December
Time hung heavily
for Charlie on the morning of the wedding, the same was not true for Toddy, as
her soon-to-be sister-in-law Chloe Virtue, dragged her from pillar to post from
one Church lady to another to get her ready.
The first was
Catherine Scott who gave her a “Mani-Pedi”, then Emma Daley did her hair, Geri
Phillips waxed her legs, Josephine Bell, did her nails before Chloe and Verity
helped to get her into her dress and finally a girl she’d never met before, Taryn
Milner, did her make up.
Sister Margaret
and Sister Lucy were on the first ferry from St Giles on Saturday morning and
Charlie had arranged a Chauffeur driven car to pick them up and take them to
the Hotel where a room had been reserved for them along with one for Sister
Peter and Sister Claire who had made their own way to the Hotel, the car would
then be at their disposal to transport them from the Hotel to the Church and
then back again after the service.
Outside St
Agatha’s, florist Julie Lewis, having walked round from the Vicarage where she
had delivered and attached bouquet and sprays for the Bride, “Father of the
Bride”, Matron of Honour and Bridesmaid, then attached the buttonholes for the
Groom, Best Man and Ushers and made sure they were up to muster.
Charlie and
Best Man Paul were on the Church steps as the guests started to arrive and were chatting and sharing jokes, which
helped his nerves but then Samuel Virtue, the Vicar, joined them and discreetly
gave them the signal that it was time.
So, they slowly
made their way up the aisle to the altar stopping periodically to shake hands
or air kiss.
Toddy’s former Sister’s
from St Adelaide’s Convent had a ringside seat, so to speak, because they had
reserved seats on the second pew and Charlie killed a few minutes talking with
them.
Meanwhile Toddy
and Chloe, in the role of Father of the Bride, left the Vicarage in a Vintage
Bentley and as the starting point and the destination were so close together,
they took a turn around the Village to get the maximum from the experience.
As Charlie and
Paul sat on the front pew his nerves returned in earnest, and he began to go
through in his head all the things that could possibly go wrong with the day
and he suddenly blurted out
“Have you got
the rings?”
“Yes, I have
the rings” Paul replied and patted his waist coat pocket.
“Just relax”
“That’s easy
for you to say” Charlie retorted and then the organ started playing the bridal
march and the assembled congregation of familiar faces rose behind him and once
he was stood Charlie couldn’t resist a glance over his shoulder at his bride to
be, and Toddy looked absolutely stunning.
For the happy
couple the ceremony seemed to pass by in an instant but, at the moment they
said, “I do”, they instantly felt complete.
Fortunately, a
tall gangly young man named Howard who videoed the whole proceedings for them
to watch at their leisure over and over.
They were
driven to the reception in a 1936 Bentley by James Percival and Toddy felt like
a princess, and at the reception she was walking on air, she had never ever
been the center of attention in all of her 55 years, and she felt so special,
and she didn’t want it to end.
But when she
and Charlie shared the first dance, she was so lost in the moment it was as if
it was just the two of them as all the guests faded from view.
“Good morning Mrs. Phelps”
“Oh, I like how that sounds” she said and
kissed his chest
“Is it better than Millicent Winnifred
Todd?” he asked
“Yes, I like it a lot” she replied “But
I’ll always be your Toddy”
“I love you Toddy” he said
“I love you too” she replied, and they made
love in the half-light.
Later they
reluctantly had to leave their luxurious suite and the comfort of their
four-poster bed, and the warmth of their duvet and begin their journey to Rome
as Mr. and Mrs. Phelps.
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