Whatever Will Be, Will Be
Chapter 9
Evans Family Farm
Saturday, March 21th, 2020
Dickson, TN
Mary Denise Sherringer Evans was many things; an avid reader, a wonderful cook and a caring and considerate mother. What she wasn't, was a fool. She had spoken to her son the morning after he'd won four Grammys. She'd seen the pictures of her eldest child the night after the Grammys and the night after that. She had celebrated with him after he'd returned to Tennessee. She very quickly realized during their phone conversation that despite beating out a man he'd idolized since early childhood, rather than talking about his wins, he was talking all about Puck's amazing friend Mercedes. She had seen the looks in his eyes in the pictures-not just of adoration or the trivial heat of momentary lust. She had seen the way his eyes tracked Mercedes desperately. She remembered seeing those looks in the eyes of another Evans man directed at her one warm August night twenty six years before and every single day and night since then. Her boy was in love.
That being said as she was a caring mother, she decided that she wanted to know more about her future daughter-in-law. So she studied. She knew that a lot of people would accuse her of internet stalking, but she just wanted to know more about the girl who'd captured her boy's heart. Mary was very proud of the fact that she kept her searching to easily available on the internet information. At least she had until the fight at BNA. Then it was all bets off. "You know," Mary thought to herself, "if your daughter is a superstar well on the way to megasuperduperstardom, maybe you should stop listing your business name and phone number online. Before Mary had time to work hard enough to talk herself out of it, she'd found and dialed the number. The second she had told the receptionist that her name was Mary Evans; she was immediately put through to Constance Jones.
"Thank the lord above you called me. You have no idea how long I have been sitting here regretting the promise my husband made me give him about contacting y'all." The dentist said in place of a more normative greeting.
Mary's laughter was loud and warm and musical and ended only when she whispered, "I've been distracting my hubby with sex so he'd keep forgetting that I didn't actually promise not to see if I could find you."
"Girl that would have been a damn fine idea, but Alfred got hip to that game long time ago…he'd have just held me down and forced me to agree in ways that would be far too pleasant to get angry about." Connie laughed. "Okay so first things first. I am so glad that you seem like a good person and that we seem as if we're going to get along just fine. Second of all…that Tinsley boy is a pathetic soul and a couple of my cousins down in your neck of the woods are going to be paying him a visit real soon. I do not know if Mercedes is still a virgin, but I know that she was one for a really, really, really long time after she dated him. The last time I actually asked her about the 'state of her union' she was twenty one." She laid the most pertinent facts on the table as she saw them.
Mary thanked her for that then continued, "In the spirit of quid pro quo, allow me to say that this is only the third fight Sam's gotten into in his whole life. And you know now that I think about it, they have all been in defense of someone be it defense of their physical body or they emotional well-being. He has never and will never raise a hand to her in anger. Sammy ain't been pure since Debbie Jo Feehan came with one of my nieces to our family reunion when he was fifteen…though I will admit if my brother Roger hadn't caught them going at it in one of bathrooms, I would still be blissfully unaware. Don't know why he had to tell me either, he'd already told Dwight." The two women shared a laugh and talked until they both had to get off the phone. However, they not only exchanged information they made arrangements to meet as soon as possible.
Saturday morning, Mary woke very early and started cooking and prepping anything that she needed or could get started that early. She would be feeding sixteen people that day and with her husband and all her boys, including Slick, Trigger and Puck, plus the fact that one of her guests went by the nickname Tank, she was actually preparing enough food for twenty five. She kept glancing at the kitchen clock and the moment she had completed all that she could, she raced upstairs. She showered, brushed her teeth, cleansed her face, did her makeup and pulled on her favorite pair of well-loved jeans, a long sleeved, silk white tee shirt covering that with a one button fleece wrap cardigan in heather purple and her favorite black cowboy boots. She woke Dwight, Stevie and Stacey so that they could get everything they needed to get done handled in her absence.
Most of her neighbors would have been surprised to realize that Mary Evans had something other than the big truck she drove to work or when she ran her errands around town. But Sam had given her a beautiful, royal blue Mercedes Benz. That was what she drove that morning as she made the hour long trek to Nashville International Airport. She parked and went in, pulling her email up so she could look a final time at the picture she had received with the flight landing time of her guests. The flight was only fifteen minutes late, and soon Mary saw them striding towards her pulling their carry ons and smiling at her.
Constance Jones was a very well put together woman. She was of a little above average height, slender in a very healthy way with beautiful chocolate skin. Her hair was pulled back in an intricate fishbone braid that ended halfway down her back. She was wearing a pair of very cute dark wash jeggings or maybe they were skinny jeans tucked into a fierce pair of black leather riding boots that hit her right under the knee. Her upper body was covered in a beautiful, almost eggplant, vee neck tunic sweater that looked like it was made of the softest cashmere even known to man. In deference to the chilly Tennessee morning she was wearing a thigh length wool peacoat and a pretty hat that matched her sweater. Next to her, with one guiding hand on her back was her husband.
Alfred Jones was tall and broad and striking and very much a handsome gentleman with skin the color of fresh baked peanut butter cookies and a very low fade haircut that showed that his hairline wasn't going anywhere despite the large amount of gray shot through the black. While Connie was wearing very fitted pants, showing the world that she definitely still had it, Alfred was wearing a pair of jeans that were relaxed fit and loose. They were a medium wash that had either been distressed to look it or they really were very well loved. He was wearing a navy blue sweater with a wide light blue band around his chest. The light blue was mirrored in the collar of the polo shirt he was wearing under the sweater. Mary couldn't help but notice that he was wearing a pair of timberland boots that looked scarred and beat up, just like the ones Dwight liked to wear around the farm.
"Connie, Alfred, it's so good to meet you." She said as soon as they were close enough. She stepped forward and greeted both of them in true southern fashion, as if they were old friends.
"Mary, it is nice to meet you, too." Connie smiled as she hugged the other mother back.
Alfred, however, just cut to the chase. "We might as well go ahead and meet and get to know each other. If those kids make it through the summer without dipping off somewhere and tying the knot I will be completely shocked."
"They had better not even think about it." Both mothers exclaimed with one voice.
Alfred put up his hands as if warding off their violent reaction. "Okay…if Sam or Cedes tells me that they are thinking about elopement, I will warn them that their mothers will beat the brakes off of them if they go through with it."
"You had better…that's my only daughter. I've been dreaming of watching you walk her down the aisle since the minute they told me she was a she." Connie said sternly.
Mary cosigned that argument. "Sam is my oldest child. I'm gonna be there to dance at his wedding."
The three of them looked at each other before they all started to laugh. They hurriedly made their way out to the farm and Mary introduced Dwight and her younger two children to the Jones, before showing them to one of her two guest rooms. As soon as she reappeared alone, Dwight pulled her to the side. "What the hell are you doing Mary-Love? Sam is liable to kill you."
