CHAPTER 28

TABLE SPORTS

The auction was a success and most of my neighbors had turned out for it. I had been accepted by the community, but I had always been 'the writer from California.' Now that I had a best seller, they started calling me "the local writer." We sold a lot of horses to a group of Navajo Indians that had come up from the Four Corners area. The neighbors all met Greg and many asked me if he was, "George." I just started acknowledging it. Some of them were upset about the abortion, but most of them were just excited to meet "George."

Greg flew back to Princeton. I told him that he either had to get a bigger apartment or I would go in with him to buy a house. If I was going to live there I needed to bring some of my own belongings and set up an office where I could write. He agreed to look around but suggested strongly that I come out to Princeton and help him search. Greg was a lazy sod sometimes.

The brouhaha over the book and Greg was starting to wane. My agent warned me that he was in negotiations over the filming rights and that once they started casting the parts, it would probably get crazy again. I told Greg and he spent half the telephone conversation trying to decide who should play him. "I think of myself as Clint Eastwood, but he's too old. What about Eric Bana? He'd good and he's tall and thin but aren't his eyes brown?" This went on for awhile until I cut it off and said goodnight.

I flew out to Princeton for Thanksgiving. The day after I arrived I was scheduled to meet Greg at his office for lunch and then we were going to go from there to look at some houses. I arrived at noon and met his team again.

"What are you doing here Maggie?" Cameron asked.

"Greg and I are going to go look for an apartment or a house. We haven't decided."

She looked absolutely stunned. She looked at Greg as if to ask if he would verify what I said.

"We need to get going." Greg grabbed his jacket.

When we got outside I asked Greg, "Why was Allison so shocked?"

"Uh...I haven't told them about us getting back together."

"It's more than that. Does Allison have a thing for you?"

"Mmmm...maybe. Probably." I continued to give him a look, "Okay, she once asked me out on a date."

"Oh Greg. You are pathetic."

"I can't help it if I'm hot. Women fall for me all the time. It's the broody, damaged goods persona."

"Then that makes me pathetic."

"Oh honey, we already knew that." he patted my hand.

We ended up buying a house with four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a full basement on 1 acre of yard and woods. It had a new kitchen / dining / family room area with huge picture windows, French doors and skylights. The kitchen had top of the line appliances including a Wolf 5 burner range, oven and microwave, warming drawer, baker's station, Miele DW and a Sub Zero refrigerator. It also had Italian ceramic tile flooring and granite counters.

It definitely did not match Greg's personality. It was very suburban, but it had a master bedroom on the first floor with an ensuite bathroom for Greg's easy access and an office where I could write. It was located in a beautiful area with lots of woods and only six miles from the hospital and very close to Princeton Shopping Center. I know that Greg was not excited about moving to it. But it had everything we needed and it was only $600,000, a bargain compared to someplace like San Diego or Estes Park where a lot of celebrities have ranches.

The piano looked gorgeous next to all the built in bookcases in the living room. We bought a flat screen television for over the fireplace and gave away Greg's old one. I rented a small moving truck and Jack and I drove it out to New Jersey from Colorado. Jack thought the new house was nice, but was anxious to get back to the mountains where he belonged.

We...I should say...I... gave a house warming party on December 21st and invited my friends from New York, Washington D.C., Princeton Faculty and of course all of the people who worked with Greg. The first to show was Wilson. Greg was in playing piano while I made sure the food was ready.

Wilson walked into the house after I yelled over the piano for him to come on in to the kitchen. He brought a bottle of wine to the kitchen, gave me a kiss on the cheek, "The tree and decorations are nice. That's a really big tree." Then he nodded that he was going to go in and join Greg.

Greg was in between songs. He stopped and watched as Wilson looked around the living room.

"Where's the mini-van?" Wilson teased. "Aren't you suppose to be slaving over a barbeque in the back with a silly apron on?"

"Funny."

"I hadn't expected this. It's actually a beautiful home, but not exactly where I imagined you would be living."

"It's just a house."

The doorbell rang and several of my friends showed up. Around 6:30 p.m. Chase, Cameron and Foreman showed up together. House had gotten up to get a whisky. They looked around and Cameron said to Greg in a voice dripping with surprise, "This is a beautiful home."

"Why the shock?" Greg asked.

"I don't see you in the suburbs."

"Surprisingly, they actually let me drink Whisky, play the piano and fornicate out here in the burbs...as a bonus I get to run naked in my own woods."

