Riverside... The Weddings

by Heather Mar-Gerrison

  “Wow.” I murmured as I looked at Trey, “We look amazing.”

  Dylan beamed at us, “Well, I’ll take the credit for you looking stunning – but it wasn’t as if I had to work too hard for it – you’re both very handsome men.” He went a little pink.

  I smiled at him, “Right back atcha.” I said.

  He shrugged and mumbled something to himself about never finding the one.

  Trey slung an arm around his shoulder, “He’s out there somewhere, mate.” He said, “And if he’s not currently single, he’ll be wasting his time with the wrong person. Have faith. He’ll be yours by Christmas.”

  Dylan smiled sadly, “We’ll see.” He said, “Although it’s unlikely. My next job starts on Monday and it’s in the middle of nowhere – and get this – it’s a holiday park for gay couples to have luxury breaks. There’ll be no singletons there…” He pulled a face, “All I’m ever good for is for guys to use me as a shoulder to cry on. Apparently, I’m great to talk to – and to be moaned at about their own shitty love lives. I’m doomed to live my life alone – making everyone else wishes come true.”

  I looked at Trey in alarm. He looked close to tears, “Hey, mate.” I said, “Don’t sweat it – you’re young, you’re beautiful and you’re really nice on the inside, too – it’ll happen.”

  He smiled and sniffed, “Yeah, thanks man.” He said, “Let’s hope so.”

  Chapter 12 – Robyn

  Mum and Dad had flown in for the wedding and Mum was currently fussing over the two of us. “Oh, my goodness, look at you!”

  They lived in Spain, and coincidently not far from where Dylan’s parents lived and they knew them! What a small world!

  Having been able to retire early with the help of my success, they now ran a small business selling Dad’s paintings and crafts that they made together (they were both very artistic)

  It was only fair that I’d secured them financially; they’d made all sorts of sacrifices for me to follow my dream to be an actress, so I’d always promised myself that as soon as I’d made enough money, I would help my sister to be successful in whatever she wanted – so I helped her buy her pub and I’d gifted our parents with enough money to enable them to keep our family home in the UK and to live in Spain, enjoying a relaxing early retirement.

  “And you look incredible too.” Clarissa gushed, enveloping our mother in a hug. I smiled. Clarissa was always the more affectionate one. I’d been separated from them all, for most of the time, from the age of twelve and was therefore a little more reserved around them.

  Mum turned to me, “Robyn,” she said, “My beautiful girl.”

  Clarissa beamed as Mum wrapped me up in a hug. I closed my eyes to stop myself from crying. I knew it was my fault that I wasn’t as close to them as my sister – I’d wanted to move away and had really, since the age of twelve, been closer to Marc and his wife. They’d kind of taken over as my parents since then and I truly loved them as much as my own family. Still, it was wonderful to know that I was just as loved as I’d always been.

  “I love you, Mum.” I mumbled into her neck.

  “Oh, sweetie,” she said, squeezing me a little more firmly, “I love you, too.”

  “Come and see the dresses.” Clarissa said, pulling Mum towards the door, “Dad, you can come, too.” She called.

  I grinned at Dad, who winked at me and followed us up to our dressing room.

  “Oh, my goodness!” Mum said, gazing at the pair of us in our wedding gowns. “You look so beautiful, girls.” Turning to Dylan, she smiled mistily, “You’re amazing, Dylan.” she said, “So talented.”

  He chuckled, “Well, I had a great canvas to work on.” He said, “They’re both naturally, very beautiful.”

  “I wonder how the boys are getting on.” I said.

  “They’re perfect!” Dylan said, “Absolutely perfect! And they’re waiting for you as we speak. Any help needed in here?”

  Jules appeared at his side, “I think we’re just about done, too.” He said, “Shall we set about coming down to the venue?”

  Dylan smiled and nodded, “That would be perfect.” He said, “See you down there in a few.”

  I looked at Clarissa, “This is it.” I said, squeezing her hands, “Our moment.”

