My RA Ch. 01

Bear got a swimsuit, snorkel and swim fins and a sun hat with flip-flops. Bear would need them when he went to Florida to see Mei's parents for summer vacation. The girls would always help the other, were extremely close. Hope gave Joy a memory stick. Gail asked, "Children if they wanted to give Miss Joy a Christmas present. They all did, but they did not have anything to give her.

Gail just told the kids "Get your dolly or Bear so we can take a picture of you with it." Gail took all day taking the shots, solo person, group, and family pictures. Gail said, "Joy would love those pictures just as much as she loves her Teddy Bear."

"You have to promise always to love your toys. If you see someone not being nice to a friend's toy you will come to the rescue. You should ask permission if you want to play with someone else's toys."

Gail also printed out, framed and wrapped each picture for each child to give their parents a surprise present. Each child got their gift from Santa's sack and asked their parents to hold their present for them. After all the presents got handed out, the children sang out "Merry Christmas, Mommy, and Daddy. You can open your presents now!" The parents were stunned: They made sure each picture had a place of honor in their home.

Alkaia thought Joy was right about her and Mei being roommates. The school at one time was an old manor house, and it had a lodge towards the center of campus. She pushed hard to get all the work done for the two students. It was also big enough for Dawn to move in after she graduated.

What happens as each of Joy and Mei graduates? For now, Alkaia would take an overseer role, Mistress Dawn would be Joy's Mistress, and Mei would be Joy's confidante. Most likely Joy would go with Mei after college, or until a romantic relationship happened.

Gail was fidgeting in Dawn's room, she was waiting for Mei and Joy. Alkaia had left for the airport to pick up the two students. While Mei and Joy made memories up north, Gail had some herself. When the girls piled out of Alkaia's car when they got back to school she noticed that the girls just seemed to make the whole campus brighter.

Alkaia told the girls to follow her, but she was not headed to the dorm. Joy rebelled, as expected, Gail and Mistress guarded the stairwell. When Joy burst through the door, Mistress immediately took her to task. "Joy, were you not told to follow Alkaia? Did she tell you to come into this building?"

"Yes, she told us to follow her Mistress."

"I am very disappointed in you Joy. You disrespected Alkaia by not following her orders. You disrespected me when you tried to sneak up the stairwell so I would not see you. What do you have to say for yourself girl?" Joy was aghast, how could she make such a mistake. Joy could make no excuses, the infractions were plain as day.

Mistress grabbed Joy's wrists. "Gail hold her legs down. I do not want her to kick me." Joy soon found herself over Mistress's knee and was being the recipient of twenty hard smacks on her ass. "If you disobey again there is more where that came from. Now go out and follow Alkaia. Remember Joy, Mei gave me that leather flogger for Christmas. Don't make me use it."

When Joy came outside she gave a sincere apology to Alkaia for disrespecting her. When Alkaia brought them to the Lodge, it was just perfect, Joy squealed when she saw the high tech wood fireplace. "This will keep us nice and comfortable Mei."

Alkaia said, "You will get free firewood as the grounds crew takes trees down. Mei, I think you need to celebrate your new digs. I think inviting Mistress, Jerry, and Gail over would be a good gesture."

Mei thought the group was an odd combination but did so anyway. Alkaia handed Joy a tube saying it will take the sting out. "Thank you, Mistress."

Joy showed Mei the proper way to stoke the fireplace. They put a couple of extra logs on in preparation for their guests that night. Cider was promptly put on the fireplace. When Mistress came she highly approved of it. She was told if she wanted to she could live here after she graduated with Mei and Joy. All were shocked, Dawn went and picked out a room. She picked the corner room so she would be away from the gossiping girls.

Gail was jumping up and down waiting to get her news out. When going into the Lodge Jerry noticed Gail's hand and looked at her with disapproval. Gail kissed her finger and put it to Jerry's lips.

Alkaia said, "Go ahead Gail before you pop an artery. "

"Well when you two were up North in the bitter cold, Jerry came to my parents' house. I should have known something was up. He purposely untied his right shoelaces and started to retie them right in front of me. While he was kneeling, he proposed and gave me this beautiful ring." Gail pulled out a bright shiny diamond ring from her pocket. "But when he went to kiss me the goofball never tied his shoes and I stepped on them, and he went flying down to the ground. I am afraid I gave him a concussion. At the ER there was no end of jokes, all at my expense. But I love him."

