As Told By Tuck & Axel

Permission Granted

Permission Granted—Tucker

Axel and I were eating breakfast together. It was a Friday.

"Next week is Maggie and me's anniversary. We've been together for a consecutive four years." I swallowed back the vomit that my churning stomach was spewing up. The nerves were eating me alive. Even my hands were shaking; I could barely take a sip of OJ without spilling it everywhere.

Axel nodded. "Congratulations." He took a giant bite of his egg sandwich. I took a deep breath.

"I was thinking about, you know, maybe..." I broke off, coughing slightly. Axel looked at me expectantly. I took another deep breath, and closed my eyes. I didn't want to see Axel's face when I asked him. "Ax, I'm looking for your permission to marry your sister."

The words were all jumbled and barely auditable, but Axel knew what I was asking. My eyes were still slammed shut when he said, "Yeah, that's okay."
I opened one of them. "It's... okay?"

Axel took a sip of his juice, nodding. "Of course. You're the only man I would ever want Maggie to marry, anyway. Plus, we get to be brothers. That's enough of a reason to marry her!"

Axel chuckled, so I forced one along with him. He seemed casual, too casual, even though his logic made sense. Axel always made a big deal out of everything, and his nonchalance with my marrying his sister was actually worrisome.

"You're sure, Ax?"

He gave me a tight-lipped fake smile. "Of course." He got up from the table and put his plate in the sink. "I'll see you later," he said, leaning over and placing a kiss on my head. "Have a good day."

 I didn't dwell on Axel's weirdness about the topic until the next day. I had driven over to the Otto's house in order to ask Mr. Otto for permission to marry Maggie as well. When I got there, without Axel, Rachel immediately knew what was going on. She squealed, and begged her husband to come downstairs.

"EADMUND, HE'S DOING IT! FINALLY!"

Mr. Otto shook my hand with a smile. "Good to see you, Tuck. Judging by my wife's screeching, you've come to ask for my daughter's hand in marriage."

I only nodded dumbly. Mr. Otto was never this friendly, even to me.

"We'll it's about time."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Rachel hugged me again. Mr. Otto shook my hand again, and then I left for my parents house. I was still in shock when I opened the front door.

"Tuck, come to the kitchen, Rick needs help with the potatoes!" My mother had clearly heard me come in. I had told her that I was coming down to have a weekend with the family. She didn't know about my plans to propose, I was going to tell her tonight.

I followed her instructions and headed for the kitchen, still in a bit of a trance. I couldn't believe all of it had been this easy.

When I got there, Axel was standing at the stove next to my mother.

"Ax?" He turned around, lighting up as he saw me. He took off a pair of oven mitts and made his way towards me. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled, then leaned over and kissed me. "Your mom invited me. Go help Rick with the potatoes."

"Whoa," I turned towards Rick's voice. "I didn't realize you two kiss each other now."

I felt myself blush as Rick acknowledged the new habit Axel and I had developed. My eyes found Axel, who was not in the least bit embarrassed.

"And I didn't realize you decided to stop going to the gym." Rick laughed at Axel's joke; the two of them had always been the type to poke fun and agitate each other. My mom rolled her eyes at them, then smiled at me strangely before turning back to the stove. I blinked, contemplating the idea that I was dreaming. I wasn't.

We sat down for dinner. A few minutes in, I told my mom I was getting married.

"So, Mom, Rick... I've decided to ask Maggie to marry me." Silence echoed around the table. I noticed everyone but Axel had stopped eating. I looked over at my mom. She was busy folding up her napkin and avoiding my gaze.

"That's great son," Rick was the first to respond to me. I thanked him, then turned to my mom.

"Mom?"

She sighed, placing the folded napkin in her lap. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked, looking up at me. "Marriage is a big commitment, Tuck, and you were never the type to like commitment."

I snorted. "I've practically been dating Maggie since I was 17, mom. I think I've passed the stage of not liking commitment."

"Well, all I'm saying is you need to make sure you love her."

"Of course I do!"

"Like really love her, Tuck."

"Mom, I do." I was getting frustrated.

"But what about your future? You live in a teeny apartment and you barely make any money. How are you going to support her? How are you going to buy a ring?"

"I have a ring, Ma. And I'm not marrying her right away. I want to settle into a real job first, but I'd like to be able to call her my fiancé as well."

My mom sighed. "Alright," she resigned. "If it's what you really want."

"It is."

After dinner, my mom and Axel cleared off the table and did the dishes. She suggested that the two of them go for a walk. I tried to get up to join them, but she shunned me. So, I bullshitted around with Rick and watched ESPN until Axel got back.

It was late, so we decided to drive to the city in the morning. I was in my bedroom, still frustrated and agitated by my mother's response to my impending marriage. I had thought she would love the idea. I thought she would have been thrilled.

"Hey, don't stress," Axel saw me rubbing my temples. He pulled my hands away from my face and laid them at my sides. His fingers wound around the buttons on my shirt as he began to undress me. "Everything is going to work out. Your mom loves you, and she loves Mags. But you know moms. They're crazy about their kids, and sometimes they get a little too overprotective." He pulled the shirt off me and tossed it on my beanbag chair. His fingers moved down to my belt, but his eyes stayed on mine. "Just worry about how you're going to propose, because my little sister deserves something good for putting up with me, and you, all these years." I laughed, and so did Axel. He stepped away from me as I pulled off my pants and tossed them on top of the shirt.

I sighed. A second later, Axel's arms were wrapped around my back. He kissed my neck. "If all else fails, you'll always have me."
"Good," I told him. "Because right now, that's all I want."