Jim and I are on a plane flying home. Well we are flying to my old home. In a few days we will be getting married. I look at Jim beside me. He has his eyes closed, and is relaxing in his seat. In a few days he will be my husband. We will be Mr & Mrs.
Zeena seems to sense something. She is curled up at my feet, and she lifts her head up to look at me. I reach down and scratch her head. "It's ok, Girl." I say as she sighs and puts her head down.
I sit back and notice Jim now looking at me. "Is everything ok?" He asks.
"It couldn't be better." I say as I lean towards him and kiss him softly on the lips.
Auntie & Uncle are at the airport to pick us up. As we start to walk out three young girls come up to me. "You Are Centauri!" They all say loudly at once as they surround me. At first Zeena alerts as they come running, but relaxes as she realizes they are just kids, and mean no harm.
They all seem to talk at once. "They love me. They love the show. Are they going to make a new Proxima movie? Will I be in it? Are they going to make a second season of my show?"
Before I answer I swear them all to secrecy. "Yes." I say.
"Yes to what?" One girl asks.
"Every single question." I say with a big smile. They all scream in excitement. Their Mom tries to rein them in some but she fails. I take some pictures with them, sign some autographs and tell them I need to go. They all charge at me to give me a hug.
We are walking out and I can't help smiling. Auntie puts her arm around me, and smiles at me. I can see she is proud of me. "Who knew I would become an inspiration to young girls?" I ask.
Auntie smiles. "I did." She says.
We get back to the house and Auntie looks at me with an almost sad look. "There is something I need to show you. Can you come upstairs with me.?" She asks.
"Sure." I say automatically, as I see Uncle put his hand on Jim's arm, holding him back. "What is going on, Ezzie?" I ask as I follow Auntie up to her bedroom.
"Auntie, has another video for you from your Mom." Says Ezzie softly.
I stop at the top of the stairs. I can't move. Mom must have made a video for when I got married. I am getting choked up and teary eyed even thinking about it. Auntie turns and looks at me. "It's another video isn't it." I say.
Auntie steps towards me and nods her head. I reach out and hug her tight. "Your Mom made this for you. I am sure she wanted to pass on some Motherly wisdom to you before your big day." Auntie says as she sniffles.
"Ezzie, do you remember Mom making this? Does she mention you in it?" I ask as I hug Auntie tight. I don't want to let her go.
"I do remember it, Mary. No she does not mention me. She knew making it you might want to show Auntie or Anna." Says Ezzie.
I step back and look at Auntie. "Will you watch it with me? Please?" I ask.
"Are you sure you want me to? The other one specifically stated they wanted you to watch it alone." Says Auntie.
"I don't want to do it alone. Please!" I almost beg.
"Ok Sweetie. I'll watch it with you." Says Auntie.
It's another thumbprint drive. I hold it in my hand smiling as I remember the day Daddy got my thumbprint for it. He held my thumb to it, and then started tickling me. I was screaming and laughing. Shannon was barking. Mom was yelling at him to stop.
Suddenly the bedroom door pops open and Zeena comes up beside me. She gently rubs her head against my leg. "Sure just come on in, Zeena." Says Auntie smiling.
Auntie, me & Zeena sit on the foot of her bed. I link the drive to her tablet, and send it to the TV. I see Mom's face on the screen, as it waits for me to hit play. I start to cry. Auntie sniffles and holds me and Zeena lays her head across my thigh. It takes me a moment to work up the courage to hit play.
"Oh my Beautiful Little Girl, I hate the thought that someday you may be watching this because I am not here for your wedding day. I am sure you will show this to Auntie, so...." Mom starts to cry. "Beth, Thank You so very much for raising Mary." I hear Auntie break and start crying. "You are my best friend. I can't imagine what my life would have been like without you in it. We have been side by side since college. I just want you to know I treasure our friendship." Says Mom as she gets up from the foot of her bed and walks away.
"Pause." Says Auntie and she turns to me. We hug and cry. "I am sorry, Mary, but I miss my friend." She cries as we hug.
"I miss her too." I cry.
We take a minute to calm down and restart the video. There is a few more seconds of the empty bed, then it jumps and Mom is back. "Sorry Mary, these things are so hard to do." Mom says as she sits there playing with Ezzie's ring.
"Ezzie, that is actually you right?" I ask.
"It's me. You Dad thought it would be a good idea for you Mom to be wearing me in case anything happened to the recording." Says Ezzie.
Mom smiles on the screen. I Love that smile. That was her I Love You smile. It was always followed up with a big hug. She continues to hold one hand in the other while running her fingers over Ezzie's gemstone. "I am sure at this point you know in your heart & soul that you love him like no other, and he... or maybe she loves you the same." Says Mom.
"Ezzie, Mom is referring to you right? The way she is rubbing her fingers over your ring. She is saying you would let me know how Jim feels about me." I say.
