Tulani jolted at the pounding on her studio door. Opening the door, she was surprised to find Carla on the other side. Carla's hair flew about her head in a tangle, her eyes wide and wild, and she was panting with exhaustion.
"Oh, my, dear. Whatever is the matter?"
"MY FATHER!" Carla brushed past Tulani and began pacing the room, flailing her arms and speaking in half words.
"I'm glad Sinea is with Elunara today, or your ranting might have woken her up. Please, dear. Sit down, let's discuss this."
"My obnoxious father thinks I'm getting married!"
Tulani choked and put a hand to her throat. "What? To whom?"
"Ryan!"
"Ryan?"
Carla flopped down in a chair and grabbed her head. Growling in frustration, she yanked at her hair. "He's a man from the service. Well, used to be, he was thrown out this morning. I offered to let him stay in one of the bedrooms in my house, gods know we have too many, and now my father is making wedding plans!"
Tulani buried her chuckle. "Well, that IS a problem. Did you not tell him the truth?"
"WE TRIED!"
"Hoo boy." Tulani sat down in the chair beside Carla. Laying her hand on the poor girl, she sighed. "I've met your father a couple of times, he is a bit hard to get through to, isn't he?"
"UGH!" Carla scrubbed her hands through her hair. "What am I going to do?!"
Tulani went to her table and got out a hairbrush. Moving over to Carla she began brushing her hair. "Well, first of all, tell me about this Ryan, and why you decided to let him move in."
A couple of hours later, and Tulani sat beside Carla holding her hand.
"He's sweet and all, really. He's the first man I've felt comfortable talking to. But I don't think that's a reason to get married. I just didn't want him leaving is all."
Tulani shrugged. "I've seen couples get married for less."
"Tulani!"
She brushed a lock of Carla's hair back with her fingers. "Sweetie, I believe in love. I really do. I think you should marry a man you love. But also, I think you should consider this Ryan fellow. Not because your father is rolling right over you, but because you talk so sweetly about him. I think you may have found a match. Just not a broiling, steamy romance you think you need. Even Elunara and I were gradual. Yes, we were lovers for a while before we married but it was a slow build up. Ours was sort of an accident anyway. I don't want to go all into it, but trust me when I say, give love a chance to blossom."
"But..."
"Besides, June is still three months away. A lot can happen in three months. Maybe you'll find the love you want in that time."
Carla frowned and bit her lip. "Are you just saying that, so I'll go away?" Her voice was so quiet Tulani had to strain to hear her.
"Heavens, no. Dear Carla. I wish you'd understand. I love you like a daughter. I never want you to 'go away' not for anything in the world." She wrapped her arms around Carla. "Besides, I better be the one to design your wedding dress." She winked.
"I bet it would be pretty..."
"That's the spirit!" Tulani laughed. "Come now, give this boy a chance, and maybe it works out, and maybe you make a dramatic break up scene. If you decide to break your father's heart, do it in the wildest fashion possible. Maybe he'll get the hint then, don't you think?" She winked.
---
Ryan found himself at his Aunt Mayby's door. He could hear the laughter of his cousins and their children at play. Dogs barked, cats meowed, and somewhere a parrot of some sort was shrieking its head off. How his aunt had not gone completely bonkers was beyond him. Of her four grown children, two had stayed home and had six of their own between them. His aunt loved all of her grandkids, but sometimes Ryan wondered if these six were the most spoiled among them.
Pushing open the door, he barely dodged a ball being thrown at his head.
"Sorry!" Called the oldest of Timmy. A dog ran past Ryan and went after the ball.
"Where's your grandmother?"
"Kitchen."
Ryan made his way to the back and found his aunt wiping down a counter. She looked up. "Oh, Ryan, you just missed lunch."
"I already ate. Listen, Aunt Mayby, I have a problem."
She sighed and gestured to a chair. "What now, let it out."
"I got kicked out of the service today."
Blinking at him, she put a fist on her hip. "That sucks, but we don't have the room..."
He held up his hands. "No, it's fine. Carla is letting me move in."
"Carla is doing that?"
He raked his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, but now her father thinks we're getting married."
"YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED?" Mayby shrieked.
"No, wait, I--"
"Oh, my GODS! I have to tell your mother! I have to write her right away!" Mayby began flapping her hands and running back and forth, grabbing a piece of paper off the table, she began digging around for a pencil.
"Aunt Mayby this is all a big misunderstanding!" Ryan cried.
"I wonder if Tulani has an opening for me, I need a new dress."
"Aunt Mayby!"
She tapped the pencil to her lip. "I bet I can get her to do your mother's dress too. When is the wedding?"
Ryan shook his head. "Ugh, her father wants her to be a June bride."
"June! Plenty of time!"
"No! Aunt Mayby! We're not getting mar--"
"Oh, I'm so happy." Tears appeared in her eyes. "I've been so worried." She wrapped her arms around his neck.
Ryan just groaned.
---
Ryan and Carla met halfway back to Carla's house. Ryan sighed. "Aunt Mayby is just as difficult to get through as your father. I don't know what to do with her."
"Tulani had the right idea."
He rubbed the back of his head. "And what is that?"
"We should date, see how things go."
"Buh?"
Carla nodded. "And if we don't, we stage the world's loudest, nastiest break up we can manage." She smiled sweetly up at him.
"I... hmm." He considered her words as he walked beside her. "Sure. That's a good idea." He nodded. "I like it."
"I've always wanted to be the center of attention, just once." She giggled.
---
A couple of months after the raid, Elunara sat in her office at the SI:7 probing her body with her energy. "Well then."
"And?"
She looked up at the smarmy dragon himself leaning in the doorway. "When'd you get in?"
"Just now." He pushed away from the door and sauntered over. "I assume you were checking on our progress."
"I was."
"And?" He twirled a lock of her hair.
"We were successful."