CHAPTER TEN
THE WEDDING
THURSDAY, OCTOBER, 1, 13: 00Hrs.
Shortly after graduation, Henry soon started working at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center Maryland
December, 24 was the happiest day in the couples life, especially Naomi, the bride whose pretty chocolate- skinned, round spotless face glowed in the flared spotless cotton wedding gown, with flowery designs all over it, which accentuated her perfect figure eight shape. Her veil rested neatly and stylishly on her long silk blonde hair. She was the first to arrive the magnificent, awe-inspiring white painted building of the Trinity Church of Washington, DC, accompanied by her maid of honor dressed almost like her, except for her dark toned skin, tinted by the warm rays of the temperate sunshine, and her flower girls all dressed in silk pink dresses, matched with their equally pink stiletto shoes, and pink mini decorated baskets, with lavender scented roses, and daisies, which would be spread all over the marble floor of the church, during the procession.
Shortly after, Naomi arrived in the silver painted latest model of Kia Sorento LX SUV, accompanied in a long procession by different colors of Kia Picanto, Kia Sedona and Kia Borego, ten minutes later the groom, Henry arrived in his newly purchased red colored Hummer jeep, in a procession of latest Peugeot coolest rides. He then stepped out of his Hummer jeep, looking very handsome in his neatly ironed Italian suites, flanked by his Best man, Mr. Carlton Geoffrey, who was now a celebrated McArthur fellowship member, and controlled a writing and publications company based in English novels, and poetry, and parents Mr. and Mrs. Philip of the Philips Group of companies with headquarters in New York, a company specialized in clothes, cosmetics, and cologne, dressed adorably in their individual outfits. The wedding was done with the crème de la crème, and packed full with all the dignitaries, and celebrities of the Washington DC , Maryland and Virginia
At about 11 am, the bride, carrying brightly colored carnation flowers, neatly tucked together, ending in interlocking tufts, at the upper end, and her maid of honor, alongside her flower girls who went before her covering the marbled floor of the Trinity Church of Washington DC with lavender-scented flowers, marched in swaying gently from side to side in tune with the “It’s your wedding day” number coming from the seraphic and sonorous voices of the trinity choir, and harmonized with the rhythmic sounds of gently played harps, vibrantly sounding trumpets, melodiously struck organs, and sweetly played flutes, thus feeling the church auditorium with resultant waves of musical notes combining in consonance, which continued until the bride got to the front of the church, standing next to her groom. Then the priest, Rev. Mark Jones, a bald white headed, elongated man in his late sixties started the religious marriage rites, as the couples now stood before him, an air of silence running across the room, irregularly broken by shrill baby cries.
“We are gathered here today, to witness the solemnization of holy matrimony of our children, Mr. Henry Philips and Miss. Naomi Graham. If there be anyone among the congregation, who has any reason why these shouldn’t be joined, should speak now or remain silent forever” he said his voice deep enough, to instill fear in the heart of any objectors, if any, and make them sit.
Expectedly, in the absence of any objections he proceeded with the exchange of rings. The ring bearer, little Peterson, Naomi’s cousin who had flew in from Los Angeles, with his parents, stepped forward bearing the diamond rings neatly seated in gold-plated cases. The priest then asked Naomi to hold the ring in her right hand and repeat after him.
“I take thee, Henry Philips” “I take thee, Henry Philips” “as my lovely wedded husband” “as my lovely wedded husband” “to love and to protect” “to love and to protect” “in sickness and in health” “in sickness and health” “in riches and poverty” “in riches and poverty” “till death do us part” “till death do us part” “with this ring I thee wed” “with this ring I thee wed” “in the name of the father, son and holy ghost” “in the name of the father, son, and holy ghost” she said placing the ring momentarily on his index, middle fingers, before finally sliding the ring down his ring finger, looking him directly in the eyes with love, and a warm smile. Henry also did the same, with cheer, laughter and applause from the congregation. The priest then asked the groom to kiss the bride.
“You may kiss the bride” he said smiling to reveal his white closely packed teeth. They didn’t seem to be browned with age. Henry, smiling then unveiled his wife’s face, and kissed her passionately, almost forgetting he was in public, for his best man had to gently pull him by the shoulders, reminding him of the congregation with his eyes.
Soon, the wedding was over, and so was the reception which was held at the J. W Marriott hotel at Pennsylvania Avenue . Two months after the wedding ceremony which was featured on the cover page of Washington Post, the two began living life as couples. Their honeymoon took place at Paris , the capital of France
“Honey” she said stressing the honey as though she was lifting a heavy load.
“Come here baby, your tie knot is slightly dropped”, she said gently pulling up his tie, as she rubbed his stomach which was now bulging due to weeks of solid food consumption, and the tenderness and care of a loving wife, gently planting a kiss on his lips. She didn’t seem to care he was late.
