Soccer Women Ch 11

Soccer Women Ch. 11

[Author's Note: While you might be able to enjoy this story on its own, there is no doubt that it will make more sense if you know the back story. There are things that will make no sense unless you have been through this whole journey with me.

This should be published just shy of one year from the day when

Soccer Moms

was first published. I hope this chapter is as enjoyable for those of you who have stuck with me on this journey as it was for me to write it.

A special thanks to Gaius Petronius who managed to find time just before going on a long deserved vacation to at least get a handle on this. Many of you know that editing has been my Achilles Heel and he did what he could with limited time knowing how important this Chapter was to me. If you don't know the songs that are played at the wedding, I would encourage you to listen to them or at least read the lyrics. They were not chosen randomly and each one has it's own special meaning.

There is absolutely no sex in this Chapter. But then again, the events in the chapter play out in about fourteen hours. There will be sex later that night, but that will come in Chapter 12.]

Melanie Smith woke up and opened her eyes with mixed emotions. She knew as she awoke that she would not see Katie Rogers looking down at her. For the last five and a half years, almost every morning she woke up to see her best friend, her teammate, her lover and now her fiancée looking down at her with all of the love Katie had for Melanie showing in her eyes. She missed not seeing them.

The reason her emotions were mixed though had to do with the reason she was not seeing them this morning. Today was their wedding day. Bowing a little to tradition and a little to superstition, they were in separate locations at the moment so as not to see each other until they were at the service.

They had hung out with some friends after the rehearsal dinner the night before. The wedding was going to be near Katie's home where she grew up and where her mother still lived. Melanie's home was too far away to travel back and forth, so she was at a local hotel where most of the out-of-town guests were staying.

When they had bidden each other good night, Melanie said, "Now the next time I see those beautiful eyes will be at the altar."

Katie had smiled and given her a kiss. As each went to her separate transportation, Melanie called out, "Don't be late." This caused Katie to smile as it was Melanie who was the late riser. Katie was the early bird, although that was handy as she would have a number of things to do in the morning. There were a few last minute tasks they had left for themselves. They had kept the exact location of the actual wedding service a big secret. Katie was going to e-mail all the guests the address for their GPS that morning.

While this was not a traditional wedding, certain traditions would be followed. One involved getting people's hair and make-up done that morning. There was no bridal party as such, however, both mothers, Katie's two sisters, and Jo and Margaret were all going to be up in front of the other guests standing with Katie and Melanie. So, at the Rogers' home, Katie, Carol, Abigail, and Brianna were getting ready while across town, Melanie, Jen, Jo, and Margaret were doing the same at the hotel. Jo and Margaret had to go first. They had the additional task of standing at the back of the seating area before the service and handing out a sheet to everyone as they arrived. This had the order of the service and directions to the reception from the wedding location.

Margaret was already done and Jo was fighting with the hairdresser on how to style her hair when everyone's phone buzzed. Jen looked at her phone and it had an incoming message from Katie. "Well, Katie sent out the address. I don't get the whole secret thing, Hon. And something about that address is familiar to me."

Melanie said, "Don't look it up, Mom. You'll see why we've kept it a secret once you see where it is." A few minutes later only Melanie's phone buzzed. She looked at her phone and laughed.

Jen asked, "What is it, Sweety?"

"It's a message to Katie and me from Coach Hochbauer. She says she hadn't guessed where the service would be, but she should have. She thinks she's slipping."

Jen's eyes suddenly got huge and she said "Now I know why I know that address. Oh Sweety, that's just perfect."

"We thought so too, Mom."

"You're lucky the weather is nice."

"I'm lucky because of whom I'm marrying. I'm fortunate the weather is nice."

Jen came over and gave her daughter a big hug. "You two are going to be so perfect together."

Melanie said, "I know two other people who would be perfect together." Jo and Margaret both smiled, as they were engaged as well, although they still had not set a date. However, Jen knew Melanie was talking about two other people. One of whom was right in front of her.

Throughout the rest of the morning, Katie got a few inquiries from people saying when they put the address into the GPS, there didn't seem to be anything there. Katie assured them that the address was correct and when they got there, they would see it was the right place.

