During summer '97, I found myself with a great opportunity. My parents asked me to represent the family at a family friend’s wedding in San Diego, and I jumped at the chance. Anyway, here’s what came of it.

For the continuity police, this story and its follow-up(s) take place in the same "universe" as my dancing- themed stories, "Bolero", "Swept Off Her Feet", and "Mambo", although several years in the future. Why it fits there will become clearer in the second story.

Disclaimer: Characters and associated details are property of Hanna-Barbera and are used for non-profit entertainment purposes only.

Archiving permission granted.

THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST

Synopsis: Going to the chapel...

"I DO"

by Eric R. Umali

The invitation was printed on heavy white stock, and lettered in gold. On the front, surrounded by filigree, were entwined the letters "Q" and "B." When opened, there were two pages-- the top, a gauzy sheet of paper upon which was printed:

*The Quest and Bannon families cordially invite you to the happy occasion of the wedding of their children, Jonathan Benton Quest and Jessica Marie Bannon*

Below this followed the names of the wedding party. On the card itself was printed the location of both the ceremony and the reception, the newly rebuilt and refurbished Quest Maine Compound, to take place at three P.M. on Saturday, July 20, two months after their graduation from college.

**********

At three exactly, Jonathan Quest stood beneath the rose-laden trellised arch, overlooking the white spray of the Atlantic. The sun shone down bright and perfectly warm from a cloudless azure sky. He reached up to fidget with his collar and cravat, only to find the hand of his best man, Hadji Singh, holding him back. Jon shot the Sultan of Bangalore a look that would have shocked the young Indian's courtesans. Hadji merely smiled.

"Tell me, my friend-- would you really want her to walk out here and find your cravat crooked?"

As usual, Hadji was right. Jon lowered his hand and used it to brush the grey top hat he carried. He had been completely willing to wear a tuxedo, but his fiancee was hardly a woman to be crossed. So when she said ultra-formal, he went right out and got the whole outfit: charcoal-colored morning coat, silk cravat, waistcoat, pinstriped pants, spats-- even the top hat and cane, though she thought those accessories were pushing it.

Hadji wore his dark nehru-style jacket with a dark red sash, and the gem on his turban sparkled in the afternoon sun. Standing nearby, outfitted similarly to the groom, but in a black stroller jacket, stood a deliriously happy Dr. Benton Quest.

Jon turned to Hadji quickly.

"Hadji, you've got--"

"Right here," he interrupted, patting his pocket. As Jon relaxed, Hadji muttered, "Twenty."

"Twenty what?"

"That's twenty times today you've asked me if I have the ring."

"Don't worry, son," Dr. Quest told him, "I got to thirty the day I married your mother."

Jon shook he head and laughed, despite the squadron of butterflies in his stomach. A moment later, the melodies of Pachelbel's "Canon" were replaced by the strains of Mendelsohn's "Wedding March."

Every head turned to see her emerge from the doorway. As she approached, Jessica Bannon was identifyable only by the upswept blaze of red hair amidst a sea of white. When he could finally make her out completely, Jon felt his legs turn completely to jelly, saved only by a surrepitious hand on his back-- Hadji's, as always.

She was... Jon had trouble coming up with a suitable word... stunning.

The dress was shimmering white silk, the lace-covered bodice fitted to her slim figure and exposed her long, slender neck, toned shoulders and arms and pale skin. Long and flowing, the skirt made her seem to float down the carpeted walkway, the short train just brushing the ground behind her. Jessica's hair had been pinned up in an elegant twist, though a stray lock or two hung at her temples, framing her face. A small white Juliet cap held the gauzy veil that hung behind her. She carried a large bouquet of roses and baby's breath.

Before waling out onto the lawn, Jessica had been having trouble breathing, she was so nervous. But now, walking down the aisle the way she'd imagined so many times, seeing how handsome Jonathan looked waiting for her-- she knew that today everything would be perfect. It still didn't keep her heart from skipping a beat with each camera flash that went off.

Roger "Race" Bannon walked beside his daughter, her arm tucked into his. If there had ever been a prouder father, no one present had ever seen one. Like Benton, the man was decked out in a dark stroller coat and the rest of the traditional finery. They walked in step all the way to the end of the carpet, with flashbulbs popping the whole way.

No one had ever seen so many people gathered for such an event. Folding chairs were arranged on either side of the carpeted aisle walkway-- almost two dozen rows, and almost twenty deep, every seat filled. The family had invited virtually everyone they had met, helped or simply came across in their many travels and adventures. No one declined-- not heads of state, not the cream of the scientific community, not the bride and groom's many high school and college friends, not even any of Race's old girlfriends.

Father and daughter stopped just in front of the first row. The chairs immediately to left and right, reserved for the fathers, were empty. One over on the right sat Alice Starseer, and across the aisle, Estella Vasquez. Beneath the arch, the minister cleared his throat and spoke, his voice carrying perfectly through the hidden sound system Jessica had designed.

"Who gives this woman to be married?" he asked.

Race looked longingly at his daughter. "I have that honor," he replied, then stepped away from the center. He and Dr. Quest took their seats. Jonathan whispered in his fiancee's ear as they moved to stand side by side, hand in hand, fingers laced together.

"You look incredible. Are you sure it's me you want to marry?"

She smiled. "Yeah, you'll do."

"Dearly beloved," the minister began, "we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Jonathan and Jessica. These two young people have come to proclaim and affirm their love and commitment. If there is anyone who has reason they should not be married, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Estella could not keep Race from spinning around in his seat, fixing a look on the guests that would have frozen a charging rhino. Met with silence, he turned back to the minister, giving him a curt nod.