Mary laughed. "Please…" she scoffed. "I know our boy. There are some steps that, in his mind, he has to take before he can ask Mercedes to marry him and they came from your momma. One…meet and date. Done, probably not as long as Faith would have preferred but still done. Two…meet her parents. Done. Three…let your parents meet her. Done, or it will be once they get here later. Then he, and the more I get to know Connie and talk with Alfred, the more I figure it is both of them will need to get the two families together. I invited Mercedes brother too, but he is on call this weekend and can't be too far from his hospital. But anyway, this all will help Sam. It gets him closer to being able to pop the question."
Dwight shook his head in consternation. Partially because she was more than a little right and partially because she was only defending herself with 'altruism' because she knew that she was really doing it for the wrong reason. "Just because they get married quickly doesn't mean that they will give you any grandbabies any time soon."
"I know that. I mean, Mercedes is standing on the cusp of being as big as Beyoncé or Whitney or Chaka Khan or hell, maybe even Aretha. And Sam…he won a Grammy in a category where he was up against Tim McGraw. I know that they are going to be too busy to even think about having kids for a while. I just…Dwight, it was so easy for us. We met and married in days. We weren't even old enough to drink legally…but Sam, he's been looking for his one for so long. Now that he's found her, I just want them to start being together."
Upstairs, Alfred was having a similar discussion with his wife and was having just as little success. "Connie… I want your word that you are going to let Mercedes and Sam find their own way. You're daydreamin' about beige, green eyed grandbabies, but those two have their own destinies. No interfering."
"Fine, but Mercedes is very busy, so if she needs help with her wedding, I'm helping her." Connie pouted cutely.
As he always did when she pouted, Alfred gave her a long, slow, deep kiss before pulling back and whispering against full, lush lips that God had given to both of their children as well. "You can make the offer…but you are not gonna go all Momzilla on her."
With a laugh, Connie rebutted. "I know better. My daughter might not hold a grudge, but she gets mad quicker than anybody else I know…other than her daddy. Now, I'm gonna go and see if there is anything I can do to help Mary. You go bond with Dwight. Growing up I was always surrounded by both sides of my family because my grandparents were best friends. We were lucky and blessed that our parents got along…let's see if Mercedes kids will get as lucky she and I did."
Alfred just shook his head as he let her go before following to do her bidding. In the back of his mind, he felt it spoke to who the Evanses were that no one was waiting to lead them back downstairs. The house was a good sized farm house, but not so big that an escort was needed. However, Alfred had been in the home of white friends who swore they weren't racists, but never left him alone in their home for an instant. Usually that resulted in the end of their friendship. Alfred had never stolen anything in his whole life. Being treated like a criminal was not something he could, would or should have to stomach. He found Dwight Evans outside, under a covered patio type area where a small traditional grill, large propane barbeque and a pretty big Big Green Egg smoker were readied for the men to do their part in the day's feast. "I guess I should apologize for my wife…I'm pretty sure that she is the lead culprit in this whole 'let's surprise the kids' thing." Dwight said as they quickly established a rhythm putting together large tables that the Evans kept in the garage while Stevie and Stacey cleaned up and set up the many chairs they would need to seat everyone.
"Naw…if things are headed where all four of us think they are between our kids, then there's no point in setting a precedent of apologizing for our ladies…well unless they are being crazy unreasonable." The men shared a laugh and started exchanging stories of being married to their wonderful, delightful, wicked and sometimes crazy wives. By the time Sam pulled up in his Lincoln Navigator with Puck right behind him in his GMC Yukon and Simon pulled in a few moments later in his blue black BMW 4-series Gran Coupe, there was food ready and the second Mary saw Mercedes, she was sure that this would all work out fine.
Sam helped Mercedes out of the passenger side door and she looked beautiful. She was wearing a big, bulky, wool and cashmere turtleneck sweater in a shade of ivory just a little bit lighter than oatmeal that made her brown skin look smooth and silky and lovely. Her legs were encased in tight denim that flowed down into brown riding boots. Her makeup was light and effortless, her hair down in big spiral curls that flowed down her back to her waist. "Well aren't you just the prettiest thing." Mary said as soon as Sam had performed the introductions.
"Thank you and thank you for inviting me to your home and allowing me to bring my friends." She replied.
With a big grin, Sam teased, "I'm loving having my two best girls getting to know each other. Where are Dad and the Twin Terrors?"
"They are out back waiting on us." She said with a wicked little smile. "Now introduce me to everyone else…"
"Oh yeah, my bad." Sam shrugged introducing Deja, Kurt, Santana, and Tank to his mother as well.
"Alright, come on…there's a surprise waiting on y'all out back." She said with a smile. She grabbed Santana and threaded her arm through that of the younger woman. "Santana, Noah has told me such wonderful things about you." She complemented Santana on her very cute flirty, but deceptively warm dress and moto boot combo and admired her long curly black ponytail. "You'll protect me if those two decide to kill me, right?" Mary dropped her voice to whisper as she led them through the house.
"Sorry Lady, Puck loves you like another mother and everything, but when Mercedes blows her top for real, even I run for cover. I'll take you with me, but that's the best I can promise." Tana told her with a big smirk.
They went through the back door to find that Mercedes was enveloped in her mother's arms and Sam was being clapped on his back by Alfred. Santana leaned over and muttered, "Oh, you and Connie aren't playing with this stuff."
"Not even a little bit." Mary assured her with a grin.
Everyone paired up and started chatting. Mary and Connie cornered Simon easily, no one else even noticed. "Look, I'm thinking a nice late summer or early fall wedding. We need you to get in contact with Antoinette Langlois, Mercedes manager, and make sure that they have at least two to three weeks off at the end of August and into the beginning of September."
Simon looked at both slightly crazed mothers. "Ummm, you do realize that those two aren't even engaged yet."
Connie reached over grabbed Simon's chin and turned his head to look at the very couple they were discussing. "Do you not see what we do?" Sam and Mercedes were cuddled together as they were laughing and talking to Stevie, Stacey, Kurt and Deja. They looked completely adorable. The others at the table were teasing them and they seemed to be taking it all in stride. The main thing Simon noticed was that they were a presenting a unified front in the face of the taunts and jibes of their friends and family.
"Okay…so they are definitely in love and gonna get married sooner rather than later…but still word in the trades is, I mean, doesn't Mercedes tour start not long after the Billboard or BET Awards?" Simon babbled energetically. It was always the best way to get his mother of his back. Just babble at her until she got tired of trying to understand what he was saying.
Unfortunately for him Mary Evans was a championship babble translator. "Well shit." She spat. Her and Connie's eyes met and held as if they were having an entire conversation without saying a word. "A Christmas wedding would be nice."
"Maybe a destination wedding down in Na'Orleans." Connie offered. "My family belongs to a beautiful old church even Katrina couldn't damage too much and all the repairs were long since finished."
