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James and Malique were surprised when they came home and Dionne wasn't around. Mercedes and Sam waited for them and told them everything. They listened attentively to her.
"Well, I say it's about damn time!" Malique said. James shook his head at Malique's reaction. He looked at his sister.
"How are you holding up?" he asked. Mercedes shrugged her shoulders.
"Fine, I guess. Whatever happened, she's still our mother. I'm not cutting her out of my life, per say. I just don't want her new family near me or us. I'm totally cool if you want to bond with her husband, but please don't let him steps into the house. It's dad's"
"I totally understand that. But, aren't you curious though? About the man?" Malique asked, which earned him a frown from Mercedes. He grinned at her.
"So, are you going to invite her to the wedding?" James asked.
"She is invited, but not the husband"
James nodded.
"Are you sure you're okay, though? I know how much you yearn for her love" he asked Mercedes once again. His sister looked gloomy. Mercedes smiled at her brothers who looked at her with concern. She patter James' hand.
"I'm fine. I am relieved though. I told mom everything that I've been keeping in my heart all these time. It's hurt that she didn't react the way I want to, but at least I can close that chapter in my book of life and move on to the greater and happier thing. Like I said, she's still our mom and I might still have the love for her, but I'm done waiting for her to come to her senses and you know - make us the perfect family we once were. I know that it's all a wishful thinking" she said, smiling at Sam who was holding her hand in his the entire time. He said nothing, but the gesture warmth her heart.
"We still have each other and now we have Sam! We can still have the perfect family, you know. Besides, you've been like a mother to me ever since I was small. There's not much a change for me" Malique said.
"So, I'm like your father then?" Sam asked.
"Well, I rather have you as the stepfather than the other guy, so, yeah!" Malique said. He winced when James smacked his head. Mercedes and Sam laughed.
"Well, I am happy to be part of your family" Sam said, chuckling.
James and Malique had returned home and Mercedes decided to focus on her wedding. Sam had printed out a to do list for them. So, after dinner, they cuddled up on the couch and looked at the to do list.
"So, first of all, date" Sam said. He reached for his phone and opened the calendar.
"How about spring?" Mercedes said. Sam looked at her.
"A spring wedding?" he asked. Mercedes nodded.
"After all, spring is a season of love, right?"
Sam grinned. "Okay! Spring it is! So, when?" he asked as they looked at the calendar, looking for a perfect date.
"How about 30th May?" Sam asked after awhile. Mercedes looked at him. He bit his lower lip. "It'll be the anniversary of the day I first saw you and made a fool of telling you my name" he explained. Mercedes could see his cheeks and ears getting red. She grinned.
"I think it will be the day we get married, then" she said, kissing his cheek. Sam grinned. He quickly jotted down the date.
"So, we can go and check out some spring venues later" he said.
Mercedes leaned forward and looked at the list. "Have you decided on your best man?" she asked.
"Stevie" Sam said. "Mike will be the one of the groom mans. I already asked Malique to be in it too since I figure James would be the one to walk you down the aisle" he continued. He reached for Mercedes' hand and kissed it when he noticed the gloomy look at the mention of James walking her.
"Hey, he'll be watching you from the heaven, smiling widely at how beautiful you'll look in your wedding dress" Sam said as he kissed her temple. Mercedes smiled at him. She squeezed his hand - silently telling him that she's okay.
"So, who's your maid of honour?" Sam asked. Mercedes shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know yet. Who do you think would be good? Kurt, Tina or Quinn?"
"It's up to you. Who do you want to be helping you in handling all the stressful things that will come later?"
"If I choose one of them, won't the other feel offended?"
"Darling, I'm sure Tina and Kurt will understand it. Besides, they had appointed themselves as our wedding planner and dressmakers!"
"How do you know I'm going to choose Quinn?" Mercedes asked. Sam smirked.
"I just know one or two things about you" he said nonchalantly. Mercedes rolled her eyes at him with a hint of a smile.
"I'll tell Quinn about it"
Quinn squealed and hugged her tight when Mercedes informed her that she had chosen Quinn as her maid of honour. She had doubt about Kurt and Tina's reaction, despite Sam's optimist view on it. Thankfully, Sam was right.
"We knew that it is Quinn's. That's why we appoint ourselves as the planners" Tina had told her. Mercedes smiled at her friends.
"So, Sam told us that you've decided on the date?" Kurt asked as he opened his planner, ready to fulfill his task as the wedding planner.
"Yeah, 30th May. We haven't found the venue though. We both want outdoor wedding and we've decided it'll be here in New York"
"Now that we have the date, we can move on with the other. I'll get you the list of venues for outdoor places and we can go and check it out later. Then, we're going to choose the invitation card, get you fitted for the dress to see if we need to make some changes"
Mercedes listened as Kurt listed out everything that she needs to do.
Sam had just finished preparing dinner when he heard the door opened. He quickly washed his hand and took off his apron and rushed to the door. He frowned when he looked at Mercedes. He immediately went to take the big binder that she was holding and her bag from her. Sam went to close and locked the door. As he turned around, he saw Mercedes lying face down on the couch.
"Busy day, huh?" he asked, chuckling. He shook his head when she mumbled something intelligible from the couch. Sam put the big binder and her bag on the ottoman and went to get his fiance.
"Dinner is ready. Why don't you go freshen up? I'll massage you after dinner" he said softly. Mercedes groaned as she pushed herself up. Sam helped her stood up. He kissed her head before he pulled her toward the bathroom. Then, he went to set the table. He smiled at Mercedes and told her to sit down when she joined him in the dining room. After dinner, Mercedes told Sam to go to the living room while she did the dishes.
"Darling, you're tired. Just let me do it!" Sam had protested, but she insisted on doing it.
"You've cooked, so now it's my turn. Just go and wait there" Mercedes said, pushing Sam out of the kitchen. He rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. Sam went to the fridge and took out the ice cream and cut some fruits. He then brought everything to the living room. He took the big binder that he left on the ottoman and started to look at it.
"That's from our wedding planners. They dropped by my office during lunch" Mercedes said as she joined him on the couch. The binder was thoughtfully done, Sam thought as he browsed through few pages. It has everything from the list of caterers, invitation designs and venue list, together with the summarise and concise information about each of them. Kurt and Tina really impressed him. He closed the binder and put it aside.
"We'll look at it later. I promised that I'll give you a massage right?" he said as he started to reach for Mercedes shoulders and massaged them.
"You're so tense" he said.
"Work had been horrible today. I had to redo my design and then, some interns lost my presentation and I had to do it from the start. Plus, Kurt and Tina dropped by and started to talk to me about the wedding. I was so overwhelmed that I didn't even have the energy to be a bridezilla to kick them out of my office" Mercedes said. Sam's hands felt so good on her body as they worked to release the tension. She felt so relax and calm.
"Thank you, baby" Mercedes said after some times.
"Sure?"
"Yes! Let's look at the binder!" she said excitedly. Mercedes reached for the ice cream that Sam had brought to the living room. She scooped some into her mouth as she leaned to look at the binder. They read the instruction that Kurt and Tina had put on the first page.
"So, basically we choose from one of these or put down our own suggestion if we don't like any. Simple" Sam said. He opened the next page - the invitation card design. He and Mercedes quickly agreed on a simple and elegant looking design. However, that was the only thing that they could decide. They spent about two hours going through the binder.
"Okay, that's it! Let's call it a night. We go through this again this weekend" Mercedes said, closing the binder and took it away from Sam.