Previously in The Florricks…
"I can see you're angry." Doctor Anderson said. "But you're not gonna get answers for your mom's behavior or choices here. This is about you letting go that repressed anger. Do you understand?"
"I do...One time I sort of yelled to my mom about it tho." Grace said.
"I never asked you to make that sacrifice!" The young lawyer said.
"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO ASK ME BECAUSE YOU WERE MY CHILD!" Exasperated, Alicia shouted.
"AND YOU WERE MY MOTHER!" Grace shouted back. "WHY DID YOU LET ME GO?!"
Booking the venue X
Guest list X
Invitations X
Wedding Dress X
Ramona noticed a name missing in the sitting arrangement for Grace's wedding. She was helping Grace with keeping an eye on the organization of the wedding, which was bigger than anticipated thanks to Jackie not holding back any expenses.
"Becca, where is Alicia sitting?" Ramona looked once again at the white board with the names stick to it.
"Alicia Florrick?" Becca replied. (Yes, that Beсса.)
"Yes, the bride's mother." Ramona reiterated.
"She hasn't RSVP. So I haven't assigned her a seat...yet. I'm sure she'll reply soon; the invitation was delivered."
"Invitation?" Ramona was alarmed by this information. "My God... Grace hasn't call her?"
"Not that I'm aware."
Ramona drive directly to Grace's office, Grace had won the election and was getting ready for the transition. Ramona didn't ask permission to walk into Grace's personal office, everyone knew she was the stepmom.
"Could I talk to you in private, please?"
"Uh...sure." Grace made everyone leave the room, it sounded important. "What is it?"
"Please tell me you called Alicia to tell her you're getting married and that she's invited." Ramona crossed her arms and waited for an answer.
"Well, Becca sent her an invitation."
"Grace, you can't do this." Ramona was emphatically. "She's your mom."
"We had a fight and she sort of almost ruined my campaign." the younger lawyer said as an excuse.
"No, she didn't. You gave her a choice and she decline, also, you still won so who the fuck cares."
"Mom, I mean, Ramona..." Grace started again. "My mom and I haven't spoke to each other since then."
"Then call her and start talking again." Ramona insisted. "Is that bad, Grace? Are you willing to stop talking to your mom forever? Are you going to be like Jackie and her daughter?"
"No."
"Then call your mother, for God's sake. Or you'll regret not having her at your wedding."
"Alright, alright." Grace picked up her cellphone and searched her contacts. "Here we go."
Alicia was outside court, she was about to turned off her phone when it rang. It was Grace, she immediately felt nervous.
"Ready?" Louise Canning looked back at her partner. "We're next."
"Give me a second." Alicia walked away from the crowd to answer the phone. "Hello?"
"Mom, hi." Grace said timidly.
"Is...everything alright?" Alicia thought Grace was calling with bad news.
"Yeah, everything is alright. I'm calling for my wedding."
"Right, you're getting married. I got the invitation."
"Mom, it was… it was an omission of my part to not invite you personally." Grace said. "I want you at my wedding."
Alicia felt relieved hearing Grace said those words. She had in her head the idea that Grace hated her.
"I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world."
"Thank you mom."
"Just one quick thing, I'm about to go to court." Alicia saw Canning waving at her to hurry up. "I saw the reception is at the Langham hotel, it's a beautiful place but very expensive, if you don't mind me asking, are you and your fiance paying for the wedding? Or... Ramona?"
"Jackie is paying for the wedding."
"Jackie, of course. Harold left her a lot of money."
"Yeah, she's very happy about the wedding."
"Me too, congratulations honey." Alicia said. "And I'm glad you call."
"Me too. Thank you mom."
"See you in Chicago."
Grace hung up the phone, then looked at Ramona. "Well, she's coming."
"Good." Ramona said. "Don't you feel better?"
"I do." Grace took a deep breath and exhaled. "I do."
The very next day Becca met with the bride to give her an update on the wedding planning.
"There's been an interesting development." Becca smirked. "Your mom called me. Let me tell you, it was a fucking blast when she realized who I was."
"Why did my mom call you?"
"Because she wants to pay for your wedding."
"Jackie is paying for the wedding already."
"I told her that, but I think she's upset that your grandma is taking all the credit. I come up with a solution, Alicia is paying for the liquor. All the booze of your wedding is on her. Which means, I can get you the DJ and the band now with your grandma's original budget."
"I don't need a bigger wedding." Grace said.
"Don't worry about it, just enjoy the ride."
DJ and Band X
Flowers X
Pick the Menu X
Wedding registry X
A few weeks later, on the North side of Chicago, Grace, Connor and their respective little sisters, Angie and Nicky; were moving boxes to the couple's new home in Highland Park.
"This is the house?" Nicky admired the big white house her older brother was moving to.
"Yeah, it's nice, right?" Connor parked the trunk on the driveway. They all stepped out the vehicle.
"So here is where all began." Angie said dramatically. "The scandalous history."
"What do you mean?" Nicky was curious.
