13. Chapter 13 (1/2)

chuck paced the living room, fidgeting with his silver cufflinks; the accessories, engraved with 'cb' in a filigree script on the face with a dark cardinal border, were a gift from ellie for his graduation from stanford five years before. he paused at the mirror next to the door to make sure his charcoal suit was still unwrinkled and straightened his dark burgundy tie before looking at his watch once more and then down the hall with a sigh. "sarah," he called out, "would you please hurry up? we are going to be late."

"we'll be there in a minute, chuck," she called back from the bedroom, "we're just about ready."

chuck rolled his eyes; she'd been saying the same thing for the last 15 minutes. finally, he heard the door of their bedroom open. he walked over to the hat tree in the corner and slid on his black trench coat before grabbing sarah's light grey trench and a small black jacket for molly, laying both over his arm as he turned to see his girls approaching from the hall. sarah was wearing a burgundy dress that was just a few shades lighter than his tie, it had a scalloped lace v-neckline, bodice, and short sleeves with a knee-length, a line, and a chiffon skirt. she completed the look with silver, strappy, heeled, sandals. her blonde hair was down and fell in soft ringlets to her shoulders. molly wore a matching dress with a velvet, long sleeved bodice and fluffy tulle skirt with a large bow at the right side of the waist line. white stockings and black mary-janes completed the outfit. on her head, sarah, had placed a matching headband with a bow.

"wow, you two look beautiful," chuck smiled at them, kissing sarah, and helping her put molly's jacket on before assisting sarah on with her own coat. "are you sure we aren't too matchy?"

"i'm sure," sarah assured him, "hold this," she handed molly to him so she could straighten his tie, which had gone askew again. "you look pretty handsome yourself."

"thank you, baby," chuck smiled warmly down at her, "alright, are we ready to go now?"

"let's go," sarah nodded, picking up her purse and molly's diaper bag and looping both straps over her shoulder, "we have a wedding to go to."

the chapel was beautifully decorated for the event, on the altar was a lattice archway that was interwoven with navy blue and silver satin sashes. white roses and bluebells were woven together over the top and sides of the archway. the pews had the same blue and silver sashes lining the center aisle, small bouquets of navy-blue hydrangea interspersed with white roses and baby's

eath were attached to alternating pews. a lace-edged white runner ran the length of the center aisle. chuck and sarah allowed the usher to show them to their seat before leaving their coats to hold their places while they walked to the back of the sanctuary to speak with some mutual friends of the happy couple. they knew the short ceremony would still be pushing the limits of molly's patience. knowing this, they chose to wait to reclaim their seats until the last minute so as to reduce the chance of her melting down.

before long, the wedding coordinator and ushers began letting people know the wedding was about to start and that they needed to take their seats. the processional music began as the minister, scott, and his best man took their place at the front of the sanctuary. moments later, women dressed in floor length navy colored satin gowns in different styles started down the aisle on the arms of their escorts, with the exception of the maid of honor who walked alone. all the women carried bouquets of white and navy-blue hydrangea accented with baby's

eath. the men all wore grey suits and navy-blue ties, the notable exception being scott who looked equal parts excited and nervous in his dark navy suit with a navy and silver striped tie.

the congregation could hear the soft bump of the doors against the frame as they were closed to allow lou and her father to get into position while the processional music changed to pachelbel's cannon in d. lou's mother stood as she saw the sanctuary doors begin to swing open, the movement echoed throughout the congregation as lou and mr. pallone made their way down the aisle. chuck couldn't help but smile at the look on scotts face, a mix of awe, bemusement, and love as he looked at his

ide. lou wore a mermaid-style satin gown with cap sleeves, and a sweetheart neckline. she wore a navy-blue sash around her waist that tied in the back with the tails falling to the start of the chapel train of her gown. she had her right arm linked with her father's and in her left, she carried a white bouquet of hydrangea, spray roses, and baby's

eath. her smile was infectious, and her face shown with absolute love and devotion as she locked eyes with her groom.

as lou passed by, chuck turned his focus to sarah, who was watching the procession, wondering if and hoping that they might find themselves in this place, the point in their relationship where they were ready to make such a permanent and life-long commitment to each other. he could almost imagine how sarah would look, dressed in white, walking toward him, clara and molly skipping a few feet ahead tossing rose petals haphazardly along the way.

as the pastor instructed the congregation to take their seats and welcomed them, chuck shook his head of his musings and chose to focus on the ceremonial words being spoken. at some point molly, who had begun to fuss, had been relocated to his lap and soon fallen asleep. as the couple began to recite their vows, his hand found sarah's. the two shared a small glance and a smile, communicating the same promises of love and support silently to each other. soon after, rings were exchanged, and the pastor was introducing mr. and mrs. scott and lou tucker for the first time to the applause and cheers of the guests. the pair shared a kiss and exited down the aisle followed by their attendants.

"we are so glad you two could make it!" lou gushed, hugging chuck, then sarah, careful not to squish molly who was still held in chuck's arms, "you guys have been so busy lately, i was a little worried you wouldn't be able to."

"we wouldn't miss it for the world, lou," chuck assured her before looking between the couple, "mind if i kiss the

ide?"

at scott's nod, chuck bent down and placed a chaste kiss on lou's cheek, before shaking scott's hand, "congratulations, we wish you both every happiness."

"someday, this could well be you," scott grinned, placing an arm around his new

ide's waist.

