Reflections Chapter 70- So It Goes, a castle fanfic

A/N: Thanks for your reviews! I changed ideas for this chapter; just so you know in case you missed my tweet about that. Sorry about the delay as always.

Chapter 70- So It Goes

The second week of January was just as frigid as the New Year had been, Jim couldn't help but think as he paid the delivery man who looked like he had frozen in the short amount of time that it had taken him to get from his car to the door of the building. He gave the man a generous tip for his suffering and then closed the door, carrying his pizza to the coffee table before heading to the kitchen to get a beer. By the time he returned to the living room with his drink and some napkins, his door was opening and his fiancée was slipping inside, bundled up in her back coat that was dusted with snowflakes, her briefcase in one gloved hand and her purse hooked over her shoulder.

"Hey," Jim said as their eyes met.

"Hey yourself," Johanna said with a smile as she closed the door, her gaze falling upon the pizza box on the coffee table. "I had a feeling that delivery guy I saw was coming from your door."

He smiled. "You don't expect me to cook my own dinner, do you?"

"Oh of course not," she said as she sat her briefcase and purse in the chair so she could pull off her gloves.

"I thought you and Maggie were going out tonight," he stated, glad to see her briefcase in the chair because that meant she was planning on spending the night.

"We were but she's still not feeling too good and didn't feel up to it…and I didn't want to stay home by myself; so I figured I'd just come over here and make you entertain me."

"I'm always happy to do that," he said as he moved closer to steal a quick kiss as she shrugged out of her coat. "Do you want to have pizza and beer with me?"

"Don't I always?" she asked.

"Sometimes you decline the beer," he remarked.

Johanna took her coat and purse to the closet and hung them up and then moved back to the chair to grab her briefcase. "I guess you've got a point there," she said; moving her briefcase to the stand near the door where his briefcase sat.

"So does that you mean you want the beer or not?"

Her nose wrinkled as she thought about it. "I think I'll pass on the beer; give me a soda."

"Alright; if you insist," he teased.

"I just have to be in the right mood for a beer," Johanna replied; "And that mood isn't present tonight."

"Noted; since you're here, I'll take this to the kitchen," he said as he picked up the pizza box.

Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "Oh, you're going to impress me by eating off a plate?"

"Not only that; I'm going to eat it off the plate while sitting at the table," he teased.

"Major turn on," she told him with a laugh as she followed him to the kitchen.

"Good to know," he chuckled as he sat the box on the counter and opened the cupboard to take out two plates while she got them each their drink of choice.

A few minutes later, they were settled down at the table with slices of pizza on their plates. "You should've called me," Jim said after swallowing his first bite. "I would've come over so you wouldn't have to go out in the cold."

"I know."

"But?" Jim asked.

"But I didn't want to be home…I wanted to be here," Johanna stated.

"I could've picked you up in that case," he replied; "Any special reason why you don't want to be home tonight? Not that I mind, of course…it just seems like maybe there's something else."

She chewed a bite of her pizza and swallowed. "I'm avoiding my mother."

He smiled; so that was it. "How come?"

"You know why; because of that engagement party. She wants to know when I'm going to give out invitations but I'm not ready yet…and I know she wants to start wedding planning…but…I'm not entirely ready for that either."

"Why not?"

"Because there are some things I want to go ahead and have settled before I unleash her," Johanna remarked.

"Like what?"

"Like the wedding party," she stated. "I want to know exactly who is going to be in it so I'm not needled into putting in people I don't want…because I know her, if it's someone she thinks should be in it, she'll find a way to make me feel obligated."

"Okay; that shouldn't be too hard. You were going to talk to Maggie tonight about the maid of honor thing weren't you? I mean I know you already asked her on New Year's Eve but you said you wanted to make sure you hadn't put her on the spot with me bringing up the best man thing to Jeff."

"Yeah; but obviously I didn't get to; but I will this week as soon as she's feeling better."

"Well…I guess we could sketch out a preliminary idea of who you want in this thing."

Johanna gave a short laugh. "By this thing, you mean our wedding, right?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "Maybe it'll keep the pressure down if we call it a thing."

She considered it for a moment. "That might not be a bad idea; but getting back to our discussion; I'm not the only one with decisions to make. You have to pick who you want up there with you."

"I know," he said as he got up from the table and opened up a drawer, taking out a pen and a notepad. He moved back to the table and laid them down next to her. "Here's some paper for your plotting."

"Thank you," she said as she wiped her hands.

"How many people do we need?"

"How many do you want?"

"Whatever makes you happy," he replied. "I figured you would pick a number of girls and then I'd have to match it. That seems like the easy thing to do."

"You always find an easy way, don't you?" she teased.

"I try."

She smiled as she picked up the pen. "Okay; I'll start…Maggie for maid of honor; pending our discussion of if she's still on board and it wasn't just the liquor talking."

"And Jeff for best man."

Johanna drew a line down the center of the paper, writing Maggie on one said and Jeff on the other. "I want Valerie to be a bridesmaid," she said, adding her sister-in-law's name below Maggie's.

"Okay; my next pick is my brother Andrew."

She wrote Andrew's name beneath Jeff's in the opposite column. "Okay; Sharon for a bridesmaid," she said, adding her secretary's name.

"She might be a little miffed that she's not getting the maid of honor slot."

"Oh well; then she'll know how I felt when she kicked me out of her wedding," she remarked. "Who's your next choice?"

"Michael."

Johanna added Michael's name to Jim's list. "I think family unity is going to dictate that I have Colleen…especially since I'm asking my sister-in-law," she stated as she wrote down Colleen's name.

"Yeah; your mother probably won't let you get away with not having Colleen."

"True; but on the plus side, I can show her what a tasteful dress looks like."

"Her body might reject taste."

"I'll glue a tasteful dress to her body if I have to," Johanna said as she studied the list. "Who's your next choice?"

Jim pondered it for a moment. "I think I'll go with Zach."

"Good choice," she said with a nod.

"Your next choice?"

She glanced at the list. "I don't know…I don't want this to be too big. I don't want to be one of those people with ten bridesmaids because that's just ridiculous."

"Good point."

"Right now, we have four each…which seems like a good number."

Jim nodded. "I agree."

"But then on the other hand, I'm thinking, am I supposed to have a member of your family as one of my bridesmaids?"

"You're asking the wrong person, sweetheart. You've been involved in wedding planning before; what did those people do?"

Johanna blew out a breath. "Well…when Frankie and Valerie got married; she had Colleen and I as bridesmaids and her sister and one of her friends. When Colleen got married; she had me and Valerie and our cousin and a few of her friends…Paul doesn't have any sisters; he does have a sister-in-law but Colleen didn't ask her. Sharon had me and Maggie and her sister…then booted us for her other sister and Phil's sister…so I'm not feeling too sure about what the etiquette is on that. Like for instance, you have Michael; so should I have Natalie on my side to represent your family?"

"What do the magazines say?" Jim asked as he grabbed another slice of pizza from the box.

"I don't know; I only have two and I haven't really read them…just looked at the pictures."

"That's unlike you," he remarked. "You usually read everything."

"I think my brain is afraid that I'll slip into crazy bride mode so it's protecting me by not letting me read the magazine."

Jim laughed. "Should we make a quick trip to the newsstand up the street and see if they have a magazine with an answer in it?"

"In this cold, are you crazy? It was snow flurrying when I got here. I'm not going back out."

"I just wanted to offer in case you were feeling crazy," he remarked.

"I'm still sane for the moment…but I still don't know what to do."

"Okay; how about this…tear that piece of paper off the notepad and sit it to the side as the draft one of the wedding party. One the next sheet, we'll do the version with the family aspect added in just in case we find out it's somehow tradition or required for us to have someone from each others family on our side."

"Okay," Johanna said. "Taking these family issues into consideration; I'll put down Maggie, Valerie, Colleen, Natalie. Give me yours."

"Jeff, Andrew, Michael, Zach and Frankie."

"Oh…now you made me like the idea of the family angle," she said as she wrote down her brother's name. "No one ever asks Frankie to be a part of weddings and out of his siblings; I'm the only chance he has for that because Colleen and Paul didn't ask him."

"Then let's do it this way," Jim said; "If you think he'll do it…I mean do you think he'd want to be on my side?"

"I don't see why not; he likes you. He's met Jeff and at the picnic they showed up at, he mentioned knowing Andrew through work so I don't think there would be any discomfort."

"You talk to him about it," he told her. "I have no problem having him on my side; I like Frankie. I like him a lot better than my brother William."

She smiled. "Out of curiosity, are you inviting William?"

"My mother will probably demand it but I highly doubt he'll fly home from Germany for it. I mean our father having heart surgery wasn't enough to get him here so I doubt our wedding will be high on his list."

"That's probably true…now…with this family angle; I chose Natalie because you picked Michael…but then I think, should it be Madelyn since she's your sister; unlike Natalie who is an in-law?"

"I think it's fine for it to be Natalie given that I picked Michael. Don't get me wrong, Jo; I love my sister but if you put her in the mix, she's going to drive you crazy…because Madelyn is one of those people who says she'll do something you asked her to do and then she doesn't do it or she complains about it the whole time. I think for the sake of you sanity, Natalie would be a better choice."

