Soccer Women Ch. 18

It was now almost a year since Katie and Melanie had moved to begin their new lives, leaving Jo and Margaret back in California. They had gotten together at New Year's but missed the ball drop on television. They were too busy making up for lost time.

A whole lot happened after the New Year. The previous soccer season had gone well and the team won their Conference Championship, but they were knocked out of the National Title Tournament in the second round. Still a few more coaches were peeled off to other schools.

The biggest blow though was when Tiffany Hochbauer got the call from the US Women's National Team to come join their staff. Coach Quincannon was not surprised at this. In fact, she knew Coach Hochbauer would be going somewhere else eventually. That was why she had Jo following her around all the time. She was going to ask Jo to join the staff full-time come the end of the school year. The one remaining question was whether or not Jo was staying.

The answer to this came at the end of February when Margaret was offered a job at the engineering company where she had been an intern the last two summers. When Jo mentioned to Coach Quincannon that she and Margaret would be staying in the area, the Coach offered Jo the full-time position on the spot.

Now that Jo and Margaret knew they were staying put and had jobs, they decided it was time to finally make things official and get married. Neither of them wanted a big church wedding. There wouldn't be wedding dresses or a ballroom for the reception. A giant tent in the backyard and picnic food would do the trick for them. There would be a small ceremony, a cake, a small dance floor and a few other bows to tradition. But otherwise, it would just be a party.

Jo asked that since most of the people she would want to be there would be coming from back East for her upcoming graduation, and that two trips West would be a lot for some of them, could they combine the two? That was fine with Margaret as she originally said she was not inviting anyone to the wedding.

Jo had Melanie speak with her and eventually Margaret called her father and told him all her news; the job, graduation and the wedding. They ended up talking for several hours and Margaret finally made peace with him. Not only was her father going to be at the wedding, but some people from her mother's side of the family whom she had never met before would be coming and Margaret would be able to connect with some of her family whom she had never really known.

Jo and Margaret set up a meeting with the siblings who now owned the house where they were living. Their mother had passed away and now the house was part of her estate which they inherited. Jo and Margaret had asked to meet to seek permission to have the wedding and the reception/graduation party in the back yard. By the time the meeting was over, Jo and Margaret were going to be the owners of the house. There were still details that would have to be worked out and it would take some time for them to be able to actually purchase the house. But by July 1 of that year, Jo and Margaret would be married, working in their careers, and living in their house. Just a typical married couple.

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"Melanie, wake up. C'mon Mel, wake up." Melanie was certain she heard these words. She was also certain it was Katie who was saying them but she couldn't understand why. Katie always just stared and waited for Melanie to open her eyes. "Why is she rushing this?" thought Melanie. So, Melanie opened her eyes to her favorite sight each morning, Katie's face staring back down at her.

"C'mon, I don't want to miss our flight."

"Did I oversleep?" Melanie got up excited and glanced at the clock. "Katie! We still have five hours until the flight and it takes less than an hour to get to the airport. We were up late packing last night so we wouldn't have to rush this morning."

"I know. I know. But I just want to get going. We haven't seen them in six months."

They were flying out to California for the major triple event. Jo was graduating from her master's program in the History Department, Margaret was graduating with her electrical engineering degree, and the two of them were going to finally get married.

Saturday was the big day. The Departmental graduations would occur Saturday morning and early afternoon and the wedding would be Saturday evening. There was the entire school graduation Sunday at 1:00pm but a lot of people were already suggesting that was optional.

There was not going to be a "formal" bachelorette party. Teammates, past and present, from soccer and cheer were coming for the wedding and graduation. Friday night they were all going to go out and have a great time. Friends getting together, catching up with each other and then the events and party the next day were all going to make for a very fun weekend.

Jo and Margaret were waiting for Katie and Melanie at the baggage claim since they couldn't go to the gate. When Katie and Melanie came into view, Margaret made a beeline for them and was clearly going to jump into Melanie's arms. Instead, Katie took a few quick steps forward so she could take the brunt of Margaret's momentum. Katie twirled her around and then put her down in front of Melanie so they too could share a hug.

