I was the fifth bride in line and, when they called my name, I had yet another surprise.
“Mrs. Brown?” asked the man from the couple that we first met. I looked at him.
“Your fiancé asked me to walk you down the aisle, if you would like.”
I had felt my knees almost give way when they called me and, again, my son knew me better than I knew myself. Roy had asked this man to look after me, and I gratefully took his arm.
“Thank you”, I muttered very quietly.
I entered the chapel and looked up at the most handsome man I had ever seen. My, he was so handsome, strong, smart, caring and romantic. I needed him.
“Shit, did I just say that I needed my son?” I smiled to myself. “Yes, I did, because, yes, I do.”
I made it to the altar and Roy held out his hand. I nervously took my place beside him, and we stood and took our ‘fake wedding’ vows. The captain performed the same ceremony as he did for the other couples and we said our fake “I do’s”.
I was very nervous wondering just how my son was going to kiss me. I was determined to let him do it any way he wanted. When the captain said, “You may kiss the bride”, Roy turned to me, reached for the back of my neck, brought me to him, and placed his lips on mine. He rolled his tongue over my lips and I parted them, allowing him to taste my tongue. I felt my whole world shift then, as I was now ‘fake married’ to my son. But it didn’t feel fake, it felt real. We then turned back to the captain and he concluded with, “Let me introduce Mr. and Mrs. Roy Brown.”
We exited the chapel and proceeded to the reception that the ship had arranged.
We partied and ate a nice brunch, then we went to one of the lounges and danced. Roy would not let me dance with anyone but him. He kept me on the dance floor for almost every song, only giving me short breaks for refreshments.
I was having such a terrific time that I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. We finally went to the galley for dinner. I didn’t want to leave the lounge, as I wanted to show off my wedding dress and the suit that Roy was wearing.
We sat with the couple who we first met. Joy was all smiles. Bill as it turned out was a human rights attorney.
“Well, we won’t need an attorney if our marriage doesn’t work out, being that it is a ‘fake wedding’…”, I sang out after Bill announced he was a lawyer.
“Who told you that it was fake?” Bill asked.
“Isn’t it?” I asked with growing concern. Roy was sitting with his smile slowly fading.
“All the states in the nation recognize international weddings. There are a few states that will require a blood test, but you can do that post-wedding. They will send you a letter if they require the test. Nowadays the ship’s captain marries a lot of people. How much notice did you give before the cruise?”
“Just a week”, I answered with dread creeping further and further up my spine.
“Oh, that’s great, then the cruise company will have applied for your wedding license. They can do that with your passport.”
I had no words. I couldn’t believe it. I was actually married to my son…
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