Desert Trading Post

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  She said, “Oh, I like it! Yeah, I love it. Thank you so much! Both of you.”

  Rochelle just winked in appreciation and said, “OK, now you. Hop in the chair and pick a design for your wedding ring.”

  She handed me a book and I started to flip pages. Courtney got dressed again and stood next to me looking at the book.

  After several minutes of indecision, Rochelle said, “Yeah, this isn’t working. You’re not a tattoo guy. OK, come out here. I have something else you might like more.”

  She led us back out to the showroom and stood behind a glass case with men’s rings.

  Courtney immediately yelled, “That one. There! The wood one with the black and silver. That one!”

  Rochelle smiled and used a ring sizer to determine what I needed. She looked at the ones that Courtney was so excited about and found one to fit me. Courtney took it and didn’t hesitate before she grabbed my hand and shoved it on my ring finger.

  She exclaimed, “Perfect, perfect perfect! Pay the woman.”

  While Rochelle and I took care of paying for the ring, Courtney asked about a dress shop. Rochelle suggested one that she thought Courtney might like. Then she wished us a happy marriage and told us to come back at any time.

  Out on the sidewalk again, Courtney clung to my arm and couldn’t stop talking about how much she loved me, her new tokens of marriage, and everything about life. But mostly about the fact that we really were married in her mind, even if we didn’t have a signature on the official license.

  As we looked through the clothing at the boutique that Rochelle sent us to with instructions to tell whoever was working there that we were friends of hers and entitled to a ten percent discount, Courtney seemed even more excited than when she got her piercing.

  She said, “Dave, Sweetie, I don’t know what you have planned, but Babe, I’ve decided: I want to go home. To see my family. I feel so different now and I just need to go home and see them. I want them to see me. That I’m really alive and OK now. I want them to see how much I love you and I want my dad to meet you and see how happy I am. Oh, this is nice. I like this. If we go home, I don’t need to buy shorts and a shirt for the desert yet. Just this dress and maybe that’s all. When can we go? Do you, I don’t know, have to go to work or something?”

  I said, “Court, we can go as soon as you want. I still have a job, but I have a month before they expect to hear from me. We can go have Rochelle sign our marriage certificate and we can leave tonight if that’s what you really want.”

  Courtney held the dress up to herself and then dragged me toward a dressing room.

  As we passed the girl who was working, Courtney said, “I need him to help me. We won’t get naughty. I promise.”

  The girl muttered, “I don’t care if you do, as long as you don’t make too much noise and don’t take too long. But you have to buy something.”

  Courtney undressed quickly and put on the outfit that she wanted to buy and took a quick look at herself.

  She said, “This will be fine. Oh Dave, I still want to do whatever you have planned for tomorrow, but I’d be OK if we go right after that. Now that so much has happened, I really want to see them again.”

  I said, “OK. We’ll go out tomorrow morning and do the ceremony and then leave town about three if that’s what you want. But where are we going? I should make plane reservations tonight.”

  Courtney was almost done getting her clothes back on and said, “Oh, they live in Blythe. Well, just outside the town.”

  I said, “Blythe? That’s not very far from here. I thought they lived in Chicago or something.”

  Courtney had me pull up her zipper and said, “Nope. Blythe. Right on the California Arizona border. Right on the river. The Mighty Colorado. Ooh, I feel so happy!”

  As I paid for Courtney’s dress, I took a look at my phone. I knew where the town was, right on the Colorado River, but I wanted to double-check the distance. It was just over 200 miles from Vegas. The map said it would take about three and a half hours. Probably four and a half with rest stops. We could probably leave earlier than three o’clock if we wanted to.

  I said, “Um, Court, if we leave right after our ceremony is over, we can be there by six, tomorrow night.”

  Courtney took the bag with her new dress and said, “Oh, that will be great. Just in time for dinner. We won’t even tell them we’re coming. They’ll be so surprised. It will be so wonderful.”

