Alexa Chapter 39: Preparations

The fallout from Marilyn’s meltdown at the Thompson party set in motion a whole chain of events that finalized her place in our world. Two days after the party, Marilyn was arrested for a second time on drunk driving charges. You would think with all the signs posted and repeated warnings on the television and radio of stepped up enforcement over the holiday weekend, the woman would have known better. Once again, she allowed her own inflated sense of being to guide her actions and now she was paying for it. Marty ignored her calls from the Hennepin County sheriff’s office and let her sit. Jenny was very forceful in her opinion that her mother should “rot in jail” as she put it. Marty stood tough and on Tuesday finalized the divorce proceedings. By the first week in June, between her second arrest and the fact she had become persona non grata with the people of their circle. Marilyn had left town a divorced woman who had burned her bridges. She had retreated to the East Coast and had entered a rehabilitation center in Connecticut. I hope she gets the help she needs.

Jenny and I kept an eye on Marty at the beginning, but the relief he was showing that the whole situation had been finalized was immense. He did admit it wasn’t a cheap divorce, but it was only money. “We had grown apart and she was becoming more and more of a problem to deal with. She wouldn’t listen to reason and what she put the two of you through was uncalled for. I hope she finds what she is looking for.” He told us wistfully over dinner. He said he was happy, however there seemed to be more quiet moments for him.

Marilyn’s departure wasn’t the only good-bye Jenny and I were going to have to make. And while Katie wouldn’t be leaving our lives, thanks to Danny finally stepping up, she was leaving the apartment. Before she had gotten engaged, she had decided to take a job with a Mayo Clinic in the town of Montgomery. Montgomery was a little town about half hour west of Faribault and she had decided that she would move in with her mother and save some money before she and Danny started on their own adventure. And while it made complete sense, it still was hard to accept that the world was changing and that my ‘sister’ was no longer going to be right down the hall when I needed her. I would no longer see her everyday and that was going to be and adjustment. It had been 10 years that we had been together daily and now she was going to be gone.

I watched as Danny took one of the last boxes down to the truck, leaving just Jenny, Katie and I standing there. There was not a dry eye amongst us. “This is going to be weird” Jenny said.

“Yeah, it kind of is. We have been through a lot together in the this and the other apartment.” Katie said as she looked around, but as she did this I noticed she wouldn’t look directly at me. Jenny and Katie reached out to each other and shared a hug. I could hear the crying from my fiancée, but I watched the tears form in Katie’s. It still amazed me as to how close these two had become after the inauspicious start the two had. They hugged each other tight and then slowly let each other slip from the embrace. It was then the two turned towards to me. I couldn’t say anything as the person who had been by my side everyday for the last ten years of my life walked towards me, I practically fell into Katie because I couldn’t move. “Alexa, I am just moving home. You know where I will be.” Katie said.

“But it won’t be the same.” I said through the tears. Katie tied to pull me out of my sadness as she hugged me even closer. “I mean we have been together for ten years!” Katie told she knew. And then backed away for a moment.

“Hey, Alexa, look at me.” Katie said, and I tried to stop my crying and follow her request. Sniffling, I looked up at my big sister. “I’m just going home, and, in a few months, we will really be sisters. I feel the same way, and it will always be that way. Besides, I think I found you a fair replacement for me.” She said with a giggle, which I shared. Katie led me over to Jenny and handed me off to her. “And besides I’m not really going anywhere. We have the wedding to get through and I am keeping my bed here for now. You guys will probably get sick of me being around so much.” Katie tried to sound convincing, but she couldn’t mask the sadness in her eyes. Danny came up and said they should get going if they were going to make it down to Barb’s on time. The three of us shared a hug one more time as a group. Before breaking the hug, Katie whispered, “I love you guys” and let go of us. She worked her way over to Danny. He gave us a quick smile as he collected his weeping fiancée and led her away. Jenny led me over to the couch and the two of us held each other for the rest of the night.

As we were getting in bed, I leaned in and gave Jenny a kiss and thanked her for putting up with me. A wicked smile came across her face as she leaned in and gave me another kiss. “It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it” I tried to tickle her and after lots of laughter we settled in for the night. I curled into Jenny and tried to fall asleep but couldn’t. A slight bit of nervousness was beginning to creep in. Another step on the road to be being an adult was being taken. And just as Jenny’s light snoring began, I realized Katie was right again, she did find me a ‘fair’ replacement. I must have been sending out some sort of brain waves that my better half was picking up because she squeezed me tighter and I drifted off knowing my future was going to be fine.

But those weren’t the only events we were going to have to deal with over the next few weeks, there was a little thing called a wedding. The fun of this event began the week before the wedding. And that fun was mom. She wanted to be involved in everything that was going on. I think mostly she was looking for a project, it can get somewhat boring in the summer for teachers. About two weeks before the wedding, I asked Marty if he would have a problem if my mother came up for the week leading up to the wedding. Marty laughed at my request. “I have no problem. She could come up for the whole summer if she wanted. There is plenty of room here for her and I bet Mother would like the company.” I thanked him and began to head back to the house, but he called out. “Alexa don’t worry about it. It’s a week you will make it.” He said with a smile, and then added. “Try six months a year having your mother around.” A big goofy grin spread across his face. A smile Danny could appreciate and one that disappeared quickly when a voice was heard from behind me.

