when Sally had offered them to the couple.
After what felt like long minutes, Jones arrived at Arturo’s side. He took her trembling hand and tucked it under his arm. The way she looked at him was completely different from any facial expression I had ever seen. It ignored the pain and the suffering, the risk and the struggles, and the specter of the unknown world. It was, near as I could tell, a pure thing. A pure expression of love.
Kirk and I had talked about whether Dad could pull off a marriage. It just wasn’t like him. When he began to speak, we knew that he could. “Dear friends and family. No, that’s wrong. We all remember when there was a difference between those words, but here today, I say dear family. We have gathered here to join two of our beloved family members into a new family, one that is theirs alone, but still part of ours at the same time. Today, this union is even more important than family. To me, it represents the hope that defies all that has happened, all that we see, and all that we don’t see. It represents the simple truth that the world can change, the world we knew can fall asleep, but love lives on in the hearts of Arturo and Jones, and it is for that reason we are here to take part in this blessed union.”
After that, the women began to cry in a cascade. Lucy was quiet and Jackie was the loudest. Even I was a little misty-eyed, but I wasn’t sure why. Dad waited for Jackie to regain some control over her wailing. Then, Dad took Arturo and Jones through the simplest version of vows he could recall. He called for the rings. I sent Jimmy up to his new family with a gentle shove. Arturo put the ring on Jones’s finger, and she returned the favor.
“With the exchange of vows as an affirmation of Arturo and Jones’s commitment to each other, and the exchange of rings a visible symbol of that commitment and love for each other, I pronounce Arturo and Jones, husband and wife.” Dad was smiling his biggest, dumbest smile. He gave Arturo a jerk of his head and Arturo failed to catch the hint. “You may now kiss the bride.” Yep. That solved the problem. Arturo was about the same height as Jones. It was a simple matter to lean in for a kiss, which triggered a round of applause from the entire family. In fact, my hands were beginning to hurt before the kiss ended.
The unspoken wedding gift was the car and the supplies, but we were able to give them one other surprise. That night, everyone except for the newlyweds spent the night in the barn. We had a barn party in the hayloft. I didn’t know what they were doing in the house. I did notice when Aggie fell asleep next to me with her hand nestled in mine.
Chapter 10 – 11
Seth interrupted the story before Bill got to the end. Terry found it more frustrating than he expected. Even with his close cropped hair, Seth had a mess tucked under his cap. He also had a look that any boy knows can only come from being rousted out of bed by his mother. He stepped up on Bill’s porch with an automatic ducking motion and straightened his spine when his head failed to connect with a low ceiling. “Hey, Boss. Hey, Terry.”
“Hello, Big Seth,” Bill answered.
Terry just slapped him on the thigh.
“What’s next?” Seth asked.
“Well, I figure you boys ought to head over to Hickerson Station. Pick up some food from Sam on the way out, and you can use the guns we collected from Cox if anybody needs one,” Bill said. “Make sure you both have plenty of personal weapons and ammo.”
“What do we do with them?” Terry asked “Bring them over here?”
“It’s your army. You raised it. You lead it.”
“Come on, Bill. You gotta have a plan,” Terry said, almost whining.
Bill laughed. “Ok, I’ll give you some hints. First, get them out of sight. I’d suggest you take a look at the old Carroll barn. If that’s not big enough, there’s a good slope behind it. I don’t want you to do anything until you see a good
After what felt like long minutes, Jones arrived at Arturo’s side. He took her trembling hand and tucked it under his arm. The way she looked at him was completely different from any facial expression I had ever seen. It ignored the pain and the suffering, the risk and the struggles, and the specter of the unknown world. It was, near as I could tell, a pure thing. A pure expression of love.
Kirk and I had talked about whether Dad could pull off a marriage. It just wasn’t like him. When he began to speak, we knew that he could. “Dear friends and family. No, that’s wrong. We all remember when there was a difference between those words, but here today, I say dear family. We have gathered here to join two of our beloved family members into a new family, one that is theirs alone, but still part of ours at the same time. Today, this union is even more important than family. To me, it represents the hope that defies all that has happened, all that we see, and all that we don’t see. It represents the simple truth that the world can change, the world we knew can fall asleep, but love lives on in the hearts of Arturo and Jones, and it is for that reason we are here to take part in this blessed union.”
After that, the women began to cry in a cascade. Lucy was quiet and Jackie was the loudest. Even I was a little misty-eyed, but I wasn’t sure why. Dad waited for Jackie to regain some control over her wailing. Then, Dad took Arturo and Jones through the simplest version of vows he could recall. He called for the rings. I sent Jimmy up to his new family with a gentle shove. Arturo put the ring on Jones’s finger, and she returned the favor.
“With the exchange of vows as an affirmation of Arturo and Jones’s commitment to each other, and the exchange of rings a visible symbol of that commitment and love for each other, I pronounce Arturo and Jones, husband and wife.” Dad was smiling his biggest, dumbest smile. He gave Arturo a jerk of his head and Arturo failed to catch the hint. “You may now kiss the bride.” Yep. That solved the problem. Arturo was about the same height as Jones. It was a simple matter to lean in for a kiss, which triggered a round of applause from the entire family. In fact, my hands were beginning to hurt before the kiss ended.
The unspoken wedding gift was the car and the supplies, but we were able to give them one other surprise. That night, everyone except for the newlyweds spent the night in the barn. We had a barn party in the hayloft. I didn’t know what they were doing in the house. I did notice when Aggie fell asleep next to me with her hand nestled in mine.
Chapter 10 – 11
Seth interrupted the story before Bill got to the end. Terry found it more frustrating than he expected. Even with his close cropped hair, Seth had a mess tucked under his cap. He also had a look that any boy knows can only come from being rousted out of bed by his mother. He stepped up on Bill’s porch with an automatic ducking motion and straightened his spine when his head failed to connect with a low ceiling. “Hey, Boss. Hey, Terry.”
“Hello, Big Seth,” Bill answered.
Terry just slapped him on the thigh.
“What’s next?” Seth asked.
“Well, I figure you boys ought to head over to Hickerson Station. Pick up some food from Sam on the way out, and you can use the guns we collected from Cox if anybody needs one,” Bill said. “Make sure you both have plenty of personal weapons and ammo.”
“What do we do with them?” Terry asked “Bring them over here?”
“It’s your army. You raised it. You lead it.”
“Come on, Bill. You gotta have a plan,” Terry said, almost whining.
Bill laughed. “Ok, I’ll give you some hints. First, get them out of sight. I’d suggest you take a look at the old Carroll barn. If that’s not big enough, there’s a good slope behind it. I don’t want you to do anything until you see a good
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