The Wedding

Betty Lou's memoirs (continued):
Rarey had made reservations for me at the Candle-Glo Inn in Ocala, a wonderful haven for newly-wed cadet wives. Three were already in residence when I checked in. Instant friendship!

The Candle-Glo women had only one problem - too much time with too little to do. They needed a project. Rarey and I were elected! We had made no wedding plans, which was music to the ears of the Candle-Glo gang. Plans for a Saturday afternoon wedding quickly fell into place as follows:

1. Everyone would donate precious sugar ration stamps, and the Candle-Glo cook would make a splendid cake. (It would be cut with the sword of Class 42J's one West Pointer.)
2. Gardenias from the Inn's back yard would decorate the church and reception.
3. Someone was going to magically produce champagne.
4. Music would be provided by one standard-issue record player.
5. The bride-to-be would please take a book to the veranda and stay out of everyone's way.

The Candle-Glo Inn fairly hummed. The days flew quickly by, and then it was Friday night. The phone rang. It was Rarey. He had been restricted to the base for the weekend because his navigation marks were low. We would have to postpone the wedding for a week. I wept, someone called the minister, and heaven only knows what went on in the Candle-Glo kitchen. Saturday morning. Another phone call. Guess what! Rarey could come to town for the day but had to return to the base that night. Could we call everything on again? We could - and did!

It was a thoroughly enjoyable affair. Aviation cadets and flight instructors jammed the church and the Inn and made great sport of the fact that shortly before seven the bride and groom would reluctantly make their way to the town square, grab a taxi, and deposit said groom at the base gate. Ah, the heartbreak of war - we did not see one another again for a full week!

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