Catch the Bride

This morning I ran four miles. It's the first time I've run that distance. The event was created by Guillemette to culiminate a weekend of wedding festivites. The bride in question was Lin, a marathon runner. The only criteria was that you could not beat the bride. I had no troubles fulfilling that requirement.

I was surprised to find my name on the list of participants. G. told me I had no choice in the matter. I was surprised again to learn the run was four miles; originally, I had thought the distance was in kilometers.

The weekend was given over to a series of events celebrating Lin and Michael's wedding. Friday afternoon, Guillemette called me from the municipal building, asking me if I knew in which room the wedding was to be held. I told her I didn't know and that I was under the impression it was a small affair attended only by her family and a small group of friends. The ceremony was over in 90 seconds.

That evening, friends and family gathered at the SoHo Grand for drinks. They were staying in the hotel, though Lin told me later that her parents' room in Millenium Hilton was bigger and better. The room at the Grand did not immediately impress. The bed was small; the television unimpressive. The bathroom was nice, however. And Michael later commented how fun it is to stay in a hotel not on personal business. "You can leave a mess and someone else takes care of it!"

That night and the next day I met various college friends of Lin's and Jean's whose names I had often heard but never knew. They had flown in from California to attend the wedding. Many had Patty in common, leaving me to wonder if everybody at Stanford knew everyone, or whether Patty happened to know everyone.

A brunch reception was held on Saturday in the garden behind Paradou. Rain sprinkled the morning, but the afternoon was glorious. Toasts were made, speeches given. Lin's assumed theme was "change." She subtly avoided politics while overemphasizing and repeating the word in her toast. She segued into toasting Ed, still in Baghdad. Her father gave a toast; his father gave a toast. Guillemette left jars of delicious home-made peach jam on the tables as favors. Then she handed out T-shirts for the fun run. Her aunt had illustrated a nimble Lin running in front of a long-limbed Michael.

We left the restaurant to discover their car had developed a flat. We quickly taught ourselves to change it and put on the spare. Jean took pictures. The tire changed, Michael left to meet his friends; Lin's parents wandered off with their newly found long lost friends; and Jean, Janice, Lin, and I shopped in the Meatpacking district.

The clothes are beautiful; the prices are beyond my allowance. We stopped at a Brazillian-born Korean designer's boutique. She brought out dresses and skirts and pants for them to try. Janice held back. Jean tried on two beautiful dresses; Lin a series of skirts. At Scoop, Janice found a pink long sleeved T (she claims to shop only when she comes to New York, and then only with Lin and Jean). At Stella McCartney, we browsed. At Alexander McQueen, Lin found a great black suit with oversized stitching. The cost was two thousand dollars. Jean tried on a cool jacket and then a not so cool one. An attendant noted that they had just started carrying men's clothes. I pased.

At bokum we sat and shared a large French-press of coffee. We talked about family. Jean decided she didn't need to buy a four cup French press; she could just fill her 8 cup press half-way. Outside, the afternoon wore on.

Nearing seven, we parted. Jean and Janice went home to change (Steve had left after brunch). I accompanied Lin to her hotel and then to dinner at Nyonya. Michael arrived shortly after us with his friends and parents in tow. We ate.

The dinner began with roti canai and beef satay. Then jumbo prawns butterflied and fried, nasi lemak (the coconut rice cone-shaped in the middle), tofu casserole, sauteed convolus, ribs, and a half of a Hainan chicken. We were due at the High bar atop the Gramercy Hotel at nine-thirty, and at nine-fifteen we said goodnight to Michael's parents and started uptown.

The bar had the feeling of someone's patio. If there were a grill and someone barbecuing it would have completed the scene. Astroturf covered the floor, plants clung to the walls. Plexiglass rose up from the low brick wall. The night was clear and cool. A heat lamp warmed a corner of the deck.

The bar started filling up, Jean commented on the untucked striped shirt look that the majority of the guys sported. We commiserated along with Steve over the lack of options in men's apparel. As the hour grew late, the median age dropped significantly. Jean wondered if some of the kids were still in high school.

Around one a.m. the last of the party got up to leave. A number of people had flights early in the morning, and then there were those of us who were running this morning.

We met in the park around 10.30. Guillemette had made a picnic of pink foods. She had been up until one in the morning cooking, then got up at seven to complete the meal. Salmon cake, rice with beets, a pasta dish, shrimp chips, mochi, strawberry Pocky, two strawberry and lemon tarts, a coconut tart, and a peach tart were laid out on a pink tablecloth. But there was still the run looming ahead of us.

Last night I had had a nightmare about the run. I sat in a grey diner overlooking the park. Entrants in the fun run came and went. A gaping hole stood by the side of the steep path. A light rain began to fall, seemingly both inside and outside the diner. When I stepped outside, I was inappropriately dressed. And then I awoke.

I had thought to walk the run with Janice until I heard she had hired a personal trainer to prepare for the run. She later said she won the trainer in an auction. We both believe in ebay, though I think the trainer came from a charity auction. Pia counted off as we lined up by a cone. I ran the first two miles and then walked/ran the last two. Guillemette claims this is a good training technique. A triathalon was underway along the 72nd traverse and I gasped alongside men running faster than I ever could after already having run two or three times the total distance of my meagre distance.

Reaching the finish line, Lauren expressed concern for me. She had thought I would be lost. I asked if I were last and was told no. I determined to return to the course and finish later. Lin ran back a ways with me and told me to run behind her for a picture. Each contestant will be presented of a photograph of him or her finishing behind Lin. In my case, I wouldn't even be in the frame, were it not staged for my benefit.

Afterwards we ate and sat in the park. Today is perfect. Small cumulus clouds dot the otherwise clear blue skies. It's cool in the shade, warm but not hot in the sun. I helped Lin and Michael load the car. They drove south with her parents, Guillemette in tow. The food was fantastic, the run surprisingly fun. But whether that means I'll be training with Lin for her next marathon remains to be seen. I like my knees and toenails, and I'd like to keep them.

Congrats again to the bride and groom. It was a great weekend and a great wedding. Posted by eku at June 27, 2004 5:12 PM