Jo now sidled up and Katie threw her arms around Jo and gave her a big hug. Katie said, "Great to see you, Jo. I'm here to cover your six this time around." Katie's reference to something they had shared when Jo had come for Katie's wedding touched Jo and she made her hug a little tighter. When they separated, Jo's eyes were a little watery. Katie didn't say anything about it, although had it been reversed, she knew Jo would have. Just then Melanie came up for her hug with Jo and the moment passed.

Katie and Melanie had arrived a few days early to help as much as they could. That first night they took advantage of no one else being around, and Jo and Margaret's king size bed, to reacquaint themselves physically. It was an amazing night filled with pleasure and emotion. It was something the four of them desperately wanted and desperately needed. And that was evident as they made love to each other for several hours.

Finally, with their desires sated, they lay all together, scrunched up despite all the room on the bed, not wanting the physical contact to end. They had kept in touch almost every day. There were phone calls and conversations on social media. But that wasn't the same as actually being together, even if that was just, as it was at this moment, being next to each other and holding each other. So, while the sex that night was great, it was only a footnote compared to all the other things that they would share this weekend.

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Everyone had been told that they should start congregating at Jo and Margaret's house Friday "at their earliest convenience." They were also told that if they got there after 6:00pm they would start missing things and if they were there after 7:00pm they would have to catch up with them as the party was heading into town at that point.

At first when it was still just the four of them, Jo and Margaret had a favor they wished to ask from Katie and Melanie. Although not as formal a wedding as Katie and Melanie's, Jo and Margaret would proceed up a center aisle. They would come up together, escorted by their fathers. And while there would not be a formal bridal party, they did want Katie and Melanie to stand with them in front of the officiant for the service. Jo asked Katie to stand with her and Margaret asked Melanie to stand with her. Katie and Melanie both agreed instantly.

As the morning progressed, former teammates from the soccer team and cheer squad began showing up at Jo and Margaret's house. People were having a great time catching up on new stuff and reliving past memories. At 6:00pm on the dot, Jo called everyone into the living room and took center stage.

"Okay everyone, thanks for coming. Tonight is the closest we are having to a bachelorette party. At 7:00pm two big party buses are coming and they are going to drive us around town tonight and we are going to have a wild night." The room erupted in cheers.

Jo continued, "Many of you may know, but for those who don't, my Margaret is a genius. If you want proof, she's marrying me." This led to a lot of comments questioning Margaret's genius status, although it was all in good fun.

When it died down, Jo started again, "You all drove here from your hotels. However, if things go according to plan, you shouldn't be driving back to them at the end of the night.

"Now, you all just have to show up tomorrow. But Margaret and I have stuff to do. So, we won't be drinking tonight. We'll be out with you and have a great time with you and share the night with you. But we will be stone cold sober with no hangover in the morning for graduation and in the evening for the wedding. I make no promises for after the wedding." This brought out some laughter and a few bawdy comments.

"So, if you want, you can leave your cars here, Margaret and I will shuttle the cars back to the hotels at the end of the night, or I guess I should say tomorrow morning. Anyone doing that will have to leave their keys in this bowl." And Jo held up a big salad bowl. "You also have to put a tag on them that has the kind of car you have, which hotel you're in and your room number. We'll park the cars and leave the keys with the front desk.

"Now, some of you are probably saying that is crazy." And of course, some people immediately yelled out, "Jo, this is crazy!" She smiled and continued, "If you think it's crazy or if you just want to help make things easier for us, we have an alternate plan. Anyone who wants, you can drive back to your hotel now. We will have the party buses stop at the hotels to pick you up. That way, your car is already there when the bus drops you back off tonight. I promise you won't really miss anything if you do this and it's that much less Margaret and I have to do when we get back.

"We want everyone to have a great time, but we want everyone to be safe too. And if that means some extra work for us, well, you're our guests and you are here to celebrate with us. So, it's the least we can do."

