Chapter 6

"We're going in our birthday suites," Char said giggling. "Linda and I will be naked as Jay-birds. Come on, Brea; just think about how kinky it'll be parading around in front of thousands of people in the nude," she said trying to get me to join them.

"No way," I said; I simply didn't have the guts to go strolling out in front of all those people naked ... well, except for the cap and gown of course.

By the time everyone was taking their place in line I was wishing I was naked; it was damn hot under that long silky material. I could feel the perspiration literally dripping from under my arms as we waited for our cue to start the parade to our seats.

This was it, the culmination of years of hard work; from here on in, I would put everything I had learned into practice and join Bobby in building a life together.

My family was somewhere in the crowd. Since the incident, as Donna and I now referred to it, she and I had kept in constant touch. She said mom and dad actually talked on the phone a few times, which of course, left mom smiling for days afterward. I was really hoping they would come to my graduation together, but I just happened to be at a window that overlooked the parking lot when dad drove in. He had Eileen, Steve, and Gwen with him; I was pretty sure that meant mom would come with Donna and Derek. Still, just the fact that mom and dad were talking again was a giant step forward; I guess I really couldn't, or at least shouldn't, ask for more than that.

Since they did come in different cars I wondered if mom and Eileen had met yet. I was hoping to be there to support mom when they were introduced, but by the time they arrived, the whole graduating class was being herded into the back rooms to change into our gowns. If mom came with Donna then at least she would be there for her; I could only imagine how nervous mom must have been meeting dad's girlfriend for the first time; I prayed mom didn't embarrass herself by breaking down in front of them.

"Here we go," I heard someone say. Suddenly my heart started beating faster and I had tears in my eyes. Every nerve in my body was on end; it was really happening; I would not be coming back here again; there would be no more late nights of sitting around with Linda and Char in our pajamas, killing off a bottle of wine.

I turned around and looked at Linda, who was three or four people behind me; she also had tears dripping down her cheeks. We forced a smile to one another. "I'm going to miss you," she said choking up a little.

"I'm going to miss you too," I said back. I looked around for Char but she was too far back in the line. God, I thought as we started to file out from behind the curtain, this place has been such a big part of my life for the last four years; I'm going miss it, every bit of it.

As we marched out two abreast, I looked up into a sea of proud faces searching for my family's but there were just too many people. I knew they were out there; I could feel their presence; that would have to suffice.

Once the ceremony started speeches of encouragement and inspiration emanated from the mouths of educators, guess speakers, and members of the student body; regrettably they served as little more than background noise as I sat consumed in thoughts and dreams of my own future.

After the speeches, we stood one row at a time and started making our way to the podium. I looked around and caught a glimpse of Char just as she wiped her eye; I assumed to rid herself of a lingering teardrop.

I was pretty sure everyone's emotions were running as high as my own. Throughout the long day my feelings had been up and down, sandwiched between excitement, sadness, and joy; as I stepped up onto the wooden platform; however, one sentiment took control as I was handed my diploma ... tremendous pride. As I exited the stage I could hear that pride echoed by my family with a chorus of praise from the bleachers, led of course, by my Bobby. By the time the class was presented to the audience and we moved our tassels from one side of our cap to the other ... well, I guess you could just say I was a basket case.

When it was all over I found the two who had been my best friends for the last four years. We had shared each other's joys and sorrows, our triumphs and failures; tears and laughter; we had grown and matured together, and acted like silly little girls together. Charlene, Linda, and I hugged each other, dried one another's tears, and hugged some more. We knew we would be together again for my wedding, but after that our lives would go in different directions. We were bound by friendship and vowed never to lose touch with one another; it was truly hard to say goodbye.

I was still feeling a little melancholy as I wandered into the throngs of people waiting in the halls and right into the arms of my beloved. "I'm so proud of you," he said; then looked into my eyes, lowered his lips to mine, and softly, sensuously, and passionately, kissed me.

There is nothing like a kiss from her man to brighten a girl's spirits, "Oh, Bobby," I said breathlessly; I could feel his love surrounding me as I put my arms around him.

"Hey you two lovebirds, what about the rest of us, don't we get a hug too?" I heard my dad say. I looked up and saw the rest of my family. I rushed over as dad stuck his arms out welcoming me. Mom was next with the hugs; she looked happier than I had seen her look in a very long time. I left no one out, moving from my siblings to Eileen and Derek.

"Okay, everyone," dad said, "it ran a little longer than I thought it would; I have reservations at the Golden Ram at seven so we all have to get going."

Mom quietly asked Derek if he had time to run her home. That's, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eileen give dad a discrete elbow to the ribs.

"Jackie, you're invited too," he said after only one small jab.

"Me?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Of course," he replied with a smile, "you're the graduate's mother aren't you? Everyone drive safely," dad said before leaning in close to my ear. "Honey, we'll all meet you and Bobby at the restaurant," he told me emphasizing the word, all.

"Thanks, dad," I whispered in his ear. He gave me a big smile then a kiss on the cheek.

