40. The Best Mother Anyone Could Have
The MUA and hairdresser had arrived before the champagne.
It was 6 am, the sun filtered into that suite of the Ryz hotel and the dressing of the queen had finally begun.
The hairdresser held the beach wave iron in one hand and a blood orange hibiscus flower in the other.
If Eighteen had moved the party to the abbey, she still wanted to wear the beach.
Sitting in an armchair, in a silk dressing gown, she let herself be pampered and guessed who would arrive first.
The first bridesmaid to knock was Carly.
She appeared timidly at the door, wearing her turquoise dress and her voluminous petticoat.
"Woman of culture ..."
The sight of the bridesmaid/sister in law satisfied Eighteen's fashion lover side: in the olden days women always used petticoats, in Carly's case it was a key element to give the outfit the desired shape.
It was only now, with the whole fast fashion thing, that a cheap polyester lining was sewn directly into skirts and dresses to make up for the petticoat, in an undeserving way. Eighteen twisted her lip, thinking back to when as a girl she had stuffed her wardrobe with fast fashion hauls, without listening to Kate telling her that those few-zeni worthy garments were just rags, that couture was something else, that it was better to own less items of clothing but own better ones. Fancy-pants Kate with her coat-dresses and stockings always matching her hees, and Lazuli who had expressed her rebellion against all that with her ripped jeans and crop tops.
-I'm sorry about the hen do, Lazuli. I just couldn't.-
Carly looked quite fresh and rested now. Eighteen went to meet her, -Could you sleep?-
-Yeah, enough.-
-Is my brother nagging you?-
-No, I was just starving.-
If anything it was she who nagged him. Lapis had taken a stroll around Satan City at half past 2 am, Carly had woken up to an atavistic hunger and if the minibar had Coke Zero, room service did not include extra large rations of chips and nuggets.
Eighteen noticed that Carly was already wearing her heels and had tied the blush stole to her chest, like a big bow. That was not how a stole was usually worn.
Still, it suited her fine.
/
-Everyone looks better with make-up, make-up doesn't mean Instagram clown-like messes.- Sara lined her upper lashes with black pencil. -You know, those make-ups with false lashes that look like brooms.-
Eighteen enjoyed the pampering, with her eyes closed, -I usually only wear mascara, for my pale lashes.-
She then turned to the MUA, almost peremptory, -Remember, I want the pop of colour on my lips. I'm very blonde, very pale, it takes little to make me look vulgar.-
-You have to use brown shades, Lazuli, not black. Browns look black on you.-
Bulma had showed up without a bra: Carly had given her her booby tape, an invention halfway between tape and the adhesive bands used by physiotherapists.
The scientist looked in the mirror at her chest, still firm, although not as it once was. -I don't know if that's enough, Carly. Everything's fine but I'm not your age anymore, I'll overspill.-
-Leave this to me.-
Carly arranged three long strips of U-shaped booby tape, from nipple to nipple, passing behind her neck. She would leave Bulma's back and neckline tape-free. The scientist was surprised to see that booby tape really defied gravity.
"Wow."
She looked at herself. "And to make me say wow..."
Carly winked; she handed Bulma the booby tape she had bought for herself, leaving the other bridesmaid perplexed.
-So your tape doesn't do the heavy lifting, after all?-
-Absolutely yes and I love it, but my breasts hurt; I need the trusty old scaffolding.-
She pulled her dress off her chest and Bulma saw a simple, reliable-looking bra.
-There are a lot more models nowadays than when I was your age,- Bulma smiled at her. -Above a certain size you just found boring grandma stuff.-
-Even now, high street shops stop at DD cup.-
If there was an item of clothing Carly was keen on, it was bras.
/
Among the flashes of the photographers and a few drops of champagne on the floor, the bridesmaids helped the queen in the last phase of the dressing: they slipped her into the peplum without the fabric touching her beach waves or her blush- embellished cheeks. The booby tape left that her breasts touched in the middle, like two floating clouds.
-I can hardly believe these are my boobs…-
Eighteen let that thought slip away: she felt not only gorgeous, but also sexy.
She never felt both.
-Too sexy for my wild friend,- Bulma winked.
-If Krillin is wild…-
For Carly he was such a sweet guy. Wild was something else.
Sara finished tying a shoulder strap on the bride's collarbone: she looked at Lazuli in her entirety and felt emotion threaten her freshly done make-up.
-What a goddess. Now, the flower.-
Eighteen took the silken hibiscus hair clip, and pinned it to those strands she had the tic to put behind her ear.
Meanwhile a second bottle had arrived, the maid of honour refilled the bride's glass.
-Before you put your lipstick on, let's have a toast to you.-
-To you!-
Bulma raised her glass of champagne, Carly of orange juice.