By now it was about 6:15 and most people decided to go back to their hotels and wait for the buses to come. Jo made sure she knew which hotel everyone was at so they didn't leave anyone behind. A few people had started to party right away and did not feel comfortable driving at this point. They put tags on their keys and put them in the bowl and kept right on partying.

Melanie found Margaret and told her she was not planning on drinking that night and she would help with any car shuttling after the party. At the moment, Margaret was too happy to have the help to question why Melanie was making this offer.

At 7:00pm two party buses rolled up to Jo and Margaret's house and everyone piled into them. The buses then proceeded to go to the hotels where the others were waiting and they joined the caravan. Eventually everyone was picked up and they hit the town.

They went to three clubs by the end of the night. Everyone had an amazing time. There was drinking and dancing until it was 1:00am and then it was time to go home. A few people had decided that wanted to keep going and Jo and Margaret made sure they had the Uber app on their phones. Jo and Margaret each had to play gatekeeper on a bus to make sure that non-party goers were not getting on the buses. Some disappointed persons had to find different transportation as the hotel room that would be their destination was shouted out to them.

The buses dropped Katie, Melanie, Jo, and Margaret back at the house. Katie had celebrated with some of her old soccer mates and was not fit to drive, so she just went to bed. For the other three, Margaret separated the keys in the bowl by hotel. Then she and Jo would take two cars to that hotel and drop off the keys at the front desk with the room number on the tag. Melanie would come behind in her rental and pick them both up for the next run. Of the four trips they had to make, one ended up with Jo and Margaret having to go to different hotels. Melanie just went to one and then the other. A little over an hour and a half later, they joined a sleeping Katie in bed.

The next morning, Katie was not up when Melanie woke up. She missed not seeing that smiling face, but she would cut Katie a break for this one. Jo and Margaret were also up early and all dressed as their families started dropping in for the graduation portions of the day.

Margaret's ceremony was first. Along with the attendant Reinharts and Rosses (Ross being Margaret's mother's maiden name) Jo, Angelina and Vito Napoli were going as well. Plus Melanie and Katie were there. The whole group spent some time getting to know each other and then they all went over for Jo's ceremony where there was a large contingent of Napoli's. The two families got along well and so everyone was all smiles after Jo's ceremony. People went back to their hotels to freshen up and they would be reconvening in a few hours back at Jo and Margaret's house for the wedding.

The wedding ceremony was the start of the evening's festivities. Neither Jo nor Margaret wanted to wear traditional wedding dresses. They did have long gowns, with Jo's a chocolate brown and Margaret's a light pink. Both of their fathers wore tuxedoes as the four of them came up the center aisle together.

Waiting for them with the officiant was Katie in an emerald green gown and Melanie in a sky blue one. Years later, when they were going through old photos, they noticed how similar their dresses were on this day to the ones they wore at Melanie's prom, as well as some other events over the years. Subconsciously, they each liked how they looked in these colors and when they wanted to look especially nice, these were their go to throughout the years.

When it came time for them to do their vows, Jo and Margaret just recited the formatted words. Jo and Margaret turned to face each other, which meant that Katie and Melanie were now behind Jo and Margaret respectively. At some point, Katie thought she heard Jo mumble something during her vows. Later she did not hear anything but thought she saw Margaret's lips move and it appeared she had mumbled something as well.

Jo and Margaret said "I do"; exchanged rings and shared their first kiss as a married couple. Everyone was told that they were now to bring their chairs with them and sit wherever at the tables around and dinner would be ready shortly.

A small, hardwood dance floor had been laid out in a corner of the back yard. It was a big enough area to hold twenty-five to thirty people. Jo and Margaret had their first dance to the song, Clarity by Vance Joy. Then they both danced with their fathers to Daddy's Little Girl.

While the dances were going, Katie and Melanie were talking and Katie mentioned her hearing Jo mumble something during the ceremony and that it looked like Margaret had as well. She asked Melanie if she had heard what Margaret had said. Melanie had not, although she had heard Margaret's mumble and thought she had seen Jo do the same thing.

When they finally had a moment where it was just the four of them together, Melanie asked about the mumbles.

Margaret answered, "We were orally amending the marriage contract."

