It was the night before the big day. As a surprise for Suzy, Neil had booked a table for two at the Chez Llama restaurant; only the most prestigious and expensive dining place in the city. Nothing was too fine for his fiancée. As soon as he arrived home from work, he changed into his tuxedo and awaited her arrival.
Suzy entered the house in a fluster. "Phew, the commute home was horrendous!" she said, kicking off her white go-go boots. "And there was just a ton of work to get through as well...oh, hello..." she said, noticing how he was dressed. "You do realise our wedding's tomorrow?"
"I know. I have something special planned for this evening though. I've booked dinner for us at Chez Llama." replied Neil.
"Oh my gosh! That's wonderful! I can't go dressed like this though! Make way, you just go and do something out there while I get ready....when did you book the table for? 8 o'clock? I might just about be ready in time but only if you get out of the way...mush! Mush!"
It seemed like an age but Suzy was just about ready in time for them to reach Chez Llama for their booking but there was a heart in the mouth moment when the maître de couldn't find the booking listed...it had transpired that they'd misspelt "Humphries".
They were led to their table and Neil was amazed at how beautiful and svelte Suzy was. Tomorrow she would be his wife. Even though they'd been living together for the last few months there was something magical to him about the difference from that to being married. A sense of connection and permanence to it.
Their table was near the piano it was a quieter evening at Chez Llama than when they were last here, which suited both of them.
"You look amazing, Suzy" said Neil. "I haven't seen you in that dress before, it's lovely"
"Thank you, sweetie. I am always impressed when you wear your white Tux. It makes you look like James Bond."
"Although he has dark hair. I don't think the world is quite ready for a blonde James Bond." he replied.
"Well, I am certainly ready for something to eat...with a Martini on the side!" said Suzy.
Neil attracted the attention of the waiter, who arrived promptly. This is what you get when you go somewhere luxurious for dinner, Neil thought. He ordered confidently for the two of them and Suzy noticed how much he had grown from the shy, sensitive artist she had met at the Fashion Quarter all those months ago. For her, she couldn't wait to be married to this man...even mulled it over in her mind to elope with him right here and now.
"No way...you'll see tomorrow. I don't know what you'll be wearing." she replied.
"A smile" he said, suggestively.
"Silly. Now is everything arranged? Andre's got the rings?"
"He has. Church booked, caterer booked, car, honeymoon all booked. Relax, let's just enjoy the rest of this evening; our last as singles."
The food arrived and it lived up to Chez Llama's reputation: Strange, odd looking but exquisite to taste. Suzy wondered how she would eat hers and, indeed, what parts of the meal were actual food and what was inedible but there for show?
The meal was superb and the couple strolled home in the warm evening air. Neil put his arm around Suzy as they walked, taking in the views across the river and into the city. They didn't need to say much; they were snuggled and happy to enjoy the evening before the big day tomorrow. When they got home, there was still a buzz and their ardour was not dimmed by the walk home. They decided to retire to bed and woohoo one more time as an unwed couple...
RRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!
"Ugh, what's that noise?" said a groggy Suzy.
"Just the alarm clock dear...don't worry, I'll switch it.....OH MY GOODNESS! IT'S 8am and we're getting married at 2! So much to do!"
Suzy leapt out of bed, naked, and started to run around the bedroom, trying to find something. "My lingerie! It was in a pink box! I put it on top of the chest of drawers!"
"Relax, you put it under the bed yesterday" said Neil, getting gingerly out of bed and fumbling around on the floor, also naked, trying to reach the box placed under the bed. "Now get in the shower: You take longer to get dressed than me"
Neil put on a robe and made breakfast whilst Suzy showered. The two of them were now focussed on getting ready for the wedding and the calmness and romance of the evening before was swept away and replaced by anxiety and urgency. Suzy got dressed in, what for her, was a very basic outfit and grabbed the box containing the special lingerie for the occasion plus a few other items she and Summer would need as bride and bridesmaid. She kissed Neil on the lips one more time as they said goodbye for now.
