Dead On Arrival

Epilogue

I stood in the back of the park where the ceremony was about to begin-and sighed.

Damn, but life took interesting twists and turns. After Fabio had given me my well-deserved bonus for case #6 of my newfound career, I realized that my life had really changed.

And for the better.

No longer was I the newbie Fabio had once called me. Nope. I had managed to solve a case or two on my very own. A feeling of pride surged through me, and then I looked up at the “altar.”

Wow.

Nothing could have prepared me for the sight I now faced.

In the distance, a mere fifty feet away, stood the man who had brought me to this point in my life. The gentle summer’s breeze tousled his dark hair. Occasionally, he’d run a hand through it, and I’d sigh again. Damn, would I ever stop reacting to him this way?

Guess he really had a great influence on me-and my libido. Then again, no. It really wasn’t true. He hadn’t brought me here, to this point in my life, at all. Watching him. Feeling my insides flutter as usual and trying to think rationally, I finally realized-it was all my doing.

If nothing else, I had managed to switch from a very successful, yet truly stressful nursing career, to become a top-notch investigator for Scarpello and Tonelli insurance company. All right. All right. Top-notch might be a bit overboard, but I had grown and learned over the past six months.

The small all-guy quartet, suited in white tuxedos, started to play and my eyes began to tear up. Nothing like a wedding to bring out all the emotions of our lives.

Watching from nearby, sat my parents.

Daddy remained very stoic in his black tux, which Goldie and Miles had helped rent for him. Daddy could only have looked more handsome at his own wedding. I caught his gaze, and he winked at me.

Enough to make me want to break out in tears.

Stella Sokol had already married off four of her five children, so a wedding was nothing to her. Actually, no gala event that involved food was too much for her. Yet, right now, she couldn’t have looked more full of pride in her yellow “mother of the bride” gown, which Goldie himself had designed, and had assisted in every aspect of its creation. Mother looked proud, pleased, and probably thankful all at the same time.

While the quartet played something I’m sure was by Beethoven, I wiped a few tears from my cheeks, hoping I wasn’t painting raccoon eyes with my mascara, and scanned the crowd.

Small, yet personal. Friends each and every one, all decked out in their finest rose, yellow or white outfits-per the wedding planner’s suggestion. What a cool idea, I thought, as I decided that the entire setting could have been the centerfold for Bride magazine.

Lilla, in low-cut rose, and her mom, Adele, in skintight white with matching gloves, sat near the front next to, of all people, Nick Caruso, my first mentor on the job. Damn but he still looked good and I made a mental note to ask why he hadn’t taken a case lately.

Despite the special day, even Fabio had been seated near them. Thank goodness he didn’t wear brown polyester and was not smoking a cigar at the moment.

Oh, well, guess I had to be charitable for the special day.

My dearest uncle Walt had forgone his brown suit, too, to don a handsome black tuxedo. A “lady friend” of his, who sat next to him in her yellow dress, nudged him to look up at the sky.

Every floral arrangement boasted the same color palette as the guests, while the trellis on the “altar” had been painted white and yellow with matching roses (my Saint Theresa was never far away). Flocks of white doves seemed to hover in the air as if waiting for their cue.

Even I felt as if this day would never come, never have been able to come, if fate hadn’t shoved me out of my nursing career and into the insurance investigative field.

I actually giggled. Geez. So very unlike me, but when I looked up to see my buddy, Goldie, I had to smile.

For this very special day, Goldie had relinquished his oh-so-stylish penchant for lace and crinoline and had chosen instead what I assumed was Armani-pants-men’s. There was no doubt that the black tuxedo fit Gold to a tee and made him look more handsome than even I could have pictured. A boyish look on his face, yet a deeply loving look, added an extra zing to my Gold. Our gazes met, and we both let out a chuckle of friendship and best wishes.

No better friends could there be except for Miles being thrown into the equation. He, too, wore a dark black tux, but a different cut that made my dear friend look exactly as if I would have pictured him.

While the music slowed, I looked ahead through the center aisle, set off by white wooden chairs, to notice Jagger in his tux.

I can’t even explain how delicious he looked; I smiled at him and nodded to Miles, who stood nearby.

Finally!

On this perfect midsummer’s day, the lives of two people would be joined forever in heart, soul and legal union.

When I sniffled, I felt a hand on mine and looked down to see Goldie’s perfectly manicured hand resting, no, squeezing mine. “Hey,” was all I could say.

“Suga.” Now he sniffled. “I never thought this day would come.”

“You and I both. Or is it me and you?” We both laughed, held tighter, and suddenly paused.

The music had transitioned in tune. Something I called “the wedding march” in my head filled the park, the air and my heart.

Both of my parents soon stood next to me. I linked my arm in my father’s on one side, Goldie’s on the other, and as planned, my mother walked next to my dad.

And my heart soared in the ambiance of the fantastic occasion.

When we reached the end of the aisle, my parents walked to their seats, I proceeded to the center and stood next to Jagger. Ah.

Goldie stood next to Miles, and the ceremony, the real thing, the life-changing moment, began.

As if from a distance, yet only a few feet away, I heard, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, in this most lovely setting, I might add…”

Through teary eyes I looked at Jagger-and felt my heart swell.

“…In the presence of these witnesses…” The officiate waved his hands in the air to encompass the entire crowd. “To join…”

I’d never stood in this situation before and realized it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Truly one I would treasure forever.

The officiate cleared his throat. “To join in holy matrimony…Goldie Perlman and Miles Scarpello…”

And I thought…someday…someday…