  She nodded, “I feel like we’ve been waiting all our lives for this.” She said.

  I knew exactly what she meant.

  Chapter 13 – Clarissa

  Dad was beside himself. He’d never expected to escort both of his daughters down the aisle on the same day – and to twin brothers, too – but he took it all in his stride and rose to the occasion magnificently.

  Toby and Trey were waiting for us up at the altar. It didn’t matter that the noise of helicopters above Riverside was ridiculously loud. It didn’t matter that the paparazzi who hadn’t been invited were camped out all along the perimeters of Riverside – everything inside the barn was absolutely perfect and the meal afterwards was incredible too. Everything was exactly the way we’d planned it.

  The paparazzi had pretty much given up by the evening reception and only a couple of staff from Hello were still there – relaxing, now and having a drink and a chat with the guests.

  Dylan had allowed himself a couple of drinks, since the day was pretty much done and he had no more responsibilities. It certainly suited him to be a little less uptight and he was chatting to everyone at the gathering.

  “I planned the wedding.” He said to our cousin, Ricky. “It’s what I do.”

  “Good for you mate.” Ricky said, (who was absolutely, one hundred per cent, straight as a die) “How many have you done?”

  Well, that had him occupied for at least the next hour. I didn’t feel he needed rescuing, gay or straight, Dylan was a delight to be around.

  Trey and Toby were chatting to their brothers at the bar and Robyn was busy chatting to her old manager and his wife. I sighed happily. I was surrounded by people I loved, and who loved me. Utterly perfect.

  Finally, our beautiful day was over and we were heading out for our joint honeymoons. Don’t roll your eyes – we were twins – it was a given we would honeymoon as a foursome.

  We’d decided to go to a secret location in Hawaii. The British press were unlikely to want to follow us all the way out there – and the US press weren’t all that bothered about us, now that Robyn was no longer starring in blockbuster movies. They probably didn’t even know what Tales from the Riverside or Tales from the Red Lion even were in America – unless they were real die-hard fans and they sure weren’t going to bother us.

  We’d got a friend in the British press these days, in Miller Lewis and he’d assured us that he wouldn’t breathe a word of the secret location. We’d promised him an interview as soon as we were all back, prior to the new series of Tales from the Riverside.

  In the meantime, he had enough on his plate with a big story that had hit the tabloids about someone he was pretty close to. With his integrity and a style that was all his own when he wrote an article, Miller was going to be a star in his own right one of these days.

  “Ready?” Trey grinned at me.

  I nodded, “Absolutely!” I agreed, “Let’s go!”

  Toby and Robyn and Trey and I all climbed into the cab that Dylan had booked for us and got ourselves settled.

  The rest of the guests had come out to see us off and as we pulled off, waving like mad and all laughing and feeling totally euphoric, we were whisked away into the night to start our whole new chapter…

  Chapter 14 – Trey

  “What’s that?” Toby craned his neck to look over my shoulder. The four of us were eating breakfast around the table at Riverside, like we did every weekend, with the rest of the family.

  I opened the Christmas card and smiled. “Happy Christmas!” was scrawled on the inside, “With love from Dylan and Nathan.”

  “Dylan found love.” I said fondly, “Just like I told him.”

  Clarissa smiled, “That’s good.” She said, �
��He deserved to find a nice guy.”

  I nodded, “Yeah,” I agreed, “Good for him.”

  “And good for us, too.” Clarissa said, glancing around the table and going a little pink. “I’ve got something to tell you.”

  I raised an eyebrow, my heartbeat taking off at her words. “What?” I asked, even though I had a pretty good idea what she was about to say.

  She grinned at me and leaned into me, “I’m pregnant.” She whispered in my ear, “Shall we tell everyone now?”

  Feeling a little light-headed with utter joy and quite honestly, a little hysteria creeping in, I nodded, “Let’s do it. I said. I stood up, “Everyone.” I said, “We’re pregnant!”

  Everyone cheered, except Toby who stared at me with his mouth open. He looked utterly gobsmacked. “Dude!” he finally exclaimed, “That’s absolutely amazing. Because so are we!”

