Date: Fri, 11 Jun 93 18:57:58 EDT
From: Jason_Dzembo@MTS.RPI.EDU
To: alt-ql-creative@cisco.com
Message-Id: <3648141@MTS.RPI.EDU>
Subject: Love, Honor & Obey (Part 1 of 4)

       "...let them speak now or forever hold their peace."
       Sam looked around, disoriented.  He was seated in a church
pew, facing an altar, where a bride and groom were about to
exchange their wedding vows.  The bride, an attractive brunette,
gave Sam a brief, bittersweet glance.  Her face set with a look of
determination and she turned back to the preacher.  "I can't do
this." she announced.  She released the groom's hand and raised her
veil.
       "What?" The groom was dumbstruck, staring at her.
       "I'm sorry, Jonathan." she continued, "I can't marry you. 
It's wrong."
       Jonathan glanced anxiously at the assembled guests and said
in a desperate whisper, "Lisa, you're just nervous.  It's only
natural."
       "I'm not nervous!" the bride said firmly, "I love someone
else."
       "What?" Jonathan demanded, "Who?"
       "Wesley." she replied softly.  She turned and looked at Sam.
Two by two, all eyes turned to stare at him with mingled confusion,
curiosity and malice.
       Sam sunk down into the pew and groaned, "Oh, boy...."
 
