Stone Cold Foxe Read online

  “Please don’t. Call me whatever you’d like.”

  “I think Uncle Keith made a really good choice.”

  “I think so too.”

  “Are you nervous?”

  “A little. Mostly because everyone keeps asking me if I’m nervous.”

  “I guess people do at these things. This will only be my second wedding. I was a flower girl at one of my mom’s friend’s weddings a long time ago.”

  “Well, you can relax. No wedding duties…unless you want one.”

  “It’s cool,” she said.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I hope it won’t be too boring for you.”

  “No. There’s a boy my age over there I’m sort of cruising.”

  He coughed, choking a bit.

  “I mean I’m checking him out.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s my cousin Bill. You can go introduce yourself. Tell him how we met.”

  He assumed she would demure, but he should have known better. She was a Fletcher, after all. “Okay. Will do. Good luck, Skyler. I’ll see you on the other side.”

  “Okay.” Off she went, her long legs taking her quickly toward the unsuspecting boy.

  But before he could even process that, he was swept up by Sheryl in a flowery gauze floor-length dress. Tamika wore a long dress with an African print with gold embroidery and a low-cut neckline. Her headwrap was tall, accentuating her angular features.

  “You are stunning,” came out of his mouth before he could think on it.

  “Why thank you, baby. So are you.”

  Sheryl kissed his cheek. “Don’t be nervous,” she said softly. “It’ll all be fine.”

  Yet, as each successive person told him not to be nervous, and as the time drew closer, his nervousness doubled.

  Sidney suddenly appeared and he grabbed her hand like a lifeline. “Sidney! Where’ve you been?”

  “Doing best man stuff. Hey Sheryl, Tamika.”

  The three had met the other night when they had had their rehearsal, but hadn’t seemed to have time to talk. Sidney had been eyeing them most of the night and now they actually circled one another. Skyler shot a worried glance toward Sheryl, but she was placid and gave him an encouraging smile.

  Sidney sidled closer to Tamika, narrowing her eyes. Suddenly, she blurted, “I love this dress. Where did you get it?”

  “Oh, baby, this old thing? I whipped it up in my free time.”

  They walked away arm in arm, discussing fashion, of all things. He had never in his life heard Sidney talk about clothes.

  He needed a drink.

  But there was no drinking till after the ceremony. What barbarian had come up with that?

  He looked at his watch. It was almost time.

  Cynthia Foxe and Dale swept in and grabbed Skyler in a hug. Too busy with a tissue in her face, Cynthia let Dale do the talking. “Today’s the day, Skyler.”

  “Yeah. This is it.”

  “Oh, Skyler!” His mother clutched at him again and he rubbed her back.

  “Okay, Mom. You’ve got to keep your make-up intact. We’re all going down the aisle any minute. Think of the photos.”

  “Of course, you’re right.” She stood back and blotted her eyes carefully with the tissue. She snapped a compact out of her purse and proceeded to try to repair the damage.

  “Cyn, you look fine,” said Dale. “More than fine.”

  “How is everything?”

  Skyler startled at the sudden appearance of Janet Deaver, the wedding coordinator.

  “Pre-wedding pictures all taken? Everyone here who needs to be?”

  “Looks like it, Janet.”

  “That is awesome. Then I think we need to get into our places and get ready to begin. I’ll announce that guests should be making their way upstairs and to their seats. That will take about twenty minutes.” She gave him crossed fingers, and clacked away to do her thing.

  Skyler whipped his head toward his mom in a panic. She gazed at him with her calm mom expression and approached, taking his arm in a gentle grasp. “It’s all right, Skyler.” She tucked in close and, smoothing out his shirt, said in a whisper, “This is your marriage, sweetheart, not mine. Look.”

  He raised his head, and with her words still ringing in his ears, he spied Keith coming toward him. He had an entourage—his parents and siblings—but Skyler saw them as if in a fog. He only saw Keith, striding toward him in slow motion, a heavenly light shining golden upon him.

  “Huh?”

