Harmony: Blessed But Not Perfect

She remained on her side for a few moments. When she felt ready she sat up and peered into the condo.

He was no longer sitting in his chair.

She stood up. Grabbed her water bottle. She stepped up to the sliding glass door and looked in. On the chair and the carpet was the evidence he had an orgasm. Next to the chair was a pile of clothes.

She took a drink of water.

She leaned up against the glass and glanced at everything she needed to put away. She just wanted to stand there for a few minutes. She turned and looked into the condo. She wondered where he was. She wanted to make love to him. She first wanted to experience the foreplay she heard about. She then wanted to experience sex without a guy wearing a condom and to know what it felt like to have a guy ejaculate inside of her.

She tried the sliding door. It was locked. She wondered where he was and why he locked the door. She somewhat panicked. The first man she truly loved was breaking it off with her. She was about to grab her cell phone and call him. She spotted him step off the bottom step. He was wearing a floppy hoodie and jeans. She disliked the fact he was wearing clothes. He opened the sliding door.

He gently asked her, "Would you get dressed and step inside."

Tears came down, "What? Don't you love me? You don't want to make love to me?"

He answered, "Of course I love you."

"Oh."

"I don't want to have sex with you until we're married."

"What?"

He stepped out onto the porch. She watched him pull a box out of the hoodie pocket. He knelt down opened the box and said, "I was going to ask you to marry me this weekend. I assumed you'd say yes. I was thinking we should get married today. We stay at a hotel tonight. Tomorrow we fly out and enjoy our honeymoon."

She yelled, "Yes! I love you."

She grabbed what she felt was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen and slipped it on her finger.

He stood up.

She wrapped her arms around him and they passionately kissed.

He gently pulled away, "If we continue we'll have sex before we are married."

Suddenly; waiting until they were married was very important to her.

"No we don't want to have sex yet. I'll get dressed and pick up everything."

"You want to wear one of my coats?"

"One of your wind breakers. I'll wear it while I put everything away."

"Okay."

Ranting, "I'll call Debbie. She'll know where we can find a pastor or a judge."

"Good idea."

Before stepping back into the condo he asked "Did you make that hot looking outfit yourself?"

With a smile she answered, "Yes I did."

"I love it."

She glanced and could tell Mr. Tweety was becoming hard again.

They knew if they kissed one another it would lead to sex.

"I better get back in."

She answered, "Of course."

He stepped back into his condo and headed toward the kitchen. When he stepped back out of the kitchen he was carrying cleaner and paper towels.

She quickly slipped on the athletic outfit she just stripped out off. While she was putting everything away she called Debbie.

Shawn stepped outside and helped her with the windbreaker.

She started the conversation with Debbie by saying, "There's a change in plans."

The Wedding

Planning and her Dad

As soon as Debbie found out Harmony was getting married she jumped into action. The focus of the day was to provide Harmony with the best wedding possible; while still accomplishing what was needed. Debbie immediately called a meeting. The employees were excited to hear Harmony was getting married. The shipping and receiving guy was happy Harmony was getting married but wasn't as excited as the female employees. They, even the shipping guy, formulated a plan.

Debbie immediately started to turn in favors. Five churches, of different Christian sects, were ready to host an impromptu wedding for Harmony. They were willing to because Harmony's store referred many couples to these five churches. Debbie made sure there was a back up plan. Debbie called two judges who had purchased wedding dresses at the store. One had purchased it for herself. The other purchased it for his daughter. Two flower shops were willing to provide flowers. Harmony allowed these stores to display their flowers in her store and their business cards were at every register. Shanice used her delivery service to pick up anything needed to have the wedding happen. Debbie called a caterer that received a lot of referrals from the store. They promised they'd provide a buffet style dinner for after the wedding. Debbie picked a church where hosting a dinner in the basement was possible. The problem was the churches pastor was out of town. Harmony's pastor was willing to drive over to this church and preside over the wedding. Later in the day the photographer canceled. Debbie expected this and had another one ready. She contacted her Uncle Ryan to find out where he was fitted for a tuxedo. She worked with Shawn's travel agent and they put together a two week honeymoon (within the week Shawn's travel agency was advertising in the store). To convince Harmony to take a two week vacation was Debbie's biggest accomplishment. Debbie would make sure nothing horrible happened while Harmony was on her honeymoon. The final act was getting Tamika and her best friend to arrive at the church. Tamika's friend was a beautician. When Tamika lived in Wisconsin she worked at a high end department store selling makeup. They managed to set Harmony's hair and apply her makeup before the six O'clock start time.

