Rumspringa

Chapter 12: Grandparents

This was it. We had the license. I was in my dress. My heels killing my feet. Eli dressed in a nice tuxedo complete with a red rose pinned to him. The two of us holding hands and walking towards the courthouse. Emily following right behind us in bridesmaid dress of her own. The moment we had all been waiting for. The wedding. It wasn't your typical, expensive all out wedding. Just two people and a best friend at the courthouse.

"Are you guys ready?" A minister from the courthouse had came out with a bible. He was dressed in a suit and had on thin rimmed glasses. He looked to be in his sixties.

"Let's do it." Eli grabbed my hand as we headed out into the yard. Smiles on both of our faces. This is the happiest moment of either one of our lives and it was very noticeable. Pastor Ben was his name. He performed the ceremony in typical fashion. Luckily for us it was eighty degrees and sunny.

"Rebecca, do you take Eli to be your husband?" I started to tear up.

"I do." I looked at him with a glimmer in my eye. I slid on a wedding ring of of tungsten. I only chose that material because of how much he works with his hands.

"Eli, do you take Rebecca to be your wife?" Pastor Ben looked at him.

"I do." He slid on a gold ring with a diamond.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." We shared a passionate kiss. As soon as his lips pressed against mine, I felt that spark. It was like a jolt of electricity went straight to my heart. This was the first time in my life I had felt truly in love.

"Woooo" Emily was clapped and cheered us on as the one woman audience. She was almost as excited as I was. "Congratulations."

"Get on here guys. Go have fun." Pastor Ben shut his bible and smiled. We didn't have anything to throw in the air or anything like that. Just a plain and simple ceremony.

"Alright you two. I'm gonna grab some clothes then I'm off. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Emily was staying with a friend for the night to give us some alone time. She drove her car up while we took Eli's truck. A few cans attached to the back of it along with some window marker made it perfect. The cans dragged behind the truck banging off the asphalt. The only downside was that I couldn't drink. Eli had agreed to stay sober as well.

For a celebration, we went out to dinner at La Bernadin, the restaurant he took me to on our second date. It actually sounded nice to have a dinner just the two of us, plus we got the honeymoon discount. Everything was going great. We got to the restaurant, sat down at a table in the corner and put our order in. We were laughing, talking and enjoying the moment. The bell that was hung on the door rang just like it did every time someone entered or exited. I happen to look over and see two familiar faces walk in.

"Well, this is going to go one of two ways." Eli turned and looked over.

"I guess we grow some balls and tell them. It's now or never." They seen us. My mom and dad waved and started walking our direction.

"Fancy running into you guys here." Mom came over and gave me a hug. Dad, right behind her, shook Eli's hand.

"How do you do Mr. Garrison?" Eli gave my dad a firm handshake, just like the night they met.

"I'm alright. Did you guy get married or is this some kind of dress up thing?" Dad looked him dead in the eye.

"Surprise! We were gonna tell you tomorrow. We were planning on having a big reception at a later date." The cat was out of the bag. I had no choice now but to dive head first. Let's see where this went.