Forever Yours
PART IV
"If the mind were simple enough for us to understand, we would be too simple to understand it."
—Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Near
44
Wedding Daze
“ISOBEL! WHAT THE FUCK?” Henry yelled, trying to extract himself from the clinging woman. She continued to hold him and attempt to kiss him. She smelled strongly of alcohol.
“I’m here for the ritual pre-wedding fuck!”
“No, Izzy. That’s not happening,” Henry insisted, pushing her away. “Go back to your husband.”
“He’s drunk.”
“So are you.”
“I couldn’t do this without a little liquid courage. It doesn’t affect how ready I am for you,” Isobel said, starting to remove her nightdress.
“I said no, Izzy. Please leave.” Henry got past her and opened his door. “Don’t get undressed. Get out!”
“What? It was fine for you to fuck me the night before my wedding but not to fuck me the night before yours? You’re a hypocrite,” she screamed.
Henry kept the door open wide. If people heard, people heard.
“The past is past. Go, Isobel.”
“I hate you, Henry Pascal! You’re not worthy to touch a hair of my head. You think your two sluts will be so noble when an opportunity to have someone else comes along? Chastity has a whole long list of available men who will pay to have a threesome with her and Lisa.”
“Isobel, you aren’t being rational. Please leave now.”
“Fuck you!” Isobel screamed as she stormed out the door. Henry closed and bolted it behind her.
Henry had fantasized about Isobel since he was in junior high school. At one time he thought he was in competition with Luke for her affections, but soon discovered there had never really been a question in Isobel’s mind as to who she would marry.
That hadn’t stopped them from having sex twice. The first was at the senior prom, just before Isobel went to join Luke. The second was the night before her wedding to Luke. Henry hadn’t felt particularly guilty about either time as they had both been initiated by Isobel and technically, they were both single.
Over the past year, though, Henry had lost interest in her as a sexual object. He wasn’t sure if it was a sense of loyalty to Lisa, or simply a loss of desire for anyone except Lisa and Chastity. He even suspected that if Chastity had not won Lisa as her girlfriend, he would have stopped leaning on Chastity for any kind of sexual relationship. With both of them, though, it was hard to imagine being in that kind of relationship with anyone else.
Just to be sure, he put the chain on the hotel door as well.
Luke missed the 8:00 tee-time in the morning. Josh said he’d knocked on his door and was simply told he’d see them later. Henry hoped everything was okay between Luke and Isobel. She’d been irrationally angry when she left him in the middle of the night.
Being on one of many boards at the university, Beau had arranged their tee-time on the university golf course. He just drove a golf cart as the other four played. Josh was nowhere near as accomplished a golfer as the others, but they spotted him several strokes on each hole. Eventually, Beau handled the drives from the tee and fairway and let Josh handle the putting.
They had a good time and then went to the clubhouse for lunch. Luke joined them there.
“Hey, is everything okay?” Henry asked.
“Oh, yeah! My God! Izzy said she was staying out with the girls last night, but got back about midnight and fucked me nearly to death! Apparently, weddings really turn her on,” Luke said. “Sorry. I know you were being properly celibate last night, but I’m a married man. We kind of celebrated our anniversary a few days late. We really didn’t have time for anything special last Sunday. We had room service for breakfast this morning and then did our best to set another record for sex. It really hasn’t been like that since our honeymoon.”
“Wow! Congratulations,” Henry laughed. “Glad our upcoming wedding was so inspirational!”
The men had a relaxed time over lunch, the fathers and grandfather indulging in a couple of drinks. Luke and Josh each had one, but Henry decided to stay completely alcohol free.
The afternoon for the men was a typical hurry-up-and-wait. They got showered and dressed for the wedding, then went to the church. There they waited for the women in the wedding party.
The women had a relaxing morning with brunch at 9:30 at the spa. They had massages and had hair, nails, and makeup done. They got to the church half an hour later than the men and went into isolation to dress. Of course, the restriction of not seeing the bride before the wedding was only adhered to up to the point when photographs were to be taken. Then the entire wedding party was called to the sanctuary and posed for portraits of the bride and groom, the trio, the wedding party, the families, and even the minister. They barely made it to their places before the congregation started arriving.