Jo and Margaret got into the limo at the hotel. When the limo first arrived outside, some people started asking if they had the right time for the service and were they running late. Jo told them that she and Margaret were going ahead early and that the limo had to come back for Melanie and her mom. So, they still had some time.

As the limo driver approached the address, he called back, "Are you sure this is it?"

"Yes." Jo said. "Pull into the lane and stop for a second." At the actual street address, there was nothing but a dilapidated barn. But next to the barn was a dirt lane that continued around the barn. In the grass, Jo put a big sign that said "WEDDING" with an arrow pointing toward the dirt lane.

When you drove down the lane you went past the barn and a little behind that was a line of trees. The lane continued through a gap in the trees and on the other side of the tree line was a parking lot. At the far end of the parking lot, was a large meadow with soccer goals placed around it. This was the old Blue Lightning practice field where Katie and Melanie had first met. This is where they had become friends and first gotten to know each other. It was here that their journey first began and so they wanted this next step in their journey to start in the same location.

The driver let Jo and Margaret off at the end of the parking lot and went back to the hotel to wait for Melanie. At the end of the parking lot there were 150 chairs. They were set in ten rows of fifteen chairs. There was no middle aisle and that had been done on purpose. There was no "Katie's side" or "Melanie's side."

Back at the hotel, Melanie was about to put on her dress. "Oh, maybe I should go pee now. It'll be a lot harder once the dress is on." Jen agreed and Melanie went toward the bathroom, but she did stop and get a small box on her way in.

She had been in the bathroom a little while and Jen thought she heard what sounded like grunting. She called out, "Are you okay in there."

"Fine, Mom, I'll be out in a second." Jen was already set in a lovely seafoam green dress and matching shoes. Her blond hair was up so her neck was visible. The dress was short sleeved and came up to her throat. It was not a flashy dress but Melanie and Katie were to be the focus of all eyes today.

When Melanie came out of the bathroom she was in a basic bra and panty set and Jen asked, "No sexy lingerie for the wedding night?"

"Mom, Katie and I have been living in the same dorm room and apartment for almost four years now. No. No sexy lingerie. I do have a surprise for her, though."

"What's that?"

"It's a surprise."

Both of Melanie's grandmothers were going to be at the service and they had come down to the room to help supervise Melanie and Jen getting the wedding dress on.

Melanie's dress was sleeveless and very form fitting. There was some padding in the bust to help enhance the appearance of Melanie's smaller bosom. Her Grandma Kim had been there when they picked out the dress, but Grandma Barb (Jen's Mother) had not. Staring at the front of the dress she said, "What nature has forgotten, maybe we should stuff with cotton?"

"MOM!" Jen exclaimed. But Melanie just laughed.

"Sorry Grandma, but this is all we're gonna do with this."

"You look stunning without it, Dear." said Grandma Barb. Grandma Kim and Jen both agreed.

Grandma Kim looked at her daughter and said, "Is this the last wedding dress for us, Jen?"

"Yes, Mom, I'm pretty sure it is." Melanie and Grandma Kim gave each other a conspiratorial wink.

Melanie sat down a little gingerly to get on her shoes. Jen assumed she did not want to wrinkle her dress. When Melanie stood up, they added the final touch, a veil. A small ringlet went into her hair and attached to that was a long veil. It came over her head to cover her and also lay across her bare shoulders. When she would flip it up, it would hang down her back so it wasn't in the way. Finally, Melanie said "I'm ready."

Jen looked at her and with tears starting to form in her eyes said, "You're so beautiful, Hon. I wish your father could have seen you today."

"He can." It was Grandma Kim. She was Melanie's paternal grandparent and when Melanie lost her dad and Jen her husband, Kim lost her son too.

Jen did not want to start crying so she focused on something to do. "Okay, Melanie, the dress is new; you have your old charm that your dad gave you; you've borrowed my earrings; and what about your something blue?"

"Don't worry mom, I've got it covered. Let's get this show on the road." The word went out that anyone still at the hotel should head to the service now or they would miss the beginning. Melanie's grandmothers each gave her a kiss and went to find Karl Olsen, Jen's dad, who was driving them over to the service. He had been read into the secret of where the wedding would take place as he was not too good with GPS, but he was sworn to secrecy and had not told a soul. Not even his wife.

