"But Angel, I don't WANT to go!" Collins whined as he watched Angel put the finishing touches on her makeup.
"We're going Collins, and that's it!"
"Why do we have to go to the Gay & Lesbian Center again?" He asked for the millionth time.
"Because I want to go!"
"But why do I have to go?"
Angel turned around from where she was seated at her mirror and he was very glad that looks couldn't kill. She was glaring daggers into him and he scooted back on the bed slightly.
"Because I want you to come with me! And, last weekend when Mimi begged me to go shopping with her to pick out a new outfit for work, why didn't I go? What was my excuse for not going out with my best friend? What was I doing instead? I was going to that silly teachers convention with you up at NYU! If I have to spend the day with a bunch of stuffy professors just because you want to show me off, then you can definitely be bothered to come to the Gay & Lesbian Center with me!"
"Fine!" Collins finally relented, but then muttered under his breath, "You didn't have to come with me."
Angel scowled at him. "No, but I went anyway because I loved you." She turned back to face her mirror. Suddenly her pout came out full force and she managed to bring a few tears to her eyes.. "But if you don't want to come with me, that's fine. I'll just take it as a sign that you don't love me enough to spend the day with me." She let a single tear fall down her cheek.
He groaned and got up from his spot on the bed. He went over to her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed the top of her wig. "Fine. I'll come with you."
Smiling, she turned around and kissed him. "I knew you'd eventually come around!"
"Yes. It's amazing what a single tear drop can do. You honestly have the art of making yourself cry mastered , Angel."
She swatted him on the backside as he turned around to sit back on the bed. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just hurry up so that we can go." Collins rolled his eyes. He fell for her single tear act every time.
"I'm ready! Let's go!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ugh. Remind me why we're here again?" Collins whispered in Angel's ear fifteen minutes later at the Gay & Lesbian Center. They were surrounded by tacky drag queens with neon blue eye shadow paired with chartreuse green skirts and other tasteless fashion choices.
"Because we're both gay and it's nice to come somewhere and see the rest of the gay community," Angel answered through gritted teeth. She was getting nauseous from all the horrible fashion choices. She was never one for stereotypes, but weren't gay men supposed to have at least a bit of fashion sense?
"How did you hear about this place?" Collins inquired.
"Joanne. She's been coming here for years." Angel turned her head to answer him and immediately walked into someone. Both the other person and Angel went crashing to the ground. The other person had a box in their hand, and the contents of the box went flying.
"Angel, are you ok?" a concerned Collins asked.
"I'm fine sweetie!" She immediately scrambled to her feet to help the other person. "I'm SO sorry!"
The other person looked up at Angel, and she could see it was another drag queen. "Don't worry about it, honey! We both crashed into each other. It's these stupid heels." She got to her feet, and Angel could see that she was wearing a pair of bright red high heeled boots. They complimented the denim mini skirt and red and black shirt she was wearing. Finally someone with some taste in fashion! The other drag queen extended her hand to Angel. "Hi, I'm Cha-Cha."
Angel shook her hand and replied, "Angel. This is Collins." She pulled Collins forward and Cha-Cha smiled at him. Angel moved her foot and felt something on top of it. Looking down, she saw a little white card propped against it. "Oh honey! You dropped something!"
Cha-Cha looked down at the floor and gasped. Little white cards were scattered all over the place. "Oh shit!" She dropped to the ground and started grabbing all the cards and stuffing them back in the box. Angel got down on her knees and started to help her. She couldn't help noticing the front. It was a black and white picture of Cha-Cha in a blonde, curly wig smiling at the camera with her arms around the neck of a taller black gentleman. Below in swirling script it read "Cha-Cha and Ed"
Cha-Cha noticed Angel looking at the card. "It's my wedding invitation." She beamed with pride.
Angel's fact lit up. She LOVED weddings! "Oh! Congratulations! When are you getting married?"
They both stood up and Cha-Cha situated the box on her hip before answering. "Next month. Ed wanted to get married in June, but I've always wanted to get married in May. It's so beautiful with all the flowers."
"May is a beautiful month to get married," Angel agreed with her. Cha-Cha brushed a strand of her blonde wig behind her ear and Angel saw something sparkle. "Oh! Is that your engagement ring?"
"Yeah!" Cha-Cha extended her hand and Angel took it to admire the ring resting on Cha-Cha's ring finger. It was yellow gold with a large emerald sitting in the middle with two diamond accents on each side. It was large enough to be noticed, but not large enough to be pretentious. It was absolutely stunning.
"It's gorgeous! You must be a very lucky girl!"
Cha-Cha blushed modestly. "Yes, I am. Ed's a wonderful man. I nearly died of shock when he proposed! I wasn't expecting it at all! I immediately showed all my friends and they were green with envy! They just wish they could find someone as nice as my Eddie."
"He sounds just as nice as my Collins here." Angel laughed. Collins came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. Angel turned to him and quickly kissed his cheek. Angel smirked at him and added, "Although, I know he'll never buy me a rock like that!"
Collins poked her in the ribs and said, "Don't act like you never get any jewelry. I bought you a great necklace for Valentine's Day!"
Angel rolled her eyes in admittance. "You did. And it was gorgeous." She reached up and touched the beautiful heart pendant around her neck.
"Awwww! You two are so cute together!" Cha-Cha said as she watched them joke with each other. They reminded her of the way she and Ed acted with each other.
Collins and Angel both started to laugh at this. Cha-Cha looked at them puzzled. Had she said something wrong? Angel noticed the look on her face and told her, "We get that so much!" She went into a dead on impression of Mimi. "It's always 'you two are such a perfect couple' and 'you never fight' and 'I wish I had a relationship like that!'"
