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Chapter 23
After
the bus accident things changed in Howie and Anne’s relationship,
in many ways they got better. He took her back to Florida to recuperate;
the warm air did her a lot of good. They spent a lot of time together and
worked on what was important—their relationship. Everything else seemed
to
take a backseat while Anne was mending from her wounds. Within two months
she was as good as new, well as good as could be expected considering what
she had been through. In the fall she made up the last of the tour dates
that had been canceled the previous spring then returned to Florida to be
married. There was finally a break in the action for the guys; their tour
had finally been completed, after a shake up within the band. Anne knew of
A.J.’s problems with alcohol for a very long time and was relieved when
he
sought treatment, she had already buried one of her friends and she was not
even thirty, she did not want to bury another. Thankfully he had beaten his
demons, and was on the road back to the life he knew before alcohol had
become such a big part of it.
Howie and Anne were married in relative secret in a small service in
Orlando, except the few family members and friends who were in attendance no
one knew it even took place. They slipped off to Europe for their
honeymoon; Anne had planned this trip and financed it herself as her wedding
present to Howie. It would not be until they returned a month later that he
would learn what his present was.
They traveled through Europe with relative privacy, Spain, Italy,
England, Ireland, France, were all at their fingertips. The world was
theirs and yet, all they cared about was each other. At last they returned
to the U.S., a little road weary and dreading the next month. The original
plan of two wedding services would still come to pass, and despite all the
planning before they left for Europe the last month before the wedding would
be a nightmare. But come Hell or high water they were going to be married
for the world to see in Howie’s home church.
After many sleepless nights the final days came. Anne and Howie had
been installed in their new home, a one million dollar house in a gated
community near the ocean, since they returned from Europe. In the expansive
garage sat Anne’s wedding present, a brand new Mercedes Benz convertible.
Howie had never really cared for the Chrysler, and he felt that this car
better suited his queen. She was furious that he had replaced her car
without her knowledge, but was pacified when she realized that the new
vehicle was the one she had been secretly (or so it would seem no so
secretly) pining away for. He even got the color she had wanted: metallic
cadet blue, with tan interior.
It was quite a feat to gather everyone in the wedding party, and even
more challenging to find logging for everyone who was not local. In all
over two hundred people would be attending. The logistics were
mind-boggling, twelve people in the bridal party, and all but three (not
counting Howie and Anne of course) lived out of state, and one lived out of
the country. Thousands of flowers, one hundred bottles of champagne, Vera
Wang dresses, Armani tuxes, limousines, and more paparazzi would be lining
the streets than you could count.
The rehearsal went surprisingly smooth, everyone was there, and that was
a relief in itself. What seemed like an eternity ago Howie had asked each
of his band mates stand up with him in his wedding. Getting Brian, Kevin,
Nick, A.J., and Howie all together in one room was extremely challenging
unless they were working. People had commitments all over the country that
month, and they knew they had to make the most of the three days they had
together. Howie’s brother John was standing as best man, he helped Howie
tremendously through the last month, it was only a few years ago that John
had gotten married so he remembered the stress that both Howie and Anne were
going through. It was perhaps on the day of the wedding when he aided Howie
the most. He delivered a message to Anne.
The bridal entourage entered a side room of the church where the bride
would dress. Eight women in all, carrying garment bags, shoes, makeup
cases, hairspray, everything needed to make this an event to remember. As
they entered they were surprised to see John there.
“Out, John,” one woman said.
“Just a second, I am on an errand for my brother,” he said quickly.
He
walked over to the makeup table and set a large black velvet box down upon
it. “There, I’m leaving now, happy?”
“Out!” Sara called after him.
“What is it?” Emily asked, flanking Anne.
“I don’t know, just a second,” Anne replied. She picked up the
note on
top of the box and read it aloud. “ ‘Annie, when I saw your dress
I thought
it was missing a little something. When I saw this I knew it would be
perfect, now the world will see you look like the queen you are to me. Now I
don’t want you to get too excited because it is only borrowed. I hope you
like it. Love, Howie.’ ” Anne’s hands quaked with anticipation
as she
picked up the box. It was heavy, she gently opened the lid, lying in a form
of black velvet was a diamond necklace and earrings. “Oh my God,”
Anne
gasped as she looked at the jewels. She carefully removed the necklace from
the box. The platinum and diamond necklace weighed down her hand. While
she was not an expert Anne had learned a thing or two about jewelry in her
time, she knew this was an art deco design, probably from the 1920s. It was
covered in diamonds; the scroll foliate design contained four huge diamonds,
totaling twenty carats together. Baguette diamonds connected the large
diamonds, these diamonds also covered the chain, even the clasp had a
diamond on it, and these small diamonds probably totaled fifteen carats on
their own. Anne began to quake as she thought how much thirty-five carats
of diamonds must cost. She figured that the necklace alone most cost over
$250,000, and that was a conservative estimate. The drop earrings contained
several diamonds, and each earring had a diamond of over two carats, these
would add at least $10,000 to the cost of the set. She set the necklace
back in the box; it would be over an hour before it graced her neck.
