The insistent ringing of the phone shattered Roger and Holly's peaceful slumber. Holly groaned and put the pillow over her head. "Make it stop," she said, her words muffled by the pillow.
Roger pried his eyes open and leaned over Holly, fumbling for the phone. In his tiredness, he knocked the phone to the floor. He leaned off the edge of the bed with a muffled curse, trying to retrieve the phone, and ended up falling out of bed. The large thump he made on the floor made Holly take the pillow off her head and sit up. "Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah," Roger said tersely. He picked up the receiver, then picked up the phone from the floor and got back in bed. "Hello?" he said abruptly.
"Happy wedding day!" Blake exclaimed jubilantly on the other end of the line.
Roger rubbed a hand over his face and squinted at the digital alarm clock, finally making out its blue numbers glowing in the darkness of the bedroom. "Chrissy, it's 6:08 in the morning!" he exclaimed exasperatedly.
"It's your wedding day!" she continued, undeterred. "Rise and shine!"
"It's still dark outside," Roger told her.
Blake looked out the nursery window in her own house in Springfield. "Oh," she said. "Yeah, it is. I'm so used to getting up early with Kevin and Jason, I don't even notice whether it's dark or light outside this early." She had the grace to sound chagrined now.
Holly, still being tired herself, was a bit slow on the uptake, but now it registered with her exactly who Roger was talking to. "Is that Blake?" she asked.
"Yes," Roger replied.
"Let me talk to her," Holly said.
"Here's your mother," Roger said before handing the phone off to Holly and collapsing back into bed.
"Blake?" Holly asked.
"I really thought you guys would be awake already," Blake said. Then she thought of something. "Unless you were up most of the night," she said mischievously.
"It's way too early in the morning to have that conversation," Holly said dryly. As a matter of fact, she and Roger hadn't made love the night before. After a room service dinner and a bottle of wine, he had given her a massage, and that was the last thing she remembered. She had fallen asleep while he was massaging her (they were both already in their pajamas at that point, Holly in the flannel coffee cups again, and Roger in his black pajamas), and he had then snuggled up with her and fallen asleep himself.
Oh, but did she ever have plans for him, for them, tonight, after they were married.
Unbeknownst to Holly, Roger had plans of his own for their wedding night, which he was even now formulating in a corner of his mind.
On the phone, Blake was saying, "I still have keys to both of your places, so do you or Dad need me to bring anything?"
"Do you need Blake to bring anything for you from your place in Springfield?" Holly asked Roger.
"No," Roger said, sitting up again. "Since Michael and I will have some time to kill today, I figure he can go with me to buy a new tux for myself."
"I don't need anything either," Holly said. "No, whatever we don't already have here, we'll be getting today."
"Just checking," Blake said. "So all you need are me and Kevin and Jason?"
"That's all," Holly agreed. "That's more than enough."
"Okay," Blake replied. "Since the two of you are awake now, though, I'll let you go so you can make better use of the time. Do you want me to come upstairs? What room are you in?"
"Suite 1717," Holly said. "But we can meet you in the lobby. We have to go out and get the marriage license and blood tests, and we want to do that first thing."
"Yeah, I'd rather not make two trips up and down with everything," Blake said. "Okay, we'll just wait in the lobby when we get there. The Bayshore Hotel, right?"
"Right," Roger said. "We'll see you in a few hours, honey."
"I can't wait," Blake said happily. "I love you both."
"We love you too," Holly told her. "See you soon." She hung up the phone and looked at Roger with a smile. "Happy wedding day."
"Happy wedding day to you too," Roger replied, smiling back at her and pulling her into his arms, then lying down again.
"Shouldn't we get up?" Holly asked, even as she snuggled into Roger's arms, her own arm going across his chest as her cheek rested against his shoulder.
"We could," Roger said, "but I'd rather just lie here holding you for a while."
"I'd like that too," Holly said, "but we kind of have a lot to do today."
"We do," Roger agreed, "but it's barely 6:30. Nothing's open yet, and Blake and Kevin and Jason, and Michael, aren't going to be here for a few hours yet. Besides, I called down last night and asked for a wake-up call at 7:45, so we have time."
Holly smiled and kissed Roger's jaw. "I like the way you think," she said.
"I'm glad to hear it," Roger replied, turning his head to brush a kiss to her temple. "I hope you keep on liking the way I think."