Cha-Cha laughed along with them. "I understand completely! The first time I brought Ed home to my friends, my best friend Grace kept on gushing on about what a gentleman he was and how we looked so cute together! Now all of our friends rant and rave about us, especially since we're getting married!"
"Haha, that does sound the same," Collins agreed with her.
Cha-Cha looked at them thoughtfully for a minute. They really did seem like a nice couple and exactly the type of people she and Ed would get along with. "Say, would you two maybe be interested in getting drinks with Ed and me? I'm sure he'd love to meet you both."
Angel's face broke out into a grin and she turned to Collins. "Oh baby, can we please? I really, really, really want to go!" She was bouncing up and down excitedly.
He grabbed her shoulders to stop her bouncing. "Yes, Angel Cake! We can go! Just stop bouncing! You're making me dizzy!"
"Great!" She hugged him and then turned to Cha-Cha with a smile plastered on her face. "Looks like we can go! I can't wait to meet this wonderful guy of yours!"
"That's great!" Cha-Cha smiled. She couldn't wait until Ed met them. She was certain he would love them right away, just like she had. She looked down at the box in her hand. She had one invitation left to deliver here. "If you can just hold up a minute while I deliver this invitation, we can get going. " Angel nodded and Cha-Cha hurried off down the hall.
A few minutes later they heard screaming and a loud voice proclaiming, "OH, MY LITTLE HISPANIC HOT CAKE IS GETTING MARRIED!!!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After Cha-Cha had made a quick visit to the restroom to wipe the lipstick off her face from Gypsy kissing her repeatedly on the cheeks when she got the invitation, the threesome headed outside and to the nearest phone booth. Cha-Cha dialed Ed at the precinct and at Collins and Angel's recommendation, told him to meet them at the Life Café.
Ten minutes later, Collins sat at a table with the vivacious drag queens. The two had become fast friends and were talking vividly about the difference between blonde wigs and black wigs.
"Blonde wigs are nice, and they can really bring out to gold tones in your skin, but I think that black just looks so refined and elegant." Angel stated.
"Yeah, but blonde wigs are so much lighter and fun!" Cha-Cha replied.
Angel contemplated this for a minute and then turned to Collins. "Baby, what do you think? Blonde wigs or black wigs?"
Collins took a sip of his beer before answering. "I think you two have put waaaaaaaaay too much thought into this."
Angel playfully swatted his shoulder. "Seriously, honey. Black or blonde?" Her eyes sparkled and he knew she was saying in her head "Pick black!"
He looked between Angel and Cha-Cha. Angel had on her favorite black bob wig that just made her look so adorable and pretty. Cha-Cha had on a short curly blonde wig. Collins thought about how beautiful Angel looked in her long blonde wig that she had worn with her Pussy Galore outfit. "Blonde wigs."
Cha-Cha gave a cheer of triumph. "Angel, you have a very smart man!"
Angel's mouth dropped open in shock. He hadn't picked her side! "Collins!"
"What Angel Cake? It's like they say, blondes have more fun. I mean, I do love your black wig! I really do! Just…remember how much fun we had when you wore your Pussy Galore wig for New Years. We had lots of fun then!" He had a funny feeling in his stomach. He had the sense that he was in big trouble now.
Angel scooted closer to him and kissed his cheek. "Yeah, well now you're not going to have any fun tonight!" Collins pouted. He should have seen that coming.
"Oooo! Nice one Angel!" Cha-Cha gave Angel a high five. "When will men learn that no matter what we say, you must agree or we will withhold favors? It's really not that difficult to learn."
Angel laughed. "I don't know. Is Ed the same way?"
"Not so much, but he does have his moments." Cha-Cha looked up and saw Ed walk in the front door and start looking around for her. Her face broke into a grin. "Speak of the devil, there he is." She pointed to him, and then got up to go bring him to the table. Angel and Collins both watched as she bounced up to him and wrapped her arms around him and plopped a kiss on his cheek. He smiled when he saw her and wrapped his arm around her waist as she led him back to the table. They were an adorable couple. Angel and Collins had thought that Cha-Cha was all smiles and sunshine before, but it didn't even start to compare to the grin she'd had when she saw Ed.
"Angel, Collins, this is my fiancé, Ed Green. Eddie, this is Angel and Collins. I met them at the Center." Cha-Cha introduced them all.
Ed stuck his hand out to Collins and they shook. He smiled at Angel and she wiggled her fingers in greeting. "It's nice to meet you both." He took his seat next to Cha-Cha and she moved her chair so that it was right next to his.
Angel took the initiative to start a conversation. "Cha-Cha's been sitting here telling us what an amazing man you are."
Ed looked at Cha-Cha and smiled. "No, I'm just lucky. " Under the table, he reached for her hand and entwined his fingers with hers.
"That's so sweet!" Angel thought that was the sweetest thing she'd ever heard.
Collins put his arm around her shoulder and got her attention. "Well, Angel, you know that a man's wonderfulness is measured only by the amount of love he feels in his heart."
Ok, make what Ed said the second sweetest thing she'd ever heard.
Angel giggled and kissed him quickly. "I take back what I said about no fun tonight. You've redeemed yourself." Collins grinned on the inside.
Cha-Cha brought their attention back to the present. "Ed, don't you think they give us a run for our money as Most Adorable Couple Ever?"
All four laughed at that. Angel reached for Cha-Cha's left hand to admire her ring again. "You know, that's a fairly decent sized emerald there. Do you mind me asking what you do for a living, Ed?"