Melanie and Jen waited about ten minutes to give everyone a head start toward the service. Then they went down to the lobby to get into the limo. As she walked through the lobby, Melanie got a few compliments, a wolf whistle and one young man shouted, "If he doesn't show up, I'll marry you."

Melanie smiled and said, "I'll keep that in mind." Then she turned and got into the limo. Once the door was closed, Melanie and Jen broke out laughing.

Not surprisingly, everything was running like a well-oiled machine at the Rogers house. Generally speaking, they were a pretty organized lot, and this was their third wedding. No fuss, no muss.

Being at their house instead of the hotel, where many of the guests were staying, the Roger's women had this time to themselves. They traded memories from their own weddings. They had all been at Abigail's and Brianna's weddings. But obviously none of them had been at Carol's so she had some interesting anecdotes for them.

Abigail decided she would try to pull her mother's chain a little and asked her, "Hey, Mom, are you sure I wasn't at that wedding?"

Realizing the implication of her eldest daughter's question, Carol just shot back, "No. But I do remember the night you were conceived. Do you want me to tell you the details?"

"No, Mom. That's okay." Abigail said quickly and all four women laughed.

Carol had decided to eschew her usual choice of a green colored dress for formal occasions and went with a bright blue one instead. Despite all her hard work keeping her body very fit, Carol did not show much skin in her dress. Like Jen, she very much did not want to take attention away from the brides.

With Carol not wearing an emerald green dress, Abigail was able to wear one. With the same hair color, eyes and skin tone as her mother, Abigail bore a striking resemblance to how Carol looked at Abigail's wedding. Brianna's lilac dress was also of a more conservative cut. Not too bright or too showy so as not to upstage her baby sister or her bride.

With hair and makeup all done, it was time for Katie to get dressed. The first item she pulled out surprised her mother and sisters. "This is my something blue." Katie explained as she began to put on a pale blue bra and panty set. "It's the same color as Melanie's eyes." Katie put the ensemble on and did a little turn.

Carol looked at her baby, who wasn't a baby anymore, and said "You look stunning in it, Katie. I'm sure Melanie will love seeing you in it."

"For about three seconds." added Brianna. "Then she'll probably rip it off you."

"I won't let her rip it off. I paid a lot of money at Victoria's Secret for this. I want to get more usage out of it than just tonight." The dress that Katie would be putting on would be her something new and she had borrowed her sister's earrings.

Carol went over to her jewelry box and came out holding a silver chain with a locket attached to it. She turned to Katie and said "Over the years, your dad bought me four of these. They each have a little picture of your dad in the locket with each of you. I want to give you this Katie, as your something old." Carol now turned to her other daughters. "I want to give you both yours as well. And I will wear one. Unfortunately, he cannot be here to walk you down the aisle, or whatever it is we're doing. It's a shame because he really liked Melanie and while I am sure he never envisioned today; I think he knew you two would be lifelong friends. This way we can each have him with us today."

Katie bowed her head and Carol placed the necklace around Katie and gave her a big hug. She handed similar lockets to Abigail and Brianna and put one on herself. Now Katie was ready to put on her dress.

Katie's dress did have short leaves that covered her shoulders. The dress was a little open in the front, but just a little bit and lace covered the opening. You could see a bit of Katie's cleavage, but it was not on display. The dress followed her curves nicely. Another major difference from Melanie's was that Katie did not have a veil, but she had a headpiece that was a hat. It was like a white tam o'shanter without the toorie on the top. It was the same white as her dress and maybe the size of a medium pizza pie box.

With Katie all dressed and pictures taken, the Rogers caravan got ready to pull out. Katie, Carol, Abigail, and Brianna were in the limo. Abigail's husband Peter and Brianna's husband Michael followed behind in Brianna and Peter's car. One limo was leaving after everyone got to the ceremony and the other would be taking Katie and Melanie away that night. So, they would need the car to get everyone home after the reception.

