip Becker, Ida McGullicutty and Daniel Townsend, Mavis Hanover and Wade Martin, and Bernice Townsend and Robert Martin in holy matrimony.”
The reverend went through the traditional vows, stopping to address each of them as he asked them to repeat after him. “Let’s do this together, shall we?”
“Do you, Teresa Loudenberry, take Philip Becker, and do you, Ida McGullicutty, take Daniel Townsend, and do you, Mavis Hanover, take Wade Martin, and do you, Bernice Townsend, take Robert Martin to be your lawfully wedded husbands?”
“I do,” Toots said as she gazed into Phil’s eyes.
“So do I,” Ida said, with a huge smile on her face.
“And I do as well,” Mavis said, her voice pure bliss.
“I’ll say yes, I do,” Bernice added.
The reverend turned to the men, and they went through the process again. More subdued laughter from the guests.
“By the power invested in me by the State of South Carolina, I now pronounce all four couples husband and wife. Now kiss your brides!”
A cheer from the guests as the couples kissed, but there was still one more small ceremony to perform.
Toots, Ida, Mavis, and Sophie, who had remained at the altar throughout the ceremony, each held a hand out and took turns placing their hands on top of each other’s. When they were done, the four women threw their hands high in the air, and shouted, “When you’re good, you’re good!”