The Undaunted

Epilogue - Requiem for a Soldier

New York, May, 1964

"In your arms, I'm safe and sound
You turned my world right upside down
But all the hell we've been through had a purpose
Together we are chaos and it's perfect..."
I Didn't Know - Sofia Carson

***

Roses, lilies, and baby's breath bedecked the pews of Christ Church on Park Avenue, the upper east side of Manhattan as the warm, spring sunshine spilled through the gothic rose window, illuminating the pastel dresses and hats of the women and the pale morning suits of the men. Cameras flashed discretely as the pair at the altar and their attendants took their final positions before the rotund and kindly pastor, Ralph Sockman. Here was yet another figure that had brought the Christian faithful through World War II and the assassination of a beloved president. He smiled benignly now at the couple before him, whose notoriety went before them.

"Will you, Jennifer Eloise Snow, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Eloise? Jack mouthed, an amused twist to his lips.

Jenny raised an eyebrow. Don't you dare laugh, she seemed to be saying with as stern a look as she could muster under the circumstances. "I will."

"Will you, James Ciaran Delaney..."

Jenny snorted. Ciaran?

Jack shot her a mock dark look as the minister repeated the question to him. "It's Irish," he said in an undertone as she bit her lip to control her giggles. The reproach left his eyes and they softened to a deep, golden amber as he replied. "I will."

"Then by the power vested in me by the state of New York," the minister concluded, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

A smile larger than any she had ever smiled bloomed across Jenny's face as she tossed her small bouquet of pink and white roses to Hope who caught it expertly in one hand, her shining, tear filled eyes never leaving her mother. Jenny, resplendent in a Halston beige chiffon dress with baby's breath in her hair, reached up, entwining her arms around the neck of her handsome husband in his dark blue morning suit and gray ascot, as he bent to kiss her, their eyes sinking shut against the applause as their lips met. Jack's arms encircled her waist, drawing her as close as he possibly could. Finally, his embrace seemed to say.

Owens, Jack's best man, stood nearby and clapped heartily, then slapped his former CO on the back, an infectious grin creasing his still boyish face. Vivian Owens, Jenny's former boss and now Owens's wife of ten years, serving as Jenny's matron of honor, rolled her eyes indulgently at her husband's antics and immediately took Jenny in her arms in an embrace.

"Martha hated it that she couldn't be here," Vivian said to Jenny, hugging her tight. "She's too busy chasing lions on her African safari!"

Jenny laughed through happy tears. "Too bad! You don't know how much I was longing to launch my bouquet at her!"

"And Martha would have run a hundred miles an hour in the other direction," Vivian commented drily.

The two women shared a laugh together thinking of the stories their marriage shy compatriot would have to tell when she finally returned to civilization. If her letters were in the indication at all, the books forthcoming from this trip would be stupendous indeed.

Hope standing nearby with Patrick on one side and Natalia on the other, reached up to dab at her leaking eyes with a small white handkerchief. She felt something brush her waist and realized that Patrick had slipped his arm around her. She looked up at him and smiled while he drew her close and kissed her forehead.