Chapter 15: The Ceremony
The plans were made, and like all plans they were made with the best of intentions. Bandit had found a private beach not far from Brisbane to rent for the day where they could host the ceremony, then enjoy the weather afterwards. Brett had gotten a hold of an officiate; a friend of a friend would be willing to marry them. They'd organized the food, gotten the outfits, and rented the chairs and other supplies… And somehow were under their expected budget. It was a miracle. Unfortunately, good things don't tend to last.
When the morning of July 8th arrived, things were off to a chaotic start. Small gusts and some occasional strong winds are to be expected when having a beachside wedding, but for some reason the "light breeze" that the forecast had called for ended up being much more volatile than initially hoped for.
"Stripe! Grab that before it blows in the water again!" Rad yelled, desperately trying to keep a few chairs in place as his youngest brother chased after a folding chair that had been picked up by the wind.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Stripe yelled as he successfully grabbed the chair moments before it was thrown back into the surf. "Remind me again why we agreed to set up all this stuff?" He huffed as he dragged the chair back to the spot where they were trying to set up everything.
"Because he's our brother and he's getting married. Besides, he helped set up all the shit at our weddings."
"Yes, but my wedding was indoors." Stripe grumbled.
Rad rolled his eyes. A green pickup pulled up to the parking area for the private beach. "That must be Sherri. Brett said she'd be down to help us out with setting up after she got the flower arrangements done." Rad commented. Sure enough the blue heeler departed the pickup and bounded down the beach, her scarf blowing in the breeze.
"Hey boys! How's it going so far?" She yelled, seeing Stripe again put his entire body weight on a chair to keep it stationary.
"Well, as you can see it's a lovely day…" Rad snarked as Stripe lost his battle with the chair, it again making its attempt to escape into the sea.
She chuckled, "I can see." She paused, "Why don't you use the chair weights?"
"Chair weights?"
"They're like weighted beanbags to put under chairs to keep them from moving." She paused, "Most of the time they're included in the rental price. I use them all the time when I have outdoor events at my studio."
Rad blinked. He and Stripe had been the ones to unload the delivery van that morning when it dropped off everything and he was almost certain he'd seen a large box tossed off to the side by his youngest brother after he'd complained how heavy it was. Goddamn it Stripe… Rad exhaled as his little brother again grabbed the chair, this time belly-flopping into the cold water as he did so. A minute later Stripe returned to the beach to face an irritated looking Rad.
"What did I do?"
"That heavy box you bitched about moving this morning, where is it?"
"Over by the parking lot. Thing weighed a ton, no way I was dragging it all the way over here."
Rad walked over to the lot and opened the box revealing more than enough weights to keep all the chairs in place.
"What are those things?" Stripe asked as he glanced in the box.
"Chair weights." Sherri and Rad said simultaneously.
"Oh."
Twenty minutes later the chairs were set and no longer being tossed about, but a new problem arose.
"Okay, so I messed up on the chair weights thing. What about the canopy though?" Stripe pointed to the final box holding a canopy that would cover the food. "The wind'll blow it out to sea for sure."
"Easy. Set it up as a lean-to. It'll be harder for the wind to catch and it'll still be tall enough to get under for food service." Sherri stated as she started unpacking the aluminum poles.
Rad nodded, impressed at her problem solving. "You sure know a lot about event planning."
"Well, it is half of my job." Sherri smirked.
"What's the other half?" Rad asked as he helped her get the poles laid out.
"I design and implement custom art installations."
"Like sculptures?" Stripe asked.
"Yeah, that and murals and mosaics and some other stuff…" She shrugged.
"And you make them all yourself?" Rad asked as he got the last pole organized by length.
"Yeah, though I do have some assistants who get materials and help me plan things."
"Wow. That's impressive." Stripe said.
"No kidding, I have a few artist friends, but I've never met someone who did all of that." Rad added.
Sherri blushed slightly. "Alright, enough talking about work, let's get this thing set up. Our brothers' wedding is in two hours and this place needs to be perfect by then!"
***BCH***
Back at the Heeler house the kids were thrilled to be involved as bridesmaids and groomsmen for their respective fathers. Bingo was thrilled to be the flower girl, and Bluey was happy she's the maid of honor. I get to be in charge of making a toast! A toast? But where's the bread? Not that kind of toast Bingo… Both girls were happy with their dresses and Bluey had wondered why they don't get to wear clothes all the time.
The two girls stood outside of Bandit's bedroom as he fiddled with his clothes, talking through the door as she ran her hands over the silky mauve dress. "Dad?" Bluey called.
"Yeah Bluey?" Bandit replied through the closed door.
"Why is it we don't wear clothes all the time? These dresses are so pretty, I wish I could wear them every day!" She spun around, watching the fabric ruffle as she did so. Bingo smiled as she played with the hem of her own dress.
