Myka's Tail Ch. 05

"We were not," Kelli replied, and took back her hand so she could put her arm around me. "It was just a couple of hours ago, after everyone else left the clearing."

"You must have been planning this a long time," her mom added. "Those rings look custom, and would take a lot of work to make. Not to mention how much they probably cost. Where did you get the money?"

"Well, we kind of cheated. Myka can share her connection with the earth with me for a short period of time, and yes, we are careful about it. So with the power her connection gives to me, and some of my own, I was able to take some of the earth around us and re-form it into these rings. After all, don't precious metals and diamonds come from the earth to begin with?"

"Well, however you got them, they are gorgeous," mom said as she pulled us in for another hug.

As we began to answer the laundry list of questions our moms now had for us, I looked over at our dads to let them know that we had not forgotten them. They were smart, though, and knew that this was a time for mothers and their daughters. They both turned away to go to the kitchen for a drink, but before they left the room, dad mouthed a silent I love you, which was immediately followed by Kelli's dad giving us a wink to indicate he was thrilled for us both. I could certainly see what they felt coming over the golden web that connected us all, but that couldn't replace the joy brought by their loving actions.

The next hour was a blitz of questions and answers that we were more than happy to go over. Yes, this would be a ceremony that family could attend. Yes, it could have white dresses, music, and cake like a normal wedding, if that is what Kelli and I wanted. No, there was no plan to have some deeply mystic or other arcane ritual for the ceremony. It went on like that for quite a while before the questions became more mundane, focusing on what styles we wanted to wear, what our colors would be, how big an event we wanted to make of this.

Mom eventually pulled out some pretty out of date magazines that she had been hoarding somewhere, which had wedding suggestions and dress ideas in it, and she and Kelli's mom were going to town asking us what we thought of this or that. Neither of us was very enamored with the older styles and ideas, and after a while of grilling us on what we liked I could tell that our moms were getting frustrated with our dislike of pretty much everything.

Dad came in with his tablet soon after voices became strained, and certainly saved the evening, if not the whole day. He had pulled up three current issues of the latest wedding fashion blogs, and suddenly everyone was happy again. I looked up and blew him a kiss as he turned to walk away with a look of supreme satisfaction on his face.

While our moms continued to go over dress details and other things with us, I took a few minutes and sent a text to Kass and Paul. I asked them if they wanted to come over to our apartment in an hour or so for pizza and drinks, and maybe a movie. I also let them know that Kelli and I had some news that we had to tell them. Kass answered back and said that they would be there, and that she was curious about what was so important that we were getting together for the second time that weekend.

"Ok. I know how excited you guys are," I interrupted, when I could finally get a word in around our mom's constant chatter. "Kelli and I, however, need to get back to the apartment so that we can meet up with Kass and Paul for pizza and give them the news."

"Do you really have to go," Kelli's mom almost whined, as she expressed her disappointment. "Things were just getting interesting. Can't you just bring them here for pizza?"

"Uh, mom," Kelli began, a slight look of frustration on her face. "Paul and Kass don't know anything about magic, or what really happened in Scotland or here. Jessica is the only McAlister that knows the truth, and the only reasons she does are because she was there, and is dating Ali."

"And I don't think they would want to drive three to four hours just to have pizza," I added.

"I know. I know," Kelli's mom replied in capitulation. "But this is just as exciting for us as it is for you."

"Yes it is," my mom continued as she reached out to lay a finger on my silver collar. "We didn't get to see or participate at all when you two were bound, and we were really disappointed. Now we have the chance to have a real wedding and to participate, and, well..."

"I know mom," I answered back, and I gave her a kiss on the cheek. "And we will keep you both in the loop and will have you participate in most of the preparation, ok?"

Our moms finally agreed, and we all stood for a last round of hugs before Kelli and I left. Our dads came back to the room and joined in the goodbyes, before all our parents sent us down to the basement so that we could transport back to the apartment. Once we got there, Kelli started to straighten things up while I drove out to the market to get one of their gourmet pizzas and a few of the beers that both Paul and Kass preferred. I grabbed some tonic water for myself and a bottle of juice for Kelli, because we still weren't fond of drinking.

By the time that I got back, Kass had let me know that they were on the way, so it was the perfect time to get the food in the oven. I put the drinks in the freezer so that they would get a little extra chill before they got here, and then joined Kelli in the front room where we danced to some music that she had put on while waiting for our guests. We were frisky, but time was limited so we just got a little handsy with each other while we swayed to the sounds of Thelonious Monk. Before we knew it, however, the pizza was done, and Kass and Paul had knocked on our door.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," Kass shouted out immediately after she released Kelli from a hello hug.