"With that thought in mind, I'll definitely keep Natalie…unless she doesn't want to do it. When you talk to your brother, bring it up to her, would you?"

"Sure."

"Alright; so doing the family plan; that's five each and that's my limit…sorry to anyone who feels snubbed," Johanna remarked. "Now, ring bearer, I want Greg of course."

"Of course," he said teasingly.

"And for flower girls, Angie and Alicia. We need to find something for Mikey and Danny though because we can't leave them out, especially if Michael and Natalie are in the wedding."

Jim thought about it for a moment. "Well…there's a ring for you and a ring for me…so why can't Greg carry your ring and Danny carry mine? Can we have two ring bearers? Is that allowed?"

She pondered that as she ate a bite of her pizza. "Actually, I like that idea…and then Greg has someone to come down the aisle with…and Danny is such a sweet boy, I know they'll get along well despite the small age difference."

"But can we have two?"

"It's our wedding, we can have whatever we want," she remarked, writing down Danny's name next to Greg's. "Now…what are we going to do with Mikey?"

"We're going to have to find something; because if everyone else is up there, he's going to want to be up there too."

"I know," she said as she tapped the pen against the notepad. "He could walk down the aisle with Angie and Alicia…"

"Mikey's not going to throw flowers like a girl," Jim stated.

"Not like that! I meant he could walk with them like he's escorting them…wouldn't that make an eight year old boy feel important? Escorting his little sisters, making sure they get where they need to be?"

Jim thought about that for a moment. "That could work; he'd feel like he was in charge of something…but I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone do that before."

"I think one of my cousins did that at her wedding when there was an extra kid to include; and if I'm mistaken and no one has done it…well…we'll be the first. It's not like we're breaking tradition or anything…and really it's a good idea to have Mikey out there. Let's think about this, he's escorting the girls, and he's right behind the boys…he's got his eye on the child part of the wedding."

"That would make him feel like you're treating him like a big man," Jim said with a laugh. "And you know how much Mikey likes to be treated like he's half grown instead of just a little boy."

"Very true; we have to keep his male ego built up," she said with a laugh. "So do you think it'll work?"

"Yeah; I think so."

"All of this is pending approval of the parents of course," she remarked; "But I feel like we have a good idea of what we want in the wedding party aspect of things."

"There, problem solved…pending approval of all involved parties," he replied.

"Right," she said as she got up and grabbed another slice of pizza.

Jim smiled. "Just think, one day we can tell our kid that we planned our wedding over pizza and beer."

Johanna laughed. "That sounds so romantic, doesn't it?"

"It works for me," he chuckled.

"I have to tell you, I am glad for the pizza tonight…I didn't feel like cooking."

"Long day?"

"A little; I had a lot of clients packed in today's schedule but nothing really worth discussing."

"Just one of those 'a little too much' days?"

"Yeah; but I'm here with you and you provided pizza so it's looking better."

"I'm glad I picked the right take out," Jim replied.

"Me too. You know, this wedding party stuff is just like the tip of the iceberg of stuff we have to figure out."

"I had the feeling that it wouldn't be that easy…but is there anything else you want settled before unleashing your mother?"

"Well…we picked a month; we're still in agreement on August, right?"

"Yes."

"Church wedding?"

"Yes."

"We have an idea of the wedding party."

"Right."

"Okay…I haven't decided on colors…or even really thought a lot about it; but any color you definitely don't want in our wedding?"

"Orange," Jim stated.

"Like that would ever happen anyway," she commented. "That's right up there with Yellow."

He laughed. "Yeah; I figured you wouldn't be considering that one. Let me ask this; do the men's ties have to match the bridal party dresses? If so, no pink."

"I understand why you would blacklist pink; but what if I said that I was willing for the ties not to match exactly? I mean I'm fine with the ties being black…or if there's something that dictates that they have to match; I'd pick something complimentary…like burgundy or a dark blue if I would happen to choose bridesmaids dresses that are some shade of pink."

"Alright; I can agree to that for now."

"Okay; is there anything you definitely don't want in the wedding?"

"Like what?" Jim asked.

"Like a certain food, certain music…just something you're totally against?"

"I don't want one of those cakes that has a fruit filling in it," he stated. "I hate those and weddings seem to be big on them; at least the ones that I've been to. I just want it to be a normal type cake…you know, just the cake and the icing…nothing shoved in there with it…you know what I mean?"

"I do," Johanna said with a nod. "No fruit filled cakes…and by the way, I'm in agreement with that."

"Then that's all I can think of for the moment."

"Okay," she said, making notes on the paper. "I think that's enough wedding planning for tonight."

Jim smiled. "It's going well."

"Yeah…but we're just getting started…believe me, by July I'll be stressed."

"I'll do what I can to help you not be so stressed," he told her.

"I appreciate it," she told him warmly. "Can you talk to Michael and Natalie this week to see about them and the kids being in the bridal party?"

"Yeah; after I drop you off tomorrow after work; I'll run over there and talk to them about it and then come back to your place for the night. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good. I should have some time in my schedule to call my siblings tomorrow and get some insight on that area; I'm sure there won't be a problem or at least I hope not."

"I'm sure it will all work out," Jim stated. "At least we have a plan."

"Very true," she replied; "Now, that's enough wedding planning for today. Let's just enjoy the rest of our evening."

"Another good plan," he stated with a smile as his foot nudged hers under the table.

"I'm sorry I had to bail on our plans last night, Jo," Maggie said as Johanna and Sharon entered the break room the next morning. "I just really felt awful; I had to go to bed."

"Hey, I understand completely; don't worry about it. I just went over and had dinner with Jim. How are you feeling today?"

"Better, thankfully. I swear, these last few days of this on and off sickness was on my last nerve. I was worried I wouldn't be able to make it to court this afternoon."

"You must have picked up a virus."

"I must have; it needs to go away."

"Maybe you're pregnant," Sharon stated.

"I am not!" Maggie exclaimed. "I'm on the pill."

Sharon scoffed. "Sometimes they fail."

"It didn't fail."

"It does happen though."

"I'm not pregnant," Maggie said firmly. "Are you pregnant? You're married now; shouldn't you be getting a bun put in that oven?"

Sharon glared at her. "Don't start that; I get enough of that from my mother-in-law."

"Then don't open the door for it," Maggie retorted. "Keep your nose in your own uterus."

"Wow, someone's touchy."

"Sharon," Johanna stated; "You don't like being asked those questions so don't do it to someone else. My God, you've been eyeing my stomach ever since I told you I was engaged."

"Well, it seemed awful sudden," Sharon replied. "The way you and Jim are, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if you didn't end up pregnant in the near future."

"I'm on the pill too, Sharon."

"Since when?"

"Since October."

"You didn't tell me that!"

Johanna looked at her incredulously. "It didn't seem like the kind of thing to do a big announcement for. It's bad enough that my mother knows and gives me subtle lectures about it."

"I wouldn't lecture," Sharon said as she moved to the counter to fill her coffee mug.

"Jo," Maggie said; "You said you wanted to talk about something last night. What was it?"

Johanna hadn't planned on doing it this way but she figured there was no harm in discussing it now; after all, there was no better time like the present. "Well…I wanted to talk to you about the wedding."

"What about it?"

"I wanted to make sure that you were still onboard with being my maid of honor," Johanna stated. "When Jim brought up the best man thing to Jeff on New Year's Eve, I wasn't sure if I put you on the spot or not. I had planned to discuss it with you in a better way but since he opened the door, I just went ahead."

Maggie shook her head. "No, I wasn't on the spot at all. I'm definitely onboard. I'm excited about it!"

"Good," Johanna breathed, a smile gracing her lips as relief filled her. "I wanted to make sure you were still okay with it before the planning starts…which I figure I won't be able to hold my mother off for too much longer."

"I'm happy to have the job and I'm ready for it," Maggie declared. "I'm looking forward to all of it."

"I'm so glad," she said before turning to Sharon whose gaze had been boring into her back the whole time. "Sharon, I'd like for you to be one of my bridesmaids…are you willing?"

Sharon eyed her coolly. "We'll discuss it."

Johanna gave a short laugh. "What is there to discuss? You're either in or out."

"I said we'll discuss it," her secretary replied as she picked up her coffee mug and stormed toward the door.

"Wow, someone's touchy," Maggie called after her.

"Shut up," Sharon retorted as she left the room.

Maggie smiled as she looked to Johanna. "I don't think she's happy with your maid of honor selection."

"Oh well," she replied. "I'm happy with it."

"Me too," her friend stated. "Do you think she'll be a bridesmaid?"

"I guess we'll see after the 'discussion'," Johanna said, a touch of sarcasm in her tone. "I can't wait to see what that's going to be like."

Maggie laughed. "Be sure to let me know how it goes."

"Oh I will," she assured as she grabbed a drink from the fridge. "I'm sure it'll be interesting to say the least."

When Johanna got back to the office, she could tell that Sharon was fuming. "What's wrong?" she asked, although she had a pretty good idea of what was coming.

"Do you really need to ask?" Sharon retorted.