"See you at the church" he said, softly.
Suzy ran across the road to the BFF house, where she was greeted by Summer. The two hugged and Summer ushered her friend inside.
"Did the dresses arrive?" asked Suzy, frantically.
"Yes they did along with the shoes, relax, I'll put some coffee on" replied Summer.
"Are Travis and Liberty about?" said Suzy.
"Liberty's flight from Florida isn't due until 10am and Travis is out running errands for me so he won't be in our way. So, we can have coffee and get prepared! I'm so excited!"
They had their drinks and laid out the Bridal wear. Suzy opened the pink box to reveal two fine lace corsets; one in white and one in powder blue. They came with colour co-ordinated hosiery as well.
"Wow, how much did this set you back?" asked Summer.
"A pretty penny but this is a once in a lifetime day for me so I think it's worth it"
The girls began the process of getting changed and Summer was highly impressed by the quality.
They put some bathrobes on top to keep them warm but at that moment the doorbell rang. "Who could THAT be?" said Summer.
"Oh that'll be the stylists" replied Suzy.
"I didn't know you'd hired stylists!"
"Absolutely! I managed to pull in a few favours at the magazine and obtained the services of Perri of Mayfair"
"NO WAY! Perri of Mayfair! Beauticians to the stars and royalty!"
Suzy answered the door and a flamboyant man and a short woman entered the house. "I am Gerard of Perri of Mayfair and this is my assistant, Yutte. Oh which one of you is the bride? Doesn't matter, you are both goddesses! GODDESSES! Yutte, bring in the equipment! Where will the magic take place? Here? I need LIGHT! I need music! Now I will attend to the bride and Yutte, the bridesmaid! Oh what exquisite skin you have, my darling!" he said, stroking Suzy's cheek.
For Neil, matters were less complicated. He dressed himself but his outfit was very elaborate as well: He'd opted to wear a classic grey morning suit. He gave his shoes a polish until he could see his face in them, got dressed, made sure his tie was straight and then waited for the arrival of his best man: Andre.
The doorbell rang and Neil poked his head through the drapes to see who it was...as expected, it was Andre.
"You've got the rings, right?" said a nervous Neil as he opened the door.
"Relax, buddy" replied Andre, reaching into his vest pocket and producing the tiny velvet box with two gold rings in it. "Anyway, you're looking smart and I've got the transport right outside. Are you ready? This is the big one...let's get you to the church on time!"
Andre had been a little too efficient...when they arrived at the church there was no one else there except for the staff but the florist had already been and decked the place out. Neil stood at the altar and took the whole view in: Soon this place would be full and a beautiful bride would enter through the doors at the back. Well, he hoped she would.
The other guests were arriving now...there was Travis and sitting next to him was Tiffany Lawson. It was clear that Travis had recognised her from Lothario magazine but he was too shy and tongue tied to strike up a conversation with her.
Eliza Pancakes was the next to arrive and she looked utterly miserable, sitting at the back all alone. Neil reckoned that she and her husband, Bob, must have had an argument and he decided not to come. As he didn't know Neil or Suzy, there was very little reason for Bob to be there other than as support for Eliza and, well, according to gossip they weren't exactly the kind of couple that supported each other.
Julia had arrived and sat in front of Eliza. Neil didn't recognise her at first as she had her hair done up in a beehive bun and was dressed elegantly.
And then there were the assorted relatives and work colleagues, some of whom Neil had never met. With each minute the reality that this wedding was going to happen grew and grew. The guests were in place, Andre was by his side, the minister said some reassuring words and the pre-ceremony music began to play.
Andre went down the aisle checking on all the arrangements and looking out for anything out of place. Then he saw a white limousine park outside of the church. He quickly ran back to Neil. "She's here!" he said, "game on!"
