Chapter 48: Truly Madly Deeply

            “It’s the day of the wedding and Darren is out cold. Hmmm… This is bad. What shall I do?” Dan said as he walked into Darren’s room holding a video camera in his hand. With a devious smile on his face, Dan pulled a bucket of water out from behind his back and doused it over Darren’s head. He woke up screaming and panting.

            “What the fuck!” Darren yelled in a high-pitched voice. He wiped his face with his blanket and saw Dan out of the corner of his eye running out of the room howling with laughter. Darren stood up and ran after him. “Get back here you little prick!” he shouted as he flew down the stairs in his boxers.

            The second Darren hit the bottom floor of the mansion, he saw Jason, Nick, and Brendan standing around Dan slapping high fives left and right. They, too, were laughing at the priceless footage he had caught on tape just moments earlier.

            “That was low,” Darren spat as he reached the group. It was then that he noticed the men were already dressed and ready to go to the wedding. Darren glanced at the wall clock over the stove. “It’s already 11:00? Shit! The wedding starts in half an hour!” He ran upstairs and headed straight for the shower.

            “He is so screwed. Why didn’t you wake him up earlier?” Brendan asked as he looked through the fridge for some food.

            “Shiri just called. Chance isn’t ready yet either. It seems as if the stylist got lost. She arrived about an hour ago and is still working on her hair,” Dan answered as he sat down on one of the bar stools by the counter.

            “Oh, you are a mean little bastard, aren’t you,” Nick added, a wayward smile appearing on his face. “You’re exactly the same kind of prankster as Jason, but he can get a little worse.”

            “Oh, and you aren’t? Please,” Jason replied.

            “Where the hell is my tux?” Darren yelled from upstairs. The others began to laugh hysterically.

            “It’s in the closet!” Dan called to him. Seconds later, Darren flew back down the stairs and joined the four men in the kitchen.

            “What the fuck are you sitting around for? Let’s go!” Darren shouted as he ushered them out the door and into the limo. He was nowhere near ready. His short brown hair was still wet and his tie was in his hand. He tried several time to put on his tie, but was never successful. Dan finally stepped in and did it for him.

            “Do your hair,” he said as he finished the knot.

            “Thanks,” Darren replied as he pulled out a comb and some mouse from his jacket.

            “Jeez, you never come unprepared, do you?” Nick asked.

            “It’s my wedding day! What do you expect?” Darren retorted as he did his hair in the rear view mirror. He finished just as the driver pulled up to the church. Darren hopped out and ran up the steps. He pulled the doors open to see that no one had arrived. A sigh of relief came from his lips as he made his way down the center aisle and to the alter.

            “You’re here!” Shiri exclaimed from behind him. Darren stood up and kissed her cheek.

            “I thought I was going to be late. I woke up at eleven. I think that was the fastest change I’ve ever pulled in my life. Even faster than one of my stage changes,” he answered.

            “Didn’t Dan tell you?” she asked.

            “Tell me what?”

            “Chance isn’t ready yet. She’s changing right now in the back room,” she replied.

            “Really?” Darren questioned, hinting that he was a bit surprised. “That little rat. I can’t believe him.”

            “At least you’re here. That’s all that counts. Don’t worry about anything,” Shiri told him as she walked to the back room of the church where Chance was getting ready.

            Darren sat down on one of the pews and closed his eyes. The bachelor party the night before had been wilder than he expected. Jason, Nick, and Brendan definitely knew how to throw a party. He opened his eyes to find Dan standing in front of him with a goofy grin on his face.

            Darren glared at him and began to mentally check off the things he needed that day. He mind suddenly screamed, ‘The ring!’

            “You have the ring, right?” Darren asked.

            Dan began to search his pockets leisurely at first then frantically once he realized it was nowhere to be found.

            “You don’t have the ring!” Darren yelled. He could hear his echo bounce off the walls and hit him square in the ears.

            Dan looked at him with a stone cold stare and replied, “No.” The blood drained from his face as he tried to step back as Darren stood up to face him.

            “Oh, you did not forget the ring. Please tell me this is a joke,” Darren pleaded. His own face became pale as he sat back down on the pew. His heart was ready to stop when Dan flashed him a wide smile and pulled a small box out of his pocket.

            “Did you really think I’d forget the ring?” he replied, tossing Darren the box to inspect.

            “You stupid piece of…” Darren’s voice trailed out when he realized he was in a church. “Don’t ever scare me like that!”

            “Jeez, this is only your second wedding. It’s not like you’re getting married again,” Dan said as Darren handed him back the ring.