"No, I don't mind at all. I'm a homicide detective with the NYPD."
Angel's eyes bugged out. How exciting! She started questioning him rapidly. "You mean, you get to hunt down bad guys and murderers and put them in jail? Do you carry gun? Oh my gosh, have you ever shot anyone? Has anyone ever shot you? Do you have a badge you get to flash at people? Is it exciting? Do you get to-" Her last question become muffled as Collins reached up and put a hand over her mouth.
"Angel! Baby, you gotta actually stop talking if you want him to answer. I love you, but-" He pressed a kiss to her lips. "-you have a tendency to run at the mouth."
Cha-Cha giggled. "She's just like the Energizer bunny!"
Ed playfully poked Cha-Cha in the arm. "You're exactly the same way Miss-Talks-On-the-Phone-for-Three-Hours-and-Never-Let's-the-Other-Person-Get-A-Word-In-Edgewise!"
"Well then it's a good thing you like my voice!" Cha-Cha retorted. He cringed. She had him there.
He turned to Angel to answer. "To answer your questions Angel, yes I get to hunt down bad guys and murderers and put them in jail. Yes, I have a gun, but I don't like having to use it. Yes, I have shot someone before, but I've never killed anyone. I've been shot one time before. I do have a badge I get to flash at people. It is a very dangerous, but very exciting job and I like it."
Angel beamed at him. "Wow! That's really cool! Baby, isn't that a cool job? It's so exciting!" Angel turned to Collins to get his opinion on how cool Ed's job was.
"It is pretty cool. Dangerous, but cool." Collins agreed. Being an anarchist, he wasn't too fond of the police, but he had nothing against the officers themselves. Besides, Ed was a homicide detective, not an actual cop. He put away murderers. That was a good thing, right?
"What about you Collins? What do you do?" Cha-Cha leaned towards him as she asked the question.
"I teach Computer Age Philosophy at NYU," Collins replied.
Ed looked at Collins with a curious look on his face. "Collins? You wouldn't happen to be Professor Thomas Collins, formerly of MIT, would you?"
Collins looked shocked for a minute. His reputation preceded him. He cleared his throat and sat up straighter in his seat, and Angel immediately recognized this as his defensive stance. She put her hand on his thigh under the table to calm him down. "One in the same," Collins answered.
"You're the one who pulled the stunt with the virtual reality equipment, right?"
"Well, I'd have to plead guilty to that."
To his surprise, Ed burst out laughing. He started laughing so hard, his eyes started watering.
"Sweetie? Are you ok?" Cha-Cha looked concerned. Angel and Collins looked at him like he was crazy.
"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Ed calmed down and then explained his outburst. "I read about it in the paper. I thought it was priceless! I wish more anarchists would conduct their protests that way. It makes my job so much easier when nobody gets hurt. I have a friend who works at MIT, and he told me the real reason you were fired. I think you were definitely justified in wrecking their equipment."
Collins cleared his throat. Besides his boho friends, he didn't get much approval for his stunt. Especially not from a cop. "Thanks. The administration has gone to the dogs."
Cha-Cha looked confused. "Why did you get fired?"
Ed looked up at Angel and Collins. "You wanna tell?"
Angel scooted her chair closer to Cha-Cha's. "Cha-Cha, honey, he got fired for two reasons. The first was because the bastards at MIT are conservative pigs and are homophobic. They found out he was gay. The other reason was that they found out that he has AIDS."
Cha-Cha's eyes widened in realization. "Oh! So you both…?"
Angel smiled at her, a sort of melancholy sadness in her eyes. But Cha-Cha saw strength there too, as if she had accepted her fate and was prepared to live the rest of her life they best way she could. "Yep. We both have AIDS."
Cha-Cha frowned. "Well, I know it's silly of me to say I'm sorry, because that would just sound like I'm pitying you. Which I wouldn't do that, cause you don't need anyone's pity." A tear still trickled down Cha-Cha's face. She reached up and brushed it away.
"Honey, don't be upset! We've both accepted it and gotten past it. We live no day but today."
. "Angel, even though we only met today, I still know that you and I are going to be the closest of friends."
"Honey, I know exactly what you mean!" Angel and Cha-Cha simultaneously reached over and hugged each other.
Collins rolled his eyes and then raised his glass to Ed. "Well here's to us getting ourselves in a mess!"
Ed lifted the glass he'd been brought and tipped it towards Collins. "I'll drink to that!"
Angel and Cha-Cha pulled apart and Angel pouted playfully at Collins. "You're not being very nice"
Cha-Cha mirrored Angel. "Yeah, Ed! Show some of that kindness I know you have buried deep down inside you." She tickled his side and he laughed.
Cha-Cha suddenly had a brilliant idea. She leaned over to Ed and whispered something in his ear. He listened and then nodded. "Yeah. Umm, I've got some in my car." He reached into his pocket and handed her the keys to his car. She kissed his cheek and then bounced out of her seat and headed towards the front of the restaurant. "She'll be back in a few minutes."
A few minutes later, Cha-Cha hurried back in, something clutched in her hand. She sat back down in her seat and grinned happily at Angel and Collins. "I talked to Ed-" she reached for his hand to show the unity of what she was saying, "-and we would really, really love it if you two came to our wedding. Since the wedding is only a month away, we don't have time to get a personalized invitation. But, when we ordered the invitations, I made Ed buy some unaddressed ones just in case." She brought up a sealed envelope from her lap and handed it to Angel.