Lisa was dressed in an informal white wedding dress. It was completely off the shoulder with a full skirt that fell just below the knee. She’d never been much for showing off her body, except to Henry and Chastity. Chastity and Layla were in matching peach dresses about the same length as Lisa’s. Their dresses, however, had plunging necklines. Chastity never wore a bra and her neckline made that obvious. Layla may have been a bit more self-conscious about it, but it was clear that if she had breast support, it was built into the dress.
The men were in dark business suits with simple white rose boutonnieres. They all cleared the sanctuary before people were brought in. Henry sat relaxed with Rev. Jackson in the choir room, next to the chancel. The women were in a ready room at the back of the sanctuary. Josh and Luke doubled as ushers, directing people to the front of the sanctuary. When Luke walked Jackie up the aisle and got her seated, Henry and the minister joined him at the front of the church.
Henry grinned almost as much at Chastity coming up the aisle after Josh and Layla as he did a minute later at Lisa. When Chastity reached the front, Henry leaned toward her and kissed her lightly. Then all attention was on Lisa and Bill. Henry felt a little drunk as he watched his bride approaching. He just couldn’t stop grinning.
All told, the service was simple and the fifty or so attending were happy to be there.
“Nature celebrates unions,” Rev. Jackson said. “I could use all kinds of examples because very little in our world is singular. Not to minimize the single elements. Gold, for example, is one of our most valuable. But when you think of even the most basic building block of life, water, you discover it is indeed a union. We call it H2O. Two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom in one of God’s most perfect unions.
“When I discovered Henry and Lisa wanted to include Chastity in their new union, I could only think of the perfection of H2O. And once you get to know them, you will discover how perfect that union is.
“Now as far as legal pieces of paper or the United Methodist Church are concerned, of course, we have a marriage license and certificate for Henry and Lisa. But we also have love that is bigger than that and which we are happy to recognize in this service.”
Henry thought about how Pythia had answered Rev. Jackson’s question of what to speak about at the wedding. Pythia had made the connection between marriage and union. Jackson had taken it the rest of the way. It was a beautiful ceremony as he and Lisa recited their vows and officially asked Chastity to be a part of their family.
“Forever yours,” Chastity affirmed to the two of them. It was the vow they had chosen.
Then Lisa and Henry kissed, Lisa and Chastity kissed, and Chastity and Henry kissed. The three walked back down the aisle together.
The dinner buffet in the hotel banquet room began at 6:30. Everyone had plenty of time to get the few blocks from the church to the hotel since the wedding itself was quite short.
Beau and Solange had paid for the reception dinner and included a band for dancing and entertainment.
It was the first time Henry met Lisa’s other grandparents, Bill’s parents. Her Aunt Leslie and Uncle Bert were also there. Leslie was Bill’s sister. All four lived in Cincinnati. They were pleasant people, though more conservative than Lisa’s parents. They didn’t really understand the concept of having Chastity as a part of Lisa and Henry’s family, but thankfully, didn’t make a big deal out of it.
By nine o’clock, the cake had been cut and served and Henry, Lisa, and Chastity were able to leave their reception to just be together. Beau and Solange kept the party going until eleven and then bid everyone a goodnight.
“I’m afraid Grandma and Grandpa Hartman didn’t actually understand what it meant for us to be a throuple,” Lisa said as the three settled into bed.
The suite they had booked for their wedding night was a room with an attached room and a door between so Chastity could start the night with them and retreat to her own space when she felt she needed to.
“Aunt Leslie was scandalized,” Lisa continued. “She started in with the whole ‘God instituted marriage between one man and one woman’ routine.”
“What did you say to that?”
“I looked her straight in the eye and simply said, ‘I’m an atheist.’ She was so shocked she just sat down next to Uncle Bert and ordered a bourbon on the rocks. You know Cincinnati is almost in Kentucky.”