"Listen, I wanted to run something by you," Holly continued. "I want to say something at the wedding. Is that okay with you?"
"Write our own vows?" Roger asked, considering this. "Yes. And maybe the minister could still ask if we take each other to have and to hold, for better or for worse, and all the rest."
"I like that," Holly said. "So we'll both say something and then have the traditional vows too."
They settled themselves in each other's arms and dozed contentedly for about forty minutes. Then Holly felt Roger stirring and awakened to find him looking at her. "I realized something," he said. "We can't go on a honeymoon. Not yet, at least. All this stuff with Dinah and Hart...We can't leave the area. But maybe we could go to Chicago for the weekend, if we make sure Cass knows how to reach us in case we're needed back in Springfield to go to court or something."
"We could go to Chicago," Holly agreed. "Or we could wait and go someplace we'd really enjoy going, not someplace we've been to for work dozens of times before."
"Like where?" Roger asked.
"Everywhere," Holly replied, shifting so she could look into his eyes. "That's how I feel. I just want to go and see everywhere with you...all the places I always wanted to see, but not by myself, and not with just anybody."
"Me too, with you," Roger said, smiling as he passed a hand through her hair.
"If you could take me anywhere in the world-" Holly began.
"A beach in Tahiti," Roger interrupted.
"I'm guessing the lack of clothes is part of the attraction for that one," she mused.
"I always picture you barefoot in a sarong, with a flower in your hair, sort of like the one I put in your hair that night we went to dinner in Acapulco," he admitted.
"I'll wear a sarong and a flower in my hair if you'll wear one of those tropical print shirts with the flowers on it and cargo shorts," she replied.
"Deal," he said instantly.
"Deal," she repeated.
"What about you?" he asked. "Where have you pictured us?"
"Lots of places," she replied. "London...Italy...Paris...Monte Carlo...New York City..."
Roger smiled in the early morning darkness. "You really do want to see everywhere with me," he said in wonder.
"Absolutely," Holly replied firmly. She rubbed his chest. "We can take a formal honeymoon later, after this thing with Dinah and Hart is settled. This is where we officially started over again, so this being where we officially start our married life is perfect as far as I'm concerned." She leaned in close and kissed him then, and he tenderly, eagerly responded.
The ringing of the phone interrupted them. Reluctantly they stopped kissing, and Roger reached over and answered the phone: it was their wake-up call.
"Less than twelve hours until our wedding," Roger said after hanging up the phone.
Holly beamed at him. "And it only took..." She trailed off. "When are we counting it from?"
"Either two years or half our lives," Roger replied.
"It took half our lives, but the last two years were the hardest part. How about that?" Holly asked.
"I'll agree with that," Roger said. He took Holly's hands in his then.
"Practicing for later?" she asked, squeezing his hands.
"Just...centering myself," he replied, squeezing her hands back. "I've waited so long for this day and wanted this for so long, and now it's finally happening."
"It's all real, I promise," Holly said. "And in less than twelve hours, I'll be standing with you in front of a minister at The Harbor Club, holding your hands like this, and promising to love and honor and cherish you and take care of you and be by your side for the rest of our lives."
Roger let go of Holly's hands to frame her face then. "For the rest of my life, I'm going to do my best to live up to every vow I make to you today," he said earnestly, his voice thick with emotion.
"I know," Holly whispered, getting choked up herself. "I'll do the same for every vow I make to you."
He leaned in and kissed her then, and she responded hungrily. "Mmm...wait..." Holly murmured against his lips. "We keep this up, we'll get carried away and we really don't have time to do that right now."
Roger reluctantly pulled away, taking a deep breath as he rested his forehead against Holly's. "No, we don't have time right now," he agreed.
"So the next time we make love, we'll be husband and wife," Holly said.
"That's true," Roger reflected. "I like that idea very much." He kissed her once more, quickly, before getting out of bed. "Keeping that in mind, we have to take separate showers this morning, or else we won't be able to wait until tonight."
"Oh yes," Holly agreed.
Roger picked up the phone again. "Why don't you go first, and I'll order breakfast from room service."
"Make mine waffles," Holly said, grabbing her bathrobe before heading into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. A moment later, Roger heard the shower running. He dialed room service and had breakfast waiting on the coffee table in the living room by the time Holly emerged, dressed in light blue jeans and a coral-colored sweater. After Roger finished his omelet and coffee, he quickly showered and shaved, dressed in black pants, a gray button-down shirt, and a black suit jacket but no tie, and then he and Holly headed to City Hall to get their marriage license.