Angel took the envelope from her, a stunned look on her face. They had barely known this couple for more than an hour, and they were already one of the nicest couples Angel had ever met. She was so happy, she felt like crying. She slid a fingernail under the fold of the envelope and opened it. She took out one of the invitations she'd seen earlier and opened it. She showed it to Collins and they read over the details. May 7th. Angel turned to Collins. "Do you have a problem with any of this? Are you free on the date?"
Collins thought it over for a minute. "Angel Cake, what date is that teachers convention I have to go to?"
Angel automatically answered. "That's on the tenth, dear. We should be able to go."
"Yeah, it looks like we're free to go."
Angel looked back at Cha-Cha. She'd been chewing her bottom lip nervously. She really wanted Angel and Collins to come. "So you can come?"
"Yeah!" Angel nodded.
"Great!"
The happy mood was interrupted by Ed's cell phone ringing. A solemn look fell on Cha-Cha's face. Ed scrambled in his pockets to find his cell phone. He finally found it and flipped it open. "Green. Alright Lennie, I'll be there in five minutes." He snapped it shut and turned to Cha-Cha. "I gotta get going, baby. It looks like it's just a suicide, so I might be home soon. If it's not though…don't wait up." He looked at her apologetically and slipped on his coat. He turned to Angel and Collins and bid them goodbye. "It was really nice meeting you two. We'll have to get together again before the wedding and do drinks." He leaned over and kissed Cha-Cha quickly. "Bye, sweetie." He started for the door, but Cha-Cha called out to him.
"Ed! You forgot your keys!" She handed him his keys from where he'd given them to her earlier. He chuckled and took them from her.
"What would I do without you?" He chuckled again, and then left. Cha-Cha watched him leave with a smile, but sad eyes.
She turned back and put on a fake smile for Angel and Collins. "He hates it when he has to leave like that. He thinks it's rude. I tell him not to worry about it. He's just doing his job."
"Cheer up, honey," Angel said sympathetically. She realized how lucky she was that Collins didn't have a job that put him in harm's way and she knew that sooner or later, depending on how many papers he had to grade, he'd come home that night. "His job is important."
"Yeah, you're right."
Collins suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Angel, what time is it?"
"Don't you have a watch?"
"Yeah. It's wrapped around your pretty little wrist."
"Oh…yeah. It's a quarter to seven. Is that a prob-SHIT!"
"Exactly! We were supposed to be at Maureen and Joanne's almost two hours ago!"
Cha-Cha's eyes widened. "Oh gosh! I didn't mean to hold you two up!"
Angel looked at her puzzled. "You didn't hold us up. We just lost track of the time because we were having such a good time with you and Ed." She stopped slipping on her jacket. "Our friend is having a little party to celebrate her winning a big case. She finally beat this case against this ass named Jack McCoy. Apparently she hates him and this is cause for major celebration. Well anyway, do you want to come with us? Since Ed is working and everything…"
Cha-Cha giggled. "Ed works with Jack McCoy, so I'm not sure your friend would want me there."
"Don't be silly!"
"Anyway, I don't want to impose on you."
"Nonsense! The more the merrier! Besides, Joanne will probably be either too drunk or too busy making out with her girlfriend all night to care."
Cha-Cha thought about it for a minute. Rusty was busy with Sonny tonight, Ivanna was busy working on her newest act for Femmes Fatale, and Grace was sick. Plus, she really liked Angel and Collins. She wanted to hang out with them. "Sure! I'd love to come!"
"Great!" Angel grinned. She had taken out her wallet to pay for her and Collins beers. Cha-Cha waved at her to put it away.
"I invited you. Let me pay. It's the least I can do for making you late to your get together." She pulled a wad of bills out of her purse and put them down on the table. Angel eyes bugged out at the sight of so much money. Where the hell did she get all that kinda money? Cha-Cha noticed her staring at the large amount of cash in her hand. "My friends and I own a little stand on 14th. I design the clothes, and we all sew them and sell them."
"You design clothes? I do too!"
"That's so cool! I'm actually making my own wedding dress."
"Angel! Let's go!" Collins was waiting impatiently at the door for Angel and Cha-Cha.
"Really? So does it pay well? One time I came into a lot of money, but not by very legal means."
Cha-Cha's eyes widened. "What did you do?"
"It was my lucky day one day on Avenue A…"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What time is it?" Collins fidgeted in his seat. It was about a month later, and they were waiting for Cha-Cha and Ed's wedding to start.
"Five minutes after the last time you asked!" Angel hissed at him out of the corner of her mouth. "Just relax. It'll start soon!" Angel looked around the church, which was one that catered especially to gay couples. It was absolutely gorgeous! There were candles all over the place, casting a romantic glow. At the altar, there were three candles. Two smaller ones on the side for the past and the present, and then one larger candle in the middle to represent the future. There were also red and white roses all over the place. The entire scene was incredibly romantic. If she and Collins ever got married, she would want a wedding just like this.
A hush went over the church as the reverend, who just so happened to be Ed's grandfather, came out from the back of the church. All eyes were drawn to Ed as he stepped out in his tux. Angel smiled sympathetically when she saw how nervous he was. The poor man was practically shaking in his dress shoes. But Angel knew that he was nervous because he desperately wanted to marry Cha-Cha and make this the best day of her life.
Music started playing softly as the parents walked down the aisle. Seeing as neither of Cha-Cha's parents were still in her life, she had asked Rusty to take the seat of honor as her mother. She'd given her that option and the choice of being a bridesmaid. Rusty had jumped at the chance of standing in as Cha-Cha's mother. Angel smiled softly as she watched Rusty be escorted down the aisle by Ed's father, a widower and former cop.