Chase, Foreman and Wilson all laughed but Cameron just shook her head.

"Have you thought about tying the knot?" Wilson asked.

"I think about tying a knot around her neck at least once a day. Oh, I get it...are we going to get married?" He yelled at me, "Maggie May...they want to know if we are getting married. Have you asked me yet?"

I blushed bright red, "No dear, I haven't asked you yet, I'm still waiting for your AIDS test to come back."

"Well, that settles it. Once she gets those test results I'm toast."

Cuddy and two other doctors showed up along with Greg's accountant. My friends outnumbered Greg's 5 to 1. Greg played piano and some of my tipsy friends from D.C., including Krista, sang the songs he was playing. It was actually a lot of fun. Even Wilson started to sing, I think he took a liking to Krista.

The evening was a success and we ended up with quite a cache of wine and liquor after everyone went home. Krista and another friend were passed out upstairs in the guest rooms. Greg came up behind me while I was rinsing some of the glasses at the sink. He started kissing my neck. His hand rubbed my thigh and then traveled up under my skirt until he reached my panties. I leaned back into him and he continued to pleasure me until I was a puddle in his hands.

"You're so easy." he kissed my neck again.

I had a hard time composing myself. "Would you like me to reciprocate?"

He put his arms around me and kissed me. I unzipped his pants and undid his belt. Before I could do anything else, he had me pinned down on top of the dining room table and had entered me. We were banging away like chimpanzees, when Krista walked through the kitchen, still drunk, and got a drink of water , knocking back some naprosyn sitting out on the counter. Greg had just started to climax and he was holding his breath so he wouldn't yell out. She hadn't noticed us. She turned and went back out. Greg let out his breath and yelled, "Fuck, Oh ...aghh." When it was over, we laughed so hard we started crying.

The next morning I approached Krista and asked her if she remembered getting up to get some Naprosyn. She thought hard, but shrugged her shoulders, "When I drink I sometimes walk in my sleep and do odd things." I smiled and nodded at her, secretly laughing to myself.

I had started my next novel about a ranch hand. I had to be careful not to make it seem too much like Jack because he would not appreciate the same invasion of privacy that Greg went through. In the meantime, the film rights to "Busker" had been bought for $1.3 million plus a percentage of the gross. Apparently, my agent was still negotiating "My Back to the Piano."

Greg's parents came out for the holidays. They arrived on December 23rd and we picked them up at the Philadelphia Airport. They were happy to see us and I could tell they felt a little awkward over us being a couple. But we looked truly happy and they seemed to relax when they saw how much we enjoyed each other.

We were cooking dinner and I asked Greg to help set the table. Blythe looked over and told us, "That's a nice dinner table."

Greg and I looked at each other and started to giggle... Greg said, "It can hold a lot of weight. It's good for nuts and rump-- roasts..." I gave him the 'zip it' sign. He bit his tongue and Blythe looked at us like we were nuts.

For Christmas, I bought Greg a Ferrari of his own. His mother wasn't happy with me, but I figured he was 48; he was a big boy now. Greg bought me ruby and diamond earrings to match the ring he had given me years ago. He also bought me a Mandolin. We gave the Houses a trip on a cruise ship to Alaska. I knew that they had wanted to go, so they were pleased with the tickets.

Krista, Chase and Wilson joined us for dinner. Chase was very funny. He told us clinic stories and had us in stitches. Wilson told us some funny stories about Greg and I discussed my job as a cook to the rich and famous Everest mountain climbers. The day went well and everyone seemed to enjoy the dinner.

Blythe thought that Greg was looking great. He smiled a little more and seemed more relaxed that she had seen in a long time. She had to admit that whenever Greg was living with me, he seemed happier.

"Maggie, are you happy?"

"Yes, Blythe I am happy. But I've learned that with Greg, you have to grab the happiness while you can. Happiness tends to implode around him."

"You've loved him for a long time."

"Yes, 28 years...I loved him from the first day he demanded to know my name...Maggie or Margaret?"

Blythe chuckled. "Well Maggie, you're good for him, but I don't know how good he is for you."

"This sounds crazy, but he's always made me feel safe."

"Safe? Greg makes you feel safe?" she seemed not to understand that.

"I don't have a clue why...I think because he tells me the truth, usually."

"Well, he is blunt." Blythe admitted.

The Houses left two days later and Greg was relieved. "I think they have accepted the fact that we're together and I'm not committing incest."

