Marina Ch. 04

I had just realized that Marina and I were home entertaining friends. But we were in Felicity.

We had come for a two-day exploratory trip and before the second day ended we were residents with good friends.

The conversation with our guests eventually led to our wedding plans. Marina related to them the complications we had run into. We had in fact just about decided that Las Vegas was our best option.

The girls nixed that idea quickly. Wendy told us that her little sister, James' mother Amanda, had gone to Vegas for her wedding the previous winter but had to re-do it that spring because only a few of her family and friends managed to make the trip. Amanda had said she did not feel married and would not until all tradition was followed. Wendy said we would feel the same way.

"But we don't even know where to have it," Marina said.

"Felicity," Karen. Maggie, and Lucy said.

They looked at Wendy who nodded then asked us, "Sooner or later?"

"Sooner," Marina and I both said.

They all got a laugh over that then Wendy made a phone call and asked to speak to Betty.

Then she said, "Don't give me that procreation bull crap and leave your wife alone you dirty old man. Get her on the phone." The others roared with laughter.

"Our friendly neighborhood minister," Karen explained.

Wendy asked for open dates, presumably to Betty and wrote them down. "Thanks, I will let you know. Hold on before you go back to his fantasy for a few minutes if you can."

OK, your choices are June 19, 26, July 17, 31. Marina, call your father and see if any of them are a problem. Jay call your father, he has the furthest to travel. I need answers soon; nothing else can be set up before that is set.

I called Dad who said he would make it regardless of the date but the 26th would probably be best for Miko. Mom said any day was fine.

Albert told Marina that any date would be fine with him and Sara.

Marina said to Wendy, "The 26th of June sounds like a great day for a wedding." Everyone raised their glasses to us.

Wendy called Betty back and told her the 26th and our names. She then said, "Really? Your are wearing it?" Pictures please. We love you. Have fun," then hung up the phone.

We were all looking at her hoping for an explanation but Wendy just said, "Jim's fault, the result of his Christmas present to the good reverend."

James, Mike and Jason immediately grinned and raised their glasses to Jim while their wives blushed. I knew Karen would soon tell Marina so I did not ask for clarification.

"OK people, lets go and leave them to their first night in their new home," Wendy announced.

Wendy asked Marina to come by her shop the next day; they had a lot of things to go over. Karen immediately volunteered as her chauffer. Marina's car was still at Sara's house.

James asked me to come over the next day and help him keep his Aunt Martha on task.

"Good luck with that," Wendy said.

The kisses the women shared with each other as they parted were starting to look normal to me. Marina had to bend her knees to kiss Karen and Maggie, which made that a bit awkward.

I saw her solution the next morning when Karen just latched on to Marina's neck and as Marina embraced her she lifted Karen up off the floor for the kiss. Karen wrapped her legs around Marina's hips and they extended the kiss. Karen was barely over five feet tall and was not likely over ninety pounds. Marina would not have had a problem lifting her into a hug.

I guess I had forgotten how big and how strong Marina was. She could bench press nearly as much as I could. To me she was always as soft as a kiss. That was when it occurred to me our clothes and toiletries were still in our motel room. I needed to make a trip to collect them that night and bring them home. That word sounded so sweet. Home.

That night on our new bed with new linens, (and our own pillows), Marina and I had our most love filled sex to date. We were so giddy about our bright future together we could not get to sleep so we had sex, more conversation, and then more sex. Luckily we were ready for our new life by ten the next morning.

James was not kidding about keeping Martha on task. Apparently everyone driving by the school that noticed her car was there stopped and came in for a kiss and a chat. James and I did manage to put a framework to the curriculum, (a much tougher and involved job than I had ever anticipated), but we still had the hard part to do, fitting the lessons within the framework.

As we left that early afternoon I noticed that Martha drove a lime green VW Beetle, the kind with the flower vase. It may as well had been a neon sign saying Martha is receiving at home. I suggested to James that what we needed to do was hide her car as soon as she went into the building.

He thought that was a great idea and for the next week and two days I would come in a bit after they did, James would throw me her car keys out the window, and I would drive her car around the corner of the building. When we were done for the day I would leave first and put her car back where it was. We even kidded her about leaving her keys in the car one day when we did not return them to her purse in time. A flawless plan if there ever was one.

We managed to put a big dent into the curriculum writing during the next four days. But the following Tuesday people started to call Martha and ask her if she was sick. They were asking because they had noticed she had not been to the school for days. They knew she was not at school because they did not see her car.

A moment of panic later she figured out who the miscreants were. We were grounded for a week.

Saturday night after Marina and I had been citizens of Felicity for nearly two weeks we were at Karen and Mike's for a cookout. Marina and I noted that our habit of leaning against each other was catching on; Karen and Mike were doing it as well as James and Lucy. We were starting to feel like we belonged.

Actually, I was starting to feel that I belonged. Marina belonged from our first day and by the end of the week she was in the middle of everything. All that Saturday night at least one female had their hand on Marina's body at all times, often on her ass. Marina had a hand on some female's body too, often on their ass.