"Now my sister, Rose, is going to be my maid of honor. I need two bridesmaids. Jerry, don't you think they should be around 19 or 20 years old?"

"Yes, dear." Everyone cracked up, it finally hit Mei, "Gail, you want both of us to be your bridesmaids?"

"Dawn you need to train these two better, it took them five minutes to figure that out. It is going to be a Spring wedding! You have to make all the plans with Rose, surprise me. I will get the dress, you get everything else." Well, this calls for a toast, more cider anyone. Here's to Gail and Jerry, may they both have a great life together with no concussions."

"Jeez, a girl makes one tiny mistake like giving her boyfriend a concussion when he proposes to her and she can never live it down."

Later that night Joy said, "Mei, tomorrow I want to go to town and thank them for their gift to me, we can both bring our Bears. It will show them you can never outgrow a Teddy Bear." They both agreed and they both headed to sleep.

All the kids heard Mei and Joy before they got to the town. They all saw Mei and Joy proudly holding their Bears, each dressed up.

Mei had the snowsuit, cap, and scarf on Teddy and Joy just shorts and a shirt on Bear.

All the kids saw the snowmen, snowball fights, skiing and everything else Mei did over Christmas break. All these kids just lost everything they had in a flood. Both said, "See you do not need to be afraid of water." If their friends Mei and Joy say so then it must be so. You could see Mei having fun on her trip.

Joy explained to all the kids, "Mei got Bear when she was just three, imagine all the secrets, tears and hugs they shared together. When I was in the hospital Mei gave me Bear because she knew I needed someone always there to hug. Now, she has a new Bear so she can always have someone to hug. We put our Bears right on our beds. That means you have to keep your room cleaned up, you would not want your dolly or Bear sitting on a messy bed would you?"

All the kids shook their heads no. "Do all of you think you could cheer someone up with a smile or hug if you see them having a bad day?" All the kids nodded yes.

Many of the parents came over to Mei and Joy to thank them, most were concerned the flood would have a lasting impact on them. Mei said, "They all have an extra anchor to hold onto. They are united now, each will help the other, just like Joy."

Mei was unpacking her loot. All the men at the nursing home carved delicate songbirds, they brightened the room. The Bluebirds and the Goldfinches were her favorites but she liked the Northern Cardinals as well.

Joy noted, "No one made you a cuckoo Mei? " Mei scowled, "You know Joy, sometimes I do not know why we are such good friends. You drive me crazy sometimes."

That night Rose called, she was in a frantic state. "There is just too much to do and not enough time to do it in!" "Relax we got this. Joy get my whiteboard from my room, please. Now, Rose, she wanted us to plan everything but the dress right?"

"Yup, that's right, but it is too much!"

"Joy why don't you write our ideas on the whiteboard so we can organize them.1-Cake, 2) caterers, 3) Honeymoon, 4) Hall, 5) Band, 6) Dance floor, tables and chairs 7) florists, 8) Tux, 9) hairdressers, 10) reception dinner." "That is a good start."

"Where does she want to get married, and how many people would she want?"

"My parents' house I am sure. About fifty I would think."

"Joy, you will get the photographer and the printer for all the invites and such."

"Rose, call around to three nice restaurants and find out what we can get for fifty people both buffet and sit down. Is there a good bakery near you? Is there somewhere she always wanted to go but has never been?"

"I am an idiot, my friend owns a bakery, I will see if she can do it."

"If you want food at the reception I suggest finger food so we do not have soup spilled over expensive dresses. You might want to find out from Dad what our budget is LOL. I will find a band."

"Ask your Mom what kind of flowers she had in her bouquet. Gail may want to use the same." Right, we will check back in on Thursday night for a status update and more ideas. Thank you, Mei, you are a lifesaver."If you have a toddler we can give him/ her a horseshoe to give to the bride before she leaves the church; the horseshoe gets pinned to the newborn blanket."

"EWW, a Jerry Jr, perish the thought."

"Shoot." Mei texted Rose, "Any family heirloom items?"

Joy's job was easy. She knew printers and photographers from school, and she just had to visit a few of them to get an idea. At least she knew it most likely would be an outside event and at a home.