"Thank you, Mister Bannon. As you all well know, marriage is a most serious and important decision, and must not be taken lightly or ill-advisedly. You understand this?" Jessica and Jonathan nodded. "Good. I believe the bride and groom have prepared their own vows?"

They nodded, and moved to stand facing each other, hand in hand.

"Jessie," Jonathan began, his voice quiet but even, "From the second I met you I felt as if I'd known you my whole life. Granted, it was only six years at the time." A number of the guests chuckled, especially those who had known the couple as rambunctious children.

"But there was nothing about you I didn't like-- it was as if I'd been given the perfect friend. Someone who was as willing to go looking for bugs as to lay around and watch the clouds roll by. Someone who'd listen, and understand, and always be there. You were perfect. Even if you were a girl."

"And you were always there, whenever I needed someone, whether you were really there or not, I know you were with me. Not long after, I realized that I needed that. I needed you-- always have, always will. You're all I could ever want, and more than I could ever dream. You complete me, you make me whole." He breathed deeply, and stared into her deep emerald eyes.

"Here and now, I promise to give you all the caring and support and understanding you've given me over the years, through whatever may come-- I promise I will always be there for you."

"I love you," he said, his voice catching just a bit. She squeezed his hand.

"Jonny," she said, "all my life, I've been in a rush. I always ran instead of walked. Talked fast, drove fast-- " She stopped when a few more laughs were heard. "--and grew up fast. But until the day I met you, I never knew what I was in such a rush to do."

"Now I know that all my life, I'd been waiting for something. I could feel something important was going to happen to me, and I never wanted to wait. And then it happened-- I spent that first week on Palm Key and found someone so special, so fun, so... wonderful... Even if he happened to be a boy."

"I saw in you the courage and the strength I wanted to have, and, without reservation, you gave them to me. Without you, I could never have handled growing up in two places-- with two lives, so far apart. You gave me a home and a family, and showed me how to live life with a passion. You were, and are, my best friend-- but then it dawned on me it was more than that. You became my heart, and the fire in my life."

She lost herself for a moment in his gaze. "Here and now, I promise to give you all the courage and strength and fire you've given me over the years, through whatever may come-- I promise to never let go of our dreams."

"I love you," she finished, tears beginning to well.

They stood there a moment, then looked out at the crowd. More than four hundred people sat spellbound by the words they had spoken and the love they had expressed. Turning to the minister, they watched him dab at the corners of his eyes before continuing.

"Simply beautiful. As for the official part-- Do you, Jonathan, take Jessica to be your lawfully wedded wife-- to love and to honor, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Holding back tears of his own, Jonathan answered firmly.

"I do."

"And do you, Jessica, take Jonathan to be your lawfully wedded husband-- to love and to honor, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Jessica held her breath. The moment she'd been waiting all her life for was here.

"I do."

"Now, can we have the rings?" the minister said.

Jonathan turned to his best man. Hadji was tempted to begin patting himself down in mock panic, but thought better of it. He reached beneath his sash and held up the simple, elegant gold band as it glittered in the light, and placed it in his brother's hand.

Jessica held up her hand as Jonathan slipped the band on her left ring finger, just beneath the elegant, if somewhat large, diamond engagement ring.

"With this ring," Jonathan said, "I thee wed."

Jessica's maid of honor, a good friend from college, produced the match. She slipped it onto Jonathan's finger.

"With this ring," Jessica said, "I thee wed."

The minister snapped closed his book. "Then with the power vested in me, I now pronounce you... husband and wife. You may kiss the bride, young man."

A great roar came from the crowd. Instantly, they were on their feet, cheering and applauding, as if caught up in the newlyweds' elation. Jonathan's arms snaked around his new wife, and lifted her a foot off the ground as their lips met in a knee-weakening kiss. They spun a few times until he put her back down. A minute later, they had still not come up for air.

"That'll be enough, Jonny," grumbled Race. The newlyweds parted, laughing.

Taking Jessica by the hand, Jonathan led her on a mad dash down the aisle as a cascade of rice descended upon them. Soon they disappeared into the mansion.

Wiping his eyes, Benton turned to the cheering crowd. "All right, everyone, the reception will be in the tent on the west side of the property, and will officially begin in an hour. Until then, make yourselves at home!"

The throng began to wander towards the other side of the compound, with a beaming Hadji as tour guide. There was nary a dry eye in the bunch-- hands were shaken, hugs exchanged and a hundred excited conversations erupted, all about the two young lovers.

The new fathers-in-law turned to each other and shook hands heartily, then the old friends embraced.

"I suppose it's a little late to welcome you to the family, eh, Race?"

"We've always been family, Benton. This just makes it official."

TO BE CONTINUED...

A few notes: I placed the story in Maine because the setting, a seacliff overlooking the Atlantic on a late summers' day, was just too perfect. Plus, the Palm Key Compound might not have the right sort of property (i.e., a large open space) to put the reception in. As it is, I had to move it into a tent. Also, I've dubbed Jessie "Jessica Marie" for the following reasons: 1) it's my Mom's name; 2) it's my sister's middle name; 3) it's my ladyfriend's (at the time of writing) middle name (see a pattern forming here?); and 4) having a Latina mother, it's a very likely middle name for Jessie, although might be more correct if it were "Jessica Maria." I had them write their own vows (at least the main part of them) because the only wedding ceremony I've ever attended was a full-scale traditional Filipino wedding, and, well...