"And I bet one of those beautiful old hotels or mansions would be perfect for a reception." Mary nodded. "Plus New Orleans in the winter is a much better idea than late August."
"This will give me more time to plan the engagement party." Connie tried to look on the bright side. "I do hope that Sam pops the question fairly soon. I was able to get the Country Club for the first Saturday in May at a great rate…as long as he does it by Easter, I shouldn't have to explain to Cedes how I 'worked a miracle'." She giggled. "You, Dwight and the twins should come to Lima for Easter."
Mary looked thoughtful, "the kids will be out on Spring Break. But it's their senior year, they probably wanna do something with their friends." She actually would love to go back to Lima for a visit. She had made some truly lovely friends who'd been a great comfort and help to them during their harshest times of struggle.
Connie could see that Mary really wanted to come, and since she wanted her new friend to come as well, she saw nothing wrong with helping her find a way to make them both happy. "Well, you can always offer them the choice of staying with Sam and doing things with their friends or coming with you and Dwight and possibly seeing some of the friends they made during the two years they lived in Lima."
Laughter rang across the large back yard between the farm house and the stables and barn. "That might actually work…especially since Sam is probably gonna want to be where ever Mercedes is."
"Oh, I hadn't thought about that. Ya know even when she is touring, she usually makes it home for Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving." Connie confessed. The two women decided to go and get their husbands involved in the plotting. Since they were getting along like a house on fire, they were more than happy to help figure out some ways to ensure that they could spent more time together.
Everyone mingled talking and getting to know each other as they snacked on the finger foods Mary had laid out as appetizers. Only when those were gone, did they all separate. Sam took Mercedes around the property. He led her to the stables where he introduced her to his stallion, Paladin. "PawPaw gave him to me when he was just a foal. I was seven and I had spent the whole summer watching a really old western show called 'Have Gun Will Travel' with him. I don't remember much about the show, but the name seemed perfect since the guy always wore black. Paladin is actually pretty rare…his momma was a quarter horse that ran with a mustang stallion for a while and popped up in PawPaw's herd when she was already pretty far gone with this guy. Blacks in either of those are a little rarer in either of those breeds. He's almost sixteen hands high." He told her proudly. "He's always been my responsibility to take care of since I was a little bit a nothing."
Mercedes looked at the way Sam's hands were slowly stroking the animal's shoulder. "He is very big." She commented. "Paladin sure seemed happy to see you." The horse was butting Sam's shoulder as if trying to get him to let him out so they could go for a ride.
"He doesn't really let anyone ride him but me. The most exercise he gets is getting to run in the paddock or to cover the mares that Dad or some of the other area farmers want to breed him with. He was a damn good trick pony back in the day. He still can't be beat in a flat race. Oh Mercy…if I saddle him want to go for a ride?"
Mercedes laughed. "Sam, this is the first time I've seen a horse in the flesh. I have no clue how to ride one."
"No, you can ride double with me." Sam told her. His voice was so very excited. "Come on. We won't go far."
Before she knew it, Mercedes heard herself agreeing. Sam patiently talked her through the whole process of saddling his Paladin and together they walked him out of the stable and over to the mounting block. Sam used the stirrups to mount, and reached down and helped Mercedes use the mounting block to get up in front of him. "Oh my God, I don't think my legs have ever been spread this wide before in my life." She groaned as she settled between the pommel and Sam.
"Good thing you got a little bit of practice last night." He teased. Sam took Mercedes on a slow butt slightly abbreviated tour of the Evans farm. The land that had been in Sam's family for generations had been utilized for actual growing of wheat and vegetables for a very long time. "Originally the main crop we grew here was tobacco. Then later we got into corn and cotton…but don't worry, the Evans family never held to having slaves. I don't know if it was a family myth or something, but supposedly there was a cabin at the edge of the property that one of my people used to use as a stop on the Underground rail road. On both sides really, because I know for a fact that my one of my grandmother's uncles joined the Klan and got kicked out of her family. Anyway. When you farm, you have to rotate the crops, or else you end up tapping out all the nutrients in your soil. PawPaw got us into wheat when he took over the farm. Momma and Daddy are thinking about going to soybeans next, but they're still learning about all of it. Plus they still have their main jobs so they don't have the kind of time it takes to rotate from wheat to soybeans just yet anyway."
"Wow…do are you gonna want to take over the farm when they are ready to retire or whatever?" she asked curiously. She didn't have a problem with living there later on, but she knew that for Sam it would mean giving up the road.
"No. Maybe our kids will but for Mom and Dad the farm is pretty much gonna be their retirement. Stacey is way more interested in the farm thing than either Stevie or I, and she is hopping to give the fashion industry a go...so I don't know when she will be ready to take over 'round here. I don't much like farming. I would love to have a horse ranch though…but not like a real wild west kind of thing, just a large plot of land, no more than a hundred to a hundred fifty acres, but with a big ass modern house and a pool."
Mercedes' eyes lit up. "I have always wanted to have one of those big, sexy infinity pools with a nice deep, big hot tub next to it."
Sam chuckled. "I would love to make love to you in a nice, deep hot tub. Have you screaming my name so loud people can hear it half the county away."
"Boy, you so nasty." She chided without rancor. She leaned back into his chest. "I guess we'll have to look into getting a bigger house."
"Not until you're ready to start having babies. I mean, your house is four bedrooms, and mine is six…so technically either is big enough to handle a kid or two." Sam pressed a kiss to the column of her neck as they rode.
"My house lists as four bedrooms, but currently one of those is actually a massive closet." She confessed. "It was done in such a way, though, that if I ever sell, I can easily convert it back to a bedroom."
"If we buy someplace together, we should build an outbuilding to hold our tour buses and wardrobes." Sam mused.
"And another to act as a studio." She agreed.
"So we need a stable, four to eight stalls and a tack room…and a hayloft. Gotta have my Baby riding me in a hayloft." Sam teased her gently nipping her earlobe. "We need a barn big enough to hold two big ass tour busses. We need another big enough to be set up as dual wardrobe closets for our tour and event apparel."
"That one should be pretty close to the main house." Mercedes told him with a smile. It made her feel all kinds of wonderful discussing their future like this.
"Maybe we could do that as the basement instead and build a soundproof studio in another out building." Sam suggested.
"I like that." Mercedes dithered for a moment before making her next suggestion. "So we'll definitely need a caretaker's cottage, and possibly a small bunk house…we'll need to hire trustworthy people to take care of Paladin and the other horses you and I both know you're gonna want. But I think we should build a guest house. Probably two, each of them with enough bedrooms for our whole combined entourage…"
"You sound like you want to build a whole little town. That would take a hell of a lot of land…not gonna find that anywhere near LA." He prodded.
