Unexpected

After the church and its ceremony
After the hubbub that immediately followed
After the happy toasts and the cheerful testimonials
After the music had started and the dancing begun
the bride, still in her wedding dress, in her husband's arms,
went into cardiac arrest on the dance floor.

 Later, after the frantic attempts to revive her
After the paramedics and their diligent CPR efforts
After the long ambulance ride to the hospital
After the hurried gurney-borne entrance into the ER
After the distraught family assembled in the waiting room
the naked bride, her shorn white gown now beneath her,
was greeted at last by her wedding's unexpected guest.