  Well, a recessed light from above, as it turned out. But by that time, Keith stood beside him. He leaned over and kissed Skyler and his whole being warmed from it. “Are you ready? Please say yes.”

  Skyler released a breathy laugh. “Yes. I’m ready.”

  Keith squared his steady gaze on Skyler’s and took his hand in a firm grip. “It’s just the two of us, remember?”

  Skyler smiled back, his heart pounding, but not with nervousness this time. “Just the two of us.” He held Keith’s gaze a moment longer before he said, “But where’s Sidney and the guys?”

  “We’re right here,” said Sidney, race-walking up behind him, her bouquet dragging behind her. Jamie was tugging Dave, and Philip had his arm in Rodolfo’s.

  “Oh dear,” said Cynthia, reaching for Rodolfo’s face with her hanky, and wiping away a tear. “You’re in worse shape than I am. Buck up, boys. And lady,” she said, with a head tilt toward Sidney, arranging Sidney’s ringlets for a moment. “We’ve got a wedding to celebrate. Smiles, everyone. Don’t look directly at the cameras until later.”

  At the wedding rehearsal, a coin toss initially decided which side each groom would stand on, but when Skyler made it known he wasn’t happy about standing on what would traditionally be the bride’s side, Keith offered to stand on the left instead. “It doesn’t matter to me, as long as you’re at my side.”

  The wedding party assembled up the stairs and waited as the string quartet finished their song. There was a pause before one of the violin players set down his instrument, took up a ukulele, and started strumming the Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The cello player began to sing.

  Sheryl, with her bountiful bouquet draped over her arms—made of dahlias, tuberoses, scented geranium, yellow trumpet lily, seeded branches, eucalyptus, and leafy vines—walked out first in slow, sedate steps. She was smiling broadly, gazing at her girlfriend Tamika who was waiting for her under the arch ahead.

  Then, two by two, the SFC walked out, resplendent in their various suits, striding proudly down the aisle, and finally positioning themselves on both sides of the arch.

  Van and Sidney proceeded next, she on his arm. She bore the same bouquet as Sheryl and artfully arranged it to fall as designed over her arm and down her dress.

  Both sets of parents came down next and stood on either side of the arch, Keith’s parents fairly tall, Skyler’s fairly short. Much like the happy couple, Skyler mused.

  With a deep breath, Skyler looked up at Keith. It was no longer a question of if he would go through with it. That wasn’t even on his mind any longer. The music of the ukulele was played as soulfully as when Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole first played it, and the cello player’s voice soared over the notes, over the rainbow. The rest of the quartet picked up the melody line and jammed it with all the heart and joy of the original.

  Skyler took the moment to smell the sharp fragrance of his own boutonniere with its eucalyptus, and the pungent aroma of the chrysanthemums on the banquet tables below. He absorbed the look of the twinkly lights, the warm generous lighting around the wedding party and guests, the rustle of fancy fabrics, his friends all dressed up, his students in their best garb with wide smiles on their faces, and even a few tears…and then Keith.

  Keith gazed at him with already glistening eyes, hope and happiness stirring in them.

  Skyler breathed. He clutched Keith’s hand and didn’t let it go an inch as they moved together, walking down the white runner laid out before them.<
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  The music concluded just as they reached Tamika, stunning in her African textiles and perfectly made-up face.

  She wore a placid smile and addressed the assembled guests. Her voice, though loud enough to be heard without a mic, was more mellow than Skyler had been used to from their brief encounters. “Welcome, loved ones. I am Tamika May, and it is my honor and privilege to be officiating at my best friend’s wedding. I am also required to say that I am a certified officiant by the state of California, so when I say it’s official, it’s official.” Soft laughter rippled through the assembled. It relaxed the tensed muscles in Skyler’s shoulders. “A wedding is such a special place to be,” she went on. “It’s a celebration all about love. And families coming together; strangers becoming one. Keith and Skyler have come together today to proclaim to the world of their love, a love to last to the end of time.”

  Rodolfo wailed into his handkerchief. Philip hugged him one-armed as Tamika paused to glance at him before she continued.

