Ex's and Oh's
"PARTY!" Jubilee screamed out the door of the pulsating room she'd procured for the stag party. She had everything needed to identify her sister-in-law as a bachelorette: a tacky crown, a sleeveless undershirt with the word 'bride' embossed in rhinestones, beaded Mardi Gras-like necklaces, and the plastic scepter. It didn't take long for Landi to be adorned in all these things by the drunk college student. The room was full of friends that Rachel called up last minute for a stag party on a Tuesday night. The party was pumping; Jubilee and Rachel had somehow procured a DJ and a wide variety of liquor. The Queen passed her sober daughter a strawberry drink with a shot of whipped cream-flavored vodka in it. She went to put it down, but Victoria laughed and held onto her hand with the drink in it.
"I want to toast with my daughter," she said with a warm smile.
"I don't drink," Landi said over the pounding backbeat.
"Surely one drink won't hurt you," the older woman said, still smiling. Around the room people were starting to notice Landi's discomfort and gathered around her.
"Chug it, Landi," Freda yelled out of the blue, followed by similar shouts and whooping. Soon everyone was chanting 'chug, chug' repeatedly.
"You can trust us, Alandra," Delilah said in an undertone. "We'll take care of you." Landi felt trapped. Normally she had no trouble getting out of drinking, but both of her mothers were making it impossible to refuse without making a scene. Finally, she made up her mind and chugged the drink in one go. The screaming and clapping was deafening in the relatively small room. Within a half hour, the woman was plastered. She wheeled from person to person, laughing and spouting in-jokes and gibberish. Most of the people at the party had never seen the bride drunk. They assumed that she drank at gatherings like the rest of them. It was therefore surprising to see her completely disheveled like this. Phones had been collected by the Queen's Guards as people entered the party to make sure nothing ended up on Tik Tok or Facebook, but many wished for them back to document Landi's behavior. It was a toss-up who was the most adorable when drunk; Jubilee or Alandra.
Hours later, when the liquor was flowing freely, Harriet approached her drunken friend, who'd just decided to crash on the couch.
"Damn girl! I can't believe Tyr chose you over me! Aren't you a little tame to be marrying a wild man like him?" Before the blitzed-out woman could think of a response, Harriet decided to continue her rant, fueled by alcohol and her sour grapes.
"I mean, look at you, Landi. You're wasted on one shot of liquor. You don't know anything about pleasing a man. And you're probably as uptight in bed as you are in the courtroom! Better be careful, little Landi. Men are known to stray when things get boring in the bedroom. I wonder how many affairs he'll have before moving back to Africa without you." Instead of bursting into tears as the lawyer expected her to, Landi just stared at her with a big, goofy grin on her face. "The fuck are you laughing at, you chuckling idiot?"
"Your fly is undone and you have a big, green something caught in your teeth," Landi chortled, causing the small crowd drawn to the drama to snicker as well. Harriet looked down to see that she was right and booked it out of the room. After the laughter died down and people started preparing to go home, grumbling about early wake-up times, Ginger approached the dozing lawyer.
"Hey, Ms. Bride, are you okay?" The woman startled awake.
"I'm sorry, what?" Ginger took her hand and sat down beside her on the couch.
"Harriet made a big scene just now, hon. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."
"Oh. Um… Haters gonna hate," she said tiredly, laying back down. "I refuse to play that game with anyone." Ginger giggled that her friend was already halfway to dreamland and found a blanket to cover her with. Jubilee was already curled up in a chair with her mother's long sweater over her. Looking around the room where the DJ was already packing up for the night and it was barely past one, Ginger shook her head and chuckled. What a strange but fun night it turned out to be! She wouldn't have expected this night to be so entertaining. She'd almost said no when Rachel called her up this afternoon. Now she was glad that she didn't. It had been a night of pure, wholesome fun; dancing, drinking and partying with friends. She hadn't expected that.
"Thanks for the invite, Rachel," she said on the way out the door, surprised that she meant it. One of the Queen's bodyguards returned her phone once she was out the door as promised. She turned it on to prove it was hers and pulled out some cash to hail a cab.
