A Happy Wedding

We rolled out of bed at 10 a.m. A bit groggy from the night before. We considered our options. We could decide not to attend the wedding ceremony of our friends Marcus and Amy. Or we could get our tired selves together, buck up, and drive out to Snoqualmie. Thankfully, we chose the latter. One small problem: the wedding was at 11 a.m. and we were 45 minutes away.

Before I tell you about our trip east, let me tell you a bit about the now newlyweds. Joseph and I met Marcus three years ago on the softball field. Fall Ball 2005. We, the green team, took it to the other three teams that autumn. Marcus played first. His brother, Chris, played short. Joseph and I played the outfield. It was on the green team (money, money, money, mo... ney) that Joseph gave Marcus his nickname - MoTown - and Marcus gave me mine - D-Train.

When the regular season came around, Marcus, Joseph, and I joined the Dragons. We weren't good - we won only one game that year - but we had a lot of fun. And we grew close to Marcus and his brother Chris. Very cool people. Good people.

Marcus - for various reasons - did not return that second year to the Dragons. And to be honest, Joseph and I should have declined as well. We fell out of touch with Marcus, himself, keeping up to date with his comings and goings through his brother. But, that changed mid-softball season (2007) when MoTown appeared one Sunday looking to play for another team. Slimmed down and single - he had been dating one girl seriously the year before - MoTown approached Joseph and me with the intention of renewing our friendship. We didn't have to think twice.

Since then, we met his then girlfriend Amy as well as his parents and many of his friends. A good man who surrounds himself with good people.

Back to today...

We rushed to ready ourselves for the wedding. Dressy clothes, of course. I wiped the dust from my nice shoes and dug out the nice pants. I don't wear that stuff any more, at least not since we went to a casual workplace.

We jumped into the car and made our way to I-5. Made it all the way to Safeco and Qwest where we got caught in traffic. Multi car crash - not bad - smack dab in the middle of the freeway. Great. It was 10:45 by that time. Late.

I hate being late.

We still had a quick stop to make. Joseph had forgotten his wallet at a friend's house the night before. He never takes his full wallet for whatever reason. Just his ID and debit card. Except that he didn't take his debit card. Blah blah. In any case, we had a pit stop to make on Cap Hill. And then on to I-90. 11 on the dot. Sheesh.

We traveled into the east. Joseph commented to me, 'I forget how nice Washington is, at times.' Stuck in Seattle proper, we do forget. We pledged to step outside the city every so often. It was a beautiful trip. All 45 minutes of it. Tack on another 10 minutes because Google's directions were wrong and we arrived at noon.

Just in time to hear the pastor declare them husband and wife. We watched them kiss. And felt bad. Little did we know that we didn't need to feel bad. We were hardly the last to arrive.

Pictures, conversation, and the banquet itself followed. All wonderful. Always wonderful to see people celebrating the love they share for one another. And Joseph and I felt especially honored that we were invited, given that 90% of the attendees were Amy's family. They all lived in Washington. MoTown and his family were from Las Vegas by way of Detroit (thus MoTown). And many of his friends and family couldn't make it.

We ate good food.

I texted back and forth with my friend Sam who kept me updated regarding the Giants' win. And the Bears' loss. Sam's a Bears fan...

I ventured out to Chris's car for a quick Cape Codder. The banquet hall had only champagne.

We listened as the Maid of Honor and Best Man toasted - and roasted - the bride and groom.

We ate cake with rich fondant.

And finally, we watched as Marcus and Amy had their first dance. A sight to see, I might add. They began dancing to a Luther Vandross song. I forget which. In the middle of the song, it sounded like the CD was skipping. But no, it was planned. Brick House started playing; Marcus and Amy proceeded to treat us to a choreographed duet on the dance floor. There was another pause when they finished, and the Luther song started playing again. But that wasn't the end. The CD began skipping yet again, much to Amy's surprise. Marcus's brother Chris - a dancer - and three other guys approached the dance floor and did a Janet Jackson-esque dance routine. They then pulled Marcus onto the dance floor, who joined in. All of it obviously planned. And all of it just perfect.

We said our goodbyes after that first dance. Both exhausted and with chores to do - Costco and car cleaning followed - Joseph and I took our leave and wondered if we should consider such an occasion for ourselves...