Outside, the chauffer parked the limo, got out and opened the door to the back. First to step out was Summer. She handed the bouquet she was holding to the chauffer as he helped her out and then collected it again, holding it in the traditional manner in front of her. Summer looked in through the chapel windows and saw all the guests.
"They're all here, Suz, are you ready?" she said.
Suzy took a deep breath. "As I'll ever be." The chauffer opened the door to her side and she swung her legs out elegantly as she had practiced as he gently took her hand and helped her out. Summer checked Suzy's dress out to see if it needed brushing down or straightening but, as usual, her friend was perfectly attired. Suzy suddenly had a thought: She knew Neil would be inside, waiting for her, but did Jeremy show up or was he still angry at her and staying at home?
Summer and Suzy walked slowly up to the chapel's entrance, the bride's heart thumping at a rate of 120bpm. Summer nodded to her friend to reassure her and held her arm in support. The two of them had opted for bridal gowns of the same design, but in different colours: Suzy's in white, Summer's in powder blue. Suzy had a veil and Summer a tiara of flowers.
As the harpist started playing "Here Comes The Bride", the ushers opened the doors to the chapel and the ladies stepped inside. Everyone inside turned to look at them and let out an audible gasp.
"Wow! What a dress!" said Travis under his breath.
"It's quite....short!" remarked Julia.
"It's the current style, I guess" said Eliza.
"She'd never cover up those legs in a million years and I don't blame her!" said Tiffany.
"She's...perfect" said Neil to Andre.
Suzy made her way up the aisle and stood next to Neil. "Glad you could make it" he said with a wink. "You look..."
But he was cut off by the minister, who began the ceremonial spiel. "We are gathered here to witness the marriage of Neil Samuel Humphries and Suzanne Elizabeth Kent..."
"Do you, Neil Samuel Humphries, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold, to love, honour and cherish, in sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?"
Neil took a deep breath and said "I do"
"And do you, Suzanne Elizabeth Kent take this man to be your lawful wedded husband? To have and to hold, to love, honour and obey, in sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?"
There was a noise at the back of the church: Jeremy had entered it with Barbara and were standing at the back. Suzy turned to look at him and their eyes met. Jeremy's face broke into a warm smile and he nodded to her.
Suzy turned back to face Neil and smiled as well. Then she said "I do".
"If anyone has any just reason why these two should not be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace"
Not a word was said. Travis sat on his hands because the joker part of him always felt the urge to stick them up and say "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Then by the power invested in me, I pronounce you Man and Wife. You may kiss the bride."
Some of the guests stood up to applaud at that moment and both Suzy and Neil felt a sense of accomplishment mixed with euphoria and deep, deep affection for one another. Neither could help themselves so they had another kiss and held hands before the music started up again.
Andre spoke up at this point. "If the guests would like to make their way to the chapel gardens now for the photographs"
The happy couple led the way with everyone else following. It was now time for the photographs and the reception.
Most of the guests were either Suzy and Neil's neighbourhood friends or work colleagues and when someone from each sphere met each other the conversation could get...interesting. Julia found herself sitting next to Tiffany at one stage.
"Hello, I'm Julia, Suzy and Neil's neighbour. How do you know the couple?"
"My work brought me in to contact with Suzy. She works for a style magazine and she occasionally submits some freelance articles to Lothario and I'm on the staff there. I'm Miss January."
"Oh..." said Julia, her face suddenly dropping.
She floundered around for something to say before realising they had a mutual friend other than the bride. "I know Jolene Scholl, she used to work for Lothario"
"Oh you know, Jolene do you?" said Tiffany, her face suddenly lighting up. "Yeah, she left to pursue her singing career. She's currently on tour in a production of Sweet Charity but she still drops a line from time to time." The two women's initial frostiness gave way and they started to talk about Jolene's solo career.
Meanwhile, out in the garden, Neil was doing the thank yous and the greetings. "Baako, Anaya...lovely to see you here. This is my best man, Andre...."
