by Doug Welch
Paris sighed. “Wedding day jitters. I felt it too.”
Caesar opened his eyes. “It's funny. Today won't change anything about the way I feel about Alex, but somehow it's different. Somehow, today will seal something. Something I've wanted my whole life. Do you know what I mean?”
Paris smiled. “I think so. Today we will become a family in fact. You'll be my true brother by law. It's a commitment that we'll make to each other and it feels good. It feels right.”
Caesar chuckled. “Brother. That's a word I thought I would never be able to say to another human soul. But it won't happen unless we get our lazy butts out of this tub. Are you up for this?”
Paris laughed. “Lead me to it, brother, lambs to the slaughter.”
* * *
Caesar and Paris stood at the bottom of the sweeping marble staircases waiting for the ceremony to begin. Paris stood at the end of the right staircase and Caesar at the end of the left.
All of the wedding guests gathered at the front of the foyer. The living room furnishings had been rearranged by the hotel staff to accommodate the guests once the procession ended. Most of them were people Paris didn't recognize. He assumed they were Tyler's witnesses and some of the Elysium officials.
In front of the suite's windows, an attractive silver-haired woman dressed in a white suit waited to officiate at the wedding. Flanking her were two white pillars decorated with flowers and bunting; violet on the right, amber on the left. The crystal chandelier in the center of the room, blazed white with sparkling pinpoints of pale amber and violet
The stairs that rose in front of Paris were decorated with flowers and violet bunting shaped in bows along both sides. In front of Caesar, the stairs were decorated in amber. Paris wore a pale violet bow tie and cummerbund to complement his black tux and Caesar was dressed similarly with amber accessories. Tom and Dan stood beside each stair case, waiting for the bridesmaids to descend.
The grand piano in the living room had been relocated. A pianist sat in front of it waiting for the proceedings to begin. Apparently it doubled as an electronic organ and at some unspoken signal, she began a light prelude. The sound seemed to issue from everywhere in the suite, pitched just right for the acoustics of the room.
At the sound of the music, the doors of the room at the top of the stairs opened and both June and Roxanne stepped out of them.
They paused, and then began to march slowly down the staircases. June, on the right, stopped about midway. She wore a long sweeping pale-violet gown and carried a bouquet of violets. Roxanne, dressed in a similar, pale-amber gown and carrying red-yellow roses, stopped midway at the left staircase.
All of the people at the rear of the room were hushed, looking up at the stairs, waiting.
As the sound of the opening bars of the Mendelssohn Wedding March thundered around the suite, the two brides emerged from the room.
# # #
Paris had thought that no one could improve on perfection. He found he was wrong.
As she paused at the head of the stairs, he stopped breathing. His body flushed and he felt he would faint. Her features had been enhanced in subtle ways with makeup, to make them even more beautiful. Her deep black hair framed her face and cascaded in waves down her back. She wore a snow-white gown that had a see-through lace top and it joined a full skirt that swept to the floor. At the hemline, pale violet splashes of color penetrated the dress, vanishing to brilliant white at the waist.
It was as though she walked in violet smoke. A violet lace fall cascaded from her hair down the back and splashed on the floor. She carried a bouquet of flowers that ranged from blue to deep purple, and rippled down the front of her gown. Mesmerized, he knew that as long as he lived, he could never forget this moment.
# # #
Caesar stood transfixed. His mouth had gone dry and his throat threatened to choke him.
Alex paused at the top of the stairs. Her amber eyes seemed to glow, and her thick chestnut hair danced in curls around her gorgeous face. Her full breasts filled a cream-colored top that seemed to have nothing to support it other than her bosom. At the waist, the gown flared into cream colored lace over a blazing white underskirt. The dress was split to the waist in the front, revealing another underskirt of pale amber. Like Elizabeth, she didn't wear a veil, but an amber lace fall fell to the floor down her back, trailing behind. She carried a bouquet that resembled a desert sunset.