At the field, Jo and Margaret were welcoming the arriving guests and handing out the programs. Jo's mother had insisted that she get a very plain, beige dress. She impressed upon Jo the importance of not drawing attention away from the brides and so she should dress so people would not notice her.

However, it seemed that Margaret had either not gotten the memo or didn't care. Her pale pink dress matched the streaks of pink in her hair. The dress was held up with very thin straps and it only went down to about mid-thigh. She had open-toed, high heels and bright pink nail polish on her fingers and toes. Margaret did not overshadow the brides, but years later guests still talked about "that adorable little blond girl who was a friend of Katie and Melanie's."

There were a few of Katie and Melanie's teammates from the University soccer team, both past and present. Then there was also Coach Quincannon and Coach Hochbauer. They had come for the wedding but were going to make some recruiting stops in the area the following week.

Coach Quincannon saw Jo and said, "So, where should we sit?"

"Anywhere is fine, Coach?"

"Does it matter which side?"

"Nope. They set it up so there would be no sides, just one big group."

Coach Quincannon turned to move toward the seats when she noticed Coach Hochbauer looking back into the parking lot. She knew that Coach Hochbauer had been a Blue Lightning team coach here for many years and figured this must be bringing back some memories. She called out "What are you thinking about, Tiffany?"

"Oh, just something back from the first year Melanie was here. I guess it was their first fight. Only it wasn't really an argument as much as it was Melanie giving Katie a real good old-fashioned talking to. If you can imagine it, Melanie got right up into Katie's face - well, chest, really. She really let Katie have it. And there was Katie, towering over her and yet just standing there, meekly taking it. It was actually kind of comical to watch. Especially once it was over, because when Melanie was done, Katie just shook her head, I guess as an answer to a final question. Then Melanie reached around Katie and gave her a big hug. So, I knew whatever the problem was between them, it was solved."

"What was it about?"

"Apparently it was about love. It's a bit of a story, I'll tell you at the reception."

Although not a part of the conversation, Jo and Margaret heard it and after the coaches left to sit down Margaret asked, "Do you know what they were talking about?"

Jo nodded her head. "Yeah. If anyone knocked Melanie down during a game, Katie was ramming them into the ground later on in the game. She kept getting yellow cards for it. When Melanie found out she was pissed and yelled at Katie and told her to knock it off. Good thing too because it was apparently right before my old team played them and I fouled Melanie and knocked her down. If Melanie hadn't made her stop, she probably would have steamrolled me."

As the Rogers' limo slowed down near the dilapidated barn, Carol turned to Katie and said, "Where you first met?" It wasn't really a question as much as Carol was seeking confirmation that she had solved the riddle of where the wedding ceremony would take place. Katie smiled and nodded her head.

At first Abigail and Brianna were not sure what their mother meant by her comment. "Don't you girls recognize where we are?" Once they turned into the dirt lane it finally clicked. "The Blue Lightning fields!" they both shouted as it finally dawned on them where they were.

However, even though they now knew where, Katie's sisters were not entirely sure why. When Brianna asked about that, Carol answered, "This is where they first met. It's also where they became such good friends." Carol's mind drifted off a little as she finished her sentence and Katie smiled. She was pretty sure that it was dawning on her mother that this is also where she and Jen had first met and became such good friends. And while that had not factored into the decision Melanie and she had made in choosing this location, it had been a happy coincidence.

To finish the point, Katie mentioned, "We'll be standing almost exactly where we were when I shared my water bottle with her at that first break in practice. That's the first time we ever spoke to each other.

Abigail said, "That's really sweet, Katie. Did Melanie come up with this?"

"What do you mean by 'this'?"

"Getting married at the place you first met. Let's face it, Katie, you're not the sweet, mushy, romantic type." Katie was going to say something but the limo stopped.

Katie looked out and noticed that Melanie's limo was not there yet. "Ugh, she's always late. She was late that day too."

Carol retorted, "Now, Katie, she's not late. You're early. You always insisted on getting here early."

Katie was either not paying attention or chose to ignore her mother's comment. "I am too antsy. I want to get out. But let's stand on the passenger side so she won't see us when she comes in." The driver heard this and came around to the passenger side door and let them out.