I.

Ricky took a long drag on his cigarette, then opened his mouth to call out to his wife in the bedroom for what seemed like the thousandth time in the last hour. Just as her name was tripping off his tongue, Lucy trotted out into the living room and twirled around.

"How do I look?"

Ricky relaxed visibly as he looked her up and down. She was radiant in a flowing mint green gown with silky straps that crossed her back. Her hair was smoothed down in soft curls, a matching green band sweeping them from her face. He took one last puff of his cigarette before snuffing it out in the ash tray and looking back up at her. "I dun't think you're s'posed to outshine the bride…"

Lucy giggled. "Well, she picked the dress, so she has no one to blame but herself."

"She's also gonna get married without you if you dun't hurry up." Ricky handed her the matching wrap which had been draped over a chair. "An' I wanna make a good impression."

Lucy swung the wrap around her shoulders, looking puzzled. "What do you mean, she's MY cousin…"

"That's what I mean," Ricky said quietly as he grabbed his formal overcoat from the closet. "None of these people ever met me before an' I dun't want their only impression to be what your mother tells 'em."

Lucy laughed, leading him out the door. "Oh, honey, don't worry!"

II.

The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was the very center of wealth and privilege in the city. Despite living in New York for nearly a year, Ricky had never seen the inside of this grand place. He reveled at the majestic art deco furnishings and architecture, but more than that, he tried not to look conspicuously out of place. Lucy had to leave him in the lounge with the other guests while she joined the bride and her party to prepare for the ceremony.

Ricky looked around, a flute of champagne in his hand which had been passed to him by a waiter. He didn't know anyone there. Mostly, he imagined, this was Lucy's extended family who knew little about him other than he'd married Lucy…and whatever else his mother-in-law had seen fit to mention. She hadn't exactly been easy for Lucy with speak to in the month and a half since their marriage. In fact, their conversations had been limited to making sure Lucy was coming to and participating in this wedding. Out of sheer affection for her cousin, Lucy agreed.

When the large doors of the lounge opened, everyone turned to attention. A young, impeccably dressed woman stood in the center of the open doorway. "Ladies and gentleman, if you'll please pass through to the next room and take your seats, the ceremony will begin shortly. From there, we ask you to continue to the ballroom for the reception. Thank you very much."

The woman stepped out of the way to allow the guests, numbered at almost two hundred, Ricky estimated, to shuffle through to the ceremony room slowly. He made a mental note that this was another of those things he'd never experienced in Cuba. Wedding celebrations there were loud, exuberant and largely informal affairs for his family and friends. And when he'd married Lucy several weeks before, there was no one except he and his wife-to-be. In contrast, this was an extravagant and stuffy gathering, however elegant.

When he was finally at the doorway, an employee of the hotel nodded in his direction. "Are you with the bride's family or the groom's family, sir?"

Ricky's eyes swept over the rows upon rows of plush chairs covered in flowers and white tulle. "The bride's family."

The man motioned to the left side of the aisle. "To your left, sir. Enjoy."

Ricky sat quietly, other guests from the bride's (and by extension, Lucy's) family all around him. He noted that Lucy's mother, the only face he recognized so far, was sitting a few rows in front of him. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm. The older woman next to him tapped him gently. "I'm sorry, young man, I don't recognize you! May I ask…how do you know our Gloria?"

He searched his memory to try to remember who Gloria was before finally realizing that she was speaking of the bride. "Oh, I dun't really know her. You see, my wife is her cousin…Lucy."

The woman's eyes flew open. "YOU'RE the young man who married Lucille! Well, my goodness, we've been wanting to meet you ever since she wrote us." She nudged the man sitting next to her, presumably her husband, Ricky thought. "George, this is the young man Lucille married!"

George turned to look at Ricky and extended his hand. "Well! I'm George…"

The woman suddenly interrupted. "Where are my manners? I'm Annette, I'm Lucille's and Gloria's aunt. Their mothers are my sisters. And this is my husband, George."

Ricky shook George's hand and nodded to Annette, feeling more relaxed that Lucy's aunt seemed much more agreeable to the idea of him than her mother had been. "I'm glad to know you. I'm Ricky."

With that, the small arrangement of string musicians raised their instruments and began to play. The room hushed as heads turned to watch the procession of bridesmaids making its way down the aisle. A smile broke across Ricky's face as his wife came into view, more beautiful than any of them, he thought to himself proudly. She noticed and smiled sweetly at him over her shoulder before carrying on with the rest of the regal looking line.

