His Aunt Nicole

[Simonssister]

Chapter 325.

The vicar of St. Michael’s, a woman in her mid-thirties with large pale blue eyes and silvery-blonde hair in a bob, was standing in front of the altar chatting to a man in a dark suit, while two middle-aged women were arranging flowers around the church.  The women stared as Tim and Serena walked in, and one whispered something to the other, in which, in the silence of the church, the word “pageboy” was distinctly heard.  The vicar turned her head, smiled, and gave them a little inviting wave.  They walked up the aisle to where she was standing.
“Good morning!  Welcome to St. Michael’s!”  She smiled at Tim.  “Tim, I presume.  We’ve all been looking forward to meeting you.  This is Roger, the best man.  I’m Ashley.  We were just going over the order of ceremony.”  She looked at Serena.  Serena smiled.
“Nice to meet you, Ashley.  Yes, this is Tim, and I’m Serena Egerton.  Tim’s very excited about his part in proceedings.”
“I’m sure you are, Tim.  So am I, as a matter of fact.  I’ve never had a pageboy leading the procession before.  It’s a first for me as well.  And you’re a fine, handsome lad all right.  I was sort of expecting a younger boy, but…”
“I’m nearly eighteen, miss!”
“Goodness!  Well then, if you’re lucky, you might get offered a little glass or two of champagne at the reception, don’t you think?  You certainly deserve it, for volunteering to be Debbie’s page.  You’re going to steal the bridesmaids’ thunder, you realise, especially in that amazing outfit.”
Tim blushed with pleasure.
“Now, I should explain the procedure.  The guests with begin arriving around nine-twenty.  The ceremony begins at ten.  If you would like to take a seat in the very last line of pews, I will make the introduction, and when I give you the signal, you and one of the bridesmaids will open the double doors.  Debbie and her father will be waiting outside.  They will wait for you to position yourself ahead of them, the organ will start to play, and that’s your cue to walk slowly up the aisle leading them.  The bridesmaids will follow behind.  When you get here, you should stand there – see that piece of yellow paper I’ve stuck to the floor?  That’s your place.  Now, Debbie’s asked if you could be the ring bearer on this occasion.  Often it’s the best man, but you don’t mind, do you Sebastian?”
Sebastian grinned.  “Nope.  One less responsibility for me.”
“Wow!  Really?”
“Yes, Tim.  Seb, might as well hand them over now.”
Sebastian passed him a velvet bag.
“Thanks!”
“All you have to, Tim, is to walk forward when I call you.  You needn’t handle the rings at all.  Just open the bag and offer it to the bride, and then to the groom.  They’ll take them out.  Then move back to your place.  When the ceremonies over, I’ll signal you, and you’ll lead the procession out of the church for the photos.  Any questions?”
“No…  I don’t think so…”
“Nervous?”
“No!”  he said, quickly.  “Just excited.”
“Good boy.  Now, I have some final preparations to make.  Please feel free to look around the church, if you wish, Ms Egerton.”

There was still nearly an hour till the wedding, so they wandered out into the sunshine.  A few more guests had arrived, and Tim was immediately spotted and pounced on by two girls only a couple of years younger than himself.
“Are you the pageboy?  Of course you are.  We're bridesmaids.  We’ve been dying to see you!  Mum told me all about it.”
“She did…  About…?”
“You know, all about how…  you know, how lucky Debbie was to find you…and everything.  Wow, nice outfit!  Super cool!”  She grinned.  “I’m Melanie.  I’m Debbie’s niece.  This is my friend Delia.  What’s your name again?”
“Hi.  I’m Tim.”
“Yeah, Tim.  I remember.”
Melanie was looking at Tim’s shorts with a strange expression on her face.  She was seized with a sudden fit of coughing, but quickly recovered.
“They’re very smart shorts.  What are they…  What are they made of?  Vinyl…?”
“No, latex.  It’s very fashionable you know.  And these colours…”
“They’re going to be the “in” colours next year, right?”
“Yeah…matter of fact…”
“Melanie’s mum told us.  We couldn’t believe…er, you’d really managed to get such trendy stuff…”
“It weren’t easy…  I mean, I ‘ave connections in the trade, see…?”
“Ooh, really.  Could we have a selfie with you, Tim?”
“Course.  Serena?  Could you take a piccy for my friends?”
“Of course.”

The girls stayed commendably straight-faced while Serena took a photo with Melanie’s phone.  The girls checked it, giggled, and turned away.  Delia looked back and waved.
“See you later, Tim!”
Then they ran off back to a group of women in long dresses who had been watching from the lawn.
“Nice girls,” remarked Serena.  “I think that Melanie fancies you, Tim.”
“D’you reckon?”
“Are you going to wear your gloves for the ceremony?”
“No…”  He looked away.
“Okay.  Maybe later, then…”