The image printed indelibly in his mind. He knew it would stay with him his entire life.
# # #
Elizabeth paused at the top of the stairs gazing down at Paris.
His handsome face gazed up at her. His mouth hung open and his amber eyes stared at her with an intensity that made her feel liquid inside. He closed his lips, to reveal a dazed smile.
A feeling of intense joy and longing filled her and she started to tremble. She wanted to rush down the stairs and wrap herself around him. It was hard to wait.
# # #
Alex's entire world centered in the tall, masculine man who awaited her at the foot of the stairs. He leaned toward her, looking as if he wanted to rush up the staircase. Passion surged through her. There was nothing she would not do for this man. Nothing she could deny him.
She longed to have him alone where she could show him. She would have to wait.
* * *
The second refrain of the march began and all the women started moving in time to the music, down the staircase.
June joined Tom at the bottom of the stairs and Roxanne joined Dan. Arm in arm they walked in time with the music toward the center of the room.
Both brides descended slowly, their dresses and falls of lace spreading along the stairs at their backs. Soon, they joined their men and placed their hands on their outstretched arms.
The four couples turned to the windows and moved toward the altar. The guests followed behind.
The maids with their escorts split to stand on both sides of the altar, June and Tom to the right, Dan and Roxanne to the left. They turned and faced the wedding couples and the guests.
Paris flanked Elizabeth on the right and Caesar stood beside Alex on the left, facing the window. They paused in front of the alter and the guests spread in a semicircle behind them.
They had chosen a non-traditional wedding with secular clergy. The woman at the altar was the wedding planner and also the wedding official. The music quieted and stopped.
She addressed the assembled party in a clear soprano.
“The ancient ceremony of lawfully joining souls in matrimony is as old as human-kind. We are all conceived in love and we all yearn toward it, therefore it signifies the birth of a new generation and hope for the future.
“These two couples, Paris and Elizabeth – Caesar and Alexandra,” she nodded to each of them, “are here to vow that love, to be joined as one soul throughout eternity. We are here to witness that love and celebrate it.”
She turned to Caesar and Alex. “Caesar and Alexandra, do you vow to become as one. To join all your worldly possessions and never sunder your love for each other, so long as you live?”
Alex turned to look into Caesars eyes, eyes that brimmed with tears. “We do,” they said in unison.
She turned to face Paris and Elizabeth. “Paris and Elizabeth, do you vow to become as one. To join all your worldly possessions and never sunder your love for each other, so long as you live?”
Paris gazed down at the glistening eyes of the only woman he would ever love.
“We do.”
“Please exchange a token of your love and commitment to each other.”
Tom and Dan advanced to each couple and opened a case containing plain gold rings. Each ring had been inscribed with their names.
Both of the wedding couples slipped the rings on each other’s fingers.
The woman spoke. “It is done. I now pronounce you lawfully wedded by your own will and by the laws of the State of Nevada. What has been conceived here let no one deny. Will you each seal yo
ur promise with a kiss?”
The sounds of the wedding march resounded around the room as the two men swept their wives into their arms and the guests broke out in applause.
The aftermath of the ceremony whirled around them. They met all the guests and received their congratulations. They cut the wedding cake. It turned out to be delicious as well as beautiful.
The staff increased in number, and champagne circulated. By prior arrangement, the brides sipped sparkling apple juice.
After a while, the whole wedding party with their guests trailing behind, descended the elevator to the first floor and walked through the resort casino to the gourmet restaurant that was to be the site of the wedding dinner. As they moved through the crowds, their progress created an isle in the crush. Some people stared at them with wistful expressions while others applauded and laughed.
During the dinner, they were approached by two of the wedding guests, a beautiful young woman and her attractive, muscular male companion. They’d been introduced earlier as the representatives of Tyler Bronson and were the lead performers at one of the most popular shows in Las Vegas.
