As someone who's been to a couple of stag do's before, I've gathered a good grasp on what consitutes a fun stag night. Some people do sports activities – I particularly enjoyed the paintball one, even though they said they didn't want to play anymore because it's cheating if you've had actual training – some people opt for a simple dinner and movie, and some people go big and go on a bar, casino and strip-club tour. I, for one, would have been perfectly happy with a couple of drinks in a pub with my closest friends. But I, for one, chose Sherlock Holmes as my best man.
And I'll tell you one thing: waking up in a cell to the worst hangover of your life while one of your friends thinks it's funny to yell at you, is not the aftermath of a fun stag do.
Anyway, after I'd seen Sherlock back to Baker Street and Mrs. Hudson had given me a couple of aspirin I headed back home, thankful at least that I worked the afternoon that day. When I got there, I ran into Mary, who had just emerged from the shower: her clothes were a bit damp, her hair was still dripping, and she hadn't done her makeup then. It hit me just how beautiful she looked then. It also hit me, a second later, that she was just as hung over than I was.
She looked up at me and gave me an exhausted smile. « Hi, there.
- Hey. Had fun?
- Oh yeah, loads. Closed cooking classes, then boring tea party... It got better as soon as booze and Cards against humanity made their appearance though. » She had a sort of funny, reminiscent smile as she added, « And Molly and I may or may not have belted it out at karaoke. »
Well, I had some YouTube research to do later. If there is a God, surely somebody must have filmed this.
« What about you? » she asked, shouldering her bag and using her hands to try to dry her hair a bit.
« Sherlock took us on a pub tour where he proceeded to have test tubes filled with beer, which we had to ingest in a limited amount of time, which of course got us heroically drunk, and then we got into a fight, then back to Baker Street, then a client came around for a case which Sherlock ended up puking on, then we got arrested and Lestrade bailed us out. » I groaned as a thought occurred to me, « Dear God, he probably took pictures. »
Mary laughed, which made us both wince in pain. « Well, you must at least have had some fun.
- Yeah, I guess. Not worth the night in jail, though. »
Mary grinned at me, grabbed her jacket and made her way to the door, announcing the time of her return as she did so. Before she could reach the doorknob, though, I stopped her. « What about you and Molly? »
She gave me one of her mischievous smiles and said, « Johnny, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. »
I laughed at the reference, even though I've always hated to be called Johnny. Moriarty didn't help with that. « And the wedding? » I asked tentatively.
« You're going to owe me a fiver, » she said as she opened the door, « I think it'll be cancelled soon, thanks to Sherlock and his 'beautiful bum'. »
She cackled as she left, and I shouted after her, « I didn't need that image! »
The next few days after my stag party were kind of hard but I found comfort in the fact that they were as hard for Mary as they were for me. Several days after this famous Saturday night, we still couldn't see a glass of wine without feeling our stomach turning. Last time I had been this plastered was in college. I think that I swore that day that I would never drink ever again. I hope that I'd be the only vow I'd ever break. I also felt uneasy at first because it was the first time Mary witnessed me drunk but she didn't say a word about it. Actually, she wasn't in a favourable position after her own party.
The days went by and we really got into the preparation of our wedding. Sherlock seemed so stressed and involved in all the stuff (I may add more involved that I was) that Mary thought it was a good thing to find him a case. What I did. When I came home that day, I found Mary and Molly sitting on the couch, with a glass of wine and piles of paper on the coffee table.
« Hi John!
– Good evening Molly.
– I needed a little help with the preparation » Mary answered my silent question.
After that, every time I come home after a case, I find Mary and Molly giggling in front of cards. I often join them. Sometimes, Sherlock come home with me and we all play till late at night.