She had noticed right away what had taken our moms several moments, and lot of hints to discover. What was the same, though, was the rib cracking hugs that both of us received from her following her exclamation of joy. Paul was a bit more laid back about it, but still wrapped us up in his arms to congratulate us as well.

"So when did this happen," Kass asked with barely controlled excitement.

"Just a few hours ago," Kelli answered, and held out her hand at Kass' insistence so that she could get a good look at the ring. "I asked, Myka said yes, and then we told our parents before heading here."

"Wow, you guys must have been on the road for a while," Paul commented as he grabbed one of the beers that we had left in ice on the table. "You know, you could have waited until tomorrow to tell us."

"You need to shut the hell up," Kass berated, her voice filled with mocking anger. "This is a girl thing, and of course they were going to tell me today. You only found out because we're joined at the hip most of the time."

Her comments had all of us rolling with laughter, and after we had recovered we enjoyed a lot of good food and conversation. Kass remarked at how similar, and yet unique our rings were, and Kelli told her that it had been a custom job so there were no other rings in the world like them. It wasn't a lie, really, but I could feel that she didn't feel that comfortable keeping this from our good friends. It was necessary, but still felt like a shitty thing to do all the same.

Kass asked us if we had started looking at dresses and venues, and the conversation moved into more girlish territory, and for a moment I felt kind of bad for Paul. He was the lone male in the room, and he didn't have the rest of the house or a best friend here like my dads had earlier. What I could see from the emotional connections that were passing between us was that Paul was far from bored. He was, in fact, paying attention to everything we were talking about and I could feel the pleasure that he was feeling at our happy conversation.

"So, have you guys set a date yet," Kass blurted out finally, and I could sense that she had been dying to ask that question the entire evening. "We haven't yet, but with the small size that it will be, we could really have it any time."

"Small size," I asked, and even Kelli had been confused at Kass' statement. "I would think that between your family and Paul's family and your friends that it would be pretty big."

"Well, I never really wanted a huge wedding," she began, and I could feel that Kass had immediately become guarded and tense at my question. "So we figured that we would keep it just between us and a few friends."

"Hey babe," Paul said, choosing that moment to interrupt with his soft yet steady voice. "I think they should know what is up. If you are willing to talk about it. It's your choice, though."

There was a tightness in Kass' eyes, and I could feel her fear almost cause her to shut down emotionally. I knew the trauma must be deep and terribly painful for it to cause that kind of reaction, so I walked over to her and laid my head in her lap while I held her hand. Tuning into the bond that Kelli and I shared, I pulled all of the love and concern that we both felt for her through myself and attempted to open up the connection that we shared with Kass, hoping that she would understand the depth of our four way emotional link.

Kelli and I had become somewhat used to the flood of emotions that could race over our link, but the look on both Paul and Kass' face showed nothing but wonder, and it was only moments before their eyes were full of tears. Love and friendship, hope and trust, were all that I wanted them to feel, so that they would understand how much they meant to Kelli and me. Then, a spark of resolve flared over our connection and Kass' fear became a steely determination. She took a deep breath, and then let it out as slowly as she could before looking Kelli and I with her captivating eyes.

"My parents were killed when I was five when one of the front wheels on their car broke off and caused my dad to lose control. The car spun and moved into the path of a truck that was coming up from behind them, and got crushed. When I could understand, I was told they had died instantly."

My instincts prompted me to get up and pull her in for a warm embrace. I simply sat and held her, offering what little comfort I was able to give as she struggled to tell Kelli and me about a past that I am sure she would rather have forgotten all together.

"So, I was sent to live with my grandparents," she continued, wiping a few tears from her eyes and holding on to me with a vice like grip. "They were wonderful, and they made sure they answered any questions I had about mom and dad, no matter how painful. They always had pictures and stories, and I got to know my parents almost as well as I got to know me-maw and pa-paw. When I was seventeen, me-maw was diagnosed with breast cancer, and died within 4 months, and a few months after that pa-paw died of heart failure, probably because he missed her so much."

"Oh god, Kass," I whispered to her as I stroked her hair. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"It's ok, really. It happened a while ago, but sometimes things just trigger an emotional outburst, that's all. Anyway. I was close enough to eighteen when pa-paw passed, and they had left me their house, and the rest of their things because they had no other kids, so I was able to have myself declared emancipated. I stayed in their house until I finished high school, then I sold everything but some personal keepsakes and pictures and things. There were too many memories with the house, and with what they had left me I was able to go to college and get my degree with no debt. It was like their final gift to me."

"And since my mom and dad's family only associate with us when they need money," Paul broke in after Kass had finished. "We both figured that it would be my parents, my sister, the band and a couple of friends, your family, and now Ali since she is with Jess. So, yeah. We both want to keep it small, for obvious reasons. Who were you going to invite to your ceremony?"