The flower girls and ring bearer pranced down the aisle, and then came Cha-Cha's best friend and maid of honor, Grace. She looked regal in her red dress and wrap. The apple colored satin contrasted perfectly against her deep brown skin. She had put on a stylish, short, wispy black wig for the occasion that had a clip in it. She held her head high and had a beautiful air of confidence. She had her arm placed gently in the crook of Ed's lifelong best friend, John. They took their places on the opposite sides of the altar and John gave Ed a quick squeeze on the shoulder.
Behind Grace had been Cha-Cha's other best friend, Ivanna. The shorter drag queen worked the dress just as well as her best friend had. However, she carried herself with more of a zing and attitude than Grace. Escorting her down the aisle was Ed's groomsmen and partner in crime, Lennie Briscoe. He looked somewhat amused at who was on his arm. No matter his facial expression, Lennie looked cool and collected in his suit. He had been deeply flattered when Ed had asked him to be one of his groomsmen.
Cha-Cha had two junior bridesmaids. They were two young girls that she had become close to because they were regulars at her stand. They'd had quite a few interesting conversations and Cha-Cha had become quite fond of them. She'd asked the two friends to be her junior bridesmaids and they'd immediately accepted.
The older one that came down the aisle first was a beautiful girl with curly brown hair and a lovely smile named Elizabeth. As a junior bridesmaid, her dress was slightly different, although still made of apple colored satin. Anyone there would have described her as elegant. She had her arm resting gently in the crook of Ed's half brother, Greg. He had a slightly sullen look on his face. He and Ed didn't get along very well, but their father had forced Ed into making Greg a groomsmen. Neither brother was happy about this, but they put up with it to make their father happy. Greg had always blamed Ed for their father leaving his mother for Ed's mother.
The second junior bridesmaid and the last bridesmaid made her way down the aisle. She was a diminutive girl with bright red hair named April. Her height might have been miniature, but the way she carried herself dared anyone to comment on it. Some people would have said the color of the dress clashed with her red hair, but somehow the two complimented each other. Her arm was placed on the inside of Ed's cousin's arm. Tad and Ed were the same age and had always gotten along quite well, although Ed could never understand Tad's extreme interest in girls. That interest in girls, and later drugs had proved quite troublesome. He'd gotten in trouble a few times for drug use and had spent three years in jail five years ago for statutory rape. Perhaps that was why April kept on glancing at him with a distrustful look on her face.
After all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen had taken their places, all of the guest heard the familiar tune of "Here Comes the Bride". Angel jumped to her feet with everyone else and pulled Collins up with her. She'd made certain to get a seat near the aisle so she'd be able to see Cha-Cha when she walked by. Angel craned her neck forward so that she would see Cha-Cha as soon as possible. Finally, Cha-Cha started heading down the aisle, with her brother Evan escorting her. As she passed by, Angel couldn't help taking a breath in. Cha-Cha was absolutely stunning. Words didn't…couldn't describe how beautiful she was. She wore a halter style gown that clung to her slim body and molded every curve perfectly. The ivory colored satin had a bit of beaded detail on the front that was pleasing, but not distracting from the overall effect. The halter had a slight dip and tucking in the front that actually accentuated Cha-Cha's features and gave the illusion of her actually having a small bust. As she passed, Angel could see the back of the dress. It was low cut and laced up the back. It hung off her backside in a way that Angel knew would make Ed want to skip the entire reception and go straight to the honeymoon. The fabric trained slightly behind Cha-Cha, although not very much. The entire dress was provocative, yet still modest at the same time. Angel was absolutely amazed that Cha-Cha had designed and made that dress. It looked like something you'd see in a David's Bridal magazine!
Cha-Cha had her blonde curly wig pinned up in a tuck and her veil spouted out of the back of her hair. Peal earrings dangled for a short distance from Cha-Cha's ears and she had on modest make up that accented her natural looks. She was positively glowing from the sheer happiness written on her face. She was the most beautiful person Angel had ever seen, and the second most beautiful person Collins had ever seen, after Angel of course.
Evan finally delivered Cha-Cha to the front of the church, kissed her cheek and gave her away. They both had tears in their eyes. Even though Cha-Cha had two other brothers, Evan had always been her favorite. He was the shy, quiet one. The musician. She loved him very much and had been delighted when he agreed to give her away.
Angel got lost in the beauty of the ceremony. It seemed like something out of a dream. Ed and Cha-Cha had both written their own vows and they sounded like something out of a romance novel. The entire ceremony was one of the most romantic things Angel and Collins had ever seen. When the reverend talked about love and how it lives on, even after death, Collins had taken Angel's hand into his own and stroked his thumb against the side of her hand.
She had noticed one funny thing during the ceremony. April, the youngest of the bridesmaid had placed some tissues on the inside of her bra, and throughout the ceremony would pass them down the line to the three other crying bridesmaids. Angel had heard about this happening at weddings, but she'd never personally seen it before. She thought it was hysterical.
Finally, after their vows had been given, and the rings exchanged, which was done with a tenderness that made Angel cry, Ed and Cha-Cha were pronounced husband and wife and Ed took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. The entire church cheered, except for Greg who really looked as if he could care less.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the wedding, the entire church had piled into their cars and moved to the reception hall (which was actually the special room that the Gay & Lesbian Center rented out for weddings). People grabbed champagne glasses and mingled as they waited for the bride and groom.
There was a banner hung up that Rusty, Ivanna, and Grace had made. In flowing, glittery words it said: "You Finally Made An Honest Woman Out of Her! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Ed Green!"
