A long lane at night

2.20. LET'S STAY TOGETHER Part 2

Christmas was a closer affair. Well, it was still seven adults and a baby, but it was just family. January flew by in preparations and then, Nate and I woke up on the nineteenth.

'Happy wedding day, hubby,' Nate said, waking me up with kisses and reaching for my boner.

'Aren't we supposed to do that after the wedding?' I asked, letting him get inside my pants.

'And who's saying we won't? I just want to practice.'

'Oh, you want to practice riding me?'

'If that's what you want,' he said with a wink.

An hour later, we went down for breakfast. Dad Allan couldn't contain his joy and dad Brian spent the whole morning fighting off a sad smile away from his face.

'Hey, dad,' I said to him, 'do you think you can hold your baby boy one last time before he's a married man?'

'I'd love to.'

I sat on his legs, ignoring his shallow protests about how I wasn't a light kid anymore and hugged him behind his shoulder.

'I know that you waited for this day more than anyone else,' I said to him. 'I know that today you're forgetting everything about the past twenty-three years of being a wonderful dad and that you are judging your worth as a father solely on doing to your son what wasn't done to you back then. I know we had rehearsed that you would walk Alice and help her throw the flowers, but I want you to walk me down the aisle. I want you to have the whole experience, to be a parent giving his kid away.'

'But your dad—'

'Dad will understand better than anyone else.'

Dad Brian hugged my chest and, from that moment on, his smile was perfectly genuine.

Dad Allan had insisted on a light lunch, so we wouldn't need to go to the loo a lot once we were in our overcoats. He didn't have to insist much, actually. Both Nate and I were so nervous that we couldn't even eat anything.

'Here, drink this,' Chad came to us with two dark glasses, the contents invisible.

He wouldn't pull up this kind of prank on my wedding day, would he? I hoped he wouldn't. Truth be told, if he had done anything to those, he would have to live on the run from our dads, so I guess it was safe to take a sip.

'This is Coke float, Chad,' I said, going back to the straw and taking almost half of it in one go.

'Exactly,' Chad said. 'It's ice cream, it sits well in the stomach and you won't feel hungry until later. Plus, it's not really lunch, so it feels like you're cheating dad's obsessive diet plan for the day. There is more where these came from,' he winked and went back to his room to finish getting ready.

Dad Allan had us leaving the house at two. Why, oh Lord why, did we have to be there three hours before the wedding? I tried asking this question. The evil glare that I got from him was enough of an answer.

I drove Nate and Alice in my car and I insisted no one else came with us. I needed some alone time with my future husband.

'If you ever see me act like that whenever Alice gets married, you have my permission to slap some sense back into me,' I said to Nate once we were far from my father.

'No matter who's around us?' Nate asked with a grin. He turned to face our daughter, 'you hear that, Princess? Your dad is giving me permission to slap him.'

'Ha ha ha, very funny.'

We drove in silence for some twenty minutes, when Nate scratched me behind my ear like I were a dog. The worst part perhaps is that I liked it.

'I don't think we have time for a stiletto class,' he said, sensing my nerves. Not that it took some special talent for that today, anyway.

I chuckled.

'We don't,' I replied, 'but I understood what you meant. I've been stressing over nothing, or more likely, over everything, and today's not the day for that.' I shook my head a bit and made some silly sounds with my mouth. 'Okay, it's gone.'

Then, an idea started forming in my head.

'Hey, Munchkin—'

'No!' Nate said. 'I know that voice far too well. You came up with an idea that will have one of the dads want to whoop our asses. It's my wedding day, Jack. No.'

I laughed so hard at that that Alice started laughing too.

'It would be fucking iconic, though,' I said, 'and you'd just have to follow my lead.'

'Jack, when did you become such a dancer?' Nate asked.

'About ninety per cent of the time I spent at the gym was actually taking any dance lessons I could find,' I answered. 'I always thought basic work-outs too boring and lonely. Dancing felt like exercise, but with a purpose.'

Nate looked out the window for a second.

'I will never accept wearing a rental on my wedding day,' he finally said.

That was a very happy detour I took.

We were rather close to the Grand Library, which meant we were still comfortable with time. Forty minutes later, we came back to the car with two bags, a strawberry milkshake for Nate, a chocolate one for me and a very small portion of Alice's first vanilla ice cream.

'Why does ice cream taste so much better during winter?' I asked, feeling way lighter.

'Because it doesn't melt before you finish it,' Nate said matter-of-factly.

'I see you've given it some thought,' I said, handing my cup to Nate so I could drive.

'I remember it all very well, it was the winter I turned fourteen,' he said laughing.

I reached out to him for a cold kiss.

'I'll give you lots more than only one chance, all right?' I said.

'Don't worry,' Nate said, putting that timeless foreign classic to play. 'I won't let you down.'

Shortly after, I parked at the Grand Library's exclusive area for hosts. Nate took his bag and gave me Alice, my bag, and my milkshake. And because I was feeling a little bit extra, I put on a pair of shades.

'I have a sense we won't see each other until we walk down that aisle,' I said to him, 'so come and give me a great kiss for good luck.'

'Last kiss of a single man?' He asked.

'Make it a good one.'

I held my arms out a little bit to make room for him. Since I couldn't hug my fiancé, I had to compensate with my lips and tongue. I think I did okay.

'Wow,' Nate said. 'I can't wait until I can kiss you again.'

'Alas, I'll be a married man by then and my lips will belong exclusively to my husband.'

'Lucky chap,' he winked and left.

I turned my attention to Alice, who was a little bit too concentrated trying to get a hold of my straw.

'Fine!' I told her, then I whispered, 'just don't tell your dad or he'll kill me, and then he'll be a widower before he's even married.' Alice took a sip and looked far too happy for my taste.