My Sister's Best Friend Ch. 03

Life continued, as it is wont to do. Katie stopped inviting me over. In fact, she stopped contacting me at all. I noticed that she had unfriended me on all my social media -- Tabitha too. Tabby mentioned several times how it was strained at work. Katie refused to talk to her at all. She even tried refusing to work with her on a couple of accounts. There were a couple of visits to the Manager for both of them, but Tabby had kept it professional and explained the situation. Tabitha was taking the high road and continued acting as before. She had no issues working with Katie, and let that be known. It was Katie who was acting like a spoiled child. After the third meeting with the manager, and a written warning, Katie finally -- begrudgingly -- began working -- as little as absolutely possible -- with Tabby in a professional manner. The title of this story is 'My Sister's Best Friend'. That was over now. Not only was Tabitha no longer Katie's best friend, they were no longer even on speaking terms. Tabby still tried, but Katie rebuffed her at every turn.

It was a month later. Tabby and I were relaxing on the couch late on a Saturday morning, when the doorbell rang. We weren't expecting anyone, so I got up to answer the door. I was surprised to see my parents standing there.

"Hello, Cindy. We would like to talk. May we please come in?" Mom asked.

I opened the door and stepped aside for them to enter. Tabby got up and began making coffee as I escorted my parents into the livingroom. They sat on the couch, and Tabitha and I took the two chairs. We exchanged pleasantries as the coffee was finishing. Once cups were filled and distributed, they got down to business.

"Please understand that this is difficult for us. Perhaps, in time, it may get easier, but right now it is still hard." Mom began. "We have had time to think and pray about this. We also spent several hours talking to Susan and Jacob. We love you, and we don't want to lose you from our lives. If this is who you are, then we will have to accept it. We still do not like it and do not condone it, but we will try to look beyond that. We also wish to welcome Tabitha as your girlfriend."

My heart was breaking. I felt the tears begin to run down my cheeks. I was overjoyed. I leaped off the chair and jumped into my parent's arms. "Mom, dad, you have no idea how happy I am. I thought that I was going to be cut out of your lives. I love you both." I felt another set of arms around me and Tabitha's body pressing against me as she joined the hug. After a couple minutes, we broke apart and returned to our seats.

"Unfortunately, Katie doesn't feel the same way. She has made it clear that you will not be allowed in her home, and she wants nothing to do with you. Sadly, that means that any holidays that she is hosting, you will not be able to participate in. You will still be welcome at our house any time -- both of you. If Katie doesn't like that, she is free to not attend."

"Thank you. I know how difficult this is for you. I also want to assure you that we will not be blatantly exhibiting our relationship when you are around. We will probably hold hands and quick pecks on the cheek occasionally, just as any other couple, but we will not do any overt displays that would make you uncomfortable."

"Thank you for that. We can put up with a little affection between the two of you. Any discomfort that we may feel from that will be offset by the knowledge that my daughter is happy."

We continued to sit and talk for a while longer, all of us becoming more relaxed and comfortable. I brought out some snacks and the cards. I had already taught Tabby how to play Pedro (The 'e' is long, it isn't pronounced like someone's name), and we played for a couple of hours before they needed to leave.

"Oh, and I have one more thing to tell you about, but you really need to keep it a secret -- especially from Aunt Susan and Uncle Jacob." I said. After assurances that they would not say anything to anyone, I continued. "Linda is getting married to her girlfriend in June. The wedding will be in Las Vegas, and Aunt Gail wanted me to ask if you would like to attend. She has a plan to get several family members there without letting Linda know until she sees them as she is walking down the aisle. If you want to go, I will pass that along and get you an invitation."

They were shocked and began asking all sorts of questions about how long I've been in contact with Linda, how she was, and how I managed to get in touch with her. Finally, I saw the look of comprehension on dad's face.

"Gail. Damn. I should have figured it out years ago. She was always so mad at everyone for what happened to Linda. No one noticed when she stopped asking everyone if they had heard anything." Dad said. "Let me talk to Gail. We'll start making plans to attend. I always liked Linda, so I would really like to surprise her at her wedding."

