Randy nodded as he refilled their wineglasses. “Damn straight. Though, speaking of family, you guys should know there will be another guest at the reception tonight. Our resident godfather was out of town, but he’s in town tonight, and there’s no way he won’t crash the reception. I think he came back to meet you guys.”
Walter raised his eyebrows. “He’s godfather to all six of you? Or you mean…Godfather godfather?”
“I mean if you ever need a body disposed of, you want to call Crabtree, so long as you do it on an encrypted line.” Randy winked at Kelly when he gasped. “Don’t worry. He promised to behave, and I think he means it this time.”
They sat talking and drinking wine until almost five o’clock, at which point Ethan took them into the living room to lead them through the rehearsal, explaining their cue to enter the venue, how quickly they should go down the aisle, and what the ceremony itself would entail…without actually telling them anything about the ceremony itself.
They got into their suits, and then they were each given a private room, a pen and paper, and the chance to write some vows. Elijah had given this a bit of thought, but he still used every minute he’d been given to perfect what he had to say. When he emerged, everyone had left for the hotel but Baz, Elijah, and Randy, who led them to the Tesla. He didn’t take them to Herod’s, however, but up the Strip to the Stratosphere.
He shrugged with an insincere, apologetic smile as they handed the keys to the valet. “What can I say? I was told to kill a little time, and this is one of the best ways to spend time I know.”
Elijah was glad they’d ended up at the tower again, once more at the private observation area. Though the rest of the hotel and casino was grim, this space was quiet and beautiful, and it centered him, one last moment of calm before they descended to the street and whatever the next step of their life led them to. They stood at the rail looking over the city for almost an hour, not speaking much, simply drinking it in.
When Randy told them they needed to be going, they descended in that same calm space, and in the car, Baz and Elijah held hands in the backseat all the way to the hotel. When the valet opened the door, Baz turned to Elijah, looking as nervous and happy as he felt.
“Are you ready?”
Elijah squeezed Baz’s hand and kissed his cheek. “Absolutely.”
Then they got out of the car and squared their shoulders, ready to go get married.
THE CEREMONY, IT turned out, was on the roof of Herod’s.
Baz had thought it was a weird choice until they went through the door and into a strange little tent, a kind of cloth tunnel with a flap at the end. On the other side of it Baz could hear faint piano music, but before he and Elijah were allowed to go through, they were fussed over by Caryle, given boutonnieres—and in the case of Baz, asked to relinquish his glasses. Baz was in the middle of trying to explain that was a terrible idea when Marius, resplendent in the tux he’d worn for Walter and Kelly’s wedding, came through the fabric door.
“Hey, you.” Marius drew Baz into an embrace and gave him a peck on the cheek. “You’re looking good.”
“Same to you.” Baz squeezed his friend’s shoulder, so glad to see him, glad Elijah had insisted their friends come.
Marius touched the rim of Baz’s glasses. “I came out to tell you we’re ready to receive.”
Baz stilled. Those words were their old code from choir tour, meaning Marius had the hotel room prepped for Baz to come out without his glasses and contacts.
Marius winked at him, gently pulling the glasses from his face. He took first Baz’s hand, then Elijah’s, and he led them through the flap into a delicate, open-air, red-lit fairyland.
It should have been gross, the explosion of tiny red lights, spread in nets of tulle across a metal frame surrounding the entire rooftop in a tent. At the apex was the red beacon Randy had shown them a few minutes ago from the Stratosphere tower—it was huge, and it was no longer blinking, only one red glow amid a sea. Through the netting, Baz could see the city of Las Vegas beyond, its brightness muted enough not to hurt him.
From the other side of the roof, Baz heard Damien count out, “One, two, three, four.”
The roof was full of people, though not a huge amount of them, and over half of them were the members of Salvo and the Ambassadors—the core members, the ones special to Baz and Elijah, members current and members past. The women wore shimmering red dresses, and the men had matching red cummerbunds and ties, as if they were part of the red glow of the lights. They had circled the rooftop and the small clutch of white folding chairs lining a narrow aisle. As Mina came to take Elijah’s arm, as Marius relinquished him and focused on escorting Baz, the choir began to sing.
