The Happiest Day of Her Life Ch. 12

"Hey, Chloe."

"Oh, hi, Holls. What's up?"

You're a witness in the Midori Lee trial?"

"How did you... Oh. Yeah. Yes, Judge Sullivan, I am. Do you know who the judge is going to be?"

"It was me until three minutes ago."

"Oh? What happened?"

"I recused myself when I saw your name."

"Good for you. It's very refreshing to see such integrity in this weary world. Do you have your bridesmaid's dress yet?"

"Yes. I'm going to look horrible in plum."

"You'll be fine," Chloe said with a smile that immediately calmed Holly.

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Dori Lee's trial went on for five days but Chloe's involvement lasted less than thirty minutes. Chloe was very good on the stand. She remembered the events exactly, described them perfectly and held up well to cross examination. She never changed her story. The hit and run that put Chloe in the hospital, however, was only part of what Dori was charged with. She assaulted police officers and fled from justice. Dori's appearance had changed since her capture. Her hair had grown out. The blonde hair she was once proud of went from the middle of her ears down to her shoulders. The top of her head was now covered by her natural black color. The dichotomy was striking. Chloe only went to the courthouse on the day she testified. She would later read online that Dori was sentenced to six years in prison.

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One week before the wedding, the engaged trio was split up.

James drove the stretch limousine to the Bridgehampton train station. It was about a quarter to four in the afternoon. Chloe dragged Frank, Dani and Frank's brother, Chris, out and got them to a train on the Montauk line bound for Jamaica, Queens. Jenn wrangled Marie, Holly, Liz and Rae onto the same train. They all disembarked, seven stops later, at the Patchogue station and waited about thirteen minutes for another train that was bound for Jamaica. They rode that train for six stops and got off at the Babylon station. They waited there about six minutes for a train that was heading to Penn Station. Chloe and her party got off, another seven stops later, at the Wantagh station. They walked across Railroad Avenue and entered Mulcahy's. Jenn's party rode the train all the way to Manhattan. Jenn schlepped them over to Times Square and they had dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp.

The waiter was Joel. He was a heavy set man in his twenties with curly hair and glasses. He wore the novelty t-shirt and ball cap uniform as well as any of the other wait staff. He greeted the ladies cheerfully and asked where everyone was from. They said Long Island and he welcomed them to the city.

Joel asked, "Have any of you fine ladies been to Bubba Gump's before?"

"No," said Jenn, "but my wife has been here and she raved about it."

"Right on," said Joel. "Did your wife tell you about the signs?"

"No, she didn't," admitted Jenn.

"That's fine," assured Joel. "It's very simple. Right now the sign is set to 'Run, Forrest, Run.' If everything is fine with your group, you keep the sign right there. However... If, for any reason, someone in your group needs something all you have to do is flip your sign, like so, so that it reads 'Stop, Forrest, Stop.' The next available staff member will come up and get you whatever you need. Got it?" Joel flipped the sign back to "Run, Forrest, Run" and took their drink orders after they assured him they understood the table signs.

When the train left Bridgehampton, James drove back to Tarabella and picked up Jayne, Keri, Alice and two other staff members. He drove them to a lovely little place in East Hampton called Nick and Toni's.

Chloe's group arrived at Mulcahy's at about twenty after six. They arrived before the cover charge was established for the evening.

Chloe excused herself and Dani to the restroom shortly after they arrived. It was somewhat quieter there and Chloe took a moment before addressing her best friend's friend.

"Dani, I am so sorry. I had no idea you'd be joining us for the bachelor party when I planned everything."

"Chloe, what are you apologizing for? I love this place."

"I'm not sorry for bringing us here. I'm sorry for the next stop on our itinerary."

"Why? Where are we going?"

Chloe whispered the answer in Dani's ear and the young Pastor laughed.

They drank at Mulcahy's until just before eight and then got in a cab Chloe had scheduled to meet them there. The cab went north and west about two miles and took them to Billy Dean's Showtime Café in North Bellmore. Chloe told the others she thought the idea of a married man, his kid brother, a lesbian and a minister walking into a strip club sounded like the setup for a dirty joke. The doors of the strip club opened at eight on the dot. Chloe had ordered a three and a half hour bachelor party package. The package included a high-heeled G-string bikini bartender, two strippers, unlimited beer on tap, unlimited lap dances, a buffet, and a hot oil wrestling show. Chris behaved very awkwardly at first. His wife, Trish, was a very jealous woman and he was afraid of enjoying himself and risking her anger when she arrived in New York with the kids in a few days. In the beginning, he spent most of his time chatting with their bartender.