  From there, we held hands and walked back to the hotel. Courtney assured me that if we were going to visit her folks that she didn’t need any more clothes for now. On the way through the parking lot, I stopped at the car and got the little cooler that we kept our drinks and snacks in. We’d fill it with ice in the morning before we left.

  Chapter 13 - Married by Elvis

  That night, Courtney and I slept in each other’s arms like never before. She wore one of her nighties to bed for the first time, and before we went to sleep, she rode me to several nice, fairly quiet orgasms, with her on top. I gained a new appreciation for her breasts, watching them bounce slowly above me, having them in my hands, and at times kissing and suckling them when Courtney leaned over my face far enough for me to reach them. Courtney didn’t demand anything. In fact, we hardly talked at all. She was so much calmer now than I had seen her so far.

  Of course, all this had happened in just three days, but it had seemed like a lifetime.

  I woke up about six, as usual. I let Courtney sleep. She had thrown off the covers in the middle of the night, and her nightgown was pulled up around her waist, leaving her bottom naked, her legs uncovered, and her nectarine peeking out between her thighs. It was spectacular.

  I didn’t have much experience with this kind of thing at all. I only had one girlfriend ever spend the night, and that hadn’t been that much fun. Yeah, I was thrilled just to be having sex, but like I’d said, there was always something not quite right about it. This, on the other hand, couldn’t be more right. This was heavenly. The Garden of Eden must have been like this. So, I let her sleep and sat at the table nearby, marveling at my good fortune. I was tempted to look for the flaws; the reasons that getting married to a girl with a sordid past after knowing her for just three days didn’t make sense, but I didn’t do it.

  Here’s what I knew. Courtney and I felt a strong connection. She was beautiful and kind, and she loved me. She wasn’t after my money and she wasn’t at all hard to please. She was incredibly low maintenance emotionally, except for the one little quirk where I could never be out of her sight for even an instant. I knew that she had left her past behind and had parents who adored her. And she adored them. She thought that I was a fantastic lover and she didn’t hold back anything from me sexually.

  I was suddenly feeling like I should get back in bed and see if she’d wake up and give me a repeat of the morning blow job from two days ago. I didn’t do that either. I did have to go to the bathroom though. Courtney had made me promise to wake her up rather than leave her in bed alone, even for a few minutes.

  I sat on the side of the bed and touched her shoulder and woke her gently.

  I said, “Courtney, I have to go to the bathroom.”

  She said sleepily, “I’ll come with you.”

  I helped her up and we went into the other room. She was mostly awake by then and suggested that we go ahead and shower and get ready for the day. We washed and rinsed and there was a little bit of embracing here and there, but no real sex. I shaved and Courtney dried and brushed her hair and put on a little makeup. She was very subtle with her cosmetics. She had a way of making it look like she didn’t really need any. And it didn’t take her long to apply what she did.

  As we were finishing up, as I leaned against the counter waiting for her to be done, she asked, “Sweetie, what time do we need to be somewhere?”

  I said, “We need to be at the place at ten. We need to check out of the hotel, I’d say by nine. Oh, we want a tuxedo and a wedding dress, so we better go even earl
ier. We could go to breakfast right now and then check out of the hotel and leave no later than eight-thirty. That gives us an hour to eat.”

  She smiled and said, “Then we better get going.”

  Courtney put on her newest dress and her laciest bra, and the see-through panties that we’d bought the first day and we headed down to the restaurants. Breakfast was cheap, a nice buffet. We were packed and checked out right on time.

  The chapel was a few miles away, but that wasn’t our final destination. We were headed to the airport. But we had to stop at the chapel first. I checked in at the desk and explained that we’d like to rent a tux for me and a wedding dress for Courtney. There was a good selection, and Courtney chose something very beautiful, very low cut in both the front and the back, and very sexy. We explained our need to change in the same dressing room, and when we were done, a driver took us to a limousine parked out front and drove us away.

