Not My Type

by Taylor Love

  “Of course sweetheart. Whatever you want for your wedding, you’ll have. Anything, just name it and it’s yours.”

  “We can’t let you do that Daddy. It’s not the 1800s. Robert and I can pay for the wedding.”

  Robert cleared his throat loudly, getting everyone's attention. “As I’m the financial advisor for both of us, I’m going to have to disagree. I’m all in favor of your father paying. If he wants to gift his only daughter with her dream wedding who are we to take that from him?”

  Mika’s mother’s loud snort of laughter followed that comment. She was full-out laughing looking over at the love of her own life. “Well, at least we know they’ll never be broke the way he watches those coins.”

  “I’ll give him points for that. Watching coins is how a person ends up with dollar bills.”

  Now it was Robert’s turn to grin. “Exactly right Sir.”

  Reginald slapped him on the back. “Come on let's all celebrate!”

  The four enjoyed a celebratory toast before the couple left. At some point her father had taken Robert off to have a short, “man-to-man” talk. While her mother had pressed her for wedding ideas, even though she had only gotten engaged mere hours ago.

  THEY DROVE TO SEE HIS mother who lived in Southfield after leaving her parents’ house. Robert called first to make sure Johanna was home and ask if he could drop by. Always happy to see her son, she told him to come on over.

  Mika gripped Robert’s hand tightly as they walked up the walkway. She had met his mother a total of two times now, having had dinner with her and Brihanna since their reconciliation. The woman seemed warm, outgoing and classy. She also absolutely loved her kids. Mika hoped she didn’t have that odd clinginess that bordered on possessiveness, which so many mothers of only sons had. This phenomenon seemed to run especially deep in black households.

  Would she be happy for them, knowing she now had to share Robert? It was easy to see Robert adored both his mother and sister, he spoiled them. People said you could tell how a man would treat his wife, by how he treated his mother and female relatives. Which is why she had no doubt that he would treat her like the queen she was. Now if she could just make sure his mother and sister were firmly apart of her royal court.

  “Hey honey!” Johanna greeted both of them. “Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing Mika! Come on in!”

  “Sorry Mama.” Robert gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

  They were ushered into the living room, where she had two cups of coffee ready. “Mika do you want a cup of coffee or something else? I have tea, water, and some juice.”

  “Definitely not any coffee ma’am, I’m already jittery.”

  “I noticed.” Johanna wrinkled her brow. “You okay? Let me go get you some tea.”

  “Mama,” Robert interrupted before she could leave the room. “I asked Mika to be my wife, and she accepted.”

  “Oh!” Johanna let out the stunned sound, before covering her mouth as her eyes started to water. “Oh, my goodness!” She cried this time in excitement. She rushed over to her son and envelop him. “I’m so happy for you! Both of you!” She said, switching to take Mika in a bear hug.

  She finally pulled back holding Mika hands. “I knew it! I knew the look in my baby's eye when he saw you standing in that kitchen on Thanksgiving. You had his attention! Robert’s focus is a powerful thing and when a man looks at a woman like that, and it blocks out everything else in the room...well I knew he had met his match!”

  “Thank you. I’m very happy to be joining your family.”

  Johanna snorted. “Ha! I’m glad we getting you. Now I’ll have another sane person around.”

  Robert twisted his mouth. “She’s not sane...she’s a State alum and fanatic.”

  “Oh.” Johanna’s voice said it all, before she gave Mika’s hand a pat. “I guess everyone has issues. Now let me see this ring!”

  THE NEXT MONTH WAS spent brainstorming and planning the basics: the when, what, and where. After hashing it out with Robert and then her mother, Mika settled on a small destination wedding. The guests would be mostly family, and a few friends. Her father was happy to pay for the venue once she picked it, plus the flight and accommodations for the wedding party.

  Robert surprised the rest of his immediate family not directly in the wedding, by paying their way as well. While they could easily pay themselves he volunteered to dip into his savings for it—which Mika found out was way above what her bank accounts were holding. Guess being generally cheap did pay off.

