Chapter 5

“I know,” Bramley said, gently clutching Haralson’s hand.

The two cars made their way to Judge Roberts Airport and parked in long-term parking. Paula took charge; it seemed Bramley and Ann and Haralson were stymied how to handle suitcases and garment bags. She continued her role of den mother as she found the right airline’s counter, organized what needed to go into the luggage and what they would carry on to the flight.

“I would have done that,” Brandmother hugged, perturbed at her own lack of knowledge and lack of action.

“Then you can do it on the return flight,” Paula assured the Asian-American woman.

Upon landing in Las Vegas, Paula waited for the beat of ten before again assuming the role of den mother and herding her troop through the maze to the line of taxicabs waiting.

“So, what hotel?” Paula asked Bramley.

“Well, the wedding is at…” Bramley said.

Looking up the wedding chapel, Paula used that address to coordinate which hotel would be closest. Using her cell phone she checked availability and secured three rooms. Haralson suggested they would only need two rooms but a hard look from Paula and a gentle head shake from Bramley stifled his objections.

“Okay, Ann and I will take room twenty four twelve,” Paula said.

“But, I thought we’d…” Bramley started.

“You two are not married yet,” Paula said, helping Haralson put all the luggage into one cab’s trunk. “Tomorrow night? Grandmother and I will take Room twenty twenty one and you two will have twenty four twelve for your honeymoon suite.”

“Okay,” Bramley giggled happily, kissing Ann.

“But, come on. Let’s get checked in so I can hit a few blackjack tables,” Paula enthused, telling the first driver which hotel they were heading to.

“Your mom sure is bossy,” Bramley teased as she and Ann and Haralson crowded into the second cab.

“Uh? Thank God,” Ann said, defensively. “She wasn’t? We’d still be at Judge Roberts, trying to figure out how to get here.”

“I am teasing you,” Bramley defended. “Don’t be so thin-skinned.”

“Don’t tell me how I should feel,” Ann yelled, startling Bramley and Haralson.

The cab driver heard nothing, saw nothing said nothing as he followed the first cab to the hotel/casino. A silent Bramley paid the man then hurried to pay the first cab driver, only to find that Grandmother had already paid for their fare.

“What is wrong?” Paula demanded as they stood on the covered walkway in front of the hotel.

“Nothing,” Ann snapped.

“Ann,” Paula said gently.

“Bad enough when she teases me and makes fun of me,” Ann burst into tears. “But when she started making fun of you I was like ‘do I really want to marry this woman?'”

“Let’s get checked into our rooms, then we’ll meet down here in thirty minutes,” Paula ordered Bramley, Grandmother, and Haralson.

In their hotel room, Paula made Ann wash her face. She also suggested that Ann might want to pee and Ann realized, she did need to pee.

“Now, you two. Hold hands. Don’t say it,” Paula said when they were again in the lobby. “I don’t want to hear that you don’t feel like holding hands. You two hold hands. Now. Now, out the door, two blocks south, then one block east.”

“What? Where’s, where’s that?” Bramley asked.

“Don’t worry about it. Just do it,” Paula snapped.

In silence, in the desert heat, Bramley and a scowling Ann marched, leading the group. Ann could hear Paula and Grandmother quietly chatting behind them but could not hear the words. She kept her eyes focused directly in front of them, even though she could feel Bramley’s eyes boring into the side of her face.

“There. Right there,” Paula said, directing them to stop in front of a bakery.

Inside, Paula ordered five slices of wedding cake and five cups of coffee. The smiling girl asked who the lucky couple was and Paula pointed to the two combatants that were standing, still silently holding hands.

“”No, no, hold on,” Paula demanded when Bramley moved to cut a wedge of the cake. “Aren’t you supposed to feed each other?”

“I’m sorry, Ann,” Bramley whispered, dark eyes shiny.

“I am too,” Ann responded, her own eyes shiny.

Softly, the two girls kissed. Then, they did feed one another a bite of the decadently rich wedding cake. This was followed by a second kiss.

“Now that we got that taken care of…” Paula said, carrying the five plates and two of the cups to the counter. “…Momma’s got some money to lose.”

Haralson, being twenty one, offered to escort Paula. With an amused smirk, Grandmother also insisted on being escorted. Ann and Bramley again held hands as the quintet returned to the hotel.

In the hotel room she was sharing with Grandmother, Bramley poured Ann and herself a drink from the minibar. Seeing the prices the hotel was charging them for these drinks, Ann vowed this would be her one and only drink. Bramley assured Ann that they could very easily afford the paltry sum of money. Ann saw that she would most likely have to be the responsible one in their marriage. Looking at the exotic beauty sitting with her on the small loveseat, Ann smiled; she would be the responsible one. Softly, she kissed her wife-to-be on the lips.

“I promise to have you and hold you,” she promised, delivering another kiss to Bramley’s lips. “I promise to care for you, to always be by your side.”

“Even when I’m a bitch?” Bramley asked.

“Even when you’re a bitch,” Ann agreed. “Especially when you’re a bitch.”

