Gronth Ch. 07 Matt Marries

Joya Meets the Parents

Benjamin and Nancy Seabolt had been told all about Matt's almost miraculous survival in the Elani Clinic and the existence of his new Elani friends. Jasmine and Alex were, of course, excited about seeing their uncle again, but almost equally as excited about meeting real Aliens and staying in a flying space house.  

Henry Fletcher arranged for Matt's family to be flown to a desolate area in the Texas panhandle, outside of a small town. The rented trailer where Henry would stay was out of the prying eyes of the public. Hank Fletcher and Matt's family stood outside in the fading dusk, searching the skies for a flying saucer. The kids were a little disappointed when a spacecraft didn't streak across the sky and settle down in front of them like they'd seen in the movies. Instead, a large circular object looking very much like a dome covered dish in a fancy restaurant, appeared only a few meters away from them.

Nancy was overcome by emotion when she saw her son emerge from an open section in the side of the now transparent dome. Ando and Joya watched the tearful reunion from inside the dome, touched by the depth of emotion that the Terran family expressed toward each other. The Terrans reacted to their loved ones just like the Elani did.

All of a sudden, it didn't matter that these Terrans were overtly warlike. In the presence of his parents, Matt was just another human, happy to see his folks.

"You're standing up," Matt noticed when greeting Hank.

"Ando lent me an anti-gravity harness. He said that he will talk to his friend Lela about fixing the nerves in my legs."

"If anyone can help, it would be Lela."

There was plenty of room for everybody in the newly fabricated Elani domed residence, which was much larger than a standard dome. In addition to multiple bedrooms with doors, each bedroom had an ensuite "fresher" bathroom. Matt had insisted on the doors, after hearing Beta and Baros mate several times during his stay with Joya.

Jasmine and Alex shared a room, as did Ando and Sofia. Joya and Matt shared a room, as did Matt's parents. Hank was the odd man out this time, but promised to bring his wife in the future. Each room was loaded with beautiful sculptures and artwork at Joya's insistence. Art had been something that Matt had missed on Ralajan but Joya adored. 

Everyone gave Matt plenty of space and time to reunite with his family before Joya's parents joined them for the wedding. Matt and Joya caught up with what was going on with Matt's friends and relatives and laughed at the stories about Matt's childhood.  After an hour or two, Ando and Joya put the twins to bed and told them fantastic stories about their strange Alien upbringing. 

The kids were wide awake early the next morning. Fortunately, it was cold in North Texas and Matt and Joya were under the covers when the kids barged in.

"Can we go for a ride in your flying house Uncle Matt?" Jasmine pleaded as she jumped up on the bed.

"Yeah Uncle Matt, can we go to Saturn?" Alex asked, joining his sister. 

"Alex's class had been studying the gas giants in the solar system over the last few days." Ando said, walking into Matt and Joya's room.

Matt looked at Ando and asked if he could emulate a spacecraft touring the solar system. Ando nodded in the affirmative. Matt had learned how to do simple translocations with his handy implant, but he wasn't qualified to make the house translocate through space like a spacecraft.

After dressing in Terran clothes and enjoying a Texas sized breakfast, Matt got clearance from General Zhao's and Admiral Hoshino's office, and the family and friends set off to explore the solar system with Ando at the helm.

"It's so pretty Uncle Ando," Jasmine squealed when the Elani house appeared in the orbit of Saturn.

Saturn was one of the most beautiful locations in the Galaxy, especially up close where the complex dance of the spiralling ring structures could be seen.

The Terran probes just don't do it justice," Ando commented. 

"You really have to be here." Joya agreed.

The planetary tour lasted the remainder of the afternoon and Joya, Ando, Sofia, and Hank had become part of the family. It was time for dinner by the time they landed back in the panhandle. Bill and Evelyn Watts were thinking about closing the diner early, when the Seabolt clan came into their place in the SUV that Hank had arranged for them to drive around.

Evelyn was delighted to discover that Matt was a big spender and a big eater to boot. Matt gave Evelyn his payment card before he began to order. Matt knew that there was no way that he and his guests could possibly eat all the fried food he was about to order, but Matt wanted Joya and Ando to taste the types of diner food he had enjoyed all of his life.

Chicken fried steak with cream gravy, was the first dish he ordered, accompanied by onion rings, dishes of fried pickles, fried okra, fried squash, and french fried potatoes. When everyone had tasted everything. Matt ordered pecan pie ala mode, with Blue Bell Vanilla ice cream on top. Ando had to give everyone, including himself, medicine to promote healthy digestion.