  When Darrell had heard about his generosity, he teased his cousin by saying, “Man, she must be breaking you off something nice to have your cheap ass willingly coughing up dough.”

  Robert had just shook his head and laughed, socking Darrell hard in the arm later when he least expected it.

  The wedding party would consist of:

  Andrea-Matron of Honor

  Brihanna-Bridesmaid

  Misha-Bridesmaid

  Michaelle-Bridesmaid

  Kimberly-Bridesmaid

  Julia-Bridesmaid

  Camden-Best Man

  Devon-Groomsman

  Darrell-Groomsman

  Edward-Groomsman

  Thomas-Groomsman

  Antonio-Groomsman

  The ring bearer would be Michaelle’s young son, who Mika hoped would be up to the job, as he wouldn’t be quite three years old yet. The flower girl would be Edward’s youngest daughter. Milissa was opting out since she would be five and a half months pregnant. Mika had told her she didn’t care, but Lissa refused to be her definition of “fat”, especially while everyone else looked great in their dresses. Since it evened out the wedding party Mika hadn’t pushed.

  With both of their families including Andrea’s parents, who thought of Mika like another daughter, the entire wedding would be about 33 people. Her mother convinced them to invite five more people for a more pleasing even number. Mika had rolled her eyes but gone for it. Robert did have one aunt on his father’s side that he liked, so he invited her and her husband. Mika had rounded out the last three with an older distant great Aunt who was loaded and liked to travel with her spouse. The last was a friend she had met at her first job after college. The sista worked in her field and they kept in fairly close contact, often helping each other with difficult work issues. Bringing the grand number of people who would be at this wedding to 38.

  The wedding would take place during the Thanksgiving weekend. Most people already had that weekend off, and everyone seemed happy to leave the Michigan cold for the holiday. They would arrive early on Thursday and celebrate Turkey Day, with the rehearsal and dinner the next day on Friday. They would get married on Saturday evening, and guests could fly home on Sunday. With plenty of time for some relaxation between wedding duties.

  She and Robert would spend another three days there after the ceremony before moving on to their second honeymoon location in Bali. A romantic and sightseeing paradise. She had gone back and forth on the actual wedding location. However being with Robert was rubbing off on her, so she decided on the cheaper option of Jamaica instead of the Bahamas. Plus she felt folks knew how to party more in Jamaica and she definitely wanted this to be a hype occasion.

  Once the basics were decided they spent the next four and a half months taking care of the details. She and the girls negotiated over the style of the bridesmaids’ dresses, while she controlled the color. Her mother handled the floral arrangements, some of which would need to be imported. Luckily, they were able to find several great bakers on the island for the cake.

  As each month ticked by they made it happen, checking off various details. Between Andrea, her mother and Aunt Jackie, shit got done. All three had the organizational skills of generals—especially with her daddy’s pocketbook in the background picking up any slack. Her wacky vision of her special day coming into realization. The cherry on top was that she was in love and was loved back.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  THEY WERE IN
MONTEGO Bay, Jamaica! The main group touched down before noon on Thanksgiving Day. By two, they were taking elaborate photos with the wedding party. Between her and Andrea’s work connections and her dad’s poor wallet, they’d hired a well-known professional who lived on the island but was making a name for himself in the States as well. Somehow that didn’t stop Lissa from trying to direct him from the sidelines as Mika had insisted she be in a few shots per location. The man showed great restraint as far as Mika was concerned. They had three wardrobe changes because yes she was going to be extra, she only planned on getting married once.

  The swimsuit session was done on the beach, in the water and on a boat. The women had one-piece and bikini sets in wedding colors, while she allowed the men to wear a tank and shorts but insisted they do a few shots topless. They didn’t know it but she planned to make a calendar for the group to start the year off and she figured the ladies should have equal amount of eye candy up on their walls.