"My dad lived in this house with his wife and kids." Angie pointed at the Florrick house. "And my mom lived in that house with her husband and kids." she pointed at the house across the street.
"Really?" Connor said as he started to unload the boxes.
"Nothing happened back then." Grace told them.
"Hey, you got a package at the door." Angie picked up the box from the porch. "I'll bring it inside."
The group made their way to the kitchen where they dropped the first round of boxes.
"The kitchen is bigger than our living room." Nicky commented.
"It's just a house Nicky." Connor said.
"I bet there aren't black people in a 5 block radio." Nicky was Connor's half sister, her father was black.
"Wanna play Kendrick Lamar songs very loud and see if the neighbors complain?" Connor joked.
"That would be funny." Nicky said. "I'm not against it."
Meanwhile Grace opened the package address to her, she laughed out loud when she saw the content.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Its silly." Grace said. "I have to make a call. Excuse me."
The rest of the group took a look inside the package; it was a book. Connor picked up and read the tittle.
"Surviving your first divorce." The fiancé was confused. "And the dedication says its from Marissa Gold, who the fuck is that?"
"Marissa Gold is Grace enemy." Angie explained them. "They hate each other but they pretend they don't."
On the hallway, Grace was calling Marissa.
"I got your present."
"You're welcome." Marissa said. "You did see the message at the bottom, right?"
"Yeah." Grace was holding a piece of paper. "A donation to the Illinois orphanage has been made in your name. Thank you. You know you're invited to the wedding."
"I'll pass." Marissa quickly said. "My dad is going and my mom is his plus one."
"Oh great. I haven't meet your mom."
"I know, not that it ever stop you from talking shit about my family."
Grace laughed. "To be fair, you're the one who acts like a 'Florrick expert'."
"You're not that hard to figure out, Grace."
"Goodbye Marissa." Grace returned to the kitchen. "Okay, we have more boxes to go."
"So you have an enemy?" Connor asked her.
"Angie, what did you tell them?"
Alicia and Daniel arrived to Chicago for the wedding weekend. They sat down in the lobby of the Langham hotel while they waited for the reception desk clerk to call them.
"You seem happy." Daniel put his hand on Alicia's shoulder.
"I am. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I like that Grace is getting married. And I'm happy we're talking again."
"Mom!" Zach waved at them from the entrance.
"Hey!" Alicia gave her son a big hug. "I missed you so much."
"Me too, mom."
"Hi Zach, how are you doing?" Daniel extended his hand to Zach.
"Doing fine, thanks, Dan." Zach said.
"And Natalie?"
"She couldn't make it. Too much work at the office."
"That's too bad."
"But hey, crazy stuff, right? Grace won the election and now is getting married." Zach put down his backpack.
"Yes, crazy stuff." Alicia said. "Have you met her fiance? Is he a lawyer too?"
Zach frowned "You don't know? It's Connor Flanagan...from Capstone. Grace's first boyfriend."
"Him?!" Alicia had a flashback to Grace coming home from school smelling like cigarettes. 'I'm not smoking, mom; it's Connor. We're just friends.'
"You okay?" Daniel noticed Alicia's reaction.
"I suddenly understand how Jackie must felt."
That got a laugh from Zach. "I guess they kept in touch."
"Like she kept in touch with Becca." Alicia raised her eyebrows.
"My Becca? I mean, Becca?"
"Yes, she's the wedding coordinator."
Daniel stared at them, he was unaware of the implications of those names. "I think it's our turn to check in, let's go."
After checking into their hotel room, Alicia dropped her suitcase and lay down on the bed.
"I sense something is bothering you." Daniel said as he inspected the room.
"I'm trying to stay positive, I need to relax and let things go."
"But?"
"Her high school boyfriend? Really?" Alicia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Grace should have an adult relationship, not fall back to her first boyfriend. It would be like me marrying Stevie Sizemore, who I only dated in my sophomore year because I thought he had pretty eyes."
"I'm sure he did."
"I ran into him once. He owns a deli in Skokie."
"Ah." Daniel started to unpack his suitcase. "Well, they're not marring right after high school. They're adults."
"You're right. I need to remind myself Grace is an adult and she can do whatever she wants. I can't make the same mistake as the election fiasco, just let her be."
"Sounds like a good plan."
Alicia sighed. "I can't become Jackie...How do you deal with your son in law?"
"He's not an asshole and my daughter loves him." Daniel shrugged. "Pretty straightforward."
"That's a low bar. So maybe Connor is not an asshole."
"I'm sure. And if he is, there is always divorce."
"Uh." Alicia didn't like the idea of Grace being hypothetically divorced.
"Hey I've never been to Chicago, wanna take me to the Bean?" Daniel asked.
"I think it's close for renovations."
"That's a bummer. What about Wrigley Field?"
"Do you wanna do touristy stuff?"
"Are we going to stay in the hotel until dinner? How are we gonna pass time?"
"Hmmm." Alicia thought about it. "Wanna have sex?"
"Alright." Daniel unbuttoned his shirt. "The hell with Wrigley."
Later that day, Zach got to the hotel lounge looking for the wedding planner; he found Becca speaking to the concierge.