“I heard that Charles Martin! You should be so lucky that I care for you enough to be around. I could be off spending all the money!” Marty’s shoulders slumped a bit as his mother came up to me and put an arm around me. “Did I hear correctly that Charlotte will be up for the whole week? Good. I will need the assistance. Lord knows you two will be of no help.” Mary said to me. And while I knew she was kidding, she wasn’t far from the truth. Nikki and Sarah and the rest of the gang would be coming in on Sunday night, with the rest of the British contingent coming in throughout the week. And that wasn’t even taking into account all the family that would be coming in. Rob was due in Monday or Tuesday plus the twins were coming in from the Bay Area. And no one seemed to know when my Aunt Barb would be arriving. All of this added to my nervousness.

Mom pulled in Saturday morning, and as usual she was about a half an hour early. I swear the woman either sped or had some crazy route to get here. And as usual Jenny was still getting ready. “Silly question, will you ever be ready before mom show’s up?” I asked.

“We can still call this thing off” Jenny said as she tried to pull on the jumper she had picked out for the day. I stuck my tongue out her and it worked, the death glare turned into a smile. “Well it obviously isn’t going to be today so get down there and entertain her!” Jenny ordered as she zipped herself up and disappeared into the closet to look for a pair of shoes. I followed the orders and made my way downstairs, only to find that Thomas had beaten me to the door. Mom was a bit surprised to see the estate’s Mr. Everything there on a Saturday.

“Well hello Tom. Do the girls have you working overtime? I hope you are getting double pay from them.” The hearty laugh that came out of the older man resonated through the foyer.

“If I have to wait for those two to pay up, I won’t retire for another 10 years.” Thomas announced. I pulled up next the man to greet my mother. As the two continued their banter, a strange feeling came over me. A feeling like I was a third wheel in this conversation. I looked at mom a little closer and I could see a bit of giddiness to her as she stood there. I couldn’t tell anything with Thomas as he was his usual kind and jovial self, but something started getting to me. My thoughts were broken as Thomas put an arm around me. “Well it will be good to get this all over, if just to calm this one down a bit.” Thomas teased. “But I need to keep moving. It was good seeing you Charlotte. I’ll get your bags brought up to your room.” And off he went, with mom following his movements out the front door.

“Mom!!” I say with a sense of teasing to my voice. What was even crazier was mom blushed!

“He is a very nice man. You need to make sure you two do something nice for him when this is all done” mom ordered. I agreed but I must have kept looking at her funny, because she wouldn’t look at me until Jenny came down the stairs. Mom changed back to her default mode as Jenny entered the room. “Ok you two, what needs to be done before your friends get here?’ she asked. And even though we told her that everything was set for tomorrow’s British Invasion, she wanted to double check things. She went and checked the bedrooms to make sure everything was tidy, even though Martha and her daughter Maddie had gone through all the rooms the day before. “You have never had Sarah and Nikki out to the lake and the rest of the girls have never been over here, so we have to make sure everything is perfect.” Jenny gave out a giggle and leaned over and asked when my mom was moving in. Instead of joining here in the laughter, I went pale. I don’t know if I could handle living with my mother again.

After mom pronounced the rooms fit, she then lead us downstairs and to the butler’s pantry and took inventory. We tell her we have everything and that we double checked with Martha before she went to the store. “And mom, we know how to go to the store” I stated. Mom spun and gave me the death glare, which I fired back. If this was how the week was going to be, it was going to be long. Jenny thankfully took my mom by the arm and led her out to the patio. As she walked, she turned and mouthed ‘Get Grandma’ to me. That was our plan all along, we would use Mary as a shield against mother and her ways, I just didn’t think we would have to call in the cavalry a half an hour in. I went and got a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses and headed for the patio.

Mary showed up and we shared a nice lunch with the two women who seemed to have taken charge. Once we were done eating I looked at Jenny with pleading eyes and she nodded. Once again, our ability to communicate without speaking was a bonus. We excused ourselves, making up something about having to meet with the florist about something and quickly made our way to Jenny’s car. When we got in, Jenny looked over at me. “Lex don’t take this wrong. I love your mom, but she can be a bit much!” I started laughing.

“This is nothing. I wonder what she will be like on Saturday! Monica might have a challenger.” I exclaimed. We drove off and went to a little café along the lake and just sat for a bit. That’s when it hit me. “Jen, do you realize this might be the last time we are alone for over a week except at night?” Jenny stopped and stared at me.

