每天读一篇英语小故事：The Wedding (1)

英语自学网

　　It was a strange day—Thursday—for a wedding. Who ever heard of a Thursday
wedding? “Well,” Harlan explained to everyone, “the Thursday event is going to
cost me half of what Friday, Saturday, or Sunday would cost me. And a 50-percent
discount is a lot of money, believe me.” Everyone believed him. Harlan knew how
to count his pennies. The early evening event was at Cowfish, a popular
restaurant and meeting place on campus.
        　　Nevin and Janelle arrived at 5 p.m. for pictures, but the photographer had
been delayed on the freeway because someone had jumped off an overpass. So they
decided to take a stroll on campus. Walking westward, they soon found a fish
pond. About a dozen small turtles were swimming in the eastern end of the pond.
As Janelle kneeled at water’s edge, all the turtles swam toward her. A couple of
them climbed out of the water and onto the footpath. They wanted food, but a
sign advised visitors not to feed the fish or turtles. So she apologized to the
turtles—not that she had any turtle food anyway, she added. Nevin and Janelle
took pictures of themselves and the turtles.
        　　They walked back to Cowfish just before the ceremony was to begin. Some of
the preacher’s words were unclear because of static on the portable microphone.
After the preacher pronounced Harlan and Ellen husband and wife, guests clapped
and cheered. The photographer, who had gotten “some great pictures” of the
fallen body, busily took pictures of the bride and groom, the preacher, the
parents, and the guests.
        　　After their meal, Nevin and Janelle said good night to the newly married
couple. This was the fourth marriage for Harlan, so everyone was hoping it would
be his last. Then Nevin and Janelle walked out to their car, holding hands and
talking about what would be the same and what would be different at their own
wedding. That is, if they didn’t decide to just drive to Las Vegas for a quick
marriage, with Elvis performing at their ceremony. “That way, our only difficult
decision will be to pick which song he will sing for us,” Janelle said.