"Well, well, long time no see." Zach stood confident in front of the petite blonde woman.
"Zachary, hello." Becca put away her tablet with the wedding schedule. "The dinner is in one hour, you're too early."
"I'm just curious, how did you get this job?"
"Grace and I are Northwestern gals." The woman shrugged. "You know Quaecumque Cera vera."
"Yeah, I don't think that's the right motto." He smirked.
"Whatever. Are you suspicious off me?"
"Always."
"If you must know, I cold called her; actually I emailed her. Grace changed her phone number but she still uses gracieflorrick at gmail."
"I helped her set that email in high school." Zach said. "So you were being opportunistic."
"I saw an opportunity when she announced she was engaged and I got the job, that's it." Becca played with Zach's tie. "You shouldn't be this smug with me. I'm the wedding planner, Zachary. I know your grandma is paying for your room because there's no way you can't afford this place."
"Money isn't everything."
"And yet you chose to stay in the luxury hotel instead of the Holiday Inn." Becca grinned at him. "See you in the dinner rehearsal."
Becca started to walk away from Zach.
"You stole my dad gavel, didn't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." The blonde woman said without looking back at Zach.
At her office, Grace is wrapping out her day and delegating her tasks for the next week.
"Give the Meyer case to Simmons." The new elected State's Attorney told her left hand Aaliyah Carter. "Please keep an eye on the CBA and email me the nominees for El Humanitario Award."
"Grace, leave, now!" Aaliyah pointed at the door. "Go get married, go to your honey moon and forget about the office for a week."
"Alright, alright." Grace grabbed her purse and jacket. But if anything big happens…"
"I'll call you." Aaliyah gave her a thumbs up. "See you tomorrow at your very luxurious wedding."
"My grandma is paying for it."
"You're not beating the nepo baby allegations with that argument!" Aaliyah said as Grace left the office.
The Dinner rehearsal X
At the hotel, Alicia and Daniel came down to the restaurant for the dinner in a private table. Becca was there to greet them.
"Alicia, hello." The blonde woman smiled. "You must be Daniel."
"That's us." Alicia nodded to the planner.
"So a bit of a heads up, I know you can be...let's say elitist." Becca whispered to them.
"Elitist?" Alicia raised her eyebrow. "Is that code for something?"
"Connor's family is eclectic."
"Which means?"
"Connor's mom had 4 kids with 3 different dads of diverse ethnicities."
"Oh. You think I'm racist?" Alicia was offended.
"I'm just helping you out, don't be surprised when you see them." Becca said. "Please, you can wait in the lounge bar, the rest of the party will be here soon."
"And she's friends with your daughter?" Daniel whispered as they sat down on the table.
"I hope not."
Soon after, Ramona, Angie and Jackie arrived too. They kept it civil while they waited for the couple to arrive.
"Grace is running a little bit late but our groom is on his way up." Becca told the table. "We'll start dinner shortly."
"You met Connor's family, right?" Alicia asked Ramona.
"Sure, they're nice." The blonde woman said.
"Not to sound like an alien but I never had in laws."
"Never?" Daniel was surprised.
"Not from my kids, they never introduce me to their partners or their families. Except with Nissa, that didn't end well." Alicia finished her drink.
"Well, here's Connor and his family." Ramona told them.
"Don't beam them to your spaceship." Daniel whispered to Alicia. The comment helped Alicia to loosen up, she locked eyes with Connor. Alicia didn't really remembered how he looked like back in high school. She has a fuzzy memory of Eli showing her a video of Grace with a boy who was a smoker. Alicia also recalled Peter and Kalinda offering their help to 'take care of him'. Knowing what she knows about both Peter and Kalinda now, she wondered what they meant with 'tacking care'.
"Alicia, nice to finally meet you." Connor said with a big smile to his future mother in law.
"Nice to meet you, Connor. I heard so much about you."
"Likewise." They shook hands. "And thank you for paying for the booze."
"No problem."
"This is my mom, Samantha. And my sisters Paige, Keri and Nicky." The young man pointed at the women next to him.
"Hello." Alicia shook hands with all of them.
"Yes, they are all mine." Samantha joked about how different her kids looked.
"I...I didn't say anything." Alicia smiled nervously. She saw at the corner of her eye Becca smiling too. "They're all beautiful."
"Grace texted me, she'll be here soon." Connor told them. "Let's go to our table."
As they walked into the restaurant, Samantha talked to her counterpart. "First wedding as a mom?"
"Yeah, my first time." Alicia nodded.
"I know from your point of view it seems very rush, it kinda is; but Connor has been in love with Gracie from a long time." Samantha told her.
"Really? News to me." Alicia said under her breath.
"They're a good couple."
Alicia smiled and nodded. "I'm sure."
Tired of listening to the adults, Angie wondered around the lounge, she spotted Zach at the bar, she didn't really had a relationship with her older half brother. But she was curious, he was the one sibling who knew more about Peter. She approached him with caution.
"Hi..." She said so softly that Zach didn't hear her. "Ejem...Hello!"
