An Old Friend: Version A Part 23

Michael nervously looked out the window as the limousine carrying him, Eric and Jonesy made its way down to the church.  He felt as if he had butterflies in his stomach.  The last time he'd been this nervous was when they were about to tape the first episode of Flying Circus.

"Mike, are you alright?" Eric asked with a bit of concern in his voice.

Michael turned to face him.  "Oh...yeah, fine."  He smiled weakly.

"Are you sure?" Eric narrowed his eyes.

Michael nodded.  "Really, Eric.  I'm just a bit anxious, that's all.  Today is the most important day of my life," he said quietly. Eric smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder.  Michael smiled back, then looked over at Jonesy. 

Terry nodded at him slightly, then couldn't help but stare at Michael with a goofy grin on his face. Michael raised an eyebrow at Jonesy.  "Terry?  Is something funny?"

Jonesy kept grinning, then realizing that Michael had caught him, broke his grin and shook his head. "Oh...no, no, Mike! I-I was just thinking about how long we've known each other, how long we've spent writing together.  For some reason it just made me think of the Spanish Inquisition, what a great sketch that was," he giggled sheepishly.

"Oh..." Michael said, a bit dazed.  He turned around, but turned his eyes back to Jonesy, narrowing them almost in suspicion. 

As they finally reached the church, the limousine parked out front and the driver exited.  He opened the back passenger doors as Jonesy, Eric and Michael slipped out. Michael walked around the other side of the limo and looked up at the church.  He couldn't believe the day had finally come when he'd be marrying the most wonderful girl in the world.  He sighed happily and began to make his way up the front steps.

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Meanwhile, Lisa, her mother and her bridesmaids had already been at the church for some time, rehearsing a bit and just trying to calm each other's nerves.  She was so happy that she'd finally be marrying the man she'd loved ever since she entered university.  She couldn't wait until the wedding would start so that she'd finally get to see her Michael, as handsome as ever in a tux. 

"Well...it appears that the bridegroom and his mates have made it here," Carol smiled as she entered the room off of the front of the church where Lisa and the others were.

Lisa looked up at her.  "Oh? You've seen Michael?" she asked quietly.

Carol smiled and nodded.  "I caught a quick glimpse of him, and I must say he looks particularly dashing, Lisa.  You are a very lucky woman," she winked.

Lisa got up from the chair, only to be held back by her mother.

"Uh-uh, my dear.  Remember, it's bad luck for the bride to see the groom before the wedding," she chastised.

"Oh, I know, I know.  Silly tradition." Lisa said in mock pout as Carol and Connie laughed.

Connie sighed as her and John's three-year-old daughter Cynthia, came running into the room.  She was to be the flower girl, and she was dressed in a lovely little white, lacy dress. "Cynthia, darling, please stop throwing the flowers around.  You need them for the actual wedding, hmm?" 

The little girl giggled impishly as Connie bent over and smoothed her blonde hair back. "Did you see the groom, Cynthia?" she asked her daughter.  She smiled.

"Did he look very handsome?"

Cynthia nodded her head and grinned widely.  Connie straightened up and looked over toward Lisa. "Well, there's another assenting opinion, Lisa," she said wryly.  "I think you're in for a real treat."

Lisa giggled as she bent down and patted the little girl on the head.  Suddenly she looked up as she saw the usher standing in the doorway.

"It's time to begin the ceremony," he said calmly. 

For a moment, Lisa's eyes widened and she turned slightly pale.  Her heart began to pound and she felt her hands start to perspire as she could feel their eyes on her.

Lisa's mother walked up to her and looked at her, concerned.  "Are you alright, dear?" she asked softly.

Lisa turned her head toward her mother, and nodded slightly. "Yes, Mum," she croaked.  Embarrassed, she cleared her throat.  "Just a little attack of nerves, I think."

Her mother smiled.  "I went through the same thing, Lisa.  It's alright, darling.  Just remember that we love you very much."  She took hold of Lisa's hands and clutched them in her own.

Lisa looked at her, then looked back at Carol and Connie, both of whom were smiling and giving her looks of encouragement.  She smiled back at them, then turned back to her mother and hugged her. "Thanks, Mum.  I love you too," she whispered as she kissed her mother on the cheek.

