What the Cheap and Easy Doll Club has joined let no man (or mouse) put asunder

REEDERS VILLAGE - When the doorbell chimed in a regal home in this upscale neighborhood, Janet Erickson turned from the gray light of the window and went to work. The ever-present hostess shaped her hat and adjusted her smile, greeting Carolee Pollock and Ilah Darlinton at the door.

This is how the night began as members of the Cheap and Easy Doll Club arrived to celebrate the wedding of Rick Rat and Tilly, the Mouse - two dolls united by destiny.

No, you're not imagining things. This is about a doll wedding - the holy union of one stuffed rat and the mouse that towered over him by a full 5 centimeters, which, you understand, is a lot in the world of a rodent.

The ceremony arrived with all the accoutrements expected of any celebrity wedding. There was marvelous Montana cheescake along with white raspberry-filled fondant wedding cake. There were mixed nuts, Champagne and thin mints dipped in the bride's colors. The sound of laughter rang from the parlor and jazz played softly across the room. No less than 25 candles burned nearby, their tiny flames stirred by the winds of anticipation.

When the wedding party officially arrived, the news wasn't entirely good. But then again, what wedding doesn't have its glitches? Rick, it seemed, was feeling under the weather - the effects of last night's celebration.

"I tried to keep Rick out of the bachelor party, but he's a real rat," Pollock giggled. "He was drinking Corona."

Pollock removed the doll from his case. As with fireworks on Independence Day, the room fell into a hush, followed by the oohs and aahs so common to such events.

Rat, the center of attention, held his composure, his unchanging expression something of a mystery.

Tilly, the bride-to-be, appeared in a chinchilla coat, her mouse-like whiskers ready for the dressing room.

"Rick gets dressed in the Montana Room," Erickson said, directing the party. "Lilly goes to the French Room."

"I hope they don't come back from the honeymoon with little ratlets," Pollock added, waiting for the bride and groom to leave the room.

Like members of a royal court, these invitees mingled in fashion and composure. Dianne Nickman wore a hat of many flowers, a small mouse peeking through the spring foliage.

Trish Frieze selected Easter blue, or was it mauve? The evening's guests were surprised but no less pleased that Frieze had made the four-hour drive from her Big Arm home to be here this night.

"This is the wedding of the season - I wouldn't miss it for all the tea," Frieze said, doing her best East London accent. "I'm thrilled to be here, and I'm so happy for the couple. I can't wait to go back to Big Arm and spread the news."

Frieze melted into the crowd of colorful hats. The laughter reached a roar and the anticipation swelled like the sodden clouds beyond the window. Life's problems had been checked at the door, but the gossip came intact.

"It wasn't intentional matchmaking," June Pratt insisted. "It just sort of happened. There was no alcohol involved when they met."

"They met in Tijuana," another interjected. "Tilly and a couple friends were slumming. She was in the middle of her seventh divorce."

"Tilly has done some wild things in her life, but Rick - he travels the world," Judy Kline said, adding her own 2 cents. "He's had his picture taken in many places. He's a real 'bon vivant.' "

Part of this was true, at least according to Cynthia Gustafson, the night's reverend. After a moment's socializing, Gustafson, clad in some sort of frock, invited the guests to take their seats.

"The wedding couple has asked me to speak for them," Gustafson said, letting the truth be known. "Rick is a well-known world traveler, surfer, bongo player, cardsharp and dancer. But he's not a public speaker."

He was, one woman said, an international rat of mystery.

"Tilly was drawn by Rick's physique and wicked grin," Gustafson said. "It was love at first sight."

Fact - the couple did meet in Tijuana.

Fiction- Tilly was not out slumming.

Fact - Rick was dancing on the bar.

Fiction - Tilly is pregnant.

And so began the ceremony full of pomp and circumstance. Do you, Rick Rat, take Tilly the Mouse to have and to hold, "whenever it suits you," till death do you part?

The rest is history.

"I only do weddings for those who say it's the last time," Gustafson said. "I hope the witnesses here support the couple in their vows."

Oh, yes, they will. That much was agreed upon.

What's next? If you ask Pollock she'll tell you - the newlyweds plan to honeymoon in Katie, Texas, before setting off for Oaxaca, Mexico, for the holidays.

"It's been a long winter," Darlene Stevens admitted after the ceremony, watching a friend dab away tears of joy.

"It's extremely eccentric," Kline added. "That's why it's such a delightful thing. You need to keep you childhood wonder and delight. All the cares of everyday life melt away when you do crazy things like this."

Excerpt of the ceremony

… Rick Rat, will you take Tilly, the Mouse, to be your lawfully wedded wife? Will you cherish and protect her when she has wrinkles instead of smooth skin? Will you always give her the attention she demands and provide every little detail and desire she requires? And will you be faithful, as much as possible, as long as you both shall live?"

Tilly, the Mouse, will you take Rick Rat to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold whenever it suits you? To cherish and honor his occasional struggles learning new

dance steps and bongo beats? Will you promise to never take hire for granted and to love him even as his body ages, as long as you both shall live?

I now have a short poem that Rick has written especially for you, Tilly:

Your name is like a silver bell

Hung in my heart

And when I think of you I tremble,

And the bell swings and rings.

(A member of the audience will ring a bell)

By the power vested in me by the Cheap and Easy Doll Club, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride. It is my great pleasure to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Rick Rat.

Reporter Martin Kidston can be reached at 447-4086, or at mkidston@helenair.com