I had to fly back to Colorado for a few weeks to take care of the horses while Jack went on a vacation to Texas to see his family. I was enjoying the time by myself, but I was also missing Greg. He called me every day and gave me an update on the New Jersey weather. I had to laugh because he announced it just like the weatherman on the local news who had a light lisp and a distinct cadence. I informed him that I was not impressed with his four inches of snow when we had just received two feet.

"I miss you." He said.

"I miss you too. I love you honey." I was really missing him.

"I love you too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I stayed an extra week after Jack got back just to catch up on the books and to do my taxes. Jack was glad to see me stay and we had a great time talking about Christmas and his folks. I realized that Greg might be right, Jack might have a crush on me. But he never said anything or took any inappropriate steps. And Jack seemed happy enough with his new girlfriend.

When I got back to Princeton, Greg was waiting for me at the airport. He hugged me and said, "I don't like it when you're gone. It gets boring. I get hungry. The house gets messy."

We were in bed and he was holding me tightly. "Greg, did you really stop loving me in Baltimore?

"No, Maggie, I never stopped loving you. I just didn't think I could make you happy and I didn't want you to miss out on the Fellowship. You were very young and I knew if I didn't push you, you'd never go out and experience life."

I hugged him, "Do you remember the table sex?"

"Yes, do you want to adjourn to the dining room my little minx?"

"No, but the table sex is going to make a good story later when we tell our son or daughter how he or she was conceived."

He was quiet. Too quiet.

I became defensive, "You aren't going to be able to convince me this time to have an abortion, I'm older and I know what I want. So the ball is in your court." I said.

"You stopped using the diaphragm?" He asked.

"No, I just didn't expect table sex! However, I figure this is the best Christmas present you have ever given me. So, are we going to raise the baby together?"

"Do you really think I could trust you to raise a House alone?"

"I want you to tell me how you really feel?"

"I come with a lot of baggage, but then you already know that and I'm pretty set in my ways." He looked at my face and then my eyes, "But I missed out when we were young, I don't want to miss out this time. I don't want my child growing up without me. I just wonder if I can give it the love a child should have?"

"I think you will come through."

"You have more faith in me than I do. Now where are we going to raise this prodigy?" He asked.

"In your office...I would assume we will raise the child here and in Colorado..."

Greg raised a hand, "I vote for Colorado, at least while it's still in diapers."

"Cute."

"Ok, what are we going to call this invention? Housemoy? Molouse?"Houlloy?

I looked into that craggy face and those blue eyes of his, "Greg, let's get married?"

"Why?"

"Are you joking or serious?" I asked.

"A little of both."

"Don't you want the baby to have a normal family?"

He snickered and shook his head, "Maggie, no matter what we do, this is not going to be a normal family."

"You know what I mean."

He looked frustrated, "Can I first digest the fact that I've been exiled to the suburbs, I'm living with my pseudo little sister and I'm procreating before I take on marriage?"

"You've got an hour."

"What?"

"I'm joking; if you don't want to get married, it's fine."

He looked at me sideways, suspicious, "I don't like this. It's fine if I don't marry you?"

"Hey, if I really want a husband I know where to find one or two." I smiled like a lunatic at him.

"Myspace?" He laughed.

I rolled over and tried to go to sleep.

He started singing in my ear, "Having my baby...what a lovely way of saying how much you love me...having my baby. .."

"Oh for God's sake, will you please shut up? I need some sleep..." I pretended to hit him.

"I want to name him Perciville."

"No."

"Ebekenezer?"

"No. Greg , let me sleep."

"I've missed you," he said in my ear.

"I know, I missed you too. Now, go to sleep and when we wake up you can harass me, ok?"

"Goodnight Maggie May, I'm glad you're home."

"Goodnight Honey."

Greg insisted I go in and get an exam by the best obstetrician in the hospital. We were waiting in the waiting room when Cuddy was walking by at a fast clip. She stopped in her tracks like she had just hit a brick wall and walked back to us. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. A couple in the waiting room of an obstetrician says a lot.

"You two are pregnant?" Lisa asked excitedly.

House nodded, "Yes, but we don't know which one. If it's me then I'm going straight out and buying maternity clothes and a case of Ben & Jerry's." Greg patted his stomach.

"I took a pregnancy test in Colorado and it was positive." I told her.

"That's great!" Then she looked at Greg, "No abortions this time."

"It depends, if the sonogram looks like you, we're aborting." Greg said.

She gave him a mean look and then turned to me. "If you need anything let me know and congratulations."

"Thanks." I said as she walked away.

