Chapter Twenty-One
~Bailey~
Things only got better for us during the next six months. Nolan opened a private practice a few months after the proposal, he said it was because he was bored with the radio gig, but I knew it was so he could spend more time with me. Having said that, I too gave up the nightlife by promoting Sierra to night manager and moved into Nolan’s house.
Devan kept in touch since returning home from our island adventure and became one of Nolan’s first patients. Nolan helped get Devan into an HIV treatment center and since he required a fresh start in life after Roger, I decided to rent him the apartment over the coffee shop. A few months later he moved in his best friend, Olivia. Devan was a sweetheart and still as fragile as the day we met. I was happy that he wouldn’t be alone. My wonderful, caring man even went so far as to introduce Devan to Fletcher. Devan has been working at Fletcher’s airfield since.
And, to our surprise, we managed to bump into Simon of all people, a few weeks back while shopping for groceries.
“Mr. Brahms, is that you?” Nolan turned towards the familiar high-pitched voice before I did. “It is you, oh my God, what are you doing here?”
“Hello Simon,” Nolan smiled. “How are things going?”
“Oh, you know, getting better every day, can’t keep me down for long,” Simon fanned his face with both hands. “Daddy bought me a little apartment downtown, he said it was time for me to spread me wings and fly. So, here I am in complete non-domestic bliss trying to familiarize myself with a grocery store. How are you?”
“Great,” I answered with sincerity. “Really great. Imagine the chances of meeting you here of all places… and you live in our town?”
That spark that was so Simon appeared less lustrous, his eyes dulled behind his bright smile. Oh, he was still flamboyant, but though he tried hard to make us believe he was loving life, he wasn’t fooling us at all. It was a shame the way Erik had destroyed his spirit. Simon was a really nice kid.
“You should come over one night for dinner,” Nolan offered, my eyes meeting his with a look of horror. “We’ll make a dinner party of it, and we can introduce you to some of our friends. We could all use new friends.”
“Wow, that would be amazing,” Simon’s face lit up. “I didn’t want to say anything, but it is kind of lonely here. I was going to get a cat or a hamster, but I’m allergic.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, Simon was entertaining in his innocence-meets-the-real-world way.
“Friday night, then?” Nolan asked.
“Okay.”
“Food allergies?” I had to ask.
“Nope, I’m all good. But I should probably tell you I’m vegan,” Simon didn’t jump up and down the way he did on the island, but I could tell his spirits were lifted, if only a notch. “I haven’t been for long, just a few weeks now. I did this whole colon cleanse thing and then met a naturopath who turned me onto the vegan lifestyle, I’m loving it. What should I bring?”
“Just yourself, about six o’clock,” Nolan placed his hand on Simon’s shoulder and squeezed, as I scribbled our address on the back of a coffee card and handed it to him. “See you then.”
“Fab!” Simon spun his grocery cart around and headed off towards the health food section.
“Seriously?” I asked a smiling Nolan.
“Come on, it’ll be a blast, we’ll invite the guys and Devan and Olivia.”
“Ahh… you’re going to try playing matchmaker, aren’t you?”
“I never said that,” Nolan attempted to feign innocence, as he directed the cart towards the baked goods section. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, Bailey.”
~
“They seem to be getting along well,” I pointed out Devan, Olivia, and Simon conversing at the opposite end of the dining table. “That is what you had in mind, right?”
“Hey, if a union is created from our little gathering, then I’m pleased,” Nolan wasn’t getting any better at indifference, I could see straight through him. “If not, well, whatever.”
“Bullshit,” I whispered into my glass of Cabernet with a smirk. “Mr. Brahms, you’re playing with fire.”
“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Nolan rose from the table and walked into the kitchen, as if I hadn’t heard those words somewhere before.
Gazing over our guests seated at the table, I felt truly blessed. Not only was I in an incredible relationship with the most loving man in the world, I was surrounded by friends, friends who felt more like family than my own.
Tag and Fetcher’s wedding would be taking place in a less than six weeks, they were both testy and feeling the effects from the events preparations, the subject had been declared taboo for the night. Dyson and Harley had just found out that they were expecting their second child come December, there little Emma was a doll. By the way, it’s a boy. My youngest brother, Brian, followed in my footsteps and came out of the closet, two out of three my father had joked. And to my mother’s delight, he and his partner, Jaz, wanted a house full of kids. Jeff and Sierra were dating to Nolan’s chagrin, her brother was going to go absolutely ape-shit when he found out, and Pete and his wife had gone on a second honeymoon. Pete was adamant on nothing tropical… they went on an Alaskan cruise. We had heard no more regarding the drug dealing etcetera that happened on the island and each day that went by helped lock that memory farther in the past.
“Bailey, could you give me a hand in here?” Nolan called from the kitchen.
“Excuse me,” I told our guests, who were far too involved in conversation to give a crap what I did.
Nolan had sliced up the vegan cheesecake I insisted he buy and was arranging it on small plates with an orange slice and raspberries when I came into the kitchen.
“Need my help with something?”
“Yeah, can you get the orange brandy from the cupboard above the fridge?”
“Okay,” I agreed, but knew the brandy was in the liquor cabinet with the other bottles of spirits. My man was up to something.
Reaching up and barely touching the handle, a solid body pressed to mine. The wonderfully intoxicating scent of my man permeated my nostrils, goosebumps skating over my body, my breath hitching when his lips caressed my earlobe.
“Kitten, marry me,” he whispered.
“Not that I don’t love it,” I embraced his arms as they held me in place, enjoying his hot breath skimming across my neck and jaw. “But how many times are you going to ask? I said yes, and I meant it.”