It was a light, airy, female-focused a cappella number with the Ambassadors as backup. Their voices were soft and lulling for the first verse, but by the time Mina and Marius left Baz and Elijah at the tiny altar, the singers swelled to a rousing climax, the air full of the familiar sound of their friends’ song.
It wasn’t Ethan Baz and Elijah stood before, either. He sat off to the side with Randy, smiling. No, the officiant was none other than Pastor Schulz, who smiled at the two of them as they approached, then took them each in an embrace and bestowed a benedictive kiss on their respective foreheads.
Baz had been moved by the red lights, so he could look through his own eyes as he got married, not squint through sunglasses in the dark, but it was Elijah who teared up as he embraced Pastor. “I’m so glad you could come,” he whispered.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.” Pastor winked at Baz and patted Elijah on the back as he released him. “Now. What do the two of you say to getting married?”
The ceremony was a beautiful, red-tinted blur. Pastor led them through the standard Lutheran marriage service, pausing to read Bible verses, to let Aaron and Giles play a piano and violin duet, for Lejla, Mina, Damien, and Marius to sing a quartet. Baz looked out over the small, perfect number of wedding guests—their Vegas friends were present, as were his mother and father. Marius’s parents too. Walter and Kelly sat in the front row, Kelly leaning into Walter as they watched the ceremony. The choir and orchestra members were all seated now, unless they were performing, and Baz saw so many familiar faces, people who had graduated from St. Timothy years ago, people who he’d gotten to know only this past year. He saw Brian too, and Sid, and Karen, and Keeter. Even Ed and Laurie were there. It was the perfect collection of his and Elijah’s closest friends and family. The only person Baz didn’t recognize was an older man with a trim white beard and a resplendent cream suit. He wondered, absently, if that was the godfather.
Elijah and Baz sat on chairs off to the side in the front of the altar area as Pastor gave his homily. He told stories of Baz and Elijah, talked about how privileged he was to know them, how honored he was to be in attendance on this special day.
When he finished, it was time to exchange rings and their vows.
At one point the day before, Caryle had collected their engagement rings and asked them questions about what sort of bands they wanted added. Baz hadn’t been particular, only not wanting anything too gaudy. The bands she’d chosen were beautiful—understated, titanium to match their rings, speckled with carbon and a dusting of diamonds. Baz could make out engraving along the underside edges, with their names and the date: January 2, 2016.
“Elijah, would you care to go first?” Pastor asked, as Mina handed him Baz’s ring.
Elijah took Baz’s hand, held it as he placed the ring, and gazed at Baz as he gave his vows, speaking quietly but sincerely. “You saved my life twice before we had so much as a conversation, and you saved me yet again as you sent me headlong into the crazy adventure that was being in a relationship with you. You ignore all the walls I throw up, every barb and briar I try to use to keep people at bay. You love me when I’m clever and pretty and when I’m sullen and ugly. You love me when I don’t have it in me to love myself. You are my light and my compass, Sebastian Pe
rcival Acker.” He slipped the ring the rest of the way onto Baz’s ring finger. “May this ring serve as a reminder of my love for you, my devotion to you. I will be with you in darkness and light, in happiness and sorrow, in sickness and in health—” His lips quirked. “And I will be with you in all the adventures you lead me into, even when I grumble about it. With this ring, I thee wed, Baz.”
Baz wished he’d gone first, because for a moment he forgot everything he’d planned to say. But as Marius handed him Elijah’s ring, as he looked into his almost-husband’s eyes, found himself, and gave his own vows.
“Elijah Joseph Prince, you are my rock, my center. When my emotions spiral inside me, when I don’t know how to go forward or backward or stand still, you help me figure out where to be. You make me be honest, help me remember how to be real. You show me how to help others, how to be a better person. You inspire me every day—” He drew Elijah’s hand up to kiss his knuckles. “Even when you’re cranky. Sometimes especially then. Because when I can make you smile or draw you out of your sadness or anger, it’s the best feeling in the world. Even when I can’t cheer you up, you make me feel good. I can be strong with you, but I can be broken with you too. I can be myself, with and without you beside me. You make me better. You make me believe in myself, that I have gifts to share with the world.” He slid the ring past Elijah’s knuckle and nestled it tenderly in place. “May this ring be a reminder of my devotion to you, may it remind you I am with you no matter where we are in the world, if we are together or apart. I will be beside you in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, in happiness and in sorrow. Because I love you, Elijah. More than I ever thought I could love anyone in the world.”