"Lay it out for me anyway. Let's get it over with."

"Why would you ask Maggie to be your maid of honor!?"

"Because Maggie's my friend and I think she'll do a good job."

"I'm your friend! Supposedly your best friend!"

"You can have more than one best friend, Sharon."

"I've known you a hell of a lot longer than Maggie has!" the secretary exclaimed.

"Am I supposed to pick my maid of honor based on who has known me longest?" Johanna asked. "If so, then it would have to be my sister."

"Don't twist my words. You always said I would be your maid of honor!"

"Yeah; you always said the same thing to me too…but I wasn't your maid of honor…at least not once most of the heavy lifting had been done. Then I was ditched."

"That's different," Sharon stated. "I had to drop you for family reasons! I had no choice!"

Johanna shrugged. "Well I do have a choice and I had to pick Maggie because I felt she deserved the title."

"Seriously?" Sharon asked. "I've known you since we were seventeen! Do you know how many weekends you spent at my house?"

"You spent weekends at my house too, Sharon," she replied.

"When we were in college and you got drunk at that party because Cade dumped you, I stopped his low life friend from dragging you out of that party. You know what would've happened to you if I hadn't done that?"

"Yes; I do know…and I'm grateful that you were there to help me."

Sharon scoffed. "Apparently not."

Johanna rolled her eyes. "For God's sake, Sharon; that doesn't obligate me to name you as my maid of honor. If that's the case, you should've never ditched me as yours considering that I lied to the cops so you'd have an alibi for the night Scott's tires got slashed and he sent the police after you at Mario's the next day. I very clearly remember saying 'But Officer, it couldn't have been Sharon; she was in our dorm all evening with me. We were studying for our exams.' Does that ring a bell?"

"Yeah; it does; and it wasn't a lie; I was with you that night!"

"Yeah; I know, I was there when you slashed his tires…we were not in the dorm room like I said we were!"

"It doesn't matter. I can't believe you picked Maggie over me!"

Johanna breathed deeply. "I picked Maggie because she's been there a lot for me this last year…and you really haven't."

"That's a lie!"

"No, it isn't…and I'm not saying that to hurt you but it's the truth. Ditching me as your maid of honor six weeks before the wedding is the major dagger but there are other things as well; like things you've said about my relationship, about me…giving me the brush off when I need you…and yet expecting my full attention when you have an issue. You are one of my best friends…and I do want you to be a part of my wedding…but not as maid of honor. I want you to be one of my bridesmaids."

Sharon gave a slight shake of her head. "Well I'm not sure I can accept that placement."

"It's the only place I'm offering, Sharon. I'm not changing my mind about who is going to be my maid of honor…unlike you did. So are you in or are you out?"

"I don't know; I'll have to think about it," Sharon said haughtily.

"Don't think too long," Johanna told her. "I want an answer by the end of the month."

"I'll make sure to give you notice, Miss McKenzie," Sharon said as she sat down at her desk.

"Really? Last name basis?"

"Well we don't seem to be good friends at the moment so I'll just treat you professionally."

"Okay," Johanna said as she headed toward her office. "You go ahead and stew, Mrs. Harper. Let me know when you're over it."

Sharon ignored the statement and Johanna closed her door, sighing deeply as she did so. She was barely into step one of wedding planning and there was already drama. Just what she didn't want.

Johanna smiled later that day as her sister approached the table she was sitting at in the small café they had chosen for lunch. "Did you get a new coat?" she asked as she watched Colleen shrug out of it.

"Yeah; it was on sale at Bloomingdales," Colleen answered.

"I like it," she told her. "It looks nice on you."

"Really?"

Confusion wrinkled her brow. "Yeah, why?"

"Paul says it makes me look like I'm trying to be you," she replied as she sat down.

"How does he figure that?"

Colleen put her sunglasses in her purse. "He says it's professional looking."

"Well, the McKenzie sisters are professionals," Johanna remarked; "And as sisters, it's not uncommon for us to have similar taste in some things."

"I'm not sure Paul considers an interior decorator as a professional."

"Then he needs to broaden his horizons. You went to school, you got the degree, you work at a prestigious firm. You're a professional. As for the coat, most women own a black dress coat. I like yours because of the silver studs around the cuffs and on the pockets."

"That's what I liked about it," Colleen replied. "How come you're not having lunch with Jim?"

"Our schedules didn't match up today so I thought of you. I'm glad you could make it."

"I'm glad you called; it gave me an excuse to skip out of the asinine 'have lunch with the people on your floor' lunch today…and to get away from that new girl that started the crap. God she's annoying."

Johanna laughed. "Decorator, secretary or assistant?"

"A secretary who thinks she's a decorator and anything else that she thinks she can claim."

She grimaced. "Sounds fun."

"Oh yeah; I might have to start keeping a flask in my desk like Dad does."

"I've thought about that myself," Johanna admitted.

Colleen smiled. "Chances are if you did, you wouldn't be the only one at the law firm with one in your desk."

"I don't doubt it," she laughed. "Is this new girl your secretary?"

"Yes; temporarily. When Michelle gets back from her honeymoon; Annoying Amy will be back on the front desk…but even that isn't far enough away. At least you got to pick a friend as your secretary."

Johanna scoffed. "It's not always a good thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah; she's usually pissed off at me for one thing or another. Sometimes she thinks friendship means she can do what she wants, when she wants when it comes to work."

"She probably thinks friendship means that she has job security too."

"Most likely. I just hope she never pushes me to the point where I have to prove to her that she's wrong."

Colleen eyed her. "Do you really think you could fire her?"

"If it came down to it and the issue was big enough…yeah, I could. I wouldn't like it but I'd do it."

"She'd really be pissed then."

"Yeah; that would be the end of the friendship; that's I hope it never comes down to that."

They paused in their conversation as the waitress came and took their order.

"Has Mom started on you about the wedding planning?" Colleen asked once they had their drinks.

"No…I've kind of been…not calling much…and when the conversation heads in the direction, I end the call after a minute or two. She was supposed to call last night to discuss it and I wasn't home."

"On purpose?" her sister asked.

"Yes."

Colleen laughed. "Avoidance won't work forever."

"I know; I just want to have a couple things figured out before I let her dive in."

"Like what?"

"Like the wedding party," Johanna replied as their lunch was delivered. "Which is another reason why I wanted to see you today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Johanna said, a shy smile touching her lips. "I wanted to ask you to be one of my bridesmaids. So are you willing to do that for me?"

Colleen met her eye. "What about Paul?"

"Unfortunately, Paul did not make my list for bridesmaids; sorry."

Her sister rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant, aren't you asking him to be a groomsman?"

"No," Johanna said slowly. "Why would I do that?"

"Because he's my husband."

"I'm aware of that; I was at the wedding…and being that he is your husband, he will of course be invited to my wedding."

"But he's not being asked to be a groomsman?"

"No, of course not."

"Why not?" Colleen demanded to know.

"Because Jim gets to pick who he wants as his groomsman and he's asked his best friend to be his best man and for his other groomsman, he chose two of his brothers, another one of his friends and Frankie."

"Frankie!" her sister exclaimed. "You're asking Frankie but not Paul!?"

"Jim made the decision to ask Frankie; not me, but I agreed that it was a good choice. I would like my brother included…as well as my sister."

"Why Frankie and not Paul!" she demanded to know, ignoring Johanna's attempt to bring the topic back around to her being a bridesmaid.

"Because, for one thing, as I mentioned, Frankie is my brother…and your brother too. For another thing, Jim knows Frankie better than he knows Paul. He's spent time around Frankie, they have things in common, they get along well and Jim likes him and enjoys his company."

"He doesn't like Paul?" Colleen asked.

"He's never said that. He doesn't really know him; he met him at Christmas…and let's be honest, Colleen; Paul doesn't really make an effort to bond with the family."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that he doesn't make much effort. When he's with the family; he talks down about the things our family likes to do or our traditions. It makes it difficult for people to get to know him."

"So he deserves to be shunned?"

"We're not shunning," Johanna replied. "We're just not asking him to be in the wedding party. The groomsman positions belong to Jim's friends and family."

"Then why is Frankie included?"

She sighed, feeling the stirring of a headache behind her eyes. "Because Jim considers Frankie as a friend and he is soon to be his family."

"Then Paul should be asked too," Colleen said stubbornly.

"Colleen; Jim and I decided on a number for the wedding party. We don't want more than five attendants each."

"Then cut someone for Paul!"

"No! I'm not asking Jim to dump one of his friends or brothers for a guy he barely knows."

"Then don't ask Frankie."

"I'm not going to tell my fiancé to drop my brother from his list. I don't even know why we're having this discussion. I asked you to be a bridesmaid. I love you and I want you to be a part of my wedding."

"I don't know if it would be right for me to be a bridesmaid when my husband isn't a groomsman."

Colleen; leaving him out of the wedding party isn't being done as an offense to you. Paul doesn't even like me so why would he want to be in my wedding? I mean think about that. This isn't about him. This is about us…I'm asking my sister to be my bridesmaid…there's no reason for Paul to be a deal breaker between sisters."

