Page 4 of A Winter's Wedding

“Now, I’ve got you set up right over here.” Margarete gestured to a light blue Louis XIV style loveseat and coordinating chair. A small glass coffee table that featured antique gold legs separated the seating arrangement. “If you’re ready, I’ll send in the first couple.”

Margarete turned and walked out the main double doors while America took a seat in the lone chair. Reaching into her sleek black tote, she retrieved a notebook and a small voice recorder that Poppy, her assistant turned best friend, had sent her a few months back for use in situations just like this one. Not that any of her other writing assignments had been anythinglike this oneother than the traveling part.

In the year since being promoted to senior special interest writer, she had done no less than four featured articles. Her confidence had grown with each new published issue, along with her ability to let the heart of the story shine through. Even though she wrote for Jet Trek Magazine, she found a creative way to interweave the personal stories with the geographic locations. Jet Trek was a travel magazine, after all.

The first couple walked in with their hands tightly linked together in the narrow space between their bodies and made their way to the center of the huge room. Their eyes darted around the large space just as America had done upon entering the ballroom for the first time.

Knowing the pair may be nervous, she closed the distance and greeted them. “Come on over and have a seat,” she said to the young couple. “My name is America, and I just want to thank you for agreeing to this interview today.”

The man, boy rather, looked to be no more than nineteen years of age. His fiancée didn’t appear to be any older, but the young woman was stunning. Shoulder-length brunette hair, cut into pretty layers, framed the girl’s soft jawline. She wore a long baby-pink dress with ruffles across the bustline and tiny braided straps held everything up, which only accentuated her youthful features. The man wore a standard navy-blue suit. No tie, but a floral pocket square. Though young, they looked wonderful together.

“Firstly, congratulations.” America took the recorder and held it out towards the couple. “I’ll be recording this interview. Can you please state your full names and a verbal agreement to be recorded?”

“Darren Carpenter. I agree to be recorded.” His accent was southern, the pretty kind that one hears in old movies.

“Brittney-Lynn Mayberry. I agree,” she said in the same sweet way as Darren had spoken.

“Great. Let’s start with the obvious. Are you excited to be getting married tomorrow?”

Brittney-Lynn’s face lit up with a bright smile. “I’ve waited my whole life for this day.”

America found that hard to believe since Brittney-Lynn still looked like a teenager. “And how many years is that?”

“Well,” Brittney-Lynn began and sat with a straight spine. “I’m twenty-two and Darren is twenty-one. I guess you could say he likes older women.” She shrugged. “But he turns twenty-two in a couple weeks.”

Astonished, America wondered what they drink in the deep south that caused this couple to look so young, considering she herself was only a couple of years on from them. “Tell me how you met.”

Brittney-Lynn looked at Darren and side-nodded indicating he should answer this one. America could appreciate the couple’s non-verbal communication style, as it was a skill she and Leo had perfected during recent months. They so often worked in front of the guests at The Foundry and had found a way to say much without saying anything at all. Most couples, especially those who had been together the longest, like her own parents, seemed to have some level of telepathic ability.

“When she says she’s been waiting her whole life, she is not exaggerating. We’ve known each other our whole lives. Our moms were in a bible study together back home?—”

“And where is home?” America interrupted.

“Biloxi,” Brittney-Lynn said.

“Mississippi,” Darren added. “It wasn’t love at first sight, but when she came back from summer break between sophomore and junior year of high school, looking the way she looks, my seventeen-year-old brain stopped seeing her as the girl I used to tease at church and saw her as someone I knew I had to have in my life.”

“It took him another year to ask me out,” Brittney-Lynn joked, and the couple gazed into each other’s eyes.

“So, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. What made you pick this date for your nuptials?” America asked.

“Truth is, we were having a hard time picking a day. The more we sat on it, the more it seemed like everyone in our families?—”

“And all our friends,” Darren finished.

“Everyone had a different idea about what kind of wedding we were supposed to have,” Brittney-Lynn said and sat back into the seat cushion. The annoyance at the turmoil of choosing a date was still written all over her pinched face. “So, I was at work. I’m a teller at the Beau Rivage Casino. Everyone I know pretty much works there. Anyway, I saw a flyer about Las Vegas trying to break the record for most weddings performed in one day. And I thought how perfect it sounded to be a part of something so fun. Nothing like this ever happens at home.”

“If there’s one piece of advice you can give other couples going through similar hardships as they navigate wedding planning, what would it be?” America asked.

They were both quiet for a minute and America waited patiently. Finally, Brittney-Lynn spoke. “I’d say to other couples that they should not let the wedding day define their marriage. A wedding is just a day, but the marriage is for a lifetime. We chose this path because it was the only way to stop everyone’s bickering, and we thought it would be fun. It’s not like anyone remembers the wedding really, so I don’t know why they all care so much.”

“We have a few close friends in town for the ceremony tomorrow, and we’ll have a big party when we get home to celebrate with everyone else,” Darren said.

America was falling in love with these two.

“It’s said that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. In this case, what do you have to say about having such a public wedding that the whole world will know about.”

“We think it’s pretty cool. When we’re old and sitting on the front porch with grandkids running around, we’ll have a great story to tell,” Darren said and winked at Brittney-Lynn.

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