Passion in James County XV: Ben and Nancy
Chapter twenty-four
Ben Morris, dressed in a tuxedo, was standing in Nancy Dillon's living room, in front of the glass sliding doors that led out onto the deck behind the house. He was more nervous than he'd ever been in his life. Next to him, on his left, stood Nancy's oldest son, Mike. On Mike's left stood Nancy's second son, Bill. In front of him stood Reverend Albers, the pastor of the church Nancy attended. Behind them, seated in folding chairs, were a number of Nancy's friends and some of his colleagues from Jamestown High, including Principal Eagleton and Superintendent of Schools Eames. Trish Wilkins, looking radiant in a sleek red dress, was there, too. Conspicuously absent from the small group of well-wishers was Marya Thompson, who had resigned from her position as school psychologist and moved out of town.
Somewhere behind Ben, music started playing. The song was "Here Comes the Bride." He and the two men standing next to him turned around and watched the doorway between the living room and the entry hall. Dawn Dillon, looking gorgeous in a dark brown sweater with brass buttons and loose dark brown skirt with white flowers on it, appeared and started walking toward them.
Then Ben's heart stopped, or at least it felt as if it had. Nancy appeared. She had on a long purple jacquard dress with buttons all the way down the front. It had long sleeves and, what the salesclerk told them was a sweetheart neckline and empire bodice. Her hair was shiny, a string of pearls wrapped around her neck, and, as she walked toward him, he could see a long, lithe leg flashing. He swallowed hard. Finally Nancy and Dawn were standing on his right. He and the boys turned and faced Reverend Albers.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of God and this company of loved ones to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony," the pastor began.
After the ceremony, much of which Ben and Nancy had written themselves, they adjourned to her back yard for a huge celebration. There was more food than a crowd three times the size of the one there could eat, and a small orchestra to provide music for dancing.
Dawn caught the bouquet, much to her delight, and Nancy's son Bill caught the garter, much to his sister's embarrassment.
Tim Jackman and his wife, Heidi, were among the wedding guests. At one point during the reception, Tim bumped into Ben, who was coming out of the kitchen with a tray of sliced turkey to replace one that had been stripped bare. "I'm happy you took my advice," Tim told the new bridegroom. "Nancy's a wonderful woman."
"Like you said, I'd have been a fool not to grab Nancy and hang on for dear life," Ben replied, smiling. "I have her now and she'd not getting away."
Heidi Jackman walked up and slid her hand through her husband's arm. "What are you men talking about?" she asked.
"We were talking about how lucky we were to get wonderful women, and how we're not going to let them go," her husband replied.
Heidi blushed and squeezed her husband's arm. "I hope you and Nancy will be very happy," she told Ben. "I'm so glad you got together. She needed someone like you."
"Not nearly as much as I needed her," Ben replied.
Finally, it was time for the couple to leave for their honeymoon. Nancy changed into a loose yellow pullover top and jeans held up by suspenders. She had on a funky little cap, too. Ben thought the outfit made her look even younger than he did.
"Well, Mrs. Morris," he said as they drove down the driveway, accompanied by the clatter of tin cans the boys had attached to the back of the car. "Here we go."
Nancy laid her head against the car's headrest and smiled at her new husband. "Mrs. Morris," she said softly, "I do like the sound of that."
"So do I," Ben replied.
"This past year has really been amazing, hasn't it?" Nancy said as they drove along the freeway, headed for the secluded resort on the ocean where they were going to spend their first two weeks as a married couple. Nancy's employer had given them the honeymoon as a wedding gift.
"It sure has," Ben replied. "Boy, to think a year ago, I was sitting in jail, accused of doing those awful things to Trish. Even worse, I couldn't figure out how to make contact with you."
"God, yes," Nancy said. She reached over and laid her hand on her husband's leg. "It's so crazy, isn't it? Each of us was thinking of the other, but neither of us made a move. It's kind of sad, really, that it had to take a horrible thing like what happened to Trish to bring us together."
Ben laid his hand on hers and squeezed it. "I guess it is kind of sad it had to happen that way," he said. "But I don't really care how it happened, just so it came out the way it did."
They finally arrived at the resort. A liveried bellman came out and took their things and led them to their room. Ben, holding his bride's hand, followed the man down the hallway to their suite.
When the bellman ushered them into their room, Nancy looked around, amazed at how sumptuous their suite was. It was huge, and was furnished with Victorian era furniture. It even had a small bar along the wall of what appeared to be the living room, which also had huge windows that opened up onto a deck that overlooked the ocean. Ben tipped the bellman, then walked to a stereo which was in an intricately carved cabinet near the bar and turned it on. Ben looked at Nancy and smiled as soft, mellow music began filling the room. "Would you like to dance with your husband a little more, Mrs. Morris?" he asked.
Nancy nodded and, with tears of joy brimming in her eyes, she moved into her new husband's arms and laid her head on his shoulder. They began to move easily around the room in time to the soft, romantic music. Ben was a wonderful dancer, but even if he'd been clumsy, this would have been magical as far as Nancy was concerned! She hadn't felt this wonderful since George died, and wasn't sure she ever would again.
After a while, Nancy leaned back in Ben's arms and looked up into his face. He had the most incredible eyes! The depth of his love for her was reflected in them, a depth that shook her a little. She loved him very much, but could she ever love him as much as he seemed to love her? "Ben...this...this is so wonderful!" she whispered. "So wonderful."
"It is, isn't it," Ben replied, then he bent his head and covered her lips with his.
Passion, which had begun to smolder in Nancy's body while they were dancing, burst into a conflagration of desire when their lips met. Weakness swept over her. Her insides were a whirl of emotion and her body was trembling violently by the time the kiss ended.