‘That sucks” she said and leaned into me. Reality was going to make this difficult. After finishing our coffee, we thought we better get back. On the drive I remembered I hadn’t told Jenny about the encounter I had witnessed. “Really?” she said with a glint in her eye. I recognized that look and told her to leave it alone. She stuck out her lip and told me I was no fun. And as much as I pleaded with her, I had a feeling my wishes were falling on deaf ears.

We made it back to the house, where thankfully Mary had taken full control of my mother and begun dragging her around the yard showing her where everything was. The unfortunate part was that Thomas stopped and chatted with them for a moment. The evil glint came back into Jenny’s eyes. But before she could catch up with mom and Mary, Thomas had taken off. We joined up with the pair as they were discussing something about switching how the chairs faced the spot we would be standing. Both women had differing views and thankfully those views were the most trouble we had. Mom’s idea of fanning the chairs thankfully was met with little resistance from Mary.

Marty showed up that afternoon and called us out to the driveway. My future father-in-law stood next to a brand-new Ford Transit Van. “What do you think?” He asked with a cocky smile. “I rented it for the week. Figured there would be lots of shuttling of people around and I figured you would need the space.” I could only giggle at his bravado, but Jenny was almost mortified.

“We can’t be seen driving that thing.” Jenny said. It seemed a bit out of character for her, or more precisely more like her old character. She went on a bit about how big it was and ugly and not a girl’s car at all. Marty seemed to be defiant for a change and tried to explain to her that there were 6 friends from London coming in tomorrow and that they will have suitcases and other things. He wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable. Plus, the fact Katie would be here all week that would make nine of us minimum. Even when he explained that he had hired Paul and Jesse for the week to be our drivers she didn’t back down. I told her I could drive it too, it wouldn’t be a problem. “Well I’m not driving the damn thing” she stated and began to storm off. I grabbed her by the arm and spun her around.

“Jen, just take a breath. This is perfect. We can get all the girls and be able to drive them around town. All of us. Besides, if Jesse and Paul are here, that means we can take all the girlies out on the big boat.” Marty tried to clear his throat as if to interrupt me, but I shot him a dirty look. He backed off a bit, but my words also calmed Jenny. I pulled her in and then she started to break down. I held her as she tried to apologise. And I just shushed her. “Go apologise to your dad.” I told her, and she did. We went back into the house and tried to get back at the wedding tasks at hand. This week seemed to be getting even longer.

After a quiet night at home, then fun began again in earnest bright and early the next morning, as mom got me up to go to church with her. I gave Jenny an early Wedding gift and went off with mom alone to St. Bart’s in Wayzata. After Mass, she noticed a little donut shop along the way and asked me to pull over, so she could get some donuts for all the people that would be coming in and out today. It was while she was paying that I found out her real intentions. “Two small coffees, also please” she told the girl behind the counter as she was paying for the pastries. I braced myself for the inquisition that was headed my way as I led mom out to one of the tables on the sidewalk. “How are you holding up dear?” Mom asked me. I tried to cover my true fears of everything with a typical comment of everything was fine. “It’s not fine, dear. You and Jenny are already so wound up. Relax. Enjoy this. Everything will be fine. Don’t start obsessing over the little things like you tend to do, Alexa. That is why I am here and that is why Mary is here. We will make sure it all goes Ok.”

Mom flashed me a smile at that point that was as caring as any Jenny had ever flashed. I broke down a bit and mom moved next to me and put an arm around me to comfort me. “I am so nervous mom.” I told her. “I want everything to be perfect for Jen. She deserves everything she wants with this wedding. All the pomp and glitz and I just don’t want to screw it up.” Mom pulled me in a bit.

“You aren’t going to screw anything up, dear. There is one thing that Jenny wants out of this wedding more than anything, and only you can give that to her.” I looked up at my mother in confusion. “You, Alexa. All Jenny wants out of this is you. Remember that.” I shared a smile with my mom and nodded. She was right. And as much as that idea would normally drove me nuts, today it comforted me. I thanked her for everything and then she said the thing that leveled me and exhilarated me all at the same time. “You don’t have to thank me Alexa. You’re my daughter, I would walk through hell for you.” We finished up our coffee and made our way back to her car. I felt that mom was here for Jenny and me, and everything was going to be OK.

That feeling however only lasted a few hours, unfortunately. About 2 PM, Mom started to become annoying about checking on the flight from London, enough where my edginess was coming back. I could see Jenny was getting frustrated as well so just to get Mom out of our hair, we left for the airport. I tried to get Jenny to drive just for a bit, but there was no chance of that happening, so I motored away down 494 on my way to the airport. The van wasn’t that bad to drive. It was kind of fun being up this high. I made it my mission to get Jenny to drive this thing before the week was out.

It was a good thing we made it to the airport early. Turns out that the flight was about a half an hour ahead of schedule. We walked over to the Caribou Coffee and got two Iced Teas and waited for our friends. “How do you think everyone is going to take Ophelia?” I asked Jenny, which elicited a giggle. Jenny thought most would be OK.