Mei had her headphones on listening to bands. This wedding had to be perfect.

Some of the married professors called Joy to tell her what they loved and hated about their weddings. "A family atmosphere" seemed to be high on the likes. "Try to incorporate the little ones. You have to tell them there is no wrong way to do something. Jerry and Gail will be proud that you wanted to do something close to your heart for them, no one can fault you for that. White candles lining the aisle. Non-alcoholic Champagne or Sparkling Cider. No one likes a loud drunk."

Joy put down the suggestions she thought were good and put an asterisk next to the must-do ones. Joy texted Rose to see how many little ones there were. "Four, two girls, two boys ages four to six years old." She wrote next to them, flower girl, ring Bearer, doves? Joy thought it might be too windy for the candle idea.

The next day Joy went into town to talk to Molly. She explained that her friend Gail was getting married soon and there was a little boy and girl that did not have something to do. "What would you like to do if you were at the wedding?"

The little girl thought hard and scrunched up her face. "I think I would like to pick out something that she wears on her dress. I like the way the candles look, but I am just four so Mommy and Daddy would not let me do it."

Joy showed her a book of brides with bouquets, "Which ones do you like?" By now all the little girls gathered, each giving their opinion. They knew Daddy always gave Mommy red roses for Valentine's Day. They knew a lot of wedding dresses were white. The girls all huddled together. "Joy, what is the rhyme everyone says at weddings?"

"Do you mean something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue with a sixpence in my shoe?"

"What is a six-pence?"

"It is a penny."

"I have a penny, I was playing hop-scotch with it yesterday. She can have it, she is my friend. She let us give our pictures of us with our Teddy's and Dollies to give to our Mommies and Daddy's for Christmas."

"I will give it to her, it means she will have good fortune."The other girls were going back and forth in the book looking at all the pretty brides. White roses seemed to rule the day, they looked so nice next to the white dress.

Joy mouthed to one of the girl's Mom, "Do you have Frozen?" The Mom nodded. Joy whispered into Molly's ear "Why don't you ask your Mommy if you can watch Frozen?" Bring all your friends to watch it with you." Soon there was a stampede of little girls going into one of the houses.

When Joy got back to the Lodge she taped the penny on the whiteboard and wrote "Children's choice award: white roses."

Mei got a little upset when she saw the penny taped on the whiteboard. Joy defended the presence of the penny. "I will have you know, that that penny is a veteran of the hop-scotch wars and a little four-year-old girl gave it to me so Gail could have it for her wedding. I fully intend to give Gail that every penny on her wedding day. She said Gail was her friend and wanted to do something for the wedding. No one else will give her a penny to put in her left shoe." Mei was now shame-faced, of course, Joy was right and for a four-year-old, a penny meant a lot and friendship even more so.

Mistress noticed that Mei and Joy were not mixing as much with her old friends. Dawn pinned up a large noticeable poster. Mei and Joy invite any of Joy's sub friends for a Nerf Basketball Championships and pizza party. Other options are Movie Night, Game Night or just reconnecting. Location: The Lodge.

Later that night, just before dinner there came a knock on their door. Joy opened the door to be surprised to see a dozen of her friends with five pies.

"Come in, come in, welcome to our new abode." Mei heated up the cider on the stove that kept it warm on the fireplace. Mei got to like the taste of cider when she was at Joy's parents' house.

No one could figure out what to do, not everyone wanted to play basketball or watch a lame movie. Mei dragged out her box of board games. There was a big enough choice for everyone to pick one they liked. It really did not matter what games they were playing. Then one of the girls saw the whiteboard. Each one looked it up and down to see how progress was going. "Dawn, can we call Rose now while the girls are here? They might have some ideas."

Soon Rose appeared stuffing a slice of pepperoni, onion and olive pizza in her face. "BUSTED." Mei said, "We were all having a game night over at our place tonight and one of the girls caught sight of our whiteboard, suffice it to say, they all lost interest in the games. What is your status now?"

"Well, my friend could not do the wedding on such short notice. She gave me the name of a girl just starting out who said she would give us a cheap price if she can use some of our photos for advertising. It would be her first wedding. She said she would let me taste several kinds of cakes in cupcake form."

Joy said, "Just hire her. I am sure it will taste great. We have no problem with letting her do some advertising." All the ladies were nodding their heads.