Andre in the meantime looked out of the corner of his eye and thought "wait a minute, is that Miss January over there?" before reaching for a breath mint.
Barbara, Jeremy and Travis all went outside. Jeremy offered to get everyone a plate of food and that afforded the chance for Barbara to have a little, hushed conversation with Travis.
"How's he doing today, Barbara? Shown any weird signs?" asked Travis.
"He was grumpy all morning until we got to the church and then, suddenly, his mood changed. He's a lot calmer and doesn't grumble when he hears Suzy's name." I hope the occasion has softened him.
The last person Neil greeted was Action, who approached him with a big, broad smile on his face.
"Neil, my man! Lay some skin on me, bro! You did it, you won the prize!" said Action, holding out his hand for Neil to gently slap in the fashionable street way.
"Thank you, Action. My face is already aching from all the smiling I'm doing." replied Neil.
"Let me get you something to drink...they've already opened up the champagne and you don't want to miss out. I have this buddy, a fellow cop, who didn't get a single drink on his wedding day: The guests all drank the place dry and he was being ushered from one old aunt to another so he never got a little tipple. I'm going to make sure you don't become that man!"
Meanwhile, a very jet lagged Liberty Lee sat at the bar with Baako. "Whoa, sister, you look like you could do with a pick-me up? Where have you been?" he asked.
"Cape Canaveral...and yes, I need a coffee, not another glass of champagne or I'll fall asleep right here!"
Baako laughed and ordered a coffee for her but as he raised his hand to order the drink, he caught sight of his wristwatch and it was telling him he had to perform the first wedding dance song in 5 minutes!
Baako raced downstairs, checked the tuning of his guitar and announced into the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the happy couple to the dance floor where they will have the first dance"
Neil led Suzy to the dance floor where they danced, cheek to cheek. Suzy was impressed at his dance moves...not that long ago they were nearly non-existent.
"You've been practicing!" she said.
"All that time we spent down at the Orange Peel club...is everyone looking at us?"
"They are"
"I think they're all looking at you" he said, smiling.
After that initial dance, everyone else joined in and the party was in full swing.
Summer was waiting for Travis to join everyone down here but he was still finishing off a slice of the wedding cake. She got impatient and put her finest go-go dancing skills into practice.
But eventually he made his way over to her. "You are an amazing maid of honour...and the best looking one I've ever seen" he said.
"I can go one better..." she said, suggestively.
"...steady on, all in good time!" he added, knowing where she was going with this one.
"So you think of me as marriage material then?" she asked, coquettishly.
"Now you stop that! You don't try to trap me like that! This is Neil and Suzy's day." he replied, gently wagging his finger at her.
"Nice dodge, boyfriend!" she said.
Suzy and Neil were still flirting with each other. "You know, there's something about you that reminds me of a 1920s Flapper" said Neil.
"Relatives say I take after my grandmother, who was THE iconic Flapper...I can do a mean Charleston if you want to see"
But at that moment something drew her attention away from Neil. She saw Jeremy, sitting alone, and decided she had to talk with him. "I'll be back shortly" she said to Neil. patting him reassuringly on the arm.
Suzy made her way to where Jeremy was sitting. "Do you mind if I join you?" she asked.
"It's your wedding" replied Jeremy.
"Is Barbara still here? I haven't had a chance to talk with her yet."
"She's in the bathroom at the moment." he replied, looking around awkwardly and saying nothing more. He traced the rim of his champagne glass with his finger.
"Are you OK?" Suzy asked.
"Oh me? Yeah, sure! It's a wonderful occasion and congratulations." he said, his eyes looking around the garden.
"Do I make you uncomfortable? I can go if you'd prefer but I'd prefer to catch up...look..." she said, in all seriousness "...I know something has caused a rift between you and me lately and if I can help fix it..."
