"You're getting married in a couple of hours."
The words reverberated around his aching head as he tried to pull himself from the couch but found his legs unwilling to cooperate for the most part. He looked down and realised that he was still wearing the same clothes from last night except now his crisp white shirt was covered in stains, reminders of the wild night he'd had, his last night as a single man.
His colleagues from the precinct, along with a number of cops that he'd been through the academy with, came to the stag do that had been organised by his partner, Andy.
He remembered with a sense of dread that perhaps Andy Sipowicz was not the most intelligent choice for best man. He was rude, brash and abrasive, yet underneath that gruff exterior was a good man, a man that he had come to trust with his life. It was a no-brainer, there was never any other man he'd chose to stand by him at the altar as he married the woman he loved.
Apart from the vast amounts of alcohol that had been consumed, it was a relatively quiet affair. John had dreaded having a stripper forced upon him in some seedy downtown bar or being stripped naked and handcuffed to a streetlight. The group of men had travelled from bar to bar, forcing as much alcohol into the soon-to-be-married man until he was near the point of passing out.
His colleagues seemed to find it more than a little amusing as he gradually lost his ability to talk, walk and eventually stand. Truth be told, he didn't really remember much past the row of shots he downed at Micky's Irish Bar on 54th Street. He knew he would regret his foolish actions in the morning but the alcohol had dimmed his senses to the point where he had lost the ability to judge when he'd had enough.
Taking in his surroundings, he realised that he was not in his own home; he figured Andy must have dragged his uncooperative carcass to his own place and dumped him on the sofa to sleep.
He nodded gratefully as Andy handed him a steaming cup of coffee, gulping it down until he realised that his stomach was still intent on showing its displeasure for his foolish actions the night before. He felt his stomach rebel and darted straight for the bathroom, retching the contents of his stomach into the porcelain bowl.
He heard his partner's dulcet tones behind him.
"You really need to learn how to hold your drink, kid."
He raised his weary head from the toilet and gave Andy his best attempt at a glare.
"Get lost. This is your fault."
The older man just laughed and walked away.
He stood nervously in the All Saints Catholic Church in Queens as he waited for his beautiful bride to arrive.
"Quit fidgeting, John. You're making me feel tired just looking at you," Andy growled under his breath as he adjusted his partner's tie.
He tried to comply but his body had other ideas, he couldn't stop his foot from tapping or his hands from shaking as he stood at the altar. He still felt like shit, he had never drunk as much alcohol as he had the night before and promised himself that he would never touch a drop of the evil liquid ever again after the horrendous hangover had made its presence known this morning.
"Have you got the rings?" he asked nervously as he kept glancing to the entrance of the church.
"Yes," Andy answered patiently, "For the hundredth time, I've got the rings. Now for Christ sake stop flapping!"
He felt the air leave his body a few minutes later as he caught sight of the gorgeous woman he was about to marry. She stood at the opposite end of the church, arm in arm with her father as she carried a large bouquet of flowers.
He had to remind himself to keep breathing as the music began and Lori inched ever closer to him, smiling as their eyes met. It seemed like a lifetime later but eventually she had made it to his side, her father giving him a curt nod, an unspoken command not to hurt his precious daughter.
"You look beautiful," he whispered as he took her hands in his own.
She smiled at him coyly from beneath the white veil that covered her face.
"You don't scrub up bad yourself," she replied as she eyed him up and down.
Both of them tried to keep the tears from their eyes as they exchanged vows, promising to love and to cherish each other, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer and in sickness and in health. Today was the day that they had finally cemented their relationship and committed to a life together.
A loud cheer rippled through the church as the priest motioned for him to kiss his bride. Pulling the veil gently from her face he kissed her passionately, not caring who saw.
He broke away, needing air in his lungs.
"I love you, Lori."
She smiled at him as she leaned in closer and kissed him again.
"I love you too, Johnny."
He ignored the way his body protested as he and Lori made their way into their wedding reception, accepting the hugs and kisses of their friends graciously as they mingled and made their way around the room. He still felt sick as a dog and the copious amounts of champagne that were being forced into his hand were not making him feel any better.
It didn't matter how rough he felt or how many glasses of alcohol he had downed, nothing compared to the feeling of complete satisfaction he felt as he sat at the head table, enjoying the traditional Irish dinner that had been prepared for the wedding guests, feeling the pang of sadness that his father could not be here to witness the day he had finally become a man. His mother had attended the service with little understanding of what was happening before being returned to the nursing home she resided in. He smiled goofishly at his wife as they held hands under the table and kissed repeatedly.
