Sic Semper Tyrannis

"Going Home" for My Brother's Wedding- Part Two

I was talking about the actual wedding. My hope before this week was that I would be an usher, since I was given a choice of roles by my brother early on in the planning process. “Yeah, ‘usher’ sounds about right. Just walk people in and you’re done. No undue attention...”

No such luck. I wound up being up front with the rest of the goonsmen. I mean, groomsmen. Unlike the three other guys, I had no bridesmaid to go down the aisle with at the end of the wedding. “Alone again, eh?” Father O’Brien whispered to me as I turned to walk that aisle of shame on my own. “It’s my lot in life,” I said in return.

The only other hurdle to get through was the reception--a major source of dread since months before, when my brother told me he was engaged. A wedding reception is a perfect storm of “things which make Mike uncomfortable”- strangers, strangers standing around talking, strangers dressed up and standing around talking, not to mention dancing and a fiendishly uncomfortable tuxedo. Like I said, getting through the reception was the last hurdle. Thankfully, there were people who remembered me from when I was just a mere child and I was able to spend a good amount of time getting caught up with them.

A flurry of more photographs and it was finished.

On a plane bound for home the next morning.

posted by Mike @ 3:59 PM