All of the awkward tension of the evening was disintegrated when Dani got a lap dance.

"Holy shit, that was wild," she said afterwards. "I can see why men would find those appealing." It was as though she'd given everyone else license to relax and enjoy. Chloe had brought tip money for everyone and Dani wound up giving the entire thirty dollars to that one dancer.

Later on, Chloe was sitting next to Dani as each of them was getting a lap dance.

"So, your church is cool with this sort of thing?" Chloe asked Dani over the music.

"What do you mean? Are you asking about my denomination or about my specific congregation? As far as the Presbyterian Church is concerned, I am an adult and... oooh, that's nice... capable of making my own decisions. Ooooh. My church, however, really isn't cool with anything I do so I might as well not worry about them and just enjoy myself. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. What about you? Is your wife cool with a woman in a bathing suit grinding her ass on your crotch?"

"She is as long as I describe everything to her in detail when we get back home and I demonstrate as much as possible for her."

"I like that," said a smiling Dani. "You guys all have really great relationships. Hey, can you tip my stripper? I gave all my bills to the other girl."

"Oh, if I had a dime for every time a minister said that to me..." said Chloe with a laugh and Dani laughed with her.

Later in the evening, Chloe sat between Frank and Dani during the hot oil wrestling. The girls came out and did a little twirl on the stripper pole. There was a warm up. The referee, wearing a black and white striped bikini and a whistle, oiled up the ladies who would be wrestling. The wrestlers were wearing G-string bikinis. The referee went back and forth between the two ladies with what looked like a tall mustard bottle filled with hot oil, poured it on them and rubbed it into all of their exposed skin. When she was satisfied that the wrestlers were suitably lubricated, she walked to the center of the small ring, with one hand holding on to the ropes, and blew her whistle. It was ridiculous and utterly fatuous watching these oily women tossing each other around in the 8X8' ring, but it was also fucking hot. The lubrication made grabbing the opponent extremely difficult. Each wrestler would bounce off the ropes and slam her opponent onto the mat or get clotheslined and fall to the mat, herself. Each girl took turns slamming the other for a while and then they actually looked as though they were wrestling. There were flips and choke slams. The blonde wrestler enjoyed giving elbow drops. The brunette wrestler pulled the blonde down hard after the third elbow drop. She went for the pin, but the blonde flipped her over and won it. Both combatants and the ref finished the show with some pole dancing.

The beer was freely consumed, the dancing was admired and 11:30 arrived much sooner than anyone expected.

The party took a cab back to Mulcahy's, had three rounds for "the road" and crossed the street to get to the train station. They caught the 12:56 train to Babylon.

The alcohol was also flowing very well at Bubba Gump's. The "Stop, Forrest, Stop" sign was displayed several times at their table so more drinks could be ordered.

After a great dinner, Jenn's crew went to Club Elegance on West 39th Street and enjoyed an amazing show of male dancers. It was an interesting place for three lesbians and two bisexual women to go. The two hour show began at nine. The troupe was called HunkOMania and it was soon obvious to the ladies why. The ladies could all appreciate the well sculpted bodies of the male dancers.

The troupe did all the usual group dances. Six men dancing in dress white Navy uniforms. Four men dressed as cowboys. During one of the solo dances, a performer dressed as a doctor asked for a volunteer from the audience. Jenn's group had a table right by the stage. Jenn, Holly, Liz and Rae hooted and hollered as they all pointed to Marie. Marie's face turned red in embarrassment as she was the one selected.

It was a little predictable, but the girls were cheering Marie on throughout the performance. The music playing was Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood. The dancer wrapped his stethoscope behind Marie's neck. As a nurse, she was impressed it was a real stethoscope and not just a toy one. He used the instrument to pull her head closer to him as his hips gyrated wildly in her general direction. Marie was laughing so hard that tears were forming in her eyes, but she was also getting very excited. It was too difficult to keep her hands to herself so she stopped trying. She stuffed bills into the dancer's G-string. The song ended and the nearly naked dancer escorted Marie back to her seat.

