The wedding reception was held in the Inn's dining room. Leon, Scott, Mark, and DJ had set up tables while they were decorating so there was a long row of tables that held all the food that Crystal had brought. Right near the tables was a bar built into the wall that featured a full time bar tender. Jackie watched as Dan sat at a corner table with his gaze often falling on the bar. He was sitting quietly as Becky had taken custody of both Andy and Jerry.
Jackie came and joined him, "Something on your mind?" She asked sitting down next to him at the table really closely.
Dan jumped slightly. His mind was elsewhere so he was caught off guard by Jackie. "Yeah, I can't believe that Darlene, MY Darlene is actually married…"Jackie became aware that Dan had "THAT" look. The look where she could see the memories of Roseanne in Dan's eyes. He had that look when they were sitting on the floor in the empty house and during the first few days after he got out of Rehab. Jackie cocked her head as Dan's mind wandered again after he finished talking.
The music that the DJ (as In Disc Jockey NOT David Jacob) was playing changed to a slow dance and Jackie saw David hold out his hands and take Darlene onto the dance floor. Dan was not paying attention at all to the music.
"Hey Dan aren't you going to cut in?" She asked, excitedly.
Dan looked up and saw his daughter and new son in law dancing together slowly. He stood up fixed the wrinkles in his tux and then made his way to the dance floor. He gently tapped David on the shoulder and David turned around and looked up at him.
Dan talked lowly and Darlene could practically hear the depression in Dan's voice. "Can I have this dance?"
David shook his head and let go of Darlene's hands. Dan took them, leading Darlene. The two took unsynchronized steps for a few seconds. "Hey dad, you think after I lose this kid in my stomach, you and I can raise some Hell on your Harley?"
Dan smiled as he took a step with Darlene matching "Sure. But who will pay my bail if you're in jail with me?"
Darlene smiled as she remembered the day that she bailed Dan out of jail, but her smile faded as her dad still bared an expression of sadness and depression. "Dad, I'm still worried about you…"
Dan had been focusing on his steps and looking passed Darlene so now he looked directly at his daughter. "You keep saying that."
"You keep having the same look as Jack Nicholson at the end of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest."
Dan smiled at the visual. "That bad huh? Well hopefully I won't end the same way as McMurphy." The two danced quietly and then the music ended. Dan let go of Darlene and then casually made his way to the bar where he found Bev ordering approximately her third mini margarita. Dan looked into the bar. "Can I have a Coke please?"
Bev took her glass and sipped from it until she realized Dan was standing next to her. She spoke and it was obvious that she was drunk or at least really tipsy. "Ah Dan. What a WOOnder Full wedding you've paid for." She said her voice and tone changing randomly in the sentence.
Dan blinked, now it was time for him to snoop around. "Yeah it is a wonderful wedding isn't it? Say how have you've been feeling lately?"
Bev swayed uneasy on her feet because of the alcohol and spoke in an upbeat happy tone. "What do you MEAN? I am feeling just….peachy." Bev said and then hurried off. Dan took a drink from his small plastic cup and he was joined by his dad.
"Danny. It's hard for me to get used to the fact that my boy is going to be a grandpa."
Dan turned to his dad. "Yeah I can't believe it either." Dan stopped talking for a minute and then decided to liven up the mood. "Hey maybe we can get matching t-shirts that say "World's Best Grandpa!."
Ed laughed, "Hey do you think you can go over and talk to your brother and sister? They have more questions and I think it's better if you answer them."
"Sure." Dan said while holding his cup close to his chest.
Meanwhile Darlene joined David at a table across the room. Both of them had been dancing and now both needed a break. Darlene sat down and then leaned forward rubbing her fingers around the sole of her foot and toes. She could feel the burning of blisters starting to form under the straps of her shoes.
"How Hillbilly will I look if I walk around here barefoot?" Darlene asked unstrapping her fancy black dress shoes and taking them off.
David leaned over and looked at how red Darlene's feet were. "You won't look hillbilly compared to DJ." David and Darlene laughed. Darlene sat back and put her hand on her stomach feeling the baby in her stomach. "If this baby is as active after it's born as it is now, we're screwed." David leaned forward and put his hand next to Darlene's on her stomach.
"WOW…" As he said that Jackie came and set Andy down in a chair to the right of David. Jackie was red and hot from dancing. Andy reached for his glass of soda and David handed it to him.
"You have some killer moves there Jacks. Where's Jerry?" Darlene asked sitting back to give her feet a rest.
Jackie sat down to take a rest too. "He's with DJ. Ooh my feet hurt…" Andy held up his hands and David pulled him off his seats and onto his lap. Andy looked at Jackie.
"Mommy, I want cheeros." Jackie nodded and the pulled a Ziploc bag of Cheerio's out of her purse and then handed him the bag. He immediately took the bag and then started munching on the cereal.