That night was very special; everyone had a great time. Mom was kind of quiet but still seemed to be enjoying herself. She wound up sitting next to Eileen who was making every effort to include mom in the conversations. My curiosity about their first meeting would not be denied. "Excuse me, everyone," I said right after our meal, "I have to powder my nose." I glanced at Donna and motioned for her to join me.

"Ah, me too," she said getting up to follow me.

"I have to ask," I said as soon as we were inside the lady's room, "how did mom handle meeting Eileen?"

"Ah, well ... pretty good," she said with some hesitancy. "You know Eileen, without even trying she just exudes poise and confidence; I know she wasn't trying to put mom down in anyway, but I could tell, mom was definitely intimidated by her."

"Damn, I remember when mom used to have that same kind of dignity and self-assurance," I said.

"Yeah, me too; she's been through a lot, Brea; at least she didn't start crying. After that one night I was worried about her doing just that."

"I know," I replied, "I was thinking the same thing. I'm glad you were there for her." I hugged my younger sister then we rejoined the party.

As things were coming to an end I looked at Bobby; he had apparently read my mind. "Are you ready to go?" he asked me quietly. I nodded my head in the affirmative. "Mr. Cooper, I hope you don't mind, but Brea and I have some catching up to do; I promise to have her home in a week or two," he joked.

"If you keep her out too long, you'll miss your own wedding," chuckled Donna.

"We have a whole month before then," I responded, "one long, long month."

There was another round of congratulations from the table as Bobby and I said goodbye. It had been nearly six weeks since we'd been together; I was so horny, if it hadn't been for the damn gear-shift lever being in the way, I'd have given him a blow job before we even got to the motel. We both had our clothes off almost before the door of our room was closed.

God, he was so hard already; I didn't have to do a thing. We fell on the bed wrapped in each other's arms. I was ravenous to feel him inside of me. "Just put it in," I whispered, "I'm like a waterfall down there, honey; just slide it in;" and he did ... again, and again, and again; first with long, slow strokes then he increased his speed until our carnal thirsts were quenched by massive orgasms. By the time we were done it was three in the morning and the motel sheets were drenched by the sweat from our spent bodies. We both lay in each other's arms, almost giddy from exhaustion.

"Can you believe it?" I asked, "In just a little over a month we'll be living together as man and wife. You know what we should do?" Bobby shook his head, "We should find the guy who took my bikini top that day and send him an invitation," I said with a smile.

"Ah huh," chuckled Bobby, "we could hand him a broom and have him sweep up after the reception."

"You're mean," I told him with a smile. He just laughed.

I'm not quite sure where the weekend went because the next thing I knew it was Monday morning and I was sitting in Mrs. Weller's office for my first orientation. She told me everything was on schedule for opening a second store; she and her husband, who I had only met once, already had the location picked out. We spent all morning in the office going over marketing plans, ordering schedules, employee rosters, and various timetables. Before we both knew it, it was noon so she continued with my education over lunch.

By the end of the day, what I had learned most about running a boutique was that there was a lot more to it than I thought. It was a lot of responsibility and I was excited to know Mrs. Weller trusted me with it. Before the end of the first week she already had me scheduling hours for the sales staff, under her supervision of course.

I had been home for two weeks and was dead tired. I lay in bed and had to smile, I almost wish I was back in school for the peace and quiet. Between working, apartment hunting, fittings for my wedding gown, picking out dresses for the brides maids ... ugh, it made me tired just thinking about it.

The following night Donna, Derek, Bobby, and I all went to Denny's to surprise mom. We had been there about twenty minutes when she was able to take her break. The waitresses were not really supposed to sit with the customers but her manager didn't care so we all scooted over a little to let her into the booth.

"So, Mrs. Cooper, do you have any juicy stories about Brea when she was a little girl; you know, something I can use to blackmail her with," Bobby asked jokingly.

When mom didn't answer we all looked over at her and saw she was fixated on the man who had just walked in the door. He stood at the entrance looking around the restaurant as if he was searching for someone in particular. He looked to be over six feet tall but it was hard to tell because he was slightly hunched over at the waist. When he looked in our direction he started to move toward us; it was obvious that the cane he held in his hand was not for decoration but to assist him with walking since he had a pronounced limp; it also looked as if he had a problem with his left arm because it stayed pretty much straight by his side.

"That's Victor," mom said almost in a panic.

"Victor? The Victor; as in the guy you had the affair with?" I asked. Mom just nodded her head as he came nearer.

"Hello, Jackie," he said stopping in front of our booth.

"Victor, what are you doing here?" mom asked, the words almost catching in her throat.

"I came to see you," he sneered. "I thought maybe we can pick up where we left off."

"Victor, get out of here," she told him abruptly, "I never want to see you again."

"Yeah, well I think you owe me," he said, "Look what that asshole husband of yours did to me; he was the one who worked me over that day; you know how I know it was him, because the son-of-a bitch admitted it, hell he bragged about it," he snarled. I'm going to get him, Jackie; you can give him that message for me; I'm going to pay him back if it's the last thing I do."

