Blessings from Above
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Hibiscus and orchids had bobbed on their stems in the light coastal breeze as the leaves of the trees whispered their blessings down from above.
Guests were escorted to folding chairs on either side of an aisle that had ended at an arched arbor, which if anyone took the time to search beneath the multiple layers of lavender and plum colored flowers, they would have discovered that it was as gleaming white as their chairs.
The groom, dapper in his finely tailored dark suit, could barely take his eyes from his lovely bride; a look of pride and reverence firmly in place upon his young face.
He turned bodily towards the aisle as the small string and flute band, shifted their welcoming music into a lilting version of the “Wedding March.”
He had stood, flanked by his best man, on the lush green expanse of the well-manicured lawn as he watched his bride escorted down the aisle by a man a few years older than himself in a sharply pressed dark blue police uniform.
The bride, her long black hair swaying gently beneath her veil, had appeared to nearly glide up the aisle in her ornately beaded black satin slippers; her graceful step leading her ever nearer to her childhood dream.
The silk of her creamy, tea-length vintage dress glimmered and shifted in the sunshine; the hand embroidered material, beautifully fit in the bodice before swaying gently from her tapered waist.
She turned to press a soft kiss against her escort’s cheek before he placed her hand into that of her future husband’s.
The ceremony, itself was as brief as the courtship; a romance that had bloomed through a traumatic experience a couple of months ago but it had been born of a lengthy friendship.
Birds soared from the trees above when the audience erupted into applause as the officiate pronounced them husband and wife.
The young woman had stopped briefly to hug an woman dressed in a soft lilac colored dress seated in the front row, before continuing up the aisle on the arm of her husband.
~~~~~~~~~
Speeches were delivered and the cake had been cut before any of the guests were welcomed to the party as the newlyweds mingled around the tables, as per the custom of their ancestors.
Two men sat talking quietly at their table, occasionally they would glance towards the lovely young bride as she graciously thanked her guests.
It was hard to believe that she was the same bespectacled little girl that would occasionally accompany her father to the office and hide behind the plant next to the water cooler, reading her Nancy Drew books.
It would be nearly twenty more minutes before she turned her husband towards their table.
“You came!” She exclaimed as she launched herself at the first one and then the other man. “I’m so happy that you came.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world, Evie. Not for the world.” The shorter man replied, calling the glowing bride by her childhood nickname while holding her at arm’s length. “You look lovely, absolutely beautiful.”
“You’ve got the best girl in the world, I hope you know.” The taller man said, clapping the younger man on the shoulder “Gorgeous. Smart. A real keeper.”
“Oh, I know, sir. I know. I’m just lucky that she would have me at all.” The groom replied sincerely.
“Tommy, this is Detective Danny Williams and Detective Steve McGarrett. Uncle Danny, Uncle Steve, this is my husband, Tommy Fong.” She had stepped closer to her new husband and leaned into him as he snaked his left arm around her waist during the introduction.
“It’s a pleasure.” Tommy said shaking each of their hand’s before drawing his bride closer. “I’ve heard a lot about you both, all good of course.”
“The pleasure’s all ours, Tommy.” Steve said before turning to the radiant bride. “That’s a pretty dress, Evelyn. Did your mother help you with it?”
“In a way. She wore this when she married Daddy.” Evelyn replied swishing the skirt lightly about. “We had to take it in a little, but that was it.”
“I bet she was a vision in it as well.” Steve commented before switching topics. “So, Tim’s done with the academy then.”
“Yes, he is. Mom didn’t want him to go into the force, but he just said that Daddy would have been happy that he had.” She said candidly, her smile growing a bit wistful.
“Chin would have liked that, Evie.” Danny replied, conviction solid within his soft voice. “He would be real proud of you both. Real proud.”
“I like to believe that, Uncle Danny. I really do.” She leaned towards both men and pecked them gently on the cheeks. “Thanks again for coming.”
“You, and your mother, and Tim and the kids . . . and now you, Tommy, you are all family. ‘Ohana. Danny and I . . . all of Five-O, we’ll always be there for you.” Steve said a gentle hand upon her slim shoulder. “Now go, be with your friends and have fun. We’ll see you later.”
The two men stayed for a while longer, talking with the rest of the Kelly clan before they took their leave.
Both men were silent as they drove away, remembering their fallen friend; a brother taken before his time, but a man never to be forgotten.
Pau