“Sweet heart, I am late for work, please.” Henry said frowning slightly, but keeping his voice low, in order not to offend his wife.
“Oh sorry darling, I just wanted to be sure you looked good. Do have a nice day, at work” she said in her soft voice which made it difficult for Henry to get upset. By now Henry was reaching for the silver door handle of the gold decorated door, made from hard wood. Naomi then walked gracefully to the sink to continue doing the dishes.
Mrs. Henry was arranging the yellow, purple, and white flowers of the crocuses, in the purple colored enamel vase at the side of the rectangular glass window, when she saw her husband dropping off a lady, he never told her of across the road. The surge of jealousy welled up inside her, and she suddenly refused talking to her husband.
“Honey what is it? You look sad” Mr. Henry asked his wife trying to kiss her; a gesture which she declined.
“Nothing, I just don’t feel too well. And I think I can take care of my self” she said knowing her husband would offer to help. For the next two days, the newly weds slept in opposite directions on their king-sized, water bed with fanciful brightly colored bulbs around its head, surrounding a semi-circular mirror at the center, with Naomi acting like a baby, refusing to tell her husband what the problem was, and pretending she was fine, when it was obvious, something bothered her. Henry was sure it was a jealousy issue, but couldn’t detect where it came from, or what caused it, and so he was very patient with his wife. Then one night he decided to take the bull by its horns.
“Sweet- heart” he said in his manly, but caring voice watered with love.
“I know something is bothering you, and I also know I’m the cause, but please tell me what it is, so we can deal with it together” he continued holding his wife’s hands, and rubbing it gently. Although, Henry was a busy man, who needed to have a long rest after a tiring day at work, he still found time to talk to his wife, about what bothered her.
“The truth is you are a very wealthy and intelligent man. An accomplished Neurosurgeon with all the qualities a woman would desire in a man. The issue is I sometimes feel insecure, and jealous. The other day I saw you drop off a lady whom you never, told me about”, Naomi said in her usual soft voice, but this time its softness was altered by the worry she expressed.
“Alright sweet heart, I am sorry I didn’t tell you about the lady. Her name is Ms. Joy Baker, and she is the assistant matron at the hospital. And please, baby, I love you so much, and I wouldn’t want you to feel insecure, or jealous. You can always trust me, I am your husband and with or without the wealth, I’ll still love you” Henry said assuring his wife of his fidelity, as well as expressing he would appreciate it if she trusts him.
“Now when was the last time we rolled around on this bed in pleasure, you know. I think it’s high time we had a Henry junior in this house, I know you are due for that now” A gesture to which Naomi smiled before heading to the bathroom for a shower. She stepped out ten minutes later from the glass-enclosed bathtub, and as she let her towel drop, Henry thought she looked more beautiful when naked, and even though they have been married for sometime now, and so that night was not the first time he had seen her naked, there was still a certain difference to her naked body. May be it was the unusual fullness of her breast; Henry had commented on this a few days ago, when she wore that stretchy pink blouse. He told her that her babies were getting fuller by the day before actually feeling them, while she smiled before kissing him. She always did this whenever he complimented her. Or may be it was the narrow triangle-shape into which the hair at the top of her pubic region was waxed, she usually waxed it into a thin line, or may be it was the unusual prominence of her hips that evening. She stood smiling alluringly as Henry stood up and kissed her lips and neck before she helped him undress and sunk down to take him into her mouth, he was warm and huge, and as she later ran her hands masterfully up and down his privates he let out a deep and low moan. He then carried her and placed her on the white linen bed cover with crisscrossed patterns before spreading her legs apart and begun exploring her privates with this tongue and hand; and as he did she tasted very differently too; like honey. It was unlike the strawberry taste he was used to, perhaps it was the honey-scented lotion and body wash she had used in the shower. This new taste made Henry more passionate as he took her into his mouth, thus intensifying her pleasure as she pulled at the bed cover, wriggling and letting out short low moans. Later as he thrust her, his thrust were very forceful and fast, and her moans were very loud, and her breathe paced, and when she finally climaxed she squeaked. It was like none other they’ve had before. The experience left them both worn-out and freshly united. They woke up the next morning with Henry still on top of Naomi, and when he made to slide out of her, she held him close and asked him not to, saying she had never felt this way for a long time, and she wished they’d stay in bed all day.
“Honey this is great and I want this moment to continue all day too, but I have to go to work” he said before sliding out of her and got out of bed, and as he walked towards the bathroom naked, she smiled and said “Honey, I love you” “I love you too baby” he said as he stepped into the bathroom. After that night, a baby was soon on the way for the couple.