  At the airport, the car drove all the way out onto the pavement and stopped beside a big red helicopter. Elvis Presley stepped over to the limo and opened the door and helped Courtney out. Obviously, it wasn’t “The Elvis”, but it was certainly “An Elvis”.

  All this time, Courtney had looked curious but didn’t ask any questions at all. She was on an adventure and was taking it as it came.

  Elvis said, “Hello! You must be Dave and Courtney. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Little Lady. Always a pleasure. We’re going to make this a special day for you. We’ll do our very best. Come get in my private helicopter and we’ll get you in the air right away.”

  We were led to the side of the aircraft and climbed in. There was a pilot in front and a woman who Elvis said was our photographer. Courtney and I sat facing forward, and Elvis sat facing us. Everyone wore headphones so that we could hear clearly as Elvis pointed out various parts of the city, the Hoover Dam, and other highlights. Courtney held my hand tightly.

  Elvis said, “Now, I’m told this was a surprise for the lady, but now that we’re in the air, I should tell you what to expect. We’ll be in the air for about 40 minutes. There’s a beautiful canyon spot all picked out for your wedding ceremony. We’ll get your photos taken, and I will want to sing to you for a bit. When you’re ready, I’ll say some words and pronounce you husband and wife, and then, there’s a little picnic and champagne and you can relax for a while. I know it might be tough to relax, given the excitement of the day, but it’s there for you if you want it. We’ll take as many pictures as you like. We can probably stay for an hour or so, and then we’ll head back. It takes 20 minutes to get back. We do more sightseeing on the way out. Do you want to ask any questions? About the trip, the ceremony, or even my life?”

  I just smiled, but Courtney asked, “Do you do this often? The helicopter and everything?”

  Elvis said, “Well, you know, it happens every now and then. We offer this package and maybe do it once a week or so. But Ma’am, I want to tell you, your fella here went all out. I figure you should know who you’re marrying. Dave asked us to do everything possible for you today. We think you’ll like it. My roadies and stage manager were out here early this morning, setting up, all for you. I’ll tell ya, I was kind of impressed when I heard about it.”

  It seemed like he actually was touched by our arrangements.

  When it was time to land, Elvis reached over and pulled shades down over the side windows and closed a curtain to the cockpit where the pilot and photographer sat.

  He said, “Don’t want to spoil the surprise. It’s regulations. Never spoil a lady’s surprise.”

  Just before we touched down, I asked, “Elvis, were we able to make all of my arrangements? The package that was to be delivered this morning? Did it come?”

  Elvis said, “Yes Sir. Your packages arrived and I’m told that they are waiting for the lady on the ground.”

  I said, “Thank you so much. You guys are the best.”

  He said, “We try, Boss.”

  On the ground, Elvis opened the curtains again and the photographer stepped out and opened the big door for us.

  She said, “Ma’am, I’m Penelope. I’ll be recording the start of your adventure into marriage today.”

  Courtney stepped out into the desert heat and said, “Oh, another helicopter.”

  Elvis said, mostly to me, “We used that one to deliver your packages.”

  Then, to all of us, he said, “The ceremony will take place over behind that little hill. We land here so that we don’t blow up too much dust. It’s a short walk if that’s OK.”

  We walked for a few minutes, and as we started to round the side of the hill, Elvis said, “Now Ma’am, we don’t want anything to spoil your surprise, so our Pilot and Penny are going to hold up this big sheet.”

  The two helpers unrolled a large white sheet with poles at each end and stood between Courtney and whatever was on the other side. We walked like this for another few minutes and then stopped at the end of a red carpet lying on the dirt of the canyon.

  Elvis said, “Now you Ma’am you stay right here. Sir, if you want to follow me.”

  Courtney grabbed my hand in alarm and I said, “Um, Elvis, I’ll be walking Courtney down the aisle myself.”

  Elvis said, “That’s fine. Just fine. If I was you, and fifty years younger, and not dead for as long as I have been, well I wouldn’t let go of a girl like that for a second either. You two stay right here for just a second and I’ll make sure everything is just right.”