“Too bad she is married, we could have hooked her up with Adam.” Jenny said. I began laughing so hard, Iced Tea shot out of my nose! I had to go to the restroom to get cleaned up, so I could properly meet our visitors. When I came back, Jenny was still basking in the glow of her moment. I told her to knock it off and told her to get up so we could head over to Customs.

The airport is usually a loud place, especially baggage claim. There are constant announcements overhead on where to go, there are family’s reuniting, there are people complaining about various things with the airlines and then there are the extremely loud buzzers that go off that indicate a luggage carousel is about to start. When the girls came through the door from customs, all those noises were drowned out by the shrieks of excitement. Jenny and I were inundated with hugs as the British women set foot in the terminal proper. Lots of people stopped and looked at the eight of us as we made a minor spectacle of our selves. We didn’t care though. The biggest shocker though was Ophelia. “What’s with the brown hair Ophelia?” Jenny asked.

“It was becoming damaged by the dyes I was using so I decided that to preserve it, I would allow the natural color to return,” Ophelia explained. Then a grin broke out across her face. “Besides Telemachus approves of it.” That got some good-natured teasing going from all of us.

“Where is Katie?” Hendo, the British Katie, asked as she noticed it was just Jenny and me. When we said she had been with her fiancé last night the gossip session was initiated in full. We grabbed the girls bags and began filling them in on all the sorted details of the engagement of my best friend to my brother. We kept the gossip going all the way through the terminal, on life in London and Minneapolis as we led them on the long and winding path to where I had parked the van. When we got there, of course, Nikki was the first to speak.

“I didn’t know you could drive a lory Alexa?” I turned and tried to stare down my other sister. My attempt to be mad though was broken by the sound if disgust. “You don’t like the bus Jenny?” Nikki asked with a laugh. I tried to wave her off, but it was too late, and Jenny went into a full diatribe about how much she hated it. Even when Sarah thought it was very nice of Marty to think of everyone Jenny still scoffed at it.

“I swear he is just trying to make things difficult.” Jenny harrumphed. The nerves were starting show. I squeezed her hand, and it brought her back. She apologized and explained it away as being the wedding, which all understood. We loaded everyone in the van, though Nikki wound up in the front next to me, while Jenny joined the rest of the gang in back. There was excitement when we passed the Mall of America. Nikki acted like it was no big deal, but I knew it was and Jenny and I promised we would find a way to get there this week.

We pulled into the Thompson and estate and the ooh’s and aah’s began. They were all in shock as we parked in front of the house. “This is where you grew up?” Lauren asked, and Jenny nodded. Before anything else could be said, my soon to be sister-in-law came flying out the front door and the squeals of delight began again. Jenny and I unloaded the suitcases as Katie caught up with everyone. As we stood back waiting for Katie to complete showing off her ring, Jenny leaned in and gave me a hug.

“Sorry about before babe. The van isn’t that bad, and it was nice of daddy to get it.” I gave my soon to be a wife a deep kiss and told her it was OK and that we would make it through all this craziness. As we parted, two things could be heard. The first was six British women cooing and one American voice telling us to knock it off that we had guests. Jenny and I blushed and led the girls into the house where the gasps of wonder continued. Katie excused her self for a moment while the British contingent made their way into the great room.

“This is incredible” Hendo said as we all went out the large doors onto the patio and took in the magnificent views of the lake. Nikki and Sarah just turned and looked at us.

“You two need to get rid of your flat and move out here!” Sarah said, and her wife nodded heartily. Just as we were about to respond, a deep voice could be heard from behind.

“I don’t know if I could put up with more of them. They are already here too much.” Marty said with a smile as he came up to the group. He said hello to Sarah and Nikki and then began to introduce himself to the rest of the group. “I am sorry I didn’t get to meet all of you in London, but welcome to our home. “

“This is an incredible home you have here Mr. Thompson.” Jacinta said. Even Ophelia seemed a bit star struck. Marty, as has become more of nature waved off the use of Mr. Thompson and asked that they all call him Marty. As if on cue, my sister came out of the house.

“Hey Mr. T, when did you get in.” Katie asked causing the rest of us to laugh. No matter how hard Marty tried to tell her she didn’t need to call him that, Katie kept it up. Marty shook his head over the comment and then went back to addressing our friends, telling them that if they needed anything to just speak up. There is no formality around here he told our friends. We led the girls back in and showed them to their respective rooms for the week. We thought it would be rude to have Snikki here at the house and the rest at the hotel, so we made a deal with Marty and took over two of the guest rooms. It was the room that Sarah and Nikki were getting that held a special spot. Jenny paused outside the room for a moment.

“Sarah, Nikki this will be your room. This is a special room that no one has slept in for almost ten years. But if Abby was here, I know she would be fine with it.” Jenny opened the door and led the couple in, but not before receiving a hug from each of the Phillips-Thomas’. I took Jenny in my arms as the couple got their things situated. Jenny pulled herself together for a moment. I knew how much Abby had meant to Jenny and to see her make this gesture was heart-warming. Jenny looked up at me and whispered that she still missed her. I just cuddled her and led her downstairs to wait for our friends. Jenny took a deep breath and said “I’m fine. Thanks babe.” When I asked for what, she responded. “For everything.” The smile melted me, and we shared another deep kiss, only to be interrupted.

