The next three days flew past at almost warp speed for Alexis and Shane. It was one of the hardest times in their relationship, but thankfully they were staying with their friends who were understanding of it, and were both surprised and impressed at the total radio silence each one had committed to. Though it was a toss-up as to who was more frustrated by the tradition, both Alexis and Shane knew they'd regret it if they gave into temptation.
Today, however, was quite the interesting day that was planned for Alexis - Shir wanted to take her to lunch. Alexis liked Shir a great deal, and was understandably apprehensive about it, as they'd never really spent any one-on-one time together. Then again, as Beckett had pointed out to her, they'd never really spent any one-on-one time together so this would be a great bonding experience for the bride and her almost mother-in-law.
So with a day to go before the wedding, Alexis headed out of the subway station on Forty-Second Street and smiled when she saw Shir in a lovely turquoise tunic and long white linen pants. She assumed the woman was used to hot temperatures living in Tel Aviv, so when she hugged her and there wasn't a single drop of perspiration on her brow, Alexis wrinkled her nose a little bit.
'I'm so jealous of you being so well adjusted to heat waves,' she commented as they began to walk down the street.
'Keep in mind I'd been stationed at the Israeli embassy in Amsterdam for about ten years before moving home. That's a lot of wet,' Shir reminded her, and Alexis felt herself unwind a little as she asked, 'How did you meet Chaim?'
'Oh, goodness, has he never told you that story?'
'He told it to me the first time I met him when Shane came to visit me in England, when we took a weekend trip to Amsterdam, and Chaim told me his version, I want to hear yours.'
Shir laughed, patted her hair as they wandered down the street towards the little cafe where she wanted to take Alexis for lunch. 'Well, I'm sure you know that in Amsterdam there is as much bicycle traffic as there is auto-traffic, yes?'
'Uh-huh, I remember that, even in winter there was a lot of them around.'
'This was about mid-April, when everything is goopy and wet, and I was out for a bike ride on one of my rare days off, and I saw there was a couple in front of me who were ignoring my ringing bell. So I dodged out of the way of them right into a puddle. I was terribly soaked from head to foot and then there was a lovely voice speaking to me.'
Shir paused as she remembered the way Chaim had looked at her with kind eyes, and offered a hand to her. 'I couldn't understand what he was saying in Dutch to me, but I saw he had a Star of David on a chain around his neck and so I took a chance, asked him if he spoke Hebrew and he did. He told me that he had a friend who could help me fix my bike, as the crash offended the alignment, and that if I were so inclined, as his apartment was above the garage rather than walking me home when I was a mess.'
'That's pretty bold of him.'
'I made jokes that he was trying to seduce me into the sex trades and then he told me back that if he was going to seduce me, I'd know because he would offer me flowers first. And what he said did indeed make sense, so I went with him, and his garage friend said he would have it up and running in an hour, so I took a warm shower while he put my clothings into the dryer and went next door to borrow some lady things from his neighbour.'
'I think that is terribly sweet,' Alexis sighed, thinking of how exuberant a young and in-love Chaim would have been. 'Did he try to get fresh with you?'
'No.' Shir shook her head as they waited at the crosswalk lights. 'He was a perfect gentleman...until I wanted him to be otherwise. Don't worry, I won't embarrass you, Alexis. Here we are.'
They stopped at a little tea room that smelled of fresh apples, baked bread and the sugary-sweet fragrance of women's mingled perfume. It was not the kind of place Alexis would have guessed the hard-line law enforcer Shir to take her, but then, the same hard-line law enforcer had met, fallen for and married the whimsical and romantic Chaim and raised her son to be a wonderful mix of the two.
'I hope this is to your liking,' Shir said hopefully as they took a table in two softly covered arm-chairs that offered a beautiful view of the city walking past them. 'I'm not a big fan of noisy restaurants in my personal time, I go there often enough when I have to travel for work. When I'm on vacation, I prefer something more intimate.'
'I know what you mean,' Alexis agreed. 'When I'm done in lecture and labs and clinical, I like going home to Shane and the tranquility of just one-on-one time after a day full of people.'
'He takes care of you, and from what he tells me, you take care of him too. Are you nervous for tomorrow?'