After they had filled out the necessary paperwork, and given the clerk proof of their respective divorces, the clerk said, "All right, just double-checking, you're changing your name, correct, Ms. Lindsey?"
"Yes," Holly replied.
Roger was thunderstruck. "You're taking my name?" he asked.
"Of course I am," Holly replied.
"Why do people not discuss this before they come in here?" the clerk asked no one in particular, exasperated. "Yes, she's taking your name! That's what this says: that once you're married, she will no longer be Holly Lindsey but Holly Thorpe-"
"You're dropping the 'Lindsey'?" Roger asked, totally shocked now. "But...when you married...well, you know...you hyphenated the two names."
"Because I didn't like either name," Holly replied honestly. "I see no point in keeping the name of a husband I divorced over a decade ago when I can have your name." Then something occurred to her. "Unless..." She trailed off uncertainly. "Do you...not want me to take your name?" she asked haltingly.
"No!" Roger exclaimed. "I mean, yes!" He grabbed her hand. "Yes, I want you to take my name. I want you to take all of me. I just...I didn't expect you to want to do that."
"Well, I do," Holly said. She smiled. "I should remember that. It'll come in handy for the ceremony." Roger laughed happily. "Yes, I'm changing my name," she told the clerk.
The clerk noted this on his clipboard, then stepped away from the counter. When they were alone, Roger leaned in and kissed Holly's temple. The clerk returned a moment later with Roger and Holly's marriage license. "Once the license is returned to our office, it will be recorded the same day, and a certified copy of your marriage license will be mailed out to you the same day."
"Who returns the license?" Roger asked.
"The minister or officiate," the clerk replied. "Who's marrying you?"
"Reverend Watson," Holly replied.
"No problem, then," the clerk replied. "Reverend Watson always returns the licenses the day after he performs the ceremony, and the license is valid for 60 days anyway."
"The day after?" Roger asked, impressed.
"He's the most meticulous officiate in the entire county," the clerk assured them. Roger and Holly were both inwardly relieved to hear that. They didn't want there to be any snags regarding their marriage.
After leaving the clerk's office with their marriage license safely tucked in Roger's inside jacket pocket, they headed to Bay City General, where they met John Hudson, who did their blood tests. Holly went first, and Roger couldn't watch as she had her blood drawn. When it was his turn, he took off his jacket, rolled up his shirt sleeve, made a fist, and turned his head away the second he saw John reach for a clean needle. Watching this, and knowing Roger's phobia of needles, when John tied the rubber hose around Roger's arm, Holly grabbed Roger's face and kissed him soundly the whole time John was drawing his blood. Roger lost himself in Holly's kiss, and when they came up for air, John was leaning against the closed door of the exam room, waiting patiently. "Sorry about that," Roger said sheepishly, and somewhat breathlessly.
But John waved the apology away. "Vicky is my niece, remember? This is nothing I haven't seen a thousand times before with her and Ryan, though I have to admit, never under these circumstances." He held up a piece of paper. "The results. You're both in excellent health." He handed the paper to Roger. "Congratulations on your marriage."
"Thank you," Holly said. She exchanged a look with Roger, and he nodded. "If you and your wife aren't busy tonight, would you like to come to our wedding? It's at The Harbor Club at 6 PM."
"You've been a big help to us in a lot of ways," Roger added. "We'd like to have you there, if you can make it."
"No, we don't have anything going on tonight," John said. "I'm not sure if Josie's working, though. If she's not working and can watch Gregory, we'll be there. Black tie?"
"Optional," Holly said.
John nodded. "I'll check with Sharlene, she'll know if Josie can watch Gregory tonight." He extended his hand to shake hands with first Roger and then Holly. "If we can be there, we will. Thank you for the invite."
"Thank you for everything," Roger replied.
Roger and Holly then returned to The Bayshore, where they found Blake, Kevin and Jason, and Michael all waiting in the lobby for them. Michael was down on the floor playing with Kevin, and Blake was walking around with Jason when she saw her parents entering, their heads bent together, her father saying something that made her mother laugh, and it did not escape Blake's notice that her mother and father were holding hands, too. "Michael, they're here!" Blake called as she began walking towards Roger and Holly, Jason in her arms, to meet them. "Look, Jason, Grandma and Grandpa are here!" Michael, meanwhile, expertly scooped Kevin up and made his way toward Roger and Holly as well.