Cha-Cha and Ed had been delayed at the church to take their wedding pictures, but Cha-Cha giggled insanely when she saw it. The three friends had been teasing Ed for a long time about how he needed to just go ahead and marry her and make her an honest woman. She guessed they saw this as him finally doing it. She turned to the three and they attacked her with hugs. Rusty addressed them all, "This is a sad day indeed when the baby gets married. What hope is left for the rest of us old queens? She took the best man out there." Cha-Cha kissed her cheek tenderly. The party got kicked off as the guests grabbed champagne and enjoyed themselves. After a while, someone started working the sound system and people started dancing.
When the wedding had party arrived, Cha-Cha had immediately been surrounded by well wishers. Angel hadn't had a chance to talk to Cha-Cha all evening. She was talking to Cha-cha's friend Walt, and happened to notice over his shoulder that Cha-Cha was alone for the first time that evening. As soon as it was polite, Angel excused herself and made her way over to Cha-Cha and tapped her on the shoulder. The bride turned around and her face lit up when she saw Angel. "Angel!" She pulled her into a hug and Angel warmly returned it. Cha-Cha pulled away and asked Angel, "What did you think of the wedding? Did I look nervous?"
Angel laughed at that. "Of course you looked nervous, but you were getting married! I would have been worried if you didn't look nervous or if Ed hadn't been shaking in his shoes!"
Ed, who was right behind Cha-Cha and was being hazed by Lennie replied, "I was not!"
Angel snickered. "Whatever Ed. And Mrs. Ed Green, the ceremony was absolutely beautiful! I started crying at your vows. And just look at you!" Angel took Cha-Cha's hands and pulled away to examine her dress. "You look so amazing! I mean…" Tears came to Angel's eyes as she looked at Cha-Cha. "You just look so beautiful and gorgeous and sexy. The dress looks so good on you, and then there's just your entire air. You look so happy, and that makes you so lovely. You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen."
Cha-Cha was truly touched. It meant so much to her that Angel had said those things. She hugged Angel again and kissed her cheek quickly. "Then obviously, you've never looked in a mirror, honey!"
Angel pulled away and shook her head. "No. There is no way I have ever been as beautiful as you look right now."
"I bet Collins would beg to differ. So you did like the ceremony? There weren't any problems?"
Angel thought about it for a minute. "Nope. Everything went smoothly. Although, did you know that your little redhead bridesmaid was distributing tissues to your bridesmaids ala the stuffed bra technique?"
Cha-Cha's eyes bugged out. "She did?" She started laughing. "Oh…that does not surprise me at all. She's a persnickety little thing. Both the girls are, but Elizabeth is a bit more reserved than April."
"Did I hear someone mention my name?" Cha-Cha and Angel turned to see April standing there with Evan. She turned and found Elizabeth and called her over. "Lizzie! Get over here! The lovely bride is talking about us!" Elizabeth hurried over.
"Cha-Cha you look so pretty! I love your dress!"
"I do too!" Cha-Cha laughed.
Evan put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey Cha-Cha, are you two ready for your dance?"
Cha-Cha turned and wrapped her hand in Ed's hand and squeezed to let him know she needed to talk to him. As soon as Lennie stopped talking, he faced her. "Yes, honey?"
"You ready for our dance?" She smiled at him sweetly.
He smiled back and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I have been ready for this dance since the first day I met you."
"Good. Ev, go ahead and get down with your bad self." Evan blushed at that and headed for the piano. Angel stifled a giggle as she watched April's eyes follow him dreamily.
"Got your sights set on him?" Angel joked with her.
Elizabeth and April turned to stare at her. Elizabeth answered. "Well, she IS his date."
Angel raised an eyebrow at that. April shrugged at her. "I helped him out with some of the songs he was playing. He needed a singer. I sing. We became friends and he asked me to be his date." She turned and poked Elizabeth harmlessly in the ribs. "Lizzie here is the one who needs a date."
"Shut it, April."
They were interrupted by Ed's father stepping up onto the stage where the piano was located. He grabbed a microphone and tapped it to get the rooms attention. "Excuse me. If I could have your attention please." No one listened.
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!" Silence.
"Thank you, Ivanna. Now that I have your attention, I would like to ask everyone to please move off the dance floor so that our bride and groom can share their first dance as a married couple." Everyone cheered as Ed led a blushing Cha-Cha out to the center of the floor. There were several wild cat calls and wolf whistles which soon proved to be the four bridesmaids and Rusty. Cha-Cha laughed and Ed pulled her close to him so that her arms were wrapped loosely around his neck and his hands rested gently between her waist and her hips. The senior Green vacated the stage and Evan placed his hands on the piano. He looked to Cha-Cha for her go ahead for him to play. She nodded at him and he began to play the classic song "Dream A Little Dream of Me".
Ed and Cha-Cha started dancing along to the song. Angel had to give Ed one thing. He was a very skilled dancer. She jumped slightly as she felt arms around her from the back, but smiled when she felt the familiar warmth of Collins body pressed lightly against hers. She leaned back against him and he swayed his hips with hers to the music. Angel turned her head to kiss his cheek and then watched Ed and Cha-Cha some more. She seemed to be whispering something to him and from the look on his face, it was personal. Angel distinctly saw the words "I love you". Ed pressed a kiss to her forehead and pulled her so that her head was resting against his shoulder. He kept one hand on the small of her back, but moved the other up to touch the smooth skin of her back. Angel looked at the look on Cha-Cha's face. It was one of complete happiness and content. Angel glanced up at Ed and saw the same look mirrored in his eyes. They seemed to be in a world all their own.
