A Series of Unfortunate Clichés: Chapter 10: Everything Old is New Again
Author: Cath
Disclaimer: Characters really aren't mine. I know, you're as surprised as I am, right?
Feedback: Many thanks for all the reviews posted thus far, I really appreciate it! Any comments on this chapter are equally as gratefully received.
Notes: The fluff re-commences! Wanted to try and draw this series to some sort of conclusion and I finally had inspiration to write more! It takes place after day 4. Mostly since I wanted to completely ignore the angstier interludes. I might possibly write one final part – a nice little AU chapter – but that depends both on demand and inspiration.
Anyway, hope you enjoy this part!
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She has spent the past half hour (well, to be honest the past six months) considering the best way to tell her mother that a: she is seeing someone, b: she is getting married in less than a month, and c: her future husband just happens to be her past husband.
Thus far, however, she sees that this conversation is doomed from the beginning and maybe it's not the wording that she should be worrying about. She believes that she can hardly expect the same reception that the news received last time she informed her mother of her impending nuptials.
She is also beginning to question the wisdom of the "let's see how this goes before we tell people" suggestion she made when she started seeing Tony again. She knows now that his "okay, sweetheart" really meant "that's an interesting idea but since I plan on marrying you again don't you think that conversation will be far more awkward than telling your parents that we're attempting to sort out things between us" but she is unwilling to admit defeat and announce publicly that he might have been right.
She knew from almost the moment that they got back together that it was right. But because of their past she was initially hesitant about immediately suggesting that they would be together forever (as she had rather hoped) particularly since she knew that they had a number of issues to work through first. Now she knows that once they sorted through the issues she should have announced the happy news to her mother. Preferably before he proposed.
She takes another sip of wine. Then a further gulp. She hopes that she will summon the courage from somewhere (possibly the alcohol) to go through with this conversation.
She goes over in her head some more potential conversation starters – and possible follow up questions and the more she thinks about it the more anxious she becomes.
"Mom, I'm getting married… Next month... What do you mean you had no idea I was even seeing anyone? I told you six months ago…"
"So you remember Tony, right? You liked him, right? Well, uh, surprise! We're getting married. Again. Yeah, in three weeks. Well at least you don't need to go looking for a new outfit."
"What would you say if I told you I had found the perfect man to spend the rest of my life with? Well, turns out I was right last time."
"So, Mom, Tony and I have sorted out all of our problems and we've realised that we still love each other and we're going to get married again. Isn't it romantic? Yes, well, I know I said that I'd never speak to him again, but it turns out I was wrong…"
"Remember how you thought I'd never get married again? Guess what! There's only twenty days left until the big day! Oh you're away that weekend. That's a shame."
"Mom, Tony and I got married yesterday. Yeah, complete surprise. Really wasn't expecting it. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to invite you."
"Hey Mom, this is Anna. She's your granddaughter. The father? Well, we've been married for the last three years so he's very much around. Of course you've met him."
She briefly considers the final two conversations and sees definite merit in avoiding the phone call she is about to make. However the follow up "twenty questions" would probably rival the Spanish inquisition and would be infinitely worse than her current announcement.
With this knowledge she knocks back the remainder of the wine and dials her mother's number.
"Hey Mom, it's me," she greets as nonchalantly as she can.
"I was wondering when I would get a call from you," her mother replies ominously. She wonders briefly about her mother's clairvoyant abilities which were frequently alluded to in her youth. At that time, however, she had put all knowledge down to an inability to cover up feelings of guilt.
"Yeah, it's been a while since we last spoke," she comments noncommittally.
"I had an interesting phone call from a Tony Almeida yesterday explaining what had happened over the last few months, and then he asks if he could possibly marry my only daughter."
I'll kill him, she thinks. Another glass of wine is poured and drinking commences as she ponders the almost infinite possible courses this conversation could take.
"I assume this is the same Tony Almeida whom you married a few years ago?" her mother inquires.
"Uh huh," she responds, unable at this moment to recall the correct etiquette and dialogue to be used when one admits to one's mother that one is re-marrying one's ex-husband. She hates that she can't quite read her mother's tone of voice as well as she used to.
"According to him everything is now sorted between you," her mother comments and she can read this tone of voice well. The subtext being "is this another one of those "I'm going to prevent terrorism for a living" type moments where I really can't decide if you're being serious and have thought it through or if you've completely lost your mind?"
"I know what I'm doing," she responds to the subtext rather than the direct question. "Things have changed," she informs her mother. She'd rather not go for the "but I love him," train of conversation, but being aware of her mom's preference for knowing the minutiae of her offspring's relationships she fears that it may be the only eventual route. She mentally beats herself up for not attempting to prepare such an argument.
"Then I'm good with it," her mom responds.
She is entirely taken aback with this comment. This is not how their conversations go. Usually she is adamant that she is doing the right thing, her mom goes through an excellent Spanish inquisition routine, there is some debate and further provision of evidential proof before either side is willing to accept the other's opinion.
Her mom laughs. "Michelle, I know you better than you give me credit for. You've been in love with Tony probably since you first met him and what happened between you two didn't change that. You were so unhappy for such a long time and to tell the truth, I knew something had changed when I last spoke to you. I'm just so glad that you've been able to sort out all your problems and that you're happy again."