About a month later, one of my great-uncles died. It wasn't a surprise; he had been ill for a long time. Of course, Aunt Gail, Robin and Kayla came out for the funeral. Since reconciling with my parents, I had also talked to several other family members. I was surprised at how many were accepting of me. I guess seeing what had happened to Uncle Jacob and Aunt Susan had an effect of people. I didn't say anything about Linda to any of them. As far as they knew, I wasn't in contact with her. Tabitha and I were talking to Aunt Gail and Robin after the memorial at the church and letting her know who I thought would be interested in going to Linda's wedding.

"Gail! And Robin! Of course. We should have figured it out sooner. It makes sense now."

We turned to see Aunt Susan and Uncle Jacob standing there with tears in their eyes.

"Please...." Uncle Jacob began before Aunt Gail held up her hand and stopped him.

"Not here!" She quietly commanded. "There are too many eyes and ears here. We will meet you at your home after the graveside service."

"Of course. Sorry, but we were just so thrilled at finally figuring it out. You two, please come as well." Aunt Susan said, indicating that Tabitha and I were to tag along.

After Aunt Susan and Uncle Jacob moved to talk with my parents, we continued our discussion before leaving for the cemetery. As funerals go, the gravesite service was good. Great-Uncle Henry was a really good man. He was kind and very well-liked by everyone. As I mentioned, his death had been expected for quite a long time, so the sadness of losing someone so special was blunted with the knowledge that his suffering was over and he was now standing proudly before God for a life well lived.

Tabby and I followed Aunt Gail and Robin to Uncle Jacob and Aunt Susan's house. They greeted us at the door when we arrived and had coffee ready for us. After sitting at the kitchen table with our coffee, Aunt Susan slid a worn, tear-stained letter over to Aunt Gail.

"I don't know if you have seen the email that Linda sent to us a few years ago, but here it is. As you can see, I've read it a few thousand times, praying for the wisdom to find who she was talking about every time I read it. Jacob and I researched everything we could about lesbian behavior and how people in love interact with each other. Whenever we were out, we would practice looking at people and try to see the subtle looks and gestures to try and determine who they were attracted to. We purposely studied all of our friends and relatives in order to see if any of them were homosexual in the belief that Linda was talking about another hidden gay couple that we might know. It was at Thanksgiving when we saw Cindy and Tabitha together and as more than just friends when we thought they knew how to get us in touch with our daughter. We finally figured out that it was you and Robin when we saw you talking with them in the church parking lot."

"Cindy and Tabitha were talking to several people today. What made you think that it was us?" Aunt Gail challenged.

Aunt Susan smiled smugly. "When I saw all four of you together, several things suddenly fell into place. First off, seeing Cindy and Tabitha brought into my mind that there were two people who were in contact with Linda, and it wasn't Cindy and Tabitha. I also knew that Cindy knew who it was. Second, I suddenly realized that you gave everyone hell for months about what we did to Linda, but you suddenly stopped doing that about three months after we kicked her out. Third, Robin lives with you in Las Vegas, and she has always been a bit of the wild side. She never did anything so far out there to get into any serious trouble with the family, but she was always kind of on the 'Black Sheep' side. And, finally, although I'm kind of surprised I hadn't noticed it before, the looks that your darling little Personal Assistant gives you makes it obvious that she is -how shall I put this -- a VERY PERSONAL assistant for you."

Aunt Gail nodded, then looked at Kayla. A silent message was sent and received as Kayla got up and went out to the car.

"Very well." Aunt Gail sighed. "This requires something stronger than coffee and a relocation to the livingroom." By the time that we had taken our seats on the couch and chairs, Kayla was back inside after retrieving the bottles of wine and bourbon. After taking orders, filling glasses and serving the drinks, Kayla moved to stand behind Aunt Gail ready to refill as needed.

That began with a rant by Aunt Gail about just what she thought about how they had treated their daughter. That spilled into her telling them about how horrible her first three months were living in Las Vegas before Aunt Gail found her. Finally, after getting all that off her chest, Aunt Gail went into great detail about how Linda had persevered and then flourished. She told them about Linda's decision to become a lawyer, and how she had excelled in her studies. She told them about how she had cried because her parents were not at her graduation to celebrate with her. She told them about Linda finally finding her true love, graduating with honors from Law School, getting a great job that she absolutely loves, and finally getting engaged.