"We will be providing transportation home for all the guests, madam. The Queen insisted. If you could just gather in the lobby we will be departing in a few minutes." The guards were as good as their word, and soon there were three stretch limousines full of comfortably buzzed women headed for multiple destinations in the city. Even the female DJ got a ride. Ginger ended up in a limo with Harriet since they lived in a similar part of town, but she decided to leave well enough alone since she didn't want to end the night on a sour note. Instead, she ignored the humiliated woman, something that all the other party guests did as well. Luckily, Harriet was one of the first to be dropped off. The other women drew sighs of relief after that, feeling free to gossip and talk about what happened and Landi's reaction to it.
… …
Landi woke up in a strange room the next day and immediately panicked before her brain caught up with her. The bachelorette party had been the night before. She was in the room they'd rented for the event. Sighing softly and wishing she'd packed another set of clothes yesterday when she'd had the chance, the woman sat up on the couch and dry-washed her face. She didn't even have a toothbrush! Deciding to worry about it later, she stood up and made her way to the door, thinking to take advantage of her good fortune to sleep in the famous hotel and have the complimentary breakfast downstairs. Hazma stopped her at the door.
"Where are you headed, princess?" he asked tiredly.
"Yumkinuk aleawdat lilnawm ya Hazima. Sa'ahdir shyyan laklah warubama 'ashtari baed 'adawat alnazafat 'iidha kan almatjar mftwhan," Her bodyguard looked at her sternly, looking more awake now. (You can go back to sleep, Hazma. I'm just going to get something to eat and maybe buy some toiletries if the shop is open.)
"What is your phrase, princess? 'Ride or die'? We are attached at the hip now. If you are going somewhere, so am I."
"But you're tired and I'm hungry! I'll only be a half hour max and I'll come right back after," she said remembering the tacky undershirt she was wearing just in time and pulling it off to sit on the couch. Hazma in the meantime had opened the door and was ushering the woman out of the room.
"If something, anything happened to you in that half hour, there would be hell to pay for me. How about we just play by the rules set forth by your husband, hmm?" Landi deflated and led the way to the cafeteria. It was a good thing he went with her, on the way to eat she spotted the gym and instantly fell in love. She did an hour-long, hardcore workout before buying toiletries from the gift shop. She showered back in the room but ended up stuck in a towel since she refused to put those sweaty, gross clothes back on. She ordered room service and ate heartily in the room after her bodyguard answered the door and checked for traps and poison.
"Morning, Babygirl," Delilah greeted her youngest child as she stretched herself awake. "Why are you only wearing a towel?"
"I refuse to put on those sweaty, smelly clothes I just worked out in," Landi said forcefully.
"Can't you just get them cleaned in the hotel?" Ethel asked, coming over to steal a sausage from Landi's plate. "This is a fancy place. I'm sure that they can do laundry."
"If that wasn't such a good idea, I'd smack your hand for stealing my food," Landi grinned. Her sister-in-law just grinned back as she ate the treat. She reached for the last one on the plate and laughed in surprise when Landi attacked her with her fork.
"Hey!"
"Get your own breakfast! I'm not your husband. You can't be picking off my plate." The woman speared her sausage and ate it before her sister could protest.
"Mom," Ethel mock-whined. "Landi won't share!"
"And y'all wonder why I got my tubes tied," Delilah said in a loud undertone.
"HEY," both women chuckled.
"Alright, girls," the older mother laughed. "Landi only has a few hours to get ready for her wedding ceremony. I got a lot of hair to do and only a little time to do it in. Let's order breakfast and Landi can dry clean her clothes while we order food and shower. I arranged to meet with the Queen and princess at eleven to start putting this ensemble together. The ceremony starts at seven and the dress doesn't arrive from the tailor until two. That only leaves five hours for last-minute alterations. Not to mention the packing for their trip tomorrow morning." Both of her daughters groaned, anticipating a very hectic day of running around. Suddenly glad that her workout was out of the way, Landi called down to the concierge for dry cleaning for all their clothes. Ethel found silk robes and matching slippers in the closet for the three of them so that they wouldn't have to settle for damp towels until the clothes were ready. Properly attired, Delilah ordered breakfast for her and Ethel. A gentleman arrived at their door with three laundry bags for their clothes. Promising to have them back in two hours, he left. Before anyone could comment, the food arrived. The other two women dined, Landi dedicating the first part of the meal to stealing whatever she could off Ethel's plate. When that got old, she crashed on the couch.