She doesn't know quite what to say. "Thanks," she manages.
"Well, I've got to get going. It's bridge night. I'll see you at the wedding. Tony already invited me. I get to buy a new dress I hope," her mother comments wryly.
"Sure. I'll… I'll see you then," she replies, completely off guard.
They say their goodbyes before hanging up.
Half an hour later she is still wondering what the hell happened when she hears the front door open.
"Hey sweetheart," Tony greets her.
"What the hell did you say to my mother?" she demands. He looks at her almost sheepishly. "Because seriously, if you can give me any clues on how to deal with her… Seriously, you are good." She grabs his tie as he nears her, pulling him towards her.
"How good?" he teases.
She kisses him. "Good."
"Only that good?" he questions, mock disappointed.
"Why, what did you have in mind?" she queries.
He inclines his head towards the bedroom door. "Maybe I could show you?"
She grins, raising her eyebrows. "Maybe."
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She is not as nervous as she had expected.
She puts this down to several factors. Perhaps most prominent being the fact that she has walked down an aisle towards him before. She knew that it was right last time and experience and other more recent events assure her that it is equally as right this time. To know what it feels like to lose him adds greatly to this knowledge.
Additionally it helps that this time she is not being watched by 300 of their family/friends/neighbours/cousin's aunt's dog-walker's sister and the rest of LA. While eventually she was less concerned by this fact last time, she had always preferred the idea of a small ceremony.
This time she does not worry about catering arrangements, or her hair, or anything beyond getting down the aisle as quickly as possible.
It is a small wedding – just immediate family and close friends – and so there are less than 20 people in total.She prefers it this way, and enjoys that she can celebrate it with the people in her life who matter. She is looking forward to not spending all hours of the reception circulating and making nice with people whom she is unlikely ever to see again.
He stands at the end of the aisle, a little older than last time, a little rougher around the edges, but still essentially the same.
She looks at him as he smiles at her and she can't wait for this new episode of her life to begin.
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The reception is a sit-down dinner at Tony's parent's house, which although is still rather grand, is not to the scale of their previous event.
All 20 sit around a large dining table, no seating plan requiring hours of preparation needed, and she could almost believe that it was a normal family gathering if there wasn't a home-made banner proclaiming "Congratulations Tony and Michelle". Apparently this was a gift from her niece. She loves it.
She sits next to her new husband, who is seemingly unable to keep his hands off her. She doesn't mind this in the least; it is infinitely preferable to being apart from him.
The last six months of her life have been like a dream to her. For nearly a year she felt as if everything was falling apart and then suddenly he was back in her life. It took them hours and days worth of talk to work through all their history and issues, but there were none of the accusations or reprisals that she had anticipated.
And after that everything changed. She handed in her notice at work and almost overnight she was a different person. And then it was just them and their future. For the most part, anyway.
She recalls now with a smile the first time after their separation that he had announced his intentions of making their future together legally binding – and she is so happy that they have been granted a second chance.
She is almost entirely unaware of her surroundings during this reverie until her former and new brother-in-law stands up and clinks his fork against his glass.
"I know you didn't want speeches but what sort of best man would I be if I didn't give at least some sort of a speech? Anyway, having used all my best stories and humiliated Tony enough at the last wedding, I had no material for this speech and so I asked the rest of the family to write down some words or phrases that they wanted to share. I have them here." Rick pauses for a moment to show his audience a handful of cards. "The overwhelming response was along the lines of: "It's lovely that they're together again since we much prefer Michelle to Tony."" Rick has always worked an audience well, and his delivery is near perfect, causing his audience to laugh.
"There are a number of reasons stated for this: Michelle actually calls once in a while, Michelle will come to family gatherings even when sporting events are on, and "does this mean that I'll get a birthday present this year because Aunt Michelle is way better at remembering." So, thanks to Eva for that one."
She grins at her niece Eva's unashamed "it's true" shrug.
"Another common theme was "when are we getting grandchildren/nieces/nephews/cousins?" so, no pressure there. And one entry reads "bread, potatoes, cheese, chicken", but it's entirely possible I accidentally picked up someone's grocery list."
She laughs at her brother-in-law's sense of humour. She has missed it over the past couple of years.
"Anyway, joking apart, you've both had to contend with a lot over the past few years and so we're glad to see you both finally happy again. And we're all exceptionally delighted to be here, celebrating your marriage and commitment to one another. Anyway, if you'd like to raise your glasses, I'd like to propose a toast: To Tony and Michelle: may you have many years of happiness ahead of you. You both deserve it."
Everyone raises their glasses. "Tony and Michelle."
She looks over at her husband and smiles as he gazes openly at her. He leans towards her, whispers in her ear. "I can't believe how lucky I am," he admits. "Last year…" he starts but doesn't finish. He doesn't need to, she understands.
"Was last year," she completes. "And we can't forget that. But this is now. We all love you Tony." She kisses him, unconcerned that the whole of her family is watching. "I love you. We got a second chance. I'd say we're both pretty damn lucky."
"I love you," he tells her. "So, about that demand for grandchildren/nieces/nephews/cousins," he hints with a wry smile.
She laughs. And looks forward to their future.
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The end.