Mei asked about the restaurants. "They seem to be expensive; we might need to narrow our list."

Joy screamed, "You will do no such thing! If I have to sell brownies and cupcakes on the quad to get the money for Gail's wedding, I will do it!" Gail is loved here! We are tasked with giving Gail a day she will remember for the rest of her life! No short cuts will be taken! I do not want her to look back and say I wish so and so was at my wedding!" It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Mei broke the silence, "Honeymoon ideas?"

"Somewhere warm but someplace where they won't shoot at you. Hawaii has too many people. "Do we have to get them passports as well?" asked one of the subs.

Mei said, "Orlando had some very fine Inns."

"Ha Ha, they have a little teacup ride also."

"Does anyone know of someone with a time-share we can swap with someone else?"

"My Dad has two, they are on different levels so you can get better stuff, I can ask him."

"Joy how are you doing with the printer and photographer?"

"Printer is a slow go. The photo prof gave me some names, also some of the names of his elite seniors. I am going to a gallery tomorrow to see some of the stuff. Our children here say white roses are best. Molly said she would give something for the bride on her dress."

"We could have two ring Bearers. Do you think we can have a shot at trying to get all the required items in the rhyme from the kid's treasures? Do we want to use some form of blue ribbon in a handfasting ceremony? I know it has Jewish tradition, but Christianity grew out of that."

Since there were increased numbers on the wedding team now, teams were made so more areas could be covered at one time. Some still had multiple responsibilities, and the bridesmaids and maid of honor had oversight.

The cake was done. The printer had to be found quickly for invites. Photographer was in hand. Caterers and band needed to be decided. The honeymoon was being checked on. A party supplier was needed. Clergyman needed. "Rose, is there Clergy out there that we can use?"

"Father Abbot is getting on a bit but I think he can marry people."

"I will sound out Gail? I will ask the Dean to enter into negotiations for the reception dinner. Ask a florist to come out to see the space."

When Joy went to the gallery the next day, she made sure to talk to the manager to get her thoughts. She suggested Eric, a brilliant photography student. She showed Joy several of his pictures hanging in her gallery. Each picture drew the viewer into the essence of the piece. It seemed almost haunting.

Joy finally had to take a trip about an hour from campus to get a good printer. She was trying to avoid a professional printer as it would cost more than students. She liked that silver on ivory cards, they looked sleek. She quickly signed a contract, they would be ready in a week. She was very gratified to get her jobs done, now to get new ones.

"Mei, how is the band search going? Does Gail mind having Father Abbot marry her? Can I help you with something Mei? You look like you could use a hand. Mei, why are you so quiet?" "Mei this is me you are not talking to."

"Mistress, Mei is not talking to me, I do not know what to do, and this is very unlike her."

"Thank you for telling me, Joy. You are becoming a very good sub in addition to being a top-notch scholar. Although you have inspired all the subs to get high marks, they will be gunning for the top spot. "

"Mei, what triggered this mood you are in now? We are very concerned about you. Is the wedding causing you problems?"

"Oh Mistress, Mei came running into Dawn's arms sniffling. Oh, Mistress, we are three quarters done and it seems I have run into a brick wall. It is all I can do to keep up with schoolwork."

"Mei it is time you stepped back and let someone else continue with it; you did a great job organizing it. When it starts affecting your well-being you need to delegate. If you try to tough it out it will only harm you. Gail would not want that."

"Dawn, we still have so much to do."

"You do not. You are going to bed and let some of the others help with the planning. Right now you have bands and Clergy. I will do the clergy and give bands and party supplies to some of the others. I will call Rose and talk to Joy as to the status of everything. Mei, please have a talk with Joy, she is very worried about you."

"Gail, this is Dawn. First, I want you to know that Mei had to step down from planning your wedding. Second, I want to find out who you want to perform the ceremony; we feel it is a very personal choice so we are sounding you out."

"Dawn, I hope Mei will be alright."

"I am sure she will be. She just needs to decompress and relax. We are delegating her duties, the clergy is the most immediate need so I am l taking that over."

"About the clergy, I am not sure. I guess someone from my home church. Father Abbot is getting old, I think one closer to my age would be better. It does not have to be the main pastor, maybe one from singles ministries or something like that, as long as the state recognizes him, ask Rose."