Settle Grey Marks

Two: Mr. & Mrs.

Warning: an important conversation about marriage sex will be the only adult content on this chapter. Nothing too graphic, or detailing, that's for later on.

To find Drane being tossed in the air by my family and close family friends, was quite ordinary. I stood by the pillar where the curtain was draped behind me. I watched my family move as a flock of children, bouncing my husband on the men's shoulders, as they walked around the dance floor, moving to the beat of the music. The uncertainty of whether to laugh or to be in absolute terror was displayed on my husband's face. The ordinary thing about this is that it's a tradition in a marriage celebration.

I moved over to the center table and sat down, getting a great view of my family beginning the second round of tossing Drane high in the air as they could. The men moved the women from the way, placing both hands underneath Drane and started off by taunting him. They got the build up by bouncing Drane a little, occasionally wiggling him as a worm. Through an opening, Drane managed to lock eyes with me, pleading for me to end this. I answered him with a laugh and mouthed, "I told you."

"They're going to kill him." I said to myself more than to someone.

My heartbeat rose in excitement each time Drane left the hands of my family. I found myself gripping the decorative cloth on the table, praying that Drane didn't slip through the hands of the men. I heard myself to be laughing nervously at the faces Drane would make when gravity pulled him back down. Hardly anyone of my family member cared if he was scared, they all viewed it as a game. Which, as family tradition, it is a game. A cruel game the bride's family makes on the groom. I did my best to warn Drane of the dangers he'll face at the celebration after becoming my husband. I even showed him pasted photos of my father going through the same thing he's currently going through, but Drane believed he could take it. Little did he know, he'll have to play along much worse than being tossed in the air. He'll have to dance with a broom shortly after this, as well as dance amongst my family in a circle with a feathered bird. Yet the one I warned him about the most, is that the women will strip him of his clothes, leaving him only in his undergarments. This seems more of a tradition the women in my family started as their own little fun. Mainly for show and to see the body build the my husband has. Honestly it's only for the women's pleasure.

The party continued with laughter and cheer. Surprisingly Drane entertained my family with all of our traditions. He decided to add more flare to the strip show by dancing sexually, giving the women a small portion of what belongs to me now. Of course the men weren't pleased, but of course, it's only tradition and fun. Hardly any complaints were made from the adults or hardly did children fight. The dinner was superb and the cake was beyond delicious. I made sure to have a waiter send another large piece of cake to my grandmother's room, but my grandfather thought it was best for him to take it. The guests began to leave, making me feel uneasy at the fact that I'll be thanking them for coming and saying farewell to them. A couple of the guests understood why Drane and I were leaving so soon, but others thought it was best to complain for an hour straight. My father said it was because I was married and that the family had to say goodbye to the little girl I once was. Aftering remembering all the guests that were invited, I came to the realization that every invited guest was considered as family, no matter if they were friends or distant relatives. To me, my guests were family and I understood why they complained for an hour straight. To them, it seemed as if they were saying goodbye to a member of the family, as if I'll be leaving them forever.

I made sure to say my goodbyes heartwarmingly and positively, reminding them that I'll be seeing them at family functions. It must have been at least four hours after the party had ended and the last of the guests had left when I was finally able to rest. With an intense talk with my father, Drane carried me to our bedroom that was on the farthest end of the house. I begged Drane to place me down, since he would have to carry me three flights up the stairs and down two long hallways. I did my best to bribe him with anything my mind could think he'd like, but he insisted on carrying me.