Chapter 26

Chapter

Twenty-Six

Dinner conversation that night was both eye-opening and revealing. They discussed everything that transpired with the bishop and Father Andrew.

“It’s such a relief to know I don’t have any actual monetary debts after all,” Matty said. “And Bishop Morrow stressed that I’ll be using my seminary education to benefit the community anyway, so he’s satisfied. But Father Andrew sounds a bit like he’s going off his rocker from what you say, Nico.”

“I don’t know,” replied Nico with a grin. “You’re an easy person to love. I feel a little sorry for the man and his unrequited adoration.”

“Thank you, but…” Matty looked perplexed. “He really said he was waiting for me to grow up?”

“He did. And I got the definite impression that the man is not all that concerned with celibacy. His interest in you is not what I’d call ‘pure.’”

“Well, I’m sorry for the man,” Matty said sincerely. “I never saw that coming, and it must give him pain to want what he can’t have—for several reasons.”

Eden muttered something under her breath.

Suzette got her dander up when she realized Father Andrew disapproved of her marriage to Isaac and Walter while pretending to be their friend. “He is supposed to accept people for who they are. Jesus taught us that, did he not? What a terrible hypocrite. He was just here for the cuisine and to get close to Matty!” Then she swore softly in French, making Nico squelch a laugh. She huffed and turned to her husbands, kissing one and then the other. “It doesn’t matter what that ridiculous man thinks. We are happy and have a beautiful, loving family. That is what is important.”

Isaac interjected thoughtfully, “I find it interesting we all focused on the possibility that Father Andrew was ambitious about his career when all along his motive was to be with Matty more. The man clearly misses the clues that our young man here has no interest in him, and he’s gone about this in a strange way. He’s also a terribly big phony for a man who ought to be a paragon of virtue. All of this lying doesn’t say much for the kind of priest he is, either.”

“Jealousy and frustration can drive a person to do strange things, as we’ve seen,” Walter opined .

Eden asked, “Why would he keep avoiding Matty though if he actually wanted to be with him?

Isaac smiled kindly. “I’m sure he didn’t want to face Matty’s lack of interest. He’d had years of imagining a wonderful union when Matty grew up, only to realize it wasn’t going to happen. He didn’t want the positive proof of that. I wonder how aware of this the bishop is; that man sounds pretty shrewd.”

“I got the sense,” Matty answered, “that Bishop Morrow keeps his cards close to his vest. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a long chat with Father Andrew to set him straight on several things.”

Walter told them, “On a more practical note, I have to go to the courthouse first thing in the morning to file a license for a new building project. If you like, I can give you a ride over. You can get a marriage license at the same time.”

Eden beamed at him. “Thank you. That would be wonderful.” Nico squeezed her hand, and Matty kissed her cheek. “I feel like we’re finally making some progress.”

“What day would you like to have the wedding?” Suzette asked. “I need to make plans!”

“Please, nothing extravagant,” Eden asked. “I would prefer immediate family and just a few close friends if you can keep it to that.”

“Watch out, dearest. That can still be a large number of people. Our family alone sometimes feels like a cast of thousands,” Nico said with a grin .

“I guess I can live with that,” she agreed.

The next day, Nico and Eden accompanied Walter downtown and took care of the necessary paperwork for their upcoming nuptials. Nico couldn’t resist giving Eden a big kiss on the courthouse steps, eliciting a few whistles from passing pedestrians. “The neighbors probably see this kind of thing all the time when couples get their licenses here,” he told Eden as she broke out into a fit of giggles. They headed off in high spirits.

Reminiscing happily about his own nuptials to Suzette and Isaac as he drove, Walter dropped Nico off at the clinic and took Eden back to the house to work on plans with Suzette and her best friends Adeline and Marguerite. When Suzette’s friends discovered that Eden and Nico would be including Matty in the wedding ceremony with a handfasting—and not just as the officiant—they were beside themselves with glee.

“You will never regret this decision,” Adeline declared. She was married to Jasper and Royal and thought a three-person union was the best thing ever. “We are very, very lucky women, Eden. Welcome to the club.” She gave her a wink.

Marguerite presented Eden with a gown, saying, “I could not resist, cherie. There is no charge. It was a pet project for me. If you do not care for it, do not worry. My heart will stay intact. ”

Eden was speechless for a moment as she took in the magnificent dress. Then tears formed in her eyes, and she exclaimed, “I have never had anything so beautiful in my life. Thank you, Marguerite, from the bottom of my heart. I’ll cherish this forever.” She threw her arms around the older woman.

“Do not thank me until you see how it looks on you. I thought it would bring out the color of your pretty eyes.”

“I love it so much. I just hope to do it justice.”

