Disclaimer: See prologue chapter
*****/*****/*****
Chapter 51
Last Single Dinner
"Is it me or do you get the feeling that something is just waiting to happen?" Connie murmured to Steve as they sat at the long table that had been brought outside for the rehearsal dinner. (The dining hall itself had been declared out of bounds until the reception the following day.)
"I can't believe that you said that with a straight face." Steve replied as he rested his arm along the back of her chair. "We have been around this lot for two years, can you remember a time when we have not been waiting for something to happen."
That had Connie laughing as she settled back into her seat and therefore into his arm. "A truer statement has never been spoken but still..."
She waved forward her servers to bring in the first course of the night. (They had arrived that day so that Connie was free to join the rest of her family in the pre-, during and after wedding fun.) She had also insisted that they be there due to Mitchie herself who they all adored and would be hurt by not seeing her married.
Of course, Steve had immediately invited those closest to Mitchie on his books to be guests as well. (And unknown to the bride and groom, those members of the band outside of this close connection were also invited and were due to arrive the morning of the ceremony).
"If anything happens tonight, it will not be the fault of our lot." Steve continued as he turned to his starter. "Our bridal pair is more interested in spending time with their siblings tonight..."
"Which is clearly annoying those idiot Jensen girls more than they have a right to be." Louise added from his other side. "My poor Nate hasn't had a moment peace since they arrived."
"And Cait has been clearly contemplating ways of doing murder." Sandy added as he leaned over to grab some bread from the basket in the middle of the table. "And some of them have been pretty good, I have to admit. If she wasn't so determined to be a music producer, I would suggest bringing her into the business, Steve just for them alone."
"I may do that anyway." Steve replied thoughtfully as he took some bread for himself. "The girls will be inheriting the business one day in the far future and they really ought to both know how it works, not just from the angle of being the ones protected."
"As morbid as that particular thought is, and did you have to bring it up on the eve before your daughter's wedding, you're right there." Sandy looked down the table at the six young people currently fencing it out with spare French sticks. "Behave you lot, you're at the dinner table not in the playroom."
Laughter was his reply but the bread sticks were returned to the table extremely promptly.
"And you didn't even threaten them." Mrs Jensen looked up from the conversation she had been having with her young son. "I am so surprised; I would have expected a much more defiant response from young people of their age."
"Our kids know when to push and when not to push, Mrs Jensen." Sandy replied as he picked up his wine glass to take a sip. "As this was just a case of high spirits, all they needed was the gentle reminder."
"I have noticed the surprising amount of trust you have in them all, especially the three youngest." She replied placing her finger of her son's lips, reminding him to remain quiet while she was speaking. "They are not at all like my daughters and they are the same age."
"I do not wish to seem offensive, Mrs Jensen but really your daughters have had a normal upbringing and are therefore like any other teenager their age." Alexander leant forward this time, his hand around his own wine glass to prevent him making the hand gestures that he wanted to. "Our children have had a different upbringing, a part of that being due to circumstance out of their control and a part of that is because we are, to put it politely, in a different financial bracket and worlds because of it."
She huffed in reply and returned her attention to her youngest son again. Her husband turned an apologetic look to them but almost as one, they waved a hand as if to say 'De nada'.
"Well, does that take care of your something is going to happen." Steve murmured in his wife's ear with a grin.
Connie just rolled her eyes and hit him in the stomach, saying simply, "No."
RC-CS-EC
"Something tells me that the elders just managed to peeve the minister's wife." Mitchie murmured in a voice only loud enough for her immediate neighbours to respond. "She looks like she swallowed a lemon."
"Doesn't she always look like that?" Jason said absently, earning himself a slap around the head from his wife and an elbow in the stomach from his sister. "Well, she has done." He continued unrepentantly.
"Why isn't Brown doing the ceremony again?" Caitlyn asked absently as she took a prawn from her dish and fed it to Nate.
"I really don't know." Shane replied as he took a sip of water. "He never really said, just arranged for the minister. Hey Nate..." He finished suddenly.
"What?" Nate asked as he stole Mitchie's roll from her plate.
"They're watching you again." Shane replied with a broad grin that had Mitchie rolling her eyes as she caught the look in his eyes.
"Leave him alone, Shane." She murmured as she reached up and pulled a lock of hair – hard. She then raised her eyes to her sister. "Cait, whenever you want a hand hiding the bodies, I'm right there – but can we hold it off until after Shane and I have got married."