“And I promise to have you and hold you. I promise to always be by your side,” Bramley vowed and the two women sealed these words with a kiss.

The five met again and visited a steakhouse. After a truly delicious meal, they visited a variety show; the highlight being a very skilled female magician. Even as they walked to their hotel, they argued about how the stunning blonde woman had performed some of the illusions.

“Really; there wasn’t enough of that costume for her to hide anything,” Grandmother said.

Standing in front of the hotel room that Ann and Paula would share, the five agreed on meeting for breakfast. Then, they would get ready and walk the one block to the wedding chapel. Ann and Bramley hugged and kissed before Ann entered her room. Ann had not even crossed the room before Bramley was texting her.

“You two are ridiculous,” Paula smiled indulgently. “Tell her ‘Good night.'”

“Thank you,” Ann whispered as she crawled into the oversized hotel bed.

“For…?” Paula asked.

“For… For being such a wonderful and terrific mother,” Ann said.

“Well, then, thank you for being such a phenomenal daughter; I could not have asked for a better daughter to love,” Paula said.

After their breakfast, everyone synchronized their watches and agreed they would be at the chapel in one hour. Bramley slapped her forehead when Paula asked if she’d secured a photographer and or a videographer. With a smirk, Paula got on her cell phone and pulled up the web site for the chapel.

“It’ll be my wedding present to you two,” Paula said as the elevator doors noiselessly shut.

At five minutes before the allotted time, Ann texted Bramely to go to the chapel. She would be five minutes behind; that way, Bramley would not see her in her wedding gown until the ceremony.

Ann blushed as she and Paula walked across the hotel’s lobby. Paula laughed and assured Ann, these people saw so many brides it didn’t even get a second look.

Outside, the heat was brutal. Both Ann and Paula declared it was a good thing they were from Texas; they were used to this heat.

Paula let an employee know they were there for the Applewhite-MacIntosh wedding. The young lady smiled a professional smile and let them know the reverend was concluding a ceremony, but they would be next.

“You, you’re Ann Applewhite?” another young woman asked, camera slung around her neck.

“Apple… Not yet,” Ann laughed happily. “For the next two or three minutes, I’m still Ann MacIntosh.”

The photographer earned her money, in Paula’s eyes. To her, the entire arrangement; Las Vegas, Elvis, pink Cadillac, seemed tawdry. But the photographer was professional and posed Ann in several glamour shots. She also included quite a few shots with the mother of the bride.

“That’s you,” the other employee called out and Paula gave Ann a quick hug before they entered the chapel itself.

Ann did not know her step-mother’s feelings about the venue. But, she had the same thoughts; the arrangements seemed campy, bordering on ridiculous. Being married by ‘The King of Rock N’ Roll’ was laughable.

Bramley had selected to wear a pale pink gown, a very elegant dress that had a few layers of crinoline underneath. Ann was grateful Bramley seemed to be taking this ceremony, their wedding as a serious matter.

Bramley said “I do.”

Elvis bade them kiss and they did kiss, a soft, lingering kiss.

Stepping out of the chapel, holding her wife’s hand, Ann heard the sound of rain pattering, heard the raindrops sizzle. But the ground was dry. There were no raindrops striking her head.

Looking up, Ann could see rain falling. But not a single drop reached the ground. Bramley and Grandmother also looked up in amazement.

“Phantom rain,” the photographer smiled, stepping out onto the sidewalk. “Evaporates before it hits the ground.”

“Mrs. Applewhite? May I have this dance?” Ann laughed joyously, grabbing Bramley’s hands in hers.

The photographer caught the shot of two elated young women as they did a clumsy waltz on a Las Vegas sidewalk, dancing in a summer rain.

**Author’s Note: I write these stories for my pleasure; I post them here for your enjoyment. Thank you for reading my stories.

I especially thank those that take the time to leave comments, good and bad. I also thank those that rate my words, those that ‘Favorite’ my works.

The mother of Bramley Applewhite is Marilyn Applewhite, a minor character introduced in ‘Vodka: Vanilla’ in the Group Sex category.

The mother of Haralson Apple is Stacy Apple, also introduced in ‘Vodka: Vanilla.’ She plays a larger role in ‘Restaurant—Holland’s’ in the Loving Wives category.

The father of Haralson may or may not be Darrel Ignatius Cooper, the main protagonist of ‘Vodka: Vanilla.’ He is the father of Bramley; Marilyn was exclusive with Darrel.

Garland’s Dairy, Ann’s place of employment is introduced in ‘Elf Patty’ in the Mature category.

The Full Moon Diner is first mentioned in ‘Write It Down!’ in the First Time category.

The Bombay Café is a franchise first introduced in the ‘The Broussard Sisters’ series in the Group Sex category. This particular location was first introduced in ‘1 Alliance Square’ in the Group Sex category.

Baron’s Jeweler’s where Bramley buys Ann’s engagement ring and their wedding set is introduced in ‘XYZ’ in the Mature category.

Grandmother’s attorney, Elizabeth Dumont is a major character in ‘XYZ’ in the Mature category.

Have a swell day. And some of you, have a swollen day.