Matty decided that he would take some time to visit St. Vincent’s College for Boys and give them his final acceptance of the position they were offering. When he completed his paperwork, he asked if he could take a quick look at the classroom he’d be assigned to. Upon doing so, he discovered that it was currently unoccupied, so he couldn’t resist entering and sitting at the teacher’s desk in the front of the room for a moment. A tremendous feeling of calm and rightness settled over him like a warm blanket as he imagined future lively conversations and possible humorous pranks from young men with eager minds. He said a little prayer for the ability to keep his students engaged every day.

Matty left the school in a terrific mood, even though he was weighed down with a heavy pile of textbooks. He barely felt them, he was so buoyed with joy. He walked back to the estate in a state of pure contentment. Everything around him looked colorful and smelled sweet.

He felt certain he’d recently made the best decisions of his life.

When he arrived at the estate, Eden was already there. After talking with the older ladies about wedding plans and subsequently trying on her new gown, she was glowing with happiness.

“Matty, you’re lucky you got to be around Nico and his family while you were a child. Ever since I’ve been here, wonderful things keep happening. It’s as if all the love in this house creates little miracles. Nico brought me to you, and now I find I love you the same way I love him. Who would ever expect that? And I feel like part of this incredible family in this beautiful city. We’re having a baby, and he or she will grow up with loving parents and grandparents all around. I didn’t realize I even had this much capacity for love. It’s… I don’t even know how to express the depths of my joy.”

Matty wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly to his heart. “I know just what you mean. This home has always felt like my sanctuary. I have loved Nico for as long as I can remember, and I never expected to love another person until I laid eyes on you. And a baby! My heart is full to bursting with love for you, for Nico, and for the little person we will all be able to raise together. I feel like I’ve come out of a long, cold, and very dark tunnel into the brilliant sunshine. Life is good, Eden. God had a better plan for me after all.” He kissed her sweetly.

Four days later, the wedding finally happened, and the three young lovers could not have been happier.

The house bustled with activity, and during the morning, extra flowers were brought in to embellish the already gorgeous setting. As the appointed time drew near, the courtyard filled up with colorfully dressed friends and family members, making the entire area resemble a tableau for a magnificent painting. Nico’s talented brothers and sisters sat to one side with their instruments and provided a wonderful string quartet to complete the perfect atmosphere.

Suzette had to hire extra help to handle the meal service that would happen after the ceremony. The kitchen looked like controlled chaos where their talented cook had been preparing for this event for all four days—ever since she’d been given the word. Now she was barking orders left and right at her newly enlisted helpers.

Even with just close friends and family, the wedding would be serving about seventy-five people. So much for a small gathering. It couldn’t be helped, Eden was assured. Too many people loved the Stark-James family and wanted to share their joy.

Matty couldn’t contain his huge smile as he stood in front of the fountain waiting for Nico and Eden to join him. He wore a tailored black suit, but instead of a clerical collar, he had on a brilliant white shirt. Eden and Nico thought he looked dashingly handsome that way.

Suzette and her friends had helped Eden dress and style her hair, and she was the most stunning bride Nico and Matty could ever imagine. Her gown was perfection, but mostly it was her happiness—the smile that sparkled in her eyes—that made her so incredibly lovely.

Nico also had a fine new suit, and his blond curls were trimmed and tamed for the occasion. All the unmarried—and a few married—ladies in attendance secretly eyed Eden with envy. He was a dashing groom, and the eager way he looked at Eden made the female guests positively swoon.

When Matty finished the traditional wedding ceremony, having Nico and Eden recite their vows and declaring by the power vested in him that they were now man and wife, some of the guests wondered why Matty didn’t invite the groom to kiss his bride immediately.

Instead, Suzette, Isaac, and Walter approached the three young people with long, colorful ribbons in their hands.

Nico, Eden, and Matty then made a triangle, Nico clasping Eden’s right wrist, Eden closing that hand around Matty’s right wrist, and Matty taking Nico’s right wrist, sealing the three-sided shape with all of them connected equally and united as one. Nico’s parents, one at a time, wrapped a ribbon around them, binding the three of them together as one unit. All six of the participants were smiling and looking as happy as can be.

Just as Walter was tying his ribbon, a priest marched purposefully through the front door of the estate. A harried servant who was new and unfamiliar with the family spotted him. She didn’t know what was happening in the courtyard and became worried that the officiant must be running late and holding up the ceremony.

Taking initiative, the servant rushed the priest to the door to the courtyard, shoved him through, and scurried back to the kitchen. She shook her head and tutted to herself at how ridiculous it was for a priest to be so tardy to a wedding. After all, the guests had been seated for some time now and must have been tired of waiting for the man.

Matty was opening his mouth to say something pithy and wonderful about the symbolism of handfasting and the solid strength of a balanced tripod when a loud, angry voice shouted over him, “What is the meaning of this, Father Matthew? I’ll have you excommunicated!”