A/N: In this chapter, we will learn about Michelle's love life prior to Tony. Plus wedding bells ringing :)
Back Home
Their long weekend in Mexico went by in a flash.
Preparations for the wedding went along as planned. They booked the afternoon at La Jolla Wedding Bowl along the San Diego Coast, hoping for the sunset to cast a stunning glow just as the bride and groom shared their first kiss as Mr. and Mrs. Almeida. The highly sought after weddings backdrop sat just below street level to reduce street noise and offered a spectacular view of three different types of terrains: cliffs, beaches and rocks; perfect for their intimate wedding of under 40 guests) in the middle of November.
San Diego was nicknamed 'America's finest city' for a good reason. La Jolla, like the rest of San Diego was generally sunny and temperate throughout the year. Therefore, November weather was expected to range between mid sixties and mid seventies even under a dusk sky.
Shortly before the wedding, Tony had spoken to his parents over the phone on two separate occasions. His mother acted standoffish and uninterested in any of the wedding details which to him meant that she wasn't completely on board with the wedding. His father chalked it up to the fact that she was not comfortable attending a protestant ceremony, even though they were not practicing Catholics in the true sense of the word.
"What time will you be getting here?" Tony had asked his dad the night before the wedding. "There will be some traffic Saturday morning…you need to plan for that."
There was an uncomfortable silence. "Hmm…we'll we really…" There was another lapse of silence.
Tony held on to the receiver tightly. "You are coming to the wedding, dad… aren't you?"
"Yes, yes, of course" Jose Antonio Almeida replied.
The conversation ended shortly after that.
Thus, when Michelle inquired as to when his parents would be arriving in San Diego, Tony simply shrugged his shoulders. The truth was that he really didn't know. As far as he was concerned, there was still the possibility that they would not attend the wedding.
He suspected that his mother was holding on to some type of misplaced loyalty towards Lilia…as if supporting her son's wedding was some kind of offense against Lilia. He shook his head, determined not to let anything spoil the most important day of his life. His relationship with Lilia had ended eons ago, for Pete's sake!
Speaking of Lilia…
They discussed her one day shortly after they got back to Los Angeles.
"She had no business bringing up the past," Tony asserted. "What was the point of that?"
"Well, the past did have an everlasting impact in her life, Tony" Michelle reasoned. "After all, because of what happened she will never be able to bear children...and from what I gathered, this created a strain in her marriage to the Canadian, I forget his name..."
"She has herself to blame for that." he remarked adamantly. He sighed heavily and looked away for a moment. "OK...fine. I did go along with her plan to hide her pregnancy. "
Once his friend Joey had earned an "f" on his report card. Normally, his report cards were mostly 'B's and "C's". Terrified that a failing grade would make him grounded for the rest of the year, Joey made the "F" look like an "A" and his parents were none the wiser. At first though, he hid the report card and agonized for days until his parents called the teacher and found out the grade. Joey had tried to hide the son with his index finger, knowing all along that sooner or later he would be found out.
Same thing happened with Lilia's pregnancy. She had told him right away as soon as she found out. And they both agreed to play the game as though by wishing the problem away it would just disappear with no trace. He told himself he didn't want to disappoint his parents.
"I'm still not sure if the outcome had been any better if..." he trailed of, rubbing the back of his neck.
The truth was that he had been prepared to marry her, even his parents had been on board with this idea, after the initial shock and disappointment had worn off. They had actually been proud of their son for doing the honorable thing.
"I'm thinking she just wants me to feel bad for her," he went on. "Anyway, there are a lot of 'if's' that we can't answer here. It's unfortunate, but the past can't be changed...all we can do is move forward."
Michelle bit her lip. Even though she agreed with Tony, there was a part of her that felt that somehow mending his relationship with Lilia (as a member of his family) would be good for him.
The wedding
"You look absolutely gorgeous." Her friend Tracy exclaimed stepping back to admire her work as a makeup artist. Knowing that Michelle wanted to achieve a natural look, Tracy had used pastel colors and applied the minimum amount of makeup.
Michelle's face beamed as she peered at reflection in the full length mirror in her bedroom. Her hair was straightened back into a ballerina bun worn low towards the back of her neck with some slick strands left loose, framing her face. She carefully readjusted the elegant double flower hair comb that held her bun together and matched her gown.
She was glad that she had decided to ditch the traditional wedding veil.
Then, she smoothed her ivory gown. After months of deliberation, Michelle's heart had settled on a softly laced gown, its plunging neckline featured contoured straps that led to a sheer lace paneled back.
They heard the doorbell. It was Michelle's brother Danny. Since this was to be an outdoor wedding, Michelle and Tracy were to get ready at home. Later, they would wait for Danny to drive them to the shores of La Jolla.
Like any traditional bride, Michelle was the last one to arrive. She walked the steps that lead down to the Wedding Bowl where Tony waited with Jack as the best man by his side.
"You're one lucky dog," Jack whispered to Tony as Michelle approached them to the pace of the traditional wedding march with Danny by her side. "But make no mistake my man, I don't wanna hear a single complaint from her…or you're going to have to deal with me."
Tony shook his head, his lips turned into a half-smile. Although he appreciated Jack's humor, in this moment…the most important moment of his life, he only had eyes and ears for her…for his Michelle.