"maybe," chuck shrugged, looking down at sarah, a soft smile on his lips, "we only just met a few months ago, so we aren't in any rush. if it works out that way, i certainly wouldn't complain, but it's not only my decision."

sarah smiled back at him, before turning back to their friends, "yeah, someday, but i agree with chuck, we're not in any hurry. we know this is where we hope our relationship will eventually lead, but so much has happened in the past few months for us individually and as a couple, that there are some things we just want to take slow."

"i hear you," scott agreed while lou nodded alongside him.

"well, we'll leave you to your other guests and photos and what not," chuck smiled at them, "we'll see you at the reception. just a word of advice, make sure you take the time to stop and eat sometime tonight, right after you arrive if you can. my sister got so wrapped up in making the rounds and fitting in dances, cake, and the tosses that she nearly passed out from a low blood sugar before awesome made her sit down and eat something."

"thanks for the tip, chuck," lou chuckled, "we'll keep that in mind."

"the wedding was beautiful," sarah added.

"thank you," lou grinned at her new friend.

with one last round of hugs, chuck, sarah, and molly made their way out to chuck's matrix to head to the reception.

the ballroom of the grand ambassador was elegantly decorated, several round tables stood in a semi-circle around three sides of the dance floor at the center of the room, on the fourth side was a platform with a long table for the

idal party. all the chairs had white covers with navy-blue bows and at the center of every table were small floral arrangements matching the

idal bouquets. a deejay was set up in a corner of the room just behind the

idal party's table and on the far side of the dance floor across from the

idal table sat a small table with the wedding cake on display. soft music was playing as guests enjoyed the complimentary cocktail hour until the pictures were completed and the happy couple and their entourage arrived.

near the entrance of the ballroom sat a low rectangular table with place cards, chuck and sarah found their cards and went in search of their assigned table. sarah couldn't help but smile when they arrived at their table which was located to the left of the dance floor, just off center. it was clear that the staff had been informed that molly would be with them, as a high chair had been provided, complete with silver and blue balloons and streamers on the back and a name tag bearing molly's name on the front of the tray. chuck got them seated and headed to get drinks, by the time he'd returned, sarah had molly in her lap and was handing her puff snacks to munch on.

"white zin for the lady," chuck leaned over sarah's shoulder, placing the glass of wine on the table before her as he kissed her neck.

"flirt," sarah grinned up at him.

"only with you," he gave her the bartowski grin and took his seat, sipping his scotch. "how's sweet pea doing?"

"she's doing just fine with her snacks for now," sarah nodded to the baby who had nearly all of her little hand shoved in her mouth, gumming on her treat.

"chuck!" they turned to find a petite older woman with greying auburn hair approaching them, "so glad you could make it!"

"we are too," he stood and placed a soft kiss to the woman's cheek, "wouldn't miss it for the world." he then turned toward sarah who was looking at them curiously, "where are my manners, i'm sorry. sarah, i would like you to meet leanne pallone, lou's mother."

"nice to meet you, mrs. pallone," sarah shook the older woman's hand, "the ceremony was absolutely lovely."

"thank you," mrs. pallone smiled at the compliment, "but please call me lee. and who is this precious little angel?"

chuck grinned as sarah wiped the drool off molly's hand with a baby wipe. "this is our daughter, amalia, we call her molly."

"oh, she is adorable!" lee cooed, "sarah, she looks just like you, and i think we can all tell where she got those curls from. chuck always struck me as a good family man, i'm glad he found someone who feels the same way."

"thank you," chuck and sarah blushed.

"it was nice seeing you again chuck, and it was nice meeting you, sarah," lee smiled beatifically at them, "you two truly make a beautiful couple. enjoy the party."

after another round of pleasantries, lee left to greet other guests. the

idal party had arrived and were milling around the room talking to friends and family as the wedding coordinator came in and made a bee-line to the deejay, whispering something to him before heading back the way she came. "ladies and gentlemen, may i have your attention please," the man announced, lowering the volume of the ambient music, "it is my honor to present, for the first time in public, mr. and mrs. scott tucker!" with the press of a button and a slide of a toggle, cele

atory music played over the sound system as the newlyweds entered the room to the cheers and applause of their friends and family.

scott led his

ide to their seats and were soon joined by their

idal party, a runner

ought him a microphone as the music died out, "thank you for joining us today, we are truly blessed that so many of our friends and family, some of whom traveled a great distance to be here, are cele

ating with us today. so many of you have led us to this point, made us the people we are, and acted as shining beacons of encouragement, love and support as we walked our individual paths which eventually led to this shared road, we start down today. that being said, lou, myself, and much of our

idal party haven't eaten since

eakfast so we are famished, so let's eat!"

a great cheer went up from the guests as everyone took their seats. the ballroom was a hive of activity as servers dressed in black tux pants or skirts, white dress shirts, and black vests quickly made their rounds, serving the

idal party first followed by the parents of the

ide and groom and then each table down the line after that until everyone was served. as the guests ate, the room was a din of low conversation and laughter, chuck and sarah had moved molly's highchair to temporarily sit between them so they could take turns feeding her from the baby food jars they'd

ought with them and had been kindly heated by the staff for them.

they fielded many questions from the other guests at their table from how they'd met, to how old molly was, what they did for a living, and what

ought them to la. as the guests were finishing up their dinners and conversation, the deejay announced it was time for the speeches. the best man, a cousin of scott's, told a few mildly embarrassing stories of scott growing up before sharing some heartfelt advice borne of his own marriage, and then wishing the couple well. the maid of honor's speech was equal parts touching and humorous, chuck even caught sarah wiping away a stray tear at one point, she also wished the couple well and shared a blessing that had been passed on down through her family. the parents of the happy couple also shared their sentiments and well wishes for the newlyweds' future before the deejay announced it was time for the first dance of the night.