The song ended far too soon and they pulled apart. Ed kissed her and applause broke out amongst the guests. Cha-Cha giggled as she pulled back and wrapped her arms around him. Her eyes lit up and she turned to him and whispered something to him. He nodded and she ran up to the stage and dragged Evan up from the piano. She embraced him in a spine crushing hug and he reciprocated it. She then said something to him, and his eyes grew wide and started shaking his head vigorously. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the mike. She took the mike and started talking into it. "Can I get a round of applause for the fantastic hands that played that song?" Everyone complied with her wish and there were some cheers about how nice it was. Once it died down, she smiled it to the mike again. "Yeah, those hands, which belong to my baby brother, just got accepted into Julliard!" She pumped the air and Evan turned redder than most people thought it was possible for a human to turn. Angel turned her head when she heard two screams and saw April and Elizabeth jumping up and down excitedly. Evan and Cha-Cha stepped off the stage and someone turned the sound system back on. Angel laughed as she watched April maul Evan in a hug, with Elizabeth not far behind. She could faintly hear April asking him, "Why didn't you tell me?!" She almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
She felt two hands wrap around her hips and turn her. Collins pulled her into a spine tingling kiss and she smiled against his lips. She guessed that the same thoughts had been going through his mind when Cha-Cha and Ed were dancing as had been going through hers. She pulled back from need of air. "Well hi to you too."
"I love you." Collins positively growled into her ear. He placed a kiss on the bottom of her jaw.
"And I love you too, but they're cutting the cake!" Angel grabbed his hand and him pulled over to where Cha-Cha and Ed were about to begin slicing into the large white cake. There was a smaller grooms cake beside it. Angel hurried when she saw Ed addressing the crowd that had gathered around.
"I told her to plan these cakes, so I have NO idea what flavor it is or anything except that the frosting is white and there are two figure off us on the top! And I know that the other cake has chocolate icing. That's all I know."
Cha-Cha rolled her eyes at this. "I will tell you that the white cake matches my personality and the chocolate cake is quite humorous." He looked at her in mock horror and she batted her eyelashes at him.
"Is everybody here?" Ed looked around and saw that everyone was crowded around. "Alright, let's have some cake!" Cha-Cha picked up the knife and Ed wrapped his hand around hers and together they sliced into the cake. Ed started laughing as they placed a piece on one of the plates and he lifted it up to show everyone. Immediately, there were laughter from anyone who knew Cha-Cha well.
It was pink.
Cha-Cha had ordered a strawberry cake just so her cake would be pink. They picked up forks and both daintily scooped a bite onto their fork and fed it to the other. Ed turned his head to smile at someone who had called his name, and while his head was turned, Cha-Cha scraped a bit of icing onto her finger. When he turned his head back, she dotted his nose with icing. This elicited a laugh from Angel, Collins and a few other people. Cha-Cha was enjoying herself today and being her typical carefree self. It reflected in her eyes and her laugh. She was definitely happy.
After Ed wiped the icing off his nose, he turned to the grooms cake and announced, "I've been dying to see what she ordered for this cake! He cut into the cake and as he pulled the slice of cake out, he burst out laughing. He was laughing so hard, he had to put the knife down and grab a seat. It was too much. This time she had gone all out.
"What's with the cake?" Lennie called out. "You gonna laugh about it or show it to us?"
Cha-Cha rolled her eyes at her husband laughing next to her and continued cutting the cake and placed a piece of it on a plate and held it up. Angel instantly understood what had been so hysterical. Cha-Cha had ordered a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, but as a little wedding day joke, she'd had the bakers use food coloring on the vanilla cake. The end result was a green cake. A green cake for Mr. and Mrs. Green.
The wedding guest all eventually got their cake and dispersed to tables to eat it and talk. Angel and Collins were one of the last people to get their cake, and by that time, most of the tables had filled up. Ivanna, Rusty, Grace, Lennie, and John had all flocked to Ed and Cha-Cha's table. Glancing around, Angel finally saw two empty seats at a table with only four inhabitants. She nudged Collins and started walking towards the table. When she got their, she realized that the four people at the table were Evan, Elizabeth, April, and someone she hadn't been introduced to, but knew must be related to Cha-Cha and Evan by his looks. "Mind if we sit here?"
Elizabeth gave them a bright smile and gestured for them to sit. "Go right ahead and sit down. The more the merrier!" Angel and Collins sat down and she looked around the table. Elizabeth was happily eating her piece of cake and humming a tune under her breath. April and Evan were sitting close together and having a quiet conversation in hushed tones. Occasionally, she'd gesture with her hand or one of them would say something to make the other laugh. They were so wrapped up in their conversation that they probably didn't even realize that their were other people at the table. It was the last person at the table that intrigued Angel. He had the same caramel colored skin and bright brown eyes as Cha-Cha. The only difference was where Cha-Cha's eyes were warm and friendly, this man's eyes were cold and indifferent. He was fiddling with a paper clip and bending into the shape of what remind Angel of a saw. She decided to be friendly and introduce herself. She extended her hand to him.
"Hi, I'm Angel! You must be one of Cha-Cha's relatives." She smiled at him nicely, but the smile disappeared when he glanced up at her and those eyes locked with her own.
"Yeah, I'm related to Carlos," he answered her in a cool voice that had a sharp edge.
This seemed to yank Evan out of his conversation and he glared at the other man. "Richard! You know she goes by Cha-Cha now! Be nice!"