'Insanely, but I know it's going to be a wonderful day.' She paused, then smiled. 'I think I can finally safely say it.'
'What's that?'
'I don't think there's anything that can go wrong tomorrow.'
'I think you're right, my dear. Now, what kind of tea would you like to order?'
While Alexis and Shir bonded over Waldorf salad sandwiches and pear-chutney iced tea, Shane was having a little bit less fun in trying to help Beckett get weekend bags put together for the Castle tots. With Jojo and her newfound mobility, it was impossible to take eyes off of her now. RJ was trying his best to be helpful but of course, the little guy was just far too excited about the wedding the next day.
'Shane, why you an' Alessis can' see eash odder?' he asked, keeping a weather eye on the motoring little Jojo.
'It's part of the tradition so I don't see her in her wedding dress until the moment she is walking down the aisle towards me.'
'Like Sanna Cuh-Laus?'
'Something like that?'
RJ frowned. 'Alessis is way puh-retty than Sanna.'
'I'll agree with you on that,' Shane laughed as he folded up onsies for Jojo, and arranged the clothes into neat piles, then felt something bump into his right calf. Looking down he saw it was Jojo herself, eyes shining and chubby little hands patting his bare feet. 'Well hi there, bumblebee, where's you come from?'
'Pupup?' Jojo rocked back to her bottom and stretched her arms up at Shane. 'Pupup?'
'Okay, but because you were nice about it.' Shane crouched to help Jojo into his arms and she clapped her hands loudly. 'Sasasa?'
'No, Alessis no' here, Sho-sho,' RJ reminded her, trying to reach up and pat her little foot. 'She no' 'llowed-a see Shane 'till wedding time.'
'Mimimimimi.'
'That's right it's almost time for the wedding.' Shane pucker-kissed her cheek, making Jojo squeal in delight. 'You're a ticklish one. And-' he gave a sniff, made a face '-a stinky one too! Woo, girl, you could weaponize that stuff in your diaper!'
'Sho-sho bein' a 'tinky-pants, Shane?'
'She most definitely is! Alright, bumblebee, we'll get you cleaned up.'
'I help!' RJ rushed over to the buckets where he knew his mumum kept the supplies for freshening his sister's nappie. 'Shane I get all-a suh-tuff!'
'Thanks bro.'
'Ah-mos', Shane. 'Morrow, I be fish-ly you' buh-ro,' RJ said said while he rummaged in the baskets. 'An' Sho-sho 'Tinky-pants be fish-ly you' sisser.'
'That's right you both will be officially part of my family.'
'Tha' mean Give-It Shir an' Minor Ham my family too?'
'They are but..' Shane paused as he fought not to gag while he unfastened Jojo's diaper, deposited it straight into the genie. 'RJ, why are you calling her Give-It?'
'Ah-cause she say in He-buh-roo,' RJ enunciated the word to make sure he remembered it properly, 'that how we say 'missus', an' I a shennel-man, I have manners so I say 'Give-It Shir'.'
'I understand,' he replied, and he genuinely meant it since he could figure it out that the little boy meant to say 'ge'veret' and in his eager style mangled it so he could wrap his tongue around the foreign word. 'That's very nice, I'm sure she appreciates it.'
'Bebebebebe,' Jojo added, not wanting to be left out as she grabbed her toes with her fingers while Shane wiped her bottom.
'How's everything going in here?'
All three heads turned to the door to see Beckett standing there with a delight grin on her face. 'Mumum, Shane gonna be a goo' hubby! He very help-ful,' RJ informed his mother which had Beckett giggling.
'He is very helpful.'
'Fofofofo,' Jojo burbled as Beckett came over to inspect Shane's handiwork.
'Nicely done, Doctor. But I have to ask, is this how you pictured your last day as an unmarried man? Changing your sister-in-law's diaper?'
'Not exactly, but spending time with the love of my life's family is how I pictured this day, so...' Shane shrugged with a smile full of nerves. 'I don't really have anything on my mind except seeing Alexis tomorrow in her dress.'
'Yea!' Jojo clapped her little hands. 'Yea!'
'What she said.'