                                 Love, Honor And Obey
                                     June 6, 1966
 
                                 By:  Jason E. Dzembo
 
       "Is this true?" the preacher asked, regarding the bride with
a disapproving stare.
       "Well, I, uh..." Sam stammered.
       "Of course it's not true." Jonathan cut in.  "That was over
years ago!  Wasn't it, Lisa?"  The bride hesitated and Jonathan
exclaimed, "Lisa!  You told me it was over."
       "I thought it was, Jon!  Honestly, I did.  I just..." Her
voice faltered and she glanced helplessly from Sam to Jonathan and
back again.
       "Perhaps," the preacher suggested, "you should consider
postponing this marriage until after these details have been worked
out?"
       "Postpone, hell!" Jonathan exclaimed.  He remembered where
he was and muttered, "I'm sorry, Father.  Look, if we could have a
moment alone..." He looked inquiringly at the preacher.
       "Of course." the man of the cloth replied, "You may use my
office, if you'd like."
       The groom took the bride's hand and headed towards the
discreet doorway in one corner of the nave.  He glanced in Sam's
direction and growled, "You, too, Gardener.  Now!"
       Sam got up and followed them silently, avoiding eye contact
with the assembled guests.  Entering the preacher's office, he was
grabbed by the lapels of his tux and shoved against the far
wall by a furious groom.  "You've got five seconds to tell me what
this is all about, Gardener, or you're a dead man!"
       "Well, I, uh..." Sam choked.
       "Let him go, Jon." Lisa said, grabbing at the groom's arm. 
"He had nothing to do with this.  It's my fault.  He's as surprised
as you are.  I didn't even know I was going to do this."
       "What are you talking about?" Jonathan asked.  His grip on
Sam slipped a notch and Sam inhaled a wonderful breath of air.
       "I want to marry you, Jonathan." Lisa said, "I really do. 
But I can't.  Not yet.  Seeing Wesley again today made me realize
that.  I'm not ready.  I haven't put my relationship with him out
of my mind as completely as I thought I had."  She seemed on the
verge of tears.
       "I knew you shouldn't have invited him."  Jonathan grumbled.
He released Sam reluctantly.
       "I had to.  I needed to be sure I didn't still have feelings
for him.  When I get married I want to be sure I'm doing the right
thing." Lisa explained.
       Jon turned back to Sam and asked, "And what about you?  Do
you still love her?"
       The sound of the imaging chamber door opening came to Sam's
ears as Jon asked his question.  Al entered the room, and Sam
glanced at the hologram and asked, "Do I?"
       "You see, Lisa?" Jon demanded, turning to his bride, "He
doesn't even know if he cares about you.  I don't understand why
you're wasting your time worrying about him."
       "We don't know yet." Al replied to Sam's question, "Dr.
Beakes is still talking with him in the waiting room."
       Lisa turned to Sam and said, "Well, I know that he cares. 
Wes, remember what you told me this morning, about how you just
wanted me to be happy and that you felt this was the best way
to let me know?  You even volunteered to give me away!"
       "What?" Sam and Jonathan asked in unison.
       Lisa faced Jon and said, "He said it would be a symbolic
gesture on his part, surrendering me to you.  It's the ultimate
self-sacrifice, in my opinion.  And since my father wouldn't come
to the ceremony...."
       Jon flinched and replied, "Well, in my opinion, it's a load
of crap.  Don't you see what he's up to, Lisa?  He's playing with
your mind.  He wants you to have doubts so he can win you back. 
You can't fall for it!"
       The door opened and the preacher popped his head in.  "I
hope I'm not interrupting." he said hesitantly.
       "You're not." Lisa said, "I was just leaving."
       "Lisa!" Jon cried as Lisa started for the door.
       "The wedding...?" the preacher asked.
       "It's being called off." Lisa replied, "I'll go inform the
guests."  She squeezed past the preacher and out the door.
       "Lisa, wait!"  Jon started after her, glancing back at Sam
and hissing, "You'll pay for this, Gardener."  Then he was gone.
       Sam exchanged glances with the preacher and shrugged
helplessly.  The preacher sighed softly, shaking his head, and left
the room.  Sam ran his fingers through his hair and looked at Al. 
"Please, don't tell me I just ruined that couple's wedding."
       "Uh, no." Al said, consulting the handlink.  "So far, the
original history is on track.  Lisa and Jonathan get married in two
days, without incident."
       "Then why am I here?" Sam asked.
       Al consulted the handlink and said, "Let's see.  It's June
6, 1966, and you're in Beverly, Massachusetts.  You're name is
Wesley Gardener, and you're a twenty-two year old editor for a
small pub."  Al tilted his head sideways and studied the handlink
like a bird watching a wormhole.  He rolled his eyes and gave the
handlink a whack.  "Oh," he continued, "A small publishing
company.  In Boston.  Wesley dated Lisa Fraser - that's the bride
- for four years, from 1959 to 1963.  In February of '63, while she
was at college, Lisa met Jonathan Dwyer - the groom.  He's a
twenty-eight year-old contractor.  She was evidently fascinated by
the idea of a relationship with an older man, because that summer
Lisa broke things off with Wes.  They managed to remain friends,
though, to everyone's surprise.  When Lisa wanted to invite him to
the wedding, Jonathan wasn't pleased, but finally gave in."
       "And then Lisa realized that maybe things weren't quite over
between her and Wes after all," Sam said.  He glanced at the door
and said, "And here we are.  So now what?"
       "Well, we don't know.  Wesley wasn't invited to the next
wedding ceremony, probably to prevent any further complications. 
Lisa and Jonathan spent the rest of their lives together, even
though their marriage wasn't anything spectacular.  They had a
daughter, though.  Chelsea, born in 1970.  In 1986, she saved the
life of a baby she was sitting for, who was choking.  Other than
that, nothing significant happened in their lives.  Lisa's family
was never fond of Jonathan, so they didn't have much contact with
each other.  They eventually became pretty isolated, from their
friends as well as her family." Al explained.
       "What about Wesley?  What happened to him?" Sam asked.
       "He spent the rest of his life alone, holding on to the hope
that someday Lisa would regret her marriage and would come back to
him.  He really loved her, but he also respected their marriage, so
he never made any effort to come between them." Al said, "Evidently
he decided to leave it up to fate."
       "Well, Fate obviously felt something needed to be changed,
since I'm here." Sam said, "The question is, what?  If I prevent
Lisa's marriage to Jonathan, then Chelsea will never be born and
that baby will die.  I can't let that happen."
       "Maybe you're here to help Wesley realize his relationship
with Lisa is over so he can move on with his life." Al suggested.
       Sam shook his head.  "If that was true, I would have leaped
into someone else.  I can't convince Wesley of anything if he's not
here!" Sam said.
       "Tell you what.  I'll have Beakes talk to him while he's in
the waiting room, try to persuade him to move on.  I don't know how
much good it will do, since he'll probably forget it once he leaps
back.  In the meantime, I'll check with Ziggy and see if he's got
anything new."  Punching a few buttons on his handlink, Al opened
the imaging chamber door and left.
                       ________________________________________
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