"Come here you," the beaming bride exclaimed as she opened her arms and embraced one of the ushers from her wedding. She tilted her face up toward his and leaned in for a kiss, full and open mouthed, her tongue doing a tango with his. They broke the kiss with a giggle as the bride leaned back and looked up at him.
"I owe the two of you so much, Tim. Honestly, I don't know where I would have ended up without you both in my life."
"Trust me, Jenny. It was my pleasure," Tim replied with a grin. A moment later, he took an elbow to the ribs from his wife Maggie.
"Yeah, yeah. Stop hogging the bride," she chided as she threw her arms around Jenny. Tim shrugged and stepped over to Rich, Jenny's groom. The men embraced and clapped each other on the back.
"She told me she was going to do that," Rich said with a chuckle. "Tell me, Tim," he said with a smile. "Do you think you'll be able to behave yourself around my wife from here on in?"
"She is quite a woman, Rich. It won't be easy...but of course I will. I'm thrilled for both of you, and you make a beautiful couple. I'm not going to risk screwing that up. Besides, I'm never going back to having two women living with me at the same time. Do you have any idea what it was like getting bathroom time with those two around?"
Rich laughed and clapped Tim on the back again. "Thank you. For everything. I mean it, Tim. You and Maggie...you really are the best. There is no way we can ever repay you for the kindness and generosity that you've shown Jenny."
"Don't thank me. Thank Maggie. It was all her doing. All I did was go along for the ride."
"I know better, Tim. Not that it didn't have its benefits," he said with a chuckle.
"Yeah. I reckon it did at that," Tim grinned.
Maggie joined him and they stepped back, allowing their friends to greet their other guests. Tim watched Jenny with interest as she moved about, thinking that she looked absolutely stunning. Her long blonde hair was up, exposing her neck and shoulders in the sleeveless gown she wore. Her ample cleavage was a sight to behold, and Tim was certainly beholding it. She was, as Tim had once told her, the most beautiful woman he had ever known.
As he stood there, Tim thought about all that had transpired over the past couple of years, leading them to this point. It had all started at his favorite restaurant, on what was to be a normal night out. What happened, though, was the start of something that was anything but ordinary.
* * * * *
Tim took his time as he drove to Maroni's Restaurant, which is where he and Maggie were meeting Jenny and her fiancé for dinner. He wasn't looking forward to the evening, despite the fact that they would be dining at his favorite restaurant. Maggie could see the tension in his jaw as he drove.
"Relax Tim," she said. "We'll have some wine and a good meal. You don't need to let Mick get under your skin."
"He doesn't need to be an asshole either, but I'm sure he will."
"Come on, honey. I know he's not your favorite person, but could you please behave for Jenny's sake?"
"For Jenny's sake? I should kick his ass for Jenny's sake, Mag. She's been your best friend for your entire life. How do you not let the way he acts and treats her bother you?"
"I didn't say it doesn't bother me. I said I don't want to create waves for Jenny."
"Jesus. I just don't get it. I mean, she is absolutely beautiful. Why the hell is she settling on a fool like Mick?"
"Who knows what makes people tick, Tim? Look. You can't ignore the fact that she isn't a small girl. She's spent her entire life dealing with that, and it affects her self-image."
"Well, can't you talk to her? I mean, you're practically sisters for fucks sake. She'd listen to you."
"Honey. Jenny is probably more than two hundred pounds. I'm a hundred and ten soaking wet. Do you really think she'll listen to me when I tell her she looks great? Really?"
Tim glanced over at Maggie with a wicked grin and a leer in his eye. "She really does look great, though. Jesus, that woman is hot. Abundant curves in all the right places, and just about the prettiest face I've ever seen in my life...excluding yours of course."
"Yeah, right. You've always had a thing for Jenny, haven't you Tim?" asked Maggie with a giggle.
"What me? She's like my sister, Mag. Hell, I even call her sis."
"Right. I've seen you look at her. A man doesn't look at his sister like that," Maggie teased.
"Yeah, well. I'll try to behave tonight, but I'm not making any guarantees."
"Guarantees about behaving around Mick, or guarantees about leering at Jenny?" Maggie asked with a grin.
"Yes. That."
Maggie nodded and smiled as they pulled into the parking lot and took a space. They got out and held each other's hand as they walked over to the entrance and went inside. Jenny was standing by a window in the bar area, and waved them over when she caught their eye. The couple approached Jenny and exchanged hugs and pecks on the cheek. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a burgundy colored empire waist top that accentuated her breasts quite nicely. Tim inconspicuously surveyed her body, or that's what he thought.
Maggie looked at him and shook her head. "Tim, you get a good eyeful there?" she teased.