The mood was disturbed by Andy's chair creaking along the floor as he lifted his hefty weight from it; John's heart sank as his partner clinked on his champagne glass and asked for silence in the room. He dreaded what might be to come; Andy had a problem with alcohol, never seeming to know when enough was enough. He had no idea how many drinks the man had and prayed that he would not make a fool of himself in front of everyone.
"You all know why we're here today," Andy began as he cleared his throat. "We're here to celebrate the fact that someone has finally taken pity on this scrawny piece of shit and married him."
A murmur of chortling went round the room as John's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Seriously, John's a good man, a real good man with a heart of gold. He might be a lot younger and better looking than I am but I've decided not to hold that against him. He's my partner and I know he'd have my back, I trust him with my life and I'm pleased to call him my friend and God knows I don't have that many of them."
A sombre mood seemed to descend on the room momentarily.
"This is a guy that is loyal, caring and honest. A man who'd go into battle for you and not blink an eye, a guy who'd give you the shirt off of his back if you asked him to. He can be hot-headed, stubborn and Goddamn infuriating at times but I'm sure that's why we all love him."
Andy glanced down at the man he considered to be a son to him.
"He met a wonderful woman in Laura, they hit it off immediately and I knew pretty much straight away that I'd lost my wing-man. I could see it in his face how happy she made him and I was shocked when he asked me to be his best man. I'm not sure anyone would consider me a good man for the job, but I'm more than honoured that he asked."
"I suppose this should be the part where I tell you something really embarrassing about John," Andy paused as someone at the back of the room egged him on. "Maybe I should tell you about the time I caught these two getting hot and heavy in the interview room at the Precinct. Or how about the time I took all his clothes off and put him to bed?"
He looked down at John and smirked as he saw him turn a bright shade of red.
"Look, what I really want to say is that John and Laura make a great couple. I hope you guys have a long and happy marriage. Cheers."
The whole room joined Andy in raising their glasses to the happy couple.
Soon it was John's turn to make a speech, something he'd been dreading all day, being centre of attention never sat easy with him and made him feel more than a little nervous.
"Thanks, Andy," he began as he straightened his suit jacket, "That was a...colourful speech."
His partner smiled and shrugged his shoulders as he sat back down.
"I want to thank everyone for coming here today, to celebrate the day that I married the love of my life."
He smiled sweetly at his blushing bride.
"I love this woman and I promise you all that I will love and cherish her for the rest of my life, I'll protect her and care for her and try to make her as happy as possible. She's the better half of me, she completes me and without her I feel lost. She's made me the happiest man alive and I can never thank her enough for that."
He cleared his throat as he felt it tightening with emotion.
"Thank you to Andy too; you've been an excellent best man and a great partner. I know you've always got my back and you've been there through the good and the bad times. You're a good man and I love you."
A small smirk crossed his face as he heard Andy mutter at him to shut up.
"I want you to all raise a toast to my beautiful wife, Laura."
Their bodies swayed in time with the music as the newly married couple were instructed to have the first dance. He held her tightly as their feet moved to the sounds of the song that they both loved, he began singing along as he gazed down at his wife.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey…."
"You're a terrible singer," Lori replied as her eyes welled with tears.
He gave her a gentle peck on the lips.
"That as may be, I'm pretty good at some other things though."
"Like what?" she asked as she placed a palm flat against his chest.
"Well," he began as he looked down and smiled at her, "let's lose this crowd and I'll show you what I'm good at."
It was an invitation she couldn't turn down. As other couples joined them on the floor they silently made their way to the foyer like a couple of giggling children and grabbed the key to their hotel room. They stared straight ahead in the elevator, deliberately ignoring each other until they had reached the honeymoon suite.
It took her by surprise when her husband swept her off her feet and carried her towards their room.
"John, put me down!" she squealed as she tried to wiggle free.
His grip tightened on her as he fumbled to open the door and eventually succeeded.
"No can do, Mrs Kelly. It's tradition for a man to carry his wife over the threshold don't you know?"
And he did just that, taking an exaggerated step as he made his way into the room before throwing his wife playfully on the bed, tearing his suit jacket from his upper body and carelessly throwing it on the floor as he stalked towards her.
"What else is it tradition to do?" she asked playfully as he leant his body over her and began kissing her neck and face.
"Guess," he replied as he let her hair down and began removing the wedding dress slowly and seductively from her body as her own hands worked restlessly at his shirt and pants, as both of them fell into the fiery pit of passion that underpinned their relationship.