Chapter 27: Jason

Back at the hotel, Jason carried all the bags and boxes to Anne's room.

"We'll take it from here," Anne said as she picked through the items to take the ones that belonged to Di. "You go do whatever it is grooms do and we'll see you later."

Di gave him one last excited kiss and dashed into Anne's room closing the door. Standing in the middle of the hallway with his few remaining bags, Jason grinned like an idiot. He was getting married. The thought was buzzing around his head like a fly.

He gathered the bags and walked to their room down the hall. After he dropped everything on the king-sized bed his cell phone rang.

"Hey Michelle," he sighed.

"You sound happy. Did everything go okay with Di's father."

"I'm getting married in two hours," he grinned. "Holy shit, I'm getting married in two hours."

"Yay!" Michelle repeated his words to someone else on the other end. "I wish we could all be there."

"We'll do it again at the party next week if you want."

"It won't be the same. You better bring back pictures!"

"Yeah, Bill has everything set up for us. We have a photographer and I'll get a flash drive with all the pictures at the end."

"So how's Di?" Michelle asked. "Can I talk to her?"

"She's getting ready with a friend we met last night. Long story, but you'll love Anne. You can call her room if you want," he said and gave her a quick rehash along with her room number.

"You realize this is some kind of weird fate thing, right? This never happens in real life."

"Yeah," Jason fell back on the bed and stared up the ceiling. "You won't believe how gorgeous she looks today."

"You are so zonked," Michelle chuckled. "Just remember to breathe and don't lock your knees or you'll pass out."

"Okay." Jason grinned. "One hour and fifty minutes."

"You're a nut! I'm gonna call my new sister now."

"Bye and thanks for everything," Jason said.

He dropped the call and started pulling all his things out of the boxes. The black dress slacks and shirt were wrinkled from being folded, so he got out the ironing board and heated the iron. Once the clothes were crisply creased he hung them up and set to grooming himself for his wedding. A hot shower and wet shave came first, followed by a little work with a hair dryer and brush. Seeing Di's things on the bathroom counter with his own kept the smile on his lips.

He dressed carefully, all in black including his boxer briefs and socks. The silver tie took three tries to get the right length, but it looked great with the clothes they'd picked out. He was considering going down to check out the location when he got a knock on the door.

He opened it to see a round man with a halo of white hair around his bald head. "Yes?"

"Jason Peters?" he queried. At Jason's nod, he said, "I'm Roy McCormick, the officiant for your wedding. May I come in?"

Jason stepped back to let him in. "Nice to meet ya."

"I just wanted a moment to fill out your license and to verify how to pronounce your names before the service."

Jason led him to the table in the room where the folder was. "I think we've got everything ready for you. Di and I have signed them already. Oh, and she definitely prefers Di over Diamond."