Thank you to everybody who read and reviewed the last chapter. You are all so wonderful. As always, I appreciate all the feedback and kudos. I definitely needed them for this batch of chapters.
Days 373: Greetings from Your Baby's Mama
From: Mommy_Susan
To: SuluHG2260
Time arrived: 2/25/2261 00:00:01
Subject: At least we have a plan now
Do you know I got this letter the same day I got your message about the wedding planning video conference? I don't think I mentioned that in my message to you. Because of that, I decided to wait until the day after the call to write your reply. This way, I can ask you all about Gina and give you the read-out on your sister.
I knew that Gina was considering marriage, but I had no idea it would be that quick. When did they even get engaged? I feel like I should've gotten a "Hey, guess what? We're getting married" message. I never got one, so it may have been a short engagement. I'm happy for them, in any case. They've been together for over a decade. They deserve this so much. And I'm glad they'll be on the ship together. Fingers crossed. I know Gina is worried it will go badly, but I believe things will work out.
We talked to your sister this morning about the new wedding date. She took it better than I thought she would. She's only slightly upset about having two fewer weeks to plan the wedding. (She is grateful she no longer has to compete with the Federation General Assembly.)
Although she's unhappy about the varying wedding dates, she will make it work. I'm sure she'll be rapid messaging you separately about details. Good luck.
The good news is we won't need as many hotel rooms. We will have even fewer people at the wedding than initially planned. Only your sisters and the kids are coming along with Liz's lawyer friend. Your parents are going to attend virtually. That's probably for the best. The fewer parents at this, the better.
Baby K's grandmother hates me a little less. I owe Zoe a gift basket for whatever she said to her mother yesterday. I even got an apology. A half apology, but still an apology. I appreciate it all the same. Hopefully, babysitting will be less awkward. She doesn't see me as a threat to your impending marriage. Thank the universe for that.
Although she does keep asking me why I am not participating in the ceremony, my mom asks the same question a lot. I love you, and you are aware of that. However, I don't love you as Ben loves you. But I am still in this family and don't need a wedding ring to prove that. I am happy being the baby's mama that you sometimes have sex with.
Besides, I don't think I'm a marriage person. Me helping you and Ben plan the ceremony is as much marriage as I can take. I don't even know how the two of you managed to get me to help you guys plan this thing. I am sure alcohol was involved. I am almost glad Gina decided to elope, even though her mom will be super pissed. This is probably why they'll still have an earth ceremony eventually. I am almost tempted to stick your sister on them. She would plan a dream wedding.
That will make her feel better about you and Ben scaling back. Because we don't know what the exact day of the wedding is going to be until April, we're going with a smaller, more intimate ceremony. The chocolate fountain is officially out. Also, with just friends and family, there might only be a nice dinner at the hotel instead of a big reception. Honestly, I was not sure how your sister was going to pull that off if the Federation General Assembly went through as planned.
I saw the ring. You have exquisite taste in jewelry. I barely kept Ben from seeing the ring because the man always reads over my shoulder. Be grateful I got your pictures while I was at work. You really should've sent them through the work account. My mom is going to be reading the emails either way. Or at least her team will be. She says she's not personally screening my emails, but I don't believe her. I expect another email from her about an hour after I hit the send button.
Work is still going well. I've made a few new friends. I have also brought Ben with me to a few after-hours wine nights. Nobody has said anything about me being friends with my baby's daddy's fiancé. Most don't know we live together even though we have separate rooms.
I am now regretting giving the girls the master because neither one of us can put a king-size bed in our room, so it's going to be tight this summer. Because of the wedding change, you'll be with us for several weeks. I hope you have vacation time saved up because we have plans.
So, what's going on with you? Does my best friend still have a job? Or do I need to help her pick curtains for her new house on New Vulcan? Write back when you get a chance.
Xxxx
From: SuluHG2260
To Mommy_Susan:
Time sent: 2/25/2261 12:23:21
Subject: I look forward to using up all of my vacation time
You don't want to know how much vacation time I have. I received a bunch of extra vacation time after the battle of Vulcan and the Vengeance fiasco that I never took. So I do have time for three weeks off. However, I might be doing some work at the Vulcan embassy. They love me. I might be their favorite human now. I have been sending so many emails to the VSA regarding my work. I keep getting lots of notes and questions. Gina's wife says I shouldn't be surprised.
I already gave her my sister's contact information. Gina asked for it. Jim showed her pictures of the last-minute ceremony my sister arranged for him and Spock. However, when Gina and the wife have the Earth ceremony depends on if the program stays.
Gina is a little more hopeful about the situation now that she's gone through her interviews and the kids did their presentations. Nothing extremely scandalous happened. Commander Franco also asked good questions. I was there to watch. Technically, it should've been Jim or Spock, but since their kid was involved, they couldn't be there to represent Enterprise, so the job fell to me.
We will know tomorrow if Commander Franco is killing the program. If that does happen, the wedding will happen sooner rather than later. At least as soon as you can arrange for time away. I don't know if it'll happen on Earth or not, but the mother of the bride will be there. You will have to ask Gina for details.
I am kind of glad we're on a break right now. Those last few weeks have been intense with the VSA, so I'm glad we have time to recover. We have a trip to an amusement park in a few days. I've been talked into being a chaperone. I don't know what happened. I think I really wanted cotton candy and couldn't say no. Gina wants at least one adult per teenager, and none of the engineering parents are available. Besides, I would like your best friend to like me.
I'm glad things are going a little better with the mother-in-law. Zoe tried her best. She's partial to the Vulcan lemon bars if you are going to send her a gift basket. I feel like she can use all the Vulcan cannabis she can get with a mom like that. That's not even addressing her father. It's all a lot.
Do you want me to talk to your mom about pressuring you to get married? That's always your call. And you're right. You and I do have a different relationship than Ben and me. But you're still special to me, and I adore you. You know I will do whatever you need. The next part is for the babies.
To my darling girls:
I'm so happy I saw you at your Aunt Gina's wedding. The two of you were adorable in your little Valentine's Day dresses. All the hearts were cute. I'm glad you were there for your aunt's wedding. I'm grateful whenever I see you, your mommy, and your daddy.
As you know, I will see you guys in about three months for the wedding. Then I'll get to spend several weeks with you guys. You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to it. In the meantime, I'm probably going to send presents. There's an amusement park in my immediate future. So, expect at least two teddy bears. I'm very good at darts.
Anyway, be good for your mom and dad. Spend as much time with Aunt Liz as possible. Baby D, I think she still misses being with you all the time. Give Grammy grace. She's doing her best. She'll get there in the end.
To be continued …