Once the women were lined up at the front of the room, the guests rose to their feet. Ricky followed their lead as the bride began her entrance on her father's arm. All the eyes followed the brunette in the long, lace-covered bridal gown and floor-length veil. When they had arrived at the front of the room and she had been presented to her groom, the guests took their seats again, Ricky again following the crowd. He scarcely took his eyes off his own wife, standing quietly with a clutch of pink roses along with the other girls.

III.

After the ceremony had finished and all the guests made their way into the grand ballroom, Ricky found himself under barrage of family members anxious to meet him. Friendly as Aunt Annette had been, she was also quite adept at spreading news.

Finally able to break away from the activity of photographers, Lucy made her way to her husband. His face brightened to see her as she embraced him.

"You know, you're almost bigger news than the bride! And you talked about ME outshining her," Lucy joked.

"Well, I met your aunt and everythin' went from there, I guess."

"Yes, well, everyone's talking about the handsome Latin and I guessed they meant you." Lucy giggled as she took his hand and led him to a large round table. He sat next to her, looking up at the towering centerpiece of flowers at the center of the table.

"I was right, though," he said suddenly.

Lucy blinked. "About what?"

Ricky smiled softly, squeezing her hand. "You did outshine the bride."

"Oh," Lucy blushed. "For you, maybe."

After a few moments, the couple was joined by several other bridesmaids and their dates. When they saw Ricky, they largely squeeled.

"Lucille!" One of them, a blonde, erupted excitedly. "Is THIS your husband?"

Lucy laughed gently. "Yes, this is Ricky." She turned to her husband. "Ricky, this is a good friend of the family, Eileen. Eileen, Ricky."

Ricky nodded to her politely and to the others at the table as Lucy began her introductions.

They chatted and ate the plates of food that were making their way out to the ballroom, one course after another. After a while, everyone started walking around to mingle and Lucy touched Ricky's hand. "Ricky, honey…I know it's a terribly big favor to ask, but please come with me and say hello to mother. Maybe with everyone talking so well of you, she'll be better, too."

Silently, Ricky stood from his seat and took Lucy's hand as she led him several tables over to where her mother was seated with Annette, George and Gloria's parents.

Annette's eyes lit brightly when she saw Lucy and Ricky approach and she stood up. "Lucille, I wondered where you've been! You look magnificent and your husband is just a delight." She embraced Lucy before turning to Lucy's mother. "Jean, I think you're quite lucky to have such a delightful son in law."

Lucy smiled and looked at her mother as she clutched Ricky's arm. Jean looked up slowly, her eyes passing over Ricky quickly before focusing on Lucy. "Lucy, dear, you do look just beautiful. I only wish that we could've given YOU a wedding like this…"

Annette sat quietly, her eyes bearing into her sister, being familiar with her way. "Oh, a wedding is just a party, sister dear. Some of the best weddings I've ever been to were followed by the very worst marriages! Not for Gloria, I'm sure," she nodded in the direction of her second sister before motioning to two chairs which had been abandoned by their former occupants. "Lucille, you and your delightful husband sit here a few minutes and visit with us before you go off dancing."

Ricky pulled out a chair for Lucy as she sat and she smiled at him in appreciation for his gesture in front of her elder family. He sat next to her quietly as Annette continued her good natured musings.

"Now, when we were girls, our father had business in Florida and one summer he brought us on a trip. One of the men who worked with his partner was a Latin. A nice boy, he didn't speaking much English, though." She swirled her wine glass and brought it to her lips for a sip before continuing. "Jean took quite a shine to him, didn't you dear sister?"

Jean glared silently at Annette as both Lucy's and Ricky's gazes turned to her curiously.

"Looked a bit like you, dear nephew! Oh, you don't mind if I call you nephew, do you?" Before Ricky could answer positively, she looked back at Lucy and continued. "Yes, yes, he was dark and handsome. Would've liked him for myself, but I'd already met my George, you see."

Lucy nodded, her mother still staring daggers into her Annette.

"As I recall, we were in Florida for the whole summer. And Jean spent scarcely a day apart from that…what was his name? Oh, I can't recall. Can you recall, Jean, dear?"

Jean spoke through tightened lips. "No, dear Annette, that was over fifty years ago."

Annette waved a hand dismissively. "Well, it's not important. But she had quite a shine for him, that's all you need to know. And so when summer ended and Father moved us all back to New York, my dear sister thought he would come with us! Well, he was quite against that because as it turned out, he had several lady friends right there in Florida! Imagine!"

"Annette, dear, that's quite enough of your boring tales," Jean protested, trying to appear indifferent.

"Oh, but it's a story with a happy ending, dear sister!" She turned back to Lucy, who by now was hanging on her every word. "You see, we all came back to New York and before you know it, your dear father, may he rest in peace, came courting for your dear mother. And he was a Scot, you know, quite different from the Latin! He mightn't have had the excitement, but a good man he was and a hard worker!" She turned to Jean. "You see, a happy ending, dear sister. Your husband was a good man, indeed!"