"What I need to know from the two of you right now is what are you willing to do become a part of your daughter's life again?"

Uncle Jacob looked down at the floor and spoke. "I know that we don't deserve this chance, and we will understand if she rejects us, but we would give up everything. I would gladly give my life just for the chance to hug my daughter one more time and beg for her forgiveness." The tremble in his voice and the tears streaming down his face gave proof to his sincerity. There was no deceit inside of him in that moment. Aunt Susan was also crying and nodding her head in agreement with her husband.

A huge grin spread across Aunt Gail's face. "So, would you be willing to walk your daughter down the aisle and give her away at her wedding to another woman?"

Uncle Jacob slowly raised his head to look into Aunt Gail's eyes. Without wavering his stare, he replied solemnly, "I cannot imagine of having a greater privilege than giving my daughter away to wed her true love -- regardless of who it is. I will gladly welcome my daughter's bride into our family with open arms."

"OK. Now we have some work to do. Here's what I need you to do, and how we are going to get this to happen. Unfortunately, you will need to wait until the wedding day before you can talk to Linda. This is going to be the surprise of her life and make her wedding truly memorable."

Aunt Gail laid out her plan and gave all of us assignments. Kayla, being the dutiful PA got her tablet and took notes. She even managed to make a couple of reservations at one of the hotels for us. After everything was discussed and agreed to, Aunt Gail filled Linda's parents in on the last several years of her life. I was kind of surprised when Uncle Jacob and Aunt Susan laughed hilariously when Aunt Gail regaled them with the circumstances surrounding how April had come into Linda's life. Of course, their chins hit the floor when Aunt Gail explained her own life and her relationships with Mandy, Dave, and Danny. I did notice that she was rather vague about the exact relationship that she had with Kayla. I also noticed that Robin demurred about her own relationship with everyone else. It was one thing to admit to being bisexual, it was a whole other thing to discuss your preferences to BDSM.

The next few months flew by. My relationship with my parents was getting better again. There were less frowns when Tabby and I held hands and kissed each other's cheeks in their presence. Katie was even more of a bitch, although I rarely saw her. She always managed to leave early whenever there was a family event at my parent's house. Obviously, my invitation to anything at her house was never sent, and she adamantly refused to come over to my house. At work, Tabby was always pleasant and cheerful with everyone, but Katie completely ignored her. Everyone noticed, of course, and Katie became subtly distanced from everyone else. Her other coworkers preferred to be in the company of a bright, cheerful Tabitha than a depressing, resentful and complaining Katie.

Before we knew it, it was the end of June and we were on our way back to Vegas for Linda's wedding. We were excited because Linda had no idea that anyone from the family besides me, Robin, and Aunt Gail would be there. The trip was really nice, because Tabby had bought a Chevy Traverse and we were traveling with my parents who would also be attending the wedding. We couldn't wait to see the look on Linda's face when she saw how many of her family were sitting on her side of the aisle. I was a bit disappointed that I would miss the reaction when her parents surprised her in her dressing room. Oh well. You can't have everything.

Aunt Gail had come over to the hotel that all of the family that were attending were staying at. She had generously paid for the rooms for everyone. I should probably mention to all of you that have not read any of the stories of her adventures, Aunt Gail is actually very wealthy. We all met in the Hotel bar. Drinks were flowing, and the conversations were entertaining. We also danced quite a bit. There were about twenty of us there. A few of my cousins had younger children with them, but they were already tucked in and sleeping in one of the rooms being babysat by a couple of the teenage daughters. We briefly went back over the plan for the next day, then got down to enjoying the evening. I did manage to win about $500 on roulette, but Tabby lost $100 on Blackjack.

After a couple of hours, Aunt Gail needed to leave for home. As Linda's Maid of Honor, she had a long day ahead of her tomorrow. I was rather impressed at how skillfully she managed to deflect a few rather personal questions. I think that a couple of the aunts had some suspicions, but nothing about Aunt Gail's personal life was revealed that night. Tabby and I lost track of time, and we didn't make it back to our room until after 2 AM. Thankfully, the wedding wasn't until the afternoon.

