Continuing Story Part 45

It was Friday, the day before the wedding. Tonight was the practice march for the wedding

and also the rehearsal dinner, and tomorrow was the big day, Drake and Dahlia were getting married.

The day was spent in leisure,  except for the time taken, where Drake and Dahlia went over to pick up her father,and once back, in Dahlia’s room there was much excitement happening, as Dahlia tried on her wedding dress, and the ladies were just remarking over and over how beautiful she and the dress were. After taking the dress off, they watched Sue slip her dress on and then they took turns playing with each others hair and trying on different styles to see which ones they liked the best. Dahlia decided to wear hers natural, long and framing her face with beautiful waves running through it.

Sue was going to have hers on top of her head with curls framing it and the others were experimenting with their hair also. They tried make-up on and took it off, and tried bolder looks for a wedding, but then nothing ended up looking better than just a touch of make-up, enhancing their already beautiful faces.

Lunch was made, eaten and then before they all realized it, it was time to get some of the spread laid out on the kitchen table ahead of time, so that all they had to get done when they got back to the house was pull of the fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, deviled eggs, and desserts from the refrigerator.

The minister, and the organist and a couple of friends and neighbors were all coming back here following the rehearsal. Soon it was time to tidy themselves up and they all took off for the church. This was going to only take about an hour at the most, and if all went well, they may be able to get through it in a half an hour. Ralph kidding told Drake and Dahlia to get it right the first time, he was already getting hungry.

They got to the church and went in the back door. The minister and organist welcomed them at the door and then the minister directed each of them to their chosen spots of where to stand in formation. There was some confusion on who was going to stand up for Drake, as he had planned on all along that Drew would be here by his side, and by now, he would be better, but it was not happening this way, so his father stood in his place, for now.

They listened to some short segments of the music that had been picked out, and each walked the white path down to the altar. Two tries had to be done before getting it right, and Dahlia and her father only had to walk the aisle once. The rehearsal went well, so it was cut shorter than planned and shaking hands with the minister, they bid him a farewell and said they would see him back at the house.

Once arriving back at home, there was no wasting time on getting the already prepared foods out and everyone dived into their plates. They were all so excited this caused every bite to taste better than the last bite. Everyone was laughing and talking and the evening was flying by so quickly.

They were cleaning up the kitchen when the phone rang. Ralph stepped away from the kitchen to answer it. He came back and there was no more laughter on his face. Everyone turned to look at him as he stood in the doorway, and silence fell in the room.

Rachel walked over to him and asked who it was on the phone, and Ralph said it was the hospital calling, saying Drew had made a turn for the worse. The hospital suggested that they may want to come over tonight.

They all hurried and finished what they had been doing, and then they took off for the hospital. Once arriving in Drew’s room, the sight was not a good one. Drew no longer was awake watching them come in, he was lying very quietly in his bed.

The nurse came in and said that he had slipped into unconsciousness and that she wasn’t sure if Drew could hear them or not, but to please talk to him as if they knew that he could hear.

They walked up to him and laying their hands on him, they all prayed together, saying a prayer for his healing. They spoke softly to Drew, each telling him to hurry up and get well and letting him know how much they loved and missed him being home. They remained for about a half an hour and then the nurse came back and told them that Drew needed his rest. They could go home and if there was any change at all, the hospital would call immediately.

No one wanted to leave, and they had to be chased out of the room by the nurse, and with sadness in their faces, the drive home became silent. When they arrived home they all sat around the table in the kitchen and they tried to guess what had happened and that in the morning hours they would each take turns spending time with Drew, until it was time to leave for the church for the wedding.

No one slept very easily that night, each lost in their thoughts of Drew, the wedding, and Drew again. Sleep did come and the morning sun did shine. At the breakfast table they reached for each others hands and again prayed together for healing for Drew. After breakfast was over, everyone made sure that their clothes for the wedding were ready and laid out for easy access to be picked up and to go to the wedding. Dahlia had her wedding dress laid out on her bed along side of that laid her new shoes. Her make-up was lying all in order. When she was done she went to each of the lady’s rooms, asking if they needed any help and they all said no, they were prepared and now ready to go to the hospital.

Ralph and Dahlia sat in their bedroom, with hands being held and heads bowed, in prayer. Praying hard for Drew, that God would do what was best for him. Her dress was lying on the bed and his suit was right beside it. There was nothing else to do ahead of time, so they all left for the hospital to see Drew and take turns visiting him and sitting by his side comforting him.

The doctor stopped by and told Ralph that he wanted to see him. Once in his office he told Ralph that there was little time left. He didn’t think that Drew would make it through the  next 24 hours.

Tears started to form in Ralph’s eyes and he explained to the doctor that today was his other son’s wedding day. The two talked for a while and then the doctor shaking Ralph’s hand, they both left the office and Ralph went back and asked Rachel to come out to the hall with him, that he wanted to speak to her alone.

They went into the hall and Ralph explained what the doctor said and Rachel buried her head in her head and began to cry. Ralph told her of the plan that the doctor had suggested, and through tears, Rachel agreed and drying her eyes, she walked back into Drew’s room, while Ralph left the hospital.

Ralph drove over to the house and went through each room picking up all the clothes that were laid out on the beds, and then he made a couple of trips to the car, placing all the garments carefully across the seat. There were shoes, and suits, dresses, the wedding dress, make-up in bags. When he looked around for a second time, and saw nothing left behind, he got in his car and went over to the church, and went to the front doors and upon knocking, the door was opened by the secretary. Ralph asked if the minister was in, and she said yes, and then led him to the office the minister was at.

Ralph quickly told the minister what was going on at the hospital and asked if there was any way he could borrow the minister now, instead of waiting for later. The minister got up from his chair and shutting the door behind them, they drove over to Dahlia’s dad’s house and knocked. When her father let them in, Ralph explained the situation,and her father grabbed his suit and shoes and got in the car with them. They all headed back to the hospital.

Once there they took all the clothing and accessories into the hospital and when one of the nurses saw what they had, she offered them an empty room to place everything in. When they had everything neatly lying on the two empty beds, they took the make-up bags, and placed them in the bathroom.

Then the three of them went into Drew’s room and walking up to Drew, they spoke to him as if he was listening to every word they said, then he called a brief meeting to all involved in the room where the clothes were.  Tears were coming and short sobs could be heard, but instructions that had been given were being followed.

Soon everyone found themselves standing beside Drew, who lay motionless in his bed. His face so pale, they could see no color except the  blue on his lips that had been forming from the moment they had first come.  The minister went to the foot of the bed, and instructed Drake to stand beside his brother, and then Dahlia next to him, and the others were to stand on the other side of the bed.

When everyone was in place, Drake reached down and touching his brother’s hand, he told him that he was going to keep his word about him being his best man, and with tears dripping from his face, the minister said words, and everyone prayed together. They prayed for the bride and groom and they prayed for peace for the brother, son and friend lying in the bed.

The minister pronounced them man and wife and a brief kiss was exchanged between the two. The monitor in the background that had been keeping time to the beat of the heart, became silent as the last breath was taken from Drew. God always promises that when one door closes another door will open, and on this day, at this very moment, one door had closed with the loved one leaving this earth, while another door opened for Drake and Dahlia to walk through, to start their new life being married.

The End

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