A Thousand Rainbows by Mike Williams
- 33 -
The clouds that had brought the previous day's rain to the valley had not yet cleared.
It was just before three o'clock when the Firebird rolled into the driveway at 2410 West Brunswick Road. After driving back from the coast on a winding state highway to the Willamette Valley, Will and Sarah were a bit sore, despite the vehicle's comforts. Their soreness may also have been due, in some part, to the activities of their stay at Hawthorne Cove, where Matt and Tommy had been delighted to host their old friends again.
When the couple entered the front door, there was an elderly man was sitting there, apparently waiting for them. He wore a dark blue pinstripe suit, complete with matching vest, and a burgundy necktie.
"Ah, there you are," he said with a pronounced British accent. "Lovely to see you again."
Sarah's face broke into a smile as she recognized the old man. "Reverend Harrison? Oh my god, Will. It's Reverend Harrison."
The retired rector of St. Matthew's rose and offered his hand to each of them. Reverend Leo Harrison had officiated at their wedding fifteen years earlier. "I do hope the two of you are keeping well in Southern California."
"Well, sir," Will said, "there are a lot of thing we miss here in Bridgewater. The last few days have been filled with a lot of good memories."
"Jolly good, yes," Reverend Harrison replied. "And I've just met your son Todd. He's growing into such a fine young man, I must say."
"Thank you, Reverend," Sarah said. "I'm so surprised to see you here. We had heard that you retired. I thought you would have moved back to England."
"Yes. Well, I've been retired for nearly five years time," the Reverend said. "After my wife passed away, I chose to make my permanent home here in America. I'm a citizen now. But my son and his wife ... she's American, you know ... they returned to England, and they've moved into the old family home in Buckinghamshire. So it's all turned out so marvelously well."
"So how are you enjoying your retirement, Reverend?" Will asked.
"Well, I've done the odd bit of traveling around the country, Hawaii, Alaska, the Grand Canyon. And there's always the garden at home; that comes from having been born in England, you know. Gardening is just part of being English."
They all smiled at the thought.
The reverend continued. "But I still take a keen interest in the affairs of St. Matthews's and all the work I did there. I trust that I did good work. So how are the two of you getting on?"
Will and Sarah looked affectionately at each other. "Yes, sir," Will said. "I think you did a good job of tying the knot between Sarah and me."
"Jolly good." The reverend's grey eyes sparkled as he turned to Sarah. "And you, my dear, no complaints?"
Sarah beamed as she turned from her husband to face the minister. "Not even a little one."
"Jolly good. Well, shall we go in then? We're expected, you know." He offered his arm to Sarah, which she accepted as Will took her other arm. Despite the slight looks of confusion on Will's and Sarah's faces, the trio made their way to the family room, led confidently by the retired minister.
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Upon entering the room Will and Sarah were surprised to see all their friends dressed in their Sunday best, including Sean and Greg, Paul and Tyler.
Seeing such finery around them Sarah suddenly felt self-conscious, dressed in jeans and a casual leather jacket. "I feel so underdressed for the occasion."
"Nonsense, my dear," the reverend re-assured her. "It's been said that clothes make the man ... or woman. But I can tell you: There's much more that makes an enduring marriage. And you seem to have done quite well."
Todd stepped forward carrying a tray with three flutes of sparkling cider. "Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad."
"Sweetheart, thank you," Sarah beamed as she, Will and Reverend Harrison accepted a glass of bubbly from the tray.
The retired minister his glass aloft. "The Church of England, which I humbly served for half a century, has always been known for being quite progressive and accepting of change. And today shall be no exception. Our friends here have asked that we turn round the order of events and that I deliver the toast. And so, my friends, we drink to Will and Sarah, and their continued happiness and success. I give you Will and Sarah."
Everyone in the room raised their glasses. "Will and Sarah."
Brian put his glass down and stepped forward. "In honor of your fifteenth anniversary we have a few gifts for you."
Sean and Greg stepped forward. "According to tradition," Sean began, "the fifteenth anniversary is symbolized by crystal. So these are from Greg and me." He produced two small boxes and hand one each to Will and Sarah. The couple opened the boxes and discovered two cut crystal globes.
"We hope they bring even more light and color into your lives," Greg said.
They stepped forward to shake hands with the couple before resuming their places.
"Thank you," Sarah said. She turned to her husband. "Let's start right now."
Will nodded, and they took the crystals and hung them in the window on the room's western wall.
Next Brian directed their attention to an array of framed portraits on a table along the eastern wall. They were the portraits taken the previous week. "We hope you like them. We've already arranged to have them shipped to San Diego, but we wanted you to see them first."
Will and Sarah marveled at the finished pictures. "They're lovely," Sarah said. "Thank you."
"Yes," Will agreed. "Thank you very much."
Brian and Bjorn stepped forward to shake Will's hand and give Sarah a kiss.
"We have a little something for you too," Will confessed. "It's in the suitcase in our bedroom, but I guess I can tell you what it is. You both work so hard, and we felt you deserved a little time away from the office. So we've arranged for a few days in Vancouver for you and the boys ... and ourselves. We hope we can all spend a very special New Year's together."
"Thank you," Brian said.
"Yes, thank you," Bjorn agreed. "Vancouver is such a lovely city, no matter the season."
"And while we're there ... in Canada," Brian turned to his partner, "Bjorn, will you marry me?"
Bjorn was momentarily stunned. He looked to Will and Sarah, then back to Brian. "They knew, didn't they?"
Brian smiled and nodded.