In the small gathering, there were some of their co-workers from CTU, including Jack's daughter Kim.
His parents did attend the wedding. And even though Dolores did not exactly embrace her new daughter in law with open arms, at least she appeared somewhat less standoffish. Michelle and Tony took that as a good omen of things to come.
The Almeidas sat in the back as late arrivals. Not in the front seats as its customary. In their place, Danny sat with his wife (they had recently reconciled) with their two young children.
After their vows were exchanged, the minister dressed in black announced with a smile, "And you may now kiss the bride."
Tony took a few moments to admire his beautiful bride, exquisitely radiant in her A-line ivory wedding gown which perfectly complimented her figure by giving her a streamlined look.
And they kissed, and kissed for a long time. The guests winked at each other. Some of them cleared their throats.
When they finally came up for air, everyone clapped.
Michelle's smile was beautifully radiant and the photographer took the opportunity to snap a series of candid photographs right at that precise moment.
Their wedding night
The wedding party consisted of a small group of 15 guests. They gathered in a Mexican restaurant in old town San Diego.
During the entire time, Tony kept his attention focused on his bride. Even if he was conversing with others, he made sure to make eye contact with her, steal a kiss or establish some form of physical contact.
Michelle's anticipation for their wedding night increased ten fold.
The truth was that prior to this day, Michelle's sexual experiences were few and far between . In fact, she had slept only once with a boyfriend in her senior year in high school and a handful of times with Lance, her one and only serious relationship aside from Tony.
So in a way, she felt every bit as nervous as a virgin.
Michelle giggled when Tony carried her across the threshold of their honeymoon suite.
The first thing she noticed the red rose petals scattered across the bed.
Tony laid her there with a smile.
Then, without missing a beat, he pushed play on the record player which sat on the nightstand to his left.
The song Lady in Red started playing.
She relaxed and kicked her heels of the bed. "Aw…too bad I'm not wearing red," Michelle smiled radiantly while propping herself on her elbows. She was still wearing her wedding dress, you see.
"Pretty soon you'll be wearing nothing my dear," he smirked while reaching for the ice bucket that held a bottle of champagne sitting on the right nightstand. "As a matter of fact, that's the way it'll be for at least 3 days straight or until they kick us out of here," he added while serving the champagne into two goblets. "Whichever comes first." He concluded with a naughty smirk handing her her drink.
Michelle blushed as she took a small sip.
Tony smiled to himself taking a big gulp of his champagne and then setting it back in its tray.
Everything was perfect.
They had all the time in the world now, didn't they? Yet at the same time there was not a moment to spare.
All those months waiting, wondering what it would be like, he starts taking off his tuxedo, and unbuckled his pants which were now to tight courtesy of her splendid beauty.
She bit her lower lip, recalling her wedding night plans. She needed to change into the lingerie she had especially selected weeks ago.
"I'll be right back," she breathed, her heart pounding fast. In one single motion, she rose, retrieved her duffel bag (the bell boy had brought their bags earlier)and placed it on the bed She was about to unzip it when Tony came up behind her and his lips trailed her neck. She sighed and dropped her neck to the side.
Somehow, she still managed to unzip the bag half way.
"Oh, Tony," she sighed again, her hand blindly digging through the bag, overcome by the hotness of his lips alternating between the inside of her ear and outer earlobe.
His fingers expertly unzipped her wedding dress and unhooked her bra.
She melted into his arms, forgetting the lingerie while his lips continued to nibble that special spot just below the earlobe that threw all rational thought out the window.
Unable to take it any more, she turned around.
Their lips met in a slow dance at first and then picked up the tempo.
Their clothing got discarded in between kisses and they stumbled onto the bed in a frenzied state.
He was now like a stallion that was finally released from his stable, ready to trot full force into a liberating open field. He explored every part of her upper body, and then slowly inched downwards until he found her warmth waiting for him.
He tried to hold back some, wanting for this moment to last forever...
And yet their flushed bodies were floating together sharing every moan and sensation.
"God, you're so wet," he murmured, his heart beating so fast, and staring intently into her exotic eyes wanting to see her raw desire. How deep?"
"Really, really deep" she moaned. She bit her lower lip, crazy with anticipation.
"OH, God!" She cried out as ripples of pleasure swept through as though she was riding giant ocean waves... her head wildly tossing from side to side.
It seemed as though the waves would go on forever which somehow delighted her and alarmed her at the same time...
And together they found their release that night when their souls made a connection much deeper than anything they had ever imagined.
Afterwards, they lay in each others arms happy and spent.
Tony glanced over at the champagne bucket. "We never even made a proper toast, you know."
In response, she buried her face in his shoulder. He held her tight with one hand running down her lower back, and then resting on her bottom.
"I love you" Michelle whispered in his ear.
"I love you" he whispered back, planting a soft kiss on her lips.
And they held each other quietly for a long time, neither one wanting to let go.
A/N: Are you still out there?
It's been a while since I last heard from most of you. In other words, TM fans seem to be MIA (missing in action). I'm starting to think that you've lost interest…or are y'all gone on an extended vacation with no return date in sight?
In any case, let me know,