Author's Note: A happy New Year to you all. Enjoy my attempt to write.
Augusta
Disclaimer: If it can be traced to any world in print, then it's not mine.
Chapter Twelve: Coopers and Santos'
The Coopers and all the regulars of Company, James included, began to feel a tension much more dramatic than that of Christmas as March inched closer and closer to being April. Weddings were not that uncommon an occurance in Springfield, but first weddings were and this would be Marina's first marriage. It was Danny's third, but Marina was only the second woman he'd married, as he and Michelle had actually been married twice. Marina spent half her time with Danny and the other half with her dressmaker, bridesmaids, wedding planner, and Aunt Harley, who, like most adult women in Springfield, was a veteran in the war of Woman vs. Wedding Date. On April tenth, Buzz started dropping everything he picked up and Marina's Uncle Coop started humming 'Here Comes the Bride' absent-mindedly. On April twelvth, Frank Cooper came into Company and started drinking about seven in the evening and stopped around midnight, sobbing about losing his little girl and having to be put to bed by Buzz, Coop, and Gus. Springfield seemed to hold its breath. Would little Marina Cooper have her first wedding successfully, or would it all go wrong in a standard bit of Springfield drama?
In the end, the event went through without a hitch. Tony and Michelle didn't show up or cause any problems, the various people associated with setting up and running the wedding pulled through, and no dramatic altarfront confessions called a halt to the ceremony. It was uncannily like his wedding-perfectly normal and boring. He couldn't help but wonder rather cynically if there was going to be a Morgan-it was just too similar, even right down to Danny and Marina looking somewhat like him and Lily. Watching them, he thought they might actually stand a chance. You couldn't fake the kind of devotion they had. He knew from long, bitter expirience. It just didn't work.
I hate weddings, Anne said grumpily as James made small talk with Frank during the reception. They bring back bad memories.
Neither of your marriages were exactly smashing successes, were they? he asked rhetorically.
That might've been the understatement of the century, Anne returned scathingly. First there was the arranged marriage to the mad French wife-beater who's first two wives had died-wonder why? Was it because Jeanne couldn't have babies and Marie only had a girl like I did and the girl died? That last was injected with sarcasm. Anne's first marriage to Pierre Delacour had been one of the family's more complete disasters and most carefully shut away skeletons. The marriage had lasted a year and two months when Anne walked out after threatening to kill him if he laid a hand on her. As far as James knew, Anne hadn't seen her ex-husband or her unwanted daughter since that night. Then, of course, I got myself set up very nicely as an Auror, life was going great, and what did I do? I got married again, and now my second husband is the most notorious convict in the Wizarding World and I'm having another brat I don't want or have any use for. What're you laughing at?
You. You were brought up to believe a woman's only a woman if she can have children, but you rather undiplomatically refer to yours at brats and say you don't want or have a use for them.
The little Delacour girl-heaven help me, what is that child's name? I can't remember, and I'm supposed to be her mother- proved I could, Anne said tartly. There was no need for this one. I don't like babies. They're annoying.
Imagine if Harry had been dumped on your doorstep instead of Petunia's.
No offense, but your son was the posterchild for why I don't like babies. Never could stay out of anything, and I doubt being raised by a cross-eyed Muggle with a mouth the size of Northumberland will improve him any.
Too true, but it can't be helped. Maybe the boy'll survive somehow. I suppose I should say a rosary or two over it; Lily swore he was mine and he looks enough like me for me to believe it.
We're Potters, Anne reminded him. You don't have to love or even give a damn about the boy so long as you have his back. It's family policy.
What a heartless creature you are, Anne.
I know it, she said complacentely. Now, please tell me things with this Dinah you talk about aren't so serious that I'm going to be stuck with another brat calling me auntie.
Don't worry about that. For one thing, things are not that serious, and for another, I seriously doubt that any of my kids will ever call you auntie. Bitch, perhaps, but never auntie.
That's nice.
I know it. " Olivia," he said out loud. " You're looking well."
Olivia Lewis laughed. " Oh, yeah," she said lightly. " Operation Kill Phil hasn't gone into effect yet, as he's still alive, but other than that, things are good." Operation Kill Phil was one of Olivia's pet daydreams, in which she brutally murdered ex-husband Phillip Spaulding. Most people thought that Olivia was a little off, but James didn't particuarly care if she was a nut job or not, as he came from a family of them. San Cristobellans all had issues, from what he could see, and Olivia had been born and bred on the islands, evenenjoying a brief stint as the fiancee of the late Prince Richard before he left her for Cassie. Olivia was also known to be able to manipulate people in her sleep, meaning that every word had to be considered carefully with her.
" I'm a bit surprised to see you at a Cooper wedding," he said.
" So am I," she admitted. " I reckon that they decided to be generous and invite every black sheep in Springfield because of Danny's past with the mob. I've seen the Shame of the Lewises-my adoptive nephew Jonathan Randall-here, and Dinah Marler caught Marina's bouquet. Throw you in and all we need in Tony and Michelle Santos and Sebastian Hulce to make this a party!" Olivia was slightly flushed and her eyes were sparkling a little too brightly.
