The Passage of Time

The Groom

The church was very pretty. The sign outside said it was more than 100 years old. It had a classic design and was made of stone. I was in it to witness the marriage of my nephew, David, to his girlfriend, Laurie. They had met teaching is a small New Hampshire town, and now David would teach for the second year at Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. The night before he had told me of his career strategies, and I had smiled, as I heard myself talking not that many years ago. How quickly it all goes by!

We were at the reception now, and David was dancing authoritatively with his new wife. She looked happy, as she whirled around the floor flashing a big smile at her family, who were seated at the next table. At one point James, an old friend of my brother and me came to our table, and we talked warmly for several minutes. He was one of the funniest people I knew, mixing sarcasm and dry wit with speed and pace. In a short time I was laughing hard, trying to remember his comments, but they came too fast to hold.

 

James

My aunt and cousin, who were 86 and 81 respectively, sat in the table behind me. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, but I was struck by the fact that my aunt had been talking about her friends who were gone now for one reason of another. For a moment it seemed like a generational procession was marching through the room. The announcement that Italy had beaten France in the World Cup broke my reverie, and there were loud cheers from the Italian Americans present.

I talked with the boyfriend of my sister in law’s niece, not an easy connection to follow. He raced bikes, and had participated in a race the day before. Young, friendly, and polite, he seemed to be an outstanding person, as was his girlfriend, whom I did know. Some of us looked tired, but this younger group, the friends and relatives of my nephew were ready to “go”. I admired them and wished them well on their journey, which I knew would be arduous and long, if not exciting and lively.

Parents of the Groom with the newlyweds

Postscript:  Little did I know that these words would be so prophetic. The day after the wedding my nephew developed acute appendicitis and underwent emergency surgery at the Westerly Hospital. The honeymoon was off for now, and David laughed, when I asked, if his appendix problem was psychological in origin.