A Kanye shrug was his answer. "I was thinking more like we buy some land in southern Ohio or somewhere in between our parents. We can write our music anywhere. We can keep your house in Nashville and mine in LA…or sell them both and buy something smaller just to stay in while we're in those cities actually laying tracks."
"That's not a bad idea." Sam acknowledged. "I just assumed that you'd want to stay near a big city."
"I thought so too. Until I lived in one long term. I hate LA traffic. I hate all the people…most of whom seem like they go out of their way to be complete and total assholes. I like the restaurants and love the shopping, but we can always go to a city and have those experiences. Plus…our music takes all over the world, having some place quiet and calm to come home to sounds amazing."
"It really, really does." Sam agreed. "We're gonna be so good together Mercy."
"Our parents seem to get along well." She agreed. "They seem to really like each other."
"I was surprised to see your Mom and Dad here." Sam laughed. "Dad told me that the moms started talking on the phone last Monday and they had this all worked out by Tuesday. He said that Momma figured that since I wouldn't feel like I was able to pop the question until our parents had met, she'd help us out."
Mercedes' merry laughter rang out across the land a startled flock of birds took off from the stand of trees they had been nesting in. "I'm glad she did…after last night…I'm ready to get that next step out of the way. Maybe we can…" she stuttered to a stop.
"We can what?" Sam prodded. His voice got low and thick. "Maybe we can try something else? Maybe we can try sliding into second?"
She wrenched around in the saddle trying to look at him. "I thought that we'd made second base last night?"
Sam smirked at the back of Mercedes' head. "Technically, I guess we did. But I was counting that more as hitting the shortstop area of the baseline. I mean I was hoping that we'd go by the theory that hand jobs and me getting my fingers against your flower so I can at least taste that sweet, sweet nectar of yours would be second base and therefore would be the outer limit and where we could cut things off until after our I dos." He let his voice convey his pouting and kept his arm just tight enough around her sides that she wouldn't be able to really turn around and look at him.
"I guess we can use that as our limit. I mean, I know that you aren't really getting as much pleasure out of our interactions as I am." She finished naively.
"Oh no, Darlin'." Sam shook his head. "You have no idea how much pleasure I get every time I hear you moan or whine or beg. Every time you babble or scream out in pleasure, I'm right there with you. Shee-it, Mercy-mine, you made me pop off in my pants like I haven't done since I was thirteen years old."
Mercedes was very glad that Sam couldn't see the smug and satisfied look on her face. Knowing that she affected her man that strongly was quite an ego boost and more importantly, it made her feel strangely loved and cherished in a way she knew she would need to analyze later. "We should probably head back. Your parents are gonna have the food on the table soon."
The rest of the afternoon was a blur of laughter, conversation, discussions and teasing. Inside jokes were quickly developed and an 'extended' family became a lot more tightly bound. The next morning the whole family, minus Simon, attended the nearby St. Christopher's Catholic Church, the Evans family church for a very, very long time. Everyone actually traveled to the airport together to see Connie and Alfred as well as Mercedes, Kurt, Santana, Deja and Tank off on their respective return flights. The goodbyes were long and exuberant. Sam and Mercedes' goodbye kiss made the TMZ website's front page.
Mercedes Jones Residence
Wednesday, March 21th, 2020
La Habra Heights, CA
Mercedes was driving her roommate insane. Completely and totally insane. "Stop CLEANING!" the fiery Latina finally screamed. "The place is perfect. Martha Stewart couldn't make this place look any better…God fuck her soul."
The air left Mercedes lungs in a big whoosh. "I know you did not just say that?"
"Oh, I said it and I stand by it. She spent like thirty years making people feel inadequate because they could never be as good as her. Of course they couldn't…that broad must have sold her soul to a minor demon long before she ever got famous." Santana reasoned. "Anyway, look…I know that you are nervous. You invited Sam to bring his whole crew and stay here…which is necessitating that he bunks with you. But it is just a few days, I'm sure that he won't seduce you out of your massive panties in the five nights he'll be here."
"Oh he totally could." Mercedes laughed. "He won't, but Girl, after finding out how much I really like 'foolin' around' with him when we were at his house…I'm really weak when it comes to that man."
"Good…it's about time. I been waiting for you to find some guy that forced your ass to finally remember that you had some hormones. You took so long that even I had to pray for you to find somebody worthy of your ass." Santana grinned. "Anyway like I was saying, you're golden. You've updated all your shit, towels, bedding, new lingerie for both of us, thank you for that by the way…you've got enough food in that kitchen to feed an army base of teenage football players. Everything is gonna be fine."
"You don't think Slick is gonna mind having to go and stay at Kurt's do you?" she worried her lower lip.
"Long as Hummel doesn't mind, why would Slick. Trigger should be the one that minds. Slick's gonna be getting laid, Puck's gonna be getting laid, Sam's gonna be getting as close to laid as he can, poor Trigger is gonna be the odd man out." Tana teased. "Now…they will be here in about three hours and you wanted to make a homemade dinner for everyone." It was a distraction that would keep Mercedes occupied for hours and give Santana something to do other than watch her be cray-cray.
Heading into the kitchen Mercedes tried to think about what she wanted to cook. She had decided that since the coming awards show was the Kids Choice Awards and she wouldn't have to fit into anything sleek and sexy, she could really have some fun with the meal. She'd bought fifteen pounds of extra large shrimp, ten pounds of crawfish, seven pounds of oysters, and five pounds of soft shell crabs…all of that had been headed, shelled, deveined and/or cleaned as appropriate. She was seventy-five percent sure that that would be enough to feed all of them, including Toni and Tank who were coming over for dinner as well. In addition to the main 'meats' she also had enough small and medium, the sweeter sized shrimps and sausage to make her Grand'Mere's jambalaya and a great dirty rice with chopped pecans and slivered almonds.
As soon as she entered the kitchen, she first set Santana to cutting, chopping and dicing everything that would be needed for the side dishes and the big veggie filled salads. Once that chore was begun, Mercedes turned her attention to her ten cup rice cooker. She had actually gotten that one started earlier before she had decided that she really needed to vacuum in between the couch cushions for a second time. She shook her head thinking internally that Santana may have been right to yell at her. Taking a moment to start the red beans to quick soaking she quickly made a mental list of the best order to take things to get everything done. Mind made up, she went over to her countertop deep fryer, she prepped it with the only oil she felt comfortable frying with, coconut oil was the single healthiest oil for deep frying and it had a light taste that wouldn't overwhelm her cooking. That done, she turned her attention to making the macaroni and cheese. It didn't exactly fit with everything else…she just really wanted some. While she boiled a bulk size pack of elbows in water, salt, a little granulated garlic and onion, she assembled the rest of her ingredients, Colby and Monterey jack cheeses, extra sharp, sharp and white cheddar cheeses, eggs, heavy cream, butter and margarine, salt and pepper. Once the elbows were done and drained, she quickly and efficiently assembled the entire concoction and set it in the oven to bake at three fifty.