The two women from the salon began to do the makeup of the women in the
wedding party after they were dressed. Everyone had their hair up, Sara,
Emily, Mary, Shelly, and Teresa all looked like mirrors of each other in
their matching lavender dresses. Anne and Howie had given them each an
amethyst pendant to wear during the ceremony and as a present for being in
the wedding. Had bouquets of white roses and lilies. Anne finally was
ready, the veil was a challenge, and it had become separated from the white
gold tiara that made up Anne’s headpiece. Sara and Emily frantically tried
to reattach it. After fifteen minutes they had figured out how to get it to
stay on Anne’s head and still look they way it was supposed to.
Finally the moment approached, everything was ready, the groomsmen took
their place at the front of the church. The guests had all arrived and were
separated into two rows of pews. As Cannon in D started to play the first
bridesmaid started to walk up the aisle. Followed by the second and third,
the wedding coordinator was taking no chances and was telling each woman
when to start walking. For the amount she was being paid she did not want
anything to happen that would jeopardize her paycheck. Sara was the last
person to walk up the aisle before Anne, and was in charge of Howie’s
wedding ring. Sara gripped the gold circlet in her hand, scared of what
would happen if it disappeared. (Partly because she would be terribly
embarrassed if she were the one who lost a wedding ring, and secondly she
knew Anne would kill her if anything happened to it).
Finally it was Anne’s turn. She swallowed hard as she took her father’s
arm.
"I'm proud of you Annie, with everything you have done in your life you
have made me so proud. I love you.”
“I love you to Dad.”
They started walking down the aisle, Anne gazed at the crowd as she came
closer to the alter. She saw friends and family looking on at her and was
even more nervous than before. Anne saw her band mates—her family on the
road, sitting in the third pew. Having them there calmed her nerves more
than seeing her biological family. Her band mates each came to visit her in
the hospital after the bus accident. Their bus had been before Anne’s in
the
caravan, and they did not learn of the accident until after they arrived in
the next city. She looked at each of their faces: Adam, Tony, Will, and
Mickey; four men who she considered family as much as any of the people she
was related to by blood. As she looked into their eyes she realized that
they were not all on her, Mickey’s face was turned toward her but his eyes
were firmly set on Emily. Anne knew how much he loved her and she was sure
he was remembering the day when they were married. It was partly Mickey’s
doing that she was here today. He had been the one who pressured Howie into
asking Anne to marry him. Anne always figured Howie would have done it
eventually, but she was not going to argue with the way things worked out.
Anne’s gaze came to the front of the church it rested on Howie and there
it
stayed. He looked so handsome in his black tux; his eyes sparkled with
excitement as he took her hand from Anne’s father.
“Who gives this woman to be married?” the priest asked.
“Her mother and I do,” Anne’s dad answered.
The complex catholic ceremony took forever to complete, or at least that
is how it seemed to Howie and Anne. At last the priest said: “You have
each
pledged your lives to each other and in the giving and receiving of rings
symbolizes this union. By the power vested in me by holy mother church I
pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Howie hesitated
for a moment; perhaps it had occurred to him that this had to be good since
there were over two hundred on lookers. “Well go on boy,” the priest
urged.
Howie quickly wrapped his arms around Anne’s back and passionately kissed
her. She was not quite expecting it and after a few moments placed her
hands around his neck. After they broke apart they walked down the aisle
hand in hand, married for the entire world to see. It was time for them to
officially start their lives together, they were ready for all the
challenges they could and would face. As they were heading home in the limo
after the reception Howie had a rather insightful thought.
“You know Annie, this is sort of the end isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well we’re married, you’re Mrs. Howard Dorough now, they can’t
really
call you Miss Rose anymore, can they?”
“Well, I guess not, but in the same token it is a beginning. I’m Mrs.
Howard Dorough now.”
“It’s sort of an end of an era.”
“Yes, the one where I was single,” Anne joked.
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes I do. Here, a toast,” Anne said, holding up her half-filled
champagne glass. “To the end of an era.”
“To the end of an era,” Howie chimed in as they clinked glasses.
THE
END
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