Jean nodded gruffly. "Yes, quite! He had his mind for his work and providing for us. A good man! More women should look for a good man instead of one who turns her head!"

Lucy stared down at her hands, her mother's words like the daggers they were meant to be. "Ricky is a very good man. He works very hard." Jean remained silent, but Annette smiled warmly. "Yes, my dear niece, I see!"

Ricky smiled and he silently took much from Annette's story. After several more minutes of mostly innocent chatting, George smiled at Lucy and Ricky. "Annette, these young people have spent quite enough time listening politely to old people talking about old times!"

Annette clasped her hands together, suddenly aware of the music and dancing behind them. "Oh, dear husband, you are so right." She stood up quickly, drawing Lucy and Ricky up with her. "Dear nephew, you do want to take my niece for a dance, don't you."

Ricky smiled as he rested a hand on Lucy's waist. "Yes, very much."

"Go on, go on! You've humored this old woman long enough, dear boy!"

Ricky looked at her but spoke more to Jean than anyone. "I love Lucy. I promise you I only want to take care of her."

Jean remained silent, staring wistfully at the dance floor as Annette smiled broadly in response. "You're a fine young man, I'll say it to my last breath!"

IV.

Ricky held Lucy tightly in his arms as they danced, her hand resting along the nape of his neck, which always made the hairs on it stand on end. They looked at each other quietly for a few moments before he spoke.

"Did you know that story 'bout your mother before?"

Lucy shook her head softly. "No, never. I guess it explains a little bit if it's true."

Ricky nodded. "Maybe someday she'll like me better."

"I hope so…" Lucy touched Ricky's cheek as they swayed gently to the music. "But it doesn't change how I feel."

Ricky smiled. "I know." He leaned down to kiss her gently, her arms wrapping around his neck as their tongues caressed each other. When their kiss broke, Lucy looked up into her husband's brown eyes and he spoke in a low whisper. "Did I turn your head?"

Lucy giggled as he suddenly took her hand and led her through the dancing, chatting and laughing crowd, out a side door. "Where are we going?"

"I dunno!" He responded quietly, acting purely on impulse in this large place he'd never visited before.

The two walked briskly down the long deserted hallway, carpeted in an ornate pattern and lit dimly by the sconces on the wall. They stopped suddenly when they came upon a series of rooms which were used as dressing rooms for weddings and other events. Ricky opened one of the doors and peered into the dark room, empty, he could see, except for the outline of furniture. He dragged Lucy inside as she laughed softly and closed the door behind them, fastening the lock securely.

Lucy flipped on the switch next to the doorway, the room lit softly by a single wall lamp on the far end. It was furnished simply by a dresser, a vanity and an antique couch perched on gold-leafed legs.

Ricky gathered her into his arms after a few seconds, grinning mischievously. "So?"

"What?" Lucy melted into him.

"Did I turn your head? Or did I just get lucky?"

Lucy closed her eyes, his lips intoxicatingly close to hers. "You positively turned my head…and everything that goes along with it."

Their lips collided again in a kiss, this time hungrier and more passionate than they had dared in public view. Without parting, they moved slowly until Ricky sat suddenly on the couch, pulling Lucy into his lap. His hand pulled up the skirt of her gown, gently stroking the skin of her thighs under the fabric. She moaned softly into his kiss moved her off his lap onto the couch and positioned himself over her.

She parted her knees slowly as his hands pulled away the silky panties from under the gown. Knowing their time away from the party would be noticed if it stretched too long, Lucy opened Ricky's suit pants and her hands freed him from his formal prison. He released a guttural moan as he pulled her hips up until her legs were around him and he entered her fiercely.

She muffled a cry into his shoulder as he penetrated her quickly. His kisses fell to the base of her neck and just along the neckline of her gown as it innocently revealed the upper skin of her breasts.

Lucy ground herself against him as he continued his sensuous assault. Spurred on by her desire for him, Ricky's fingers threaded through her red hair tightly, keeping her securely against him as he left soft bites on her earlobe, causing just enough pain to be pleasurable. "Tal vez algunos otros hombres necesitan una chica diferente cada noche. Pero el suelo que pisas es mi cielo. Quiero sólo a ti."

Lucy cried out again as he thrust forcefully with his release and her body trembled in pleasure. They laughed softly and kissed again in the soft glow of their love. After several lingering moments, Lucy fixed her gown and her hair in the mirror as Ricky straightened his suit and smoothed his hair back. They walked back out into the hallway, the strains of music from the wedding reaching them as the clasped hands and headed slowly back to the party.