Robin's Wedding Ch. 09

There was applause and we were surrounded by our friends and family. More friends than family, of course, since I only had my mother and my sister, Angela, and John only had his sister Jenny and their parents. Denver was too far for any of his other family members to attend.

After a few minutes, Alex announced, "Can everyone please find your seats." Then after we had all sat, he said, "It's traditional for the father of the bride to give a speech at this time. Since he could not be here today, the mother of the bride, Miss Kaitlyn Kirkpatrick would like to say a few words."

Alex had been standing beside the main table, so I had finally located him when I sat down. He handed the microphone to my mother who had let her hair down, though she still wore the pantsuit. I found myself hoping that none of my friends, or my mother, revealed to John's parents or our work-friends anything about our lifestyle.

"Thank you, Alex. You are so fucking handsome; Maria is a lucky woman."

The guests chuckled at that, and I found myself getting nervous about what she might say. I had fussed at her about her mouth-filter not working just the day before. Kate usually said whatever she was thinking; which was usually filthy and laced with curse words.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Um... you can call me Kate. I'm Robin's mother. Her fucking dad left us a long time ago, so who knows where that son-of-a-bitch is now."

Murmurs and some chuckles could be heard in the hall.

"Thank you all for being here today. Robin's grandparents all died long ago, and her dad left when she was fourteen, so, for a while there it was just her, Angela, and me. It's good to see that my beautiful daughter has managed to find so many wonderful friends.

"Robin, you are the light of my life, the best thing I have ever done, and I am so fucking proud of the woman you have become. You are absolutely beautiful. I mean, look at you in that damn dress. Wow."

There were a few whistles of approval.

Kate nodded and said, "Hot right? The boys didn't always think she was pretty. She got picked on a lot in school before she blossomed. In hindsight, I think there was a great silver lining to the hard times she went through. It made her both tough and compassionate.

"Now, Robin is starting her own fucking business, together with her new husband, John."

I cringed at that. Buying the club was new and it wasn't even officially re-opened yet. My work-friends didn't need to know about that. If word got back to my boss, it could get awkward. I still needed my day-job for a while to help pay our bills.

Looking at me, she said, "I know that when you set your mind on something you get it, like your new husband here, so I'm sure it will do amazingly well. Your last business did awesome for a while, and it ended through no fault of your own."

I did not need anyone asking about any of that. They didn't need to know that my new business venture was a sex club. And they sure as shit didn't need to know that my previous venture had been prostitution. Or that it ended because a rival pimp had beaten Angela up. I tried to act casually, but I felt that my face was probably whiter than usual.

Kate looked around and continued. "When Robin told me she was going to marry John, I was not fucking happy. He was quite handsome but, really, I didn't think any man was good enough for my little Robin."

Some chuckles went up but mostly the room had become very quiet, everyone hanging on Kate's words.

"I must admit, I made things difficult for them. In the end, John won me the fuck over. I have to say, seeing my little girl stand up there and marry the man of her dreams; well, I couldn't be happier for her."

She raised her glass and said, "John, I've said it before but this time it's fucking official. Welcome to the family!"

Everyone drank to that, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief when Mom handed the mic back to Alex and sat down.

"Let's eat," Alex announced.

* * *

The photographer took over our itinerary after the meal, having us gather around and cut the cake. As everyone came to get a piece of wedding cake, she took various photos with our family members and the wedding party.

Once we had all sat back down to eat some cake and drink some more champagne, Chris, John's best man, stood up and took the microphone to speak.

"For those of you that don't know me," Chris began, "my name is Chris Ivanov. I'm John's friend and it's my honor to be his Best Man today.

"I have never been a Best Man before and I'm not good with speeches, but I'll try my best. John told me that if I give a good enough speech, I can be the Best Man at his next wedding, too."

I laughed at that as did everyone else. I didn't plan on doing anything to make John leave me but then I had a wicked thought. I bit my lip as the thought of him marrying someone else but not divorcing me. I knew that wasn't legal but still, it gave me something to think about.

"I think everyone can agree that Robin looks amazing today, only slightly better than every other day."

There were hoots of agreement that made me smile.

"I was a little nervous to give this speech, so I sought out some advice from Alex on how to handle it and he said to picture the entire audience naked. Problem is, most of Robin's friends are almost as sexy as she is, and these slacks are loose enough to pitch a tent."

The crowd laughed even though his joke was a little too on-the-nose. I could see John's mother had her mouth open in horror. I laughed at her more than the joke.

"I thought that might get a laugh because I practiced this speech at the nursing home last night and many in the audience pissed themselves."

Raucous laughter filled the hall, and I joined in. I had no idea Chris was that funny.

"I first met John at the club, like many of you did. He was a real newbie. Robin had me and my girlfriend, Dana, show him the ropes.

"Now he's marrying Robin and, while I'm still single, as many of you know I too will soon be tying the knot.

"So, if it weren't for John marrying Robin, I might still be dating Dana with no wedding date set. Thanks John!"

He said the "thanks" so sarcastically that even Dana laughed.

"Seriously, though. I consider John to be my very best friend and it's been an honor to be his Best Man. I hope he will be able to return the favor when I marry Dana."

"I'd be honored," John shouted to him.

Chris smiled. "As for Robin. Nobody thought she'd ever be tied down. Nobody ever measured up or passed the test. John was the only one."

I snickered that, knowing that it was more literal than figurative. "Measured up" referring to John's big dick, though that's not why I was marrying him, and "passed the test" referring to the testing I had put him through. Everyone knew about that now. Of course, it was also true that Angela had sabotaged many of the tests, and John had actually failed one of them.

