As Jenny walked toward the aisle, I looked at the crowd and recognized the back of a few heads. Dustin for one was easy to spot; he had the same suit as Will except he had a matching gray baseball cap on backward… ridiculous. I saw Sheil wearing a beige sari and Martha in a flowy hippie dress.
Jenny came walking down the aisle on her handsome father’s arm. She was every bit the beautiful bride. She looked extremely self-assured and radiant. I glanced over at Tyler, who was on the verge of jumping up and down; he was smiling from ear to ear with satisfaction and happiness.
Although Jenny and Tyler were not the traditional type, they’d decided to have a traditional ceremony with the standard vows. That morning I’d told Jenny I was surprised Tyler didn’t want to read a poem. She said they had each written a private wedding prayer that they planned to read to each other later that night. She said Will gave her the idea; that made my heart melt.
After they said their “I do’s” we all clapped and cheered. Will played their song as we followed them to the tables on the grass overlooking the pond. There were Chinese lanterns and the little round carnival lights everywhere, it looked magical as the sun set. The DJ set up and started playing some Frank Sinatra while our dinner was served. I sat with the wedding party across from a table where our little East Village crowd sat.
Will came up to me during dinner. “You look stunning.” He hugged me and whispered, “as usual.” I smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
“I love the song you wrote for Jenny and Tyler, it was really sweet.”
“Thanks. Save me a dance, okay, pretty baby?”
“I’d love to.”
After dinner Jenny’s little brother Kevin, who was the best man, gave a nice speech about wanting a big brother and how he sure got one in the seven-foot-tall Tyler. When it was my turn, I looked out to the small crowd of guests and felt a lump form in my throat. I was really happy and even though I hadn’t known any of those people long, I realized they were my family.
Jenny and Tyler, You are a lovely couple and I am so thrilled and honored to be a part of this. I’m not great at speeches, but I love you guys and I want to play you something if that’s all right with everyone? The crowd clapped and cheered me on, but I heard Will yell the loudest, “Yeah, baby!” The guests crowded around the upright as I starting playing “All of Me,” a new-age classical piece by a guy named Jon Schmidt. It’s a fast, vibrant song with dizzying movements and spiraling notes, but it’s an eternally happy song and that’s why I chose it. It’s a hard piece to play because it’s so fast; my hands literally blur in front of my eyes. It’s such an electrifying feeling that I find myself lost in it, playing frantically and moving to the rhythms. I wanted to express to Jenny and Tyler everything I would have liked to say in a speech but couldn’t, and I think I did with the song. When I was finished, the group surrounding me was literally stunned.
“Wow, Mia, that was epic!” Tyler shouted. I looked up at Will, who had a huge grin on his face like he always knew I had it in me. Jenny was crying happily, so I stood up and gave her a big hug and then I pushed the piano bench out perpendicular to the piano.
I looked at Will. “You have your harp?” He nodded and pulled a harmonica from his pocket. I gestured for him to sit on the bench. “Let’s have some fun.” We sat back to back as I began playing some loud boogie-woogie blues. Will added dramatic and soulful riffs with the harmonica. The guests clapped along as we played, getting faster and faster. Will turned and straddled me, then kicked his leg up on the high keys and started banging his heel to the beat. Everyone was laughing and cheering us on. He pulled his leg down and then there were four hands on the piano and he was playing with me, his chest flush with my back. His hands started on the outside of mine and then when the tune changed he reached one hand under my arm, brushing intimately close to me. Our hands alternated as he played right along with me on the same keys in a lower octave. We were so connected. I felt his warm breath on my neck. When I leaned back against him and closed my eyes the cheering got louder; the crowd understood the difficulty of what we were doing. When it was over everyone clapped. I turned and gave Will a big smooch on the cheek. “You’re rad,” I said to him.
“Everything’s rad,” he said, smiling.
“I know, right.”