Exactly, two months later, Mrs. Henry was two moths into having a baby boy, as revealed by the ultrasound analysis. She could hardly move, sit or stand with ease as before, and Henry had to do most of the jobs, she normally did for him. Shortly after, in the eight month of the pregnancy, he had to take a month’s leaf in order to cater for his expectant wife, who now sat more than she stood, or walked and did more of pointing than her usual long talks. Her whole life was totally transformed by the pregnancy, and so was Henry’s who now did the laundry, the cleaning, the dishes, and other chores. He never minded though, his wife was worth all that , he thought, and he enjoyed moving his hands gently across his wife’s bulging stomach, placing his ears close to it to feel the fetus’ movement. His wife usually beamed each time he did that, as she rubs his soft dark hair.
“You know darling, when we took a vow of chastity, and abstinence, I didn’t think I could keep to it, and end up with you, but I was optimistic. And here we are our dreams fulfilled, and soon we’ll be parents, and our parents, grand parents” Henry said still rubbing her stomach.
“Me too, all thanks to God” she said as she now spoke only few words.
One month later on the ever serene Longfellow Street on a Saturday afternoon, as Mrs. Henry bent over to pick up a knife which had dropped, while she peeled orange with it, she felt a sharp pain at the left side of her stomach. For a while, she grimaced in pain trying to take charge of the situation, but the pain seemed to be increasing and so she yelled.
“Henry!” she called stressing the name so long, the neighbors in the building next to their two story mansion, painted in brilliant shades of white, and blue, could hear her.
“What is it honey” Henry responded from upstairs.
“I’m coming” he added.
“The baby; I think it is coming, hurry!” she yelled again. Just then Henry dashed down stairs and not minding he wore shorts, quickly but carefully led her to the garage, and into the car, before they drove off to the hospital in his red hummer jeep, controlling the steering with one hand, and consoling his wife with the other. In a short time, they arrived at the Howard University hospital at Down town DC, and Mrs. Henry was immediately rushed into the labor room, her husband following the nurses all dressed in sky blue uniforms, as they rolled her on the stretcher into the labor room. For three hours the doctors struggled to deliver Mrs. Henry of her baby, but with no progress. They then told Mr. Henry their only option was a Caesarean Section, who was at this point no longer interested in the baby but in his wife’s life. He was weeping when he told the doctors to carry on. Hours later the 7 pound 3 ounces baby boy was born, and his shrill cry put a smile on Henry’s face, who was now gradually wiping off his tears, as he carried it. Then minutes later, Doctor Samuel Smith, the head of Howard University Hospital ’s Department of Gynecology, called on Doctor James Brown, an associate Gynecological surgeon from Johns Hopkins Medical Center
“Doctor J” he said looking startled.
“There’s been a problem. The patient is no longer breathing and the anesthesia was expected to have lost its effect two hours ago. It was obvious Mrs. Henry’s has had a heart attack, while she was trying to deliver the baby by natural contraction, and the doctors probably didn’t notice, since everyone’s attention was on the baby, and all that shaking in the process kept them from seeing when Mrs. Henry had the attack. Just then, the team of Surgeons politely asked Henry to leave, while they took his wife to the theatre. At this point Dr. Brown was trying to place a ventilator on Mrs. Henry as she was rolled into the theatre. Mr. Henry didn’t know what to do any more, he was so confused he became dumfounded, tears rolling down his cheeks again. His wife’s predicament seemed to have ripped him of his manliness.
Meanwhile at the theatre, the surgeons did everything possible to save Naomi’s life. They even had to dissect her chest, and got out her heart to examine it, and a sample of her blood. There was no trace of Cholesterol, but the arteries of her heart were unusually hardened, blood couldn’t get through, but it was still mysterious why she had stopped breathing. Dr. Smith then told the team, that a case like this was peculiar with hereditary atherosclerosis. It was a critical condition, and the doctors tired, and frustrated gave up on her. A heart transplant was useless for she had stopped breathing hours before the doctors discovered. A death confirmation test was carried out, and Mrs. Henry Philips was confirmed clinically dead. The doctors were not to blame for Naomi’s case was a very complex one that has built up over the years. They were even surprised how she survived till then, and did not loose the baby and her life.
Dr. Smith then came out of the theatre hours later, and Henry frantically ran to meet him. He hadn’t sat down the whole time. His hands shook, his lips quavered as he tugged the doctor’s lab coat.
“How is she, how is she, Doctor. How is my wife” he said raising his voice. He was a doctor and he knew that silence was symbolic of death.
“Please, doctor, tell me you didn’t loose her. Tell me she is alive” he said as he sat on the tile hospital floor weeping.
“I’m sorry Doctor Henry. We lost her” Doctor Smith finally spoke up, though Henry already knew his wife didn’t make it.
‘Nooo doctor Smith, she’s all I’ve got. How do I take care of that baby alone, and still concentrate at work. Why did she have to go now, she didn’t even stay to hold her baby’s hands or see his face” Henry yelled miserably, his voice drowning off in tears as he wept and complained at the same time, the other doctors joining to console him.
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