"Oh, hi Angela, I didn't see you there." Zach didn't feel comfortable enough to call her 'Angie'. "How are you?"
"I'm good. So...how's Paris?"
"It's fine."
"I was wondering…"
"Look! Grace is here." Zach got up from the bar. "We can start dinner now."
He quickly walked away from Angie, leaving the teen girl feeling unimportant.
"Grace!"
"Zach!"
The siblings hugged. "How's does it feel to be a big shot now, Madame State Attorney?" Zach said.
"Come on." She laughed. "I'm just serving the people of Chicago. Hey Angie."
"Hi."
"Come on, let's get dinner."
When Grace got to the table everyone saw how Connor's eyes light up seeing his bride. He got up and kissed her, that got a cheer from the table. The bride said hello to everyone, including Alicia.
"Mom"
"Hi, Grace." Alicia stood up to greet her.
"Thank…
"We are…
They interrupted each other.
"No, you…
"Go ahead…
They couldn't avoid the awkwardness, still Alicia held up her arms for a hug.
"Congratulations, Grace."
"Thank you mom." Grace accepted the gesture.
"You know I love you, right?" She whispered to Grace. The young woman nodded.
"Oh, have you met Connor?" Grace thought she was skipping steps.
"He introduced himself a moment ago." Alicia replied.
"Sorry for…" Grace arranged her thoughts. "Sorry for never tell you about him."
"Why did you do that?" It was an honest question from Alicia, she immediately regret asking it. What if she didn't like the honest answer; luckily Grace didn't chose honesty.
"I was just being a silly teenager."
"Right."
"How about a photo?" Daniel suggested. The mother and daughter posed for the picture, they knew exactly how too smile despite their awkwardness.
"I have to keep saying hi to people." Grace told them and continued to meet and mingle with her guests.
The dinner helped to break the ice between the families since they didn't know each other very much or at all. Pleasant chitchat, tuning details for the wedding, and a fancy meal, time flew by and the rehearsal dinner was a success.
As the guests were living, Becca remind them the schedule for tomorrow. Zach saw it as a chance to asked Grace about her.
"Why is Becca your wedding planner?" Zach raised an eyebrow.
"Because she's good, she has great reviews on her website."
"And you're friends with her?" Zach insisted.
"We're friendly to each other. What? Am I not supposed to talk to her because she's your ex girlfriend? It's been ages."
"You gave it dad's gavel, didn't you?" Zach wouldn't let go of the issue. "Becca stole the gavel from dad's office and sold it back to Eli, they blamed me for it. But it was you who gave her access to it."
"I don't recall any gavel." Grace said.
"Hey, babe." Connor approached her. "My friends texted me. They wanna take me to a strip club." Connor said. "Yasin is insisting on it, I might have to make an appearance, have a beer or two with my best men."
"At the strip club?" Grace thought about it for a moment. "Meh, I'm not campaigning anymore. Just don't do anything stupid on camera."
"Ha!" Zach snorted at his sister's request.
"You got it." Connor looked at Zach. "Do you wanna come?"
"Me?" Zach shrugged. "Sure, why not. Nothing better to bond with your brother in law than seeing naked ladies together. What are you going to do on your last night as a single woman, Grace?"
"I'm going to my apartment and read a book."
"That's it?"
"My original plan was to recreate the foursome porn video, but I couldn't find a third guy to join in, alas…" Grace joked.
"What a shame." Connor said. "It's a good video."
"Ooohhh. I see why you're together." Zach told them. "You give her a sense of humor. She normally doesn't have one."
"I have a sense of humor."
"She takes herself to seriously…" Zach continued.
"Go away already." Grace pushed her brother.
At the lounge entrance, Jackie caught up with her former daughter in law.
"Alicia, you had to outshine me, didn't you? You couldn't let me pay for the wedding."
"Grace is my daughter, Jackie. I could pay for the full wedding."
"Really? Even in here? I don't think so." The old woman said with an air of superiority. "It was very expensive, a little bit out of your range. No offense."
"Non taken." Alicia didn't miss her mother in law. "Speaking of money, I'm surprised you didn't try to set up Grace with someone from the high society of Chicago. You actually like Connor?"
"He understands who he's marrying to. He's changing his name to Florrick, he knows his place. Besides, I read the report on him, they didn't find anything too bad in his past."
"You vet the groom?"
"Me? No, dear. Grace was smart enough to do it herself." Jackie smirked. "Here's my nurse, Alonzo, excuse me."
"Sure." Alicia let her through. "Good night, Jackie."
Alicia saw the nurse pushed Jackie's wheelchair to the elevators. The lawyer stood there wondering if it was truth that Grace vet her fiance.
"Night cap?" Daniel walked up to her. "Or do we call it a night?"
"Give me a second." Alicia hurried up to talk to Ramona before she left.
"Hey." Alicia got the blonde woman's attention.
"Yes?" Ramona saw the urgency on Alicia's face. "What is it?"
"Did Grace vet Connor?"