Blake and Jason reached them first, and she hugged first Roger and then Holly, with Jason braced between them. "I can't believe you're getting married tonight!" Blake exclaimed.
"I can," Michael said. "Roger's never been one to let an opportunity pass him by, and he's wanted to marry Holly for as long as I've known him." Michael handed Kevin to Roger.
Roger pressed a kiss to Kevin's cheek before looking at Michael with a grin. "That's true, Michael, but actually, Holly proposed to me."
Michael looked at Holly, more than a little surprised but also clearly impressed. "You proposed?" he asked.
"Way to go, Mom," Blake said.
"I know what I want, and I went after it," Holly replied, taking Jason from Blake and looking at Roger making faces at Kevin, her love for Roger plain to see in her eyes. Then she looked at Blake. "I took a page from your book, Blake."
Blake sketched a salute to Holly. "I'm glad I could inspire you," she said. "Now, we have a million things to do today."
"We do?" Holly asked.
"We don't?" Blake asked, stymied. "What about the bouquets and the boutonnieres?"
"Roger and I are picking up the flowers this afternoon," Michael piped up.
"What about a photographer?" Blake wanted to know.
"Rachel is providing a photographer and a videographer," Holly said, "and Donna owns the restaurant where we're getting married, so she's providing the food, the cake, and the champagne, as well as the venue for both the ceremony and the reception."
"And she already called Reverend Watson and he will be at The Harbor Club at 5:00 sharp to talk to the two of you," Michael added. "Separately. He has a thing about the bride and the groom not seeing each other before the ceremony."
"What about the music?" Blake asked then.
Roger and Holly exchanged a look. "That's the one thing we never even mentioned yesterday: the music," Holly realized.
"Blake, could I have a word with you over there?" Michael asked, angling his head several feet away. "We'll just be a minute. Excuse us, please." Blake, somewhat bemused, followed Michael several feet away.
Roger and Holly, each holding a grandson, looked on as Michael and Blake talked out of their earshot. "They're up to something," Roger said.
"Clearly," Holly agreed, gently bouncing Jason in her arms to keep him from fussing.
Blake nodded at whatever Michael said and said something in reply, and then they returned to join Roger, Holly and the boys. "Okay, the music is taken care of," Blake said.
"Just like that?" Roger asked.
"Just like that," Michael replied. "Need to know, Fox Head."
"'Fox Head'?" Blake asked then. "That was your CIA nickname, wasn't it?" she asked Roger eagerly.
"A slight variation of it," Roger said. "What kind of music are we talking about?"
"Gene Autry singing 'Back in the Saddle Again,'" Michael said facetiously.
"Yeah, right," Roger scoffed. "That cowboy stuff was your shtick, Rotorhead, not mine."
"Daddy, trust us," Blake said earnestly. "Don't you think between Michael and me, we know yours and Mom's musical tastes and dislikes?"
"You're right," Holly said. "We trust your musical judgment."
"Thank you, Mom," Blake replied, taking Jason from Holly, settling him in his stroller, and putting his coat and hat on him. "Now, we may not have as many things to do today as I thought, but we do still have some errands to run, so let's get going."
"Yeah, Roger, we should really get a move on too," Michael added.
With Jason bundled up and settled in the stroller, Blake now took Kevin from Roger and bundled him up before settling him in the stroller with Jason.
"I didn't really think about this part," Roger admitted, turning to look at Holly and taking her hands in his, "but yeah, I have to go with Michael now, and you're going with Chrissy and the boys."
"Well, one tradition I agree with is you are not seeing me in my dress until the wedding," Holly replied, threading her fingers through his. "So for that, we have to split up."
"I'm getting a new tuxedo for myself too," Roger replied. "I didn't want any bad vibes from my old one carrying over into our new life."
Holly smiled. "That sounds like Frankie, the way she talks about karma and vibes and omens all the time." She let go of his hands to put her arms around his neck. "So that's how I'll know you at The Harbor Club tonight. You'll be the devastatingly handsome man in the new tuxedo."
"Who will be waiting for you not so patiently with the biggest, happiest smile you've ever seen," Roger replied, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Oh, good, I'd hate to think I'm the only one who's impatient at that moment," Holly said. "If I weren't going to be wearing low heels, I'd run down that aisle. If there is an aisle."