  The next was evening wear. Pictures had been taken on the grand steps of the resort’s entrance, and along its marble halls. Mika rocked the dress Robert had bought her, while her ladies wore white. When his eyes landed on her lighting up, she felt like a sensual vixen. He had been right this dress did her justice. Locking eyes, Mika knew they were both thinking about how the first dress had been destroyed.

  The photographer showed them a few preview shots saying they were smoking hot. Which was hard to dispute seeing how she and Robert touched and kissed in-between and during takes. So much so their friends told them to get a room. They took the suggestion when the photographer moved to the wedding party pictures, disappearing to a bathroom around the corner. No dresses were torn this time, but the quickie was just as intense and passionate.

  After a quick change, the group traveled to nearby Martha Brae River Nature Park to do casualwear. They took group and individual pictures in the park section before Mika and Robert did some balancing acts on a bamboo raft as they floated down the river. The photographer on a raft behind them directing their poses. The backdrop along their route was amazing, and they took photos laying in each other’s arms and with their legs dipped in the water as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

  They didn’t get back to the hotel until around seven, which was a little later than planned. Which left them with only an hour before T-Day dinner with the rest of the family. They were all exhausted, but the entire group had been very accommodating. Robert hadn’t complained or rushed her once and never hesitated to try any position she or the photographer wanted. Even after he had taken ribbing from his younger cousins over the more romantic and mushy ones.

  Dinner went well as they filled everyone in on how the shots had gone, sharing a few photos of the backdrops via their phones. It was a fun and lively dinner, and Mika was surprised at how relaxed her mother and aunt were around Robert’s family. They’d had dinner with everyone a few months back and it had been a much stiffer affair on both sides. But today there was nothing but laughter, jokes, and all-around good vibes as they gave thanks for the blessings in their lives. Only Darrell got drunk, though quite a few people would have joined him with just another drink or two. The group called it a night by ten. Everyone needed some rest and recovery from jet lag and the exhausting day.

  FRIDAY DAWNED AND BEVERLY made Mika and Andrea get up early, checking all the details for tomorrow. All things thankfully seemed to be in order. The cake was on schedule and the flowers were beautiful. There was one change with the menu, as they needed to swap out a side dish. Beverly and the chef agreed on an acceptable substitution without much fuss before finalizing everything.

  After lunch she and Robert surprised everyone with a spa day to relax and de-stress. Everyone got two services of their choice, and the use of the steam room. They had a handful of hours before the rehearsal and dinner, so folks broke off in groups or went off alone to rest or sightsee. Mika and Robert went on a Catamaran ride with Cam and Andrea so they could get away from it all. It felt good to have some alone time with their core group. The ease in which they all interacted and understood each other was a special thing that was relaxing all on its own.

  The ceremony rehearsal started at six, and the group marched down to the skeleton of a tent that had been put up. The final set-up and decorations would be done early the following day. The onsite wedding planner walked them through where the guests would be and where the front of the makeshift altar was. Moving on to the actual process of the ceremony, including where the wedding party would stand, along with the groom and bride final positions.

  Finally it was time to actually rehearse. The first time ended in jokes and laughter, as they got things a little confused. The second time around was much better, as everyone focused. The officiator then ran though the order of what would be said with Mika and Robert. When Mika started to cry everyone panicked, including Robert.

  “Nothing is wrong,” Mika assured them. “I’m just getting all my crying out the way now. Someone told me I cry ugly and I can’t have that in my wedding pictures, now can I?”

  Everyone let out a relieved laugh and Misha shot her a grin. Mika only rolled her eyes and grinned back at her. They wrapped up around seven and went inside for the catered rehearsal dinner. At first she had been almost too nervous to eat. She was getting married in less than 24 hours! It didn’t seem real, yet here they were. Andrea urged her to eat since she was nervously drinking wine. That got her reluctantly lifting her fork. The only thing she wanted to be drunk on tonight was love.

