Summary: The Cartwrights attend a wedding.

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Cartwrights or Bonanza. No copyright infringement is intended. Original plot and characters are property of the author. This story is for entertainment and no money was made from it.

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With This Ring

Walking up the aisle of the church, Joe felt that the distance seemed further than ever. Adam walked beside him, the palm of his hand a comforting presence to the younger Cartwright. Joe looked left and right, noting the smiling faces of friends and neighbors on this sunny morning. Reaching up to his string tie, Joe lightly tugged at it; for once, the darned thing felt too tight. He hoped it wasn’t going to interfere with his ability to breathe; if he fainted, people in Virginia City would have something to talk about for months to come. Looking straight ahead, he noticed that the preacher was the only man in the church without a string tie around his neck. Finally arriving at the end of their walk, Joe and Adam turned to face the entryway of the church.

As they stood there, Joe reached up and stuck his forefinger between his collar and neck; his shirt even felt too tight this morning. Adam cleared his throat and Joe looked into his brother’s eyes; the older Cartwright gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, causing Joe to remove his finger. Joe noticed that Adam was standing with his hands clasped in front of him; he thought maybe he should do the same.

Looking at the faces in the pews, he saw Clementine Hawkins dabbing at her eyes with a lacy handkerchief. Why on Earth was she crying? Joe was relieved that she was sniffling quietly; it seemed to him that once one lady began crying, all of the ladies within earshot began weeping, too.

He began reaching for his shirt collar again when he caught a glimpse of his father from the corner of his eye. Pa had been married three times. Had he been nervous each time he wed? Joe made eye contact with his father and gave him a smile. Pa touched his own string tie and gave a slight shake of his head. The result was that Joe once again clasped his hands in front of him.

Taking a deep breath, Joe decided to hold it in for a few seconds; maybe that would help loosen his collar. He slowly and quietly exhaled through his nose so Adam or the preacher wouldn’t think he was sighing.

Before he could unclasp his hands and reach for his collar again, the piano struck up The Wedding March. Everyone rose to their feet as the doors opened to reveal a dazzling white-clad woman. Joe squinted a bit from the bright light and began to feel as if he was looking through a tunnel. Adam’s hand was again on his back, providing a steadying, comforting presence.

Gasps could be heard from several of the ladies seated in the church at the presence of the bride. Her coronet of white roses enhanced the richness of her dark hair. She walked up the aisle, a smile like no other Joe had ever seen on her face. He’d seen her smile many, many times yet never in a way that made her seem to be a floating vision of happiness. Joe felt a smile on his own face and realized he was happy because she was.

Time seemed to slow down as she made her progress up the aisle and Joe began wondering if it was possible for time to stand still. He noticed the bouquet in her hands contained wildflowers. Why wasn’t she wearing the wildflowers in her hair and carrying the white roses? Joe felt that women would always be a mystery.

She finally reached the end of the aisle and she gave him a wink. He turned pink; she wasn’t supposed to do that, was she? Wasn’t she supposed to be crying because she was overjoyed on her wedding day? The final notes from the piano began to fade away within the church’s walls and the minister cleared his throat.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here this day…” the preacher recited. Joe was trying to concentrate yet his thoughts began to wander. Mama loved weddings; he wished she could have been here to see this one. Maybe she was looking down from Heaven right now and smiling at the sight in the church.

As the preacher talked on, Joe wondered when he was going to get to the important part of the ceremony. Why did all of these other things have to be added? If the exchange of vows was the only part of the wedding that mattered to God, then why did the preacher have to give a lecture to the congregation about love? Would everyone be here today in this church if Cupid hadn’t had such good aim with his bow and arrow?

“If anyone here today has reason to believe this couple shouldn’t be joined together before God in Holy Matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Joe held his breath; would someone say something? He wanted to turn around to see if anyone was about to put their thoughts into words but he managed to resist the temptation. After what seemed an eternity, the preacher smiled and continued with the ceremony. There was almost a collective sigh of relief from everyone at the altar.

The preacher finally reached the part of the ceremony about the ring. Feeling all eyes on him, he reached into his pocket and felt….nothing. Where did it go? He knew it was in here because he placed it there himself before leaving for the church. Joe could see Adam giving a slight shake of his head; his older brother had offered to carry the ring but he had insisted he wouldn’t drop it or lose it on the way to church. Maybe he should have listened to Adam after all. Feeling his heartbeat racing, he reached into his right pocket and his fingers made contact with a cool circle of metal. With a sigh of relief, he pulled out the gold band and handed it to the preacher to be blessed.

Handing over the ring, the preacher said, “Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.”

After the gleaming band of gold had been placed on her finger and the vows recited, she gave Joe the largest smile he’d ever seen. Tears were now welling in her eyes.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I now present Mr. and Mrs. Ross Marquette. Ross, you may kiss your bride.”

The congregation applauded as Ross leaned forward and kissed Delphine on the lips. Joe made a face of disgust at seeing this. Why anyone would want to kiss a girl was beyond him. The couple finally parted and made their way down the aisle towards the door. Joe and Adam again walked side by side, the older Cartwright’s hand a firm and comforting presence on the boy’s back.

The End
June 2008