Elinor’s Wedding

Ahhh the glamorous life of a traveler - It is one minute to 3 in the morning. I got about an hour of sleep with Elinor’s rehearsal dinner and all. I know the alarm is going off in 31 minutes and then at 4 am I will be tripping through the dark, quaint, pedestrian-only cobbled streets of Lindos heading for a pre-arranged taxi in the main square at the other end of the village.

Last night took a few unexpected turns. I was busy repacking all our stuff and wet beach toys. Doug was also busy making one of his famous yard sale dinners – eat anything left in the kitchen. The boys were packing and counting how many books they have left for the rest of the trip. We have been reading and leaving books behind to drop weight. Leaving books behind is a challenge for all of us and I have caught each of us stashing favorites we can’t bare to abandon into the bottom of our bags.

We also had another distraction. We had locked ourselves outside in the courtyard. The boys were in boxers and I was wearing pjs. We had shoes. Doug was dressed but shoeless. Remember how I mentioned Doug and his family had a whole language of inside jokes developed on their overseas adventures. Well one of them is about the Farkel family. I am not really sure how to spell Farkel as it comes from an oral tradition and has never before spelled as far as I know. I am also not sure of its origin – Farsi, English… Anyway it does not really matter. Spontaneously the Kirkpatricks would become the Farkel family when one of them, or more often than not all of them together, bungled a very simple situation or in Doug’s words, “acted like a bonehead.” Doug is a second generation Farkel, which makes the boys third and I married into being a Farkel. So we became the Farkels finishing our yard sale dinner on the beautiful pebbled mosaic courtyard watching the sun setting over our sparkling Mediterranean bay. We tried to get back inside the apartment. In an effort to keep out the mosquitoes each of us had shut a door to the patio. I had locked two because the breeze kept pushing them open. Doug bolted half of the last and somehow pulled the second half shut. All three keys were on the top of the fridge. I don’t think we had shut or locked a door all week, but the night before we had mosquito visits and were trying to avoid them again. For a few frantic moments we considered which adult would go out across the village to find the villa manager. Luckily I was able to slide open a screen and Doug dropped Colin into the living room. Good-bye Farkels!

With all the commotion Elinor’s rehearsal dinner just didn’t register in the beginning. We put the boys to bed. Originally we had planned to all get all of us to bed early with the 6am flight. Miraculously Colin put in his earplugs and fell asleep, which confirmed that he sleeps through just about anything. Granted his room was furthest from the bar and courtyard.

Doug and I sat out the courtyard watching the evening take shape across the bay. I must admit in the beginning we were a little skeptical about what type of gal Elinor was. I mean she was having her rehearsal dinner in the Rainbird Bar. We hadn’t even considered having a snack there and always opted to walk past on to more enticing cafes and restaurants in the village. But then we got to thinking that she must be a kind of laid-back gal, not too hung up on pretense, formality and material stuff. She did pick the best view in town. The air was soft and cool with a light breeze. It was the most beautiful night of the week. A few sailboat lights twinkled in the bay like a watery constellation. Above, the big dipper looked ready to scoop up the horizon. Elinor also had some rocking Greek music and it was live, not the bar’s usual 70s soundtrack.

We listened to a couple of the toasts. We learned that Elinor is adored and loved by many. I had the same feeling I’ve had at other weddings when I realize that I actually don’t know the bride or groom that well and I am basically clueless about their lives. As poignant and funny memories are shared I realize, hey, I don’t even know their family and childhood friends. I wonder why I’m in attendance. After her toasts, I decided I would really like this Elinor.

I don’t know about the groom. I don’t know if we missed the toasts to him but he wasn’t mentioned at all as far as we could tell. Either there was something wrong with him or he didn’t have any friends or if he had already headed to the sports bar with his side of the wedding. We didn’t even catch his name.

In the spirit of the evening Doug and I danced one song on our darkened courtyard in the starlight. Traveling in unknown lands with our boys, we don’t get many; actually we don’t get any, nights out alone together for dancing. We were thankful that the maid had accidentally poured water in some cracked electrical conduit and shorted all the outdoor lights. We were thankful to Elinor for the music that added to the romance of the starlit night on our “private” courtyard. Spontaneously we looked into each other’s eyes and both said, “I love you Elinor.”

Sleep did not come. We tried to read in bed. Liam tried to read in bed. We shut the windows but the music poured in. The floors and walls vibrated. We all plugged our ears. Finally Liam climbed into Colin’s bed, the least noisy corner of the apartment. Liam kept coming out and looking at me expectantly like I was going to solve the situation. Usually, as all who know me can confirm, I am a tyrant about too much noise when I want to sleep. I couldn’t begrudge Elinor this magical night. Out on the courtyard I remember the magical weekend I married Doug. We were loud, carefree, and excited too! I actually lay in my bed listening to Elinor’s night hoping she was happy and hoping she too had found her soulmate.

At some point the party ended. The evening grew still and quiet. We slept for a little while. I always wake up before the alarm on days with early morning flights. I was smiling, not grouchy, and I started this blog waiting for the alarm, seeing the humor closer to the moment than usual.

We rolled our bags through the dark cobbled streets just as I had envisioned. On our early morning trek we passed a group of late night revelers. They were more formal than the usual bar hoppers. “Do you know Elinor? Are you part of Elinor’s wedding party?” I asked. They did know Elinor and they were at the reception. As we were turning the corner someone called, “Elinor’s right there.” We kept going towards the taxi. We missed her. Liam thinks he saw her. More late night refugees of Elinor’s wedding were hanging about the main square eating gyros. As we loaded the taxi, we learned that Elinor actually spells her name Eleanor. Last night was the wedding and not the rehearsal dinner. Some of her friends came from California. I guess we missed a few details through the apartment walls. The groom might have been there too. I bet he is even a decent sort of guy. We forgot to ask his name…

So, Eleanor and your groom, wherever you are tonight we will toast you. If we pass out early tonight with exhaustion, then we will toast you tomorrow night. Congratulations! We wish you a life of compassion, humor, adventure and love.

Carolyn, Doug, Liam and Colin

P.S. Look us up if you ever make it to Wanaka, NZ. You have a place to stay. After sharing your wedding, it is the least we could do!