Richard rolled his eyes at Evan. "Fine, I'll be happiness and freakin' sugar coated gum drops!"
Collins looked at Angel and the hurt look at her face and then at Richard. "Hey man, no need to be rude."
Richard sneered at Collins. "And who might you be?"
Angel was usually quite nice, but this guys attitude had ruffled her. "We're friends of Cha-Cha's. Who are you?"
Richard placed his saw-paper clip on the table and leaned towards her and said in a hushed voice. "You want to know?" Angel nodded. "He leaned closer and his voice dropped. "You really want to know?" Again, she nodded her head. He leaned so that he was practically in her face and finally answered, "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!" He sat back, laughing loudly.
Angel sat back in her seat. This guy was a total ass and she didn't like his attitude one bit.
Elizabeth looked at Angel and explained, "That's Cha-Cha's younger brother, Richard. He's a very unpleasant person, and he only ever listens to one person."
"Who?" Angel asked.
"Cha-Cha. She threatened him that if he didn't behave today, she's going to give him a make over in his sleep. So he better behave!" This last bit was directed at Richard. He rolled his eyes and flipped her off.
Angel laughed at that. The sight of Richard nodding in submission to Cha-Cha was priceless.
Elizabeth got a wicked grin on her face and then smiled deviously in Richard's direction.
"Hey Richard?"
"What do you want?"
"Chicken."
Angel watched as he looked up at Elizabeth, his eyes flaming with anger. His features, which were actually quite handsome, were torn into a terrifying grimace and Angel feared for Elizabeth's safety. She just sat back in her seat and laughed at him.
"What the fuck did you say?" He growled at her.
"I said…CHICKEN!" Elizabeth leaned forward and started clucking at him and moving her arms like chicken wings. He threw his paper clip at her and then stormed away.
"What was that all about?" Collins asked. He'd never seen a grown man get upset over such a stupid word.
"Richard hates chickens and is deathly afraid of them. It's the one thing he is afraid of, besides Cha-Cha when she's pissed at him. He was antagonizing these chickens at this farm one time, and they attacked him. He's been a…chicken about it ever since!" She dissolved into laughter at her joke.
April suddenly jumped out of her seat and looked about wildly. She grabbed Elizabeth's hand and yanked her up too. She turned to Angel and exclaimed, "Cha-Cha is fixing to throw the bouquet! Angel, you aren't married yet, so come on! Everyone come on because Ed will throw the garter afterwards! Get a move on!"
Angel, April, and Elizabeth situated themselves at the back of the crowd of single women who were each determined to catch the bouquet. Cha-Cha was standing on a chair and smiled at Angel when she saw her participating. "Are all single females ready?" She asked. They cheered to let her know that they were indeed ready. Cha-Cha turned around so she was facing away from the crowd and closed her eyes. She grasped the white and red rose bouquet in her hands and on the count of three tossed it into the air behind her. The flowers went sailing past the heads of Ivanna, Rusty, and Grace, who were tall enough to catch it, but were at the very front. It continued in it's arc over the heads of all the other guests to the very back. It started coming down right behind April. She reached for it, but for once her short height was a problem and she missed it. Elizabeth made a dive for it, but she was too far to the left. So the flowers continued with their path unaltered right into Angel's hands. It took a moment for her to process it, but she finally realized that she'd caught the bouquet! She screamed loudly and then turned to find Collins in the crowd. She looked for him, and then he was suddenly there and she threw herself into his arms. She bounced up and down as he kissed her with the flowers above her head. Cha-Cha turned around when she heard the scream and was delighted when she saw that Angel was the one who'd caught the flowers. "Looks like she's already found her groom!"
Then it was time for Ed to retrieve the garter for the tossing of the garter. He took Cha-Cha's hand and seated her down on a chair. She was blushing fiercely. He kneeled down in front of her and gently took her ankle. He paused a minute. "You know…this would be a lot more fun if you were wearing a poofy dress. I could get lost in it." She rolled her eyes at him and waved him to get on with it. Pushing her dress up, he slid his hand along her leg until his fingers brushed against the material of her garter. He pulled it down and freed it from her leg. He smiled when he looked at it. Sapphire blue with rhinestones. How typical of Cha-Cha it was. There was a rowdy cheer as he stood up with it and snapped it slightly. "Alright boys! Line in 'em up!"
All the single guys gathered as the women had a few moments earlier. Ed jumped up on the chair and counted down to three. On the count of three, he flung the garter behind him. Being much lighter than a bouquet of flowers, it didn't travel as far. Which is why it was much a surprise when it landed in the hands of a very shocked Collins. Ed turned around to see who caught it and laughed when he saw the stunned look on Collins face. "I guess you two really are gonna be the next ones to get married!" Ed laughed.
Angel was grinning from ear to ear. She bounced up to Collins and threw her arms around him. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and then giggled. "Way to go on catching the garter, baby!" He still looked stunned. "Baby, are you ok?" She frowned. She thought he'd find it funny that she'd caught the bouquet and he'd caught the garter.
Suddenly, he'd pulled her to him and wrapped her up in his arms and delivered a deep kiss to her mouth. Over the haze of passion, Angel could hear Cha-Cha awwing at them, but she quickly shut her out when Collins dipped her and sent his tongue into her mouth. Pulling away for that silly thing called oxygen, Collins still had her leaning back towards the ground. He grinned at her and said:
"Marry me?"
THE END
A/N: Thank you to Chloe! I have pictures of Cha-Cha's wedding dress, the bridesmaids dresses, and the junior bridesmaids dresses in my profile.