Colleen stabbed her fork into her salad. "I don't think Paul would like it if I'm in the wedding and he's not."

"Then he needs to get over himself," Johanna said, stabbing her fork into her salad as well. "Who cares if he doesn't like it? I'm your sister; there should be no question about you being in my wedding. He should automatically expect it."

"Well who is Paul supposed to sit with if I'm in the wedding and he's not?"

Johanna looked at her incredulously. "He'll set with our family…you know, Mom and Dad; Grandma, our aunts, uncles…whoever shows up."

'Are you going to invite Millicent and David?"

"God no!"

"Why not?"

"Because for one thing, I hate your mother-in-law. For another, I'm not obligated to invite your in-laws. They're your family, not mine. I have enough problems coming at me in the form of my future mother-in-law; I do not need her bonding with yours."

"They'll expect to be invited," Colleen stated.

"Break it to them gently, Bug. It's not happening."

"Maybe you'll reconsider later on when you start working on the guest list."

"It's highly unlikely; but we're not discussing the guest list. We're discussing you being one of my bridesmaids…so…how about it?"

Colleen shifted in her seat. "I don't know…I'm not sure I want to go through another wedding with you considering how you were during mine."

Johanna ignored the ripple of hurt that rolled through her. "Colleen; most of that was on you…you even apologized for it. That wasn't a false apology, was it?"

"No…but still."

"I think we can put that in the past; don't you? If we don't go looking for an issue to have, then I really don't think we'll have one this time. I think we've learned from previous experience."

"I just don't know…I especially don't know if it would be right to be a bridesmaid when Paul isn't being included."

Johanna sighed. "Come on, Colleen. It's not like we've blacklisted him from the wedding."

"He's my husband!"

"I know! But this isn't your wedding; it's mine. This isn't about Paul. It's about me and you…and how I want my sister there. Don't you want to be there?"

Colleen shrugged. "I don't know…I'll have to talk it over with Paul."

"Why do you have to talk it over with Paul?"

"Because that's what husbands and wives do."

Johanna shook her head. "A wife doesn't have to ask her husband's permission to be in her sister's wedding!"

"You'll find out how it is once the ring is on your finger," her sister replied.

"No, I don't think so. I didn't have to ask Jim for permission to eat lunch with my sister…and when we're married; I will still have lunch with my sister any time it pleases me to do so. I'm not going to ask first. Our relationship has nothing to do with our husbands."

"That's not how it works, Johanna."

"Colleen…please; just say you'll be in my wedding."

"I can't say that…I don't know how I feel about it and I have to discuss it with Paul before giving a final answer."

Johanna's jaw tightened as she glanced down at her plate. So much for family unity.

After they had finished lunch and what Johanna was sure was another ten rounds of their discussion about Colleen being a bridesmaid; the sisters made their way out of the café.

"Thanks for coming," Johanna said as they stood on the sidewalk. "It's always nice when we're able to grab lunch together."

Colleen nodded. "Yeah; it is."

She forced a smile to her lips. "I guess I'll see you around."

"Do you want me to give you a ride back to work?"

"No; I wouldn't want to get you in trouble with Paul. You probably didn't ask if it's okay for me to be in your car."

"Jo," Colleen sighed.

"What? You seem to have to ask his permission for everything…and I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm going to say it anyway because I love you…"

"What?" her sister asked.

Johanna met her eye. "I worry about you," she said sincerely. "I really do."

"Why?"

"Because it seems like Paul is controlling…you have to consult him or ask his permission about everything and when you go against his wishes, it causes an argument. Sometimes you don't seem happy, even though you don't mention it and I hate to see that. My sister never did what she was told and rarely ever asked permission to do it…I know because I pulled her back through our bedroom window many times when she climbed up the trellis at two in the morning after sneaking out," Johanna stated. "I can't help but worry about you."

Colleen shook her head. "I'm fine; don't worry, Sissy."

"Then give me an answer to the question I asked you."

"I can't give you an answer. I have to talk about it with Paul…and like I said before; I'm not sure I want to go through another wedding with you. I'll let you know after I think about it."

Johanna nodded. "Fine…I'd like to know before the end of the month in case I need to ask someone else."

"I'm not trying to hurt you," Colleen said.

She gave a short laugh. "Yeah; you always say that and yet you do it anyway…but it's fine. If you don't want to be a bridesmaid, you don't have to use Paul or past history as an excuse, Colleen. You can just say you don't want to do it and I'll accept and respect that. I won't pressure you to say yes…but please let me know what you decide before the end of the month."

"I will," her sister replied. "Let me drive you back to work; it's cold out."

She shook her head. "There's no need; it's not too far to walk."

"Don't be like Dad," Colleen stated. "Just get in the car."

She didn't want to…she just wanted to get away from her.

"I'm not leaving until you get in the car," Colleen stated. "You'll freeze and get sick and Mom will blame me if they have to postpone your engagement party…so just get in the car; okay?"

"Fine," Johanna relented; "But only so you'll shut up about it."

"Whatever makes you feel better about it," her sister said as she unlocked the passenger door for her.

Johanna sighed as she got in the car; she was already failing at wedding planning; two of her bridesmaids were officially on the 'I'll think about it' list…she had a feeling she was probably the first bride in history to be told 'I'll think about it'.

"It's about time you got here," Jim said as his younger brother dropped onto the chair across from him at the diner.

"What do mean? You said 12:30, I'm here," Andrew stated.

"It's 12:40; you're late."

"Sorry, Mom," his brother said with a grin.

"Don't get insulting," Jim laughed.

"Sorry again," Andrew chuckled. "Why aren't you having lunch with Angel Face?"

"Because our schedules didn't mesh well today," he answered; "So I figured you could make yourself useful and provide me with entertainment."

"That is why Mom and Dad had me; so you'd always have entertainment," his brother quipped.

"I know; I'm pretty sure I requested you…William was such a let down in the brother department and Michael was in school; I needed backup."

Andrew nodded. "And so God said 'Let there be the charming, irresistible Andrew Beckett' and here I am."

Jim laughed. "You're a conceited little jackass."

"Is that any way to talk to your favorite brother?"

"You've said worse about me!"

Andrew pondered that for a moment. "That's probably true."

"I know it is."

Andrew waved over the waiter and they placed their lunch order before continuing their conversation. "I stopped in at home last night," he stated.

"Oh yeah?" Jim said.

His brother nodded. "Heard the repeat of the repeat of your very special Christmas gift to Mom."

"I haven't heard from her."

"Lizzie is still in a tizzy," Andrew stated.

"Yeah; that's what Dad tells me. I figure I'll just lay low for as long as possible."

Andrew laughed. "Big brother, there's nowhere low enough for you to lay. It's going to take her years to get over this…ballpark estimate is at least three to five years for her to accept that you married the girl she told you not to marry."

"Well I've told her numerous times that she doesn't get to make my choices."

"You know Mom doesn't care about what we say. All I heard through dinner last night was 'Can you believe, Jimmy ruined Christmas! Can you believe he's marrying that troublemaking gold digger!' I left before dessert was served; she gave me a headache."

"Why do you think I haven't been over there?" Jim said with a laugh. "I keep hoping Dad will settle her down."

"Hell, she might need a prescription to settle her down," Andrew remarked. "Speaking of women; how is Angel Face? Did you get her a bodyguard in case Mom is on the prowl for her?"

"No," he laughed; "But I will if need be. Johanna's fine though; she's starting to plan the wedding…tiny little pieces at a time."

Andrew smiled. "I bet she's excited."

"Excited but worried she'll go into crazy bride mode so she only has a discussion about one thing and then says 'that's enough for tonight'," he said with a laugh.

Andrew chuckled. "That's probably a good quality to have for wedding planning. Did you set a date?"

"We decided on August but haven't narrowed down the exact date yet…so, you know; make sure you're in New York in August and not in some foreign city half way around the world."

"No sweat; I'll be there. But let me know when you have the exact date so I can make extra sure that any long trips in that month are put off until after the fact."

"I will," Jim said as their lunch was put on the table. "I did want to talk to you about something wedding related."

"Bachelor party?" Andrew grinned. "Because I'm sure Jeff and I can give you one hell of a send off."

"I don't doubt that," he said with a smile; "But that's not it."

"What is it then?"

"Johanna is trying to get the wedding party settled and I wanted to ask you to be one of my people…whatever the hell they call it," Jim said as he picked up his drink.

Andrew eyed him. "Who's best man?"

"Jeff…you're not offended are you?"

"No," his brother said with a shake of his head. "I just wanted to make sure it wasn't Michael; because then I'd be offended."

He laughed. "No, it's not Michael. It's Jeff; but I want you in there too…you know, like second in line."

"Best man number 2?" Andrew asked.

"Yeah; do you want the job or not?"

"Of course I want the job!" his brother exclaimed. "Are you crazy?"

Jim nodded. "Sometimes…it runs in the family."

"True," Andrew said with a nod; a grin on his face. "But I'm happy to be Best Man number 2."

"Great," Jim said with a grin. "Because if you had said no, I'd have to punch you and disown you."

"Hey, man; I'd never let you down; you know that," Andrew stated.

