Sweet Children Come Out and Play, chapter 9
The day had finally come. This was something Delphine had been waiting for all her life and now the day was finally here. Fuck, how the hell did that happen? It was actually making her sad. An hour from now, she would be married and the day she had thought about since she was in elementary school would be over. Well, not quite over. There was the reception party. That would be one hell of a party. Then she and Billie Joe would get to go to a hotel down the street. After that, the honeymoon at the beach house. Well, the hotel by the beach anyway. And it was only about twenty minutes away. Just because it was her wedding did not mean there was money to burn. She was happier than she could ever be though. Delphine would much rather spend her money on stuff they buy down there anyway. By this time tomorrow they would be on their honeymoon and it would all be over, but then again, they would be married. Married! Ah, shit. What was she getting herself into? Well, no, wait, she really did want to be married. But would it be different?
Carry was a judge. She was going to marry her and Billie today. Delphine stood in her dressing room now; the dress all zipped up, her hair up in a twisted bun with beautifully painted white and red chopsticks sticking out of it - red to match the bridesmaid's dresses. Then the make-up was done, no more than usual except a little blush and a touch of eye shadow from Richelle. Delphine still did not know how to do that. Since Richelle had been in so many plays, she had to learn how to paint on massive amount of stage make-up. Really, Delphine remembered Richelle wearing the tons of it plastered to her face after she had just been in a show. The guys had to wear it too. That always amused Delphine and her siblings. It was so people could see it from far away and everyone performing would not look washed out under the stage lights. It made Richelle good in everyday make-up. Delphine had always been helpless when it came to that. Even on her wedding day she could not do without her friends. Especially on her wedding day. Who was she kidding? And why did it feel like she was growing farther away from them by doing this? It's not like she was leaving anyone or they were leaving her. Tomorrow, well, after they get back from the beach, everyone would be there just as before.
Maybe it was because she was going to live in a new apartment with Billie. They would be away from the large apartment house with Mike, Tre, Richelle and Brites. All on there own now. Well, truthfully, the new place was just a hundred yards down the street but it seemed like forever away. At least it did now. Oh, she was just being nostalgic about it. She had not felt so that way for leaving high school; and that time she really was leaving too. Why the hell was getting married so hard.
"You look beautiful," Brites said looking back at her through the mirror. Delphine carefully picked up the bouquet of red plumerias. She ran her fingers over the peddles of the center flower as Brites, Richelle and Delphine's sister Cady grabbed theirs. Her family was sitting outside; her mother, father, sister Erin and her brother Steve. Them and a few other friends. That was all. The same went for Billie's family. It was a small wedding. That didn't make the nervousness any smaller though, but then, at this moment, Delphine felt strangely calm. Nervous but mostly excited. It was a good feeling but she still could not wait until everything was over. 'I'm sure Billie's thinking the same thing,' she kept saying to herself. 'And I will be with him through it all.'
She looked back to her bridesmaids. Cady was her younger sister. Well, one of them. The order in her family was first herself, then Steve, Cady, and Erin was the baby. That had always been her family. Then her mom and dad. And now her family was going to change. Maybe that was some of the problem. She was completely changing who her family was by doing this. She was going to be the wife instead of her mother. Billie was the husband. And they planed on having kids too. Ahh! She was completely changing the entire family roles around! 'Well, calm down.' It's not like she was living any differently for the last year anyway. She was living with the guys and her friends and with Billie. With Billie... "
Wasn't that the most important thing after all? She was living with the one person in the whole world who loved her in this way, and she loved him just as much back. Wasn't that the point? The point of the whole wedding business? 'Yes, this is what I have always wanted anyway; a house and a husband and maybe kids. Why should I be afraid of that? If anything I don't deserve it.' All right, maybe it would not be so bad. Nothing was going to really change except her last name and the address. What did those ever get her? House bills and junk mail. Now she would have different bills addressed to Billie Joe, different junk mail addressed to the Armstrongs. That was never going to change. But she also had Billie.