Before the ladies knew what happened, it was eleven and time to leave. They walked their way back to Penn Station and caught the local train to Babylon. Jenn was delighted when her wife and the other three people in that party got on the train at Wantagh.

"You planned it exactly right," Jenn told her.

"Did you ever doubt?" asked Chloe with a big grin. Jenn and Chloe sat next to each other on the train and held hands. They changed trains at Babylon, after a thirty minute wait, and the couple once again took to holding hands. Just about everyone else in the merged group chose to sleep on the train.

Back in East Hampton, it never occurred to Keri to plan a bachelorette party. She reserved the dining room at Nick and Toni's that was all the way in the back of the establishment. After a fantastic dinner, the ladies presented Jayne with her Bridal Shower gifts. Since they were as well endowed as Jayne, the staff members of Tarabella were able to get Jayne a lot of sexy lingerie that actually fit. Keri and Alice had bought quite a bit for her during their latest fittings at Rigby and Peller. It's great to have sexy underwear. It's out of this world when those undergarments fit you like a glove. Jayne thanked and hugged her friends. Before the last gift was opened, Keri called James and asked to be picked up. She felt a little embarrassed when James mentioned casually that theirs was the last group out and the first ones back. Jayne assured her Maid of Honor she'd had a wonderful time. Jayne was always worried about going out to a restaurant with her friend, Alice. Since Alice was one of the chefs at Tarabella, she could be judgmental of other people's cooking. That was probably why they went to Nick and Toni's. Alice loved the food there. This helped Jayne to relax and enjoy her night.

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On the Wednesday before the wedding, Jenn and Chloe were in the Living Room at Tarabella watching the DVD from their wedding. It was Keri's day off, so she joined the loving couple. They were hoping to get ideas for decorating the Ballroom without asking Jayne directly. They skipped the wedding on the beach and focused their attention on the reception. Jenn and Keri took notes when they saw things they liked.

Chloe and Jenn had not been aware that the videographer had asked the guests to give little greetings to the happy newlyweds. They laughed together as they heard some of the often joyous and mostly drunken sentiments passed on to them. The pair became silent when they saw Marie on the screen holding the microphone the videographer had used.

"Oh my God, you two," the image of Marie on the plasma screen said. "I love you both so much. Jenn, my amazing sister, you are so incredible and you don't even realize it. I can't tell you how happy I am for you right now. I am so proud of you. Chloe, my new sister... You're already a part of my family but I'm glad you guys did this. You two are so wonderful together. Don't ever take each other for granted. Jenn and Chloe, may this be the happiest day of your lives and may every day from now on be happier than the one before it. I love you both!"

Another person was speaking on the television screen but the lovers weren't paying any attention. They both had happy tears raining from their eyes. Marie walked by the Living Room and both Chloe and Jenn ran up and hugged her tightly.

"What are you two doing?" the surprised Mistress of the House asked.

"We just saw the message you left for us at our wedding," Chloe explained.

"Oh, God," said Marie. "I'm sorry. I was a little tipsy at that point. I'm sure I was a rambling mess."

"Shut up, Ree," Jenn said. "You were perfect. I love you."

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The night before the wedding was a Friday so some adjustments needed to be made to the Dinner and Board Game tradition. The stretch limousine was stuffed to capacity as James drove everyone to the wedding rehearsal at the church. Dani had been staying at Tarabella since the week before Frank's bachelor party and was smooshed between Chloe and Keri in the limo. The group was in high spirits. There was no doubt among anyone in the car of the love shared by the engaged trio.

The large group bore some resemblance to a team of circus clowns climbing out of a Volkswagon bug when they arrived at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church at 5:30. Pastor Gene was waiting for them and let them into the church after shaking hands with Dani. The two pastors made an interesting pair. Pastor Gene was an imposingly large African American man but Pastor Dani was actually a couple of inches taller.

Pastor Gene turned on the lights and showed Dani where everything was. The outside of the church was a typical all white church with a tall steeple. The inside was also white, but it was grand and had red carpeting. There were red carpeted steps leading up to the Chancel, where Dani, Frank, Chloe and Chris would stand. There were two separate rooms that could be used as green rooms for Marie and Jayne.