It was almost time for the wedding. Tabby and I had just been seated with my parents. We were up close to the front on the aisle. The other family members were still being seated. Of course, they were all on Linda's side of the aisle. Aunt Gail had informed all of us last night that Linda was in for a big shock, because she really didn't expect that many people on her side. April had her entire family there for her. Now, both sides were pretty even. Dave and Danny were the ushers. I laughed at that. I knew what Dave's role was supposed to be. I expected that Linda was about to discover that he had been replaced.

It was about half an hour later that everyone had finally been seated. Danny first escorted April's mother to her seat. Then, the look of utter joy lit the entire yard as Dave escorted Aunt Susan to her place. Her smile lit up everything. Then, the bridesmaids began walking up the path, each splitting apart to their assigned spots. Next, the ring bearer and flower girl. I believe that they were a couple of April's younger cousins. Finally, the Wedding March began. April was escorted by her father. Once she was in place, Linda and Uncle Jacob began making their way down the path. You could tell that Linda was still on Cloud Nine from suddenly being reunited with her parents. Even better, that her daddy was walking her down the aisle on her wedding day. She faltered for just a second as her mind took in the fact that there were also several other members of her family there for her. Her hands came up to her mouth in surprise, then, her face simply lit up like the sun. Her joy radiated throughout the yard.

The ceremony was very beautiful and simple. Come on, people. It was the end of June in Las Vegas. We were outside. Sure, there was a canopy set up over it, but it was still hot. Short and simple is still beautiful. Linda and April looked absolutely stunning in their white wedding dresses as they exchanged their vows. And the kiss? There were lots of hoots and hollers as they let the passion they felt flow. The procession back down the aisle as they held hands was slowed as Linda took the time to wave and smile at all her relatives that showed up.

PARTY TIME! The reception was awesome. Aunt Gail and April's parents went all out. Food, open bar, DJ, and dancing. Yes, there were taxis for those that needed to get back to the hotels that night. Aunt Gail made sure to set up rides back the next morning to pick up the cars for those that needed to leave them. There were the traditional dances. Linda and April did a really nice first dance. A lot of tears were spilled when Linda and Uncle Jacob did the Father Daughter dance. Instead of a Mother Son dance, they included a Mother Daughter dance. Even more tears of happiness were spilled. Tabitha and I were the first ones out when the dancing was opened up to everyone.

Oh, a bit of hilarity ensued when Aunt Gail ended up catching one of the bouquets. It must have just been a reflex action on her part, because she had a shocked look on her face when she realized that she had it. I had to look over at Mandy and Dave. They both looked at each other with questioning looks. I also had to wonder who Aunt Gail would choose between the two of them. Oh, and I somehow managed to catch the second bouquet. Tabby smiled and winked at me.

The receiving line also took a while, as all our relatives apologized profusely to Linda and congratulated her on finding her true love despite their actions. Linda hugged Tabby and me while whispering in our ears a big Thank You for helping her reconcile with her parents. Apparently, Aunt Susan had told her about our conversation during Thanksgiving and how I had assisted in having Aunt Gail meet with them. After eating dinner, Linda and April made the rounds to all the tables and talked quite a bit with everyone. Most of the relatives were really stunned at all that she had accomplished.

There were a couple of interesting moments later on. Some of it probably had to do with poor alcohol intake management. A number of raised eyebrows happened when Aunt Gail was out on the dance floor with Dave and Mandy -- both together and separately. Until that time, no one really seemed to know who Dave or Mandy really were. Most probably just thought that they were either a couple of Linda's or April's friends. Some even thought that Dave was Mandy's boyfriend. It never occurred to any of our relatives that either one of them might be in a relationship with Aunt Gail, because everyone thought that Aunt Gail was hopelessly single. That first slow dance when Aunt Gail, Mandy, and Dave danced together was a bit eye opening for them. Then, when Aunt Gail leaned over and kissed each of them in the middle of the song, then Dave and Mandy kissed each other, you could hear several loud gasps from the on-lookers.