Ramona looked around to make sure no one could hear them, then she answered. "It was at the beginning of the campaign, before they started dating. I don't think Grace meant…"
"Grace ordered it or was it her campaign manager?"
"No, it was Grace."
Alicia didn't like what she heard. "Thinking like a politician, right?"
"Grace isn't perfect, Alicia. Nobody is." Ramona said. "Why do you put her in a pedestal?"
"She was the good one. You wouldn't understand."
"You're right, I don't."
The Bachelor Party X
Connor and Zach arrived to the 'Rick's. The groom introduce his friends to Zach.
"So you live in France?" Yasin asked Zach. "Do they have titties bars there?"
"I'm sure the french invented them." Zach made the boys laughed and felt good about himself. "So what are we having?" Connor the asked the group.
"Moscow Mule." A friendly hand gave him a drink.
Connor looked up and saw it was his ex boyfriend.
"Benjamin, what are you doing here?" Connor pat him on the back.
"I wouldn't miss your bachelor party. Besides, I've never been in a strip club, is it like the movies...Whoa." Benjamin saw the topples stripper do a split. "That's very athletic off her."
"It was Yasin idea. I'm just humoring him."
"Sure, you hate all of this."
After a few drinks Connor went outside the strip club to vape, it was getting late. He should be sleeping for the big day.
"Fake Spring in Chicago, eh?" Benjamin walked up to him and asked for a smoke. Connor shared his vaper. "You're still into pineapple."
"The only one I like." Connor continued vaping. "I should go home already."
"Can I ask you something, why are you marrying a woman?"
Connor just laughed.
"And she's a christian. Are you going to do missionary for the rest of your life?"
Connor laughed again.
"And she's a politician?"
"Part of the appeal." Connor told him. "That hunger for power, gets me going anytime."
"Come on."
"Come on, what? Ben, we broke up because you said you will never settle down."
"So you're settling?"
"I'm head over heels in love." Connor smiled "And I know it kinda of crazy but I like it."
"Okay. I'm happy for you." Benjamin sighed, then got closer to Connor.
"Ben, what are you doing?"
"Shut up and let me kiss goodbye."
Connor accepted his exboyfriend's kiss when Zach spotted them.
"What the fuck, man?! You're cheating on Grace!" He ran full speed and tackle Connor.
They wrestled on the floor, not connecting any punches. Yasin come out and helped separate them.
"I told you we'd have fun tonight." Yasin told his friend.
Past midnight, Grace was feeling nervous about the wedding. She couldn't sleep so she got up to make herself a cup of tea but half off her things were gone or in a box ready to be moved to Highland Park, as she looked for a mug there was a knock on the door. She looked through the peephole.
"Connor?" She opened the door.
"I've got real love maybe; wait until you taste me " Her fiance walked in singing "I want real love baby."
"Sshh. You're going to wake up the neighbors. What are you doing here?" Grace asked. "You were going to stay with your mom."
"I wanna see you."
"You're drunk."
"I'm tipsy." Connor replied. "But really, I want to talk to you. I have some gossip you: Your brother tried to fight me because he saw me kissing Benjamin."
"Ah." Grace nodded. "Why were you kissing Benjamin?"
"Just to say goodbye. Not big deal."
"Hmm."
"Zach cool down and we had to drink a couple of beers to clear the air, you know?"
"Of course men can get in a fist fight with each other and move on."
"Nah, we didn't really hit each other." Connor lay down on the couch. "Second gossip: Your brother called Becca to pick him up, if you know what I mean."
"He was drunk too?"
"Zach was drunk, I'm just tipsy."
"Right." Grace crooked her head. "Is that why you came tonight?"
"No. I want to know if you are an alcoholic?" Connor asked his bride to be. "Like me being here is it...is it...whats the word? Is it triggering for you? Because you said you had a drinking problem."
"Oh." Grace thought about it. "Uh, no. I'm okay."
"And I can beer in the house, right?"
"Sure, you can." Grace said. "Are you planning to get drunk often?"
"Not every week like when I was 25. I'll do it sometimes...like when the Bears win the Superbowl."
"So never?"
"That hurts." Connor put his hand over his heart. "But you hurt so good, baby...I want real love baby ooooh, don't leave me waiting "
"Okay, no more singing." Grace laughed. "Let's get you to bed."
"Just let me rest my eyes." The groom close his eyes. "And I get if you don't...don't know how to talk to her…"
"Her?"
"Your mom." Connor said.
"That's true." Grace saw Connor fell sleep and decided to let him be.
Zach woke up when he felt someone spanking him. "What...where?"
"Come on, champ." Becca sat next to him on the hotel bed. "I have a busy day, today is your sister's wedding."
Zach saw the blonde woman smiling at him, he remembered what they did last night.
"I got to go but I got you orange juice and two aspirins." Becca told him.
"Hey, wait...about last night." Zach sat up on the bed. "We...I mean..."
"I know what this is, Zach." Becca said. "You're away from your chérie, and you just wanted to have fun. And we had fun last night, that's it. Don't be weird about it, for Pete's sake, I'm married and with a stepson."