“We must leave to prepare for tonight's performance,” the woman said. “Tyler wanted to give you a wedding gift.” She handed them an envelope. “These are VIP tickets to tomorrow's show. They will allow all of you to see the show and meet the performers backstage. Congratulations, it was a truly breathtaking wedding.” She smiled.
They all thanked her and promised to be there tomorrow.
After the dessert and coffee, the wedding party excused themselves and went back to the suite.
When they entered, it was night and the living room lights were dimmed. A table with four chairs stood near the window. June and Tom immediately announced that they had plans to celebrate and were going out. Dan and Roxanne lingered for a short while and then vanished to Dan's room. The four newlyweds seated themselves at the table and gazed out at the Las Vegas lights below them.
A sound came from the front of the room and Jaime entered carrying an ice bucket with a bottle in it and four decorated crystal champagne flutes on a silver tray.
He stopped at the table, and laid the tray in the center. “Complements of the Elysium, vintage champagne, Dom Perignon nineteen seventy-five.” He bowed, removed the champagne from the bucket, and displayed it. “Shall I pour?”
Alex looked at Elizabeth. “Sis?”
“Remember. One glass,” she said.
Jaime looked relieved. “You won't regret it guys, you may never experience this again. This stuff sells for two hundred dollars a glass in the restaurant.”
“Thanks Jaime. Please pour it,” Paris said.
He expertly twisted off the wire restraint and popped the cork. He filled the four glasses and put the bottle back in the bucket.
“All of the staff is gone. The place is all yours and I'm the last to leave. Have a good night,” Jaime said.
He turned to leave, but paused. “I need to say one thing folks. I've seen a lot of weddings here in Las Vegas, some in this suite. But your wedding was the most beautiful I've ever seen. Congratulations.” He walked to the elevator.
They sat savoring the wine in silence for a moment; deep in their thoughts
“It's funny,” Elizabeth said “I didn't know how I would feel when this was all over. I thought it wouldn't make a difference but it has. I feel – I don't know. Maybe more – more complete. Does that make any sense?”
“I feel it too,” Alex said. “I think it's because I just acquired a sister. A friend, someone to share my female side.”
“And I've acquired a brother,” Caesar said.
“I think what we're feeling is a sense of family. A sense of belonging,” Paris said. “I've missed it. I think we need to make a toast. Beth? You started this.”
“Okay. To family – To the four of us.” They all clinked glasses and drank.
Caesar grinned “I think it's time to muss you up a bit, wife.”
“You'd better muss me up a lot, husband. Or have you forgotten the penalty?” Alex said.
“I think the penalty to be worth the crime,” he said. “Shall we?”
They all four rose and went to their respective wedding chambers.
* * *
Paris lay on the disarrayed bed, holding a warm, nude Elizabeth in his arms. Their limbs still caressed one another as they recovered from what had seemed a lifetime of explosive ecstasy. Paris nuzzled her hair as she covered his chest with soft kisses.
Elizabeth's muffled voice issued from the vicinity of his chest. “If this is how it's going to be the rest of my life, I think I need to visit a cardiologist.”
Paris laughed. “Make an appointment for two.”
She moved her head away to look at him. “I never thought I could love someone as intensely as love you. You take my breath away.”
Paris choked up and lost his voice. At first he couldn’t find the words. “Double...that. I won't live without you Beth. You're my soul, my life, my wonder. It's like I was created just for this moment and the moments to come.”
They remained silent for a while just holding each other.
Elizabeth released him and rolled onto her back. “There is one thing I need to say.”
Paris rolled to face her and propped himself up on one arm. He used his free hand to stroke her abdomen. “What's that?”
She moved her arms behind her head and looked up at him.
“That thing you do. You know...with your mind? It's not necessary to get me aroused, all I need to do is look at you and I want you.”