"Donna's in charge of the arrangements. There will be an aisle," Roger said with great certainty. "You'd really run?"
"It's true I have an aversion to exercise-"
"Well, not all exercise." Roger grinned mischievously.
Holly lightly smacked at his shoulder, barely enough for him to feel it. "My point," she said firmly, "is that I can't wait to marry you."
"And I can't wait to marry you," Roger replied before pulling her into a passionate kiss.
Watching her parents make out, Blake asked Michael, "So what are the public decency laws like around here?"
"My son-in-law is the police commissioner," Michael replied.
"That's handy," Blake remarked.
"Sometimes," Michael agreed good-naturedly.
As much as Blake hated to break up her parents' kissing, she knew that it would probably take longer than Holly thought for them to find dresses, and then there was getting ready, and getting the boys ready, and hoping that her parents' newfound friends wouldn't let anything or anyone ruin this night for Roger and Holly. Blake didn't know these people well yet, but she believed that they wanted only good things for her parents, especially Michael. Since Roger never talked about his CIA days, Blake hadn't known until the day before at the Springfield police station that Roger had a friend from those days that he had reconnected with, a friend who knew her father well and was a true friend to him. Blake had also met Michael's girlfriend Donna at the police station, and Donna clearly considered herself Holly's best friend, which was also something new to Blake, the concept of her mother having a friend other than Ed Bauer. She knew that Ed would think Holly had lost her mind if he knew that Holly and Roger were getting married again tonight, and that was another reason she was glad for Michael and Donna being in her parents' lives and being their friends. Unlike everyone in Springfield (except for herself, of course), these people from Bay City were supportive of Roger and Holly's relationship, and pooling their own resources to put together a wedding for them.
"Okay, lovebirds," Blake called, "I'd rather not have Kevin and Jason screaming the whole time we're looking for dresses, so let's get going."
Roger and Holly reluctantly stopped kissing, but as Roger started to draw away from Holly, he changed his mind and moved back into her personal space, kissing first one corner of her mouth, then the other corner of her mouth, then brushing his lips across hers gently, softly. This time when he drew back, her eyes were still closed and she hummed contentedly. She opened her eyes to look at him and asked, "Have I ever told you what a fantastic kisser you are?"
"Not since you were nineteen," Roger replied, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I'm glad to know you still feel that way. And you're a fantastic kisser yourself."
"As much as I'm loving the sappiness, and since it's your wedding day you're definitely entitled," Blake interjected then, "the clock is ticking."
"Okay, okay," Roger said, making a great show of letting go of Holly. "But I get her back tonight."
"For the rest of our lives," Holly promised, beaming at him.
Roger and Michael helped Blake load Kevin and Jason and their stroller in the car, Roger and Holly sneaked another kiss, prompting Blake to ask, "Do I need to find a hose to turn on you two?" with an amused smirk on her face, and then they were off in their different directions.
"Before we go to your tailor to get my tux," Roger said, "we need to go to The Galleria. There's something I have to get there first."
"Wedding present for Holly?" Michael asked as he pulled out of The Bayshore's parking lot.
"Something like that," Roger replied.
While Roger and Michael made their stop at The Galleria, Holly and Blake, with Kevin and Jason in tow, headed to The Bride's Room, the premier bridal boutique in Bay City. Holly took one look at all those long, flowing, fancy white gowns, and said, "This is not me."
Blake flagged down the first saleswoman that passed them. "Where do you keep your dresses for second-time-around brides?" she asked. "Something a lot less frilly and frou-frou than everything you have on display? Or do we need to go somewhere else?"
The saleswoman looked Holly up and down critically. "Follow me," she said, leading their little convoy to the back of the store and through an open archway.
Holly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw these dresses. "Now this is more like it," she said, crossing the room to inspect some of the dresses more closely. The first five she bypassed after nothing more than a cursory look at them, but the sixth one she stopped at, inhaling sharply. Blake saw her mother stop in front of a mannequin wearing a gorgeous white satin sheath dress with no adornment whatsoever (beads, sparkles, and embroidery really were not Holly's style) and quickly pushed the stroller containing her sleeping sons across the room to see the dress more closely for herself.
When Blake was standing beside her, Holly, not taking her eyes off the dress, said decisively, "This is it. This is the dress I'm going to marry Roger in."
