Wedding Bells

"You ready for this?" Sano asked. Luwanda looked up at him nervously and he smirked. "It was a rhetorical question, Mama J," the dock worker grinned at her boyishly.

"I'm sorry, Mr-"

"Hey, none of that, Mama. It's just plain Sano. And you have always taken care of us little guys. It's about time we got the chance to look after you. I still think that you can do better than that punk-rich boy, but there's no accounting for taste. Let's get you down the aisle to him, okay?" His boss' continence brightened considerably at the mention of her fiancé. The last six months had been a whirlwind for the couple. Two more police raids had been carried out by the police, quelling any need for illicit activity in the workforce. Quentin Lance was still attempting to catch Tyr, but the former playboy was keeping his nose clean. Truthfully, he was much too busy with the wedding to worry about the officer.

Sano couldn't help but be impressed with the boss' man. He made the woman so happy, kept her on her toes, and made sure that she had some fun once in a while. It was nice to see. He'd be damned if he was going to admit that the man was okay in his book, though. He didn't want him to stop trying to ensure Wanda's happiness.

The CEO, in the meantime, was over the moon that this would all be over soon. She'd been cake tasting, dress shopping, venue picking, and a million other tasks between her regular meetings and work. The couple hired a wedding planner at Tyr's insistence but that still left the bride and groom swamped with the wedding plans. Her corrupt boards were still trying to oust her and other vultures were still trying to destroy her and her reputation, but none of that affected her as much as finding the right person to style her hair for this event.

"I'm sorry if I seem like a complete basket case, Sano. I'm just… anticipating disaster right now. Nothing about this wedding has gone smoothly for us."

"Well, isn't the planning supposed to be rocky so that the ceremony can be smooth?" he asked with a shrug. That brought the woman up short and she laughed, her first real laugh in forty-eight hours.

"Oh, if only it were that simple," she said with a warm smile and a shake of her head. "Let's get this over with, shall we?" The cue for the two to head down the aisle sounded just then. They started walking as the small but excited congregation stood up for her. She opted for a small wedding full of what few friends they had. The only family members allowed to the event were Tyr's stepfather and his sister; none of Luwanda's family were invited. Instead, Mrs. Grady was given mother-of-the-bride duties in combination with her housekeeper. Both loved it, even the unpleasant parts. About two weeks before the wedding, Esperanza came to her with news of a change in a few of her friends' plus ones. It seemed that Heather and Dylan had switched out their dates for Mr and Mrs Jenkins respectively. Dylan was behind on his car payments and Heather suddenly had enough money to pay off her mortgage completely.

Both had been shocked to be uninvited from the wedding the day after their treachery was discovered. It came in the form of restraining orders served to the two of them. Even more disturbing, each found the same amount of money in their accounts as they were offered by the Jenkins. Heather actually called to apologize and thank Wanda for the money, thinking that she had doubled her luck. The bride didn't bother to take the call and the next day Heather learned why. Furious that their plan failed, Luwanda's parents withdrew their money from both accounts and threatened to sue the two nurses. The last ten days had been full of Tyr and his bride fighting with his in-laws for the right to attend the wedding. Of course, no judge in the city was willing to overturn the restraining orders she had against them. A week before the wedding, the happy couple had come to the prison to inform Derek that she would no longer be visiting him weekly. That went as pleasantly as one would expect.

… …

"What do you mean, 'you're not going to see me any more'? You can't stop visiting me, you ungrateful bitch! You're the reason I'm even here! You-"

"You are the reason you are here, big brother," Luwanda said in a deadpan voice. "I did not force you to steal money from the company. We have been going through this for years now. I am not to blame for your imprisonment. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing the same old thing over and over again. We are going on a month-long Italian honeymoon starting immediately after the wedding and I will not listen to your crap anymore."

Derek looked completely taken aback by this news. Somehow he'd always just expected his little sister to continue to put up with his tirades against her. "You've listened for over five and a half years."

"Yes, I have. But eventually, there's going to be a child involved in this and I won't allow you to curse me out weekly while I'm pregnant."

The man thought fast. "You could come until you-"

"Better to make a clean break now. I likely won't know when I turn up pregnant and there's no need to come here anymore anyway. You have your parents to vent at and I have my Tyr. And considering that I've had a restraining order against you for years that I've been violating just to visit you in prison…"

"This is all your fault," he spat at her fiancé. "None of this would be happening if-"

"If I hadn't saved her from her life of misery and pain?" Tyr asked with a raised eyebrow. He placed his hands on her shoulders, angered by the fine tremors there. "Did you really believe that I would allow this to go on? That I would allow my woman to be your scapegoat until you got out of prison? She only did this to help you. Now you need to stand on your own two feet and be a man."

Derek looked as if he'd been slapped. He gaped at the couple, trying desperately to think of something to say. Because he really had expected her to continue visiting him. It was the only break in his routine that he had. If he didn't have his 'chats' with his little sister to look forward to, what did he have?

In the meantime, Luwanda stood up from her chair, looking relaxed. Her alarm had beeped five minutes ago and she was ready to be done with this conversation. "You've had your last time to rant at me, big brother. I hope you enjoyed it. Because - as always - it was meaningless. Goodbye." She left to the tune of his threats of breaking out of prison and coming after her if she didn't visit after her wedding.

… …

The feel of Tyr's strong hand in hers reassured her that she made the right decision in both of those instances. She stared into his deep brown eyes and everything in her just… Relaxed. The priest began his speech and Wanda barely heard it as she stared deep into the eyes of the man she'd never stopped loving. She said her vows and he said his and all too soon it was time to kiss. Tyr took her in his arms and possessed her soft mouth as the crowd shouted and cheered them on. He smiled gently at his new wife when she raised passion-glazed eyes to his.

"How are you feeling, Mrs. Anasazi?" he asked, his arms still locked around the woman that he once despised. He watched her consider things carefully as their friends continued to cheer.

"I feel amazing, Mr. Anasazi," Luwanda grinned in Italian.

The End

Thank you all for reading! New story next week. Please look forward to it! :D