Something old, something new, something borrowed something blue, a sixpence in your shoe. So much planning for a wedding is about the celebration after the ceremony, not the ceremony itself. It was all about the ceremony for Olivia and Joshua, two introverted creative people. It was about the promises they would make to each other and the uniqueness of their union that would join them as husband and wife. They would become a family with hopes of their new future together. They would start fresh, parting from their old lives and building a new one. The pieces of their past forever fell away, revealing who they each were at the core. It is true that with every new beginning, the last beginning ends. Olivia felt this in her very soul. So many people had passed through her life. Some taught her a lesson, and some moved on to whatever life path was after the one they had shared was completed. She needed to ensure those who had impacted her along her life’s journey were symbolized in the ceremony.
The something old had been easy. She would wear a diamond belonging to her grandmother that had been mounted on a necklace by her mother. A gift she had received when she headed to college. Her grandmother had been close to her. She frequently felt her presence and dreamed of the times she had spent walking the neighborhood where her mother had grown up. The something borrowed was the dress her mother had worn. She had tried it on frequently as a child when she would play dress-up. Her mother never knew, and she was sure she wouldn’t be happy that she had, but to Olivia, the dress was a symbol of the innocence of her youth. The something new would be the new hairpiece she had purchased where the something blue of forget-me-not, her favorite flower, would be placed. The only thing left was the sixpence in her shoe. A tradition that was not as known but had been shared with her by her sister. The sixpence was her father’s. He had given it to her years before. He knew he would not see the day of her marriage, but with this, one of his final gifts, he would assure the abundance in life that would follow.
With the vows written and items decided satisfactorily on, she felt she was ready as ever to make that walk down the aisle and become Joshua and Olivia Zaneau and forever live in the magical, colorful world of OZ.
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The morning sunrise coming across the sand dunes was breathtakingly beautiful. The sea was calm today reflecting the colors on the water. Gulls flew over the beach looking for food and as Joshua sipped fresh brewed coffee, he sighed knowing that life was good. It was today that he would become a husband to an amazing friend, Olivia, an artist and writer. It was a day they had planned for, dreamed of, and now it was really happening.
He had to stop by his office in Charleston to pick up some cufflinks as he couldn’t find any at their new home in McClellanville. Parking in downtown Charleston was almost impossible but after many times around the block, he found a spot near his office. As he walked across the street he paused and looked down the street where he saw an old couple. The same people that helped him when he had his bike accident in Savannah. They told him they were angels and were helping him because it was not his time, yet here they were again.
As he looked again at his office door, a car passed him missing him by inches, taking his breath away. He had that same feeling that he felt laying on that deserted road in Savanna. He looked back across the street and the angels were gone. The street empty, like it never happened but he knew it did.
It was a beautiful morning for the ride to Pawleys Island, spring was still lingering so the weather was beautiful. It was sunny with a nice breeze, a great morning for riding with the top down. As he crossed the inlet, he could see the little church by the sea, and he knew in a matter of hours he would be a married man. The thoughts took him back to that cold rainy night when he saw Olivia walking her dog by his office and looked up waving at him. That single glance had changed his life forever.
All their family and friends were there, a small but cherished group. Olivia’s dog Vincent walked her to the altar and after all this time this was the fulfillment of the love they shared, a time when all their dreams are realized. They became one in marriage. Often in life we never find our dreams fulfilled but this was a day filled with love and joy. They drove away with everyone waving goodbye and rice thrown at them. They were heading to Park Grove Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, and a new life.
This is perhaps the last chapter in The Midnight Reflections series, or maybe a new beginning as with all things in life things change and possibilities abound.
