Contents
Chapter 19
Overview
Charlotte and Clark take a taxi to City Hall for a small wedding with only a judge and Charlotte’s mother as witness. Clark is visibly anxious, fussing with his tie and hinting at unspoken worries, and he remains evasive about his estranged parents. Despite nerves, they decide to proceed with the ceremony.
Summary
Fourteen months before the shooting, Charlotte and Clark ride a cab through Chinatown on their way to City Hall to get married. A brief, chaotic encounter with a windshield squeegee man and the cabbie’s outburst underscores Charlotte’s nervous energy, even as she and Clark exchange reassuring hand squeezes.
They arrive at the nondescript building near the Brooklyn Bridge for a deliberately small ceremony: just the couple, a judge, and Charlotte’s mother as witness. Charlotte reflects that she never wanted a big wedding and that Clark’s parents, who live in Michigan, will not attend due to his estrangement from them.
Outside the entrance, Charlotte’s mother eagerly waits, thrilled. Meanwhile, Clark repeatedly adjusts his tie, growing dissatisfied and increasingly tense. When Charlotte asks if he is all right, Clark admits he is anxious because he has never been married before and suggests there is something more on his mind, then dismisses it as “nothing.”
Despite the hesitation and his evasiveness about his parents, Clark takes Charlotte’s hand and proposes they go get married. Charlotte agrees, and they head inside to proceed with the ceremony.
Who Appears
- Charlotte McKennaNarrator; heads to City Hall for a small wedding, reassures Clark, notes his evasiveness about his parents.
- ClarkCharlotte’s fiancé; anxious before the ceremony, fusses with his tie, hints at worries, estranged from parents.
- Charlotte’s motherServes as wedding witness; waits excitedly outside City Hall.
- Taxi driverDrives the couple to City Hall; exchanges words with a squeegee man.