" Liv, you've had too much champagne again," Bill said, coming up. " Sorry, man. Ollie gets a little tipsy at parties."
" Women getting tipsy is what makes them parties," he said permissively.
" For real? Never knew that one. C'mon, dear, the sitter's waiting with Emma." Bill steered his wife out, carefully avoiding the men walking around with trays of champagne glasses.
So, Dinah caught the bouquet, Anne said speculatively. You have outdone yourself this time, oh brother of mine. First a Muggle-born for my sister, and now a tried-and-tested Muggle in the family?
Shut up, Anne.
Danny and Marina left for their honeymoon in Hawaii the next day, a trip that he was paying for because the Coopers couldn't afford to go to Chicago in a station wagon, never mind fly to a tropical island. Frank cried like a baby again, Buzz gave him a very long and paternal 'I've been there and done that, son, don't worry' sort of speech, Harley tried to comfort her brother, and Coop made crude jokes. In other words, even without Marina the Coopers were still the Coopers. Two days after the lovebirds flew off into the sunset(it was actually twelve noon, but sunset sounded more appropriate, according to Harley) James finally got to meet their worst nightmare: the Slutty Ex and the Stupid Cousin, Michelle and Tony.
Michelle Bauer Santos looked like she would have been pretty, but for a number of piercings and tattoos, too much makeup, and clothes that made him want to tell her to go put on something and act her age. Tony was short and dark with a shaved head and a tendancy to tag along behind his wife as if he didn't have a clue which way to go without Michelle. She sauntered into Company and slammed her purse onto the bar. " So they got hitched," Michelle said loudly and rudely. "They'd better not be expecting my kid to call her mommy."
" I can make sure of it, Michelle," Tony offered eagerly, making a gesture as if to show her a concealed gun.
" I'll think about that," Michelle said. " Hey, Betsy! Gimme something to drink. They've told me about my dear old dad being a drunk, so why not follow in his footsteps?"
The waitress looked at her with a disdainful expression. " My name's Leslie," the girl said.
" Whatever," Michelle said, rolling her eyes. " I don't have a memory, remember? I don't remember all you stupid Springfielders, you're all alike to me. Just give me my drink." She looked at James, who had been studiously ignoring the whole affair. " Who're you?"
" James Potter," he said shortly.
" You foreign?"
" Is it that obvious?"
" Watch it," Tony said. " Nobody sasses Michelle." He again gestured like he was about to pull a gun.
" I've taken out tougher s.o.b's than you, Senor Santos, so I'd recommend that you take your own advice." Tony looked simply furious, but Michelle raised a hand.
" Don't you know who Tony is?" She asked, apparently amazed that anyone would get the idea that they could beat her precious Tony in a struggle.
" The local mob boss," James replied promptly. " I've worked out who most everyone is by now, as I've been in Springfield for the past four months."
" Yeah, that's right," Michelle said, staring at him like she wasn't quite sure what to make of him. "That means you're supposed to be scared of him, not tell him you've taken out tougher s.o.b's. You don't look like a mob boss to me, and I've been married to two of 'em."
" No, never been a mob boss or had any inclination to be," he agreed. " However, I see no reason to lie about my opinion of your husband and his threats, Mrs. Santos. My own sister has been plotting my death since I was a boy. I hardly think that a small town mobster will finish the job after this long."
" Wanna bet?" Tony looked like he was just looking for a fight.
" Shut up a minute, Tony," Michelle said, tilting her head a little and surveying James critically. " No, I don't think I'll have Tony shoot you today," she said as if expecting to recieve thanks for that generosity. " It's nice to see that someone in this town has a little backbone, even if he is only a stupid Brit."
" Have a nice day, Mrs. Santos," James returned, deliberately ignoring the slight on him, his native country, and the British in general. Ten minutes later, Michelle and Tony stomped out again.
Stupid Brit indeed, Anne snapped. He wondered if it was her pregnancy that was making her temper so unpleasant. If I hadv'e been there...
What do you care? he asked. You've always thought of yourself as a Frenchie, remember?
No one insults you and gets away with it, not while I'm around, Anne insisted.
That's just it, love. You aren't around.
" What was that all about?" Leslie asked a few minutes after the Santos' stormed out.
" You tell me," James said, helping himself to another cup of coffee.
Author's Note: Sorry about Danny and Marina's wedding not being very detailed-I'm no good at that mushy-gushy stuff. I'll re-write if the request is made, though. A note to my reviewer: Nothing wrong with being nit-picky. I can hardly blame you-I wrote half the chapters of Company at one in the morning if not at an even stranger hour. Thanks for your suggestions, and do check out the first chapter of Three Decembers ,a Dynasty story aboutRemus and Elizabeth, and tell me if the story's worth going on with.In Chapter Thirteen, James finds some school memorabilia and Anne has her baby, making her a little crazier than she was to start with.
Augusta