"I still can't get over how easily you can fall asleep, sis," Ethel said a little later as she woke her up.
"I grew up in a house full of energetic brothers. You tend to block out the noise and sleep when you can."
"Well that's enough sleep," Delilah said. "I need to get started on your hair, Babygirl." Landi obediently slithered down to the floor so that her mother could have the couch behind her. Hazma went to ask what the two were doing when a knock sounded at the door. The bodyguard looked to see who it was, only to admit Jubilee and her bodyguards.
"That was a great party last night," Jubilee laughed without ceremony, sitting down beside her mother-in-law and resting her head on her shoulder. Delilah smiled at the familiar gesture, finding it endearing, and got to work.
"What are you doing here, Jubes?" Landi asked as she rested her head on her mother's thigh. "I thought we were meeting up at eleven with your mother."
"My Lady mother is still asleep. But I was bored and lonely and I thought I'd see what you guys were up to." The princess watched in fascination as her new mother started unplaiting Landi's long locks, showing the kinked nature of each one. Landi started helping, making the process go faster. The three barely noticed the time going by as they worked and Ethel watched TV. Their clothes arrived while they worked. The young mother put her clothes on and resumed her place on the other side of the room. Soon Jubilee had learned enough of the unplaiting procedure that she was ready to help. Her work was clumsy at first, but Delilah allowed her to do it so that she could learn. Her efforts paid off and soon the princess of Alibhai was unplaiting like a pro. The three worked straight up till eleven o'clock, then Landi dressed and got ready to go to the Queen's room. Delilah undid yet another plait just as the group reached the Queen's door.
"You've been busy this morning," Victoria said with a warm smile for the group. Barbarossa passed by behind the woman and a chorus of 'Good morning your Majesties' rang out from their company. He nodded without looking up. His wife sighed and shook her head fondly before inviting their guests in. "How can I help?"
"We need access to a swiveling chair for my daughter and one of those standing ergonomic mats for me if possible. You arranged for the dress to be delivered to your room at two?" Delilah instantly took charge. Victoria blinked then grinned and started commanding her servants. Everyone pitched in with the packing until the chair and mats arrived. After that, the order of the day was unplaiting the rest of the bride's hair for Delilah, Landi and Jubilee. It took another hour to get it done. Landi's locks were now in an artfully kinked disarray. The effect was lovely, but Delilah wasn't done yet. The professional hairdresser started by attaching a few pearl and crystal beads to each lock. Once that arduous task was completed, she fashioned some of the locks in a fairy crown since her daughter wasn't wearing a tiara tonight. She then took some of the strands and plaited them straight to the end, fastening it off with little black rubber bands. It was a little tricky to figure out how many braids to use so that it looked full without using too many locs at a time, but by the time her little girl's wedding dress and accessories arrived at two on the dot, she had accomplished it.
Landi went to the bathroom before putting on the dress so that she could admire her mother's handiwork. It was a masterpiece, a real credit to the woman's passion and creativity.
"Hurry up, Babygirl! We still gotta get you dressed!" Alandra came out of the bathroom and crossed the large room to hug her mother tight in gratitude. She tried to say something, but she couldn't speak around the lump lodged in her throat. Delilah sniffled with a smile, proud of her daughter and also her hair design. It was exquisite!
"We're not finished yet, sweetheart," the older woman said happily. The room was buzzing with female laughter and approval as the packing commenced. Landi self-consciously stripped out of her clothing until she was walking around in her underwear and bra. After that, her courage failed her and she bolted back to the bathroom to finish dressing. She started with the adhesive, seamless, invisible, lift-up bra pieces that the tailor recommended and her panties. She refused to wear stockings, but she slipped into the crinoline skirt that came with the dress. After that there was nothing for it but to go get her dress fitted. She got playful catcalls as she left the safety of the bathroom, her supple arms wrapped around her supposed 'bra' in a death grip. Munira brushed her hands aside, carefully smoothing the dress onto her with her mother's help so as not to ruin her hair. The tailor adjusted her bra so that it was truly invisible under the gorgeous dress before starting on the final alterations to fit the dress to her sexy body. The train was kept in its clever packaging as Munira worked so she didn't trip over it. It only took a few minor adjustments to fit the dress and cathedral veil to the woman and she was ready for her amazingly comfortable platform shoes. The bride wore medium sized hoops threaded with pearls, her charm bracelet and a silver and pearl watch to complete the ensemble.