            “You’re right, and that means you’d better not screw this up because besides me killing you, Chance is also gonna mangle your body until you’re unrecognizable,” Darren warned as he sat down again.

            “People arriving,” Nick hollered from the open doors. Darren stood up and straightened out his jacket so that it wasn’t wrinkled the proceeded to head down the aisle to greet the guests.

            Time passed quickly as the church filled with famous and not so famous people. Among the well known were Sarah McLachlan, Fisher, Meg Ryan, the Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync, Bono, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Dido, Heath Ledger, Enrique Iglesias, and a whole slew of other people in the movie and recording business. At 12:00 exactly, the music began to play signaling for everyone to take their places. Dan, Nick, Brendan, and Jason headed to the back of the church. They paired off, Jason and Kate, Brendan and Majandra, Nick and Shiri, and Dan and Chance. Darren stood nervously alone at the alter, hundreds of people staring at him and waiting for the flower girl, one of Shiri’s little cousins, to walk down the aisle in her adorable white dress.

            Jason and Kate were the first two to step down the aisle. They were soon followed by Brendan and Majandra then Nick and Shiri. Finally the moment came when all eyes and camera lenses focused on Dan and Chance walking down the aisle together. The music had changed to the traditional weeding march. Darren stared at her, mesmerized by how radiant she looked slowly making her way towards him.

            Chance wore the wedding dress she had picked out. The train extended all the way down the aisle past the double doors and out into the foyer. A little gold crown wrapped its way around the tight bun of her hair. Tiny crystals glistened from her veil as she walked through patches of sunlight that came down from the skylights. Her gloved hands held a bouquet of pink and white roses and just above them he could see her glittering diamond necklace.

            Just before reaching the alter, Dan and Chance stopped. He lifter her veil and whispered, “Make me proud.” He kissed her cheek, pulled the veil back over her face, and took his place beside Darren. Chance walked up the steps and stood beside Shiri. She turned in Darren’s direction and waited for the priest to begin the ceremony.

            Darren could see a small tear slide down her cheek beneath her veil, but he didn’t dare reach up and wipe it away with his hand. A smile gradually appeared on both their faces as the priest ended his short prayer and began to talk to them.

            “If there is anyone who thinks these two people should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace,” the priest said. The church went silent. Chance could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest. No one said a word, and the priest began to speak again. He turned to Darren and asked, “Do you have the ring?” Dan handed it to Darren.

            “Do you, Darren Stanley Hayes take Chance as you lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love, honor, and obey, in sickness and in health, ‘till death do you part?” the priest said.

            “I do,” Darren replied in almost a dream-like state of mind. He took Chance’s hand and placed the ring on her finger.

            “Do you, Chance Malone take Darren as you lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love, honor, and obey, in sickness and in health, ‘till death do you part?” the priest said.

            “I do,” Chance answered as another tear dripped down her face.

            “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the priest proudly boomed. “You may kiss the bride.”

            Darren slowly pulled the vial away from Chance’s face to reveal her glowing smile. He waited a couple of moments to take in her beauty, then bent down for a long, passionate kiss.

            “I love you, Mrs. Chance Hayes,” he said.

