A wedding with great timing

 

The contract said I was to play from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

at the Verizon Wireless Civic Center. 

So I arrived at 3:30 and set up the harp.

 There was no one there. 

So I waited. And waited.

 

Finally, someone from the Center came by. No, the wedding didn't even start until 4:00 p.m. The guests would start arriving at 5:15. Hadn't I been updated? No, I hadn't. So I pulled the harp into a corner behind the draping and went back home. Double-checked the contract (yep, 4-6, signed and dated). I ate a peach. Touched up my lipstick. Went out and filled the truck with gas. Filled a suspiciously low tire with air (I love doing automotive maintenance in "harp dresses" and cute shoes). Then I headed back to the Civic Center. Got front-row parking.

 Pulled the harp out from the corner. 

STILL no guests. I started to play at 5:15 anyway, going over some new pieces from a book I bought. The host and hostess rushed in at 5:45. Guests started to file in around 6:00 (it must have been the longest receiving line ever). I played until 7:15 and then guests started ambling into the banquet hall for dinner (much to the relief of the frantic catering staff, which had been keeping meals warm since 6:30).

I was just about to pack up when the mother of the groom rushed to my side with a glass of white wine (how did she know?) and a plea for me to stay and play through the dinner hour, please, they'd pay me overtime...(swirl wine, raise eyebrows in distress, reach for purse...).

Oh, okay.

I enjoyed a few sips of wine (alcohol and harp strings aren't a good pair) and got to be a part of a wonderful, celebratory dinner. Each time guests clinked their glasses for the couple to kiss, the couple asked "experienced" couples to demonstrate how it's done. Then they mimicked those couples, dips and dramatic embraces and all. It was hilarious and I laughed so hard.

I love how things like this work out. Perfect timing after all. Though I did have to ask that the "mood lighting" be turned up just a little bit. You know. So I could SEE those harp strings...