by Bella Knight
“You looked like you could use some Callie loving,” she said.
“Everything is great, really. Except for the crap that happened a few months ago.” Ivy took off her robe and hung it up on the back of the door. “I guess I’m still feeling really, really tired of all the crap people keep aiming at us.”
“Fuck them,” said Callie. She took Ivy’s hands and sat her down next to her on the bed. “As you keep telling me, ‘it’s all good.’ We’re fucking getting married, and flipping off every piece of shit that tried to hurt us.”
“How did you get so smart?” asked Ivy. “And strong, and the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.”
They kissed, holding each other’s faces. Then, they held hands, and just looked into each other’s eyes. They kissed again, tenderly, hands in each other’s hair. They did that for the longest time, a kiss followed by looking into each other’s eyes, like magic. Callie laid Ivy on the bed and laid on top of her, her knees by Ivy’s hips. She took her time, stroking, kissing, just holding her. Ivy flipped her over, and took her time bringing Callie up, up, and over, with kisses and strokes. Callie rode the waves, again and again, and finally laid in Ivy’s arms, exhausted.
“Let me...” she said, muzzily, into Ivy’s neck.
“Quiet, love,” said Ivy. “Don’t you know I get wet just looking at you? Want to shout, ‘This is my fucking woman’ to everyone? You are mine, and that’s it.”
“Good,” said Callie, and fell asleep in her arms.
The next day, Ivy took off to see Damia as early as she could stand getting out of bed, leaving Callie to sleep. She had a lot of information to give the director about therapy animals. Pavel and Keiran were happily enlisting more classmates in the venture. Some classmates who were paying them to participate, not the other way around. She pulled off the road for a huge breakfast at a truck stop and was surprised when Callie video-called her. Pavel had the printer send Ivy and Lily one of the invitations, and Callie showed it off. It was shimmery and both strong and delicate.
“Lovely,” said Ivy. “Let’s do it.”
“I agree,” said Callie. “And that’s not all. The cupcake lady from Sweet Horizons came by with the cupcakes.”
She showed bakery boxes, and girls sitting at the kitchen table, munching away on cupcakes.
“I’m afraid they got a completely inappropriate breakfast.” They giggled and waved at Ivy, icing on their cheeks. “The winners are blueberry with lavender buttercream, dark chocolate red rose, iced lemon, peach blackberry, apple cinnamon pecan, white chocolate butter brickle, chocolate mint, and the iced raspberry with sparklies on top.”
“Get ‘em,” said Ivy. “Damn, that boy is fast.”
“It gets better. Lily got the same box and says I have to decide because if she eats them all, she’ll be nine hundred pounds. She’s carting them over to Gregory’s work, and Katya is meeting her there so they can decide. I suspect that they’ll pick the same thing. I called Ghost and Alicia, and Ghost told me, ‘They all good, girl, you do da ordering.’ And that I have awesome taste.” The girls giggled.
“Yes, you do,” said Ivy.
“I’m taking the girls swimming, and Katya is meeting us there with Elena. Gregory did a favor for someone at a hotel. Umm, a super top secret someone… and we get two hours in a private pool with a cabana.”
Ivy made a face. “Wish I could be there.”
“We’ll do it again when you get back,” said Callie. “Bye!”
The girls shouted their goodbyes and threw icing-laced kisses at her. Ivy kissed them back. Callie took a still with her phone before she hung up; Ivy knew that picture would go out to Hu’s mother.
Ivy got to the school in record time. She coasted in and parked well away, not wanting to harm the student’s delicate ears. Doctor Hiot met Ivy herself and took the brochures printed by the very enterprising Pavel and Keiran.
“Yan’s father is delighted. He’s already paid to have the dog doors cut in the side of the building and the dog runs constructed so the dogs can go outdoors at night. I’m thinking one for each student that can benefit from one, so I’m thinking twelve, a mix of the pure breeds for the more discriminating parents, and the rescue ones for everyone else.”
“The boys are picking up two dogs from a breeder right now,” said Ivy. “Not a puppy mill, but a breeder for dog shows. They’re both runts. They’re perfectly healthy, but neither one will have the conformation they’re looking for. They’re delighted to have the dogs help children.”