I did not think a single woman at the large gathering missed kissing Marina's lips at least once. Karen did so often and she and her sister Maggie spent time sitting on Marinas lap. Often Lucy and Shawna and Marina had their arms around each other's waist in a close embrace. They were the only ladies other than Wendy that were near her height so they were the only two that could do so comfortably.

Except for kissing their wives the guys waited for the ladies to kiss them, the exceptions for them were Martha, Mo, and Wendy. Everybody kissed them. I was not there yet.

Everyone maintained body contact with everyone and before the evening ended Karen, Lucy, Wendy and Martha were resting their hands on my hips or shoulders.

Martha even spent some time sitting on my lap as we discussed what was left to do in the curriculum. I was very flattered by that, as I had noted that she sat on the other guy's laps too. James and I had been graciously paroled from our grounding that morning but Martha made sure we and everyone else understood that we had not finished our sentence and our parole could be revoked.

Everyone at the gathering had gotten a kick out of what we had done with Martha's car and our subsequent grounding. I suddenly saw that in their eyes I was now one of their men.

I knew whom I had to thank for my new life and began to kiss Martha on the cheek as we talked. Before she got up from my lap she leaned to me for more kisses several times.

I had not seen Marina so happy, so at ease since ever. I felt like I was being absorbed into a clan. It was a happy, laugh filled love fest.

Martha had been right; our best friends ever had been waiting for us in Felicity. We had gained their love because Martha loved us and they saw we loved Martha

The following Monday I took a dozen roses to Martha. Marina added a thank you card and letter that had Martha crying. I kissed Martha on the lips for the first time and called her our angel and thanked her for inviting us into her heaven.

I knew it was an amazingly corny thing to say but I meant it. I got away with the words because she saw that the sentiment was real.

Marina called me about thirty minutes later to tell me our home had been invaded by a horde of crying and kissing redheads and blondes and that the chief of police was not doing anything to stop them. She asked me to come and rescue her in a week or two.

The very extended family was like one huge organism, what one felt they all felt within a very short of time.

Over half of the family was teachers that apparently ran through the summer as a pack. Our home became one of their regular hangouts. We were proud of that.

Albert and Sara came down almost two weeks before our wedding and brought Marina's car with them. As a wedding present Albert paid our bills at Juanitas and Bernice's. I hugged Albert and actually kissed his cheek. Our ladies seemed to be very pleased with me after that.

Sara had the mother of the bride role so she and Wendy spent a lot of their time together. Albert confided in me that one night at Wendy's house he and Jim had stepped out for a beer or three, just as he and I had done nearly five months before for Marina and Sara. He laughed as he encouraged me to be nice to my landlady.

I asked him how things were with Sara and him in general.

He gave me a big grin and said, "About the same as you and Marina in general."

"That good, huh?" I said.

Dad came down two days before the rehearsal. As a wedding gift Dad covered our rent through September.

His fiancee Miko worked for the Seattle Mariners in their guest relations department. To Dad it was better than having a girlfriend that owned a bar.

The team had just started a series in Arlington, which was why the June 26th date was more convenient for her. She was diffident and polite with everyone at first, her formal persona, Dad reminded me. By the end of the rehearsal dinner she was one of the girls.

After ten days in Felicity Sara already was one of the family. A campaign to bring her and Albert to Felicity permanently was in full swing. Hugs, kisses and butt pats came to her from every direction. She absolutely loved that but knew that as a girls coach at a mid-major university she could not accept those displays of affection in public. So she did the only thing she could do. She resigned. Before the summer was over she and Albert were residents of Felicity too.

Sara did announce exactly who she was when she plastered Jello on Albert's crotch after the rehearsal dinner Jello wars. Miko plastered Dad. Martha plastered a guy I had not seen before the dinner but no one seemed surprised over that.

I will not go into what happened to me but I wished Mike had told me his story sooner.

Most of Marina's volleyball team and a few of my swim team members managed to come down for the ceremony. Marina's teammate and best friend Leslie was the maid of honor and had joined us a week before the wedding. After three days in Felicity Leslie asked Martha if they needed a coach. Martha asked her to send her transcript and resume' ASAP.

Leslie did not have to go far to get them, they were at our home which was where she was staying. Marina's descriptions of how the town had treated us had convinced Leslie that Felicity was the place for her too. Martha did have a job for her and Leslie never left Felicity.

Marina's Aunt Marie and her cousin Robby attended with his wife Vicky. Their fifteen month-old baby Fay Marie was continually kidnapped by all of the female members of the family who drowned her with kisses. Fay Marie drank it all up and by the reception was just wandering from lap to lap as James' niece Sammy and his daughter Jamie tried to corral her.

Wendy and her best friend Janice seemed to be very glad to resume their friendship with Marie. Marie and Robby were building homes in Felicity. Robby had headquartered his new business in town and Vicky was about to start her teaching career in the same school Lucy taught. The clan was growing by leaps and bounds and now included three entire families.

Our wedding was perfect. My wedding day was careening by in a blur until it suddenly stopped into sharp focus as Marina and I faced the guests in the chapel. For the second time in my life I could not have been more proud to have Marina stand next to me, this time as we were pronounced husband and wife.

We both felt like our real life had just begun.