"My dear, you look magnificent," Victoria complimented her. The sentiment was carried all around the room by everyone present. She looked lovely.
"My brother's eyes are going to pop out of his head when he sees you, Landi."
"As long as he doesn't start expecting me to dress up like this all the time," she grumbled. "Thanks, Jubes. Speaking of your brother, I haven't seen him since yesterday morning. What have you been telling him about me?" The Queen tittered into her hand.
"I let my son know that I forbid him to see you before the ceremony. I wouldn't want to spoil this reveal."
"It's suitably dramatic, lady mother?" Landi asked playfully.
"Striking is the word that I would use for it," Victoria smiled warmly at her. Then she gasped in surprise when Delilah seized her arm and pulled her towards the chair for her hair treatment. "No one has touched my person in that manner but my lord husband, Delilah." The hairdresser looked at the tense guards and smirked.
"Well, don't you go getting any ideas. We need you in an updo for the wedding before you get dressed." She styled the Queen's hair in a French twist, securing the style in the back with straight pins that had silver chips and pieces on the ends. "You should dress, Victoria. Carefully so that you don't ruin my work."
"Yes, Milady," Victoria teased. Delilah barely noticed the tease; she was fully in work mode. She grabbed Jubilee as she passed by to admire her mother's hair and in no time the college student was sporting a similar French twist with pearls embedded in it, but with bangs. Ethel's hair she piled artfully on her head, curling and teasing the ends until they hung over her forehead. The woman secured her hair with bobby pins. She weaved in gold hair jewelry masterfully, in her element now. When she was finished brushing and twisting, her daughter-in-law's hair was in a delightful disarray that was obviously on purpose. For herself, Delilah put her hair in cornrows toward the top of her head before fashioning the bulk of her thick hair in a bun similar to Landi's work hairstyle. She threaded the pearl bobby pins evenly through her bun.
Now it was time to dress for the event. Victoria wore a blue crushed velvet floor-length gown with silver thread artfully separating her chest from the rest of her body. It came with a matching blue crushed velvet jacket with a silver lining. The woman wore silver open-toe heels and silver jewelry. Her necklace was composed of two silver chains tied around each other and left to hang. She had silver dewdrop earrings and a silver bracelet. Jubilee went with the crushed velvet theme as well, opting for a flashy yellow long-sleeved knee-length dress that tied to the side. Unlike her mother, she went with a pearl motif for her jewelry. A pearl necklace with multiple layers, pearl hoops, a pearl bracelet with three strands of pearls, and pearl-studded black heels completed her outfit.
Ethel and Delilah went with traditional African garb for their outfits. The mother of the bride wore a form-fitting, magenta, hanging-sleeved, layered, satin gown that was heavily embroidered with flower petals and swirls. The woman was sporting a single pearl necklace, big pearl stud earrings, and a pearl bracelet on each wrist. She was unable to find pearl-studded sandals in her size, but the cream-colored ones she found matched the theme closely enough to count. Ethel, in the meantime, wore a forest green, satin, hanging-sleeved, full-length gown that was also heavily embroidered with gold that matched her hair. Her jewelry consisted of large gold earrings and a matching large gold bracelet, leaving her neck bare.
"You all look ravishing," Hazma told the group once they were all fully dressed. He went to say more, but the king came in to hurry them along as he often had to when they had state dinners and events. He stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of his wife. He looked the woman over with a thirsty look on his face until she blushed prettily. Everyone in the room bowed to him in his tuxedo but Barbarossa only had eyes for his woman. He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it before twirling her once to look her over.
"Exquisite," he pronounced, causing her to giggle and flush. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear that had the older woman giggling as she swatted her husband.
