Chapter 10— Lawfully Wedded

      They got ready and were all seated in the living room waiting for William to return with the registrar. It had been more than thirty minutes since he left. Only a few seconds ago Olivia's Mother had entered the mansion with baby Audrey, she joined the other women in the living room, feeling uncomfortable most of the time.

The room was as silent as a desert, the women said nothing to each other only when they had exchanged greetings. They sat on the large chairs looking all clean, classsic and gorgeous! Audrey slept peacefully in her grandma's arms. 

    Viola couldn't bear the silence anymore so she got up and went into the kitchen with the thought to make some tea. She quickly lit the stove, balanced a small silver kettle filled with water on the flames. Then she set up ten small-sized silver teacups on a silver tray, the cups beautifully surrounded a silver slim jug which sat in the middle of the tray, the mouths of the cups were turned upside down on the surface of the round tray; awaiting to serve their purpose.

     The kettle began to whistle, while steam rushed out of the spout announcing the boiling water. Viola put out the stove, took out the four teabags she had boiled in the water, and filled the jug in the tray with all the content of the kettle. Then she brought out a bottle of sweetened milk and emptied it into another smaller jug in the tray, she found a spot inside the tray for a cute little sugar cup which was filled up with white grains of sugar. She had decided in her mind that she would put both sugar and milk in the tray alongside the tea, so that the people in the living room could add whichever one they wanted to their tea.

    She piled up ten or eleven silver saucers near one of the teacups, ten white small teaspoons rested on each other close to another one of the teacups. Then she exhaled and smiled, knowing that her tray was rightly set! She bent her knees a little, placed both hands on the sides of the tray, added more strength to her arms and lifted up the silver tray from the kitchen table. Slowly, carefully and graciously, she glided through the smooth floor, hoping to successfully reach the living room.

    Her heart smiled when she finally placed the tray on the centre table in the room. All the ladies in the room fixed their eyes on Viola as she brought out the cups from the tray, placed each cup on a saucer, added a spoon beside the cup and she positioned each set in front of every person seated.

    Viola looked into each one's face to confirm if they wanted the tea and each time she got her answer, she would pour the black tea in the little cup. Then she would ask if they wanted milk or sugar or maybe both.

    The women would either reply with a yes or no, or a nod of the head. Viola served them well, she played the role of a hostess for the day, and she felt satisfied when she returned to her seat. She filled her cup with some tea, added some milk and a teaspoon of sugar, then she stirred her tea with a spoon-- graciously!

    While the women sipped their tea like princesses, and swallowed down the liquid which caressed their throats and warmed up their insides, the front door flung open and the long awaited William stepped into the hall. At the sound of the door and the footsteps on the floor, the ladies turned their heads swiftly, in the direction of the sounds their ears had tuned to. William had arrived with the Registrar, along with two other persons. He locked the door behind them, and in a few seconds, they joined the ladies in the living room.

    "Please seat!" William gestured and directed the other three to their seats.

    "Thanks for coming!" Mrs Johnson added. Everybody balanced their behinds well on the seats, some twisted their bodies, some cleared their throats and exhaled, they were determined to make themselves comfortable.

    "This is Mr Blackstone, the Registrar", William pointed to a white man in his late 50's, he wore a black suit, tie and a black pair of trousers. His age reflected on his face, he had the perfect brown hair and a grey pair of eyes, his face held a calm feeling to it.

    "These are Margaret and Chris", William pointed to the other two strangers, "They are to serve as more witnesses for the wedding", he paused, searching into everyone's faces, but the others only responded with a nod or a smile.

    "You're all welcome! Mr Blackstone, shall we begin?", Amelia put in. William glanced at her and rested his hand on her shoulder.

    "Yes, of course, moving on to it", Mr Blackstone began to set his briefcase on one of the other tables in room-- which was carrying a lamp. The man brought out some legal documents and a seal.

    "This is strange, yet oddly exciting!" Viola mentioned in a cool tone to fit the room's atmosphere.

    "Definitely!" Monica confirmed and chuckled towards Viola.

    "Please, the two that are to be wed, should stand here", Mr Blackstone pointed to the space in front of him. Olivia and William stood up and moved to where the registrar was; they maintained a space between themselves.

    "Your names, please?" Mr Blackstone inquired.

    "William .A. Johnson". The registrar began to write.

    "Olivia Ayers" they responded.

    The man took down both their names and released a breath. He took two papers in his hand, stood up in front of Will and Olivia and began to speak some words slowly. Will's heart began to race, he was glad that only he could hear it, the anxiety he felt made him blind to the words Mr Blackstone said.

    "Now, do you William .A. Johnson, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to cherish and to love, from this day forward till death do you part?" 

    To William, the rest of the world did not exist at this moment, he could feel his breath seize, the room became warmer, he began to sweat.

    "Will?" Olivia shook his shoulder and spoke with her eyes.

    "Huh? Oh yes, I'm sorry, what's the question again?", he rubbed his eyes, inhaled deeply and exhaled. Mr Blackstone had no choice but to repeat the question for him. This time, Will heard and understood the question, he had no choice but to answer.

     "Yes, I do!" William supplied dryly.

     "And do you Olivia Ayers take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to honour and obey, from this day forward till death do you part?"

     "I do!" Olivia responded sharply.

    William became deaf to the world again and the registrar had begun speaking again.

   "The rings! Mr William?"

    "Oh yes!" Will dipped his hand in his pocket and brought out a little black ring box, he plucked out the rings from the holder, held them in his palm and kept the box back in his pocket. He slipped one of the rings on one of the fingers on Olivia's left hand, sharply.

    Olivia took the other ring from him and did the same to William's finger, it felt smooth, round and cold to William's skin.

    Mr Blackstone pronounced them man and wife and suggested that William should kiss his bride. Olivia and William turned to face each other, they drew closer to each other's chest, positioned their faces to allow their lips collide, and they kissed faintly then returned to their first positions.

  "Now for the papers", Mr Blackstone said and pushed the license towards them. William leaned over and scrawled his name and signature on it, Olivia did the same. The other necessary persons, also signed the wedding license, Mr Blackstone was last to sign, he did so and blotted all the signatures.

"It is done!" The registrar announced. Everyone in the room clapped. Viola served some more tea and they all had their fill.

The next day, Olivia brought in her belongings along with Audrey to the mansion.