A Christian Romance

Chapter 39 - Vows

Joel was tempted to trade the elegance of a pair of traditional men's shoes for his comfortable tennis shoes, but he resisted. Now there he was, at the altar. Unsteadily walking in a pair of uncomfortable shoes, a white chemise, and a black tuxedo. Some of his mates and his brother Ben were there. They had come earlier committed to finalizing a few details at the venue. When there was nothing left to do, the men put on their tuxedos and waited patiently for the first guests who arrived an hour later.

Ralph and Michelle arrived some ten minutes after the first guests. They brought James, Florencia, and Carol - the receptionist - with them; these were people who were now attending the Bible study at Ralph's. Debora and Joel's work colleagues came afterward. Most of the people Debora wanted to invite were in Portugal, like her family who couldn't afford to travel to the other end of the globe.

Some fifteen minutes before the ceremony, Moses showed up, walking down the aisle and greeting people here and there. He would officiate this ceremony as well, and so he met his son at the altar.

"Good day, son! You got the rings?" Moses tried to be as discreet as possible because the room was already filled with guests.

Joel put his hand into the inner pocket of his blazer and removed a box. "Here they are! The rings were ready yesterday! I don't even know how!" Yeah, considering the short notice on which he asked for the rings to be engraved, that was a miracle!

"They are beautiful!" The father peeked into the box. "So many details, and quite thick!"

"Yeah" Joel mocked.

His father laughed with him. "Let me take my place, as this will start soon!" He positioned at the center of the altar.

Joel was patiently waiting, anxious to get done with the wedding ritual to start his life with the woman he loved - and, by the way, hadn't seen in the past days. He was completely unaware of what was happening with his bride.
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Debora was running late; this time it wasn't her fault though. It was Chloe's; she had woken up feeling sick; she had even thrown up a few times. The bride was stressed out, not knowing what to do, other than guessing what food could have poisoned her maid of honor. But there was no conclusion.

"I think I'm good to go!" Chloe announced, standing up on her feet. "I'm feeling better!"

"We're so late..." Debora commented looking at her phone. Suddenly it started ringing and she answered. "Chloe! I mean, Mim!"

"Sorry, girls, I'm running late, but I'm about to leave the house," Mim informed them hurriedly. "You must be ready!"

"About that, actually, we're not ready yet." Debora sounded desperate. "Chloe wasn't feeling well this morning, she threw up and everything. I don't get it! We all ate the same thing and I'm feeling fine. Do you also feel sick?"

"I'm fine, I digested everything already. Maybe she's allergic or intolerant..." Mim was hit by a thought. "Or maybe she's pregnant!" She mocked but quickly realized that the reason for her mockery was plausible. "Yeah, she's pregnant!"

"But so soon?"

"Well, it's been more than three months since they got married. Maybe my brother is a very fertile man..." Chloe pregnant? That was realistically plausible. "I'm gonna buy a pregnancy test in the nearest pharmacy. I'll be there soon."

Before Debora could react, Chloe's footsteps rushing to the toilet startled her.

"Yeah, do that! I'm gonna check out on Chloe." Debora informed.

When Miriam arrived at Chloe's apartment building and learned that neither the maid of honor nor the bride were ready to leave, she panicked!

"Debora, you're still in your pajamas?" She nearly screamed in the hallway.