  “They met in a place they weren’t supposed to meet. Skyler was a new teacher and Keith was there for a different purpose, even temporary. But when love meets, it isn’t a brief passing. It opens wide to the universe for all time, etching itself in the stars.”

  Rodolfo gave another muffled sob. Jamie dabbed at his eyes as well, and, sniffing, leaned his head against Dave’s temple.

  “Who stands up for this couple?”

  “My husband and I do,” said Cynthia in a strong voice that surprised Skyler.

  “And my wife and I,” said Howard Fletcher.

  “And I do,” said Sheryl, clutching her bouquet.

  “And I do,” said Sidney with a sniff, softening her gruff voice.

  “And I do,” said Van, looking every bit like a Fletcher man.

  “And we do!” said the SFC in unison, broken only by another sob from Rodolfo.

  “Isn’t that a fine assembly of people? Aren’t you all proud of yourselves for being here today?” she said to everyone else in their seats. They turned to each other with smiles and a low buzz of conversation that soon died away. “Is the light vanished from our golden sun,” she began again. “Or is this daedal-fashioned earth less fair,

  That we are nature's heritors, and one

  With every pulse of life that beats the air?

  Rather new suns across the sky shall pass,

  New splendour come unto the flower, new glory to the grass.

  And we two lovers shall not sit afar,

  Critics of nature, but the joyous sea

  Shall be our raiment, and the bearded star

  Shoot arrows at our pleasure! We shall be

  Part of the mighty universal whole,

  And through all Aeons mix and mingle with the Kosmic Soul!

  “Now that was righteous! That was Oscar Wilde, and he knew about love in all its golden fragments. And here’s another who knew about love, one of my favorite sonnets from Mr. William Shakespeare:

  “Let me not to the marriage of true minds

  Admit impediments. Love is not love

  Which alters when it alteration finds,

  Or bends with the remover to remove:

  O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

  That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

  It is the star to every wandering bark,

  Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

  Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

  Within his bending sickle's compass come:

  Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

  But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

  If this be error and upon me proved,

  I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”

  Shakespeare. That did it. Skyler felt his throat close with a hot lump, and his eyes prickled with moisture.

  “Now I love poetry, and I could go on and on,” said Tamika, “but I don’t think these boys could stand it, do you?”

  She turned to Keith and Skyler. “Keith Aaron Fletcher.” He looked at her once, but then turned his gaze to Skyler and kept it there. Mesmerized, Skyler was now unable to look away. He felt the people in their seats rustling, and the sounds of a beam settling, and a quiet waiter scurrying on softened feet below. And just like that, it all fell away, and it was just him and Keith—just as Keith said it was—just them. Just us, he thought breathlessly, and he couldn’t help but send his gaze all over that face, taking in his misty eyes, the gentle smile teasing his sensuous mouth. There had never been the like. He didn’t think he would mind being suspended in that one moment, dipped in amber for all time.

  “Do you take this man to love, honor, cherish, devote your life and time to, through sickness, health, wealth, or poverty? Do you give yourself to him with your whole body, soul, and life till the end of time?”

  Keith’s usually strong voice cracked, and when he opened his mouth to reply, his eyes glistened suspiciously. “I do.”

  “That’s good, baby. I can see the love. Now. Skyler Leslie Foxe. You are marrying my best friend. Do you take this man to love, honor, cherish, devote your life and time to, through sickness, health, wealth or poverty? Do you give yourself to him with your whole body, soul, and life till the end of time?”

  Skyler licked his lips and inhaled a shaky breath. Half-sob, half-spoken words, Skyler said, “I do.” A tear trickled over his cheek and made its way down…until Keith reached over and caught it with his thumb.

  “That’s fine,” she said softly. “Will your guardians present the rings?”