Suddenly, she found herself standing outside on the beach, looking up the little rows of chairs filled with people, all out on the sand. She doubted whether she could make it up to where Carry stood for a second, but her mother and father where holding her up and kept her walking behind Brites, Richelle and Cady. Then she met Billie's eyes. He knew she was scared. Delphine had almost forgotten he would be standing up there too. Waiting for her she supposed. Mike, Tre, and his friend Jason stood beside him. She never left Billie's gaze and stepped gracefully onto the stage. She almost didn't realize she was standing there after she stopped walking. 'So THAT was my walk down the isle... it wasn't that great.' But now Billie was standing there very close to her. 'Ok, the camera guy is talking pictures. You don't have to remember everything... just don't fall over,' her mind buzzed.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Billie Joe Armstrong and Delphine Elizabeth Caulfield in holy matrimony, which is an honorable estate that is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and soberly. Into this estate these two persons present come now to be joined. If any one can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."
Why had she heard those lines so many times? Now it almost seemed silly to say them over again when everyone sitting here already knew them. Oh well. She stood pretty stalk still but Billie was fidgeting and thinking, 'don't mess up, don't mess up. Oh, shut-up Billie, I'm not going to mess up... don't mess up."
"I Delphine Elizabeth Caulfield take Billie Joe to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish, 'til death do us part." To say those words seemed so strange. She had heard them a million times in movies, books and weddings and just about everywhere but now they were from her. Now they were for him. They took on a whole new meaning that she could not fathom. It didn't matter anymore though.
Billie looked up into her blue eyes for a moment. Then he broke away and walked over to where a guitar was set against the wall. It wasn't Blue like she usually saw him use or one of his other few. Instead it was an acoustic. He nervously took the guitar and walked back over to her side on the little stage. Then he faced the crowd awkwardly. "I really have no clue how to write a vow but I do have a song." Then he looked to Delphine. A look in her eye calmed him and the uneasy feelings went away. He knew what he was doing. "There was a night before I asked Delphine to marry me that we were apart. I wrote a song then and I think it still fits." Tre scooted over a stool. Billie sat down and looked at his guitar strings, all the while telling himself it was ok. This was such a corny thing to do. It really was. But he wanted her to hear this song. He wanted her to hear it now before they were married. If that meant that every other bastard on the beach had to hear too then so be it. And as he pushed his thoughts away, his fingers started and the words just flowed out of his mouth.
"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time... "
Delphine smiled. She could not describe her heart. Sitting stunned, listening. Just listening.
"It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life."
As Billie finished, he dropped his guitar off his knee and was finally forced to look out to the crowd. Was it too mushy? To wimpy? But then this was a wedding. When he saw their faces, they were all happy, smiling and strangely, they were clapping.
Then he looked to Delphine. She was standing just feet away with an awestruck look across her face; the prettiest he had ever seen her. Oddly, she was clapping too. As some sense came back, he stood up. "Oh, just one more thing," he said more quietly. Billie reached into his pocket and pulled out a long silver chair. Then he held up the pick he had been using. Delphine's mouth dropped as she realized what he was doing; there was a small hole in the top of the white Fender pick with a silver jump ring through it. Billie threaded the pick onto the string, with a little difficulty; his fingers were sweaty and he could not stop looking at Delphine who was trying very hard not to cry and laugh at the same time. He had never seen her so beautiful. Then again, he thought that everyday. The pick was all white, with a modeled mother of pearl look and the usual gold lettering. Then he took the chain, Delphine twirled around and he clasped it around her neck, gently touching her back.
When she turned back around, water in her eyes. Billie Joe smiled and smudged one away. "Thank you," she whispered, and as she did, she turned away from the crowd, reached into her bra for a second and pulled out the two special blue picks, still on a chain. "I told you I never take them off." Billie bit his lip. He looked like he was about to kiss her when she put a finger to his lips, "Just one more minute."
They both turned back to Carry. Billie took a deep breath and finished his vow. "I Billie Joe Armstrong take Delphine Elizabeth to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish, 'til death do us part." As he spoke, they slipped the rings onto each other's fingers. Billie, a simple gold ring and Delphine, a silver diamond ring. As she looked on it for the first time, her eyes lit up. Silver. It matched her other rings now, which were still on her fingers even now in the wedding, and a new diamond. It was gorgeous. This, the song and the pick; it was all so overwhelming. She would have jumped him right there if Carry had not started to speak again.
