Liz had forced her son to find alternative accommodation for the night before the big day. He has asked one of the guys that he had grown up with to stand up for him. Derek Thurston, the guy, had played on the same hockey teams as Billy up until he left for Hamilton and the Red Wings. Derek had stayed in Sunset even after graduation from high school. He was going to university in the States on a hockey scholarship. He had returned home for the summer to work on his parents' farm. So Billy and Derek went into town for a few beers, and sort of a last night, before Billy took the fatal step. "After all," as Billy put it, "if you can go out for a girls' afternoon out, Derek and I can go out for a boys' might out." However, Billy doesn't drink that much, so they only had a couple beers.
Cindy and Paul arrived at the house at about 10 am. There was much to do to get ready for a wedding. Cindy was not afraid of a little bit of work and she immediately set to work decorating the living room. We had only bought a few simple decorations the previous day - some white wedding bells and a bit of white crepe paper.
Paul immediately went into town, with directions as to how to get there, to the Dominion store to retrieve the cake and party platters. When he arrived back at the house, we put them into the fridge.
We had agreed not to have alcohol for toasts. Instead, Cindy knew the recipe for a nice punch which she made for us.
Meanwhile, Billy was busy himself. He had taken his change of clothes to Derek's parents' house. We had decided that Billy and Derek would not come over to the house until just before the ceremony was supposed to take place. That way, he would not see me until I came down the stairs.
Cindy also decided that all the girls should have their hair done so she set to work with the teasing, mousse, gel, hairspray.
Cindy also brought her camera. Instead of having a professional photographer at a couple thousand dollars, we jsut had her do it. Actually, later on, when we did look at the pictures, they were better than some wedding albums I had seen.