“Save that for the honeymoon you two.” Hendo said with a giggle as all six of our British friends entered the room. “Let’s go do something.” She stated and was backed by five nodding heads. When we asked what the all looked at each other for an answer.

“How about a boat ride?” I said. All of them seemed agreeable to that but taking them all out on the big boat was going to mean Marty needed to be with us. Katie entered the room from the kitchen and I asked if she had seen Marty. “Want to see something fun?” I asked our group. A mild giggling protest was put up by Jenny, but I proceeded anyway. I called out for Marty, and he came from his study. “Where are the keys for the big boat? We want to take the girls out for a ride on the lake.” Fear gripped my future father-in-law, but it was quickly followed by the ‘no’ I was expecting.

“Well I suppose I can take you ladies out for a cruise” Marty said defeatedly. We told the girls to grab jackets and put on some appropriate shoes, and if they didn’t have any to call out. “Yeah these two can help if you need any shoes.” Marty said, earning him laughs and taunts directed at me and Jenny. Girls took off in various directions to get heir gear on while Jenny and I waited. Something came over Marty. He looked like he had just discovered the cure for cancer and then he groaned. “You are getting good Alexa. Coning me into taking you girls out. I don’t know if I can put up with two of you for the rest of my life.” Jenny and I giggled and looked at Marty.

“Deal with it” we both yelled out. Marty took off for the boat while we waited for everyone to come down. The girls were in shock over the size of the boat and the people out on the lake. We cruised around for a bit looking at the various homes and various people on the lake. We passed by a group of guys our age that would not stop checking us and trying to get our attention. They succeeded in getting Hendo and Jacinta’s, but the other seven of us were spoken for. Marty started checking out the boys before saying we should keep moving on. Sarah and Nikki looked at us before turning and asking Marty why the sudden rush.

“Those guys are obviously a bunch of weekend lake warriors. They love to come out and drink beer and make asses out of themselves. Can’t have any of you girls getting mixed up with that.” Marty said with a smirk and then returned to piloting the boat. Sarah and Nikki were in shock, but when we explained that he watches over Katie like a hawk as well, they understood a little better. We made it back to the house where both my mother and Jenny’s grandmother were waiting for us. I could see that Mary was in one of her moods as we came through the patio laughing away. While mom was anxious to meet everyone, Mary wanted to play a bit.

“Where have you girls been” Mary asked in her teasing tone. She made eye contact with me first and I knew instantly it was game on.

“You must be Mrs. Thompson.” Nikki said. “Very nice to meet you, I am Nikki, and this is my wife Sarah. We have heard so much about you.” I fought the laughter hard as Nikki made her way over to Mary. Mary stood straight up and looked at Nikki.

“Its nice to meet you. I can see you are as big of a brownnoser as your friend over there.” Mary said pointing in my direction. Nikki began to get nervous before the Mary smile came out and she warmly greeted Nikki and Sarah. Mom went next and after we got all the introductions made, Mary spoke up again. “We didn’t know how long you girls would be out on the lake, so we made a very simple meal for you if you will come to the dining room we will eat. I am sure that those two over there didn’t think about feeding their guests.” Jenny stuck her tongue out at her grandmother, who waved a playful finger in her direction. We spent the next hour sitting around the large table passing around the Cuban Chicken and Rice mom had made up. Laughter was the common sound as Mary and mom got to know our friends better. At one point I noticed mom had made an effort to get near Nikki to talk with her. I could hear mom thanking Nikki for all the help she had given both of Jenny and me.

After dinner us girls made our way back out to the patio where we began discussing the plans for the week. One of the biggest questions was when Jessica and Paige were getting in. Sarah thought it was Tuesday night. It was too late to text or call them, so we went with the with that and decided we would go to the Mall of America on Tuesday. At least the Six would, with Katie. Jenny and I had a final meeting with caterer that morning and then we would meet up with them. “So, should we do a fitting for each of you tomorrow?” Lauren asked and the answer of ‘yes’ seemed to be the consensus.

“We don’t want to do it on Thursday, we will all probably be too hung over.” Sarah said with a giggle. Jenny reached over and grabbed my hand. Julie and Katie had been planning this event and while I know that Katie would never do anything to hurt me and did know she would find a way to tease us. We decided tomorrow would be a day to let everyone sleep in and get acclimated to the time and it would give time for our designers to work on our dresses. Between Jenny and I we could entertain the others.

“As that has been decided, I think it is time I retire. After all it is nearly two in the morning our time. Good Evening girls and thank you for everything Jenny.” Ophelia stated as she was the first to leave our group setting. Lauren and Hendo both decided they would head off to bed as well and that was when mom took over making sure that everyone had everything they needed. Jacinta though was still going and wanted to look at the lake more. Katie volunteered to take her down to the dock.

