The Resort Brother and Sister

The first was, somewhat obviously, the man who watched her get ready. She wore a simple, dark green sheath dress, strapless, that offset the flames of her hair. She had dark red lipstick, and her eyes were more heavily shadowed than normal, although not enough to be very noticeable. Her hair was done up as best as she could, although its wild red curls seemed to want to escape all the time. She put on a pair of very expensive high heels that she had purchased especially for this event and stood back. First she looked at herself in the mirror. She felt her usual doubts. The dress fit her but she still felt like she was too skinny to be sexy, too out of touch with what modern beauty meant. Her makeup seemed like it wasn't good enough, even though she had taken her time and applied her best skills to it. Then she decided she would try a different opinion.

"Eric," she said, spinning to face her brother. "How do I look? Be real, please."

Since the Resort, 'be real' had been their code for 'tell me the truth especially if it hurts' and it had served them well. Eric took her in, signaled for her to spin with one twirl of his finger. She rolled her eyes but smiled and complied.

"You never dress like this, and I understand why. It takes a lot of effort...but..."

"But..."

"But I wish you would, because you look gorgeous. I mean...that dress is so tight in all the right places that it's kind of driving me crazy. I'm even a bit jealous..."

"Jealous?!?"

"Yes, jealous! You're not wearing a bra under that, are you?"

"I don't really need one, I'm not that big."

"No, you aren't but I can make out your shape and...god...I mean...we've got some time to spare. If you wanted you could just bend over the hotel desk and I'd show you exactly what I think of how you look right now."

Victoria laughed. It was high and clear and much different from the cynical noise of years past.

"Okay, stud, I get it," she said, before adding, "Thank you," and standing up on her toes to kiss her brother right on the lips. They had to be careful with how they appeared today, although, to be honest, no one would be paying attention, and it was likely there would be more than one couple like them in attendance today.

"Let's go," Eric said, offering Victoria his arm, and they strode out of the suite together.

"You look beautiful," was all her mother said, after stepping back, but Jessica wasn't sure.

Jessica examined herself in the mirror.

"I'm glad they could take out the dress a little bit more in the center. I could have still fit but it would have been uncomfortable."

"Mmmmm, you look wonderful. Are you worried about other people seeing?"

"No...I mean...I kind of like the extra curves, to be honest."

"That's not what I meant, honey." Melinda sat on the bed of the hotel room and patted next to her. Jessica sat down. It was easier than she thought. The dress was long, white, and with an amazingly tight bodice that covered everything but still showed plenty of skin behind some lace, but it was, in fact, much more comfortable and easy to move in than she had expected.

"What did you mean, Mom?" Jessica asked, although she already knew.

"I meant...um...are you worried about people knowing that you're pregnant?"

"N-no. Not really. There's no one here that's going to know that we're related and we're getting married so..." Jessica knew that there would be no scandal from it, any more than from their marriage. They had started again, a long way from home.

"Does Marcus know yet?" Melinda asked gently.

"I...I think he suspects but..."

"But you haven't told him? Why not?"

Jessica sighed. She had dreaded this conversation.

"It's a lot to put on him. I just graduated. We promised to wait for children until after we'd married and we promised not to get married until after college. This is a lot all at once."

"I know it seems that way, but you've been talking and planning this for years. He's a grown man. He's ready."

"I hope so. We didn't get much of a honeymoon period, you know."

Melinda laughed.

"Jessica, honey, you don't understand yet, but you will. I can see already that your whole life will be your honeymoon. So many people fall out of love, and it's natural, if sad, but as long as you and Marcus find time for each other, and most of all listen to one another, I know that you're going to be just as in love in twenty years as you are now. Mark my words, you'll still be passionate for one another even when you watch your own children walk down the aisle."

Jessica nodded, and smiled. That was all she could hope for.

Marcus waited nervously at the front of the small church. Jessica had wanted a traditional wedding, and while at first it had not seemed possible, he had started planning their new lives as soon as they had returned from the Resort. He knew, in his heart, that she would not find anyone else, but he still wanted her to have the freedom to change her mind, so he had kept this from her, to a degree. So he had started by doing research. He had found places they could move to, restart far away, that were safe, close to nature, and small enough that they would never run into anyone they knew (aside from those who were trusted with the secret details of their lives). And, perhaps most importantly, places that were good to raise children. That had taken some time, and after he had formally proposed to her after her graduation, they had planned the wedding itself, together.