"Let's go. I want to know how Wanda made out in decorating the hall we rented." The four women automatically took up positions around the bride to protect her from stains and being fully seen in the halls. The King and Queen led the way, conversing in Arabic. They managed to make it to the hall without incident and the ladies were delighted to see that the staff had taken their assignment with the hall seriously. The whole place was enchanting, carrying a forest theme without going too far. The manager in charge of the event brought out a small sample of the strawberry chocolate swirl cake for them to sample and it was perfect with its buttercream frosting. Landi was completely charmed, taking pictures of everything, including the fairy lights hanging from the ceiling and her family's outfits. She accepted her bouquet and had to put her phone away as everyone was suddenly taking pictures of her. The trains of her gown and veil were still folded up so she could move freely. Oliver suddenly appeared out of nowhere with an hour to go to the ceremony, trailed by Nick and Rachel. All three gawked at the completed ensemble that was the bride.
"Alandra, I've never seen you look so enchanting," Nick said sincerely. "Tyr is going to love it."
"Why thank you good sir," she said, feeling her body heating up from the high praise.
"Is there any place where we can store this picture-perfect bride so that her dramatic reveal isn't ruined by the press?" Oliver asked Wanda when she asked how she could help.
"Oh yes. The bridal party has a special room just back here where they can wait. Would you like to be escorted there now?"
"Yes," Ethel said forcefully, grabbing the bride and her fellow bridesmaid and moving in that direction. They made it behind closed doors just as Landi's father and brothers arrived. The lawyer wanted to come out and greet them, but Tyr was with them. Instead, she listened through the door and waited while the girls fussed with her trains and their bouquets.
… …
"Oh, Tyr, you look so handsome!" Delilah greeted her son-in-law. "That black-on-black tuxedo is just devastating on you!" Tyr hugged the woman warmly, looking around the room in satisfaction.
"This is good enough for my baby on short notice," he nodded to himself. After more than twenty-four hours without his Alhamia, he found that he was jonesing for her. He locked onto the bridal room and started in that direction only to be stopped by both his mothers. (Protectress)
"Looking to spoil the surprise, my son?" Victoria smirked. The prince sighed and settled for looking around the hall. The staff had truly outdone themselves. He admired the fairy lights hanging overhead as his wife had on the way into the room.
"I miss my wife," he pouted. The group laughed at his attitude, "The press is eating this story up. We'll have to speak to them on the way out of the hotel."
"All of that will keep until after the ceremony," Delilah told her son-in-law. Tyr Anasazi was feeling petulant, like a child denied his favorite toy, but did his best not to show it. Instead, he focused on those around him. Only a half hour to go before he was reunited with his woman.
"You and Delilah look amazing, Mother," he complimented. Both women chuckled, seeing through the ploy. "I hope that your husband and sons are suitably dressed to impress, Delilah." The men had chosen an African theme for their outfits. Each of them was wearing a dashiki of various designs. The hairdresser looked over at her man hungrily. His jet-black dashiki had a metallic, printed design on it with a band collar. His black pants were traditional and matched the shirt well. Peter went over to his wife and kissed her thoroughly, ignoring the catcalls he got from the Myers families as they entered the hall. Whitmore immediately came over to shake Peter's hand and both of the lawyers struck up a conversation with the entrepreneur.
"I never expected him to slip by us," Joshua said suddenly, gesturing to the groom. "Alandra has always been such a wonderfully oblivious woman, all but ignoring the men in her life. Then this knucklehead comes along-"
"Hey!"
"I told the press outside just as much," Joshua continued, undaunted by the prince's indignation. "She deserves better, but there's no accounting for taste when it comes to love." He turned to the prince with a stern look. "We'd better not hear that you've tired of your latest toy, Anasazi."
"My wife is not a toy," he said firmly. "But you're right about one thing. I will never tire of her."
"Well, we managed to keep her virtue intact for twenty-nine years," Whitmore said as if the prince hadn't spoken while passing out flutes of champagne to Joshua and Peter. "You can't ask for more than that. Cheers!" The three took a drink, but Peter still looked disgruntled.
"And what did we save it for, huh?" he said angrily. "For this asshole to ruin her? My little girl has been ruined by this Casanova-looking mother-"
"Peter!" Ethel called out, pointing at her sons. The man grumbled in response before taking a deeper drink of his champagne.
"It was always her choice, Pops," Quintan told his father, laying a comforting hand on his arm. "I agree with you that Landi deserves better, but you can't save her from herself."
