Only moments after I'd checked into my hotel on Friday, June 8th, did I stumble upon Cyndi and Hemang with two of their best and oldest friends having a late lunch on the beach. The juxtaposition of the clear memory of the driving rain of Dublin and the stark sunshine and warmth of Nevis in the Caribbean was startling but luxurious.
My brother would often ask me why all my ex-girlfriends remained my best friends while all his ex-girlfriends became his worst enemies. His observation was true enough, but I had no explanation for him, except that perhaps it was because that for me it's always been that friendship was the basis of a romance, not the other way around.
I felt very honored on several levels, therefore, to be present at Cyndi and Hemang's wedding. There's no question that they are meant for each other as much as any two human beings ever could be, so I am delighted to celebrate their union with as much support as I can offer. For people with as much faith in humanity as the three of us, taking this at face value was easy enough. Even so, such unencumbered acceptance by Hemang of my enduring friendship with Cyndi says such good things about him that I felt all the more dedicated to conveying as much love and support as I could to their future.They've known each other since they were 13 and 14 years old. Hemang tells everyone that this is his fairytale come true. Cyndi has, perhaps, taken a longer and sometimes rocky path to come to the same place, but she's fully there now, and well should she be. This is the kind of marriage one loves to witness. This, you can't help but feel, is the way it's supposed to be.
The wedding on Sunday, June 10th and the weekend as a whole was an inspiring and wonderful experience for me. It is truly the most beautiful wedding I've
experienced, both in setting and in the sense of love and happiness all around. I was quite surprised to find both Cyndi and Hemang relaxed and completely unfettered by any organizational concerns. They'd managed their affairs so perfectly that they got to enjoy the weekend as much as the rest of us, and of course more so. That's the way weddings should be, but rarely are. Add to this the small and intimate gathering of family and closest friends and moreover the spectacular setting, and you have a magical experience.Cyndi was so stunning a bride, certainly the most beautiful I've ever witnessed at any wedding I've attended. Though I've long heard of their close friendship for as long as I've known Cyndi, I'd only met Hemang briefly last April while I was in the States. I got to spend much more time with him over the three days of the wedding weekend and I was left with nothing but good feelings and confidence in their happiness and future.
Because of the unavoidable all-night layover in New York on my way there and the unexpected five hour weather delay in New York on my way back to England, both journeys there and back totalled 65 hours between my apartment and the hotel. All told, I spend 62 hours on the island of Nevis. I therefore spent more time getting there and back than being there.
An impractical trip, perhaps, but certainly I've always tried to avoid the burden of favoring what's practical. I'd like to think I'm more focused on what's truly significant and important. For me, making the impractical effort of being there was the best way I knew how to convey love and support. Were I allowed to only experience one of the grand adventures these last 12 months have held for me, it would have been this wedding. As always, in the end it's all about people. The settings, locales, and circumstances are the flavor one gets to enjoy but the people and the love both conveyed and shared is the true substance I'm after.