"I do," Jim said with a nod. "I still have to ask Michael to be in there…I'm going to do that tonight after work."

"I'm sure he'll be all for it; the Beckett brothers stick together."

"Except for William," Jim said with a laugh.

Andrew nodded. "Except for William…I swear; I think Mom had an affair that's where he came from because he's just not like the rest of us."

"Why don't you go over there this weekend and ask her about that," Jim said; "That ought to get her attention off me."

Andrew laughed. "I'd do a lot of things for you, brother; but not that."

"It was worth a shot," Jim grinned; thinking to himself that maybe he and Johanna had a good handle on this wedding planning thing. Maybe by the end of the day, most of the wedding party would be set and then they could decide which piece of planning to move on to…they had this, it was all going to be fine.

Despite the headache she had from dealing with her sister and Sharon's cold shoulder treatment, Johanna figured that she may as well complete her rounds and call her brother while she had a lull between appointments. Maybe phone call invitations were better, she thought as she took her address book out of her desk drawer and found the number for her brother's office. She dialed the number and leaned back in her chair, hoping for a better outcome this time.

"McKenzie," her brother said as he answered.

"Hey, Frankie; do you have a few minutes?" she asked.

"Yeah; I can spare you a few, Mouthy; what's up?"

"Don't tell Mom but I'm starting a little bit of what could be considered wedding planning…"

"And you're hiding that information from Mom? Hmm…my silence is going to cost you, Sis."

She smirked. "What do you want?"

"Oh I don't know, let me think…"

"When do you need a babysitter?" she asked; having a feeling that was where they were headed.

"Now what made you think I wanted a babysitter?"

"Because you have a child and always want to use favors as babysitting opportunities," Johanna replied.

"Hey; we'll return the favor one day," Frankie said with a laugh.

"I'm going to hold you to that; so when do you need a sitter?"

"How about one night next week? Not overnight; just an evening so I can take Valerie out to dinner and a movie."

"Deal," Johanna said; "Let me know which day."

"I will; now what's on your mind?"

"Like I said; I'm starting to do a little wedding planning; and I'm going to have to call Valerie too; but Jim would like you to be one of his groomsmen so he wanted me to talk to you and see if you're willing to do that?"

"Really?" Frankie asked; his tone sounding pleased by the idea.

"Yeah."

"You really want me in your wedding?"

"Yes; of course I do…we both do. Jim likes you, he picked you and I think it's a great idea; I mean you are my brother even if you are a demon at times and you know…I love you despite our sometimes terrible childhood together."

Frankie laughed. "I trained you right."

"So is that a yes?"

"Hell yeah; I'll be happy to do it. I hope it's a better bachelor party than Paul's."

"I'm pretty sure I can guarantee that," she stated. "I'm so glad you're willing to do this for us."

"Hey, no problem; I'm happy to do it."

"I want Valerie to be one of my bridesmaids; that's why I'll be calling her."

"You know she's going to be thrilled to do that; that's a guaranteed yes."

"I hope so. I asked Colleen but she hasn't said yes because we're not asking Paul to be in the wedding and she's not sure it would be right for her to be in it. She'll have to discuss it with her husband before she can give me an answer."

"That little bitch," Frankie remarked. "I swear, she can't really be our sister."

"She has Dad's nose."

"I don't care; I think there was a mix up at the hospital…she could've gotten that nose anywhere."

"Well that's true…they might have brought home the wrong baby."

"Not that they needed to bring home any. They could've stopped after us."

"Dad blames that on Grandma putting the eye on him."

"Maybe you should have Grandma put the eye on Colleen."

She laughed. "I'm saving that for my mother-in-law."

"Good choice."

"You don't know the half of it. Oh, we also want Greg to be in the wedding as one of our ring bearers. We thought him and Jim's youngest nephew could do that. Would you and Valerie be okay with that?"

"Of course Greg can be in it. You just better hope he doesn't hang off your dress, begging you not to get married…he does seem to think that you belong to him."

Johanna laughed. "I'll have a talk with him and make sure he knows there's enough of me to go around."

"You might have to," her brother chuckled. "Listen, not to rush you but my next client is here, I have to go."

"No problem; I'm going to try to call Val before my next appointment. I'll talk to you later."

They said their goodbyes and Johanna dialed her sister-in-law's number and was happy to hear Valerie enthusiastically agree to be one of her bridesmaids and she happily gave her permission for Greg to be in the wedding as well. When she hung up the phone, she was feeling a bit better about things…hopefully Jim would get approval for his half of the list and everything would be set…except for Sharon and Colleen.

That evening, after dropping Johanna off at her apartment, Jim made the trip to his brother's home. He gave his attention to his nieces and nephews until they were sent off to play as Natalie started dinner and Michael sat at the kitchen table with his cup of coffee.

"What brings you by tonight?" Michael asked. "You want free dinner?"

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "Johanna's making dinner for me. I just stopped by because I wanted to discuss some things with both of you."

"What kind of things?" Natalie asked as she set the timer on the oven and then joined them at the table.

"Well, Johanna is starting to do a little wedding planning…"

"Already?" Michael asked. "The ring hasn't even had time to leave a dent on her finger."

Jim shot him a look. "We've been engaged for a month…actually more like five weeks."

"That's my point," his brother said. "Shouldn't you enjoy the engagement first?"

"We are enjoying it. We're not in full out planning mode; just a few little things we wanted to go ahead and settle before we proceed."

"Still seems a bit fast."

"We're getting married in August; we can't wait and start planning in June," Jim stated.

"You're getting married in August?" Natalie asked. "Why so soon?"

"Is she in a hurry to get that ball and chain slapped on you, little brother?"

"No; I'm the one that asked her to pick a month," he remarked. "Johanna's not pressuring me to get married sooner rather than later. It was my idea…I don't want to wait any longer than I have to."

"Why not?" his brother asked; "You hemmed and hawed enough about dating her officially."

"Yeah; I know…I don't want to waste any more time. I love her and I want to go home to her every night," Jim stated. "I thought you liked Johanna."

"I do," Michael answered; "It just seems like you've gone from a crawl to warp speed."

"I like the speed we're going at."

"What did you want to discuss, Jim?" Natalie asked.

"Well, in the process of trying to get some small things decided; we would like to have the kids in the wedding. We want Angie and Alicia as our flower girls and Danny to be a ring bearer with Jo's nephew Greg. We didn't want to leave out Mikey so we thought we'd have him escort the girls and he can have the 'job' of keeping an eye on the younger kids on the way down the aisle. So…can we have them for those jobs?"

Michael and Natalie glanced at each other. "Yeah, sure," Natalie said. "If you really think Alicia is old enough…she is only two."

"She'll be fine; Johanna will show her what to do and she'll be with Angie…and Mikey will be there to walk with them."

"You're having two ring bearers?" Michael asked.

"Yeah; there are two rings."

"Usually one kid carries both."

"Yeah; well, we have five nieces and nephews and we don't want to exclude any of them, so the two youngest boys can each carry a ring."

"I've never seen that be done before," his brother remarked.

"First time for everything," Jim stated; "And when did you become a wedding expert?"

"I didn't…I'm just saying, based on what I know…there's never two."

"Well there is this time. Now can we move on?"

"Go ahead," Natalie said. "What else did you want to discuss?"

"We want to ask both of you to be in the wedding," Jim replied. "Johanna wants you to be a bridesmaid, and I want Michael to be one of my people on my side. Are you willing to do that for us?"

His brother and sister-in-law glanced at each other, silently communicating with each other as their expressions betrayed the fact that they didn't really like the idea. Jim felt his stomach knot; why did it seem like they had a problem with his marriage? "Well?" he asked.

Michael breathed deeply. "I think we're going to pass on that."

The remark was like a punch in his stomach. "What?"

"We're going to say no."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because," Michael said before glancing to Natalie.

"Because we really don't want the responsibility of being in a wedding party," Natalie remarked. "We have enough responsibilities and we just can't take on more at this time."

"What responsibility?" Jim asked. "All you have to do is put on the dress or suit and show up to the ceremony and stand in front of the church."

"You know that's not all there is to it, Jim," Natalie said with a smile. "We can't be a part of all the wedding party activities when we have four kids to take care of plus a house and Michael's job."

"We're not asking you to build the church, Natalie."

"I'm aware of that, but…it's a lot of responsibility and we have enough of those."

Jim glanced to his brother. "You're really not going to do this for me?"

"I'm sorry, Jim; but no…we've just got too much to do."

He didn't look all that sorry to him, Jim thought to himself as he eyed his brother. "I don't know what you think you'd have to do that would take up so much of your time."

"You know weddings require a lot," Michael stated. "Pick your friends; they're probably single and don't have kids."

Jim studied them both for a long minute. "I feel like there's more to your refusal than you're saying. So instead of dancing around my questions; why don't you tell me the other reason?"

Michael and Natalie glanced at each other and then Michael rubbed his hand against his jaw. "Look, I'm going to be honest; we've discussed this not long after you announced your engagement because I figured you'd ask me…but we don't want to be in the wedding party because then we have to listen to Mom bitch about it and we just don't need that constant bitching in our lives. You know she won't be able to let it go and she'll be telling us all the reasons why we shouldn't be in the wedding…and we just don't want to listen to it."