"Just be grateful that you don't have any daughters, Quintan. Hell, count yourself lucky you don't have children at all! A man feels a certain responsibility for his little girl that simply isn't there for his rough and tumble boys." With another hard look at his son-in-law, he downed the rest of his drink and reached for another one from the server. "I curse you to have daughters, Tyr Anasazi. I curse you to have the responsibility that has been on me for the past twenty-nine years. If they make it as far as my little girl did." Tyr glared at his wife's father, rolling down the sleeves of his silk print shirt to put his black tuxedo jacket over it.
"My children will be a blessing and not a curse, Peter. Male or female. And as your daughter is fond of saying, they will be raised in love no matter what." Peter just continued glaring at the man as he drank the alcohol.
"I'm going to need something stronger than champagne to make it through tonight," Peter announced. "And what about you, Barbarossa?" he sneered. "Was it you who taught this brat that women didn't matter and were interchangeable? Or were you too busy screwing the maids to recognize that your son was on a mission to be just like you? Hell, you've got a daughter. You plan to sell her to the highest bidder?" The King didn't bother to answer such vitriol, contenting himself with a glare at his fellow father. No one felt the need to break the tension in the hall until it was time to bring out the bride.
Hector went first in his bright orange agbada suit with stark white embroidery on the dashiki shirt. There'd been no practice, so no one knew exactly what to expect, but the music started and the videographer started rolling despite the palpable anger and resentment in the room among the men. The mothers wisely stayed out of it. Ethel was a little confused at the stiffness of her husband but decided to ignore him in favor of the love song playing overhead from the speakers. Hector led her to where he would be performing the ceremony and took his place as presider. Next came Quintan in his bleach-white Officer-looking dashiki, the gold buttons gleaming as he moved to get Jubilee from the back room. The two took their time, walking to the slow beat. Once the two were in place, Nick went to collect the Maid of Honor from the back room. Nick had opted for a classic tux to match his fiancée in her A-line, Ruched, chiffon, floor-length, burgundy dress. Like Ethel, she decided to forego a necklace, wearing silver hoops to match her silver heels. The couple was quite handsome moving down the hall to their place in the line-up.
Finally, Peter was forced to stop glaring at his son-in-law to go collect his daughter from the back room. When he opened the door, he gasped and couldn't help his smile. The girl he'd raised looked almost ethereal in her wedding gown. And with her standing there so trustingly, waiting for him to take her to her husband, the father suddenly wanted to punch said husband in the face for corrupting his little girl.
"Everything alright, Daddy?" Landi asked. Knowing that anything he said to her right now would only start a fight, he grunted and offered his arm. She took it with a tentative smile.
"You look lovely, Alandra. Much too lovely for the man you've chosen for yourself," the overprotective father couldn't help saying. Landi looked at him with so much compassion that he felt a little self-conscious.
"Tyr is my choice, Daddy. I know you want to protect me, but I have to follow my heart," she said gently. "I need you to do something for me. I need you to trust me." Peter stared into her expressive brown eyes and suddenly felt better about this whole situation. Mustering up a smile for his child, he led her out of the room.
The way Tyr's face lit up in delighted wonder when the prince finally laid eyes on his daughter reassured him even more as he walked her slowly down the aisle. By the time they reached the pastor, he felt ready to give his little girl away without making a scene.
"Who gives this woman to this man?"
"I do," Peter said before looking the Prince of Alibhai firmly in the eye. "You better take care of my little girl, Anasazi. There'll be hell to pay if you don't."
"I will," Tyr said arrogantly. "You can trust me on this. I've been obsessed with your daughter for some time now. I'm not going to let her slip through my fingers." The haughty look slowly left his face as his father-in-law glared at him. "I will bear your words in mind, Dad," he finally settled on. This seemed to quell some of the need for violence in the father and he stepped back to let the ceremony continue. Hector went through the traditional marriage ceremony with the couple, adding a homily of sorts in which he emphasized the significance of the vows they'd just taken. He spoke briefly about being unequally yoked as it pertained to the Bible, but stopped when Landi glared at him. Instead he went on a short spiel about faithfulness before ending the ceremony with a prayer.
"I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Tyr Anasazi. Now, you may kiss the bride. Nothing too graphic, please. There are children present."