The organ music began to play.  Lisa turned straight ahead, took a deep breath, wiped her sweaty palms on the sides of her dress, and picked up her bouquet as she began to walk behind the flower girl and her bridesmaids down the aisle.

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A bit further down the aisle, Michael stood off to the left side, alongside Eric and Terry Jones.  He'd been quite nervous as well.  As the guests began to file in, he scanned the seats looking for anyone familiar, or just trying to guess who they might be.  At one point he thought he saw Lisa's mother talking with a tall, gray-haired man whom he presumed was Lisa's father.  Some time before that, he spotted Terry Gilliam and his wife Maggie taking a seat up front.  Gilliam had been grinning widely at Michael the whole time he wished him good luck and such, and Michael would have been suspicious if it wasn't in Gilliam's nature to grin widely.  He'd also spotted Jonesy's wife Allison with their baby daughter Sally.  He smiled as he saw her take a seat.  The baby was just adorable, and Michael hoped he and Lisa would be able to have a child someday.  Of course, he also spotted John sitting with Graham and David Sherlock along with their adopted son.  He was glad all of the guys had made it to his wedding.

Just then, the organ music started up in the slow wedding march, and Michael could feel himself growing more nervous.  He looked down at the dainty ring he was to place on his new bride's finger and hoped he wouldn't do something stupid like drop it right in front of everyone.  He then thought he was being ridiculous, figuring Lisa had to be just as nervous as he was.  He giggled softly. 

He felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Mike, turn around, there's your bride!" Eric whispered.

He turned around and when he saw how gorgeous Lisa looked in her dress and her hair done up, he knew he was the luckiest man in the world.

************************************************


As Lisa slowly made her way down the aisle to the music, she looked over to her left where Michael, his best man Jonesy, and Eric were standing.  As her eyes met Michael's, she could see he was looking at her smiling, his face beaming with pride.  She was pleasantly stunned to see how incredibly handsome he looked, and felt a tear well up in her eye.  There he was, in his sleek, black tux with his gorgeous long hair neatly combed and spilling a bit over the collar, his bangs falling over his forehead and neatly framing his eyebrows.  It was just as he'd looked when she'd been reunited with him up in Scotland a whole month ago.

As she neared him, he stepped up to her and they continued their walk down the aisle.  As they walked, Lisa kept glancing over at Michael, still pleasantly surprised at how handsome he looked.  She smiled.

The vicar looked from Michael to Lisa and smiled warmly. "Dearly beloved," he began.  "We are gathered here today to join this man and woman in the bond of holy wedlock..."

Suddenly, he was almost drowned out by a bit of loud sobbing coming from the audience.  Michael and Lisa both turned their heads, and saw John blowing his nose with a handkerchief.  An amused grin broke out on Michael's face as he hadn't expected John to be the type to cry at weddings.  Graham leaned over and patted John on the back to reassure him as David and their boy looked at John curiously.

The ceremony continued as Michael gently placed the ring on Lisa's finger.  She looked up into his eyes and smiled at him.

The vicar continued.  "Do you, Michael Edward Palin, take this woman to be your wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, til death do you part?"

Michael looked right into Lisa's eyes and smiled tenderly. "I do," he said softly.

Lisa smiled at him and felt the urge to grab him and kiss him again.  'Not yet, Lisa, just wait,' she said to herself.

"And do you, Lisa Jessica Dobson, take this man to be your husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, til death do you part?"

Lisa couldn't have been more sure of her reply. "I do," she said with utmost confidence. 

Michael breathed a sigh of relief deep down inside, though he knew he had nothing to worry about

The vicar went on.  "If there is anyone here who wishes this wedding not to take place, let him speak now, or forever hold his peace."

There was a definite silence.  Just then, Terry Jones' eyes lit up and a grin spread across his face.  He raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth as if he were to speak. 

Eric caught him and grabbed him by the arm. "Don't you dare!" he whispered sharply to Jonesy, then shook his head and grinned as Jonesy put on a most disappointed face.

"I now pronounce you man and wife.  You may kiss the bride."  The vicar smiled.

Lisa and Michael turned and looked each other in the eyes before engaging in a long, tender kiss.  The music began to play again and the audience cheered.