Caitlyn laughed at that, some of her tension leaving her and she slipped in her seat slightly so that she was leaning against Nate's side. "Appreciate the offer, Mitch but I think I'll hold off on your offer." She slipped a prawn in her own mouth. "Someone remind me to ask Connie exactly what she uses to make her sauce for this, it's just unbelievably more-ish."
"Good lord, Caitlyn's finally getting interested in cooking; I thought it was never going to happen." Deanna murmured in a stage whisper, smile lighting up her face. "And there's not a thunder cloud in the sky."
"Thank goodness." Mitchie replied mock feinting back against her brother and her fiancé. "You know how much I hate storms."
"We seem to have all found our sense of humour this evening." Megan suddenly spoke up as she leaned in to take the salt pot. "Even if it is slightly macabre, so behave you lot, try to at least remember we have guests who really don't seem to understand us."
"What fun would there be in doing that?" Jason said to no-one in particular but earning himself yet another hit round the head from his wife and one to the stomach from his sister. "And will you two stop doing that, I'm either going to have concussion or a bruised stomach before the night is out if you don't."
"What fun would there be in doing that!" Deanna repeated with a broad grin as she and Mitchie high-fived each other.
"You know..." An unfamiliar voice suddenly broke into their conversation and they all turned to find that it was the oldest Jenson son speaking. "You're nothing like I thought you would be?"
"They rarely are." Brown grinned at them impishly. "Don't try to understand them, Lloyd, it's not possible and I've known one of them since birth."
"Love you right back, Uncle Brown." Shane replied with a grin as he elbowed him and then noticed that the second course was being brought over to the table. "Yes, beef! Connie, you're an angel."
"And duck!" Elizabeth Richmond exclaimed as her plate was placed before her. "Yes, Connie, you really are an angel."
"Don't look at me, I just arranged for the menu to be prepared and cooked." Connie replied as she looked down the table, laughing slightly as she caught the blush on the cheeks of the person she was about to out. "It was Mitchie who decided the menu for tonight."
"Oh come on, this is the rehearsal dinner for my wedding!" She exclaimed once she had been persuaded to come out of hiding by her brother. (She had promptly hidden her face in his side.) "Do you really think I wouldn't have had dishes that everyone would like?"
"Well, I don't like it." The eldest of the Jenson twins said in such a high pitched voice everyone winced. (Even those who weren't as musically inclined as most of the table was!)
It brought the entire table to a state of silence and a look of fury to her father's face. "Leave this table immediately, Alicia and return to our cabin."
"But father..." The second twin began as her sister started to move away. "There isn't anything here for us; you know we don't eat meat!"
The look of fury on her father's face grew and he rose to his feet. "How dare you tell such a blatant lie when you know we are guests here? Join your sister, immediately Alison. I will speak to you about your behaviour shortly."
"But father..." Both girls whined at this but before their father could speak, their brother rose to his feet and grabbed their arms.
"Enough! You've embarrassed the family enough this visit." He sent them off in the direction of their cabin and then after making sure that they were moving in the right direction, he moved to his mother's side. "I'll take Lennie back with me as well, mother, father. He's falling asleep at the table as it is."
"Thank you Lloyd." His father replied, holding his hand up as he caught his wife about to say something. "Perhaps you should go back with them, Tina and make sure that the girls do not disturb our younger son."
Once they had all disappeared into the twilight and he was sure that they were out of hearing, the minister turned back to the table. "Please accept my apologies for the behaviour of my family during their stay here. The boys appear to be the only ones that had not embarrassed me so far."
Taking one look round the table and seeing the looks on everyone faces, Alexander rose to his feet. "Believe me, we quite understand, there's nothing to apologise for." He did for a second glare Caitlyn into silence as he said that, catching the look on her face.
"I will see you tomorrow, once again my apologies." With that said, he was gone.
As soon as he was also out of sight and hearing, chattering once again broke out around the table but all of them clearly heard Steve say to Connie. "That, Con, was definitely your something is going to happen."
"Oh shut up Steve." It was enough to have the entire table break into laughter.
RC-CS-EC
Okay that's that. Everything is done and the wedding is finally here.
I may split it into two chapters, Final Preparations and The Wedding itself but I'll see what happens tomorrow.
As always looking forward to seeing what you have to say ;op