  Once again there was lots of laughter, pictures being taken, jokes and even toasts. As the dinner came to a close Cam stood up to give his own.

  “Can I have everyone's attention before we go?” Once he had it he continued. “This toast is very special to me for several reasons, and it’s to the beautiful bride.”

  Mika looked right then left, pointing to herself mouthing, "Me?" Before grinning. “Yes you, the one and only. I’ve been meaning to give you a gift for over two years. Ever since you pushed Andrea into my arms, which was the best blessing of my life. You’ve done many things to support our relationship. I want you and Robert to know we plan to do the same for you both. We love you and want you to be happy. If the bride could come up here.”

  Robert helped her stand before they walked up front, hanging back as Mika went to Cam’s side. He knew Cam had a soft spot for Mika, and this was their moment.

  “I want to give you this bracelet as a token of my affection.” Cam pulled a seven and a half inch white-gold bracelet from his pocket. Made by tiny hearts connecting together. Spaced evenly around it were four sterling silver, heart-shaped charms. Cam hooked it around her left wrist and continued.

  “The first charm says friend, as you’ve been a friend to me from the start. The second is sister, what you are to my wife. The third says bold, bright woman. Mika your light shines brightly on those around you. The last says lover, friend, wife. What you are and will become for my brother tomorrow.”

  The crowd aww’d and clapped.

  Mika could see a few other women in the crowd with leaky eyes and wiped away a single tear from her own. “Sexy Cam this is so beautiful!” She gave him a big hug before stepping back.

  “Trouble, this doesn’t come close to what I owe you for helping me and Robert discover love. You’ll not find a harder working, determined, or more honorable man than Robert. Except maybe me, and I’m taken. Thank you, and I wish you both nothing but love!”

  Hugs were given all around among the friends, before Andrea made an announcement. “Okay people, let’s keep the celebration going! The best man and I are going to steal all the ladies and gentlemen for a surprise bachelor and bachelorette party!

  ANDREA AND CAM HAD worked hard to keep this part a secret. She’d had to go behind Beverly’s back with the venue planner to pull off her and Cam’s plans. This was directly out of their own pockets. The two had wanted to treat not only the bride and groom, but everyone else that had given up their normal T
hanksgiving plans to take part in the event. The youngest kids were put to bed, and the older kids and teens were tasked with watching them from their connected room. Andrea had also arranged for resort staff to check in on the kids until they knew the family had returned.

  After changing into party clothes, every adult met downstairs in the lobby by 9:30. Once everyone arrived Andrea and Cam led the two sexes in opposite directions to private spaces. Both rooms were loosely decorated like Vegas bars, replicating where the couple had first partied with each other. Mika absolutely loved it! Andrea put a crown on her head and a big, bold pin on her chest that said “Bride”. The room shared a toast first, and then the real party began.

  The DJ started with some oldies but goodies that had even the older ladies all dancing. It helped that sexy men were walking around—some dressed fully, others not so much—who danced and interacted with them.

  Mika spied Aunt Dolores fanning herself and pushing Johanna directly in the arms of a shirtless and muscled young man who couldn’t have been older than thirty. Johanna seemed horrified, but Mika gave Dolores a thumbs-up from across the room. She really liked that woman! She decided to do the same to her mother. Bringing over two men and sandwiching Beverly Harrison dead in the middle. Her mother stopped dancing and narrowed her eyes at Mika, before flipping her hair and going right back to swaying those hips. Mika’s mouth dropped while her Aunt Jackie pushed her out the way laughing, deciding to join in the fun with her sister.

  Mika stood there with her cousins, as they all stared in fascination at their stuffy mothers getting down.

  “Only you Mikala could make this happen. These are the kind of sights you can’t get out of your head...ever,” Misha said.

  “Agreed, I’ll need to increase my therapy sessions after this,” Michaelle said. “Someone had to have spiked their drinks. That will be the thought that comforts me.”