Bjorn was silent for a moment, looking into his partner's eyes. "We were just thirteen. And ever since that first day ... when we told each other how we felt ... I have believed that we are already married, that we were destined to be together forever. And every day of the last twenty-five years ... it just keeps getting better and better." He paused and nodded. "I love you with all my heart and soul, Brian David Connor. Yes, I will marry you."
To the sound of applause from the onlookers he drew Brian into a hug, and they tenderly kissed. Brian reached into his pocket and produced a small box. He opened the box, which contained a matched pair of rings inscribed with both of their names.
Unnoticed by most, Sean and Greg smiled and looked into each other's eyes, as did Tyler and Paul.
"And now," Bjorn continued, "I have a little something for you." He broke the hug and walked to the side of the couch to retrieve a framed picture. "I didn't have time to wrap it."
He turned the frame around to reveal the picture to everyone. It was a photograph of a schoolboy hunched over a notebook, sitting barefoot on a rocky beach, not far from the water's edge. He was lost in his studies, surrounded by dramatic rock formations and the dazzling colors of autumn in New England, all set against a cloudless blue sky.
Immediately Brian choked up. "Oh my god! That's me!" And he could hold back the tears no longer.
"When I was walking back to the beach that afternoon," Bjorn said, "and I saw you there, we hadn't told each other yet how we felt. But that is the moment I knew ... that we would spend the rest of our lives together."
"I love you, Henry-Alexander Bjorn Larkin."
Bjorn placed the picture on the mantle and returned to his partner's side, took Brian's hand. Then he turned to the minister. "But this afternoon is about our friends Will and Sarah. So, Reverend Harrison, the floor is yours."
"Jolly good. Places, everyone. Will, Sarah, right here, if you please." And he proceeded to arrange the guests to his liking. Then he addressed the group.
"Now, you must understand that, since I've retired from my position with the church, I'm no longer empowered to perform the full ceremony. The best that I can do is a ... um ... a booster shot, as it were."
Everyone laughed at his little joke.
"So, William Scott Becker, having pledged your love for this woman, do you freely do so again, that you take her for your wife for another fifteen years?"
Will looked fondly into his wife's eyes. "Yes, I do."
"Jolly good. And you, Sarah Louise Hope Sterling-Becker, having pledged your love for this man, do you freely do so once again, that you take him for your husband for another fifteen years?"
Still gazing into Will's eyes, Sarah replied, "Yes. Yes, I do."
"Jolly good. And so, by the power vested in me by the Church of England and Her Majesty the Queen, I declare your marriage valid for at least another fifteen years. Congratulations."
Will and Sarah leaned in for a tender kiss to the applause of their friends.
As the applause subsided, Will addressed the gathering. "Thank you all very much. This comes as such a surprise to both of us. We realize that we have chosen our friends wisely. Thank you."
Another round of applause filled the room. Then Brian spoke up. "And now we have entertainment while we enjoy some refreshments. I give you Sean Ludwig and Dylan Cruz."
Greg smiled as he and Sean picked up their guitars. "For today, Brian, it's Greg."
Everyone took their seats and listened as the two men repeated the song that had been the encore of Dylan's concert the previous evening.
The applause was enthusiastic from the small group assembled in the family room. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen," Sean spoke for both of them. "Now we turn the floor over to ... uh ... what do you guys call yourselves?"
Jason, Josh and Todd looked at each other and shrugged. "I guess we hadn't thought that far ahead," Todd replied. The boys switched places with Sean and Greg, and were joined by Tyler. Paul was already sitting by the stereo system, ready to begin the playback. At a nod from Jason, he pressed the button.
The room was filled with a piano solo, soon joined by a string orchestra. This would be the first public performance of the song they had been working on for nearly four months.
"Maybe it's the way the sunlight dances in your hair,
Maybe it's the easy way your laughter fills the air,
Maybe it's your smile that captivates my heart,
Or it could just be your gentle touch that won me from the start.
"All the colors of the spectrum reflecting in your eyes,
More lovely than a summer day beneath a cloudless sky.
If I could capture it all in a photograph, a moment frozen in time,
Then everyone in the world would know the happiness that is mine.
"Because you fill my hours,
Because you fill my days,
I am yours forever,
Forever and always.
"I can see a trace of magic in everything you do.
It's like a world of wonder whenever I'm with you.
And as the twilight gathers around us, all the stars in a velvet sky,
Tonight will be a symphony, Heaven's lullaby.
"Because you fill my hours,
Because you fill my days,
I am yours forever,
Forever and always.
"And as the twilight gathers around us, all the stars in a velvet sky,
Tonight will be a symphony, Heaven's lullaby
"And in each precious moment,
In each precious moment,
A thousand rainbows forever
In your eyes."
The computerized orchestra reached its crescendo at the song's finale. The small group assembled in the family room burst into applause at the boys' accomplishment ... and tears over the beauty of their song.
At that moment the clouds which had hung over Bridgewater for two days parted. The crystals hanging in the western window ... the anniversary gift from Sean and Greg ... captured the late afternoon sun, breaking the pure white light into a myriad of colors.
And a thousand rainbows danced in the air.
The End
-0-
"A Thousand Rainbows" (© 2004, words and music by Mike Williams)
-0-
I hope you have enjoyed reading "A Thousand Rainbows" as much as I have enjoyed writing it. As I explained at the beginning of the first chapter, this was my first attempt at writing such a story. It has been a wonderful exercise in creativity. And I believe the town of Bridgewater holds even more stories. I have already begun work on a new story concerning Sean and Greg. And I have not forgotten about Paul and Tyler.
So, thank you, and good-bye for a little while. I hope you will join me for the next installment of this series.