“
Forty minutes later, Ned and Mariel gathered their guests on the back patio by the pool. Uncle Nathan yelled at everyone to be quiet. “We have gathered here today for the wedding of Edward Jonah Prager the Third and Mariel Betty Stenerud,” he announced, staring right at Ned’s dad as he spoke, and then turned to Ned. Several of their friends gasped. “What’s going on?” Ned’s dad shouted. “Edward, do you take Mariel to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, to honor, and to cherish, from this day forward?” “I do,” Ned said. Uncle Nathan grinned and nodded. “Mariel, do you take Edward to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, to honor, and to cherish, from this day forward?” “I do,” Mariel said. “You got rings?” Uncle Nathan asked. “Well, now’s the time.” Ned slid his ring onto Mariel’s finger first, and then she moved a gold ring onto his. He felt her warm hand trembling as she did it. “What just happened?” Ned’s dad asked. “What’s going on?” Uncle Nathan, noticing Edward, couldn’t stop smiling. “Then, in front of these assembled witnesses, by the power vested in me by the state of Minnesota, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife.” Ned had tears streaming down his face. He looked at his wife—his wife!—and she was weeping too. He wanted to kiss her so terribly, but he thought he was supposed to wait for an order. “Is that all?” Ned asked his uncle. “That’s the minimum legal requirement,” Uncle Nathan said, and noticed the spread on the outdoor table. “Are those Doritos?” “Aren’t you supposed to say, ‘You can kiss the bride’?” “Sure, do what you want. Kiss the bride. Just keep it decent.” They kissed while their friends cheered and then stopped cheering, and kissed until they began cheering again. Ned would often think of the joy of this moment in the years to come. Soon, almost everyone around him would change, and the grace and wonder in the world would be beyond his grasp. If it weren’t for these memories he could replay in his head like old songs, he wouldn’t have believed that his heart had ever been capable of such happiness.
”
”
J. Ryan Stradal (Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club)