Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Four: Weddings
Tharkad, September 15, 3037
"Marriage, is what brings us together today. Marriage, that blessed arrangement, that dream within a dream, and Love, true love, will follow you forever, so treasure your love," The priest paused for a breath and looked at the young couple getting married today. "Love, to love one another is the second greatest commandment ever given by the Lord, the only one above it is to love the Lord your God. This emphasizes just how vital love for not only our significant others is, but also how important it is to love our fellow man."
I was struggling not to laugh or cry at the choice of words that the priest had used for the ceremony. While Natasha physically restrained me from belly laughing until David turned his head and gave me a wink. He had planned this! And I had only encouraged it by introducing him to the movie in the first place.
The rest of the ceremony had me in tears at the thought of my son being grown up. And while I had tried to contain them at first, one look at Nat had me start up again. Despite all of the hardships that she had endured, and the emotional growth that had been stunted by an upbringing in the Clans she was overcome by emotion as well. The only other time she had ever cried before was when Sapphire had died. Now, she was just letting the tears stream from her eyes as she tried to keep the twins from acting out.
Finally, we got to the reception, and I sat down at the table assigned to me and watched the troublesome duo that we had adopted so that they wouldn't ruin part of the ceremony. Then Elana Susanne (Elsa) Hull-Steiner came up to my table.
"Can I have this dance?" She asked with a small curtsy and a big smile on her face.
"Of course!" I replied with a grin. "Just as soon as I can find someone to watch the twins here."
"I'm certain that we can have a servant take care of that while I have a dance with my father-in-law," Elsa smiled and then gave a small signal to one of the servants that were on standby in the Triad.
"Thank you," I told the servant. " I or Natasha will be back in a little bit to take them off of your hands."
Elsa then led me to the dance floor where we began to dance to the tune of the classical orchestra that was playing in the background.
"I'm really glad that you and David have been able to grow to love each other," I said as I led my now daughter-in-law around the dance floor.
"He's an easy man to love," Elsa said with a laugh. "He may be a bit stubborn at times, but he's willing to learn and listens to what I have to say."
"Natasha and I have done our best to raise a son who would be not only a good noble. But someone who would also be a good father and husband," I replied. "Would you be willing to take some advice from someone who has been married twice and raised children as well?"
"Of course I am!" Elsa scoffed at me. "You've been a part of my family for as long as I can remember. So of course I'm willing to take advice from you."
"Just checking," I chuckled in response. "I was your age once, and I don't remember always wanting advice. Nor do I remember receiving advice well all of the time." I shrugged. "Always remember to keep your relationship with David at the forefront of everything else. Don't put your children ahead of it, don't put your responsibilities ahead of it." I looked into Elsa's bright blue eyes. "If you keep your spouse as a priority you will enjoy your relationship a lot more over the years and you'll find it to be more stable in the long term as well."
Elsa just hummed as she considered my statement as the song came to an end.
"I also told David the same thing," I told her as we walked back to my assigned table. "It's something that my parents told me when I got married the first time and I figured I should pass it on."
"Thanks," Elsa leaned in and gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek. "I'll keep everything in mind."
"They grow up so fast," I told Katrina as I made my way over to her. "I remember when they were still trying to get in trouble during Christmas on Kentares IV."
"Time does seem to fly by doesn't it?" Katrina offered as she sipped a little champagne from her glass. "It feels like a couple of weeks ago we were doing anti-piracy operations in the Magistracy, and now we're here watching our children get married."
"Yeah, it really puts things in perspective, doesn't it?" I asked. "We've changed an awful lot over the last three decades."
"Indeed we have," Arthur cut in. "And I heard that you were planning on retiring."
"Yep," I replied with a shrug and a small smile. "I've got two to three more years and then Natasha and I will be passing on the torch in order to settle down and finish raising the twins we adopted."
"I'm starting to get Melissa involved in the Government," Katrina said with a small smile. "But I don't think I'll be retiring just yet. There are still some nobles that need to be taught that the new way is the best way forward."
"I'm not pushing anyone else into retirement," I replied with a small smile. "I'm just explaining my reasoning."
"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to retire right now," Katrina said with a look of longing on her face. "But there are still some things that I need to accomplish before I turn over the throne to Melissa."
"Hanse basically said the same thing about Jonathon," I replied. "We'll just have to wait and see what the future brings."