  Van stepped forward and handed Tamika Skyler’s ring. Sidney rummaged and finally plucked it from the back of the bouquet. Tamika raised both rings so that the assembly could see them. “Y’all know the symbolism of the ring, right? It’s a never-ending circle. It can’t be broken. It goes on and on, and it wraps around the finger at the pulse point, where the heart beats. Is it necessary? No. But when present, it is a visible sign every day of this special kind of love, this togetherness. Each wearing the symbol of the love of the other. Now Keith you take this ring and you slowly put it on Skyler’s hand. Repeat this: With this ring…”

  With eyes fastened on Skyler’s, Keith took up his hand. Keith’s hand trembled a bit even as he poised the ring over the tip of Skyler’s finger. “With this ring…”

  “…I thee wed…It is the symbol of my love for you…my life with you…a never-ending circle of my faith and devotion.”

  Keith repeated it and gently pushed the ring on his finger. It was a solid presence, foreign at first, until the metal warmed and seemed to become a part of him. Weird, he thought.

  She took up Skyler’s ring and handed it to him, urging him to repeat the same message. Skyler flashed back to an afternoon about a month ago:

  Working at his desk, Skyler suddenly looked up, realizing he was alone. He rose from his chair, looked around as if the cat would say something about it, and moved softly into the bedroom, sneaking through his own house. Opening the closet door, he carefully slid the dresser drawer open and reached inside for the satin-covered box that held their rings. The hinge was wound tight and he had to push hard to open it.

  There they were.

  He reached for it and removed it from its velvet lining, and held it up. The silver color gleamed in the closet’s light, the polished edge, the stylishly hammered core. It was a solid and expensive chunk of metal. Platinum. Like his hair.

  He circled the tip of his left ring finger with it, paused, and then slipped it on, turning his hand this way and that. Shaking his head, he slipped it off again. Was he really going to do this?

  A key jiggled in the front door lock. His heart clutched. Scrambling to shove the ring back into the box it slipped through his fingers. “Shit!” He dove down into the depths of the closet amid shoe boxes and stored items but couldn’t lay his hands on it. The box with the other ring was still in his hand and he vacillated as to whether he should put it down to search or keep it handy to pop it quickly back in
before Keith found him—

  “What are you doing?”

  Double shit. “Uh…”

  “Caught you, huh?” Keith was all smiles, cocking his head at Skyler positioned on all fours on the floor.

  “I dropped it.”

  “Oh Christ.” Keith knelt to help when Skyler suddenly felt it.

  “Found it!” He held it up victoriously and then with a sheepish expression, tucked it back in the box. He almost closed it but Keith stopped him.

  “I’ve looked at these a few times when you were in the bathroom.”

  “You have?”

  “Uh huh. Wondering if I’d really get to wear mine.”

  “Why were you wondering that?”

  “You know.” He shrugged and snapped it closed. The drawer was still ajar and he tucked it inside, sliding the drawer closed.

  “We’re going to wear them. We are.”

  He smiled and reached for Skyler, pulling him in against his chest. Skyler inhaled the man’s sweaty scent. “I am marrying you, you big galoot,” Skyler mumbled into his chest hair.

  “I can’t wait.”

  “I really am. And I love our rings.”

  “I love them, too. It’s gonna be the best moment of my life when I get to put that on you.”

  Skyler nuzzled his collar bone, licked at the base of his throat. “Yeah. Me, too.”

  And here it was. The moment, in the flesh. Skyler held up Keith’s left hand and placed the ring at the end of the digit. “With this ring…I thee wed…It is the symbol of my love for you…my life with you…a never-ending circle of my faith and devotion.”

  Tamika held both their hands and placed one upon the other. “Today is all about love and about joining. About new couples and new families. It has been my honor to officiate at the wedding of Keith Fletcher and Skyler Foxe. And now, babies, I get to say my favorite thing. By the powers vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you spouses for life! You may kiss your husband. And make it count.”

  Skyler didn’t wait for Keith. He leapt up, threw his arms around Keith’s neck, his legs around his waist, and pressed his lips hard to him. Keith kissed chastely at first, but soon he opened up. They kissed as if they were alone. They held on for a long time, until Skyler took a deep breath and finally came back down to earth. And it was then that he finally heard the cheers.