“Excellent,” said the director. “I’ll expect pictures and videos of the training and dogs. The parents will be very excited. We’ve done so well with the horses. To be blunt, the ones with deep pockets will pay for the rest. We’ll have scholarships for those not being able to afford the dogs.”
“I’ll have them send you a contract,” said Ivy.
She texted Pavel and Keiran, who sent back a picture of themselves dancing with joy. She laughed silently to herself in the anteroom, before going out into the quiet hallway. Desert Therapy Pets was well on its way to servicing two states; Arizona and Nevada, and no dogs were fully trained yet.
Damia was still working on the hook rug, but they were on the lowest corner, Yan working from one end, and Damia the other. They met, finishing the last row together, working carefully.
“Excellent job,” said the occupational therapist. “Now, high-five.” The kids carefully met hands, not slapping but touching, not directly looking at each other. Good enough, thought Ivy.
“Now,” she said. “We can do crocheting next. We can make cat and dog toys for the local shelter.”
“Get dog?” signed Damia.
“Not now,” signed Ivy. “A long, long time from now. Dogs are in school like you.”
Ivy had to school her face, to not let tears flow from her eyes, as her daughter smiled. A real smile, not a grimace. She let out a breath, slowly, after stifling a gasp.
“Good,” signed Damia, and Yan signed the same thing.
“We have twelve minutes,” said the occupational therapist. “First, let’s put away the materials for the hook rug. I’ll have it backed and it will hang up in the hallway.”
The students put away the hook rugs in a special labeled container, and put the now-empty box and useless directions in the recycling.
“Good. Let’s pick out a soft yarn.” She took out four balls of yarn.
Each student carefully looked at the color and felt the yarn. Damia picked a soft blue. Yan picked a maroon. Nico picked a butter-yellow, and Don picked a soft green. The therapist handed out the crochet hooks and taught them how to cast on. She showed them how to put the yarn and hook in a little bag with handles, and had them put them away in a project box for each student, labeled with their names.
Ivy followed her daughter throughout her day and had a great deal of fun riding with her daughter. The mare seemed to enjoy the ride as well. She got to do everything she wanted to do, including eat dinner and say goodnight to her.
“Mama come back in two weeks,” said Damia.
Ivy smiled. “Good,” she signed and kissed the end of her daughter’s braid.
She didn’t cry until she was on the road. She let the wind take her tears away.
Russian Wedding
Ivy, Callie, Lily, and Katya’s Russian friends, the babushkas, were there at the church at an ungodly early hour. They had to be there because they were to attend the Russian liturgical service first, where the rings were to be blessed.
They went into the bride’s dressing room together. Katya was cement-wall white; her frothy full-length dress had more color. The babushkas fluttered, giving Katya contradictory advice, to sit down, to walk around, to drink water, to drink nothing.
Callie looked for a minute, then ran back out, madly texting. Gregory sent Ace running out of the building to a convenience store down the road. Soon, Katya was sipping ginger ale and eating tiny marshmallows. The babushkas were stunned. Ivy figured it out next, and then
Lily. They smiled, and Lily started the pre-wedding process by giving her the something blue, a silver chain with a blue heart, and put it on her, careful not to dislodge the pins in her hair holding the ringlets up. Katya took tiny sips of ginger ale as Ivy gave her a bracelet of silver, with the infinity sign worked on it in tiny diamond chips.
“This was my mother’s,” said Ivy, lying through her teeth. She’d bought it from an estate sale.
“It’s beautiful,” said Katya, tears in the corner of her eyes.
“Keep sipping,” said Lily.
Callie took out her earrings, shining silver circlets encrusted with diamond chips. Ivy had given them to her that morning, from the same estate sale. The babushkas helped take out the tiny drops in her ears. The circlets brought out the curve of her neck.
“I want them back,” said Callie, about to cry herself.
The babushkas exclaimed, confused. “Something old, something blue, something borrowed,” said Katya. “Is American tradition.”
“Here is the something new,” said Ivy. She took out a little circlet. “I know you get crowned later, but you’re our princess.”