Bandit chuckled, "Well, most of the time we don't wear clothes because our fur keeps us warm and protected on its own. Some dogs in northern and southern most parts of Earth wear extra clothes to keep themselves warm, but because we're in Australia we don't need to. If anything I wish our breed had a lighter coat."
Bingo scrunched up her face, "But could I wear clothes all the time?"
"I guess you could, some dogs like to wear clothes, but it's not terribly common."
With that Bandit opened the door revealing himself to his waiting daughters.
"Ooh! Dad you look so pretty! Let me get Nana to take a picture!" Bingo clapped her hands as she ran down the hall.
"Handsome, Bingo! Boys are handsome!" Bandit shouted after her before rolling his eyes.
A moment later Bingo returned with Chris.
"Oh! Look at you!" Chris beamed as she took in the sight. Bandit was wearing a tuxedo with a black jacket and pants, white shirt, and mauve cummerbund and bowtie. "Let me take a picture. Bingo you were right, he does look very pretty."
"Mum!" Bandit fake groaned as his girls giggled.
"Oh hush, you know what I mean." Chris smiled, leading to Bandit returning one of his own.
***BCH***
"Alright, the boys are all dressed…" Dale said as he got the last jacket on to a squirming Bradley.
"Good. Let's see my little gentlemen!" Sue smiled as the three boys turned around.
Bentley, Baxter, and Bradley were all wearing matching suits that were miniature versions of their father's. Each boy had a black jacket and pants, a white shirt, and a teal cummerbund and bowtie.
Sue smiled, "Oh, you three are so darling!"
"Grandmum…" Bentley groused, getting to the age where adults fussing over him was starting to be 'uncool'.
Dale rolled his eyes good naturedly, "Alright Sue, enough fussing. Let's make sure Brett is ready, then we've got to head out."
***BCH***
It was a quiet ride at first in the car as Bandit, the girls, and Chris drove to the beach. Trixie was bringing Muffin, Socks, and Motley, and Frisky was bringing Robby, so they would meet them there.
It was Bluey who broke the silence, "Dad, I'm really happy for you today."
"Thanks, mate." Bandit smiled.
"When mum died things were bad, but you were still there for Bingo and me."
"Yeah, you're always there for us." Bingo nodded in agreement.
"Well, that is what dads are supposed to do…" Bandit said, a small lump forming in his throat.
"Well, anyway, I'm happy you get to be happy today. You always try to make us happy, and now Mr. Brett gets to make you happy. And I think mum would be happy too." Bluey said, smiling.
Bandit wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "You really think mum would be happy?"
"Of course!" Bingo said, "She told me that sometimes heroes go on quests, like when you were traveling, and that even if they don't want to, they still go. Everything that happened, it was sort of a quest, but now you get to be with Mr. Brett and you get a happy fairytale ending."
"He's your prince charming!" Bluey exclaimed.
Bandit smiled, wiping away another happy tear as they pulled into the beach parking area.
Chris reached over from the passenger seat and placed a hand on her son's as he parked. "You ready for your new happily ever after?"
Bandit turned to face his family, "I am."
***BCH***
"Do you Bandit Charles Heeler take Brett Christopher Hanley to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Craig, the black lab who Brett had gotten to perform the ceremony, asked.
"I do." Bandit said, his eyes glistening as he barely kept his tail from wagging at full speed.
"And do you, Brett Christopher Hanley take Bandit Charles Heeler to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do." Brett grinned, his own tail easily matching Bandit's speed.
"Then by the power vested in me by the Australian Government, I pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss the groom."
Bandit grinned as he pulled Brett in for a kiss, dipping the smaller man slightly as he pulled him in. A few of the kids made gagging noises before the men separated.
"Now who wants to swim?" Brett yelled.
"Yes! Wedding swim!" Socks yelled as she tossed off her dress and immediately ran towards the water, closely followed by Stripe rushing to get her into her floaties as the other adults chuckled.
"Wait for me!" Muffin called, quickly chasing her father and sister, her own dress discarded as Trixie was left to fold them up.
"It's a good thing we did photos beforehand…" Bandit commented as he and Brett watched their nieces running in the surf.
"Well, I occasionally have good ideas." Brett smirked.
"Dad, can we go swim?" Bentley asked, eyeing the waves.
"Sure. Just put your clothes on the chairs so we know where they are."
"Awesome!" He grabbed his brother's hand before turning to his new step-sisters, pausing.
"And yes, you girls can go too." Bandit said, preempting his girls' request.
"Thanks dad!" Bluey shouted, halfway out of her gown as she hopped toward the water, racing her step-brothers to the ocean.
Bandit placed a hand around his husband as they watched their families head into the water.
"How about we ditch these stuffy suits and have some fun?" Bandit asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
Brett sighed, "Yes, I'll go for a swim, you tease."
Bandit chuckled as he pecked Brett on the muzzle. Happily Ever After, indeed.
***Author's Note***
One more chapter everyone! Then we move to one-shots taking place in the years to come with our Heeler-Hanley clan. Thanks again for the reads and reviews!