Harmony was reasonable and worked well with everyone. She was willing to forgo perfect for what was best at the moment. She was forever grateful for everyone's help.

She called her Dad shortly after calling Debbie.

Her Dad became the biggest challenge of the day. Before her Dad would participate in the wedding or give his blessing he demanded to meet Shawn. This was heartbreaking. She wanted her Dad's blessing but would marry Shawn no matter if he approved or not. Harmony understood why her Dad was upset. His only daughter was marrying a man he never met. She was certain he wouldn't like the eleven year age difference. She worried he would disapprove of her marrying a white guy.

Her Dad was a reluctant out spoken leader in his community. He found himself fighting for small business interests and defending small business owners across the state. He was an outspoken proponent of school choice and often ridiculed the cities school system. He disliked the rising tax burden of home owners and working class citizens. He strongly believed taxes were theft. He volunteered at his church. Was a Vietnam veteran. A passion was helping those who struggled with PSD. Everyone in the city knew enough to avoid messing with his store.

His best quality was being a devoted husband and family man. He impressed many by staying married to Harmony's mother. He adored and protected Harmony. He raised his Nephew Tyrone. His brother, Harmony's Uncle, was hit by a drunk driver while serving on the police department. Tyrone and his Mother moved into their house when he was six and Harmony was two. Four years later Tyrone's Mother married another police officer and moved out. They all agreed the best thing for Tyrone was for him to stay living with Harmony's Dad.

Tyrone was like an older brother to her and was like a son to her Dad. Because of her Dad's influence Tyrone stayed on a good path. As the high school quarterback; he led the local football team to the championship. Even though the team lost, Tyrone was viewed as a leader (normally any team from the city would loose in the first round to a suburban team). Tyrone went on to serve in the Marines and won medals for his service. After serving he married Lauren. A woman Harmony and her Dad respected a great deal. They were raising two boys together. Tyrone, like his Uncle, tried to help other veterans. About a year after returning home he started his own security business. It was a well respected company with a reputation of being no nonsense.

The reason no one bothered Harmony while she was growing up was on account of her Dad and her Cousin Tyrone. She deeply appreciated her Dad for protecting her Mom and herself. She appreciated her Cousin Tyrone for protecting her at school and places her Dad couldn't be. These men were excellent excuses for her to avoid dating.

Shawn was the only love interest Harmony introduced Tyrone too. She felt Shawn would be able to help Tyrone with a problem one of Tyrone's clients were running into. Originally; Tyrone believed Shawn was some business associate of Harmony. This work project was a sensitive situation so he was reluctant to seek outside help. Lauren believed with all of her heart he needed to find out who this man was. She felt Harmony was in love with this guy and felt she was ready to marry him. Lauren pointed out to Tyrone, that in all the years knowing Harmony, Harmony never mentioned any love interest before. It was true Harmony never mentioned any interest in dating anyone around the family.

Three times Tyrone was presented with evidence Harmony had been sexually active. Originally; he discounted these incidents as mistaken identity. Twice he heard rumors of Harmony being with men and one of his security guards claimed to have witnessed her enter an adult boutique. The first rumor happened while she was attending college. A friend of a friend, who worked at a pharmacy near the University, said he spotted a tall nerdy white guy and Harmony buying condoms together. Tyrone had trouble believing Harmony was sexual active. Four years later; he heard from a client, that his best friends brother had proposed to Harmony and she turned him down. This man was desired by many of the woman in their community. He was a lead engineer in a medical device company, attended church regularly, was never married, didn't drink or use drugs, and was responsible. Tyrone believed her cousin would have accepted his proposal.