The saleswoman was unobtrusively searching a nearby rack, and she pulled a dress identical to the one Holly and Blake were looking at so intently from the rack with a flourish. "Fitting rooms are this way," she said, handing Holly the dress.
Holly checked the size tag, then looked at the saleswoman in surprise. "How did you know my size?" she asked.
"I've worked here for thirty years," the woman replied. "I know sizes."
Holly emerged from the fitting room a short time later wearing the dress, and Blake gasped, tears welling in her eyes when she saw her mother. "Oh, Mom," she whispered, one hand flying up to cover her heart.
Holly was a vision. The dress had a flattering portrait collar and a wide, low neckline, but not so low as to be indecent or expose her cleavage, and was pleated but not poufy. The sleeves were elbow-length, and the skirt brushed the tops of her knees.
"You're gonna take Dad's breath away," Blake said softly as Holly crossed to the platform in front of the three-way mirror and climbed up on the platform to look at herself.
"I really look like a bride," Holly reflected as she turned this way and that.
"You are a bride," Blake said.
"And I finally have the right groom," Holly said.
After leaving The Galleria, Michael and Roger went and got Roger's new tuxedo, which only needed to be fitted, not altered. Roger chose a black jacket with two buttons and black pants and cummerbund, a black bow tie that would need to be hand tied, a white tuxedo shirt and white pocket square. He already had black patent leather shoes that would go with the tux ("The last thing I want is to be wearing new shoes I haven't had time to break in yet, and the soles are so slick that I slip and fall on my face or my...you know," he had told Michael before they even entered the menswear store.), and he had bought onyx cufflinks and shirt studs at The Galleria when he was getting Holly's wedding present.
Roger fumbled with tying the tie, so Michael stepped forward and tied it for him. "Nervous?" he asked with a smirk as he tied Roger's tie for him.
"Maybe a little," Roger admitted, "but only because I don't want anything going wrong. I've waited half my life for this day, Michael."
"And it's finally here," Michael said, straightening the tie and then turning Roger's shirt collar down. "Nothing is going to go wrong, Roger. Today is the day you finally marry your girl. And she asked you, so nothing in the world is going to stop her from marrying you tonight. And Blake won't let anything go wrong...I won't let anything go wrong...and Donna definitely won't let anything go wrong."
"I'm gonna get it right this time, Michael," Roger said seriously. "Holly is everything to me. She's the center of my universe. All I've ever wanted is to be her husband."
"I felt a lot like this the day I married Donna for the first time," Michael said. "I had dreamed of marrying her since I was 17 years old. For it to finally be happening...it took some time to wrap my brain around the concept. But I did. You will too."
"You, ah, ever think about marrying Donna again?" Roger asked.
Michael lifted one shoulder in the semblance of a shrug. "I think about it, yeah," he said. "But we have an agreement. Three strikes and we're out. We have a good thing going, why screw it up again by getting married again?"
"Hey, don't get me wrong, living in sin is even more fun than we ever believed it could be," Roger said. "But marriage... That's the final frontier."
"I thought I was the Trekkie in this partnership," Michael quipped. Roger just looked at him. "Dammit, this is why you always did interrogations," he said, but without anger or frustration. "One look from you would have made The Cambridge Five sing like the Vienna Boys Choir." Michael rubbed at the back of his neck. "Yes, I'd like to marry Donna again."
"You're older and wiser than you were when you got divorced," Roger said.
"Well, it's been a year, and nothing has torn us asunder," Michael mused. "That's almost a record for us."
"You never actually said you weren't going to get married ever again, did you?" Roger asked.
"Well, no," Michael said.
"Then you could revisit the getting married discussion," Roger replied. "Open with 'we're older and wiser.' Who knows, Donna might agree."
"If I tell Donna she's older, I won't get out 'and wiser' before she flattens me," Michael said, only half joking.
"Okay, changing the subject, are you up for a little subterfuge?" Roger asked.
"What kind of subterfuge?" Michael asked, puzzled.
"A little surprise I've cooked up for Holly, but one that I can't pull off alone," Roger replied.
Michael grinned. "You know I've got your back, Fox Head. What do you need me to do?"
"Let me get changed and pay for the tux, and I'll tell you on the way to the barber shop," Roger replied before heading to the changing room to change back into his street clothes.