"So you're saying no because you're afraid of your mommy," Jim said. "Good to know that you don't have a back bone."

"I have a back bone; I just don't want Mom pissed off at us."

"Of course not; you need to stay on your mommy's good side so you don't lose your free Saturday night babysitter."

"Jim, you're not being fair," Natalie remarked. "You know how your mother is; if she knew we were going to be in your wedding it's all we'd here. Besides; I don't think it's appropriate for me to be a bridesmaid anyway."

"Why the hell not!?"

"Because it's not like I'm close to Johanna; I mean I like her, she's perfectly nice…but we're not close…we don't see each other all that much. She should give that position to someone who will enjoy it…I wouldn't. Besides; I already have enough problems with Elizabeth, I don't need more."

"So, because you're both afraid of Mom and her temper tantrums, you're turning us down…for the most important day of our lives?"

"We're not afraid of her," Michael stated; "We just don't want to put up with her. She's been in a mood ever since you told her…can you imagine what it would be like if she knew we were in the wedding?"

"Andrew's going to be in it."

"That's good for Andrew; but he also travels for work so he's not around for the majority of the bitching."

"Well since you're so worried about what Mom has to say; maybe the kids shouldn't be in it either. I mean, I'm sure she'd say something about that too, wouldn't she?"

"That's true," Natalie stated. "Maybe we should think about that a little more before giving an answer."

Jim shook his head and shoved away from the table. "I think we're done here."

"Jim, don't go away mad," Michael stated. "You have to understand, we have a lot of responsibilities and we don't want to put up with Mom. It's nothing personal toward you."

"Feels personal to me; but hey, whatever. Live your life in fear of Mom's tantrums, I don't care. You don't even have to come to my wedding if you don't want to…you know, since you're so busy and afraid of what your mother might say. Maybe she can stay home too and you all can have a little gathering."

"Jim," Natalie said; "Don't be silly. You know we love you, we just don't want to be in your wedding."

"I was in yours!"

"I know," she said; "But that was different."

"Yeah; it always is, isn't it?" he asked. "But it's fine; we don't need you in our wedding. We know better people than the two of you…people who aren't afraid of their mother."

"Come on, Jim; don't be like that," Michael stated.

"I'll be any way I want. I'm going home to my fiancée and we'll rewrite our wedding party list. Don't worry, we won't ask again; we know where we stand."

"Okay; be stubborn for awhile; you always are," his brother remarked. "You're a bit like Mom yourself."

"No; I just know when people are treating my badly," Jim retorted. "But like I said; it's fine. I'll see you around."

"Jim," Natalie called after him as he headed toward the back door. "We will think about letting the kids be in the wedding; honestly we will."

"Don't do me any favors, Natalie; after all, it isn't like we're close or anything."

"Jim," his sister-in-law stated.

"Goodnight," he stated as he pulled the door open and stepped outside, pulling it shut behind him. So much for thinking the wedding planning would go smoothly, he thought to himself as he walked around the house to his car.

By the time Jim got to Johanna's that evening, dinner was on the stove and she was setting the table. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he kissed her cheek.

"You're not late; you said you might not be back until closer to seven; that's why I started dinner a little later than usual."

"What are we having?"

"I made vegetable soup and I have some sandwiches toasting in the oven," Johanna replied. "You liked that the last time."

"I do like it and I'm starving," he said as he went to the sink to wash his hands.

"I figured you would be…that's why I made sure to include an extra sandwich for you."

"Thanks, sweetheart. Soup is always good on a cold day."

"That's why I made it," she replied. "I feel like I'm chilled and I'm hoping that hot soup will take care of the issue."

"That and a shower should do the trick. Did you make any coffee?"

"Yeah; it's ready for you."

Jim grabbed a coffee mug from the cabinet and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Do you want coffee?" he asked.

"No, I made a cup of tea," Johanna answered as she ladled soup into bowls. "How did it go at your brother's?"

"I'll tell you once we get settled."

Johanna had a feeling that meant that it hadn't gone well but she stayed quiet until dinner was on the table and they were seated. "So what's the verdict?" she asked after they had each taken a few bites of their dinner.

"Well…we can count out Michael and Natalie."

"They don't want to do it?"

He shook his head. "They said no."

"Your brother told you no?" she asked, her gaze upon his face.

"Yeah; they both said no," he replied, a flicker of hurt crossing his face that Johanna didn't miss noticing.

"I can't believe he did that to you. Why would your brother tell you no?"

"They both said no."

"I'm not really concerned about Natalie. I want to know why Michael turned you down."

"It was kind of a joint statement turndown kind of thing," he remarked.

Johanna eyed him. "Let's hear it."

Jim blew out a breath and took another bite of his soup before beginning his tale. "I asked them and they didn't look too thrilled and then they said no; that they don't want the responsibility of being in the bridal party. They already have enough responsibilities."

"What responsibility?" she asked. "All they have to do is be fitted for the outfit, go to the rehearsal and go to the wedding…we weren't asking them to cater it or something."

"Yeah; I asked what responsibility too and they mentioned going to all the activities required of a wedding party; it would be difficult for them to do that since they have kids."

"What activities?!"

"I don't know, I asked but the question was never really answered. I just kept getting the, 'we already have enough responsibilities and taking on more just isn't something we can do right now' speech."

"Tell them to remember that the next time they need a babysitter," Johanna remarked; anger in her veins at the idea of Michael and Natalie hurting Jim's feelings with their refusal to be a part of things.

"I wish I had thought of that remark while I was there," Jim muttered.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll have a chance to use it."

"No doubt; but there's more."

"I can hardly wait."

"They also don't want to be in our wedding because they don't want to hear my mother complain about it."

"Oh my God," Johanna exclaimed as she got up from the table.

"Where are you going?"

"To get my notebook I bought at that store across from the office this afternoon," she replied, taking it out of the junk drawer along with a pen. "I transcribed our notes from last night into it so I could have it all together. I suppose it's time to revise the wedding party list. I can't believe they're using your mother as an excuse."

"Yeah; it blew my mind too…I mean I was in Michael's wedding and she carried on about his marriage but it didn't prevent me from being up there like he wanted."

"What a slap in the face," Johanna said as she opened the notebook to the family version of their list and crossed of Michael and Natalie with an angry slash of her pen.

"That's how I felt about it; and then Natalie said she didn't think it would be appropriate for her to be a bridesmaid for you because it's not like you're close or anything and she has enough problems with Elizabeth."

"So it's like that is it?" she said, turning to a fresh page to redo the list for the wedding party.

"Apparently so…it pissed me off too. If you don't want to do it, just say no; don't give me a ton of excuses about it."

"Especially using your mother as one of those excuses."

"Exactly; she carries on about everything; everyone should be used to it by now."

"Agreed," Johanna remarked. "What about the kids?"

"That's up in the air and that's probably my fault," Jim stated.

"What happened?"

"Well I asked if the kids could be in the wedding and first they said yes, and then when they were giving me their boatload of excuses of why they don't want to stand up there with us and they got to the one about my mother, I said 'well then maybe the kids shouldn't be in it either, don't you think she'd complain about that too?' And they looked at each other and said, 'well, maybe we should think about it a little more, because you know she will have something to say about it and we wouldn't want to have to pull them out of it after they had been told they'd be in it'."

"What did you say?" Johanna asked.

"I said 'oh yes, and you have to stay on your Mommy's good side so you have a free babysitter on Saturday nights.' Then there was some bickering and I told them it was fine, we don't need them in our wedding and I left; but as I was leaving, Natalie was yelling that they would think about letting the kids do it…so I don't know if the kids are going to be in it or not, Jo. I'm sorry"

"It's okay," she told him. "I understand that you were hurt and angry; I would've said the same things. If they don't let the kids do it, then we'll work out something else."

He gave her a grateful smile. "I should've told the kids before Michael and Natalie…at least we'd be sure to get them then."

She laughed softly. "It's okay; we'll see what happens…but for now, we'll see where we're landing with this bridal party. The good news of today is that Maggie is on board with being my maid of honor," she said as she wrote Maggie's name in her section of the paper; "And we know Jeff is on board for you."

Jim nodded as she wrote down Jeff's name. "Did you talk to any of your family?"

"Yes; Valerie, Frankie and Greg are all set," she said with a smile; "And Frankie was really happy to be asked, so thank you for picking him."

"No problem, sweetheart; I'm glad he was willing to do it."

"He didn't hesitate," she remarked as she wrote her brother and sister-in-law's names down and then wrote Greg's name down for ring bearer. "Did you ask Andrew?"

"I met him for lunch since we didn't get to take our break together," Jim replied. "He's happy to do it and unafraid of our mother."

"Good to know," Johanna said as she wrote Andrew's name down in his column.

"Did you talk to your sister?"

"Yeah;" she replied with a sigh; "But I don't think she wants to do it."

"Really? Why?"