"Hector!" Before Landi could continue to reprimand her brother, her vision was blocked by the gorgeous visage of her husband. He stood in front of her, a wonderfully callused finger under her chin, and lifted her face to his. He smirked when she whimpered softly against his mouth, dominating the chaste kiss. When it was over, the audience burst into enthusiastic applause.
"Now that's how it's done!" Ms. Scryer whooped, Scottish accent pronounced in her enthusiasm. The Myers clans laughed at that.
"Shall we start the photo shoot?" Beatrice, the professional photographer Tyr hired for the occasion, asked. She was eager to finish up so that she could collect her excessive paycheck and go home. His wife seemed to pick up on her disinterest and went to comment, but Tyr beat her to the punch.
"Give us a few minutes to arrange ourselves, and we will begin. You will be paid for the quality of your work; I won't pay for a half-assed job." That shut the woman up. The next hour or so was spent posing for the pictures everyone got their time to shine. They started with the bride and groom in a couple of different poses, then the bride with her parents, the groom with his, the bride with the groom's parents and vice versa. The bride posed with her maid of honor and the groom with the best man, then the four of them together. The groom then posed with his sister before the bride joined in. Then came the bride and her sisters. The bride posed with her brothers and then the groom switched off with her before both joined the boys. There were even pictures of the bride with the different groups of children. Beatrice had a surprisingly easy time directing her subjects. They were all highly photogenic and eager to be a part of the shoot.
Once the pictures were taken, it was time to eat. The hotel staff were able to make two different entrées, one with chicken and the other with beef. For the children, there were simpler meals. Nick stood up while they were eating to give the best man speech. It was funny and heartfelt at the same time. That opened the floodgates and soon everyone was standing to toast the bride and groom. Landi had her usual non-alcoholic drink and Jubilee had a soda, so all was well. Once everyone had their say and the food was gone, the hotel staff pulled the tables and chairs away so that they could dance. The bridesmaids even re-bundled her trains so that the bride could dance with everyone. The videographer continued to circle the room, hunting for interesting moments. For example, when one of Anjeline's daughters decided to dance with one of Ethel's sons. They all danced the night away until the cake was brought out. Landi remembered to warn her husband about her hair and how he would not be getting any if he smashed it in her face. Tyr wisely heeded the warning and they fed each other the delicious food. After the cake came more traditions - Jubilee caught the bouquet and Quintan got the garter belt, being the only single guests in attendance. Then came more dancing, but the guests started leaving since it was a school night.
"You look amazing, sis," Landi told Ethel as she wrangled in her kids.
"I know," the mother of two - soon to be three - sniffed before grinning. "Enjoy the rest of the party. And your wedding night," she added mischievously. Hector came up behind his wife and kissed her thoroughly, much to the boys' disgust.
"They won't be the only ones enjoying the wedding night, wife." Ethel flushed prettily and allowed herself to be led away.
"We goin' ta head out now," Anjeline told the couple, Cajun accent thick from her drinks.
"Drive safe," Landi said over the music.
"Don't worry, sis," Alan said, kissing the bride's forehead sweetly. "I'm the designated driver tonight. We'll get home safely. Take care of our Landi, Tyr. She's special," he told the prince. Tyr squeezed his woman and nuzzled her hair.
"Yes she is," he said firmly. He got similar warnings from most of the party guests, but bore it with decorum.
"You two are such a beautiful couple," Mama Ceeta chuckled as she left.
"Thank you, Mama Ceeta," they both said, then looked at each other and grinned. "Jinks! "You owe me a…"
"...Coke…" Tyr grinned.
"...Hug…" she finished the spell. The two looked at each other and Tyr grinned.
"You know, I think I like your version of the game better." She blushed prettily at that, looking at their joined hands. He brought their linked hands to his plump lips and kissed her hand wetly, chuckling at the heat coming off her face.
"Keep up that attitude, my prince," the chef told the couple. "Even little touches can show how much you care."
"Last call," Joshua suddenly broke into the conversation. The older woman smiled at the two before walking away with her employer. "I will see you in court on Friday, Landi. You look absolutely beautiful." He walked away without a word to her husband.
"Rude," Landi said with a disgruntled frown. Her man distracted her with another sensual kiss to her hand and the night continued. Soon only the Anasazi family remained in the hall.