  Elvis walked around the side of the sheet and we waited. After a minute, some music started and we heard Elvis start to sing. The photographer and pilot moved in close to us and Penelope handed her pole to the pilot and rushed away. We had to stand close and I told Courtney to close her eyes. She shut her eyes tightly and gripped my hand in excitement.

  She said, “Dave, I never expected anything like this. And I don’t even know what this is!”

  The sheet was taken away, and I said, “Sweetie, Open your eyes.”

  Courtney gasped. In front of us was a short runway carpet with a small area carpet at the end to serve as a stage. There were four chairs at the front and a canopy overhead. Elvis stood in front of us, singing. As I led my bride up the aisle, it didn’t immediately register with her that two of the chairs had people standing beside them facing us and crying. The photographer was busy capturing everything on a professional digital camera, and the pilot recorded a video the event for us as well.

  Courtney finally took in the setting and noticed the couple watching us walk down the aisle.

  She screamed, “Mom! Daddy! How?”

  Her mother said, “You look beautiful, Sweetie. Don’t think about how right now. Focus on what’s happening.”

  Her dad shook my hand and her mother hugged me and Courtney and I took our place in front of Elvis.

  He finished his song and said, “Now, if I could have the bride’s parents take just one step up here and stand on her left side. Y’all are supposed to be part of this. It was a special instruction that this ceremony had to have you two be honored as much as we could make it.

  Started to tear up as I said, “Mr. Hammersmith, would you stand beside me as my Best Man? If it’s not too much to ask?”

  Dan wiped his eyes with emotion and came and stood on my right, without a word.

  Elvis had a ceremony prepared and Courtney and I made up more vows on the spot.

  Elvis said, “Well, having performed all the requirements of a sacred ceremony, and having heard your vows and commitment, by the authority given me by the State of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. And as is traditional, you may now kiss the bride.

  I took Courtney in my arms and she flung herself at me, shoving her tongue as far down my throat as she could manage.

  The others applauded.

  Elvis said, “Now, there’s a bit of a picnic there at the back and maybe you want to talk for a few minutes, and then we can take more pictures in a little while.”

  The chairs had been moved to
a small table under the canopy and champagne and a light luncheon was set out for us.

  I held Courtney’s chair for her and the two of us sat down with her parents as Elvis started singing in the background.

  I said, “Thank you so much for coming. I know it was short notice.”

  Courtney said, “I can’t believe this. Mom! Daddy! You are at my wedding!”

  Dan said, “Of course we are dear. Dave called me last night and told us all about it and asked us to come. We left home early this morning.”

  Courtney said, “But I was planning to surprise you tonight!”

  Dotty, her mother, said, “Oh, this was a huge surprise. Dave says that you want to come home, so you’ll be staying at the house, and of course, you are both welcome for as long as you like. Kitty, you look so happy. And so healthy. When Dave told us that you wanted to come home, we couldn’t believe it.”

  Dan said, “Your mother cried all night. Well, I guess I did too. Kitty, you don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to. We just want to be in your life again.”

  Courtney said, “Oh, Daddy, I love you so much. I’m so sorry for putting you through everything that I was doing.”

  Dan said, “Kitty, you said that’s all over. And we’ll be happy to let you tell us whatever you want to, but you don’t have to. But I’d rather you don’t tell us that you are sorry anymore. We can all be sorry for things we did, but you don’t owe your mom and me anything right now.”

  Dotty said, “But we don’t know anything! This is all out of the blue. How did you two even meet? Kitty says that Dave, you weren’t um, in the business, right?”

  I said, “No Ma’am. I wasn’t. Not at all. I have a job near Portland in a big company.”

  Courtney said, “Mom, Daddy, I have this thing with Dave that we always tell the truth now. My whole life has been lies for a long time. I’m going to tell you the truth and you’ll need to decide for yourself how you’ll respond to it. But I love Dave and I love you, and I have to tell the truth.”