"Because, and I quote, "I'm not sure it's right to do it when Paul isn't being included'," she said, imitating her sister's voice.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah; and I told her we're not asking Paul; not as an offense to her; but because you don't really know him and it's not required to ask my sister's husband to be in on the wedding party…and I said to myself, especially when the bride doesn't like him."

"The groom doesn't care for him either," Jim said as he picked up his sandwich.

"Not many people do," she remarked. "We went back and forth about it until lunch was over and I told her if she doesn't want to do it she doesn't have to…she's supposed to think about it…so I don't know if Paul will give her permission or not because I know that's what it will come down to, she'll have to ask Paul if it's alright."

"Doesn't anyone have their own brain anymore?" Jim asked.

"It doesn't seem like it…so I'm going to write down Colleen and put a question mark next to it, because who knows how that's going to turn out."

"Any other good news?"

She smiled. "Well…Sharon knows she's not the maid of honor and she's now mad at me."

"Is that right? How did that come about?"

"Maggie was in the break room when we went down there to get drinks this morning," she stated. "Maggie asked what I wanted to talk about last night when we were supposed to go out and I figured I'd just bite the bullet and do it there. Maggie assured me that she was definitely on board and hadn't felt pressured, that she was excited to get started…and I could feel Sharon's eyes boring into my back so I turned to her and told her I wanted her to be a bridesmaid."

"What did she say?"

"She said we could discuss it."

His brow rose. "Did you?"

"Once we got back to the office; she went on a little tirade about me asking Maggie to be maid of honor because she assumed it would be her and she doesn't understand why it isn't when that's what I've always told her since college that she'd be my maid of honor."

Jim scoffed. "She really thinks you owe her that position after what she did to you in the course of her wedding planning?"

"Yes; because that was a family issue and she had no choice."

"Oh God," he laughed; "Another person who has no brain of her own."

"Exactly; I told her I do have a choice in my wedding and I chose Maggie because she's been there for me a lot when Sharon hasn't and there was the whole debacle of her wedding and that I want her to be there, but as a bridesmaid. She said she'll have to think about it because she's not sure she wants that placement."

"Somebody feels entitled," Jim remarked.

"Oh yeah; I told her don't think too long because I want an answer before the engagement party. She's barely speaking to me."

He shook his head. "She's got a lot of nerve."

"She always has. Did you ask Zach?"

"No, I didn't get a chance; just go ahead and put him down for now."

Johanna wrote Zach's name in Jim's column and pondered the results. "Okay, you have Jeff, Andrew, Frankie and Zach. I have Maggie, Valerie, possibly Colleen, and maybe Sharon."

Jim caught her eye. "Maybe you should think up two back ups in case Sharon and Colleen let you down."

She sighed as she stared at the paper. "I don't really know who else I'd want. I mean I have a ton of cousins, and you always feel like you're slighting people when you choose one over the other. I have friends from law school I still talk to but not often enough to consider as a bridesmaid."

"You could ask Sally," he suggested.

She smiled. "Yeah; I could write Sally down as a backup choice…good suggestion."

"I have one now and then," he said with a laugh.

"Yes, you do…I guess for the other spot, I'll pick a cousin if it comes down to it."

"Good idea."

"Now," Johanna said as she tapped her pen against the notebook. "If Angie and Alicia are out, we don't have a flower girl."

"Do we have to have one?"

"No…but usually if there's a ring bearer, there's also a flower girl…and there's no way I'm taking Greg out of this."

"I wouldn't expect you to," he stated. "I don't know any other little girls…I'm sure there's one somewhere in my family but not one I know well enough."

"Yeah; that's my dilemma too…I mean a few of my cousins have girls but I really wanted it to be Angie and Alicia since I have gotten to spend time with them and enjoy them. They'd look so cute as flower girls."

"They would," Jim said with a nod. "I wanted them there too…I mean they're not out of the running completely…"

"But maybe we should consider a back up?"

"Maybe so."

"My cousin Morgan has a little girl; she's about four I believe."

"What's her name?"

"Jacqueline."

"Really?" he said, a touch of distaste coloring his features.

"She's named after Jackie Kennedy. Morgan has always admired her."

"Oh; I see. Do they call her Jackie?"

"Honestly, not too often. She's a cute little girl…I'm sure she'd be a nice flower girl if Angie and Alicia can't do it."

He gave a nod. "Then write down Jacqueline."

She wrote down her little cousin's name and then read over the list. "This was going so well last night," she remarked.

"Yeah…and then we involved people and they had to ruin everything," Jim replied.

Johanna nodded. "People suck."

"Except for us."

"Right; we're awesome."

"We are," he agreed.

She sighed a little and closed her notebook. "That's enough wedding planning for tonight."

Jim laughed. "I love how you do a little bit and then say 'that's enough for tonight'."

She laughed. "Well…what I can I say? I don't want to get overwhelmed and I figure slow and steady wins the race…isn't that what they say?"

"Yeah…I think we've proved it," he replied with a grin.

Johanna caught his meaning. "Well I guess that's true; it took three years to win this part of the race," she smiled.

"It was time well spent."

"Most definitely," she said as she got up to put the notebook away; "But seriously; we'll put the wedding planning away for the rest of the night and hope that we have concrete answers about the wedding party by the end of the month…because I'd really like for that to be set."

"I know, sweetheart; we'll get it taken care of. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried…not yet anyway," she stated as she retook her seat. "Have you heard from your mother yet?"

"Not personally; but I've heard about her from second hand sources like my father and brothers. Why?"

"Her silence unnerves me."

Jim laughed. "Believe me, she's not being silent."

"Yeah; but she's being silent in regard to you."

"Oh yeah, I'm real upset about that," he said in amusement.

She giggled. "I know, I can tell; it really affects your appetite."

"It does; I'm definitely going to have to have that second sandwich."

"It's keeping warm in the oven when you're ready for it."

"I'll put it out of its misery shortly," he replied.

Johanna smiled, her gaze meeting his. "I'm sorry you're brother turned you down," she said gently. "I know it had to sting a bit."

Jim shrugged. "A little…I didn't like Natalie's comments either about how she shouldn't be a bridesmaid for you."

"I'm not worried about that…I'm just sorry your brother hurt you. I'm also sorry that he has to use your mother as an excuse to do it instead of being a grown man and doing what he wants."

"It's alright, sweetheart; I'll get him back. You just wait until they want us to babysit again because it's not happening…we have enough responsibilities and we're not willing to take on more just so they can eat a meal without their children present."

"I hope I'm in the room while you're answering that call," Johanna remarked. "I don't want to miss it."

"We'll keep our fingers crossed," he replied. 'But like you said, we'll put it away for tonight. It's midweek, we need to unwind."

"That's the truth," she replied. "I did a little paperwork when I got home but I'm done with it for the night. It can wait until tomorrow."

"I'm not doing any either; the hell with it," Jim said. "I'll do it at my desk in the morning. We're going to relax tonight."

Johanna gave a nod. "Good; I think I've had enough of this day."

"Me too, sweetheart. Me too."

Jim entered the living room after his shower and found Johanna on the couch, flipping through a bridal magazine. "I thought you weren't doing any more planning tonight," he said lightly.

"I'm not. I was just looking," she answered as he settled down beside her, draping his arm around her.

"Nothing wrong with that," he replied. "What do you think is the next step?"

"I don't really know…I thought we'd have our wedding party all set by tomorrow at the latest…but instead we have two nos and two maybes."

"I know," Jim replied, giving her a gentle squeeze; "But we did get some yeses."

"That's true…at least we each have one sibling who isn't a traitor."

He laughed. "Yeah; that's true too. I can't wait to tell Andrew about Michael."

"I told Frankie about Colleen."

"What did he say?"

"The same thing he always says about Colleen; 'that little bitch'."

"He has a way with words," Jim said with a chuckle.

"He does have his moments."

"Andrew made the statement today that Beckett brothers stick together. I'll have to tell him that's only true for two of us."

She caught hold of his hand and gave a it a squeeze. "I'm so sorry Michael did that to you," she said softly.

"It's alright, sweetheart. I'm sorry Colleen and Sharon gave you 'maybes' because they have to be petty."

Johanna breathed deeply and exhaled. "I guess I should've known it wouldn't be that easy."

"Yeah; we know the wrong class of people for easy."

She smiled. "How did we get so lucky?"

"Born that way I guess."

She sighed a little as she flipped through the magazine. "You know what a big problem is going to be?"

"What?"

"Finding a wedding dress," Johanna replied.

"Why?"

"Because some of these are just downright ugly and the rest just aren't me."

"Don't worry," Jim said as he brushed a kiss against her temple. "Your perfect dress is out there somewhere."

"I hope so…I just can't have some hideous dress like my sister."

"You won't; I promise."

She smiled at him. "I guess our next task should probably be narrowing down the date."

"Yeah," Jim agreed. "Andrew did say for me to let him know as soon as we know so he can have his schedule arranged."

Johanna nodded. "We'll have to have our schedules arranged too."

"Definitely; we're not missing out on our honeymoon."

"Definitely not," she laughed. "So how about we work that out this weekend?"

"Sounds like a good idea," he told her. "At least we already know the month."

"Right; so it shouldn't be too difficult…but then again; we thought that about the wedding party."