"I won't be weird about it. Thank you." Zach said. "Hey, before you go. Are you going to confess stealing my dad's gavel?"
"Seriously? Fine whatever." Becca shook her head. "I was raped in my dorm at Northwestern, my first month there."
"Oh." Zach was shocked by that statement. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, it was before the me too movement, before Northwestern had a special office to deal with the abuse in campus, before the lawsuits. Although, a girl with a reputation like mine? No one would've believed me." Becca explained. "Obviously, I didn't feel safe there. I needed to get out of campus, I couldn't ask my parents for more money to get an apartment. I needed a quick buck. And who do I see in the news? The beautiful Florricks celebrating Peter winning the election. The newscast showed a room full of gifts for the new governor, I figure I could get some money selling any of those fancy things, so I called your house and Grace picked up. It was easy to talk to her up, have her met me, take me to his dad's new office. I stole the gavel and put it up for auction, Eli Gold ended up paying for it." Becса had a big smile remembering that. "Your sister was nice to me, you know? Even after she found out I stole from her family, she even helped me move to my new apartment. I'll never forget that."
"I'm sorry for bringing it up."
"Don't worry about it, I moved on. So there, mystery solved." Becca stood up. "Now go get a shower because your sister is getting married and it's going to be perfect because I'm on charge. "
Becca left the room and checked her texts and emails. One from Samantha got her attention, so she called Grace.
"Good morning beautiful bride!"
"Good morning, Becca."
"You have eyes on the groom, right?" Becca asked. "His mom is texting me about him."
"Yeah, he's here. Do you have eyes on my brother?"
"Zach? I'm sure he's in his hotel room." The wedding planner said. "See you at 3 pm for hair and make up. Bye."
Connor stretched up on the couch. "Hey, good morning."
"Good morning." Grace sat down with him on the couch and ran her hand through his hair. "You have bedhead hair."
"Uh. Get ready for a lifetime of bedhead hair with me."
"I can't wait." Grace kissed him.
Hair and make up X
Snack break X
Ceremony X
Family Photos on the hotel terrace X
During the photo session on the hotel terrace, Angie approached Zach again. "The ceremony was really cute, right?"
"Yeah, very nice."
"First wedding for me, well, mom and dad got married when I was a baby but I don't remember. You were there, you must…"
"I think the photographer wants you over there with your mom." Zach interrupted the teen girl. "For one last photo."
"Oh?." Angie fell for it and looked at the other direction.
"See you at the party."
Wedding Reception X
"You didn't cry at the ceremony." Veronica Loyd told Alicia. "Meh; I didn't cry at your wedding."
Alicia looked at her mother and wonder if it would've worth it to share with her.
"I got emotional." The lawyer said. "But I couldn't cry."
There were around 200 guest at the wedding, the band was playing smooth jazz and the waiters were serving appetizers and drinks. They were waiting for the bride and groom to finish their photo session. In the meantime, Alicia was catching up with her mom and brother, while getting plenty of 'congrats'.
"What are you overthinking now?" Owen asked his sister.
"Grace and I had a fight a few months ago, last time I was in Chicago." Alicia told them.
Veronica and Owen shared a look of confusion.
"So?" Owen finally said. "Families fight all the time."
"No, it was a shouting match. I only had fights like this with...Peter." Alicia explained.
"What was the fight about?"
"Uhm…" Alicia didn't know where to begin. Lucky for her, Veronica interrupted.
"It's because you're like your daddy. Good bless Freddie, but he always kept everything inside. You should have those fights with your kids, it's natural."
"We never argued like that; mom."
"Because you kept everything inside!" Veronica reiterated. "I went a couple of rounds with this one back in the day." She pointed at Owen.
"Oh yeah. Remember when you threw the tuna casserole at me?" Owen said.
"Ha!" Veronica laughed. "You were being a little shit about dinner!"
"I was!" Owen also laughed.
"When was this?" Alicia asked them.
"Post divorce. You were in college by then." Owen answered. "I was a confused teenager and mom was dating her first boyfriend."
"But we worked it out" Veronica said.
"Hey, what did I miss?" Daniel came back with a couple of drinks.
"Just family stories." Alicia took the drink from him.
On the another table, Ramona was sitting with thought her daughter was blue.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm okay." The teen girl said timidly.
"It's the party too much or…?"
"No, that's not it. I was hoping to talk with Zach about dad but I don't think he's in the mood."
"I see." Ramona didn't like seeing Angie being down. "Well, I…"
"It's okay, mom. It doesn't matter." Angie said. "I'll just try to have fun now."
Among the guest, there were the Golds; Eli and Vanessa Gold came up to Alicia to say hi.
"Nice to meet you." Alicia said to Vanessa.
"Haven't we met before?" Vanessa asked.
"I honestly don't remember." Alicia shrugged."Hey, Marissa couldn't make it?" Alicia asked them.
"She's handling a special case. But also you know…" Eli gestured something in the air.
"They hate each other?" Alicia completed the idea. "Yeah, I know."
"Has anyone asked them why?" Vanessa wondered out loud.