"I give it ten minutes."

"What?"

"In ten minutes Cameron, Chase, Foreman and Wilson will all know. Cuddy has this problem keeping secrets about me. Me being a father is going to give her a lot of fodder."

"Oh well, it had to come out anyway."

When we got done with the obstetrician the pregnancy was confirmed. The baby was due on September 13th. Greg asked a lot of questions about me being an older prima gravida...I felt really decrepit. Apparently because I was going to be 39 when I had my first child, it required much more monitoring for birth defects.

My obstetrician seemed to actually like Greg, "Don't worry House, I'll make sure she gets all the right tests."

We went down to his office and they were all there, including Cuddy. "Congratulations!" The all yelled in unison. Greg rolled his eyes. Wilson patted Greg on the back and Greg gave him a look that said you don't want to do that."

"Thank you everyone." I said with real happiness in my voice.

"When are you due?"

"September 13th."

Wallets came out and money was exchanged between the men. Apparently Wilson won the pot.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"It meant that the date of conception was the night of your party. I thought it would have been at Thanksgiving and Foreman thought it was Christmas." Chase grinned.

"Now you all know, we copulate after every party...we're giving a party tonight just so I can get some. Bring pretzels and condoms!" Greg walked to his desk.

"I'll take off now." I walked over and gave Greg a kiss on the cheek. He turned and smiled at me and gave me a peck on the cheek. I left and went home so that I could start planning the wedding. Greg House was getting married, he just didn't know it.

CHAPTER 29

THE BIG STICK

I called Krista and asked her to be my maid of honor. "How did he ask you to marry him?"

"He didn't, but he will. I'm planning a June wedding in Colorado. I think a wedding on the ranch would be beautiful and you haven't been there, so it will be a great excuse for you to come. We need to go look for dresses!"

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?"

"No, it's only money. I figure if he says no, I just pay all the deposits. Don't worry, he'll say yes. He's going to be 49 when the baby is born, not like he can moan about not having a chance to live his life."

When Greg got home I sat him down. "It's 3:00 p.m. in San Diego. Your parents will both be home, let's call and tell them the news about the baby."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"My Dad is still a little upset over us hooking up. He really does think of you as a daughter and it's like...well, he just feels funny about his son and daughter getting together..."

"We can't hide this and it's better he starts dealing with it now. I want you to be on the phone with me when I call." He gave me a look like he didn't want to do it, "Greg, come on." I stood firm. I picked up the phone and dialed. Blythe answered.

"Hello?"

"Blythe, it's Maggie and Greg. Greg go get on the other phone." Greg got up and went into the bedroom to get on the other receiver. "Blythe is John there?"

"Yes, do you want me to get him?" She asked.

"Yes, please." John was on the other phone within seconds.

"We have news for you." I said.

"You two are getting married!" Blythe interrupted.

"No, not yet. Greg, why don't you tell them?"

"You're doing a great job as it is." He said.

I growled into the receiver, "Greg."

"Yes, dear. Mom, Dad, Maggie is pregnant."

There was dead silence.

I finally said, "Hello? Are you still there?"

"Yes...yes...we're here. " Blythe stammered.

"Are you sure?" John asked.

"September 13th is the due date." Greg told them.

It was his Dad who recovered first. "Congratulations, I know you'll make a good mother Maggie. And Greg, I hope you don't make the mistakes that I made with you. We love you both and want you to be happy. Now when are you getting married?"

"We want to digest all of this before we make any other commitments. But we'll let you know if we decide to get married." Greg was calm.

"Congratulations sweetie. I'm going to be a grandmother. I never thought I would." Blythe sounded happy.

I didn't have the type of morning sickness that caused vomiting, I just didn't have an appetite for the first two months. Greg was working long hours at the hospital on several rather exciting cases. He was on a high when he did get home. I worked on my novel and went for walks around the neighborhood. But I was missing Colorado and the ranch. I told Greg that I wanted to get back to the ranch soon.

"You were just there two months ago. Your first trimester will be up in a few weeks, at least wait until then. The second trimester is the easiest, less nausea, less likely to spontaneously abort and you're going to start putting on weight. You're still too thin."

"Ok, I'll go at the beginning of April, but I'm going to stay a month. I need to make sure everything is taken care of while I'm pregnant." I didn't tell him that I wanted to get back to make the arrangements for our wedding.