  The end…

  Sam and Luca’s Big Fat Gay Wedding

  Chapter 1 – Sam

  Growing up the way I did, I never thought I would want to get married. But watching every other member of my family tie the knot – and seeing how happy they were – just proved to me that it was nothing to do with actually getting married and everything to do with committing to someone who made you happier than you’ve ever been in your whole life that really mattered.

  And I’d never been happier, ever. Luca made me happy. That really was all there was to it. He’d asked me to marry him a while back and I guess you could say that we’d been engaged for a while but we’d never exchanged rings and I’d never pushed the issue because I didn’t want to embarrass him, but being the best man for Trey and Toby had brought home to me just how much I wanted to be Luca’s husband and I just couldn’t wait any longer…

  Luca hadn’t come out all that long ago in the greater scheme of things – and his mum hadn’t really taken the news all that well. I think she thought it was a passing phase and he’d been upset by her reaction. I think he’d hoped that she’d react in the same way as Emilio.

  So, as much as I knew he loved me, I wasn’t all that sure he was really out enough to go whole hog and actually tie the knot. And well, I guess I never would if I never plucked up the courage and actually asked...

  So… with that in mind I went looking for him.

  He was prepping in the kitchens and looking, to my mind, utterly droolsome… He looked up as I opened the door.

  “Hey, baby.” He said with a big grin on his face, “I thought you were having a lie-in this morning.”

  I shrugged, “With you gone, there was little point in that.” I said.

  He nodded, “Yeah, I guess…”

  I took a deep breath, “Can I talk to you about something.”

  His easy smile disappeared and he looked at me in concern. I hated that he still had that look about him from time to time. I was in a bad place for a while and I’d put him through endless worry with my meltdowns. I was much better these days though – with Luca as my boyfriend and the Fletchers as my family – and my long-lost brother keeping in touch with me and being part of his family too, life was amazing and I was really happy. I was also on medication for depression and I saw a counsellor once a month just to touch base – I didn’t really need to go anymore. I was in a much better place these days. “It’s nothing to worry about.” I assured him, “but it is important.”

  He put his knife down and wiped his hands down his trousers. “What’s up, babe?” he asked, coming around his workstation and gathering me into him.

  I smiled, “I’ve got something to ask you.”

  He cocked an eyebrow at me, “Really?”

  I nodded, biting my lip. Would he go for it? “We’ve been engaged for a while – well, sort of…”

  His eyebrows got a little higher, “Uh-huh.” He said.

  I swallowed, “And you know… it is a leap year…”

  His grin got a little wider, “Uh-huh.” He repeated.

  “So... I was wondering…”

  He pressed his lips against the side of my head and wrapped me up in his warm embrace, “What were you wondering?” He prompted me, since I’d just momentarily lost the power of speech.

  I swallowed and looked him in the eye, “Will you marry me? Like, this summer – in the garden with everyone around and your mum there and everything?” All of this came out in a bit of a rush and I was bright red by the end of it.

  He chuckled, “You know, it’s funny that you brought this up today.”

  It was my turn to raise an eyebrow, “Really?” I asked.

  He nodded, “Yeah,” he said, his grin making my knees feel a little weak, “Because I was in town yesterday afternoon and I was walking by the jewellers and I saw these beautiful matching rings.”

  I stared at him, “Did you?” I asked faintly. No way…

  He nodded, “Yeah, I really did.” He said, “And on impulse, I bought them.”

  My jaw dropped, “You did not.” I breathed. This was incredible! What were the odds?

  He nodded, reaching into his jacket pocket that was hanging up behind where I was standing, “I honestly did.” He said, “And I was planning on asking you again on the 29th. I’ve even asked my brother to be my best man. I figured you’d want Trey and Toby to be yours.”

  I looked at him, open-mouthed as he opened a little box with the two rings in it. He was absolutely right, of course – I couldn’t choose between Trey and Toby…

  “So, my beautiful Mr Fletcher, will you do me the honour of becoming my husband?”