The last incident was a report from one of his employees. Tyrone's company guarded three strip clubs and a boutique next door to one of these clubs. The wife had turned the store from being a dark creepy store with booths to a female friendly boutique. Tyrone's employee was standing outside of the strip club. The entrance to the boutique was visible from where he was standing. His employee believed he spotted Harmony step into the boutique. He couldn't say for certain it was her because she wore sunglasses, a large hat, and old clothes; clothes Harmony never wore out in public. The employee believed it was her because she was the one who fitted his uniform. About an hour and a half later she stepped out of the store carrying two bags. One of these bags was larger and it advertised the store. When dancers purchased outfits for their performances they stepped out with this bag. The other bag was a medium sized black bag. These bags were given to customers when they purchased adult items. This was a clear indication Harmony was sexual active. What annoyed Tyrone was this employee didn't get the security footage from the boutique.

The way Harmony introduced Tyrone and Shawn was by watching a football game together. She believed it would be a good idea to watch the cities professional football team play Shawn's favorite professional football team. Tyrone was somewhat surprised Shawn was willing to watch the game at the sports bar Harmony selected. He assumed Shawn was willing to do so because he was with Harmony. Tyrone was initially unimpressed with the fact he was wearing an athletic polo and a baseball cap of the cities rival team. What impressed Tyrone: was how Shawn behaved while watching the game, Shawn's behavior when his team won, Shawn's honest assessment of the game, and most of all how Shawn treated Harmony. While watching the game, Harmony brought up the fact Shawn served in the Air Force and Tyrone had served in the Marines. Shawn, because Tyrone asked, mentioned a few of his experiences while serving. Tyrone doubted Shawn. Tyrone wouldn't put up with a guy who lied about their service record. Tyrone contacted a friend he served with. This buddy worked security for the Pentagon.

Three days later this friend sent him the information Tyrone requested. It confirmed Shawn's story and it mentioned what security company Shawn once owned. Tyrone went from doubting Shawn to having a great deal of respect for him. Tyrone called Shawn and requested his help with the sensitive issue he was dealing with.

A few days later Tyrone received a package from his buddy. Inside the package were instructions and a laptop. Tyrone followed the instructions. His friend appeared on the screen. He told Tyrone what happened to him. A half hour after sending Tyrone the information about Shawn, Shawn's Daughter approached him. She was a Captain in the Air Force in a division Tyrone's friend had never heard off (he believed he had worked with every division in the pentagon). Carrie was very polite but asked a series of questions. She asked how he knew Tyrone and why would Tyrone would want her Father's information. She thanked him for his honesty and left. An hour later he was brought into a meeting room. Sitting at one end of a table was: his commanding officer, Carrie's commanding officer, a Brigadier General from the Marines (a general Tyrone had served under), and a Brigadier General from the Air Force. They had what Tyrone's friend described as a "chat." For the first time while serving in the armed forces Tyrone's friend was given the task of filing. His light duty ended when Shawn's daughter showed up in the filing room. She mentioned something about a conversation her Dad had with a "friend." She informed Tyrone's Friend everyone believed it would be a disservice to the Pentagon and the Country if he should retire. The warning was sent loud and clear. Tyrone was wise enough to destroy the laptop exactly how he was instructed. Tyrone never asked Shawn what he did while serving in the Air Force.

Tyrone apologized for contacting his friend without directly mentioning what he was apologizing for. Shawn respected the apology and understood why Tyrone would inquire about his service. Two weeks after Shawn helped Tyrone; Tyrone's company received a contract from a technology company that made parts for the Air Force. A company Tyrone had no idea existed in his city.

An upset Harmony asked Tyrone to intervene. The three men: Shawn, Tyrone, and her Dad met at a restaurant. Her Dad's concerns were put at ease when he found out Shawn could financially take care of his Daughter and he was loyal to his previous wife. Bonuses were: Shawn served in the military, Carrie was serving in the Air Force, both were gun owners, and both belonged to the same political party. They knew some of the same business leaders and politicians in the city. It helped they had similar opinions of these people. After lunch these three men met Ryan the store he rented his tuxedo from.

