Ten Minutes Ago

03. Wedding Bells

May 11, 2013

Guinevere tugged at her wedding gown. This was all wrong. Her parents should be here, yet they weren't.

The door opened and she gasped to see a man in a suit walking up to her at a lively pace.

The man smiled. "Hello, dear. My name is Klaus. It's an honor to meet the woman marrying my brother."

Guinevere smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Klaus. I'm the lucky one to be marrying him."

"We'll see about that. I couldn't help but notice how empty your side was. Why is that?"

"I don't have a lot of people in the world."

Klaus gasped. "No parents?"

"They died last year."

"I'm so sorry, dear. Then I'm going to take it upon myself to walk you down the aisle. Or do you already have someone assigned to that task?"

Guinevere shook her head. "No, I don't have anyone. I appreciate that. How many of Diego's siblings are out there?"

"Well, let's see. There's me, obviously Diego, Allison and Luther. After the book fiasco, Diego didn't invite Vanya. Which is a shame."

"That is a shame. I hope he'll come around. I remember how angry he was when the book came out."

The bridal chorus started and Klaus offered his arm. "Shall we?"

Guinevere nodded and the two made their way to the double doors at her church.

She let out a heavy sigh, then she and Klaus walked down the aisle.

Klaus let her arm go at the altar and went to stand by his brother.

Diego smiled, seeing the woman he loved in front of him. His eyes stung, threatening tears.

The minister spoke. "We are gathered here today to unite this man and this woman in holy matrimony. If anyone wishes to say something, speak now or forever hold your peace."

The guests remained silent and the minister continued. "I understand you two have prepared your own vows."

Diego nodded. "We have."

"Then, Diego, you may speak yours."

Diego unfolded a piece of paper. "All this says is muse. Gwen, from the day I met you, you have always been my muse. You're there to inspire me, to comfort me, to tease me, to love me. I'm so lucky to have found you. I'm so lucky to love you, more than you could possibly know."

Guinevere sniffled. "Diego, the first time I saw you, I wanted to hate you because of what I remember my parents telling me your father tried to do. But as I quickly found out, you were nothing like him. You're kind, gentle, and I'm honored to be able to call you my husband."

The two exchanged rings and the minister said, "You may now kiss your bride."

Diego tilted Guinevere's face up and gently kissed her.

The guests erupted into a joyous cheer.

Reception

Diego looked at his wife and smiled. "How does it feel to be a married woman, Mrs. Hargreeves?"

Guinevere playfully shoved him. "You know I'm keeping my name. It feels wonderful, Mr. Hargreeves."

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

Allison walked up to them and smiled. "Congratulations. I'm curious; how long did you two date before you got engaged?"

Guinevere frowned. "I don't see why that matters."

"I'm just wondering. From the way you two interact, it seems you've know each other quite awhile."

"If you must know, we dated for a year before he proposed. We knew we wanted to get married from our first date and he proposed at the end of last year."

"Best wishes to you two."

"Thanks."

Luther, who'd stepped up next to Allison, nodded. "Congratulations."

The two walked away and Klaus wrapped Guinevere in a hug. "Welcome to the family, darling!"

Guinevere laughed softly. "Thank you, Klaus. That's very appreciate. I'm honored to join your large family."

The announcement for the newly married couple's first dance sounded.

Diego stood and offered his hand to his wife. "May I have this dance?"

Guinevere took his hand. "You may."

The two made their way to the dance floor and danced to Billy Joel's  Just the Way You Are; the very song that had been playing when Diego proposed.

Eventually, the reception came to an end.

Diego and Guinevere climbed into their car after receiving a goodbye consisting of dahlias, Guinevere's favorite flowers, and sparklers.

Diego kissed his wife and the two drove off into the night.