When the toast was done, Eighteen noticed that Carly hadn't wanted the champagne.
-She can't hold her liqueur,- Sara reminded her. -She'll want to save herself the party.-
/
At 10 am the bridesmaids had left the suite, Eighteen was missing only the bouquet and the veil. It was almost showtime, she would appear at the abbey in half an hour.
She waited, alone in the room. She paced back and forth, fearing she would wear out the rugs and parquet.
Eighteen felt that appointment was one of the most important of her life. Her hands were sweaty, she kept swallowing hot saliva and she felt like she had a bomb inside, again.
And when she heard a knock on the door, she no longer knew if the joy became even more painful or if the bomb in her heart had melted.
-Lazuli, may I?-
The flowing skirt of the one-shoulder dress preceded Kate, on the threshold of the bridal suite.
Kate found her daughter fully dressed before her eyes, standing there to be looked at.
Mother and daughter stood facing each other, both amazed by each other's beauty, both aware of what that moment meant.
Mum couldn't speak; she stepped on her high heels, slowly, as if she didn't want to blink. And the daughter stared at the details of her thin silver locks, mixed with the black ones in a real lady's updo; and of ruby pendants, her grandmother's (years before, Kate's grandmother had given her many jewels).
It was almost an offence to the rubies to be so close to her eyes.
Kate spoke with those eyes, which had filled with tears. -Tell me, Lazuli.-
Her voice trembled.
In her head, Eighteen had enunciated a thousand preambles with which to advance her request to Kate. But exactly as Kate had thought, without being able to say it, that Lazuli was beautiful and that she didn't believe it to see her in a wedding dress, even Eighteen was only capable of a few words.
-Mum, will you give me a way?-
The room was silent, the July sun that had invaded it had become suffocating.
-... I would like to walk down that aisle with the person who raised me, who always loved me, who was always there for me. Will you give me a way, mum?-
Maybe she didn't even have the right to ask her. When had she lost the right?
Eighteen was scared of silence.
She looked at the woman in royal blue beside her, always having the edge on her: inches in height, smartness, fortitude.
Her mother Kate with the same, unforgettable slanting eyes and a heart more valiant than hers.
Eighteen saw her young again, there by her side, the same silky hair and the famous orange dress that the twins had never seen, except in photos.
And she thought of herself, an ungrateful daughter, a drop of life that had survived despair and had plunged into Kathryn Lang's existence with the force of a big bang.
She, who had made young Kate suffer from the first moment she existed, claimed the ground of her body as her own, wearing her down from the inside with her claws and kicks, bringing her to the brink of death when she had wanted to be born.
And that was just the beginning.
-In the end, what good have I done for you? I was just a leech. A weed.-
Kate had done anything for the love of Lapis and Lazuli. She could only love them.
-That I suffered so much for you, my daughter, it's true. For both of you. But I've loved the two of you since the first moment, and it was worth it.-
-Are you sure, Mum?-
-For you two, I would do it again.-
Kate was so in love with her children, her precious gems. A tear got caught in the very fine lines at the corner of her eye.
-Of course I'll give you a way…- Kate stroked Lazuli on the head, where the pearly ivory of her roots turned to delicate gold.
Eighteen wished she were to her Marron what Kate was to them.
-Thank you, mother. For everything you've done; and forgive us, for everything we've done to you.-
They were serene adults now: safe from the ocean of pain from which Kate had believed, for many years, that she could not save them.
Mum's cheeks flushed, -I'm sorry I wasn't the mother you wanted. I've made many mistakes with you, and with Lapis.-
Lazuli had driven her mother to despair with aimless rebellions and self-destructive choices that got her nowhere.
-No! Don't say that.-
Eighteen shook her hand on impulse. It had become so urgent; she took Kate by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. Now her voice was trembling...
-You are the best mother anyone could have.-
Kate laughed and cried together, she didn't want to cry now and ruin her make-up ...
-Lazuli, just so you know, on this special day your father would have given you a way. Your real father.-
Kate always managed to reach her to her heart; Eighteen would never have expected those words, and she never knew if the other tear that had fallen on her mother's cheek was the emotion of the day or the memory of a man she had loved, twenty-three years before.
Now was not the time, but Eighteen noticed that she knew nothing of her father.
She made the request for the first time, -Someday I'd like you to tell me a little bit about him. I don't even know his name.-
-His name…-
Kate gasped, interrupted by a sudden jolt that spread from the locked door throughout the suite. A small piece of gilded stucco fell from the ceiling on Lazuli's head.
-Ma!-
The hotel wasn't collapsing, it was just a blow to the door. Followed by another.
-Ma? You in there?-
Kate enjoyed watching Lazuli forgetting about tears and flush with anger.