“Just wish Danny’s boat was here. We could have gone for a little ride.” Katie said. That left just Jenny and I with Snikki to enjoy the reasonably warm June night. Both sets of couples were cuddled into each other on one of the two couches on the patio.

“Thank you very much for the gift you two.” Sarah said, “It was a great way to fly over”. Nikki added it was too much. Jenny brushed off the praise, telling them we had to acknowledge our friend’s anniversary in some way, especially since we talked them into flying over on their anniversary.

“Besides, daddy has lots of miles he never uses.” Jenny told the couple as she cuddled into me They thanked both of us again though. I didn’t say anything, and I noticed Nikki giving me an odd look across the way.

“So, are you two ready for all this?” Nikki asked us but eyeing me the whole time. Jenny nodded but I was a little more hesitant. “

Why not?” Sarah asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

“I don’t know. There is just so much that can still go wrong. It could rain, it could be hot. Adam could be an ass, the caterers might not show, the cake could get ruined.” Nikki and Sarah began to giggle as Jenny tried to pull me in to calm me down. I guess Jenny wasn’t the only one that was a bit on edge, but the giggling was making it worse. ‘What’s so funny?” I asked a bit more angrily than I should have. I instantly apologized for my behavior. Sarah stood up and looked at me with a smile. She reached down for Nikki’s hand and the couple moved over towards Jenny and me.

“And I thought Nikki was a basket case. Don’t worry about it Alexa, it will be fine. All that matters that in one week you two will be married” Sarah leaned down and gave me a hug and I whispered a thank you in her ear. Nikki leaned in for a hug too, but her advise was a little different.

“Just relax crazy lady.” Nikki told me. It worked a bit as I began giggling. The couple excused themselves and went off to bed. Jenny and I cuddled up and talked about our fears and hopes for the next few days. We must have drifted off, because I woke up with Jenny in my arms and Marty hanging over me. The smile that had become so much a part of my life was there. “Get up to bed” he told me. And that’s what we did.

The sun was streaming through the windows as we awoke the next morning. It was so peaceful and quiet, we were quite shocked. And as much as both of us wanted just to stay in bed and spend some quiet time together, we knew we had obligations to attend to. We both showered and dressed for the day. The hallways seemed quiet and all the doors were closed. We began to wonder if we were the first ones up this morning. As we made our way down stairs, we discovered we were not. The laughter coming from the kitchen could be heard throughout the house. We walked through the swinging doors to find my mother happily cooking away at the large stove and Mary holding court at the table. Our friends were circling her at various spots around the table as Jenny’s grandmother was telling stories of Jenny’s youth with the use of photo album. Jenny began to get worked up a bit. I whispered to let it go. She had calmed down a bit before the group became aware of the two of us standing there.

“Good morning girlies!” Hendo said as she giggled away at something Mary had just said. “Did you two have a good lie in?”

“Sit down you two” Mary instructed us. Jenny took a seat at the table while I went to get us some coffee. I joined the group as Mary continued with her story about Jenny and some horse riding lesson she was taking. “and she kept bouncing off the gentlest horse around.” Everyone laughed except Jenny, who was shooting her grandmother a dirty look. Mary looked past her granddaughter’s ire and turned her attention to me. “Don’t be laughing to hard Alexa, you’re tomorrow.”

“Can’t wait for that!” Hendo teased, with Nikki agreeing whole heartedly. The whole scene was. Everyone seemed to have a little more energy this morning. And mom and Mary were soaking it up. The talking and laughter made this feel like the greatest place to be. No one was in a hurry to get the day started other than sitting around and drinking coffee. We continued to chat about our plans and listen to Mary spin more yarns about her granddaughter. I didn’t want this to end, but leave it to my mother’s excitement to bring everyone back to reality.

“So, when do we want to start the fittings? I am sure you girls want to see more of the town than just sitting around here.” That was just the motivation needed to get Sarah, Lauren and Ophelia going. The decision of who was to go first came down to what it always does between me and Jenny: a coin flip. This time I won so I would be going first, which excited my mother. Everyone went off to get changed and soon Jenny, Jacinta and Hendo were off for a brief little trip to Wayzata.

Meanwhile, I was led into the great room by my two bridesmaids as my designers readied everything. Mom and Mary trailed close behind. I asked Mary what she was doing. “I am coming to see the dress, what do you think young lady? Do you think I would miss this?” Mary said in typical Mary fashion, once again doing what she dang well pleased. Katie and Nikki led me into a side room where they trussed me up in the corset I was going to have to wear for the dress to fit. Evil grins took over my bridesmaids as they argued over who got to tighten the laces. I was told to be quiet several times as the garment squeezed my torso to dimensions that did not seem natural. Finally, they were done with their torture and I was handed a robe and led out to the designers.