After putting those pots and bowl into the dishwasher, she started to assemble the shrimp creole. She coated the bottom and sides of her biggest Dutch oven with a mix of melted butter and olive oil before sautéing the diced andouille sausage until it was just starting to brown. She took that out the pot and set it to the side. Into the pot went an entire bushel of sliced celery. She cooked that until it was starting to soften before adding a boat load of minced garlic. The best part for Mercedes about cooking her grandmothers's recipes was that there was no measuring at all. So to make enough for a huge crowd there was no multiplying or whatever, there was just plain old fashion eyeballin' and tastin' same as if she were just making it for herself. She tossed in a couple of bay leaves and a large amount of cubed onions, red, orange and yellow bell peppers, one diced red pepper. Once the onions and peppers had sweated down and the bay leaves were limp, she pulled the leaves out and tossed in thyme, crushed rosemary, smoked paprika, cayenne and half a bottle of Worchester sauce. She stirred until she saw that it was ready for the next steps and added a big ass can of diced tomatoes, one can of organic tomato juice that was actually the Whole Foods version of V8, several handfuls of sliced okra and just a small handful of her Grand'Mere's secret ingredient spice blend that she couldn't even let Santana know about. When that had just reached a boil, she added some Texas Pete and put the andouille sausage back in as well as adding a pound of the small shrimp and two pounds of the medium. She let it reach a rolling boil before tasting and augmenting flavors here and there. When she was completely satisfied that her friends and love would weep in delight at the flavor explosion on their tongues, only then did she cover it, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer on a pretty low heat.
Mercedes checked the time and decided that roasting the asparagus and squashes and zucchini would be the next order of business. She pulled the big bowl from the dish washer and quickly hand washed it. The cleaned and sliced veggies went into the bowl then Mercedes tossed them with olive oil, minced garlic, granulated onion, thyme, ground ginger, salt and fresh ground white pepper. She spread that out on three different baking sheets and after pulling the macaroni and cheese out of the oven and sitting it on the island to cool, she slid them onto the three racks in her oven. She set a timer so she could pull them and turn the veggies. With that accomplished, she grabbed the salad greens, kale, spinach, arugula, and like three other lettuces and assembled the base of the salad in the biggest salad bowl she had. After tossing those all together she divided the base into two smaller, though nowhere near small bowls and in one she added grape tomatoes, julienned red, yellow, and orange peppers, sliced Kalamata, cerignola, picholine, and gordal olives, and shaved carrots and tossed that one together before covering it with Saran Wrap and putting it into the ridiculously large refrigerator she'd always known she would eventually find a reason for having bought. After setting Santana to turning the roasting vegetables, Mercedes set about fixing up the second salad. The other bowl was treated to some diced mandarin oranges, roasted pecans, almond slivers, pine nuts, quinoa, avocado and sliced castelvetrano olives. Rather than tossing it immediately, she gently shook it to blend the ingredients then covered it and refrigerated it until later. She had made the simple salad dressings the night before and people could pick and choose between the four she felt would work with the two different salads.
Mercedes didn't realize that as she'd been concentrating on cooking, she had also been singing. She was currently on Ella Fitzgerald's 'Can't Help Lovin' That Man of Mine' and Santana was really only still in the kitchen because she couldn't make herself leave. Mercedes checked their softness and drained the red beans. In her biggest stock pot, she drizzled in some olive oil, and browned some caseless andouille sausage. In the pot went garlic, diced onions, fresh chopped basil, seeded and chopped jalapenos, chopped bell peppers, no green as usual, her Grand'Mere's secret Cajun spice blend and some rosemary, thyme and crushed ginger. Once that had sweated down some, she added a few ham hocks and the softened beans. She covered them with a mixture of water and chicken stock and brought the pot to a boil. After it had boiled for several minutes, she turned it down to the lower side of medium, covered it and moved on to her next project.
She pulled all the different shellfish out of the refrigerator and carefully checked them over and then washed them clean. "Tana, lay out some dish towels on my other baking sheets," Mercedes was the first to admit that she had a bad addiction to buying cooking and baking ware. She needed help, but it was all coming in handy that day. "Cover the dishtowels with two layers of paper towels." She instructed while she was washing the seafood. She laid all of it out on the prepped baking sheets and started to ready her flour. Two parts self-rising and one part all purpose flour were combined with salt and coarse ground black pepper. Once she had whisked that together until it was fully incorporated, she made the egg wash. Super big bowl was washed yet again and then eggs were cracked…lots and lots and lots of eggs. She opened two cans of Carnation's evaporated milk …not Pet, never Pet…and poured those in with the eggs. Lawry's seasoning salt, her Grand'Mere's secret spices, onion, garlic and ginger powders, black pepper and some Montreal steak seasoning all joined the eggs and milk. Mercedes used her hand mixer to beat that together real fast and she set up her frying area. Deep fryer was preheated to the perfect 400 degrees…the coconut oil was ready to go. Seafood went into the egg bath, was dredged in the flour mixture and then dropped into the deep fryer. When it floated, the baskets were pulled up and allowed to drain for a short time, before being emptied into paper towel lined Pyrex dishes to drain completely. While Mercedes worked like a well-oiled machine, Santana, pulled the roasted veggies and set the baking sheets on Mercedes almost never used tower cooling rack. She stirred the Creole shrimp, emptied the rice cooker into a big ass ceramic thing that she thought went to Mercedes' crock pot, covered it so it would stay hot, washed the rice cooker and restarted it for the jasmine rice that would be served with the creole shrimp. She was keeping track of the time, really she was, but she was still shocked when she heard the doorbell.
Santana headed out front and opened the door wearing a tiny red tank top with Elmo's face among the field of red and a pair of booty shorts. Her hair was up in a bun and she had a smear of tomato on her cheek near her mouth from where she had tasted the creole shrimp. Kurt had taken Baby Jr. to the airport and picked up the five arrivals from Tennessee. Santana was only a little surprised to see that Pamela had joined them, but she knew that they would figure something out as far as housing the woman. "Hola people. We're in the middle of making dinner. Toni and Tank should be here soon, and Deja had better get here in the next fifteen minutes since she was in charge of providing the desserts." She let them all into the house. "Let's see…Sam you can take your stuff up to Cedes room. Go up the stairs to the top floor. Trigger, you are on the second floor…second door to the left is the guest room. Puck first door on the right is my room…you are with me. Slick, oh okay you left your stuff in Baby the Second, good because you're heading home with Kurt. Please blow his back out. I need him seventy five percent less uptight by Saturday. Pammy, good to see you, you might end up bunking with Trigger if you don't want to stay at Deja's. Kurt, could you please run and grab some ice. Toni and Tank are bringing the drinks, don't know if they are bringing ice though. Sorry if I'm brisk, but I've gotta get back in the kitchen if we want to eat soon."