After getting Holly's wedding dress, and finding a dark green dress for Blake that was satin like Holly's and the same length as Holly's but had a V neckline and short sleeves instead of the low neckline and elbow-length sleeves of Holly's dress, they went and got dress shoes-low white heels for Holly, and dark green flats for Blake-and then Blake asked, "What about our hair, Mom?"
"I know exactly what I'm going to do with my hair," Holly said, smiling at the mere thought. "And yours looks fine."
"Fine for every day, but not for your and Dad's wedding!" Blake exclaimed.
Holly smiled tolerantly. "Would you like to have your hair done?" she asked.
"Yes!" Blake exclaimed.
"So we'll find a place. I'll call and ask Rachel if she can recommend someone," Holly replied, pulling her cell phone out of her purse and dialing Rachel's direct office line.
"Rachel Cory," Rachel answered.
"Rachel, hi," Holly said.
"Holly! I thought you'd be up to your eyebrows in wedding preparations by now," she said. "The photographer and the videographer are all set. They'll be at The Harbor Club waiting for you and Roger."
"I can't thank you enough for that," Holly replied.
"It's the least I could do," Rachel said.
"I was wondering if you could recommend a good hairdresser that doesn't require an appointment well ahead of time," Holly said.
"Of course," Rachel said. "Pierre's." She gave Holly the address. "They'll do a good job for you there. My mother worked there a long time ago, and she's still remembered."
"Thank you," Holly said. "I'll see you at The Harbor Club tonight."
"I wouldn't miss yours and Roger's wedding for anything in the world," Rachel said. "I'm looking forward to it very much."
"So am I," Holly said, laughing happily.
Blake could hear Rachel's answering laugh before Holly thanked her again and said goodbye, ending the call. "So, who's Rachel?" Blake asked interestedly.
"Another friend of mine," Holly replied.
"Wait, is that who you bought the TV station from?" Blake asked.
Holly looked at her sideways. "How did you know about that?"
"Well, you and Dad didn't have anything to tell me, but that doesn't mean I didn't have anything to find out," Blake said as she drove them to Pierre's. "I looked at back issues of The Bay City Herald at the public library. I saw the notices in the Business section from over the summer about you buying KBAY, and about Dad being named Vice-President of Internet Acquisitions at Hudson Enterprises. You and Dad have really made a life for yourselves here in Bay City."
This was the perfect opening for Holly to tell Blake that she and Roger were making a life for themselves in Bay City, and in fact, they were staying there permanently and would be buying a house in the near future. But she wasn't entirely certain how Blake would take the news, or if Roger wanted to be involved in telling her, so she didn't pursue the conversation any further. A few minutes later, they were at Pierre's, and Holly watched Kevin and Jason and took care of them while Blake had her hair done.
"That's better," Blake said approvingly when Pierre himself stepped back, letting her look in the mirror. Her auburn curls were in an upsweep, framing her face. "Mom, are you sure you don't want to have something done here?" Blake asked when she was finished.
"I'm sure," Holly replied. "You look stunning, though."
"As long as I don't outshine you tonight," Blake said. Then she peered critically at her mother. "Nah, that's not possible. The fire of a million suns couldn't outshine you now." She grinned and Holly smiled back happily.
They went back to The Bayshore and had lunch in the dining room before taking the boys upstairs so Blake could feed them and they could take a nap. "I don't want to put you and Daddy out of your suite," Blake fretted when they got upstairs. "You're going to have to have somewhere to get ready, Mom, and for that matter, so is Dad. You can't get ready in the same suite at the same time!"
"It's not a problem, Chrissy," Roger said. He and Michael rounded the corner from the elevators then, both of them carrying several bags and boxes and Roger silently thankful that he had yet to enlist Ned the concierge to help him and Michael pull off Roger's planned surprise for Holly for after the wedding. "I figured you and your mother can get ready in our suite, and Michael and I can get ready in my suite. I still have it."
"And where is your suite?" Blake asked.
"Right down there. 1714," Roger said, inclining his head down the hall.
"Oh, really," Blake said, looking from her father to her mother with mingled amusement and mischief.
"Nothing happened until last night," Holly said, "not that it's your business if it did."
"You're my parents! Of course it's my business!" Blake exclaimed.
Michael laughed. "Boy, does this sound familiar," he said, thinking of Vicky and her similar comments about himself and Donna.
"Do you have the key to 1714?" Holly asked Roger.
"Yeah, it's in my pocket," Roger said.