Jenny let out a giggle and joined in. "You really were a little obvious," she said with a smile. "And right in front of your wife too!"
"All I know is right now, I'm standing here with the two most beautiful women in town. Of course I'm going to look."
Jenny flashed her eyes at Tim and winked. They were the color of a deep blue, clear summer sky. Her pale complexion and shoulder length, strawberry blonde hair made her eyes stand out like gemstones. Tim looked at her a moment longer before Maggie gave him a light push towards the bar.
"Yeah, yeah. You forgot the part where these women were thirsty. Please be a gentleman and get us a drink, will ya?"
Tim grinned and pushed up to the bar, nodding to the bartender and capturing his attention. He ordered them the house Cabernet Sauvignon, which was quite good. He handed a glass to each of the women and the three of them drifted away from the bar to chat while they waited for Mick to arrive. A short time later, he walked in with an irritated expression on his face and strode over to where they were standing.
"What the hell, Jennifer. You knew when I was getting here. Why did you make me come look for you?" he snapped.
"We're right here, Mick. The place is tiny. Where did you think we were?"
"You weren't where I expected you to be. I told you to meet me by the door."
Jenny quietly cast her eyes down and nodded. "I'm sorry. I thought it would be alright," she whispered. The smile was gone from her face, and her bright eyes had turned dull. As always, Jenny went from lively, happy and charming to stressed and morose when Mick showed up. It was as if there were two entirely different Jennys.
Tim watched the exchange and bit his tongue. In his mind, he pictured himself grabbing Mick by the shirt collar and tossing him out into the gutter like the trash that he was. Maggie could sense the tension in him. She hooked her arm around his and distracted him.
"Now that we're all here, should we ask to be seated at our table?" she asked the group.
"At least someone here has sense," Mick replied as he glanced at Jenny with disdain.
Tim approached the hostess and informed her that the entire party had arrived. She nodded and led them to a round table for four positioned in the middle of the small room. They each took a seat, with Maggie sitting to the left of Tim and Jenny across from him. Mick sat to his right. Tim would have preferred him to sit in his car. A busboy filled water glasses for them as they waited. Without a word, Mick snatched the glass of wine from Jenny's hand and took a sip. There was an awkward silence as they sat there feeling the tension that Mick had brought to the table.
"How is the wedding planning coming along?" Maggie asked.
Jenny looked at Mick before speaking. "We've decided to keep it simple. We're just going to have a small group of family and friends come to the church, and have a celebration dinner at a local restaurant. Maybe twenty people in total."
"Wow. What changed, Jenny?" asked Maggie. You always wanted a big wedding?"
Jenny shrugged with sadness in her eyes and started to speak.
Mick cut her off. "This makes more sense. She's the one that wanted to switch careers. With her in school and not earning anything, it would be really stupid to waste money on a big wedding. Frankly, I don't know why anyone would want to be a nurse. Giving up a good job in marketing so she can take blood pressure and wipe someone else's ass for them? I don't get it."
"Please, Mick," begged Jenny. "Can we not have this discussion here? Is it so wrong for me to have a job where I think I can make a difference in people's lives?"
"You're making a difference in our lives, Jennifer, and it isn't a good one. I'm working to support this ridiculous idea of yours. You're like a freaking child with this stuff."
Maggie could see the hurt in Jenny's eyes, causing her to glare at Mick. "It isn't that unusual for people to make a career change," she said. "I'd think you'd want her to be happy with what she did for a living."
"Oh, please. She doesn't know what the hell she wants. In a month, she'll change her mind again. You know better than anyone else how fickle she is, Maggie."
"I don't know that she's fickle. I think she gives a lot of thought to what she does."
"Yeah, right. Like when the two of you decided to play lesbian with each other for a while back in college. What the fuck was that? This woman can't make up her mind."
"Okay, okay," Tim jumped in. "How about we change the subject?"
"Well, I'm not the one that started it," Mick childishly snapped.
"Actually, you did start it," Maggie said with a sneer. All I did was ask about the wedding. "You're the one that lashed out at Jenny."
"Why don't you mind your own fucking business?" Mick replied loudly. The other patrons in the restaurant were all watching them now.
Tim looked across the table at Jenny, who was dabbing tears from the corners or her eyes with her napkin. He'd held his tongue until this point, but he was now out of patience.
"How about you keep your voice down, Mick?" he growled.
"And if I don't?"
"Let me ask you a question. Every time we get together, all you do is shit on Jenny and treat her like garbage. Every time." Tim looked across the table at Jenny, who was on the verge of bawling. "I'm sorry for this Jenn," he said before turning his gaze back to Mick. "Why are you marrying her, Mick? It seems to me as if you despise her. What's the point?"