They laughed and held each other, gradually moving toward more amorous gestures with occasional bits of memory from the day thrown into their conversation.
“From what Luke told me this noon, Isobel was pretty demanding,” Henry said. “They were trying to set a record for how much sex they could have in one night. Isobel didn’t make your spa day this morning, did she? Luke missed our tee-time and joined us at lunch.”
“Didn’t you miss playing with her?”
“Why would I ever want anyone but the two who are in my bed right now?”
“I told you,” Chastity whispered. “Our Henry is pretty much a one-woman man. I’m just glad he includes me with her.”
“I never really doubted it,” Lisa sighed. “I love you so much! Both of you. I could have dealt with a little Isobel on the side.”
“Not necessary,” Henry said. “I am in the woman of my dreams. I am beside my constant friend and lover. It’s not that I have anything philosophically opposed to people who have something outside their relationship; I just have no desire for it.”
“Move in me, my husband!” Lisa commanded, thrusting her hips at him. “And then get ready to have your two women love you all night.”
“I will also be with you as my two women love each other,” he said.
After brunch with the family on Saturday morning, Lisa, Henry, and Chastity went to the airport for a flight to Boston. It was too late when they got in to catch the ferry to Provincetown, so they were booked into a luxury hotel just a mile from the airport.
At the hotel, they found flights west were being canceled because of tornadoes in the Midwest. The harried desk clerk shook his head sadly.
“We have a reservation,” Henry explained calmly.
“Everything has been messed up by the tornadoes,” the clerk explained. “I’m trying to find something. We may have to move you over to a different hotel.”
Lisa wiggled up next to Henry and he put his arm around her. She had a pleading look on her face.
“We just got married and it’s our honeymoon,” she pled, looking woefully at the clerk.
“I… Uh… Let me see. All I have is a two-bedroom family suite. I wanted to get a larger group into the suite,” he said, tapping the keys of the computer in front of him.
“We’ll take her with us!” Lisa declared, pulling Chastity up beside her. “We’ll need two bedrooms, obviously.”
The clerk looked up at the two women with their arms around each other as Henry held Lisa under his.
“Oh… Okay… I think… We can do that. It’s so kind of you. To welcome a stranger. Ma’am, are you okay with that arrangement?” the clerk asked.
“Yes,” Chastity said. “I’ll just leave my door open and listen.”
Lisa reached up and kissed Chastity.
“I can get you a good view, too,” she whispered, loudly enough for the clerk to hear.
He took Henry’s credit card and license, then the licenses of the other two. He didn’t suggest that either of the women would need to pay their share; he just handed Henry three keycards.
“Room service is open twenty-four hours if you need anything. There’s a concierge on the floor who will provide coffee, soft drinks, and ice. Have a nice stay,” he said, intentionally not looking at Lisa and Chastity until Henry turned away. Then he openly stared as the three headed for the bell station and handed the bell captain a key.
The stay, while luxurious and perfect for everything the trio intended to do, was all too brief. At nine-thirty the next morning, they boarded a ferry across Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay to Provincetown. On the hour and a half crossing, they saw a pod of whales and shared their excitement.
Chastity had done the research and booked the reservation for their sojourn in Provincetown. It was a lovely bed and breakfast near the wharf where they had two bedrooms.
“I did some checking and talked to our hosts. They have a thing for unusual combinations of people. There are three in their family,” Chastity said.
“Like ours?” Lisa asked.
“Almost. All three of them are women. I’m afraid Henry will be the only male in the house.”
“I’m already used to that,” he laughed. “Even the cats are females. What’s three more?”
The rooms were lovely and while the door didn’t connect directly between them, they were next to each other in the hall. They shared the bath. Dinner that evening was at a local lobster pot restaurant. When the huge crustaceans were served, Lisa whistled.
“That is one big crawfish!”
“It’s a lobster, honey,” Henry laughed.
“Well, excuse my Cajun soul!” Lisa joined in. “It looks a lot easier to peel and eat than the little fellers in an étouffée.”
