Aara

They’ve begun to call the wedding goers into the main area to be seated, and I feel the sticky fingers of Nancy entwined with my own. I lead her to sit next to me, and watch Loreli and Damien slide into the pew, sandwiching the girls between us. I reach over their heads, and lace fingers with Damien instead. We are both sticky with candy and love, as all parents of toddlers should be.

Leaning back in the pew, I see Nicole and Tara slide into the pew behind ours. I grin at Tara, who waves and leans over to get in Loreli’s face.

“Where’s Shawn?” I ask softly. Nic shrugs, gesturing over her shoulder.

“Somewhere over there,” she makes a face. “He slept in; we were up late last night. You know how it goes.” She winks, and I snigger.

“We haven’t had that in months.” I say meaningfully, staring at my husband who immediately bows his head in feigned chagrin. Shawn staggers in the door, rubbing his right eye and sliding in next to his wife. He yawns, leans forward, and hugs me around the neck. While I have married who I love, I will always, always hold the scent of Shawn May’s aftershave as my favorite. It reminds me of childhood.

“Sorry, one of my contacts fell out. I was in the men’s room,” Shawn stretches, looking over his shoulder and around. “Where’d Salem go?”

“Never saw him,” I say, just now remembering the third husband. “I think this is a hard day for him.” Damien nods, a look of pain on his face.

“He’ll be in soon, he just has a hard time accepting that she’s grown up now and doesn’t need him like she used to.” He explains. The doors open once again, and Salem walks in, tears shining on his cheeks as he slips in next to Shawn who pats him supportively on the shoulder. He stands up, smiling gratefully at us, and slips out the back so he can slide seamlessly into the wedding procession.

On my bad days, I think that if Damien, Shawn and Salem didn’t have each other, they’d be dead.

Shawn

Weddings depress me. If this weren’t anyone but Jade Taliham getting married today, I wouldn’t be here. I was up late last night working on a case and doing a few others things, I hasten to add, but the case alone kept me going until two. Never mind the fact that Tara decided to play Pretty Pretty Princess with me. And the dog. I’m not too sure that Daphne appreciated that too much.

So, when the organ music pipes up and the bridesmaids begin to saunter down the aisle, I wonder why Jade hadn’t selected Aara and Nicole as some of them. She didn’t, for whatever reason, and she had Salem as her maid of honor. That’s what we call him, anyway. I think there’s a technical term for a male maid of honor, I just forget what it is. It fits him, no matter. Being gay probably helps, too.

Jade takes a step into the aisle, and everyone stands up respectfully. She looks positively radiant, with Salem walking a few steps behind, his hands folded in a prayer position and his lower lip bit. He hands Jade off to Matt, and sighs so loudly that the mics pick it up and deliver the noise to the back where we sit.

The ceremony stretches on for quite some time, and at last Jade becomes Jade Rose, and kisses Matt in what most would consider an almost lurid manner. They grasp hands and turn to face their adoring fans. We give them a standing ovation, and they grin to themselves, pleased.

Something tells me, though, that Salem isn’t nearly as pleased as he should be.