She slid the circlet into Katya’s hair. A little jewel, and a sapphire to match the heart necklace, dropped over her forehead. The babushkas fussed, arranging it perfectly.
“Now, we go to blessing of rings,” said Katya.
They filed out, the ladies in their soft silver dresses, each holding a single white rose to Katya’s red roses, to the betrothal. Gregory’s jaw dropped when he saw Katya, and Elena jumped up and down and laughed.
“Mommy is beautiful,” she said. They went in and sat down for the liturgy.
After the liturgy, Gregory and Katya stood just inside the entrance of the church, and the priest blessed them and gave them lighted candles. The priest said some prayers in Russian, and blessed two, shiny, golden rings from Henry’s pocket, and put the rings on the couple’s right hands. There was another prayer.
They were brought into the center of the church and stood on a rose-colored cloth. Ace stood behind Gregory and Ivy behind Ace, each holding a crown over their heads. The priest said a lot of things in Russian. Then, Gregory and Katya drank from a cup of wine, and the ladies noticed that Katya didn’t swallow. Then the priest wrapped his stole around Gregory and Katya’s hands, and led them around the Gospel Book on its stand three times. Then, they took the crowns back, and the priest said a benediction and dismissal. Gregory kissed Katya, and the church erupted in a mix of shocked gasps, laughter, and clapping from the Americans.
They went to a dinner, with lots of Russian food and vodka toasts. Ivy, Lily, Ace, and Callie ate some amazing food, drank the tea from a steaming samovar, and slipped out for a nap before work. And well before rounds of vodka toasts that would leave them unable to either drive or work.
If anyone was confused by the table of iced and flavored vodkas in Dirty Vegas, they didn’t show it. The Russians descended on the bar after the reception, along with most of the Nighthawks. The music was hot and dirty. Katya had changed into a sexy, white, sheath dress, and Gregory ditched his coat for just his white silk shirt and tuxedo pants. They danced the tango, complete with a drop that left everyone gasping. They went back and forth between sexy standards and some wild Russian music. Including a piper piping and a mad violinist getting everyone dancing. The Russian men, including Gregory, got into some male Russian step-dancing, which had everybody hollering.
They stayed open until dawn. Nobody wanted to go home. The vodka and conversation flowed, the dancing kept going, and even the band stayed, although they were replaced by various members of the audience for long stretches. They had a wild time. Katya had the foresight to bring black jeans to change into later, as did Gregory, and they danced nearly every dance, only breaking for sustenance. The caterers and extra servers kept the food coming, giving the cooks the chance to join the party.
They all spilled out to watch the dawn. Gregory kissed his bride, and they got on a bike with “Just Married.”
They took off for Sedona. The club members and the caterers were worth every dime, and they helped Ivy and her staff clean up. Then Ivy shut the club down for two days, and a much-needed rest.
They had a “No-wedding break,” as Callie put it. Callie was being run ragged with the kids, work, and school. Ivy took over the household chores and enlisted the aid of the girls. Callie slammed out the finals for two classes, and spent two days in bed, being waited on hand and foot by Ivy and the girls.
Ivy rubbed her from head to foot with oil, put a robe on her, had the girls paint her nails, and slipped the girls out for pizza and sundaes. Henry and Inola came by and stole the girls away, for a getaway with Grace that involved riding lessons on Henry’s ponies.
The dresses came, and Lily came over to Ivy and Callie’s place to try them on. Ivy hired a tailor, a Chinese woman recommended by Hu’s grandmother, and the woman made them stand on a little box. She clucked and stuck pins in. The flowy dress was perfect for Callie, Ivy’s suit didn’t need a thing except the pants taken up for the heeled boots she planned to wear, and Lily looked like a shimmery goddess in her dress.
“Two day,” said the Chinese woman, carefully taking everything out in garment bags.
“That lady is intense,” said Callie. “Who wants a day spa?” They took time for lavender scrubs, massages, mani-pedis, facials, and lots of girl talk.
Katya joined them, a blushing bride. “How was Sedona?” asked Callie.