"WHAT?" was the reaction of both Katie and Melanie.

"Amending the marriage contract. Look, you guys got them to take out the 'forsaking all others' language in your vows. When we asked about that, they told us they couldn't do that. It had to be spoken as written. But technically, the vows are the agreement to the marriage contract. And if both sides agree, they can amend the contract. So, when it got to that part, we both said 'Asterisk.' We agreed to amend that part between ourselves so that we didn't include you two in the 'forsaking' part."

Jo added, "Yeah, I couldn't deprive you two of me forever. And Margaret didn't want you two to be deprived of me either." The four of them shared a group hug.

It was just about time to eat and Jo called out to get everyone's attention and she asked everyone to find a seat. Just then a number of servers began to circulate around the tent with champagne flutes. As they moved around, Jo began to speak. "As you know, this has not been a typical wedding reception. But we have done some things that might be considered traditional wedding things. But we do not have a 'best man' so Margaret twisted my arm to give what would be the 'best man' toast. And while you all know how much I hate speaking in front of people or being the center of attention..." This led to all sorts of moans, comments and laughs as most of those in attendance knew Jo loved being the center of attention. And for the ones who did not know it, it was pretty obvious that Jo was being facetious.

When it died back down, Jo continued, "...but I have to say, it wasn't all that long ago that I didn't believe in love. I saw my parents and I knew how much they loved each other. But I just figured maybe it had gone out of style. And I wrapped myself tight in my own cocoon."

At this point Jo turned to Katie and Melanie saying, "And then I met these two. They were from my generation and they were in love with each other just as much as my parents were. And so, I saw that maybe love hadn't gone out of style. But alas, Katie was taken. So, while love might still be in style, I still didn't see any chance for me to have it. So even though I had changed my outlook on the topic, I stayed in my cocoon."

"And then this angel came along..." Jo now looked down at Margaret who lovingly returned her gaze "...and she poked and she prodded all around that cocoon until she found a crack in it. And she worked her way in, bit by bit, and finally the cocoon shattered. And then she allowed me to share my new freedom and love with her and she has returned that love many times over.

"So here is to the smartest, most beautiful, most special person in the world. And here's to me, the luckiest person in the world because the smartest, most beautiful, most special person in the world wants to share her life with me."

At that point Jo raised her glass and Melanie shouted out, "TO MARGARET AND JO!" And everyone else repeated that and drank the toast. When Jo finished her remakes, Margaret hugged her. It just so happened that from where everyone was standing at this moment, Margaret was looking over at Katie and Melanie as they raised their glasses. And she noticed that while Melanie brought the glass up to her mouth, she did not drink anything. And finally, a number of unrelated facts coalesced inside Margaret's head.

Katie and Melanie came back over to Jo and Margaret. Katie complemented Jo on her speech. "It wasn't as good as my vows to Melanie, but it was not too bad."

"Not too bad? I bet everyone here uses it for themselves going forward."

Margaret, with her eyes a little watery said, "I had no idea she was going to do that. It was lovely, Babe. Truly lovely." She gave Jo a big hug and kiss. When they broke apart, she said, "I have to go fix my makeup a little. Melanie, would you come with me?"

When Melanie and Margaret got inside the bathroom, Margaret closed the door and wheeled toward Melanie. "Okay, spill."

Melanie was surprised at first and said, "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't drink the champagne toast. That in and of itself doesn't prove anything. But you volunteered to be a designated driver last night so quickly. Add to that the way Katie kind of stepped in front of you when we met at the airport. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Melanie now went from surprise to anguish. She stood there for a few seconds in silence, thinking what she was going to say, what she was allowed to say, even to Margaret. Finally, she decided. "I think I see what you are implying. And I am neither going to confirm nor deny your guess. But you have to understand something. Katie and I always planned to have kids at some point. We've already had two insemination tries that did not take hold. And even if one did take hold, we just wouldn't want to say anything for a while. Just to make sure. Trust me, after our moms, you and Jo will be the first to be told, assuming there is something to be told, which I am not confirming or denying."