our family, and we care about you, and perhaps, back then, we cared too much. Whatever, that’s all water under the bridge. This is now. I hope you will always be as happy as you are today.” Then Violet pulled Gus close and whispered in his ear. Gus blinked, then blinked again, as Violet moved forward to lead the two men out of the room, down the hall, and out to the velvety lawn, where they would wait for Jill to make her appearance.
Gus was shaking so bad, Barney had to grip his arm in a viselike hold. “What’d she say, Gus?” he hissed in his ear.
Gus struggled to speak. “She said if I screwed up again, she’d personally help Oscar drag me out to the barn to do me in.”
Barney let out a whoop of laughter. “That’s Aunt Vi for you. She means it, you know.”
“I do know that,” Gus mumbled. “God, do I know that.”
And then they were standing next to the trellis that smelled so sweet. Gus thought he was going to faint from the heady scent of the flowering jasmine.
“Three minutes and counting,” Albert said.
“Two minutes and counting.”
“One minute, and here comes the bride!”
The seniors burst into song as every male senior at Shady Pines escorted Jill to the trellis to give her away. They sang loudly, they sang off-key, they forgot some of the words, but their hearts were in the rendition. Jill smiled from ear to ear as Gus stared at his beloved. The gorgeous creature coming toward him loved him. Just him. (And the seniors, he added as an afterthought.) She was willing to spend the rest of her life with him. Just the two of them. Forever and ever.
Barney’s arm snaked up to hold Gus erect. He looked at Albert and said, “Hit it, Albert, you’re up!”
The ceremony was flawless, everything going off without a hitch. Albert had the words down pat and didn’t miss a beat. The only time he screwed up was when he kissed the bride before the groom got to do it.
The seniors broke into another rendition of “Here Comes the Bride.” They sang at the top of their lungs. They sang off-key again, but no one cared. They threw popcorn instead of rice because one of the seniors had read somewhere that when wild birds ate rice, it swelled in their stomachs and they got sick. Balloons of all colors sailed high in the air.
Everyone clapped hands as they all made their way back inside to the community room, where the buffet and the champagne toast awaited.
There were only two gifts, one large, one small. The seniors clamored for Jill to open the gift that was from all of them. Tears in her eyes, Jill sat down and undid the wrapping. “Look, Gus, it’s an album of our two years with all the seniors. Look, you’re splitting wood in this one. Oh, my gosh, I’m cutting Annie’s hair in this one. This is a group shot of all of us!” And on and on she went as she flipped the pages. Gus could feel his eyes start to burn. Jill was openly crying.
“Oh, my gosh, I don’t know how to thank you. Look at Gus—he’s speechless. You guys are the most wonderful family I could ever hope to have. I know Gus agrees.” Gus was bobbing his head up and down.
“One more gift. Your turn, Augustus,” his grandmother said.
Gus reached for the small package, unwrapped it, and opened the box. A key rested on black velvet. Gus’s head jerked up as he looked at Barney. “This better not be a key to a new Porsche or even my old Porsche.”
“Not even close, Gus,” Barney replied, laughing.
The seniors were giggling and laughing and jostling each other, barely able to contain themselves.
Elroy Hitchens walked over to where Gus was, took his arm, and led him to one of the side windows of the community room. “Look!”
A big yellow bus stood right outside the window, with a big silver bow strapped to the top. “It’s from Barney,” the seniors shouted as one.
“My own bus!” Gus turned to Barney, who was laughing so hard he could hardly stand. “You son of a gun! How’d you know I wanted my own bus?”
“You talk in your sleep!”
It was chaos, then, as everyone started to talk, to kiss and hug the bride, and to offer congratulations. Gus received handshakes, accepted claps on the back, and listened to well-meaning advice.