"I'm thinking about the Barbeque trail or Tex-Mex tomorrow," Matt told his parents before they turned in for the night.

The Wedding 

Matt was awakened by a soft, sensuous kiss. His eyes fluttered open to once again see an angel. Matt stretched and smiled up at his beautiful bride-to-be. "G'mornin Beautiful," Matt mumbled before pulling Joya down on top of himself.

"Good morning yourself," Joya said, wondering why Matt had slept alone the night before.

"I'm not supposed to see you before the wedding ceremony, you know."

"I didn't know. Is that why you hid from me? That is a silly tradition. We've been sleeping together for months. I missed you."

Matt had to agree that not seeing the bride before the wedding was a silly tradition in their case, but his mother had insisted on following tradition even though he knew that his parents hadn't.

 "I was just trying to follow tradition. You get that. Right?"

"I will go now and hide from you until the ceremony," Joya promised.

"You do that. And remind your Aunt Venya that my dad doesn't like to be touched in the communal bath."

"Is your father modest like you were?"

"Of course."

Matt had no idea how his mother had convinced Benjamin Seabolt Senior to take a bath, in the nude, with the entire Elani wedding party. He just knew that Joya's family was delighted to welcome the Seabolt family into their own.   

Once brunch was over, Matt's dad went back into his rooms and emerged with a flat wooden package. Matt's grandparents and friends had all gathered for the special presentation. Benjamin Seabolt said that the object inside was a family heirloom that was nearly a hundred years old. It had been passed down to the warriors of the Seabolt family. Matt's great-grandfather, Mike Seabolt, had carried it and now it was his to use and pass on.

The weapon was as beautiful as it was deadly. The last person to carry the firearm into battle was a legend in the annals of the Space Force. Sergeant Maxwell Seabolt of the Territorial Guard, Matt's ancestor, had modified the old Colt to take modern.45 ACP handgun cartridges reliably. His ancestor had also arranged to have the internal parts coated with a special process to make the pistol self lubricating, like all modern weapons were.

"Fletcher said that the Gronth have pretty tough skin, but they just can't stand up against a good case of lead poisoning." Ben said as his son admired the weapon. 

"I know of a place that carries the ammunition for that piece right off base," Henry Fletcher told Matt.

"Of course you do."

He would proudly carry this weapon into battle, replacing the energy weapon he'd always carried in his shoulder holster. The photon pistol would be useless against the Gronth's shield. A 45 slug though? This would be strong medicine against a Gronth. 

While it was only early afternoon, a toast of whiskey was offered to everyone, and even Alex took a small shot. What had been intended to be a solemn moment had ended in laughter as everyone watched Alex's face change from one shade to another. Ando was standing by and gave the boy immediate relief by means of a fast acting epidural injection

After brunch, the minister that Nancy Seabolt had chosen from the local base arrived at the venue. Captain Tom Ward, had never met an Alien before and eagerly engaged Timor in a religious conversation using a temporary translator device. The idea of converting an entirely different species appealed to the minister greatly. Ward cherished the idea of converting an entire culture to his brand of Christianity.

"I've never heard the Elani talk about religion," Tom said to Timor as they sat around the venue before the ceremony. "What religions do the Elani subscribe to?" Ward asked the Elani man.

"We have no religions such as Terrans do," Timor replied. 

"You don't have a particular entity that you pray to?"

"We direct all of our prayers to the Creator. It is obvious to all of us that the Elani and everything that exists had to be created by some being. We call that Spiritual entity the Creator," Timor told Captain Ward.

"Is the creator male or female?" Ward asked

"The Creator is neither male or female, but both," Timor answered.

"A Spiritual Being can't really be either, but their nature can contain both in various combinations." Timor continued.

Matt felt that he had to interrupt before the cleric made a fool of himself. Tom Ward was known for being totally against same sex relationships, even if they were platonic. He was also very much against any type of intimacy outside of marriage, including the unashamed mating that the Elani did routinely just for fun. It would curl the pastor's hair. 

"The Elani still live in Eden," Matt explained. 

"Elan, not Eden," Timor corrected Matt.

"You call the planet Elan, but the creation story that we know, calls the place Eden. Terran humans chose to leave Elan and move to Earth."

"So what you're saying is that the Elani have never experienced original sin like Adam and Eve did," Ward speculated.

Ward was even more curious now. How could an entire civilization have never encountered the original sin committed by Adam and Eve?

"They live in a state of grace. They don't have an evil bone in their bodies. They've never left Eden. They don't know violence or hate," Matt told the preacher.