He flopped down on his back and slipped his arm under her, bringing her close. “Beth, that thing with my mind. It's not what you think. It's a lot more. It's hard to explain, but when I'm loving you with my body, I'm also loving you with my mind. It goes way beyond what ordinary people feel. It's like the same things I do with my hands and my mouth are duplicated in my mind but much more intense. I'm just trying to share it with you so you can feel what I feel.”
Her voice sounded soft, breathless. “Oh. I see. At least I think I see.”
Paris thought for a moment. “You know? Maybe you can see. Maybe I can help you see.”
“What do you mean?”
He approached the idea with caution. “You’ll have to totally surrender to me. – Your mind, that is. You'll have to trust me, more than you've ever trusted anyone.”
“You know Paris if you had asked me that a few months ago. I would have said hell no. Now? It's not hard. It's easy. I’ve already surrendered to you. I trust you more than anyone in my life.”
He wondered if it was possible. He knew her mind-glow. He’d experienced its glory before. He felt a completeness, a meshing of the essence of Elizabeth's mind with his and it had only grown more complete as they had experienced each other these past few months. Somehow the fact that they were married had almost melded the two.
“Alright, we'll try this. You need to lay back and close your eyes.” he released her so she could lie on her back.
He put his fingertips on her eyelids and gently closed her eyes. “Relax. Let your whole body go. Disconnect your body from your mind.”
When he thought she was ready, he allowed his senses to flow over her mind, entwining his essence with hers. Then he added the missing piece – the part of his mind that allowed him to sense mind-glow in others but held it in check.
“No matter what you see. Do not allow yourself to refocus your mind. Hold it still. I'll guide you.”
He activated her new sense.
He felt a jolt. Elizabeth gasped, but the ripples soon stilled. “Oh my God! It's so beautiful! I never realized! I could never have known.” Tears started leaking from her closed eyelids.
Paris calmed her. “Relax. Let it flow. Join with me.” The last remaining differences in her mind blended with his and they became one. “Do you sense it?”
Elizabeth's voice sounded otherworldly. “What do you mean? I sense everything. It’s overpowering.�
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He waited for the ripples in her mind to still again. “Follow me I'll lead the way.” He directed his mind-glow to her womb, at the tiny blazing spark that centered there. “Now, do you sense it?”
Elizabeth stilled. Paris felt something in her mind envelope and caress the sparkling awareness that nestled in warm sea of her womb. The wonder of it filled him.
“It's our life Beth, the one we created. I've sensed it for a week now.” He grew concerned when her mind started to center in and around the spark, and he gradually withdrew, disconnecting from her mind-glow, dimming her awareness, and allowing her mind to return to normal.
Elizabeth didn't say anything for a long time. “Thank you for that gift Paris. I'll cherish it. But I feel a sense of loss now, as though I'm not complete.”
“We'll do it again if you want, but we have to be careful. Now do you understand?”
She sighed. “Yes. I'm just trying to assimilate it. You know what it's like? It's like the feeling I get when you're inside me and we're making love. A sense of completeness as though part of me was missing and now I've found it, been filled by it. Do you think we can do it again?”
He laughed “All night long, sweetheart. Did you feel how we mesh? I want to try it when we make love again so you can experience it. We'll practice all night into the morning.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “I hope my heart’s ready for it.”
Chapter 6
End of the Dream
They all four sat at a table by the pool dressed in the fleecy resort robes they’d found in the bathrooms. They ate beignets and sipped the chef's excellent coffee, as they watched the sunrise lift over the city.
Paris smelled Elizabeth all over him. It warmed him and kept him on the edge of arousal. He felt languid, like a cat being stroked.
Elizabeth leaned against his chest, her legs stretched out on a foot rest. Her warm hair tickled his nose and he buried his face in it, inhaling her scent.
“Did you guys have a good night?” He asked Alex.
“Oh yes. But this is just a recess,” Alex said. “My hunk has a lot more mussing to accomplish. Don't you lover?”