"Why don't you get the hell out of here and leave us alone," I said.

"And who are you?"

"I'm her daughter," I snapped back.

"Oh yeah, I remember; well, if your slut mom doesn't want to fuck anymore maybe you'd..."

Bobby was out of the booth and standing next to him before Vic had a chance to finish his sentence. He grabbed Vic behind the head none too gently and held him there while he leaned in close and whispered something in his ear. I couldn't hear what Bobby was saying but Vic didn't look too pleased. He tried to turn his head to look Bobby in the face but Bobby grabbed his ear and twisted it keeping Vic's face pointed right where he wanted it; from the way he grimaced I'd say it hurt like a bitch.

People around us were starting to notice the ruckus. If they knew what an asshole Vic was and that he just threatened my dad I'm sure they would have been rooting for Bobby, but to them it probably didn't look too good; after all Vic walked with a cane and was obviously not physically able to defend himself.

"Bobby, don't do anything that will get you in trouble," I pleaded. I was getting real nervous; all I could think of was Bobby spending our honeymoon in jail.

We were all watching when Vic got a terrified look on his face. "Now," Bobby said, "about that apology..."

"Ah, I ... I ah, I'm sorry," he stuttered while looking at mom, "You too," he said turning to me.

"Now, remember what I told you," Bobby warned, "I don't ever want to hear that you made contact with any member of this family again; no calls, no stopping by, no running into you at the mall ... nothing! Do you understand me?"

Vic nodded his head then mumbled something under his breath about the whole family being crazy as he turned and made a bee-line for the door.

"What did you say to him," I asked.

"Oh, nothing much; I just reasoned with him," Bobby said with wry little grin on his face. "I honestly don't think he'll be back," he said.

"Mom, he didn't even seem to know you and dad were divorced," I said.

"Yeah, I don't think he did," she replied.

"That's good," Derek said joining the conversation. "A bastard like that would probably be happy as hell knowing he split you guys up, this way he doesn't even get that satisfaction." Everyone kind of chuckled.

"Mom, did dad really beat him up like that?" Donna asked.

"No, honey," she answered, "Your dad wouldn't do that; and besides, he was at the golf course when Vic was beaten. That bastard had a bunch of women he was having affairs with; any one of the husbands could have done that to him. Thank you, Bobby," she added looking in his direction. "I don't know what you said to him, but whatever it was, it seemed to change his attitude, that's for sure," she chuckled.

"Sure, Mrs. Cooper, no sweat," he got a smart alicky look on his face, "Just think, in two more weeks I'll be able to call you mom," he said with a smile.

"It will be my honor," said mom.

Mom had to get back to work as the rest of us finished our meals and joked about Bobby twisting Vic's ear.

The following two weeks were even more chaotic; Bobby's buddies took him to one of the, 'gentlemen's clubs, ' for his bachelor party. I wasn't too keen on it but what could I say since some of the girls took me to see the Chippendale Review down town. I still think some of those guys had a roll of socks stuffed in their shorts; anyway, the girls at the boutique also gave me a wedding shower. I have enough sexy lingerie now to last a life-time.

With each approaching day it seemed like it was more and more like a fairytale. I kept asking myself if this kind of thing truly happened in real life. I guess the answer was yes because on a warm, bright, sunny Saturday morning in June, I stood next to Charlene with our images reflecting back at us from a full length mirror.

"God, Brea, you're so beautiful," she told me.

"I second that," said Linda who had just walked into the back room of the church.

"Linda," I said turning around, "I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it." It felt so good to hug her again, so good to have all of us together again. I introduced Linda to Donna and Gwen; Char, they had met earlier. That was it; all four of my bridesmaids were ready to go; if I could only get my knees to stop shaking.

I was still preening when I heard a soft knock on the door. "Yes?" I asked.

The door opened and one of the young ladies who was helping the minister, poked her head in, "Are you ready, ma'am? We're all set out here; I have your father and the groom's men waiting outside the door; Reverend Paul is just waiting for my signal to start the Wedding March."

My God, this was it; the moment of truth, I couldn't believe it was actually happening. I looked around at four of the most important women in my life; I could feel the moisture building.

"Oh no you don't;" said Char immediately grabbing a tissue and dabbing my eyes, "You're not walking down the aisle with that beautiful face all stained with mascara," she warned.

I giggled and looked over at the young lady by the door again, "We're coming," I said with a smile.

"Come on, baby," Linda said, "Let's get you and your handsome man hitched." I nodded my head and started walking toward the rest of my life.

Of course my dad was right in the middle of telling the other guys a joke when he saw me and stopped dead, "My God, honey, you're breathtaking," he said with a smile.

"Wow, Bobby is a lucky guy," I heard one of the groom's men say.

"I'll say, and her entourage is bad either," said another one of the guys.

We paired off, me on my dad's arm of course, and the pastor's assistant gave the signal. The regular organist from the church struck the opening few chords; my stomach was filled with butterflies, I tightened the grip on my dad's arm and took my first step to being Mrs. Robert Kilpatrick.