Ward decided that perhaps he should simply observe the Elani rather than rush to judgement. If they truly lived in a state of grace, he could learn a lot from the Elani.

"Do you have children, Captain Ward?" Timor asked the minister.

"Yes. A girl and a boy, nine and seven," Ward answered.

"What would you want from your children?"

Tom had to think about that question for a few moments. He knew that Timor was asking him the question to judge his own answer about how God felt about his Creation.

"I want my children to love and respect me," Tom said. 

"Anything else?"

"I want them to obey me."

"Why?"

"To be safe."

"I want them to play nicely with each other and their friends," Ward continued. 

"What about love?"

"I want them to love and feel loved!" Tom said finally.

"Why would the Creator feel any differently?" Timor asked.

Matt's parents and grandparents sat on the front row on the right of the chapel. The rest of Matt's extended family and several of the Space Force officers and pilots he had served with, sat behind his folks. Ando noticed that Matt's friends and colleagues were all different colors, not just light colored like Matt was. Hank Fletcher, buoyed up by the anti-gravity harness, stood on the altar with Matt as his best man. Sofia was the Maid of Honor.

The left side of the church and most of the right side was absolutely full of Elani. Beta had made sure that all of Joya's relatives and friends had been invited, and Ando had made sure that all of the guests had been vaccinated against Terran germs. Nothing was going to stop the Elani world from experiencing the first Elani-Terran wedding.

Matt had done his best before the ceremony to introduce his parents to all of the new relatives that they would be bathing with tonight. The people from the hospital that Matt was treated by took up an entire row. Maya and Mani were there as well as Lela. The rest of Joya's relatives and schoolmates were a blur to Matt though. The important thing, as far as Beta was concerned, was that Joya had found a handsome Terran mate for herself. She felt like she was the luckiest girl on Ralajan.

The drones from two worlds bobbed and weaved to get the best video of the ceremony for posterity. Beta had objected when Baros was asked to escort his daughter down the aisle. After all, Joya was her daughter. She had given birth. She had nursed the child. Why should a male give Joya away? When all was said and done, however, Beta bowed to tradition and allowed Baros to give Joya away at the altar.

Matt was handsome in his dress uniform, but nobody was really looking at him. Joya stole the show with her pure white, designer dress that Madam Zhao and Sofia Cruz had helped her pick out. Even the hardest Space Force Marine officer in the room had to admit that Matthew Seabolt was the luckiest bastard alive. The ceremony was beautiful and all of the Elani cried at the significance of the vows and the ring ceremony. 

It wasn't long after the short reception that the parents, all the Elani, and the newlyweds disappeared into a shimmering region on the parade ground in Colorado and translocated to Ralajan for the mating ceremony.

An entire baroo was roasted over a spit for Joya and Matt's mating ritual. The big gathering was held in a large field behind Lana's home and everyone that knew the family knew came over, even Namiya.  Nearly everyone commented on the plain gold bands that Joya and Matt wore on their fourth fingers of the left hand. The significance of the shape and the composition of the rings wasn't lost on the Elani at the wedding.

Soon, nearly every person present wanted rings for their loved ones just like Matt, Joya and the Seabolts had. Namiya promised them all that she would give a set of gold rings to anyone who wanted one. Ben Seabolt told Namiya how valuable gold was on all of the Terran planets, and Namiya assured him that the star that had blown up to form the nebula had plenty of gold inside of it. Any other mineral, for that matter, was present in the nebula. The presentation of gold rings to the Elani people wouldn't cost anything.

Matt looked out over his parents and the hundreds of gathered Elani as they spoke the ancient words that bound them together as mates for life. Not only was Matt married now, he was well married, he was married on two planets.

Matt looked at his parents and his niece and nephew, who were the only Terrans there when he said his vows. He couldn't help wondering what they would do when they had to take their clothes off in the bath. Grandma Seabolt had told Matt that Nancy had been a wild child in her younger days, a retro-hippie and a nudist, and the kids didn't know any differently. Matt didn't know what a hippie was, but he assumed that she had a different type of upbringing than he had experienced. As far as being a nudist was concerned, Matt could understand his mother Nancy stripping down for the bath. But Ben?

Fortunately, he wouldn't need to see that tonight. The nebula that surrounded them was visible from any planet, but the areas that Beta had arranged for them to visit were supposed to be the best. Beta had planned for the couple to spend two months in some of the most romantic locations in the region. Joya, however, didn't intend for Matt to do any sightseeing at all. She was not disappointed in any way.