As I let the dress side up, a million emotions took over at once and I had to fight back the tears. The excitement I had felt in London three months ago came rushing back. And just like London, I watched both Nikki and Katie tear up. I watched Sarah, Lauren and Ophelia circle me just like they had in Snikki’s flat, this time there were smiles as they circled me making their adjustments. As they stood back I finally saw my mother. Katie had moved over to support her as mom’s tears came with a smile. “I can’t believe how beautiful you are” mom said as she made her way over to me and we shared a hug. Mary stood off to the side saying nothing. I asked her if she was okay, and Mary just nodded, unable to speak. Wow I must look good. I hadn’t noticed that the big mirror from my and Jenny’s room had been moved down stairs. I stepped off the platform and got a look at the dress myself. I was in awe that it was me standing there. Something that had only been a dream was coming to reality. My emotions started to take control and I fought back the tears. I was just about to lose it when Nikki spoke up.

“If I could make a suggestion, you should let out the bodice a bit. Miss Johansson looks like she may rip the seams!” Nikki said with a big grin. It was enough to bring me back to reality and I turned and stuck my tongue out her while she and the other girls laughed away. My and Nikki’s actions caused Mom and Mary looked at each other confused, but Nikki’s little joke brought me back to normalcy. As much as I didn’t want to take it off, I knew I had to. I thanked Sarah, Lauren and Ophelia each personally for all their work. The three designers stood there with huge smiles on their faces as I gave each hug. Ophelia spoke for the group.

“Don’t concern yourself with praise Alexa. To see you look so lovely and happy as your special day approaches is all we need.” I couldn’t help myself and leaned over and gave the woman another hug. That’s when I told her she had been drafted to help me on Saturday. “I would be more than honored to help you on your wedding day.” All five helped me shed the dress and get changed back into my standard walking shorts and sheer blouse over a tank top just in time for Jenny to return.

“Dang” she said with a grin “I was hoping to see you in your dress.” The mock pout came next as we shared our typical kiss. Jenny told me she had left Hendo and Jacinta at the Caribou Coffee in Wayzata and that we would come get them. I told Katie and Nikki to come along and rather than take the van, we piled into my car drove into Wayzata where we found our friends. The five us began to stroll the streets of Wayzata, stopping in all the fancy shops that dotted Lake Street in downtown Wayzata. The looks that 5 young women floating among the upscale stores of the uber rich drew were something else. The Marilyn types of Wayzata did not think a group of giggling young women belonged. And as we moved amongst the racks of gaudy, overpriced clothing, I realized that I was going to be joining the ranks of these women. I was marrying into one of the elite families in the state. I froze for moment because I realized this was not me. I wasn’t one of these people and I doubt I ever would be. I’m just that small town girl Katie and I always joke about. And as the looks bore in on me and my friends some more, I began to have the feeling that I was going to be taking this away from Jenny. I must have had a funny look, because Katie slid up next to me.

‘You Okay?” my big sister asked. I told her I was fine. “Bullshit. What is it? Is it the dress? Is it all the people?” I found a bench and slumped down on it. Katie sat down next to me.

“It’s all of this Katie. I am scared something will go wrong and I don’t want that for Jenny. I get worried that Adam or someone else from my family is going to cause a scene. Then we come sown here and I see these snotty women. I don’t belong her and I wonder if I am keeping Jenny from this.” I said as l waved my hand at the scene before us. Katie began laughing.

“You are just going to beat that horse until the very end, aren’t you? You are not taking Jenny from anything” Katie told me. “All she wants is you in her life forever. And I have a feeling that the two you are going to take this town over. You belong here. You two will be the ones that people will look at as the elite, not these snotty women.” I let a smile break out. I knew she was right, but I was on edge over everything right now, but leave it to my big sister to straighten me out. She gave me a little check in the shoulder and smiled. “Come on, lets get the others and go get something to eat, I’m starving.”

We gathered up the group and went over to Sunsets and took over a portion of the patio. We were soon joined by Jenny and our wonderful designers and the real fun began. We may have been laughing a bit too hard and may have been talking a bit too loud, but that’s life. We were here and not going away. We carried that laughter and chatter thorough out the afternoon as we returned to the house and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon at the lake. Mom and Mary mingled in with us between their duties as wedding planners. As I sat back with Jenny cuddled in my arms and watched as Jacinta and Lauren attempted to paddle board, I realized that Katie was right. I belonged here.

Tuesday morning started like Monday, Jenny and I made it down stairs to find our friends gathered around the table talking, but thankfully mom was not entertaining them with stories of how I had ridden my Big Wheel into a pile of manure when I was four. Most of the conversation centered around making plans for today’s trip to the Mall of America. Unfortunately, Jenny and I were not part of the plans. Jenny and I had a final meeting with the caterer this morning. So rather than engage in one of our favorite activities, we were going to sit around with a chef, my mother and Jenny’s grandmother making sure everyone was fed on Saturday. It was one of those things that had to be done but I envied all my friends and so did Jenny. We made plans to meet up at the mall after we were done. We waved at our friends as Katie drove off in the van.