I booked ten suites in the Stanley Hotel for friends and family. The Stanley is a gorgeous hotel that overlooks the Rocky Mountains. In fact, Steven King based the "Overlook Hotel" in the book "The Shining" on the Stanley Hotel. I booked it for the weekend of June 16th. I called the Houses and told them that I wanted them to come out to Colorado June 10th for Greg's birthday and stay for a week. They said yes right away. Blythe jumped at any chance to be with Greg. I bought their plane tickets.

Greg was laying down reading a medical journal when I came in and sat down on the edge of the couch. He put down the journal on his chest and looked at me. "Yes?"

"I am flying your parents out to Colorado for your birthday and I want you to ask Cuddy for the time off so you can be there. Tell her you need June 8th through June 18th off."

"You know that I don't like Birthday celebrations."

"This means a lot to me. I want your parents to have time with us while I'm pregnant. Please?"

He really didn't want to say yes, but he could tell that I was sincere in my desire for him to come to Colorado. "Ok, but the next time I take vacation I would like for us to actually take one."

"Deal."

I talked to Wilson. "Jim, I want you to be the Best Man."

"Best Man? Are you and House getting married?"

"Yes, but he doesn't know it yet. I'm planning the wedding for June 16th in Colorado. I'll pay your way out and make arrangements for your clothes. I know that Greg would want the Best Man to be you."

"Maggie, do you really think House will go through with this?"

"What's the worst that he can do? Humiliate his pregnant girlfriend in front of friends and family? I've been through worst. If he doesn't go through with it then we just have a big birthday party for him. Don't worry, he'll be too afraid that all of it will end up in a novel." I smiled at Wilson. "Jim, it's ok. I know I'm taking a chance, but I'm tired of waiting for Greg House. This is a make or break deal. He either goes through with it or I stay in Colorado, permanently."

"Those are high stakes."

"Yes, but I can't be spending the rest of my life pining over him. I want to know when the baby is born that we are his family, legally."

Krista and I went shopping for her dress but I ended up finding mine. It was an Antibes silver-white satin strapless gown with a rouched neckline and an empire waist that has a sash. There was beading and embroidery at the empire line. The empire waist would give me ample room for expansion.

We bought Krista a cocktail dress with a boat collar, three-quarter length sleeves in a coral silk. It was gorgeous on her. We were pleased with our purchases and spent the rest of the day finding the best shoes to go with the dresses. I bought satin ballet-styled slippers so that I would be comfortable.

I asked the Houses for the addresses of friends and family. I told them that I needed them for when I sent out the baby announcements. I received the list of approximately 89 people. I knew that many of them would not be able to make it to Colorado but maybe some would show. I knew that I had to get a commitment from Greg in May to marry me before I sent out the invitations. Once the invitations went out it would be too difficult to keep Greg from finding out.

In April, I flew out to Colorado and arranged for music, a tent, tables, food, the preacher and all the other things that go with a wedding. We were going to be married outside, if the weather held, at the base of the mountain. A large, heated tent, was going to be set up and we would have ten tables for a total of 100 people. The band would be in the tent but we would open the house and there would be music inside the house as well.

Things were going great except that I forgot about George and Rachel. I don't know who tipped the media off, but one of the pieces on Entertainment Tonight was the 'upcoming wedding of Maggie Molloy and Dr. Gregory House in Estes Park, Colorado.' I received a call from the Houses.

"Are the tabloids right?" Blythe could barely contain her excitement.

"I think they are mistaking the birthday party preparations for a wedding."

Around April 24th Greg called me in the middle of the day. "Maggie, I need for you to come home as soon as you can."

"What's wrong Greg?"

"I don't want to have this conversation over the phone, you need to fly out as soon as you can."

"Can't you tell me over the phone, I'm suppose to stay another week, can't this wait?"

"No!" The phone went dead.

I arranged for a flight the following day and when I got to the airport he wasn't there. He did arrange for a driver to pick me up and take me home. I got home and looked around and there it was. The idiots were suppose to have delivered my wedding gown to Krista's house in Washington. The box was in the middle of the bed and the gown was partially pulled out.

I was sweating bullets and my heart rate went through the roof. I was trying to calm myself down because I didn't want to stress the baby. A few hours later I heard him pull up. He got out and came in with his back pack. He put it down and took one look at me on the couch and shook his head as if he were disappointed.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on? The tabloids are stalking me and then that dress gets delivered a few days ago. I have to believe that we aren't communicating."

"You're getting married on June 16th in Colorado."

He didn't bat an eye or even feign surprise. "Do I have any say in this?"