She wiped away her own tears, -No, I'm not here.-
Eighteen heard the bridesmaids riot and squeak, Sara shouting "Get out!"
A spontaneous laugh rose to her eyes; she pulled the piece of stucco out of her hair, watched Kate stand up.
They were ready to go.
/
A vintage white Rolls Royce, decorated in red tulle awaited the bride and her squad outside the Ryz hotel.
Bulma was used to luxury; for Kate, in another life, luxury and prestige had been everyday reality; yet, the elegance of the car and of its driver amazed them both.
Eighteen, Sara and Carly gaped at the car, it was like getting on a rollercoaster: it gave the chills, it was thrilling.
"Shenron and I understand each other when it comes to class."
Eighteen had not asked for anything in particular: she had only uttered the word "elegance".
-You missed a pitiful sight last night,- Bulma piqued Carly's curiosity.
-Lazuli singing the Spice Girls' song?- ventured the maid of honour.
-No! Guess who showed up in the boudoir? ROSHI! Pretty dead drunk.-
Roshi...Roshi...ah yes, a kind of father figure to her brother in law; Carly vaguely remembered.
-What did they do on the stag night? Did Lapis tell you anything?- Sara asked.
-He didn't go…-
Carly had fallen asleep at 7pm, as soon as she had arrived at the hotel. She had expected Lapis to go with Roshi, Yamcha and others to Krillin's stag night. Instead, when she had awakened in the middle of the night she had found him sitting next to her, watching her.
Maybe he had cuddled her while she slept, maybe Carly remembered his hand in her hair. Or perhaps Roshi and Yamcha were such worse company that Lapis preferred to stay with her.
/
The Rolls Royce followed the road out of Satan City, at 10.30 sharp it reached the flat, green top of the cliffs.
The white stone seemed to complete the landscape; the sun kissed the abbey's spires, making them glisten, and the rose window sparkled with stained glass. The reel of history had been rewound by Shenron just for them, only on that little piece of land.
Seeing her mother and her bridesmaids marveling at the abbey, Eighteen felt an elan in her heart: pride and emotion, bound, folded over themselves like soft scarves.
Light music was playing from behind the open doors: music that entertained the guests, prelude to the most anticipated arrival of the day.
It was about to happen; it was all real.
Sara handed Eighteen her silken bouquet. Bulma and Carly clutched theirs, arranging the bride's veil on the steps. The realization of the moment exploded in Eighteen's heart, a glow of love and joy so strong that it made her open her hands and drop the bouquet; but Kate was already with her, she reassured her, and gave her one last hug.
Kate bent down and gave the flowers back to Lazuli, wrapping her hands around the stems, around Lazuli's.
-There you are, my child. You're ready.-
/
The guests were still chit-chatting, sitting on the benches. Standing by the altar Krillin bit the inside of his cheeks, stretched his sweaty fingers; he looked at the pipe organ on the balcony, at the door flooded with blinding sunlight. He watched Trunks run after Goten, with Chi-Chi apologizing for them sneaking between guests' legs, tugging at their skirts, or shouting.
Krillin thought of his best friend, who couldn't be there. In the flood of light he almost thought he saw Son Goku, surrounded by a golden aura. He almost thought he felt his hand on his shoulder.
Krillin met the benevolent gaze of his best-man, Son Gohan, his arm stretched out toward him.
-You got this, my friend.-
Krillin also turned to collect the benevolent glances of his groomsmen: Piccolo, Yamcha. Seventeen.
He had never received such a benevolent look from Seventeen.
The entertainment music faded and a fanfare of trumpets announced the first notes of the wedding march. Trumpets that appeared from nowhere at the top of the balcony, playing in unison, leaving the spectators noses-up.
Krillin gasped at the pipe organ beginning to play royal, powerful notes that shook his heart to the soul.
Eighteen walked down the red-decked aisle, arm in arm with Kate.
Mother and daughter, each more beautiful than the other, had all eyes on them. The bridesmaids followed them.
Krillin could not help crying: Eighteen dressed as a bride, Eighteen with a veil over her face, but with eyes so bright that no veil could hide.
Eighteen dressed as a goddess, walking toward him to the music.
The organ played by itself, quietly working its magic from its corner of the balcony; it accompanied the bride's steps with a last crescendo, guiding her to the altar at the moment of the finale.
When the abbey was silent again, Master Roshi appeared at the side of the couple; bridesmaids and groomsmen sat down on the sides of the altar, the women on the left behind Eighteen, the men on the right behind Krillin.
Krillin did not want to hide his tears from her. He gently lifted her veil.
-Eighteen, when I saw you in the mountains we were enemies. But since then I couldn't help myself, I fell in love.-
The hibiscus flower in her hair. The delicate red lipstick, bright pomegranate red. Another blow to the heart.