It was while waiting for the caterer to arrive we received a text message that made our day and a phone call that almost ruined the week. The text message was from Paige, ‘Arriving MSP 12:50. Can you get us?’ The squeals that mom and Mary heard from the two of us startled them. “Good lord you two!” my mom said. “Do you two have any other type of reaction?” While I explained who was texting us, the pair understood. Jenny grabbed the phone from my hand and texted in a positive. That was when my evil side took over.

“Text the girlies to meet us at Margaritaville at 1:30” I instructed Jenny. She began to giggle, after she finished the message she looked up at me.

“Do we need to arrange a driver? Remember the last time we went to Margaritaville with those two?” I began to giggle as I remembered when me met Jessica and Paige a year ago. Mom heard that and began to warn us not to get carried away. Jenny called her dad and asked if he could arrange the boys to meet us. Mom shot us a disapproving look, but Marty assured Jenny that it would be taken care of.

The opposite side of the spectrum was the phone call. It came just as the caterer was pulling up. “Hi Brian” Jenny said into her phone. It was the former priest who would be performing the ceremony. The next sound I heard was not one I was expecting. “What?!” Jenny screamed into the phone “How could they cancel so close to the wedding?!” Jenny lowered the phone. “The singers backed out.” She told me. Before she could return to the phone call, Mary snatched the phone from her hands.

“Reverend Martin, this is Mary Thompson, Jennifer’s Grandmother.” Mary addressed the clergyman. “You say the singers have backed out? Well, I have some ideas on who to replace them. Let me make a few phone calls.” Jenny and I exchanged a nervous look as Mary got Brian’s contact information and said that she would be in touch with him later this afternoon. Before Jenny or I could say something, the caterer entered the Dining Room and the discussion was quickly changed to the meal that was going to be served. An hour and a half later, after finalizing the hors d'oeuvres and tasting the final entrees, Jenny and I were able to excuse ourselves to make the drive over to the airport to pick up our friends. I kept quiet until we were in the car.

“Who do you think your grandmother will get?” I asked. Jenny looked over from her spot behind the wheel and I could see that she was just as anxious as me. I continued babbling ”Do you think it will still be two women? Will they be able to pull off the songs we want?” Jenny looked back at me and reached for my hand.

“Is there any more that can go sideways with this thing? We both just need to take a deep breath OK?” I nodded at Jenny’s command and but then spoke up and told her to practice what she was preaching. That got her giggling and seemed to break the tension. “Do you think we can still go to Vegas?” Jenny asked through the laughs.

“We are going to the airport. Do you think anyone would mind?” I said. That kept Jenny laughing.

“We could grab Jess and Paige and they could be our witnesses.” Jenny added. That we could be laughing over all of this proved that we had faith that everything would work out. And as we pulled up to the curb at ticketing to greet our friends, we were squeezing each other’s hands tightly. The stop gave us a chance to kiss, only to be interrupted by our friends.

“Save that for Saturday you two” Jessica said as we jumped out of the car and gave our friends a proper greeting. The engaged pair had come to the States on Saturday to visit Jessica’s parents and had hoped a flight from Baltimore. Being that they were both beyond experienced travelers, they had packed lightly and the suggestion of picking them up at ticketing level was met enthusiastically. Both Jenny and I were instantly all over Paige.

“Did everything go OK on the flight over? Still sore?” I asked as I exchanged hugs with the Scottish woman who had just gone through her Gender Confirmation Surgery at the beginning of May. Jenny was also asking questions of how everything had gone. We were fawning over or friend, and I was more than anxious to hear everything, but our inquiries were interrupted by Paige’s fiancée. “Hey, I am here too you know/” Jessica pipped up. I turned and stuck my tongue out her before going over to our blonde friend and wrapping her in a hug. “That’s more like it.” Jessica teased.

We hustled the pair in the car and began asking about their trip over so far. When Jenny asked how Baltimore had been the couple in the backseat, we heard a little sigh. “It was fine” Paige informed us “but talking about our wedding was getting old. This is your time and that’s why we are here!” We agreed and informed our friends about the plans for the afternoon as we pulled into the East Ramp of the mall and led our newest arrivals into the Largest Mall in America. The pair had been here before, so it wasn’t new. However, the restaurant we led them to was new. At least here in Minnesota. “No way” Paige said. “I remember the last time you two took us to Margaritaville”

“We will be good” Jenny said “Besides we now have two vehicles here and we are a long way from the house. But we do have a driver coming just in case“ Paige relaxed, and we led the couple in. We had arrived early enough that the rest of the group was here. We got our table and had barely sat down when the squeals of delight over our surprise for the rest of the gang was acknowledged. Before we knew it, we had taken over the porch level of Jimmy Buffett’s latest opening. As we all settled in, I looked around and realized how lucky I was, not only to have the group of tremendous young women seated around the table as friends but the wonderful woman who I had cuddled up with. Jenny leaned over and shared a quick kiss.

“We both are lucky.” Jenny said. And for once I didn’t care that she could read my mind. She was right.