"And now I pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
The second she said it, Billie grabbed Delphine in a passionate kiss in front of all the family. Delphine might have been embarrassed but now she was caught in the moment. Nothing else mattered. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed for all it was worth. When they finally pulled away, in each other's arms, there was clapping and pictures snapping. "I give to you Billie Joe and Delphine Elizabeth Armstrong." And that was it. A five minute wedding and it was all done. It could not have been better.
Carry was a judge. She was going to marry her and Billie today. Delphine stood in her dressing room now; the dress all zipped up, her hair up in a twisted bun with beautifully painted white and red chopsticks sticking out of it - red to match the bridesmaid's dresses. Then the make-up was done, no more than usual except a little blush and a touch of eye shadow from Richelle. Delphine still did not know how to do that. Since Richelle had been in so many plays, she had to learn how to paint on massive amount of stage make-up. Really, Delphine remembered Richelle wearing the tons of it plastered to her face after she had just been in a show. The guys had to wear it too. That always amused Delphine and her siblings. It was so people could see it from far away and everyone performing would not look washed out under the stage lights. It made Richelle good in everyday make-up. Delphine had always been helpless when it came to that. Even on her wedding day she could not do without her friends. Especially on her wedding day. Who was she kidding? And why did it feel like she was growing farther away from them by doing this? It's not like she was leaving anyone or they were leaving her. Tomorrow, well, after they get back from the beach, everyone would be there just as before.
Maybe it was because she was going to live in a new apartment with Billie. They would be away from the large apartment house with Mike, Tre, Richelle and Brites. All on there own now. Well, truthfully, the new place was just a hundred yards down the street but it seemed like forever away. At least it did now. Oh, she was just being nostalgic about it. She had not felt so that way for leaving high school; and that time she really was leaving too. Why the hell was getting married so hard.
"You look beautiful," Brites said looking back at her through the mirror. Delphine carefully picked up the bouquet of red plumerias. She ran her fingers over the peddles of the center flower as Brites, Richelle and Delphine's sister Cady grabbed theirs. Her family was sitting outside; her mother, father, sister Erin and her brother Steve. Them and a few other friends. That was all. The same went for Billie's family. It was a small wedding. That didn't make the nervousness any smaller though, but then, at this moment, Delphine felt strangely calm. Nervous but mostly excited. It was a good feeling but she still could not wait until everything was over. 'I'm sure Billie's thinking the same thing,' she kept saying to herself. 'And I will be with him through it all.'
She looked back to her bridesmaids. Cady was her younger sister. Well, one of them. The order in her family was first herself, then Steve, Cady, and Erin was the baby. That had always been her family. Then her mom and dad. And now her family was going to change. Maybe that was some of the problem. She was completely changing who her family was by doing this. She was going to be the wife instead of her mother. Billie was the husband. And they planed on having kids too. Ahh! She was completely changing the entire family roles around! 'Well, calm down.' It's not like she was living any differently for the last year anyway. She was living with the guys and her friends and with Billie. With Billie... "
Wasn't that the most important thing after all? She was living with the one person in the whole world who loved her in this way, and she loved him just as much back. Wasn't that the point? The point of the whole wedding business? 'Yes, this is what I have always wanted anyway; a house and a husband and maybe kids. Why should I be afraid of that? If anything I don't deserve it.' All right, maybe it would not be so bad. Nothing was going to really change except her last name and the address. What did those ever get her? House bills and junk mail. Now she would have different bills addressed to Billie Joe, different junk mail addressed to the Armstrongs. That was never going to change. But she also had Billie.
Suddenly, she found herself standing outside on the beach, looking up the little rows of chairs filled with people, all out on the sand. She doubted whether she could make it up to where Carry stood for a second, but her mother and father where holding her up and kept her walking behind Brites, Richelle and Cady. Then she met Billie's eyes. He knew she was scared. Delphine had almost forgotten he would be standing up there too. Waiting for her she supposed. Mike, Tre, and his friend Jason stood beside him. She never left Billie's gaze and stepped gracefully onto the stage. She almost didn't realize she was standing there after she stopped walking. 'So THAT was my walk down the isle... it wasn't that great.' But now Billie was standing there very close to her. 'Ok, the camera guy is talking pictures. You don't have to remember everything... just don't fall over,' her mind buzzed.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Billie Joe Armstrong and Delphine Elizabeth Caulfield in holy matrimony, which is an honorable estate that is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and soberly. Into this estate these two persons present come now to be joined. If any one can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."