Nolan reached over my head and brought plane tickets into my view. I turned in his arms and grinned.
“What are these?”
“Plane tickets.”
“I can see that, but to where?”
“Vegas, I want to elope,” he kissed my cheek. “I don’t want to waste time planning a wedding like Tag and Fletcher, they look God damned miserable. And we don’t need to get to know each other any better. I know I love you, I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I know I want it now. Please say yes?”
There really wasn’t anything to think about, Nolan was right. I loved him beyond words, we were happy, hell, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. Eloping seemed the thing to do. But our friends and family, they would be pissed. But thinking again, who would we choose to stand up for us? Tag and Fletcher? Dyson and Harley? Or Jeff and Pete? I could hear the power struggle beginning in my mind.
“Okay, yes, let’s elope,” I hugged Nolan tight for several long minutes.
“What it is about you two and kitchens?” Tag asked, as he walked over to the kitchen sink with a stack of dishes. “I got them this far, someone else can wash them.”
He was gone again as we stood and giggled.
“In the morning, we pack a few bags and by this time tomorrow,” Nolan lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my ring finger. “We’ll be… what will we be?”
“Nolan and Bailey Brahms of course. I’ve been thinking about it and I want to take your name, if you want me to. You cool with that?”
“I’m very cool with that.”
~
~Nolan~
Less than twenty-four hours later…
“I can’t believe you found this place.” The grin on Bailey’s face was priceless, he was so beautiful.
It seemed inevitable when searching the Las Vegas phone directory for close to an hour that I find the one and only ideal place for our nuptials. Nowhere could have been more perfect.
“Cupid’s Café & Chapel,” Bailey laughed. “Say I do and then celebrate with a hot coffee and a sprinkle covered donut. I love you.”
The Chapel tucked in the rear of the cafe through a set of double doors was tiny, with a half dozen or so pews and a small pulpit at the front. Two of the coffee shops employees stood up for us and the official, dressed in a cream-colored apron with the Cupid’s Café logo on it, greeted us with a bright smile.
“We are gathered here tonight to join Nolan and Bailey in holy matrimony, a union of love in the eyes of God and these witnesses.”
Though the pews were empty, our friends and family unaware of what we were up to, I was happy in our decision to elope. Some would call us selfish, but for us this was the right thing to do. No muss, no fuss, dressed in black slacks and plain white dress shirts, no ties or jackets, with a single red rosebud pinned to our shirts.
“If there is anyone present,” we snickered when the official looked out at the audience of none and he joined us. “Maybe we can simply skip this part and move on to the vows. Did you wish to say your own, or will something traditional suit you boys?”
“I have something I’d like to say,” I spoke up, since I had been thinking about it for the entire plane ride.
“Very well, Nolan, take it away.”
“Bailey, I take you to be none other than yourself. I promise to stand by your side, to encourage you, and be open and honest with you. To laugh with you and cry with you, to always love and honor you. Both freed and bound by our love, for as long as we both shall live.”
“That was really beautiful,” Bailey whispered.
“Bailey, do you have something you would like to say?” the official invited Bailey to make his vows.
“Here goes nothing,” Bailey took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Nolan, I promise to be spontaneous, to cherish each moment together and try new things, to dream with you and be your biggest fan. To love you with actions, not just words, and encourage you to chase your dreams. You are my best friend and my one true love and I promise to bring out the best of you because you bring out the best in me.”
“I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you back,” Bailey squeezed my hand.
“The rings?”
I dipped into my pocket and handed the official the two rings we had crafted from Bailey’s great-great-grandparent’s rings, each one a shiny gold circle engraved with our initials inside. He handed each of us a band and I felt a twinge in my belly, a good twinge, riddled with happiness.
“Do you, Nolan, take Bailey to be your partner for life, to love, honor and respect him until death do you part?”
“I do.”
The gold band slipped over his knuckle and Bailey grinned into my face.
“Do you, Bailey-”
“Yes,” Bailey interrupted, excitedly. “I do, I do, I do.”
He slipped the gold band onto my finger and laughed as I had to help it over my knuckle.
“Well, then,” the official laughed, patting Bailey on the shoulder. “Now that you have stood before me and exchanged these rings and these vows, and have agreed to be married according to the laws of the state of Nevada, it gives me great pleasure to pronounce that you are Husband and Husband, partners for life. You may seal your vows with a kiss.”
Stepping forward I took Bailey’s face in my hands and kissed his lips with every ounce of passion I had inside, so deeply and so completely it took our breath away.
“Wow!” Bailey licked across his lips.
“What would you like to do now, Mr. Brahms?” I asked, holding my husband’s hand as we exited the chapel and entered the café.
“Let’s have a coffee,” Bailey suggested.
“You don’t want to go back to our room and ravish your new husband?”
“Honestly, we’re going to have the rest of our lives for ravishing each other,” Bailey said, as he tugged me over to a table and we sat side by side our left hands linked, the rings on our fingers rubbing. “What we need to do right now is come up with something to tell everyone.”
“You make it sound like we have done something wrong,” I joked, as the server came to take our orders. “Two dark roasts and two plain cake donuts, thanks.”
“We’ll be up all night,” I protested.
“I hope so,” Bailey winked. “Anyhow, you have to admit the guys and my parents anyway, are going to be pissed no matter what we tell them.”
“It’s seriously too bad if they’re not happy, what’s done is done.” I leaned in for a kiss as our coffee and donuts arrived. I assumed my most sultry tone as I took my husband’s hand and placed it over the bulge in my pants. “Furthermore, I’d like to put telling anyone on hold until tomorrow morning, okay?”
“Mmm…” Bailey responded, raising his arm in the air to get the servers attention. “Could we get this to go?”