"She is Mary. I promised your Dad I would always look out for you, and never let anyone hurt you. Physically or emotionally. And as I have told you before. Jim truly loves you. His love for you burns as bright inside of him as your love for him burns in you." Ezzie says.
I rub Ezzie's gemstone on my finger. "I Love You, Ezzie." I say.
"I love you too." Says Ezzie.
Mom looks off into space for a moment. "I wonder what your future holds. Will you do something to help people? Will you follow in your Dad's footsteps and run his business? Will you do something else? I can only imagine." She says as she looks back at the camera. "Whatever you decide to do with your life, I know you will be great. You are just a little girl now, but I can already see your Father's drive in you." She gets a big smile and chuckles. "God help the person that gets in your way."
She goes on to tell me some generic stuff about being married. Don't let small things fester and become big. Always talk to each other when you are upset about something. I then see Mom smile and shake her head. "In my mind you are just a little girl, but you aren't if you are watching this. You are a woman. I can't get the image of my little girl out of my head right now." And she laughs. "Most of all Mary, love your husband, and I don't mean to hug him and say I love you. I mean love him physically, Mary. Give yourself to him, as he should give himself to you. Don't be afraid to try something, and enjoy sex. I will spare you the details, but your Father and I make love, and we also have passionate sex sometimes." Mom smiles. "They both can be very satisfying. Oh wait one more thing. You don't have to consummate the marriage that night. Odds are you will both be exhausted. You might possibly have too much to drink. Don't be upset if it doesn't happen that night." She says with a smile.
I see Shannon's head pop up, and I hear Dad's voice. "Aren't you done yet woman." He says and Mom stands up and pulls him onto the bed.
She sits behind him wrapping her arms and legs around him and resting her chin on his shoulder. Shannon jumps up and stretches out beside them as she lays down. "I was explaining love, sex & marriage to our daughter." Mom says.
I see Dad smile. "Sex?" He says with a smile. "Mary is due home from school in...". He looks at his watch. "Five minutes. That works for me." He says.
Mom laughs, as Auntie and I do. "Gee thanks. Promise me a little more time tonight, and you might get lucky." She says kissing his cheek.
"I will give you the best seven minutes of my life." He says smiling.
Auntie laughs again. "Your Dad was such a pain in the ass." She says with a big smile.
"One last thing." Dad says looking at the camera. "Tell your husband if he ever hurts you I will haunt him for the rest of his days." He then looks a bit seriously at the camera. "I Love You, Beautiful."
Mom looks up. "I Love you too, Mary." As Dad reaches forward and stops the recording. The screen freezes with Dad's hand and Mom's smiling face off to the side.
I sigh, feeling a pit in my stomach. "I love these videos and hate them. It reminds me how much I miss them." I say leaning against Auntie.
Auntie sniffles. "I know Sweetie. It's hard. I miss my best friend too." Then she giggles. "I even miss your pain in the ass Dad."
"Dad used to call Mom, Woman when he was teasing her. I think she loved it, and hated it." I say with a smile.
"Your Mom knew it was his way of teasing her. And he teased her because he loved her. Just like she said they loved each other with everything they had." She says.
"Can I ask a personal question?" I ask.
Auntie smiles at me. "You can ask me anything." She says.
"Is what Mom said true? Am I giving myself to Jim? Is he giving himself to me?" "Like in a sexual way?" I ask. "Do you give yourself..". I start but Auntie holds up her hand.
"Without talking specifics, yes. When two people love each other like your Mom & Dad, or your Uncle & I do. You want to do anything for them. I don't think there is anything your Mom would have said no to your Dad for. Your Mom Loved him with all her heart and soul, but a woman always has the right to say no. If you don't like something, if it hurts." Auntie says.
"If something hurts? EEWW. Please stop." I say with a smile to Auntie.
She just smiles and brushes some hair back out of my face. "I think what you're missing here is that it's a beautiful thing making love to the person you love. Sharing the intimacy, the closeness, and the love is beautiful." Then she smiles. "But then sometimes some good old fashion raunchy sex, or surprising your husband in a skimpy nightie can be a lot of fun too. Always remember no matter which it is, you are doing it because you love them." Auntie says.
I look at Auntie for a moment. "Thank you..." I say pausing and getting emotional.
"Mary, you never have to thank me." She says.
"Yes I do." I say.
Auntie puts her hand up to shush me. "Raising you girls has been the single biggest joy of my life. I wouldn't have had it any other way." Then Auntie sighs. "Maybe one other way." She says and I hug her tight as we both cry.
We get up a few minutes later, freshen up and head downstairs. Uncle & Jim stand up as we come down the stairs. Uncle hugs Auntie and Jim hugs me. "Are you ok?" He whispers softly.