Why had she heard those lines so many times? Now it almost seemed silly to say them over again when everyone sitting here already knew them. Oh well. She stood pretty stalk still but Billie was fidgeting and thinking, 'don't mess up, don't mess up. Oh, shut-up Billie, I'm not going to mess up... don't mess up."
"I Delphine Elizabeth Caulfield take Billie Joe to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish, 'til death do us part." To say those words seemed so strange. She had heard them a million times in movies, books and weddings and just about everywhere but now they were from her. Now they were for him. They took on a whole new meaning that she could not fathom. It didn't matter anymore though.
Billie looked up into her blue eyes for a moment. Then he broke away and walked over to where a guitar was set against the wall. It wasn't Blue like she usually saw him use or one of his other few. Instead it was an acoustic. He nervously took the guitar and walked back over to her side on the little stage. Then he faced the crowd awkwardly. "I really have no clue how to write a vow but I do have a song." Then he looked to Delphine. A look in her eye calmed him and the uneasy feelings went away. He knew what he was doing. "There was a night before I asked Delphine to marry me that we were apart. I wrote a song then and I think it still fits." Tre scooted over a stool. Billie sat down and looked at his guitar strings, all the while telling himself it was ok. This was such a corny thing to do. It really was. But he wanted her to hear this song. He wanted her to hear it now before they were married. If that meant that every other bastard on the beach had to hear too then so be it. And as he pushed his thoughts away, his fingers started and the words just flowed out of his mouth.
"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time... "
Delphine smiled. She could not describe her heart. Sitting stunned, listening. Just listening.
"It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life."
As Billie finished, he dropped his guitar off his knee and was finally forced to look out to the crowd. Was it too mushy? To wimpy? But then this was a wedding. When he saw their faces, they were all happy, smiling and strangely, they were clapping.
Then he looked to Delphine. She was standing just feet away with an awestruck look across her face; the prettiest he had ever seen her. Oddly, she was clapping too. As some sense came back, he stood up. "Oh, just one more thing," he said more quietly. Billie reached into his pocket and pulled out a long silver chair. Then he held up the pick he had been using. Delphine's mouth dropped as she realized what he was doing; there was a small hole in the top of the white Fender pick with a silver jump ring through it. Billie threaded the pick onto the string, with a little difficulty; his fingers were sweaty and he could not stop looking at Delphine who was trying very hard not to cry and laugh at the same time. He had never seen her so beautiful. Then again, he thought that everyday. The pick was all white, with a modeled mother of pearl look and the usual gold lettering. Then he took the chain, Delphine twirled around and he clasped it around her neck, gently touching her back.
When she turned back around, water in her eyes. Billie Joe smiled and smudged one away. "Thank you," she whispered, and as she did, she turned away from the crowd, reached into her bra for a second and pulled out the two special blue picks, still on a chain. "I told you I never take them off." Billie bit his lip. He looked like he was about to kiss her when she put a finger to his lips, "Just one more minute."
They both turned back to Carry. Billie took a deep breath and finished his vow. "I Billie Joe Armstrong take Delphine Elizabeth to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish, 'til death do us part." As he spoke, they slipped the rings onto each other's fingers. Billie, a simple gold ring and Delphine, a silver diamond ring. As she looked on it for the first time, her eyes lit up. Silver. It matched her other rings now, which were still on her fingers even now in the wedding, and a new diamond. It was gorgeous. This, the song and the pick; it was all so overwhelming. She would have jumped him right there if Carry had not started to speak again.
"And now I pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
The second she said it, Billie grabbed Delphine in a passionate kiss in front of all the family. Delphine might have been embarrassed but now she was caught in the moment. Nothing else mattered. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed for all it was worth. When they finally pulled away, in each other's arms, there was clapping and pictures snapping. "I give to you Billie Joe and Delphine Elizabeth Armstrong." And that was it. A five minute wedding and it was all done. It could not have been better.