She disappeared into the kitchen without letting anybody get a word in edgewise. Sam looked at Puck and Kurt, "did she really just say that I'm in Mercy's room?"
As soon as Santana rewashed her hands, Mercedes put her to work frying the shellfish using a second batch of Mercedes' special egg wash and flour, while the chocolate skinned diva assembled the dirty rice. First she drained the completely cooked red beans, then she heated some extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat in her smaller big ass Dutch oven. She sautéed garlic, onion, celery, cored and diced jalapenos and red and yellow bell pepper with the secret spices until they were tender. The remaining small, sweet shrimp went in and she sautéed them until they were pink. She browned the last of the diced andouille sausage and some diced previously steamed chicken gizzards. Next she stirred in the drained kidney beans, some onion powder, salt, pepper, and Texas Pete. After giving that time to come together with some shrimp stock and white wine, she added the rice from her crock pot, butter, chopped green onions, some the chopped pecans, more of the secret spice blend, julienned baby spinach leaves, thinly sliced celery, and a relatively small amount of finely chopped cilantro she poured chicken, shrimp and vegetable stock in until it stirred easily then let it cook while she went back to frying the seafood.
Once free of the frying station, Santana started the process of cleaning the center island so that it could act as part of the buffet. Even with Mercedes custom built dining table that sat twelve comfortably, they couldn't put the food out there. She did grab the condiments they would want/need for the dinner, Heinz ketchup and cocktail sauce, Texas Pete, spicy brown mustard and the four homemade salad dressings. She also filled and set out three sets of salt and pepper shakers. Deja arrived with the desserts and they set the wide selection of cupcakes up on the sideboard in the dining room. Kurt returned with the ice and put it away. Then he washed his hands and set the table for twelve…it would leave an empty place setting…but he couldn't make himself set it for the odd number. Toni and Tank arrived and bottles of perfectly chilled white and rosé wines were uncorked and decanted. Cold Heinekens and Coronas were set up in a copper mini trough of ice on a silver tray were made ready. Cokes and a few other soft drinks were made available.
Sam and Pamela kept offering their help, but Puck quickly stopped them. "If you go anywhere near Mercedes' kitchen before she has called for us, it won't be pretty. Finn did it once in high school…she was making us brownies and I guess he thought if he helped it would hurry her up or something. She threw a cutting board at his head. It was one of those heavy marble ones you can use for baking and shit too. We're gonna wash out hands and be ready to move at a moment's notice if she calls us to come do something, but other than that we're gonna stay our happy asses out here."
Less than half an hour Mercedes voice drifted through the downstairs, hearable over the TV, but not harshly loud. "We can eat."
"Oh thank God." Pamela breathed. At the looks from everyone else she shrugged. "What? It smells frigging amazing and I'm hungry enough to knaw off an arm."
Sam was hungry, yeah, but he was in a hurry because he wanted to see his woman. Entering the kitchen, he crossed the pretty travertine tile floor to wrap Mercedes in his arms. Damn she is looking adorably sexy in those tiny shorts and that cute little tank top. Sam thought to himself. Since they were in a fairly crowded room, he let a long, strong hug do him for the moment and released her to finally look over the food she had prepared. "Well Damn Darlin' you sure as hell know how to lay out a spread fit for a king."
"First time cookin' for my man. Had to make sure I put my foot in it as Grand'Mere would say." She told him leaning up to give him a chaste kiss.
Two salads, three kinds of roasted veggies, three side dishes and more fried shellfish than one could shake a really big stick at were arranged on the center island. There were bowls by the salad, the reheated macaroni and cheese and the creole shrimp and jasmine rice, there were small plates next to the roasted vegetables and big plates that could hold the dirty rice and seafood. Deja made sure to get at the end of the line and after everyone had everything they wanted or needed she covered the serving bowls, dishes and platers before taking her food and joining her friends. As soon as everyone was seated and had their preferred drinks in front of them, Tank led them all in thanking the Lord and the chef for their food. Then they dug in.
Trigger took his first bite and groaned, "Sam, man I know you are in love with her, but I'm sorry man, I've gotta make Mercedes my wife. Oh my God these crawfish are so good it's like God put them here for me and for you."
"Around the table there were a million words of agreement and even more effulgent praise. Sam had gotten a little bit of everything offered including all the different kinds of shellfish. He'd been a good boy and started with the salad that had all the colors of bell peppers and olives. At his friend's reaction to his first taste of Mercedes' fried crawfish, Sam emphatically shook his head. "Hell no man, Mercedes is mine. She's gonna marry me and I already have the ring and everything." He said without thinking as he devoured the amazing salad. Mercedes blushed almost visibly and giggled a little, though she thought that everyone else was too busy eating to notice Sam's slip up.
There was laughter and conversation, but only after everyone had at least tasted everything Mercedes had prepared for them. Toni told Mercedes that everything was perfection and she and Tank hadn't eaten that good since their grandmother had been killed when the levies broke. After everyone had cleaned their plates, twice in the cases of Sam, Trigger, Slick, Santana and Puck and three times for Tank, they were too full to have dessert…so instead they headed into the great room and watched some TV. The rest of the evening went by very quickly. Pamela and Deja had bonded very well, so Pam when home with Deja. Once the house was cleared of everyone that wasn't staying there overnight, Sam, Trigger and Puck handled cleaning up the kitchen and dining room. "You know that you told Sexy Mama about the ring already…right?" Puck asked as they were wiping down the counters.
Sam nodded. "I'm still gonna stick to the plan for dinner tomorrow…but I think I'm gonna ask her tonight. I know she is showing how much she trusts me by letting me sleep in her bed while we're here…but it wouldn't feel right if she didn't know how committed I am to her."
Puck nodded. "Good."
The three men made short work of loading the dishwasher, hand washing everything that either couldn't be put in there or wouldn't fit. They swept the floors and made sure that all the leftover were put away before splitting up and heading to their respective bedrooms. When Sam entered the master suite, Mercedes was in the shower. Sam went to his luggage and quickly found the ring that Pamela had tracked down for him. On Monday morning, he had risen very early and flew to the Pacific Northwest to buy the ring as soon as the antique and jewelry store opened. Thankfully that meant that when Mercedes stepped out of the bathroom wearing a beautiful lavender lace and satin nightie and matching boy short panties, Sam was sitting on the bench at the foot of her bed holding a navy blue velvet box.
"Sam…" Mercedes breathed quietly.
"Mercy, it's beautiful how well you trust me to keep my word. And don't worry. I will definitely be keepin' my word. After all my word is my bond. Still before we sleep together, even just the textbook definition of the term, I want you to have this ring. I know, you've already said that you're marrying me…but can we make it official?" He slid down onto one knee offering Mercedes the open ring box. "Mercedes Josephina Jones, I love you more than Spock loved Nyota. I love you more than Jake loved Neytiri. I love you more than Anakin loved Queen Amidala. More than Han loved Leia, more than Wesley loved Princess Buttercup… will you do me the honor of walking this 'tedious journey' with me for the rest of our days?"