-And when I was with you, on that island ... we were still divided by a destiny that we thought wouldn't spare us, by the impossibility of being together. It was impossible but you were already everything to me, I would never forget your eyes. In my every thought, in my every breath, was you.-
Eighteen was so loved. A love that cut words in her throat.
The bride felt her mother's gaze upon her, the gaze that gave her strength.
-Krillin. If there is one thing that life has taught me one thing in recent years, it is that it's unpredictable. The future is always a mystery and love is an adventure, but not only; love is hard work, love is sometimes scary.-
From behind Lazuli's shoulder, Carly looked at Lapis and saw that Lapis was also watching her. They had looked at each other at the same time, on hearing the same words, and he had raised his lip in a short, shy smile that had not reached his eyes.
-But I am sure, Krillin, that with you by my side there is no challenge that I will not be able to face.-
Bulma didn't miss out on Chi-Chi's face: the widow of Son Goku leaned against her father's shoulder, her head down and a hand over her eyes.
Sara noticed with how much love Bruno, Amelia in his arms, was looking at her; and how proudly he was looking at Lazuli, the girl he had believed he could not save. The daughter who, on a cold night, he promised Kate would bring home.
Kate saw that Lapis was glancing at his sister in sheer amazement, as if he could see nothing else; she saw that Ronan was also proud of Lazuli. And that pride, that good that shone from his gaze convinced her once and for all that yes, Ronan deserved it.
He deserved her and her children in his life.
Krillin approached his Eighteen, whom he would marry every day. He put the gold ring back on her finger, spoke and watched her hands work around his.
Touch, ring, caress on the back of the hand.
-You are the bravest woman I have ever known: you give me strength, hope, you make me a better man, Eighteen. You are everything I've always dreamed of, and I really can't wait to keep discovering life, together.-
Krillin saw her look for Marron and was even more moved.
Eighteen shook his hand and invited him to look in the rose window. The tinted light from the window had turned into a kaleidoscope, the rose window had taken on the appearance of a portal, no, of a screen disturbed by slight interference.
The guests let out a faint "oohhh": the image of a well-tended green lawn illuminated by a pink sky surprised them.
-Is it a live video?- Bruno whispered to the three-eyed bodybuilder sitting next to him.
Tien scratched his chin. -I really think it's another planet.-
The entire abbey heard Chi-Chi's groan as three faces appeared in the rose window: a primate, a giant insect, and a man with spiky hair and a jolly face.
-Who is there? What's going on?-
He asked, known to most of the people sitting there. Piccolo, who hadn't expressed any emotion until then, untied the knot of his arms in surprise.
-I'm getting married, Goku!-
Eighteen proudly watched Krillin cheer and hold out his arms to his best friend. He and Son Goku greeted each other, waved, and almost shouted. Eighteen had distracted Krillin about the end of the utterance of the wish: a moment with Goku had been the surprise he had wanted to give him.
She had been a bit disappointed at the sight of Son Goku, stationed on the planet of King Kai, dead but with the appearance that everyone had known.
She had expected a tough-looking warrior, like Vegeta or herself. Instead, he looked like a quiet guy, greeting his wife and children as if he were about to go home.
Eighteen spontaneously looked Sixteen in the face, but Sixteen remained stoical.
Goku didn't stop telling his best friend how happy he was for him.
-Your wife seems nice ... where is Vegeta?-
Goku leaned forward, looking through the rose window at the groomsmen.
-Oh come on, Piccolo in a suit! And Yamcha, old wolf! Gohan, look at you, in a tie ... and, you?-
Goku struggled, but did not recognise the young man with his hair tied in a ponytail and hoop earrings. From there one couldn't see all the details but no, it wasn't Vegeta, he was too tall. And too little muscular. Snap, he had never seen him.
-He's Krillin's brother in law, Goku, now stay calm and let me speak.-
Master Roshi, the officiant of the wedding, turned to the audience. The ceremony must go on.
-We are here, today, all of us who love them, to celebrate the love of Krillin and Lazuli. This one, I met as a child, and he's now a father and a husband. Wow. And she ... Lazuli is not a girl like any other. I have met many people in my long life but such a girl, my dear Krillin, I don't know what luck has happened to you. Even you don't know it. Lazuli, you are perfect for him.-
The guests, and the newlyweds, couldn't help but smile at that botched but sincere speech. Roshi was only telling the stupendous truth.
-And now kiss her, come on.-
/
Thoughts of the author:
And so, here's the chapter dedicated exclusively to the long-awaited ceremony with the loved ones of the newlyweds! With a surprise, the video call with Goku. With that wish, Eighteen made Krillin, Chi-Chi, Gohan and Goten very happy💖
