Once Frank had officially returned to Transsexual on a permanent basis, his preparation for his new role began in earnest. He spent countless hours being briefed by members of his mother's court on everything from the Transylvanian political situation to currently popular entertainment and sports figures. At times he felt overwhelmed by the amount of information being fed to him; fortunately, between his copious notes and his formidable intelligence, he quickly became expert on the complexities of the planet he would soon be ruling.
However, as valuable as those briefings were, it was the conversations with his mother that proved the most helpful. Not only could she tell Frank the political ins and outs of each of the planets of Transylvania, she could tell him King Anador had a hidden drinking problem. She could tell him Queen Mahalia had a weakness for lovers who dominated and belittled her. She could tell him the King and Queen of Orion were hated by their servants for their general lack of personal hygiene. Anecdote by anecdote, she fleshed out his understanding of the people he would be dealing with on a "monarch to monarch" basis.
However, not all their conversations were quite so goal-oriented. Both Gwendolyn and Frank were aware of how perilously close they had come to forever destroying their relationship – with bad decisions on both sides – and they were intent on using whatever time was left to them to rebuild the bond they had always shared. It was during the course of one of these more "personal" conversations that Gwendolyn made a rather unusual request of Frank.
"Frank, tell me about your wedding."
He looked surprised. "My wedding? There really isn't much to say about the ceremony itself. It was all very simple. It was held in Audrey's back yard, and conducted by a justice of the peace. Eva and I just wore street clothes." He smiled. "I suppose we were more interested in being married than in the actual process of getting married."
Gwendolyn smiled. "Eva never expressed a desire for a big, formal wedding?"
Frank shrugged. "She never expressed it to me. She'd been in the process of planning such a wedding with her former fiancé, and that relationship certainly ended badly. Perhaps after that happened, she didn't place the same level of importance on the ceremony itself."
His mother persisted. "How do you think she would react if she were given the opportunity for a formal wedding ceremony now?"
Frank stared at her. "What are you trying to say? Do you actually want us to have a wedding ceremony here?"
Gwendolyn looked back at him. "Would you object?"
Frank was at a loss. "Object? Well, not necessarily…I just don't quite see the point. Not only are we already married, we even have a child."
She smiled. "Then allow me to spell it out for you. Frank, there are a great many people who feel cheated they did not have the opportunity to witness your wedding ceremony. You have grown up before the people of this planet…in a very real sense, you 'belong' to them. They deserve to be a part of the major events in your life. It would also be a lovely way to introduce Eva. What better way for the people to 'meet' her than as a beautiful bride?"
Gwendolyn paused, and a tear came to her eye. "I suppose I should be completely honest with you. While those are certainly good reasons, they aren't the most important ones. It would mean the world to me to share in your wedding. And…as I approach the end of my life, I find myself taking more and more solace and strength from the teachings of our Goddess. I would be greatly comforted to see you married in Her eyes."
For a moment, Frank was silent as he considered his mother's words. Finally, he looked at her and smiled. "Naturally I will have to discuss this with Eva, but I cannot believe she will object…particularly when she hears your reasons."
Gwendolyn sat down next to Frank and put her arms around him. "Thank you, my son. You and Eva will be giving me a gift beyond all price."
