The Wedding Date

There!

Stepping back, he looked over his whole upper torso. Perfectly-fitted  Armani suitcoat, crisp white dress  shirt. He had no idea what the other men of the
Glen might be wearing to the wedding, but he would not go out and about in anything less than perfection.

He'd considered having a dress flown in from New York or Paris for Colleen, but changed his mind. It was probably too soon for such things and he was clever enough to bide his time. He would, though, have liked to see her attired in an item of his choice. 

The day was fine and he could have walked into town, but chose   instead his
olive green Astin Martin. It matched his tie. With the slightest bit of ostentatious engine roar, he
pulled up near the Green and walked assuredly to pick up his wedding date.

Cal had already gone to the wedding. He wanted to cover things for the paper. Without a second thought he gave Colleen the day off but it was probably because she didn't tell him about her date.

The knock on her door came at precisely the time Sid said it would. Colleen 
 
glanced up at the clock and thought at least he was punctual and polite.  He  didn't sit out front honking the horn for her.

She was dressed in an off the rack cocktail number that had set her back  nearly a month's pay. It was classy but in the ready to wear category.  Thank goodness she was a perfect size six so the dress draped like it was made 
for her.

She was all ready with the exception of her shoes so she padded barefoot to 
the door, securing an earring as  she did.

"Hi," she greeted him as she pulled the heavy wood door open. "Come on in.  Would you like a drink before we go or are you still on that fast?"

"No drink, thank you," he responded, eyeing her dress subtly. She looked nice, but she would have looked a lot better had he picked out her gown. "You have...shoes?" He cocked an eyebrow, never having been greeted shoeless at the door before.

She chuckled a little. "Of course I do. They're right over here."

Colleen moved to pick up her pumps that were on the floor by an easy chair. She slipped them on then grabbed her clutch and her wrap from the arm of the sofa. Handing the shawl to him, she turned for him to help her put it on.

"I never did get the chance to say thank you for inviting me."

Turning to look over her shoulder she smiled, "Thank you, Sid. I'm sure we're going to have a great time. My partner Cal has gone ahead. I'm sure you'll enjoy meeting him.  We've worked together for some years now. He's a great guy."  

Sid was not interested in Cal. He'd be another of those inferior counterparts, nothing more. "I'm sure we will," he said, reflecting her smile as he placed the shawl on her shoulders, his hands lingering only very briefly there longer
than necessary.

He opened the door for her, waiting for her to pass through first. "I have my car, but I thought we'd walk to the wedding since it's so close." He seemed to be waiting for her response to that.

Her first thought was something on the order of her choice of shoes and all but she agreed to the walk. She'd probably be barefoot again when it came time to leave the event.

"Sure. The weather is perfect for a walk and the fresh air will do me good. I've spent so much time indoors this week that I'm pale from the lack of sun."

Colleen thought it odd that he didn’t offer his arm to her but she took it anyway. There's no way she wanted to end up flat on her ass from the height of her heels.

Sid enjoyed the walk to the wedding site with the lovely, blonde Colleen on his arm.  Other residents were either walking there or arriving by car and getting out and so the fact that he had a lady to escort was quite evident. His eyes sparkled with delight at some of the glares he drew but he didn't indicate in any way to Colleen that he was aware of them.

The grass where the chairs were set up was deep turf and when he saw how her heels sank in them, making her progress rather awkward, he slid his arm around her back, offering a significant amount of support. Looking down into her upturned face, he  murmured, "I hope that's all right. Can't have you falling, now can we?" 

"It sure would be a bit awkward." she replied "I wonder who invented  stiletto heels? Some misogynist I would guess."

She seemed to glide to her seat with his help and it felt wonderful. There was something very odd about Sid because there was no effort to it. Was he stronger than he looked or what? 

Right after they were comfortably seated for the ceremony someone took it upon himself to join them. Colleen turned her head then she did a double take.

"Cal!" she shouted loud enough to make a few people turn around to look.

"At's my name, Sugar. Don't wear it out...and who's your date? "Draping his arm around Colleen shoulders he leaned forward to offer Sid his hand." Cal McCaffery. Nice to meet you....

"Sid." Colleen finished his sentence. "Um, Sid this is Cal. The man I told you about."