"Eli!" Becca surprised him from behind. "Glad to see you make it. And you must be Mrs. Gold."
"I was." Vanessa saw how Eli's eyes were flashing hate. "And you are?"
"The wedding planner. You let me know if you need anything, alright? The couple is coming down, they'll make their entrance soon."
"Thank you, Becca." Alicia dismissed the wedding planner.
"Becca?" Eli said with disdain once the blonde woman leave. "Pastor Isiah performed the wedding, Becca is the planner and Grace married her high school boyfriend."
Alicia raise her glass. "A blast from the past. All we're missing is…"
"Ladies and gentleman: The Florricks."
Alicia saw as Grace and Connor entered the room, holding hands and smiling. The guest cheered for the newly married.
"Grace is glowing...Is she knocked up?" Veronica asked Alicia.
"No, mom. Well, I don't think so." The lawyer finished her second drink.
Shortly after the Florricks took their sit, dinner started. Grace took the opportunity to once again, thank Jackie for the wedding.
"You're welcome, Gracie." Jackie hugged her grand kid. "I just want to give a very special night."
"And it's a special night, grandma."
"I saw your aunt Annie at the ceremony."
"Sorry. I know you don't talk to each other." Grace looked over quickly to her own mom.
"I'm not mad, Grace. I do have a request for the DJ." Jackie said. "Could you please ask the DJ to play 'Young Hearts Run Free' early in the night? I'll go to bed early, I'm not into loud music and bright lights but I want to hear that song tonight."
"Of course, grandma."
The groom also took his time to say hello to the guests, he ran into Ramona.
"What's up with Angie? She looks down." Connor saw his sister in law looking down at her plate
"She's bummed out that Zach didn't want to spend time with her." Ramona explained. "Also, I think she doesn't know what do in a big party, she doesn't have cousins her own age."
"I can help with that." Connor went to his family table and grabbed a young man, then he visited Angie's table. "Hey, Angie."
"Hey." She looked at them.
"This is my nephew lan, say hi lan."
"Hi" The teen boy waved.
"He's Paige's son. And he's a lot of fun at parties." Connor smiled. "You can hang out with him. I already talk to your mom about it."
"Okay."
"Leave you to it." Connor let the teens to known each other.
"Come sit with my cousins." lan invited her over and Angie accepted.
"How old are you?" Angie asked the teen boy.
"I'm 17."
"Wow. Your mom had you pretty young."
"Yeah, sometimes it feels like I have a big sister and not a mom." They both look at the table where Connor's sisters where sitting.
"My mom had me at 45, sometimes it feels like my grandma and not my mom." Angie realized she had never said that out loud to anyone before. "Don't tell anyone I said that."
"Okay." Ian shrugged. "So what music do you like?"
"I mostly listen to true crime podcast."
"That's dark. I like it!" They arrived to the 'cousins' table.
"Hey, Ian. We have some edibles. Want some?"
Ian accepted the gummie and offered one to Angie. "Wanna try?"
"Edibles?" Angie saw the bright orange gummie. "I…I'll pass, thanks."
"Suit yourself."
Toast X
The First Dance X
Becca cued in the video and sound team to start the reel of Grace and Connor's photos. The lights went down and Connor walked to the center of dance floor with a mic in hand.
"Okay, here we go. Grace, I want to take you back to 2014, when you were obsessed with Lorde's songs. We spent so many afternoons in my room just listening to that album."
Samantha nudged Ramona. "Nothing happened in his room. I made sure of it." She whispered.
"Okay, I wasn't her stepmom then but...thanks?" Ramona replied.
"You picked a Lorde song?" Grace asked from the edge of the dance floor.
"I picked your favorite Lorde song." Connor offered his hand to Grace. The guest once again clapped and cheered for the couple.
That slow burn, wait while it gets dark
Bruising the sun
I feel grown up with you in your car
I know it's dumb
The newlyweds started to slow dance to song, then the beat dropped.
Raise a glass, 'cause I'm not done saying it
They all wanna get rough, get away with it
Let 'em talk, 'cause we're dancing in this world alone
"Is this a love song?" Owen asked the table. "I'm sure this isn't a love song."
"Who cares?" Veronica replied. "Good for them not picking a boring ballad."
Alicia observed her daughter dancing in her white dress with the spotlight on her. She heard Peter's voice behind her.
"We made a good kid." Peter told her. "She's successful, she's living her dream and you can't be happy for her? Is it being like me so bad?"
"I was happy like her once, but it was a lie. Because of you." Alicia didn't turn around to face Peter.
"You never forgive me and you expect her to forgive you." Peter chuckled. "I'm not the only villain in this story."
All the double-edged people into schemes
They make a mess, then go home and get clean
You're my best friend, and we're dancing in a world alone
World alone, we're all alone
The song ended and the guest clapped, the DJ announced the dance floor was opened and played the next song. Young Hearts Run Free by Candi Staton.
"And they're moving to disco right away?" Owen commented. "Also not a love song if you listen to the lyrics."
"Oh come on." Veronica said. "Go dance and stop complaining."