“How long are you going to keep your Cajun accent?” Chastity asked.
“Don’t you like it?”
“I love it. It makes my panties wet.”
“I move you keep it,” Henry said.
“Whoo wee!” Lisa said.
“Mom and Dad came out to Massachusetts years ago and when they got back, they said lobster was just like toast,” Henry said.
“What’s that mean?” Chastity asked.
“It’s primarily a vehicle to get butter from the dish to your mouth.”
The week was spent loving, relaxing, and exploring. They hiked in the National Seashore Park and went to the beach. They went on whale-watching cruises. They blushed appropriately when their hosts asked if they had a good sleep at breakfast. And like all honeymoons, it passed too quickly. They planned to leave Sunday morning.
Saturday morning, Henry rolled out of bed and kissed his wife.
“Mmm. You’re up early,” Lisa yawned.
“It strikes me that in this whole week, you haven’t really had alone time with Chastity,” Henry said. “We’re going back to Pittsburgh tomorrow. You should have a little time just for the two of you.”
“You know we like having you with us,” Lisa said.
“Yes, but you like to be together, too. I never want to be a clit-blocker.”
“Oh, it’s too early for that kind of pun,” Lisa groaned. “You know I’m bi, so I like having Chastity lick me as much as having you fuck me. But Chastity is mostly hetero. She simply can’t stand most men. In fact, any men but you.”
“I don’t blame her. Her life was one of being used by men. I came dangerously close to being just another one of them,” Henry said.
“She’s always loved you and gave you her body because you were different than all the others. But… I could get into enjoying some time with my girlfriend. What are you going to do?”
“Oh, I thought I’d do a little antiquing in some of those shops we saw. Maybe find something to buy as a commemorative of our honeymoon.”
“Well, if you see the two of us out in one of those shops, just turn away. We might be getting you a surprise.”
There was a knock on the door. Henry opened it for Chastity.
“Ready for breakfast?” she asked.
“Sleepyhead over there in the bed is waiting for a very personal invitation to eat from her girlfriend,” Henry said as he slipped past Chastity and lightly pushed her into the room. He went down for a solo breakfast, which the hosts were very interested in.
Henry was, indeed, interested in the antique shops and other stores in the historic town. He thought having a nice token of their week together would be a perfect way to end it. He stopped at another of the restaurants along the waterfront for a late lunch and decided to mix all the cultures together and have what was advertised as a Cajun bouillabaisse. It had the typical seafood in the huge bowl of soup, but also had andouille sausage in it. He thought it was a little spicier than most of the food he’d had in P-town.
As he sat extracting the flesh from mussels, his phone sounded an alert. He nearly dropped the phone in his soup when he saw it.
“Attack on corporate server detected. Tracking.”
“Shit!” he said, standing at the table. He immediately thumbed the contact listing for Darrel. “Darrel, there’s an attack underway on our server,” he barked.
“Just got the alert,” Darrel replied. “I’m on my way out the door. I’ll let you know as soon as we have something.”
Henry disconnected and sat back down to see if he could still enjoy his soup. The alert sounded again. He looked at the phone.
“Attack on Pythia Speaks server detected. Tracking.”
“Oh, this is bad,” he breathed. He called Scott out in California.
“We’re monitoring the defense system,” Scott replied as soon as he picked up the call. “We’ve got everyone on their way to the office and have begun an emergency backup of all servers.”
“Let me know if you need anything and if the attack spreads to other servers than Pythia Speaks,” Henry said.
“Will do, boss. Uh… Congratulations on your wedding,” Scott replied.
“Thanks.”
Henry disconnected and dialed the conference number for Lisa and Chastity.
“Hi, lover,” they answered together.
“We’ve got an emergency at the office. Both Pittsburgh and San Jose are being attacked. I might need to fly out tonight,” he said.
“We’ll pack,” Lisa said at once.
“Leave the travel arrangements to me. I’ll call as soon as I have a departure time,” Chastity said.
“I love you both,” Henry answered.
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