"To be honest," Kelli answered. "We would probably invite the same people you were going to invite. We would probably add a few extras from Ali's group, but it would still be small."

"I ask, because I just had a hell of an idea," Paul replied, with an ear to ear grin. "Why don't we just invite all of the people that we were all going to invite and have one combined wedding? It's not very traditional, but I think we are all close enough that it would be an amazingly special thing that we could share between each other for years."

"Oh my god," Kass cried out as she sat up and pulled Kelli and I into another of her hugs. "That is such an awesome idea! You have to say yes! Please, please say yes."

I was stunned at the suggestion, and that was only compounded by the eagerness with which Kass had come on board. I looked over to Kelli and got a sense that, while just as surprised as I was, she was also quite open to the idea of a combined ceremony. As our decision settled in our minds, I could see the golden web linking the four of us together strengthen and glow brighter than ever. I really could see no reason not to have a combined ceremony, and Paul was right that it would give the four of us a link to each other that no one could ever take away.

"Even though we haven't talked about it yet," I began, my own grin splitting my face from ear to ear. "I think it is safe to say that both Kelli and I are more than ok with the idea."

"Damn straight, sweetie," Kelli added, and gave me a blistering kiss to seal her agreement.

"Well, I can say that I am surprised that my suggestion went over so well and so quickly," Paul laughed. "Now all we have to figure out is when and where. Our mothers will have figured out the rest by next week."

His joke made all of us laugh out loud, and we gathered together on the couch for a little more food and a few more drinks. We brainstormed some ideas on where to hold the wedding, and we all had some really great ideas that would have worked for our needs. Then Kelli spoke up with an idea that I knew was going to get her in trouble with the Circle when they found out about it.

"Guys, there is a clearing in the woods that is on the property behind our houses. Where we had Myka's birthday party. It's more or less a fifteen minute walk into the trees, and it would be easy to get things set up for a small bunch of people."

"That sounds so cool," Kass replied with an excited look on her face. "What does it look like?"

"It is a clearing in the trees that is about ninety or so feet wide," I began my description. "On one side of the clearing is a small pond that is fed by a natural spring that bubbles up from a rock wall and forms a small waterfall. It really is quite idyllic."

"Damn! That sounds just about perfect, and the wedding photos should be seriously good."

"It is a really great location," Kelli continued. "Now, some of our pagan friends are going to set up a ceremonial stone ring that they believe will unlock a measure of power from the earth. Is that going to be ok?"

"I don't see why not," Paul answered her. "It actually might make it even more interesting and photogenic."

"It really would make it quite unique. I'm not sure, but I can also talk to the head of their group and see if she has credentials as a priestess or pastor so she could officiate."

"Holy shit, that would be so incredible," Kass cried out, becoming more excited by the minute. "Do you really think she would do it?"

"I don't really know, but I will ask. If she won't then we can find someone else. Also, I was wondering what you both would think about getting ready and having our ceremony in something like six weeks. Five weeks from now is Halloween, and if we planned for the Friday of the week after. Do you think we could pull it off?"

"Well, it's not like we have a ton of people that need to have a huge amount of notice," Paul said, his face lost in thought. "My parents might be a bit irritated, but I don't think the food or decorating will be an issue. Can you all have dresses picked out by then?"

Paul's question pushed us into another heated conversation about how soon and what type of dresses we should purchase. He reminded us that for the men it would be really easy. They just needed to know the colors and then they could rent the proper attire, almost the day of. That meant that Kass, Kelli, and I were the bottle neck for our crazy idea, and we agreed to get together at least twice a week for the next three weeks to make sure things got planned right. We also knew that our moms would want to be there for some of those meetings, so we decided that Kelli's and my apartment was a good central location.

We continued to talk and joke, and fling out ideas as they came to us for the next hour or so, and then it was time to wrap things up. Everyone helped clean up the small mess we had made, and then spent a good amount of time giving more hugs and goodbyes, before Paul and Kass opened the door. Right before she left, however, Kass leaned in to whisper privately to me.

"So, are we on for the bachelor party, and everything," she asked and I nodded to let her know Kelli and I were ok with it. "Great. I will find out when and where it will be happening and I will let you know. I will also make sure to have all the logistics of this worked out so you know exactly what you will be doing there. Though I think you have a pretty good idea."

Her comment made me giggle, and I gave her a last kiss on the cheek before letting them leave for their car.

"What was that last," Kelli asked me after I had closed the door.

"Oh, Kass was asking about the bachelor party, and I told her we were ok with it. She will get the plans ready and tell us when, where, and how things will go down. No pun intended."

Kelli laughed at my joke before pulling me into her arms for one more dance before we headed to bed. We both laid there for a long while, talking and making plans that we would have to share with Kass later, before the need to sleep settled on us both.