"I told Michael he doesn't even have to come if he doesn't want to."

"What did he say to that?"

"Nothing; Natalie took over at that point saying not to be silly."

"That's rich; they said no to you because they're afraid of your mother but you're the silly one?"

He nodded. "Funny how that works out, isn't it?"

"Yeah; sure is."

"Oh well," Jim said; "We didn't really want five attendants each anyway."

'True; four each is plenty…but at the moment I only have two confirmed…and you have two confirmed. You need to find out about Zach."

"I'll ask him tomorrow, I promise," he told her. "But let's put it away for now and relax."

Johanna smiled as she leaned close and brushed a kiss against his lips.

Jim's eyes gleamed with amusement. "That's always a nice way to relax," he said before drawing her back for another kiss.

"I'm in total agreement of that," she remarked, tossing her magazine on the coffee table before kissing him once more.

The phone rang; interrupting their moment and Jim couldn't help but shake his head. "It never misses."

"I know; I think we have some kind of phone curse," Johanna said. "But we could ignore it."

"No; they'll probably just call back at a more inopportune moment. Go ahead and answer it."

Johanna reached over the arm of the couch and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Johanna, dear; it's good to find you home tonight," Naomi stated.

"Mom," she said, her gaze meeting Jim's. "I'm sorry about last night; I forgot you were supposed to call."

"Uh huh," her mother said, her tone thoroughly unconvinced. "Where were you?"

"I…uh…well…I had plans with a friend and that ended earlier than expected because she didn't feel well so I just went over to Jim's, not thinking that you were supposed to call. I'm so sorry."

"Mhmm; sure you are. I had a feeling you were probably at Jim's but I couldn't call you there since I don't have the number."

"I never gave you Jim's number?" she asked; pretending to be shocked by the news as Jim tried not to laugh.

"No, you haven't, dear; but I think you know that."

"No; I thought I had given it to you long ago."

"Well you haven't."

"I'll make sure you get it," she told her.

"No better time like the present, Bambina."

"You mean like right now?" Johanna asked; her gaze meeting Jim's as she silently pleaded for help.

He threw up his hands and gave her a sympathetic smile; he had no idea how to get her out of that one.

"Yes; I meant now…since I am on the phone and I'm sure you don't have to look it up. Is there a reason you don't want me to have Jim's number."

"No, of course not," she lied. "I'll get it to you."

"When, dear?"

"Soon."

"Once again, I ask, what's wrong with now?"

"Nothing…"

"Johanna," her mother said in amusement. "Tell your mother why you don't want her to have your fiancé's phone number."

She blew out a breath. "It's my last place to hide!" she exclaimed. "I'm not ready to give it up! Just give me a few more weeks."

Naomi laughed merrily on the other end of the line. "That's what I thought it was. Alright, dear; you hang on to your hiding place for another few weeks; but after that I'll ask you every day or find it on my own."

"Okay…I just…got think about what life is going to be like when I have nowhere left to hide from the family," Johanna replied. "It's a terrifying thought, really."

Jim was shaking with laughter at her side and she swatted his shoulder in response.

"It is not," Naomi stated. "You'll survive. Now; I was calling because I hear you've been doing some wedding planning."

"What?" she asked. "Who told you I was wedding planning? I'm not planning."

"That's not what I hear."

"Maybe you heard wrong."

"Oh I'm sure I didn't; I had a very reliable source, darling."

"How can you be so sure this source is reliable?"

"Because I know," Naomi remarked. "Now would you like to tell me why you're excluding me from the wedding planning?"

"I'm not excluding you! I haven't planned anything!"

"That's not what I'm hearing."

"Well just what are you hearing, Mother? And who did you hear it from?"

"One of your siblings."

"Which one?" she asked.

"Your sister."

Johanna closed her eyes. "Just because I asked Colleen to be a bridesmaid doesn't mean I'm planning and excluding you."

'Then what does it mean, Bambina?"

"It means that I wanted to get an idea of my wedding party before we did start planning. I was never going to exclude you. I can't do all of this without you; you know that."

"Then why wasn't I included!?"

"Because I figured asking people to be in my bridal party was my job since it's my choice who gets to be in it. Believe me, Mom; it's the only thing I've done…and did miss prissy pants tell you that she got all huffy because Paul isn't being asked and so she only gave me an 'I'll think about it' as an answer?"

"Yes, she did tell me," Naomi replied; "And she does have a point, dear."

"Aww; you called to defend the baby, how sweet," Johanna said, her tone sugary sweet and dripping with sarcasm.

"Johanna Elizabeth."

"What? Jim and I get to pick the attendants, not Colleen…she had her turn. Paul is not going to be in the wedding; so don't even start about it because it's not happening and you'll just piss me off and I'll go elope."

"Oh no you won't!"

"Try me."

"We'll discuss it when you're not feeling so ready to leap, dear."

"There's nothing to discuss; Paul is not in the wedding. Frankie is in the wedding. Valerie is in the wedding. Greg is in the wedding. I'm hoping my little bitch of a sister will be in the wedding. Paul is not in the wedding."

"Don't call your sister a bitch."

"Fine; the little irritating, cry baby brat you brought home from the hospital that no one requested."

Jim couldn't keep his laughter silent on that note and he got up from the couch to dodge Johanna's swat.

"Is Jim enjoying himself?" Naomi asked.

"He always enjoys himself when he's with me; that's why we're getting married," Johanna replied.

"Don't be flippant."

"But I'm so good at it."

"Now you sound like your brother."

"I'm surprisingly okay with that."

"I'm sure you are," her mother stated; "But since you're clearly ready to get started on wedding planning; why don't you come over Sunday afternoon and we'll start working on things."

"I think I'm busy Sunday afternoon," Johanna replied.

"You think?"

"I'm positive."

"What are you busy doing?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"The kind of stuff you don't tell your mother."

"Oh? What kind of stuff would that be?"

"I don't know," Johanna replied. "I'll think of something."

"Johanna," Naomi stated; "You can't keep putting this off…and we need to discuss the invitations for the engagement party. You have to be involved with that guest list; I don't know all of your friends, dear."

She sighed deeply, resigning herself to the inevitable. "Fine, I'll come over on Sunday."

"Wonderful, darling. Now that we have that settled; I'll let you get back to your evening with Jim."

"Thank you so much," she said sarcastically.

"It won't be as bad as you fear," her mother told her; "Don't worry. You have a nice evening now. I love you."

"I love you too," Johanna replied before saying goodbye and hanging up.

"So?" Jim asked from the chair.

"I hate Colleen!" she exclaimed, her fists clenched. "I should have known that little bitch wouldn't keep her mouth shut! Of course she had to run and call her mommy. I can just hear it now, her fake little tears 'Mom, do you know what Johanna did to me? She won't let my husband be in her wedding, boo-hoo. Make her do it!' I can just imagine the whole thing! I hate her. I hate her. I hate her. I'm going to punch her in the face one of these days, I swear to God I am."

Jim returned to her side and pulled her into his arms. "It's going to be alright, sweetheart," he said lightly.

"I have to go over there Sunday and deal with engagement party planning and wedding planning…and I just don't even want to think about how this is going to go now that Colleen has called and cried to Mom; and Mom saying 'well she has a point'…yeah, she's got a point alright; a point on her face I'm going to punch."

He rocked her gently. "It's okay; you can do this. You can stand your ground...and there's always elopement if this starts blowing up in our faces too much."

She nodded. "Yes…elopement is a good threat to use on my mother too."

"See, you're already building an arsenal."

Johanna sighed deeply. "Why did I answer the phone?"

"Because we were afraid they'd call back."

"I think I'm stressed now," she stated. "I feel it rising in my body. I hate to be pushed before I'm ready to do something."

"I know, sweetheart. Don't stress; it's going to be alright."

"Maybe we should've just had Jeff and Maggie and called it a day for the wedding party," Johanna remarked. "I have this feeling our lives would've been easier that way."

"Too late now," he said with a soft laugh.

"Yeah; that seems to be the way it goes."

"It'll be alright."

"You're probably going to be saying that a lot from now until August," Johanna said as she held onto him tightly.

"I don't mind," Jim replied as he pressed a kiss to her hair. "It's my job…and hey, you don't have to worry, I'll definitely be in the wedding party."

Johanna laughed. "Me too."

"Then we're all set," he replied. "We just pick the date, the place…and an escape route."

"And a honeymoon far away from everyone we know."

"Count on that," Jim stated. "We're not even telling them what hotel we're staying at wherever we go."

"I love how your mind works."

"Oh yeah?" he said suggestively.

"Yeah," she replied with a grin.

"Then how about we forget about how this stressful planning stuff and you come with me and allow me to show you some ideas I have for making you nice and relaxed," Jim stated, his hand moving against her arm slowly.

Johanna caught his lips in a kiss. "Now that's an idea I can wholeheartedly support."

"Then let's go," he said, rising from the sofa and reaching for her hand. She smiled, her hand curling around his as he lead her toward her room. As long as she had him, she could get through this planning madness, she thought to herself…after all, she would be rewarded; he'd be hers for the rest of their lives.

A/N: Let the wedding planning begin!