"Oh God Sam, yes, of course. And Sam, I just want you to know that I love you more than Jadzia loved Worf or Willow loved Tara or Zoe loved Wash or Juliet loved Romeo." She told him as she crossed to him and knelt with him hugging him to her tightly. The hug grew into a kiss. The kiss turned from innocent to heated quickly and only deepened from there. Sam's entire body was panting with want for the beautiful woman in his arms, so he knew that it was imperative that he took a step back.
He pulled the ring for the safety of its box. The ring was a platinum, two and half carat Forevermark by DeBeers diamond ring the company called its Caress engagement ring. The ring seemed perfect for Mercedes. The large almost flawless and completely bright solitaire diamond of the Caress ring seemed to be being affectionately held by the encircling pavé studded platinum in a gentle embrace. The contemporary design delicately embraced the amazing solitaire whilst reflecting Mercedes' perfect balance of power and grace. He slid it onto the third finger of her left hand and was happy to find that it was just snug enough that there was no way it could accidentally come off, but not so tight that it would hurt her.
"Sam, that's the ring I saw years ago." She whispered as she stared at it for a long moment. She took a deep breath and shooed him towards the shower. "Go, get ready for bed then come back so we can celebrate." She commanded. Sam moved quickly to do her bidding, not wanting to gone from her presence long and definitely motivated by the promised celebration. While Sam was in the shower, Mercedes got things ready. Since Sam had mentioned wanting to move forward to hand jobs, she had done tons of research. She reached into the night stand and pulled out a small vibe and a bottle of lube that smelled of sandalwood.
When Sam returned to the bedroom, freshly showered, shirtless and drying his hair with a hand towel, Mercedes was lying on the bed waiting on him. Crossing the room Sam pulled Mercedes to her feet and they started to kiss and hug and just revel in being together again. Six days and five nights would be the longest they'd been physically together and they were both determined to enjoy every single second of it. Sam's skilled hands soon had Mercedes back arching into the kiss. She came very close to cumming more than once just from Sam's crazily, amazingly good kisses and the anticipation of what she had planned. She had researched very carefully what she wanted to be able to do to him. Maybe that research had introduced her to a part of the net, she had previously avoided…but still it was only for research purposes.
Mercedes grabbed him by the hips and moved him in front of the bench. She put the lube and vibe down before taking her place on the bench, facing his crotch. Mercedes squirted a little bit of lube in one hand before palming the subtly shaking mini vibe. Gathering her courage, she gently pulled Sam's both his dick and his balls through the front flap of his pajama pants. She reached one hand beneath his scrotum, and gently tickled his balls, while her other hand gently petted the top of his cock. Sam began to purr. She closed her top hand around his shaft, and stroked the length of it while her lower hand continued to massage his testicles. After a few back and forth strokes, she added a twisting motion to the shaft stroke, with an especially strong twist each time she crossed the rim of the cock head. That move was more than Sam could handle, and it had him shuddering and twitching. She didn't want him to cum too quickly; she was enjoying it too much! Mercedes truly understood what Sam had meant about how bringing her pleasure had brought him pleasure too. She shortened her stroke and concentrated on the shaft, avoiding the sensitive head and rim on most of her strokes. Every five or six strokes, though, she gave his rim under the head of his cock the full twist treatment. According to her readings, it was supposed to drive him crazy!
Mercedes kept up this rhythm for what she estimated was about ten or fifteen minutes. She really couldn't wait any longer, she wanted to see him shoot off. She lengthened her stroke again to include his rim on every pass, and he started to go crazy again. "Cum for me, Sam," she said, in her sexiest possible voice. "See my thighs? My chocolate brown thighs? I want you to cum all over them." She'd read that line in one of the fictional portrayals of hand jobs she'd read and found that it had excited her so much she had made a point of remembering it. That was all it took; with the very next stroke, Sam blasted off and drenched her thighs with his thick, pearly cum. She continued to hold onto his cock, massaging it while it softened and shriveled.
When he got his breath under control and his pajama pants returned to their proper position, Sam knelt at her feet and cleaned her thighs off. "Thank you Darlin' that was so good." He told her before he captured her lips with his own. "Ummm…Darlin', can I please spread these pretty chocolate thighs?"
Nodding quickly, Mercedes gasped at the feeling of Sam's calloused fingers gently parting her knees and spreading her thighs. She had a moment of embarrassment when she thought of how much of her natural lubrication had flooded out of her as the streams of his hot, pearly cum had drawn milky stripes against on her brown thighs. Seeing him standing over her, his hands fisted at his side his face a study in the intense physical pleasure her hot, soft little hands had given to him. Sam's fingers slid up the smooth, hot flesh until he had enough room for his head. Taking a long, slow, deep breath, Sam inhaled the wonderful, musky, vanilla, apricot, sandalwood and some indefinable scent that combined to feel, smell and scream MERCEDES and Happiness and Home. He pressed a tender kiss to the soaking wet gusset of her lacy panties. Standing quickly, Sam took his fiancée's hand and pulled her over to the beautifully decorated bed with its mountain of plush pillows.
He held the covers up so that she could get in and he joined her in the smooth, soft sheets. Sam's kisses quickly had Mercedes moving back towards the level of absolute bliss she'd been nearing just from Sam's hands on her legs and his lips pressed against her panties. As they kissed, Sam played with Mercedes lace covered breasts until her back arched and she was moaning into his kisses. By the time one of his hands slipped down her the soft, slightly spongy field of her stomach and slipped into the lacy boy shorts she favored sleeping in, Mercedes was already dangerously close to the edge of abandon. "Mercy, Baby, can I play with your pussy?" Sam wrenched his mouth back to ask. "I love that you left some hair right at the top, but are completely bare everywhere else…is it bare everywhere else? Don't answer that, just tell me that I can find out."
"Please Sam." Mercedes whimpered. "You can do whatever you want." She moaned.
Sam shook his head teasingly drawing his lips back and forth against her soft skin. "Oh no Baby…I can't do what I want just yet. Until you're wearing the other ring to that set, I can't slip my dick into your hot little pussy and fuck you until your screams are echoing off every wall in this house. I can't make you a woman until you're officially in the sight of God and man, MY Woman. But, oh Darlin', you have no idea how badly I want to." He muttered against her lips. "Now say, please Sam, use your fingers to explore my pussy."
Mercedes nodded and repeated quickly, "Please Sammy. Oh God please, use your fingers to explore my pussy. Please make me cum."