"While Robin is still a wild mare, John has tamed her just enough to get a saddle on her. May he never get bucked off!"

I gave him a broad smile, letting everyone know I wasn't offended at being compared to a horse. I knew what he meant.

"To the happy couple, John and Robin!"

Everyone toasted and drank. While I thought his speech was a little too off-color for John's parents, it was mild for the rest of the crowd. Oh well, John might have an awkward question or two to answer, but at least it shouldn't be too difficult for him, I mused. It's not like someone mentioned I was an ex-call-girl, something very few knew, or called our club a swinger's club, something everyone but John's parents and our work-friends knew.

When Alex took the mic back, he said, "John and Robin, can you come to the dancefloor, please?"

John escorted me to the dance floor, the long train on my dress quite long and limiting my movement. We stood there facing each other, waiting. John was so handsome.

"This is the first dance, so please don't join the couple on the dance floor for the first minute. Thank you."

The song, our song, began to play. It was called Love Theme, by Vangelis. John had introduced me to it a couple weeks into our relationship. When I heard it that first time I had been stunned. I thought it was the most beautiful piece of music I had ever heard. It was from a movie I had not seen before but have seen several times since.

So, when the saxophone started, tears filled my eyes, and, with my small left hand in John's larger right one, he held me close, and we swayed slowly to the music.

Everyone was silent as they watched us.

To my surprise, nobody made a sound when John kissed me. No hoots or whistles. I knew we were the center of attention and for there to be no reaction meant they were closely watching me.

My head back and my mouth open, my tongue danced with his as we swayed side to side with the tune, moving very little because of the dress. I didn't want to move anywhere anyway. I wanted to stay in that moment, kissing my new husband, forever.

We eventually broke the kiss and, with my head on his chest, we continued to rock back and forth in time with the music.

Halfway through the short song, other couples came onto the dance floor, emulating us. Though they moved a little more, I closed my eyes, not caring what they did. I knew the moment was ending and I wanted desperately to savor it.

Then, with a final kiss, it was over.

We paused for a moment and then the second song began. As planned, it was Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud.

We went back to swaying to the music, but this time we looked into each other's eyes. As we listened to the words, we smiled, our love growing even stronger in that moment.

Even more people joined us on the dance floor until it was almost crowded. I saw some groping here and there, but I kept my primary attention on John, and we didn't do anything sexual for fear that his parents might see. We had just had sex in the limo and were going to have a lot later, so we weren't desperate and there was plenty of time to just be together on that special day.

When the song ended, we sat down. Many continued to dance as the third song began.

This was the time that people came up to us to congratulate us. I was just happy to have some time to sit peacefully with John. I was always on the go and anxious to get to the next thing, but there was nowhere I had to be at that moment. It was nice to stop and relax for a change.

Mrs. Parker, John's mother, came and sat down beside me at one point. She said, "Such a lovely wedding, dear. You look beautiful."

I smiled at her, "Thanks, Mom."

She smiled back at me for calling her that. "I was wondering about some things that Chris said."

"Oh? He was just joking around," I said, not sure what she was concerned about and hoping she would just drop it, whatever it was.

"Well, he mentioned meeting at a club that you and your friends frequent. What club is that?"

I really did not want to lie to my new mother-in-law. I said, "It's called TSC. It's like a nightclub." Yes, a sex club is like a nightclub, but not actually a nightclub; close enough to true.

"So, you and my son are regulars at a nightclub?" she asked, her brows furrowed in concern.

"Yes ma'am," I said, hoping to be done with the conversation.

"Hmm. Okay. Oh, and Alex said something about you and John starting a business? John hasn't told me anything about that. What are you doing?" she asked.

Thinking quickly but speaking slowly to give myself time to think, I said, "Well, we are buying a business that we used to frequent a lot. It's a private facility where people who share similar interests can get together."

"What sort of interests?" she prodded.

"Our members have varied interests. Some like to gather with large groups and others like to have smaller group get-togethers," I said running out of vague terms without lying to her.

"Oh, so it's a property where people can have meetings," she said.

"Much less formal than that, but, basically, yes," I told her.

She shook her head. "I guess I just don't get it. Oh well, good luck with your business dear."

Sighing in relief I said, "Thanks, Mom."

As she got up, she asked, "Oh, your mother said something about you having a business that 'ended through no fault of your own.' What sort of business was that?"

I was stuck like a deer in headlights. How did I explain that?

"Mom?" John asked. Having concluded his discussion with his dad, he must have heard what she asked. "That's a sensitive subject for Robin. She and Angela were self-employed, but they didn't register their business with the right people, so it was closed down."

Wow, I thought, he explained it perfectly without lying; 'self-employed' referring to 'prostitution' and 'right people' being 'Big Z', a local pimp, and 'closed down' being beaten and threatened. I didn't think he had it in him to answer on the fly like that without straight-up lying. My respect, and love, for my husband grew quite a bit for him coming to my rescue so gallantly like that.

"Oh, I'm so sorry dear. I didn't mean to bring up a sensitive subject," she said.

"It's okay, Mom," I said before holding my arms out, asking for a hug.

She smiled and hugged me.

* * *

Dana caught the bouquet and Chris caught the garter. Most of our friends were either married or not interested in getting married, so there wasn't a lot of competition to catch them.

Afterward, Alex announced, "The couple will be heading to the limo, so get your bird seed and head on out. Thank you for coming and, please, drive safely. Oh, and if anyone is too intoxicated to drive, please come see me."

We then left, running through a gauntlet of bird seed to the limo, which then took us away. Most thought we were heading home to prepare to leave for our honeymoon, but we were heading home to get dressed for our wild wedding reception.