Holly handed the garment bag containing her dress to Blake to hold, silently thankful that her wedding present for Roger was tucked inside her purse where he couldn't see it, and crossed the hall to where Roger was standing, with Michael behind and to the side of him. "Which pocket?" Holly asked.
"My left pants pocket," Roger said.
"Should we leave you two alone?" Blake asked, only half-jokingly.
"If we leave them alone, we'll never get them to The Harbor Club in time for the wedding, and Donna will explode," Michael said.
"You act like we have no self-control," Holly said as she carefully reached into Roger's pants pocket.
"I'm not so sure you do when it comes to each other," Blake said. "And I think it's wonderful, I really do. But not when we have your wedding to get to."
"You got a haircut," Holly said then, because she was looking at Roger and noticed his haircut.
"And a shave," Roger said.
Holly's fingers closed around the key, and Roger felt her fingers in his pocket and tried to will his body not to react to her touch and how closely she was standing to him. Holly, meanwhile, fought the urge to touch Roger's face, to kiss her way down his smooth, cleanly shaven jawlines. Maybe Blake had a point about her and Roger having no self-control when it came to one another.
"You're gorgeous," she said softly.
"And I'm not even in my tux yet," Roger replied just as softly. He swallowed hard. "What time is it?" he asked, raising his voice.
"3:20," Michael announced a few seconds later, after consulting his watch.
"I still have to get ready," Roger said, purposely not mentioning that he was going to take a shower since he figured Holly didn't need that particular image of him at the moment.
"Yeah, me too," Holly replied, purposely not mentioning that she was going to shower once she got into the suite since she figured Roger didn't need that particular image of her at the moment.
"Two hours and 40 minutes to go," Roger said.
"I'm counting the seconds," Holly replied. They looked at each other for a long moment, then Holly kissed Roger quickly and, after breaking the kiss, she drew the key out of Roger's pocket and handed it to Michael over Roger's shoulder. "I'll see you at the altar," she told him.
"I'll be waiting for you there," Roger promised before watching Holly, and Blake with Kevin and Jason in their stroller, head into Holly and Roger's suite.
"Let's go get dressed so we can go and get the flowers and get you and Holly married," Michael said after the door had closed behind Blake and the boys.
"Yeah," Roger said. "But first, let's drop this stuff off and then go downstairs and talk to Ned so that we can set our plan in action for getting everything ready for tonight."
"You do realize you're not actually going to get to do much of this, since we need Holly and Blake to be out of there before we do anything?" Michael said as he unlocked the door to suite 1714.
"I'll do as much as I can. Then it'll up to be you and Ned, the committee of Cupids, to take over and finish up," Roger said as he followed Michael into the suite.
"It's your mission," Michael said. "Tell us what to do, and we'll make sure it gets done."
Roger hefted his garment bag higher on his shoulder before carrying it into the bedroom and laying it out on the bed, quickly locating his shoes and pulling out clean black socks and a clean white crewneck undershirt to wear under his tuxedo shirt. "Where are the bags from the jewelry store and Nordstrom's?" Roger called.
Michael appeared in the bedroom doorway a moment later, holding the two bags, one in each hand, before handing them over to Roger. "What did you insist on going into Nordstrom's to buy alone, anyway?" Michael asked.
"None of your business," Roger replied.
"What, did you get a leopard print thong?" Michael teased.
"I'm not in the habit of buying Holly's underwear, and she'd never wear a leopard print anything anyway," Roger retorted.
"I meant a leopard print thong for you," Michael said.
"They make those things for men?" Roger asked, making a face.
"And that's why I will never again go Christmas shopping with either of my daughters," Michael replied.
"Speaking of your family, Holly and I invited John and his wife to the wedding this morning when we went for our blood tests. He said if they could make it, they'd be there," Roger said.
"They'll be there. John called Donna to tell her, and Donna called my cell phone and told me while you were in Nordstrom's," Michael said.
"Before you get started on the subject of underwear again, let's go downstairs and talk to Ned," Roger said.
"Hey, I didn't get to give you a bachelor party, the least you can do is let me bust your chops a little," Michael said as they headed downstairs to enlist Ned the concierge in setting up Roger's surprise for Holly.
The Cambridge Five were five British men who spied on Britain for the KGB in World War II, so I figured that being former CIA agents, Michael and Roger would both know something about them, which is why Michael referenced them in this chapter.