Marcus was a bit wistful that some of their old friends couldn't be there. But there were new friends that could safely attend. Angela and William were sitting about midway back, Natalie and Tommy were towards the front. There were several other friends that they had made at or through the resort, too, like Molly and her brother, and of course, Victoria and Eric. He hadn't been certain about them when they had left for home the first time but they had, surprisingly, kept in touch. Victoria had even tipped him off to a job opportunity in his field which had allowed him to fund their new start.

Marcus was not sad that his father wasn't there. He had been a bit worried about his mother. They were still...close...in the way that they had been before. Jessica, surprisingly, had insisted that he maintain his sexual and romantic relationship with Melinda for as long as possible, reasoning that it made their mother very happy and that it did not end up making her jealous at all. Melinda had also ended up moving close to them to her own place in the same town. She was close enough that she could help them with grandchildren, and Marcus could visit her easily for alone time, but she had been very careful to give the new couple plenty of space and was clearly ready to withdraw into being "just a normal mother" if Jessica ever objected. Marcus did not see that happening and he again was grateful to whatever gods had deemed him fit to have two beautiful women loving him at once.

Marcus and Jessica would go on a honeymoon, after the wedding, but not to the Resort. Not exactly, anyway. It turned out that more offshoots of the main location were popping up in various parts of the world. They were much smaller than the original one, but still just as luxurious and committed to privacy. They had found a lovely spot in Scandinavia where they could be alone together in isolation while still enjoying fine food and the outdoors. He knew they would make lovely memories there. And maybe, if he was lucky, they would make more than that...

And then the music started and the doors opened and Jessica began to walk down the aisle. All of the eyes in the church, including Marcus', were on her. She had no one to give her away, and she was fine with that. She did not appreciate that tradition much, and she had always determined her own destiny. This was her choice, the end of one road and the start of another, so it fit that she, alone, walked to him.

Jessica was beautiful. She had begun to inherit more of her mother's curves while still staying fit. This was, of course, the first time Marcus had seen her in her dress, and it clung to her almost as though it were painted on. The lacy and thin material of the bodice would have perhaps been too risqué at another wedding, but here, it made sense. It did cover everything, and was opaque in the correct places, but the shape of her breasts were only magnified. The way it grabbed her hips and even the way it accentuated the legs it hid from vision made every bit of her appealing. The veil itself concealed her face quite well, but he knew from long experience that she would be crying some tears of joy.

Marcus tried to keep his thoughts clean and in the moment, but he knew had there not been a crowd there, he would have had her right there on the floor, church or not, and Jessica would have gladly given herself to him.

The reception was small, at a nice local Italian restaurant. It was surprisingly loud, but it didn't matter, as everyone seemed happy and there was none of the drama one might expect from such an occasion. The food had been very standard, but excellently cooked fare, and now, at last, Jessica and Marcus walked together into the small clear area in the center of the room to have the first dance.

"She's totally knocked up," Eric said as he and his sister watched from a nearby table.

"No way. Look at how tight that dress is! I mean, she may have put on a little weight since we saw her last but...she looks good." Victoria examined Jessica as she danced with Marcus. They were an amazingly cute couple, but pregnant, already?

"Sure she does, and no one is denying that she's beautiful," Eric said. Victoria side-eyed him and he quickly continued. "What I'm saying is, it doesn't matter how tight the dress is, she's clearly glowing, and it's not just from getting married. I'm right about this stuff all the time. I swear to god I've called it every time a girl at work is pregnant, before she's showing."

"All right, if you say so," Victoria said, wondering if he'd know before she did when she finally got pregnant. They'd decided mutually to stop using protection a month before, but nothing had come of that, as of yet. "You want to dance? I mean, don't worry, I wore sensible shoes that protect my feet this time."

Eric laughed.

"Yeah. Let's dance."