Everything was rehearsed including the procession of the bridesmaids and the two brides being given away by Marie's parents. Dani explained to everyone how the service would go. She explained the exchanging of rings, the vows, the lighting of the candle, and every other step of the process.

Since she didn't quite understand the logistics of three people performing a certain wedding tradition, she let them practice the kiss. The trio appreciated the chance to practice that, as well.

The rehearsal dinner was at The Stone Creek Inn in East Quogue. It was fortunate they'd made reservations because the group took over the dining room they were taken to. The fare was breathtakingly sumptuous. After dinner, Harry Stevens made a little speech.

"Marie's mother and I are very proud of her. We were very happy to pay for her first wedding. We're even happier she's paying for this one and that she paid for her sister's. We love our soon to be son and daughter. I'll admit that I wasn't sure about this at first. That was because Marie told her mother and me without bringing Frank and Jayne with her. Once I saw the three of them together, I got it. May the three of you know much happiness in your lives together."

They crammed themselves back into the limousine and returned to Tarabella. They added chairs to the Dining Room and used the table to play Apples to Apples. Dani had become a huge fan of Dinner and Board Game Night and was glad it could be worked around the rehearsal night. Holly made a joke, the first round that she was judge, that everyone would finally get to see a real judge in action.

Dani had gotten better at knowing how the other participants thought and did very well at Apples to Apples. She won the most cards twice out of the three games they played. Holly won the other game.

After the game, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, along with their pet, Annie, excused themselves to bed. Most everyone else got changed for the hot tub. At 11:30, Chloe kicked the engaged trio out. They would be sticking to the Tarabella tradition that those who were engaged would stay in separate rooms and the room they normally shared would be vacant. Chloe made sure each of the three was in their new room, and away from the other two, before midnight.

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On the day of the wedding, James drove almost everyone except the trio to the church. Chloe drove Frank, Jenn drove her sister and Keri drove Jayne. They made sure the three did not see each other before the wedding.

Jenn had Marie and Holly cloistered away in a room called Fellowship Hall. There was plenty of room to stretch out and get dressed. Jenn and Holly adjusted to the plum colored dresses they wore as they helped Marie get dressed in her white gown with plum accents. The bridesmaids did her hair and makeup meticulously which helped her to relax. She remembered her first wedding and there were some horrible thoughts in the back of her head of all the ways things could go wrong. She was thankful when Jenn noticed she was working herself up and got her a glass of water to sip.

"Ree, you look radiant. I've checked in with Chloe and Keri. Everything is on schedule and looking great. Are you ready for me to let Mom and Dad in?"

Marie smiled and said, "Yes, I'm ready. Thanks, Jenn."

When Jenn opened the door for their parents, she took the opportunity to step out and walk to the Narthex. Her wife was waiting for her there. Chloe was dressed in a tuxedo and Jenn thought she looked sensational.

Chloe's tux was black with a plum vest and a silver bowtie. Instead of pants, she wore a long black skirt. Her black shoes had three inch heels. Her fiery red hair was brushed out and fell invitingly onto her shoulders.

"How's Frank doing?" Jenn asked her gorgeous wife.

"He's going to make it without puking or passing out, I think. How's your sister?"

"Remembering Trent, I think, but she's going to be great. I better get back before Mom leaves Ree to attend to Jayne. I love you."

Chloe replied, "I love you, too," and gave her spouse a passionate kiss just as the accompanist announced her presence with a piece by Bach played beautifully on the piano.

Jenn managed to get back to Fellowship Hall before Catherine left. She told Marie that the prelude music had started and they had about two more minutes. Marie nodded and carefully dabbed her right eye with a tissue to prevent a tear of joy from ruining her makeup. There was a knock and Jenn opened the door to see Dani in her celebrant's robes.

"Is everyone ok in here?" Dani asked. "We're just about ready to start."

"I'm ready, Dani," Marie said. "Thank you, again, for doing this."

"It's my pleasure, Ree. I've already checked on Jayne. She's very excited and I'll bring Frank out to the Chancel with me. I think we're all ready. I'll meet you at the Chancel in a couple of minutes."