Sid narrowed his eyes, studying the new arrival from under guarded lids. He didn't like the way the long-haired, rather unkempt man had his arm around Colleen's shoulder and for a moment seriously considered removing the arm not only from her shoulders but from the man's body. But he was in 'civilized' mode currently and allowed his lips to curve in the barest of smiles. "Cal," he replied, nodding his head slightly in acknowledgement, and then letting his eyes
rest on the offending arm.

Call grinned, thinking this man's picture is in the dictionary under metro-sexual. He couldn't imagine what Colleen saw in him. So, he held his hand there for a moment but when Sid didn't return the gesture, he made a fist and
gave Sid a little punch in the arm like guys do. 

"Germophobic, there buddy? Can't say I blame you. There's some pretty strange shit going around these days."

Cal reached into his pocket and pulled out a little plastic bottle. "Don't worry. I use this stuff. Hand sanitizer. It doesn't take the ink off but it's supposed to kill anything that comes down the pike."

Too bad it doesn't' work on assholes, Colleen thought as she just smiled from one man to the other.

"Make sure you save a dance or two for me, honey," Cal winked at Colleen. "Your date seems a bit too stiff to be able to rumba."

Sid began silently to count. Seldom had he wanted to take a man's head off so badly. He knew, though, that a beheading, no matter how swift and cleanly done, would not go over well at a wedding. Deliberately he ignored the
proffered bottle of sanitizer and turned his head away from Cal, looking toward where Alistair stood at the front.  "Wedding's about to begin," he said, plainly stating he was done paying attention to Colleen's boss.

For a fleeting moment, Colleen felt like she was the monkey in the middle but then she thought, gee, Cal is actually jealous of Sid. That's why he was being such a dick. A satisfied grin pulled at the corners of her mouth as she
settled in close to Sid. He was nice enough to ask her to this event and she was not going to let him down. She looked over at him and thought that he was a bit odd but he was a perfect gentleman whereas Cal was being a twat.

Okay, he may have been acting like a twat but he was a good looking one who gave her palpitations more often than not and she loved the way he smelled of ink and Purell. But, he never paid attention to her THAT WAY before.

It seemed as if she'd missed the service completely. By the time she got her mind away from Cal the newly wed couple was standing side by side as Mister and Missus.

"Drat!" she huffed, "I missed the entire thing."

As everyone stood to see the couple down the aisle, Colleen excused herself to go to the ladies room.

Cal waited until she was far enough away then he eyed Sid. "I hope you don't mind if I take her home, buddy. You could say that it's on my way since we live in the same house."

"The same...?" Sid hadn't realized that. She'd given him no indication she was involved with anyone. Still, she was his date, not this guy’s. "Ask again after the reception," he said bluntly and turned on his heel, going closer to
the ladies room to be waiting when Colleen came out.
 
All of this disturbed Cal very much but he didn't show it on his face. How dare this man show interest in his Colleen? The sound of the last bit of his thought played around in his brain like a pinball steely.
 
His Colleen? Had he ever told her how he felt? On the contrary. He did everything he could to avoid showing her he cared. He couldn't face the rejection.
 
Cal stayed on Sid's heels none the less. He was right there with him when Colleen came out of the ladies room, looking all flushed. How appropriate.
 
She noticed the both of them and passing by Sid she walked right up to Cal. "Go home. Get lost. Can't you see I have a date? Have I ever intruded on your personal life? Have I ever haunted you on one of your dates?"
 
He scratched his head, looked down at the ground, drew a breath and  answered succinctly. "Yes," was all he said before he turned and left? If she only knew how often he'd carried the thoughts of her with him.
 
Colleen shook her head and returned to Sid. "I'm so sorry. I have no idea what's gotten into him. He really is a nice guy."

Sid chose not to respond to her assessment of Cal's character. The man was obviously smitten with Colleen. Taking her arm, he guided her away from the ink-smudged fellow, toward the area where the reception was set up. "Would you like something to drink?" he asked, trying to get their date back on track. 
 
"Yeah" she replied but quickly corrected herself. "I mean, yes please. I'd love a drink. Martini, dirty, please. With two olives." She only turned once to look at the back of Cal's head as he melted into the crowd. "Can you make that a double? I think I need to relax."