            “I love you, too,” she replied, kissing him again.

~~~~~~~~~~

            The wedding party gathered in the large banquet hall a few miles away hours later. By now, Chance had changed into a simpler white dress that she could easily dance in, but kept the crown, the veil, the hair, the necklace, the shoes, and the bouquet. She and Darren were seated beside each other at the main table waiting for dinner to be served. They heard Dan chime his fork on his glass to get everyone’s attention.

            “Speech! Speech! Speech!” people began to chant as he stood up.

            Dan smiled as he began, “Darren and I have been best friends for the longest time. We’ve been through so much together that I think he qualifies as my brother, but I already have a few of those so I don’t need another one. Anyway, I remember the day he and Colby divorced, and how he thought his life was over. Boy, was he wrong! He turned into a regular ladies man! He’d be going out with three chicks a night, time permitting. I remember thinking to myself, ‘Why can’t he just settle on one?’ Well, that was the night before he met Chance. Everything changed afterwards. Mr. Ladies Man turned into Mr. Couch Potato. Instead of going out with the first woman he saw, he’d be staying home waiting for Chance to arrive. For a second there I began thinking, ‘What has this girl done to my best friend?’ Again, that was the day before we hooked up and found out that we had so much in common. Does everyone see a pattern here? It seems as if I’m always answering my own questions a day after I ask them. Just last night I was thinking, ‘Are Chance and Darren really meant to be together?’ You’re all probably thinking ‘We know, you answered your question again.’ You know what, I’ll get back to you on that in ten years.” He paused to let everyone stop laughing. “Moving on, I think it’s about time that I ended this, so, a toast to Chance and Darren. May your lives be filled with happiness and laughter, and don’t forget to call me when the honeymoon’s over. Oh, and get on the dance floor already, we’re waiting!”

            After the clapping subsided, Chance and Darren stood up to have the first dance of the night, to their song. The music began as the lights dimmed. “I have a surprise for you,” Darren whispered into her ear. He pointed to the stage and she saw the person who would be singing the song.

            “It’s Fisher!” Chance cried. “Oh, Darren!” Their arms wrapped around each other as they slowly danced in front of everyone. “This has to be the most wonderful moment of my life. I had the perfect wedding and married the man of my dreams. How much better can my life get than that?”

            “Well, winning ten Grammies on top of everything has to account for something,” Darren replied. She just smiled. The song ended, and Dan proceeded to cut in for the traditional “father/daughter” dance.

            “Here we are again, dancing together. And I remember the rule,” he said.

            Chance laughed. “I thought you would,” she replied. “So, what song did you choose for us?”

            “Bob Carlisle’s ‘Butterfly Kisses.’ I know its kinda weird, but it seems so right for the relationship we’ve had. I watched you grow up in the last year, and the song is so perfect for today. I gave you away at your wedding. What song could be more perfect than this one to commemorate that?” Dan asked as Chance placed her head on his shoulder.

            “That’s so sweet of you,” she whispered as the music continued to play. “I love you, Dan.”

            “I love you too,” he replied, kissing the top of her head just below her crown. They silently danced to the rest of the song, then left the floor to eat dinner.

            After dinner came the throwing of the bouquet. Chance positioned herself far from the many girls eagerly waiting to catch it. Among them were Majandra and Kate. She turned around and closed her eyes and blindly threw it hoping that one of her friends would catch it. Chance turned around to find Majandra had caught it.

            “You’re getting married next!” Chance yelled to her. Majandra gave her two thumbs up and headed over to Brendan.

            It was now Darren’s turn to pull Chance’s garter off her leg and throw it to the eager men that stood behind him. With a devilish smile on his face, Darren bit down on the silky fabric and pulled if slowly down past her ankle, down her calf, and finally over her shoe. He threw it behind him then quickly spun around to find that Jason was the lucky recipient.

            The party continued into the early morning hours of the next day. Chance must have dance with every single celebrity that had shown up, not to mention with all her guy friends. She was near exhaustion when Darren pulled her off her chair and led her to the dance floor.

            “This is the last song of the night, I promise,” he said, wrapping her arms around his neck. She limply hung onto him as he cued the band to play the very last song of the night. Most of the guests were already gone, so they had the floor all to themselves.

            “Aw, ‘Truly Madly Deeply,’” Chance sleepily recognized the song. “How sweet.”

            “I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy. I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, be everything that you need. I’ll love you more with every breath truly madly deeply do… I will be strong, I will be faithful 'cause I'm counting on a new beginning, a reason for living, a deeper meaning, yeah… I want to stand with you on a mountain. I want to bathe with you in the sea. I want to lay like this forever, until the sky falls down on me...

            “And when the stars are shining brightly in the velvet sky, I'll make a wish, send it to heaven then make you want to cry… the tears of joy for all the pleasure in the certainty… that we're surrounded by the comfort and protection of… the highest powers. In lonely hours, the tears devour you… I want to stand with you on a mountain. I want to bathe with you in the sea. I want to lay like this forever, until the sky falls down on me...

            “Oh can't you see it baby? You don't have to close your eyes 'cause it's standing right here before you. All that you need will surely come...

            “I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy. I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, be everything that you need. I’ll love you more with every breath truly madly deeply do… I want to stand with you on a mountain. I want to bathe with you in the sea. I want to lay like this forever, until the sky falls down on me... I want to stand with you on a mountain. I want to bathe with you in the sea. I want to lay like this forever, until the sky falls down on me...”

            “I love you so much,” Chance barely whispered as she tried to stay awake. Darren gently gave her a soft kiss on the lips, then felt her go limp in his arms. She was out cold, just as he had expected her to be by the time that night was over. He picked her up in his arms and proceeded to head for the door where the limo was waiting to take them to their home.

            “What a night,” Darren said as he loaded Chance into the back seat and sat down next to her. “Sweet dreams,” he whispered into her ear. “I love you.”

THE END

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