Oh, young hearts run free
Never be hung up
Hung up like my man and me
My man and me
Ooh, young hearts, to yourself be true
Don't be no fool when love really don't love you
"Well, the floor is open." Daniel stood up. "Come on Alicia, let's…Are you okay?"
Alicia was crying. "I'm just...very emotional. I'm sure you understand."
"Of course."
"I'll go fresh up. Excuse me." Alicia left the table and went to the restrooms. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down, then she fixed her make up.
"Alicia, hey." Ramona entered the restroom too, she could guess what happened. "I cried at Lauren's wedding. I thought she was too young."
"How is she doing now?"
"She's here with her husband, so they're doing okay. Up and downs like any marriage."
"Right." Alicia nodded. "Thank you...for everything."
"No problem."
"No, I mean, thank you for taking care of Grace. I'm glad she has you as a stepmom."
"Oh." Ramona wasn't expecting that, didn't know what to respond.
"Anyway, I'm going back to the party."
"Alicia, wait." Ramona stopped her. "You should know, Grace wants to have kids soon. I'm sure once she becomes a mom, she'll understand you better."
"Maybe."
Wedding Favors X
Photo boot X
At the party, the Florricks took a break from dancing to talk with Aaliyah and her husband Herb.
"This is party its of the hook." Herb said. "Is it true you're giving away Garrett's popcorn to the guests?"
"Herb, you can get Garrett popcorn any time you want." Aaliyah said.
"It's special tins with our wedding date on them." Connor said proudly. "With cheddar and caramel mix!"
"Hell yeah!" Herb and Connor high five each other, while their wives laughed about it.
"Anyways, congrats." Aaliyah told them. "You can go on and keep dancing."
"Yeah, I'm not tired yet." Connor put his arm around Grace's waist. "What do you say Mrs. Florrick?"
"It's going to take me a while to get used to it."
The couple moved to middle of the floor to continue their celebration, by then Connor had taken off his jacket and tie to keep on dancing.
"I see Angie is having fun with your cousins." Grace said with a smile when she saw the teen at the edge of the dance floor. "She's even dancing a little."
"Ramona told me she was feeling sad."
"About what?"
Zach was looking at the bottom of his glass. He had come all the way from Paris to celebrate his sister's wedding and now he was feeling like shit, moping around the bar. Why didn't cheat on Natalie?
"Hey, there he is! My big brother" Grace called him. Zach turned around to face her.
"Hey."
"You know what I like about you, Zach. You never change."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, you still are a jerk to teenage girls."
"What are you talking about?"
"You've been ignoring Angie."
"Please." Zach rolled his eyes.
"She's our sister."
"Half sister." Zach unnecessarily pointed out. "We don't have anything in common, we don't have any shared experience."
"Except dad." Grace said. "She only wants you to talk to her about dad. Why can't you do that?"
"Because it makes me sad, okay? I miss him, I'm not over his fucking murder yet, like you are!" Zach snapped.
"I thought your writing was helping you."
"It is but…" Zach thought for a second. "I'm sorry; being back in Chicago messes with my head."
"You're not the only one." Grace pat Zach on the shoulder. "Come on, be a good brother."
"Okay. I'll go talk to Angie."
Zach found Angie with her new friends eating popcorn, taking pictures at the photo boot and laughing a lot.
"Angie, hey."
"Heeyy." The girl got nervous. "Cool party, right?"
"Yeah, it's…" Zach observed the behavior of the rest of the teens, he knew exactly what was going on because he had been in that situation 15 years ago. "Are they high?"
"Uh...no."
"What did they take?"
"Uh...Nothing." Angie wasn't going to be a snitch.
Zach sighed. He had a decision to make as the adult in the situation. "Well, if everyone is fine...I don't have to tell anyone about it."
"Thanks!" Angie spontaneously hugged him, Zach accepted the hug. From afar Grace saw their interaction and smiled.
"Did you fix your siblings drama?" Connor hugged Grace from behind.
"I just want everyone to be happy."
"I'm happy."
Grace turned around and kissed her new husband. "Me too."
Cutting the cake X
Bubble Send off X
After dancing the night away and cutting the cake, Grace and Connor left the party with a sea of bubbles provided by the guests lowing them away. Just like Becca had planned, she congratulate herself and finally turned off her tablet.
Breakfast X
The next day, the relatives and guest who were staying at the Langham got together to have breakfast at the buffet. There Alicia said goodbye to Grace.
"We're going to check out already." Alicia informed her. "We got a catch our flight back to New York."
"Okay." Grace nodded. "Our flight to San Diego is until 5."
"A honeymoon at the beach sounds lovely."
"Thank you again for helping paying for the wedding."
"It was my honor."
"Yeah…"
"Listen…"
They interrupted each other again.
"No, you go…"
"Please, mom."
"I'm happy for you sweetheart." Alicia smiled.
"Thank you mom. Have a nice flight."
Have an honest conversation with your mother _
As a laid down on my bed, thinking about the inevitable darkness of death. I found comfort in knowing 5 people are reading this fanfic. We're almost over.