“Romantic,” said Katya. “He had the staff cater special dinners every night. If I saw something in a shop window, he bought it for me. He was so much my hero-man. We made love when we were not eating or walking in the little town. We went hiking into the desert to see the sunset. I told him about the pregnancy. He is so very happy. He bought me ginger ale and crackers for the mornings.” She began to cry.
Callie hugged her. “I’m so happy you found Gregory.”
“From the time he kick in my door and save me from my evil ex-husband, he has my heart.”
A young woman in staff whites unobtrusively entered the “Relaxation Room,” with tissues, wet wipes, and lavender water, then vanished.
“Damn, they’re good,” said Ivy.
Callie helped Katya dry her eyes. “I’m so glad we did this.”
“So am I,” said Ivy. “I may be a rock-and-roll girl, but seriously, I needed a break. I’m promoting everybody and hiring people underneath them. Hell, I’m gonna build private rooms in back, with a private bar.”
“Then they’ll want real food,” said Callie. “Bar food is best.”
“Word,” said Ivy. “Let’s blow this salad-with-lemon-juice joint and grab some Sonic.”
“What is this food?” asked Katya.
“Good God,” said Ivy. “Let’s blow your taste buds, woman. The last one to the bikes buys a round of poppers.” They all filed down the hall into the locker room, dressed, and went in search of sustenance.
The day of the wedding, Ivy and Callie slept in, cradling each other. The girls, having conquered Mars, were in the kitchen, eating cereal and fruit, playing a new game involving being asteroid miners. They’d been learning orbital mechanics and the periodic table in the meantime.
They took a languid, hot shower, and dressed. They put on robes and ate fruit dipped in chocolate while the hairdresser came over and fussed over the girls’ hair. They each got a little tiara. Ivy kept her hair in its signature twists. Callie got a tiara. Callie snapped pictures for Hu’s mother.
The nail artist showed up to put little shimmery chips on their nails. They put on their dresses and put on robes over the dresses, Ivy in her suit. They all wore silver sandals.
A limo came to pick them up and take them to Boulder City. Henry and Gregory were in the lead, and the entire Nighthawks Club followed. They stopped at a light to bring in Ace and Lily’s limo with the boys, then, near the club, for Ghost and Alicia’s limo. They were followed by the caterer’s food truck and a second truc
k with the tables and chairs. The Nighthawks parked their bikes and rushed to help the caterers set up and to get the barbecue pit going.
The site already had a houpa, a silver carpet, chairs, and a female minister from the local Unitarian church. The guests sat down, a sea of black leather embossed with the Nighthawks skull logo. Elena held Ace and Lily’s rings, Keiran, Ghost and Alicia’s rings, and Pavel held Callie and Ivy’s rings. A single violinist played, and Hu and Grace threw white rose petals with abandon from little baskets. Ivy, Ghost, and Ace stood at the front, and Henry walked up, all three women attached to his arms. The minister led them in prayer, then talked about the joy and pain of marriage, and the long roads to meet one another. She married them in parallel, asking each person the question in turn, then the other. They all exchanged vows, then the boys and Elena came out with the rings.
“By the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I pronounce you spouses,” said the minister. “Please kiss each other.” The entire crowd stood, stomped and cheered, as they kissed.
The two bands took turns, banging out rock anthems about love. They started with U2’s Beautiful Day, and they soon went into head-banging rock. They put boards on the sand for dancing, and they shook and twisted.
The girls went for the cupcakes, giggling as they got icing on their faces. The sodas, beers, and iced-flavored waters flowed. The boys cleaned up the girls and taught them to dance.
The pig meat came out, and the giant picnic tables groaned with food, potato and macaroni salads. Then tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad, little potatoes with basil and butter, rainbow carrots, cornbread with honey butter, and steak, pig ribs, and grilled chicken. The guests fell on the barbecue as if they’d never seen food before. The groaning table soon became the empty table.
The couples fed each other the first piece of the three cakes atop the cupcake towers in the center of the tables. The cupcakes also went like snow in Las Vegas… gone in sixty seconds. The caterers cleaned up and took away the chairs and tables, and the dancing began again.