Chapter 14

"HELL'S BELLS," I said, "You liked to have scared me to death. You know you can't see me before we get married, it's bad luck and momma will skin you if she finds you here."

Bobby just grinned at me as I grew flustered looking around him to the barn doors, hoping nobody would see us.

"Now Maisy, don't get your feathers ruffled. I been waiting on this my whole life. Shoot I've been up all night I'm so excited. When we get home tonight I may just fall asleep and not be able to perform my husbandly duties," he said, as he winked at me.

I smacked him lightly on the arm. "Bobby, quit talking like that, and get out the back door before anybody sees ya." I reached up to hug his neck and whispered in his ear, "You might want to take a nap and get rested up before tonight," and quickly kissed him on the lips before shooing him out the door.

I stood there watching him cross the field back to his house, our house, I corrected myself. Feeling so giddy, I thought I just might bust.

"What cha' lookin' at little girl," I heard daddy ask. I pushed the door closed, turned around and smiled at my daddy, "Just lookin' at the fields daddy, that's all. I think I will go out and look over the wedding gifts I got today and then go on in and get ready," I said as I moseyed past him trying my best to look innocent. He just shook his head and followed me out.

The first thing I heard when I walked in the back door was my momma, "Where have you been? It's time for you to get ready, everybody's here, the boys have arrived with the instruments, the preacher's sweating and you ain't even bathed yet." "The water's poured up in the tub and everything is laying out on the bed. Now get on in there so we can get your hair washed and braided, you ain't married yet so you can't let it down all the way but a nice braid down your back should be all right." I smile and saw momma rushing back and forth, "I declare momma, I believe this is the first time I have ever seen you flustered," I said as I was scooted by my mother. She turned to look at me, smiled and popped me with the dishtowel that seemed to be permanently grown to her hand.

I stood at the corner of the porch looking everything over. The preacher was up front with Bobby and Billy Ray, his best man, and folks were lined up on both sides of the little pathway daddy had marked out for me to walk down. Wooden makeshift tables were set up around the front of the barn so that folks could visit and eat and still enjoy the music coming from inside. My cousin April was standing up front with her fiddle ready to play. Her whole family thought it was strange and never figured a fiddle player for during the ceremony always afterwards, but I had always loved to hear a fiddle. I liked the way it would echo across the mountains and down the valleys. April lived with her momma a couple a miles away, up a little higher than my folks and I could always hear when April practiced out on the porch. I saw momma looking back nervously from her seat on the front row. My sisters were on the top step in front of me shuffling their feet, anxious to get there flower throwing over with and on to the food. I heard April tap her fiddle strings with the bow to get everyone's attention and started playing a slow ballad from the old country. My sisters stepped off the front porch and lined up side by side as they had practiced over and over again. They took small steps and strew the rose petals and herbs slowly from side to side as they proceeded up the path and when they got to the end, they handed their baskets to their momma and lined up to be my bridesmaids.

The music stopped again and everyone shuffled to turn around, they knew the wedding was about to start. My daddy cleared his throat, took my arm and placed it in the crook of his, looked down at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Well, baby girl, I guess it's time to get this show on the road." I looked up at him and smiled as we started down the steps. April started playing a slow song so that I could take my time, letting everybody look me over. Momma and granny had hand sewn my dress, telling me that I would only be getting married one time and would have to pass it down to my girls. It was white cotton with a high collar stitched around with small seed pearls. It had a high waist line, right up under the breasts that sloped around to my back and dropped to the waist, it was also sewn with small seed pearls. The length was just past my knees in the front and down to the ankles in the back. Granny had hand stitched night after night the layer of lace covering the skirt from the waist down and there were about thirty small buttons down the back. My daddy had gone to town and bought me a pair of white leather boots with pearl buttons up the side and had surprised me with them the night before. They were the whitest things I had ever seen and I hated the thought of getting them dirty. Around my head was a wreath of flowers granny had made for me and momma had tucked small springs into my braid. When my sisters saw me, they started calling me Mother Nature and I smiled as I remembered this. Halfway down the path I looked at Bobby, he was so handsome standing there in a black suit, his hair combed back, boots a shining and he was grinning like a possum. I looked around at all of the people who had come to witness our union and try to imprint the image of everything on my mind so that I could remember it forever. April played on the fiddle until and daddy and I came to a stop in front of the preacher and then I stepped back behind my sisters. "Who gives this woman to be married," the booming voice of the preacher shouted out for all to hear. "Her mother and me," daddy replied and leaned down to kiss me on the forehead as he stepped back to sit by my mother. Bobby stepped up close to me and took my hands in his. I looked up into his eyes and never heard another word until Bobby leaned over to kiss me.

How in the world can it be over so quick, I thought as we turned to face the crowd. It should have lasted longer than this, I thought again as I heard the preacher announce, "I present to you Bobby and Maisy Lancaster." Before I knew it we were standing on the front porch shaking hand with the well wishers and family members. My daddy was slowly herding everyone to the barn to get the festivities started and I told Bobby I needed to sit down a minute before we went out to join everyone. We sat side by side holding hands in the porch swing "Are ya ok?" he asked me. "I'm fine, it was just over with so quick like, it seems we spent months planning and practicing and then it was just over. I don't think I remember a thing from when I got up front 'til we started back down the aisle," I replied. "Are ya nervous?" Bobby asked. "Not yet, I just hope everybody don't start making dumb jokes about the wedding night. That's so embarrassing," I said. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me up close. "Well Mrs. Lancaster, as far as I could tell they are all jealous. The women folks cause you done outshined them all and the men folks cause they can see what a lucky feller I am. I just want you to know Amazing Grace Butler Lancaster I plan on spending many a year sitting with you on our porch swing and you had better just get used to the idea. Now let's get on out there and open up all them presents and eat some wedding cake. We got lots of dancing to do and it won't be long before nightfall."