"Good girl." Sam chuckled darkly. He allowed his fingers to continue their decent into Mercedes pleasure center. As he'd suspected, other than the tuft of hair centered on her mons, Mercedes' pussy was completely without hair. "Oh, I like this Darlin'…you feel so good…so hot and so wet. I know I'm gonna have to wait another nine months or more before I can be inside you for real…but thank you so much for allowing me this pleasure." Sam splayed three of his fingers over Mercy's pussy inside the confines of her panties. Using the center finger, Sam circled her clit while the other two gently spread her nether lips. He was patient, building her up and then letting her calm over and over again before he finally pinched her clit between his two resting fingers, flicking it over her clit until she screamed out and her whole body convulsed. "That's it Mercy, I want to taste you…cum all over my fingers so I can taste you."
It took a lifetime and a half for Mercedes to finally stop writhing and screaming out as Sam played her body like a fiddle. Finally just as she had calmed down enough to be able to open her eyes and look at her fiancé, Sam gently pulled his hand from her panties, the evidence of her bliss all over his fingers. His eyes stayed locked on her face as he brought his wet fingers to his mouth and licked them completely clean. Mercedes eyes slammed shut as she was rocked with such a strong aftershock it almost qualified as a brand new series of orgasms. The intensity of their passions exhausted the two lovers and they fell asleep wrapped around each other.
The next day Mercedes took Sam around to see all the places that she and Santana called their own. The campus of UCLA, their favorite 'let's treat ourselves' restaurants. The place where they had gone to celebrate Mercedes' record deal and several other momentous occasions. The Studio where Mercedes records her tracks, everywhere that meant something to the Diva. Then the whole group, minus Santana who had classes, had lunch together at BLD restaurant on Beverly Boulevard, Mercedes insisted on treating them all to the lunch, so Sam treated them all to one treatment at the spa they had appointments for the next afternoon. They spent the afternoon chilling and laughing together at Mercedes' place they were joined by Santana and lost Kurt, Pamela and Deja as they needed to take care of some things for the coming awards show. As afternoon turned into evening, Sam and Mercedes left their friends to their own devices and showered and changed to make their dinner reservation.
Since Sam had actually planned to use the dinner date to propose, he'd almost made the reservations for Spago again…to remind Mercedes of their first official date. In the end however he decided to take her to a restaurant she wanted to go to, but had yet to make the time to take herself. A French restaurant named Patina. They were happy to see that they were able to just go and have a nice dinner without being hassled by paparazzi or entertainment journalists. They even managed to sneak in a movie, though they were a little overdressed for that kind of theater. They returned to Mercedes' house and fooled around until they were both completely sated.
Friday was spent relaxing before they all showered, dressed and headed to the Peninsula Hotel and their world class spa. Everyone had at least one treatment, be it a massage or a mani-pedi. Mercedes and the girls almost all opted to have facials and body scrubs as well. They left refreshed and Sam decided that since Mercedes had fed them so much since they'd arrived he would treat them all to dinner at the Hotel's lounge-type restaurant. Saturday, the whole house was a bundle of activity. The Kids Choice Awards was a fun event. Since the participants were often covered in the network's signature green 'slime' no one wore anything they weren't comfortable tossing in the trash can after wards. That held true for both Mercedes and Sam that night as well. Mercedes Jones kept it simple after she showered, moisturized and donned a pretty set of black and white lace lingerie she pulled on a pair of well fitting, artistically distressed straight leg jeans that she tucked into her black leather riding boots. She slipped into a pretty white, Egyptian cotton scoop neck tee and a tailored black jacket that looked simple and yet fashionable. She accessorized it with a pair of platinum hoop earrings and a long jet bead necklace. She headed downstairs letting Sam have the bathroom while Deja did her hair in large waving curls and gave her a simple, natural evening look with brightened lids and shiny lips.
By the time Deja was finished with her, a freshly showered and shaved Sam joined them in the living room. He looked cute and casual in a black fitted vee neck shirt, some perfectly fitting jeans and a pair of clearly beloved cowboy boots. They were escorted by Puck and Tank and left the rest of their friends to enjoy the evening. Mercedes' ring was spotted in less time than she or Sam thought humanly possible. "Mercedes, Mercedes…is that an engagement ring?" was shouted at her more than once as they walked the 'orange carpet' hand in hand. The world looked on entranced as Sam lifted her left hand and gallantly kissed the ring.
By the time they had each won one and lost one of the two awards they were nominated for, a small antiques and jewelry store in Seattle was becoming a household name, for at least a little while, as the proprietor was finally able to tell the world about the famous musician that had searched and searched for a perfect vintage engagement ring for the love of his life. While he wouldn't share with them how much Sam had paid for the ring he did tell them that when the ring had originally been designed it would have sold for around forty to forty five thousand dollars. He told them of the size, cut and clarity of the center stone and more importantly of the love that had shone in Sam's eyes when he purchased it.
Their relationship was dissected by the experts and picked apart by fools, but neither Sam nor Mercedes cared at all what those who didn't know them thought. They had called both sets of their parents and Mercedes' grandparents before they had left Mercedes' house for their dinner at Patina and shared their news. Their families were all ecstatic and wished nothing but the best for them. Her mother was already asking Mercedes if she would be okay having the wedding in New Orleans, since her GrandDaddy was a lot more spry and since her Grand'Mere and, therefore her, Grand'Pere were not able to travel well or easily. His father already asking Sam if he would like him to start designing a place for them where they can build their lives together. Their siblings were all truly happy as were their friends and camps. While their families and their 'camps' were unified in their support of the couple, their fans were divided. Sam's female fans hated Mercedes. Her male fans hated Sam. Sam's male fans could all agree that they could see the attraction, an attitude that held true even in those who said that they shouldn't be allowed to marry any more than two men should. Mercedes female fans were happy for Their Diva, though the more they found out about Sam the more they tended to think of him as a bit of a dork.
The blogosphere was alive with discussions of when Mercedes would begin to show since, according to a whole bunch of people who didn't actually know either of them, she had to be pregnant for them to move that fast. There were discussions of whether they would even make it to having a wedding and then further discussions about what it would be like if they did actually get married. All over Nashville, LA and in every major city in Ohio, wedding vendors were hoping and praying they would be the one to get the call. Sam and Mercedes…they just enjoyed the time they had together, until Sam had to fly back to Nashville that Monday.
Here is my Out With A Bang Big Bang Writing Comp Story.
I will post two chapters at a time until it is fully posted. The story is completely complete and if you want it posted faster, all you have to do is REVIEW!
To all my fans who think the storyline has them moving pretty fast. I do agree, however with a six month writing timeline...I couldn't go for a slow burn. I hope that you'll enjoy it anyway.
Remember the proper review ratio 1 review per 1 thousand words. We were four reviews behind before the new posting. Come on let's get it all caught up and even more.
Si C'est Noel & Les Ames Soeur will be back in the next 2 weeks, Life last and beta willing.
Thank you all for your patience.
TTFN,
Anni