Harmony was in her store standing on a platform wearing a wedding dress. Her employees were measuring out a few last minute changes. This was possible because Harmony's store was split into five areas. These were: wedding, police/fire, uniforms, alterations, and miscellaneous. The reason she was already fitted for a wedding dress was the wide selection of new and used wedding dresses she carried within her store. In addition to the wide selection of accessories Harmony kept within her store. There were three keys to Harmony being fitted so quickly: she had a clear vision of how she wanted to look, she knew her inventory, and the expertise of her employees.

Harmony felt the eagerness and passion of her employees was both a blessing and a curse. Harmony often times felt her employees were more excited than she was. Her employees never sensed their over zealousness was on the threshold of being completely annoying. As a person who cared about her employees she never showed any displeasure in what they were doing.

While standing on this platform her Dad called her. She took a deep breath before taking the call. Everyone in the room was excited to hear he was being fitted for his tuxedo. Her Dad mentioned something about Shawn taking Tyrone and himself to an exclusive golf course. Before he hung up she needed to make everything official.

She asked, "Are you blessing my marriage?"

"I thought I made this clear."

She teared up.

She asked, "You don't mind I'm marrying a white guy?"

Everyone in the room, this included another group of women being fitted for brides maids dresses, gazed upon her.

He said bluntly, "Why would I care? He's a good guy and he can take care of you. Besides you've always had a thing for white guys."

"What?"

He stated, "Remember Isaac?"

She answered, "Of course. He went to our church and his Mom Ellen worked at your store."

Matter of fact, "I knew then."

She restrained herself from mentioning she had worked with black guys at his store. She would never tell him she had black guys as her lovers.

She was about to comment but he declared, "I'm up."

He hung up the phone.

One of her employees asked, "Did he give his blessing?"

She answered with a shocked tone, "He said I always a thing for white guys."

They all looked at one another.

Her top seamstress, removed a pin from the pin cushion strapped to her wrist asked, "You want it tighter?"

Harmony focused.

"Yes but a little more to the left."

The seamstress asked, "Like this?"

"Yes."

All of her employees could feel the difference in Harmony after receiving her Dad's blessing.

The Wedding

The organ player started playing the wedding march. Harmony slightly shook. She had never felt so nervous in all of her life. Looking down the aisle seemed frightening. At this moment she wished they had married in a court house and were having sex in a wedding suite. This was a lie. She was overjoyed they were getting married in a church in front of family and friends. Was it exactly like she imagined, no it wasn't, in many ways it was better and others it was worse. What touched her heart was all the people who helped put this together and the people who showed up at such short notice.

She stood there.

Her Dad stepped up to her and whispered, "You ready?"

She whispered back, "Not really."

"You need to decide in the next ten seconds."

She glanced at him.

He smiled.

She took a deep breath, primped her wedding dress, stepped up to him, and they locked arms.

He whispered, "I love you."

This caused her to tear.

She replied, "I love you too."

He whispered, "Lets make the first step together."

She nodded her head.

Their first step was exactly the same. In three steps they were inside of the church.

The church gasped when they spotted Harmony.

She looked straight at Shawn. She believed with all her heart her future husband found her to be beautiful. She was correct. Her beauty started with her dark hair. Tamika and her friend created a miracle. They put loose curls into her hair (to speed up the process another friend of Harmony's helped), they created an elegant looking lower bun, above the bun they added a wedding inspired flower head piece, after they pulled out some strands of hair to highlight her face, and the florists was inspired to place a white flower just above her ear. Harmony was grateful for her friends.

She looked gorgeous in her white romantic themed dress. The top of the dress was a white column gown with sheer off-the-shoulder long sleeves. What added to the romantic feel was the sweetheart neckline and the lace-adorned beaded bodice in floral detail. This floral detailing seamlessly blended into a form-fitting sheath skirt. This detailing highlighted both the front and back of her figure. As she walked passed the guests they would have noticed the back floral detail and fabric-covered buttons. Following her was an elegant cutout lace floral train. This dress highlighted her figure, was slightly modern, and appeared modest.