The three people sat at that table watching the dancers. Soon they were sitting in horror as Bev started jitterbugging on the dance floor to the song 'Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress).'
Jackie covered her eyes in embarrassment. Becky came and joined them holding a sleeping Jerry, "Oh my God is that grandma?"
Dan watched indifferently as Bev danced passed him gracefully. He smiled when he saw that DJ was recording Beverly with a video camera that he borrowed from Xavier. As he stood there watching the action, Little Ed came to him and placed himself directly in front of Dan. "Can you come to our table?" Little Ed asked and then took Dan's hand leading him with a tight grip.
Dan followed his little half-brother and sat down at the table next to Crystal and Angelina. Dan counted three wine glasses on the table as he leaned back and then rested his hand on the back of Crystal's chair.
Crystal was all dressed up in heavy makeup; she had a manicure and pedicure. Dan thought she looked almost the same as the way she looked at the senior prom night. Angelina leaned forward and got Dan's attention.
"Is it true that you were in the delivery room when I was born?" She asked, curiously almost as if she believed that she had been lied too.
Dan leaned forward to meet her gaze. "Yeah, I drove your mother to the hospital."
The DJ played another song and the kids, Dan, Ed and Crystal watched Darlene and David took to the dance floor with DJ and Becky. Nana Marie surprised them by sitting right at the table. She smelled heavily of whiskey.
"There's my favorite grandson in law. I was wondering where you disappeared too." She said making herself at home at the table. Angelina and Little Ed stared at Nana Marie with a combination look of wonder and confusion.
Dan felt obligated to make introductions. "AJ, Ed, this is my grandma in law, Nana Marie." He said holding up his hands.
AJ took delight when he introduced her as her preferred name. She looked at Dan. "How can she be your grandma in law?"
Crystal looked embarrassed. "Angelina. We do not ask questions like that!"
Nana Marie found this funny, and then she looked at Little Ed and at Dan, "Wow kid you look just like your brother, I bet you'll be the quarterback for the Chicago Bears one day"
Little Ed seemed to take delight in that smiled and held up his arms and flexed his biceps. Nana Marie got Dan's attention and then pointed at Jackie who took to the dance floor. Dan watched Jackie go on to the dance floor, so he decided to have some fun.
He approached her from behind and then tapped her on the shoulder, she jumped from surprise but he took her in his hands and started dancing with her.
They talked as they danced.
"Aren't you afraid that people will talk about this?"
Dan kept a serious face as he said, "They're already talking. This way we can have some fun."
DJ had been walking around the reception with his camera catching people dancing and acting stupid because they were drunk. Soon he was going to need a new battery so he shut his camera off so he could videotape the cutting of the cake. When he did that he found Mark sitting in a corner by himself. His table was clear except for a Budweiser longneck.
"Hey Mark."
"Hey Deej. Run out of film?"
"No. The battery's going to die and Darlene and David wanted me to film them cutting the cake."
"Your dad is dancing with Jackie."
DJ smiled at the thought. "Well he's just playing around."
Darlene stopped massaging her feet. "Well it looks like everyone's eaten. Let's start the cake crap." She said standing up as David stood up with her and then pulled out her chair like a gentlemen.
As the song ended Dan and Jackie let go of each other. Darlene walked up to them. "We're cutting the cake!"
Dan smiled wide. He realized that he was actually looking forward to the cake that cost him 250 dollars. Everyone at the reception gathered around the long tables at the front of the room. DJ quickly turned on his bulky black camera and peeked into the lens.
Darlene and David stood in front the tables and the crowd of people and each other. Each held a knife and cut the cake into neat pieces. It was a picture perfect moment until Darlene grew bored and then grabbed a freshly cut piece with her bare hand THREW it at David, David laughed and did the same to Darlene and then the two took a handful of cake and ate it. Soon after the crowd had their own piece of cake and were eating it joyfully even though they had seen Darlene and David get their hands all over it.
Dan ate his cake at the table with Darlene and David and Jerry when Beverly came up to him. She spoke in a way that was creepy and reminded everyone at the table of the Wicked Witch of the West. "Dan, didn't you ever teach your children to not throw food?"
Dan looked at Darlene and David, "You're not supposed to throw food? Since when?" Just then Ed was passing the table with two plates of cake so Dan included him in the conversation. "Dad?"
Ed stopped at the table. "Yeah son?"
Dan stood up and subtly winked at his dad. "What's this I hear about not being able to throw food?"
Ed quickly caught on the joke when he looked at Darlene and David. He spoke to Beverly with the most serious tone. "Oh well Audrey and I…failed to teach Dan that throwing food was wrong so he wouldn't know to teach his kids that…." Bev listened but called Ed's bluff.
"Oh I see. Trick the old woman…." She muttered and then walked away pissed that she fell for their trick.