  I sighed with pleasure, “Of course I will.” I said, “What do you think your mum’s gonna say?”

  He shrugged, still smiling as he pushed the engagement ring onto my finger, “I think she’ll be delighted for us.” He said, “She’s gotten rather fond of you recently.”

  I giggled and pushed the other one onto his finger, “That looks amazing.” I breathed as I admired our hands together.

  Luca kissed me, “It does.” He agreed.

  I bit my lip looking up at him worriedly. “What if I have another really dark episode?” I was a possibility. I was on meds for my depression but it didn’t cure me.

  He just smiled at me and shrugged, “We’ll deal with it – like your therapist said, without the darkness, how can we expect the stars to shine?”

  I smiled, my heart melting as his utter wonderfulness. “You are the most perfect person in the whole world – do you know that?”

  He grinned and nodded, “Of course I know that,” he said with a chuckle that sent happy little signals directly to my groin, “and that’s why you love me.” He joked.

  “Damned right.” I agreed, “So, can I book the minister or officiant or whatever they’re called.” I chewed my bottom lip worriedly. This would all be so much easier if Dylan was around to arrange everything for us – but he was so busy these days with all of his new projects, there was likely no time in his schedule to squeeze us in.

  He nodded, “Of course you can, babe.” He said, “and you can choose the date too – when were you thinking?”

  I grinned excitedly. I’d thought at length about my perfect wedding and is just oozed out of me as soon as he asked, “I was thinking of a day near the end of June – it’s the best time of year for light nights and I thought we might get married at about four in the afternoon – and then we could have the rest of the evening outside if the weather’s good to us...” I looked to him, to see if he was in full agreement.

  He was beaming at me, “Oh, Sam,” he breathed, “That sounds absolutely perfect and if the weather’s crap, we’ve got that massive new barn. I’ll bet we could decorate it up to look stunning.”

  I nodded, “Oh, my God. That sounds amazing – maybe we could do both...”

  He grinned, “Anything for you, my angel.” He said and I could have melted.

  To hell with arranging everything else right now – I was going to send out the invitations and then worry about the rest of it. We were Fletchers, we could pull anything
out of the bag…

  Chapter 2 – Dylan

  “Nathan!” I yelled excitedly, “Nathan!”

  Nathan appeared at the top of the stairs, still looking adorably sleepy and ever-so-slightly grumpy that I’d woken him up. Oops… “What’s the matter?” he asked, sounding adorably gravelly and ever-so-slightly worried.

  “We’ve been invited to Riverside for a wedding!” I said, beaming at him from the bottom of the stairs and trying not to ogle his fabulous body. It was more difficult than you’d imagine. Nathan was ripped…

  “What?” Nathan asked, slightly sarcastically, “You mean someone wants you at a wedding that you haven’t arranged?”

  I gave him a look, “Bitch.” I said with a grin, “But, yes!” I put my hand to my chest in mock horror, “I’ll have to have words…”

  Nathan chuckled. “When is it?” he asked.

  I checked the date of the wedding, “Uh, the twenty-first of June.” I beamed up at him, “Perfection.” I sighed.

  Nathan grinned back at me, “Absolutely.” He agreed, “Midsummer’s Night. Someone’s romantic.”

  I sighed, “That is pretty perfect.” I murmured. Not as perfect as my wedding to Nathan, of course – nothing would ever top that.

  It had been utterly perfect from beginning to end – but this wasn’t about my wedding to Nathan. This was about Sam and Luca getting married, “Do you think they might want my help?” I asked Nathan, twirling a lock of hair around my finger nervously and chewing the inside of my bottom lip.

  He grinned, “I’m sure they’d love it.” He said.

  I grinned back at him. Of course they would. What was I worrying about? I dialled the number on the invitation to confirm that we’d be going and also to offer my services.

  “Riverside restaurant, Tom speaking, how may I help?”

  “Hello Tom.” I said, “This is Dylan. I don’t know if you remember me. I was your brothers’ wedding planner.”