After they unlocked their lips, Lisa looked up at Michael and smiled sweetly at him. "Wear your hair like that forever," she said softly.

Michael smiled back.  "I promise, love," he winked. 

They made their way to the doors of the church and stepped outside where they expected crowds to be throwing rice at them.  Only there didn't seem to be anyone with rice, just Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam standing on opposite sides grinning at each other knowingly.  Michael furrowed his brow in confusion.

Lisa noticed him looking over at Jonesy, then back at Gilliam. "Is something wrong, Michael?" she asked, concerned.

"Mmm...I don't know," Michael muttered.  "I'm just surprised to see Gilliam over there with a..." 

His eyes widened when he saw Jonesy wink and nod his head over at Gilliam who appeared to have a bucket in hand. "...Oh, shit! Lisa, duck your head!" he yelled.  At that moment, he and Lisa ran down the steps, ducking their heads.  They looked back, only to find that Gilliam had intended to hurl a bucket of wet, slimy mud at them, straight from a Grail shooting location most likely...only he missed his intended target and ended up getting it all over Jonesy.

Michael looked back at Jonesy and began to laugh.  Apparently the two Terrys had been planning this for some time, and now Jonesy had gotten a taste of his own medicine after making Michael and the others crawl through the mud on location nearly a month earlier. 

The rest of the wedding party began to laugh at Jonesy as he began to wipe the mud off his face with a handkerchief.  He stopped and threw his arm down in an act of frustration, almost reminiscent of his act in "The Bishop" sketch where he'd show up at the scene of crime and remark "We was...too late!!"

***************************************************


A small reception at a dance hall followed.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, including Jonesy who had managed to clean himself up in the Men's washroom.  The food was quite good, and there was much dancing afterwards.  For the slow dance, Michael requested “Without You” by Nilsson, one of his favorite artists.  


Near the close of the evening, Terry Gilliam suddenly made his way toward the front of the room and picked up the microphone. “We’ve all had a wonderful evening,” he grinned.  “But before you all go, we’ve got a little surprise for Mike and Lisa.”

Michael closed his eyes and sighed deeply.  “Oh, no,” he intoned, his voice full of dread.  Lisa giggled.

Gilliam gestured to Jonesy, who was standing next to a tape player.  He pressed a button, and Michael’s eyes widened in reaction to the music that started playing...

“We’re knights of the Round Table
We dance whene’er we’re able
We do routines and chorus scenes
With footwork impeccable,
We dine well here in Camelot,
We eat ham and jam and spam a lot........”


It was the song from Holy Grail.

Lisa and Michael both started laughing.  Michael breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Gilliam and Jonesy hadn’t planned anything worse after the mud-slinging incident.  He turned and looked into Lisa’s eyes. “Our song,” he grinned.  She giggled softly, and they embraced.

Everyone then made their way outside to where Michael’s car was waiting.  The back window had been soaped up with the words “just married.”  The side windows each had sayings like, “Bon voyage” and “Sir and Lady Galahad...Do not disturb.”  Michael giggled as he recognized the work of his fellow Pythons.

John walked up to both of them with Connie and little Cynthia following. “Best of luck to both of you,” he said with a half smile as he patted Michael on the shoulder.

“Why, thank you, John,”  Michael answered.

“Er...that mud wasn’t intended for you.  Honestly,” Jonesy said awkwardly with a bit of mud caked in his hair.

“Yeah, suuuuurrrre it wasn’t,” Michael rolled his eyes. 

Jonesy grinned at him and gave him a big hug. “Congratulations to my best friend,” he said warmly as he stepped back.

Graham walked over with David.  “Congratulations to both of you, Mike,” Graham smiled.  “I’m glad to see you so happy.”  He reached over and gave Michael a hug.

“Thanks, Gray,” Michael smiled.

He was about to step into the car when Eric came up to him. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t,” he winked, grinning mischievously.

Michael rolled his eyes.  “Thank you for the advice, Idle.  Not that I’ll actually follow it, but thank you nonetheless.”

Eric giggled and after a hug, he waved them off as they stepped into the car.

They both waved goodbye to their family and friends before turning toward one another for another kiss.  Michael then put the car into gear and began heading off toward their destination.  It was honeymoon time.

 



 





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