"Yes, you can say no if you want. I will accept it if you do. But I'll be staying in Colorado if we aren't married."

"So, you're blackmailing me...no marriage, no Maggie."

"No, you are welcomed to come to Colorado and visit me and the baby anytime, for as long as you want. But if I'm going to live in New Jersey with you then I want to be married."

"You've taken the decision out of my hands, haven't you?"

"No Greg, if you are really ready to commit then marriage won't scare you. You're 48 years old for God's sake, it's not like you have to go out and sew your wild oats."

"How were you going to pull this off?" He sat down on the easy chair opposite the couch.

"I wasn't sure, I just knew I would do my best."

"You know how to use a shotgun...had you thought about a shotgun wedding?"

"Yes, but I didn't know if I should shoot you or put myself out of my misery."

He gave me a weak smile. He leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling.

"Can I get you something? I didn't make anything for dinner so we'll have to go out or get take-out."

"I think I need a whisky...and I already ordered Chinese before I left the hospital."

I got up and poured him one and handed it to him. He looked directly into my eyes before taking it out of my hands.

"Maggie May, you certainly know what you want don't you?"

"I know I want you Greg House, but I'm tired of waiting. I' ve waited 28 years for you...I think that's long enough, don't you?"

The doorbell rang, I grabbed my purse to go pay for the meal. I gave the guy a tip and he smiled broadly at me. I took the food into the kitchen and Greg followed. He sat down at stool next to the breakfast bar. I could see he had ordered the shrimp and the crispy beef dishes. I was about ready to cry, I just knew the conversation about marriage wasn't going my way. He seemed to be deeply disappointed and disturbed by what I had done. I put a spoonful of the shrimp on his plate and saw metal covered in sauce. I reached over and pulled it out and gave a little scream, "Ahhh..OH my God." It was a beautiful diamond engagement ring. I started shrieking and Greg covered his ears.

"Maggie, Maggie May, calm down."

I was jumping up and down like I had just been called to be a contestant on the "Price is Right." I went over to him and continued to jump like a Kangaroo.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..."

"Maggie, Maggie May..."

I stopped jumping and I ran over to the sink to wash the sauce off. "Greg it is so beautiful." I handed it to him, "You put it on me..."

"How do you know it wasn't the delivery boy who wants to marry you? I saw the way he looked at you."

"Because I didn't give him that big a tip."

Greg took the ring in his fingers and placed it on my left hand and said, "Maggie May will you marry me?"

I was almost flip, but then I realized how serious he had become, "Yes Gregory House, I will, I will."

We hugged and kissed each other.

The day of the wedding there was some drizzle in the morning but it stopped around noon. The wedding was scheduled for 2:00 p.m. House was knocking back single malt whiskeys with Wilson in the guest room where they were getting dressed. I was trying to stuff my blossoming breasts into the top of my dress and Krista was wrestling with allergies.

We had 110 people RSVP and I had to break down and hire security because of the press. I had come to a compromise with them. They could have ten minutes to take photos after the ceremony, but then they had to leave. Our sheriff was just itching to throw some of them in jail for trespassing.

John House was going to walk me down the aisle. They didn't know what side to sit on and so they chose the Groom's side just so their family would know where to sit. I told them that it didn't matter to me.

The sun came out and the mountain and meadows were blooming with wildflowers. It was so romantic. The very large pond in front of the ranch house reflected the mountain and the trees. The marriage bower was just far enough back from the pond to keep the insects at bay. Greg and Wilson took their place and they both looked handsome and just slightly tipsy. I didn't think anyone else would recognize that little grin that Greg gets when he's been drinking, but I sure did.

The wedding went well, Greg even said a few words during the ceremony. They weren't exactly what I had planned when I thought of my wedding, but they were very Gregish:

Maggie May...All I needed was a friend to lend a guiding hand,
But you turned into a lover and
Mother what a lover, you wore me out,
All you did was wreck my bed,
And in the morning kick me in the head,
Oh Maggie I couldn't have tried anymore,
You lured me away from home, cause you didn't want to be alone,
You stole my heart, I couldn't leave you if I tried...

Everyone looked at each other mystified, but I just grabbed him and kissed him. The preacher chastised me, "Tsk, tsk, no kissing yet."

After the ceremony we drank (I had milk and one glass of champagne) and ate and danced (even Greg did a little dancing) into the night. I was very happy and Greg, well, Greg was very drunk.

THE END.

(Dear Readers, You have now read my favorite story that I have written so far. I really hope you liked it too.)