Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Now Porsche was blinking back tears, too. She took a deep breath and composed herself as the hairstylist wielded a hot curling iron in hand.
“A! Denise!” She yelled to her friend who was her Matron of Honor. “Turn that up! You know that’s my song!”
‘Friday Night,’ by King George, began to blast from the speakers. It wasn’t long before everyone was line dancing in the middle of the room, including the makeup artist and hairstylist, laughing and carrying on.
“Porsche! Slow down! If you bust a sweat everything’ll have to be done over again. Make up, hair and all. Can’t take yo’ ass nowhere!” her friend Kendra teased, drawing more laughter.
Porsche ignored her and kept on dancing, waving her hips from left to right. She looked out the window. The heavy curtains were wide open and it was cracked to let in a bit of fresh air and breeze. Through the veil of sheer drapes, she saw three boys playing out in their backyard. They looked like brothers, boisterous and happy, chasing each other around and throwing a deflated ball at one another. Falling onto the grass and giggling out of their minds.
She slowed down, blinking away more tears. For just a moment, she felt such pain for her baby. That had been him at one time, loving on his brothers, playing and enjoying himself with them. That was his family.
That’s how they looked before their world crashed and burned. Before addiction, mental illness, denial, cruelty, embarrassment, and violence came into the picture… But that’s okay. God is always in control. The devil yells and screams, destroying lives one wicked move at a time. He brings illness. Dysfunction. Hurt. Pain. But God just bides His time … and whispers forgiveness, healing, and blessings all through the day and night….
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The grounds at the Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine proved to be the perfect place to have a wedding. It was the same lighthouse featured in the ‘Forest Gump’ movie, which added a bit of whimsy to the occasion. Nikolai embraced all things silly and lighthearted at this point in his life.
White wooden deck chairs had been placed on the lawn, close to the lighthouse itself, which stood at the end of a long pier. Twenty-five chairs on one side, twenty-five on the other. They were only allowed to invite fifty people, due to the unique layout of the venue, but they made do.
The ocean was dotted with sail and lobster boats, and the morning breeze smelled sweet. The wind had picked up, and the scent of lit cigars filled the air as several of Nikolai’s older guests, mostly his elderly Russian uncles and older cousins, indulged before services began. Nikolai stood amongst them, speaking to his brother, father, and several male cousins.
“You look sharp, Mark!” Nikolai chuckled as he looked his brother over. Mark nodded and did a one-eighty turn, his complexion deepening.
“I haven’t been in a tuxedo in a long time. This is the best reason I could think of to have to wear one though.” Mark leaned in close and hugged him. This surprised Nikolai somewhat. He held his brother a tad longer than he should have, but he couldn’t help himself. When they released one another, he hugged his father, too. Dad was clutching a tissue in his right hand, the same one with which he held his brand new brown marble cane.
Light jazz music played as people got seated. The wedding coordinator approached and dabbed at Nikolai’s brow. She then shoved a mirror in front of his face.
“How handsome you look, young man,” she complimented, her Jamaican accent appealing.
“Thank you, Martisha.” He regarded his silvery blue eyes in the mirror. Porsche described them as pearl blue. He ran his thumb and forefinger along his goatee, smoothing the dark brown hairs with bits of wheat and auburn threaded through. He had a fresh haircut, and he’d even gotten his thick eyebrows tamed and nose hairs plucked. The things we do for the women we love…
It wasn’t long before the pianist arrived and began to play beautiful classical tunes as more guests showed up and were seated. The color theme was white, black, silver and various shades of blue. All of the groomsmen wore black tuxedos with blue ties. Nikolai, however, was dressed in a cobalt blue Oro Fiore dinner jacket, designed by Sebastian Cruz. He’d paired it with a matching vest and pants. The jacket had a blue-on-blue subtle paisley design.
He took a gander at his dress shoes to make sure they were un-scuffed. They were a dark cobalt blue, too, with black soles. He looked up to catch his aunt waving at him, his mother’s sister who’d flown in from New York. He smiled and waved back. Mark’s wife was seated near his niece, and was currently speaking to some of the other family members. He was glad that they were working on their marriage. Family was indeed important.