"...I know. I know..." he said, awkwardly. "I can't express what's going on...I've been short tempered a lot lately and, well, I don't know why but today that seemed to have gone away. Seeing you up there, looking....well...incredible...I forgot why I was angry." he let out a nervous chuckle. "It sounds crazy..."
"It doesn't. I'm so glad you and Barbara came today, I mean that. And I want us to be friends. You were the first person to help me when I moved in. You were always the kindest, most dependable man and..." she was struggling to find the words.
"I know. In another world..." he said, helping her out. Suzy nodded.
"In another world where I hadn't met Neil and you hadn't met Barbara..."
"Well, here's to our real world and our real partners" he said, raising his glass in a toast.
"To our real partners" she said, charging her glass to his. After they drank, they stood up and looked at one another again. "Friends?" she said to him.
"Friends" he replied, warmly, and then they hugged.
"I must get back to my husband!" she said, giggling like a girl. "Say hi to Barbara for me"
As Suzy walked off Jeremy watched her for a moment "remember, she is your enemy!" sounded a voice in his head.
"No!" he muttered under his breath.
"Suzy Kent is your enemy!"
"She...is...Suzy...Humphries! Not...Kent...anymore...break...the...cycle...BREAK...THE...CYCLE!" He was grimacing in pain now as he fought back the dark thoughts that were encroaching in his mind, telling him what to think and do. Finally he hurled his champagne glass into the hedge in frustration and the voice went away.
"Jeremy? Are you alright? Sorry I took so long but I got chatting to Liberty and the time flew by!" came Barbara's voice from across the dance floor.
"I'm fine..." Jeremy replied, taking a deep breath.
Andre appeared at the microphone, tapped it to see if it was switched on and did a loud AHEM into it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, honoured guests, the bride and groom are ready to depart so grab your bags of confetti and all assemble out the front to wish them a very happy honeymoon!" he said.
Suzy made some quick farewells and hugs before she grabbed her wedding bouquet. She found Summer near the wedding limo.
"Oh Summer" said Suzy. "Thank you so much for your help and encouragement"
"It was a wonderful day...now you and Neil go and have a great honeymoon and send us a postcard!"
"I will...thank you again!" and Suzy hugged Summer one more time.
"Ah, there's my beautiful wife!" said Neil, who had tracked them down. "Would you like me to escort you to the car?"
"That would be delightful, Mr Humphries" she said. Neil held out his arm and she put hers in the crook of his. Then he led her to the waiting limo, ushered her in and shut the door before the chauffeur held the door open for him on his side. Then with a final wave, the happy couple drove off...tin cans clanking behind the car.
The guests threw the last of their confetti and then, one by one, they all caught cabs home. At the end it was just Summer, Travis and Liberty left.
"Well guys, time to head back." said Travis. "I booked us a cab"
The taxi arrived and they piled in the back, all laughing and in a buoyant mood. Liberty still had a champagne bottle and a couple of glasses she took from the reception. Once they arrived home, she stumbled out of the cab and said "I'm beat...I've had about 4 hours sleep in the last two days. I'm gonna crash!" and with that she staggered off to her room.
"Well, that just leaves us. Are you ready for bed?" asked Travis to Summer.
"Well..." she said slowly. "It's such a romantic evening"
"It certainly is and once again, you look amazing. You almost upstaged the bride" Travis replied.
"Oh you think so?" she said "Tell me more"
"Well, let's retire to the bedroom and I'll sing your praises some more"
They say actions speak louder than words and instead of singing Summer's praises, he let his hands and his lips express his fondness for her...for which she was an appreciative audience.
"You can help me out of this dress" she said. "But be careful...that's delicate lace"
"I will be the model of carefulness"
He helped her out and then marvelled at the lace corset underneath.
"Now, do you have enough energy left in you?" said Summer seductively.
"I've found whole new reserves!" he said, excitedly. "All of a sudden, I love weddings!"
