Chapter 138
The reception was the final piece of the fairy tale and it was every bit as romantic as the ceremony. Richie had arranged for it to be held in The Rose Gardens of Hyde Park. Two massive tents had been erected complete with a dance floor. A band that covered a wide range of music had been hired but various guests had also volunteered to do a song or two for the couple.
As the carriage approached, Jesse squeezed Richie's hand. "I'm nervous."
"Why?"
"Because of the guest list. Richie, your guest list was like the Who's Who of rock and roll and most of them were....ARE my favorites."
"So? I was one of them too! You'll be fine and if you DO get star struck, they'll understand." Richie reached over to caress her cheek. "We don't HAVE to separate to greet our guests, baby."
"I know but I don't want to spend forever greeting everyone."
Richie leaned to her, his finger under her chin, and kissed her softly. "You'll be okay."
"I know...I have my 'Superman'."
"Yes, you do," he whispered against her lips.
The carriage came to a stop and Richie climbed down. He reached up to take her by the waist to help her down. The couple stood face to face, gazing into each other's eyes before they were greeted by Stevie.
"MAMA! DADDY!" sang the little boy as he rushed to them.
"Hey buddy!" greeted Richie as he caught him. "Have you been behaving?"
"Yes sir! PawPaw got the band to let me play the drums."
"Cool!" beamed Richie.
"And Ava taught me how to dance so I can dance with Mama."
Jesse smiled, "You get the second dance."
"Ava and Auntie Dorie told me."
Richie was holding Stevie in one arm and held Jesse's hand with the other hand as they made their way to the tents. They were greeted with applause and after kissing once more, they separated to greet their guests. Richie had set Stevie down and he tagged along with Richie.
An hour later, Jon found Jesse in the crowd. "You ready?"
Jesse looked around to see that Richie was deep in conversation with a group of friends and not paying attention to her. "Yeah, I am."
Together, Jon and Jesse made their way to the stage and Jon went to the mic to get everyone's attention. "Good afternoon everyone. While the band takes a break, I'd like to take this opportunity to help our favorite 'Outlaw' surprise her new husband. Rich, you need to make your way to a chair because the shock just might cause you to have a heart attack or something. Oh, and we do have paramedics on standby just in case that happens."
Jesse took the microphone from Jon. "NOT funny, Jon!" she scolded as everyone laughed. Then, getting serious, Jesse looked over the group gathered. "Before I get to the real reason I'm up here, Richie and I would like to thank you all for joining us to celebrate our love. It means so much to both of us."
Jesse stopped and looked back at Jon who nodded his head to let her know that everything was in place.
Turning back to the crowd, Jesse found Richie who was now sitting at their table with his mother, Ava, Stevie, and Dorothea. She took a deep breath. "Richie, one of the things I love most about you is the way you always manage to surprise me. It's my turn to surprise you. This is part of my wedding gift to you. I'd like for everyone to watch the screen."
Everyone's attention shifted to the screen and the brief slide show began to play. Pictures of Jesse and Richie popped up; the first was the one he'd seen earlier when Jesse was a baby. The next was of a twelve-year old Jesse at one of his solo shows and Richie was placing his hat on her head as she sat in the front row. The next was of Richie signing a guitar that Jesse held followed by one of him giving her a kiss as she continued to hold the guitar. The final picture was of Jesse holding Stevie as she talked to Richie.
When the pictures faded away, Jesse wiped her tears and began. "Richie and I have spent the last three months getting to know each other and I had every intention of sharing all these pictures with him but when he proposed, I decided to wait to tell him just how much a part of my life he really has been.
"Richie, from the time I was two and you were the only one able to calm me down to when I was twelve and you gave me your hat to when I was seventeen and you signed my guitar and told me I would steal hearts to when I was 21 and you were the last person my dad talked to before he wrecked....you and your music, solo and group, have been a part of my life. Your music has provided inspiration, joy, hope, and comfort."
A picture of the couple taken in DC appeared and Jesse had to stop to regain her composure. "You didn't have to ask me to have a drink that night; you didn't have to take me to a movie or give me all access passes; and you didn't have to fly me home that night but instead, you did all those things and more. You gave me hope and stole my heart with our first kiss in the movie theater. You've given me my life back with your love."
Jesse moved to the baby grand that had been brought out and sat down. Jon placed the mic near her and she said, "Richie, you know that at a point in my life, I gave up everything to devote my time to the one person who is as important in my life as you. One of the things I gave up was playing music. I use to play in a band and we covered Bon Jovi so tonight, I want to play one of your songs that says exactly how I feel about you."
Jesse began to play and Richie recognized the song immediately. He watched, his eyes glazing with tears and his heart swelling with pride as his bride performed the song to perfection.
As the last note faded away, Richie stood and moved to the stage where Jesse rushed into his arms. "You've been holding out on me," whispered Richie.
"Please don't be angry."
Richie set her back just enough to look into her eyes. "Not a chance in hell! You were amazing!"
"I had to change a couple words."
"Not a problem. You handled it like a pro." Richie reached up to wipe a tear. "Baby, those pictures...I can't believe I didn't remember you."
Jesse took his hand and kissed it. "To quote one of YOUR songs, you've seen a million faces and rocked them all. I was just one of those faces. Richie, every time I look into your eyes or wake in your arms, I feel like I'm going to float away. I tell myself I can't love you any more than I do at that very instant but I close my eyes, open them again, and I love you even more."
"I know the feeling." Richie took her face in both hands and placed a kiss on her lips. "Jessica James Sambora, I love you...I love that I have always been in your life and I love that our lives are now one."
The couple was in their own world until Jon interrupted. "Uh, hey, you two! You've got time for all that on your honeymoon."
The couple turned to Jon laughing as Richie asked, "What do you want?"
"It's time for your first dance," pointed out Tico who, along with the other guys in the band, had joined Jon on the stage.
Jesse turned so that her back was against Richie's chest. "Tic, the band isn't back from their break."
"They aren't coming back for your dance," said Jon.
"But..."
"It's our turn to surprise you," said David.
"When Jesse and Richie were discussing what song they wanted to dance their first dance to, Jesse was adamant about not using our material. She has always respected the fact that we don't like to play our own music during down-time," explained Tico.
Jon continued, "But we got together, WITHOUT Richie, and talked about it. In April, Richie wrote a song called 'What Do You Got?' about how having all of this success isn't worth anything without having someone to love. Jesse was his inspiration and that's why we've decided to do the song for their first dance."
"But Richie can't dance and play," protested Jesse.
"That's why Bobby is going to play," countered Jon.
With the guys in place, they began to play and Richie turned Jesse around to face him. They began to dance, their eyes locked on each other. Richie sang softly with Jon and that was who Jesse heard. Once more, they were in their own world wrapped in their love and the music that had brought them together.
As the song ended, Richie closed the distance to kiss Jesse, a long, slow, soulful kiss.
The band returned and the couple continued with the traditional dances.