Pastor took their left hands together, lacing their fingers, placing his hands over their wedding rings. He lifted their hands and nudged them gently to face their friends and family. “It is my honor to present to you, friends and family gathered here tonight, Sebastian and Elijah Acker. Gentlemen, you may kiss the groom.”
Everyone around them clapped and cheered as Baz and Elijah turned to one another. For a moment Baz stared down at Elijah—his husband—unable to believe this was real, it was happening—it had happened.
Elijah smiled at him, his beautiful Elijah smile.
Baz surrendered. He shut his eyes and bent forward to kiss his husband as he let himself believe. In light. In love. In Elijah, in Marius, in Randy and Ethan and his mother and the whole wide, wonderful world.
In happily ever after.
His happily ever after.
Chapter Eleven
ELIJAH HELD BAZ’S hand as they went down the stairs from the roof, because Baz always had trouble navigating after too long spent in red light, and because Elijah wanted to keep holding his hand. The wedding guests made a gauntlet for them as they left, beaming and blowing bubbles to form a shimmering, rainbow-tinted archway above their heads. Calls of congratulations filled the air, as well as wolf-whistles and a few lusty yeah!s from the Ambassadors.
There were also numerous shouts and variations on the reminder, We love you.
The reception was held in the hotel ballroom, which was decorated similarly to the roof, with lots of netting and red light. All the doors were fitted with tall screens, requiring people entering and exiting to weave around them, and ensuring therefore that the brighter light from other rooms would not enter the ballroom and cripple Baz without glasses. As soon as Elijah and Baz rounded the screen leading them into the room, a hotel staff member appeared with a velvet-lined box, inviting Baz to deposit his glasses inside for safekeeping.
Baz hesitated, glancing around the room uncertainly. “I’d love to, but if anyone snaps a picture with flash, I’m toast.” He grimaced. “I should have brought the contacts I wore for the drag performance.”
The staff member shook his head. “No phones or cameras are allowed in the ballroom this evening. All guests were inspected before they entered. There will be a photographic opportunity later, which you will want to wear your glasses for. But there will also be three professional photographers taking staged and candid photos without flash. These will be available online for all guests who request access.”
Baz glanced at Elijah, and even through the sunglasses, Elijah could see how much this gesture meant to him. When Marius elbowed past them to get into the room, Baz grabbed his arm. “Did you do this?”
Marius’s mouth quirked in a wry grin. “Decorate? You know better than that.”
“You know what I mean. The lights. The no cameras with flashes. Was that you?”
Marius nodded. “Jansen helped, and so did his husband and their friends. But I taught them a few of our old tricks, yeah, and I’m the one who pushed it as something important to you.”
Baz hooked a hand around Marius’s neck, drew him close, and kissed him hard on the mouth. “Thank you, brother.”
Marius took Baz’s face in his hands and kissed his nose. “No thanks required.”
With these assurances of his vision’s safety established, Baz put his glasses in the velvet box the staff member still held open for him. This was delivered to the head table, where two high-backed chairs sat like a pair of thrones overlooking the tables littered with other guests.
There were people seated and standing who had not been at the ceremony—at least one hundred of them, in fact. Elijah knew some of them were friends of Baz’s family—Moira Arend and her wife, Deirdre, were there, beaming at Baz and Elijah as they entered the room. Some of the guests were students or alumni from St. Timothy. Some were people’s parents—Kelly’s family, Mina’s, Giles’s parents. Even Nussy was there. They got to officially meet Crabtree the godfather, who seemed way too kind and tame to hide bodies, but Elijah wasn’t going to test that one if he could help it.
Some people Elijah wasn’t sure who they were, and he worried for a minute Gloria had managed to make this political after all. But Baz didn’t appear to be upset by anyone. In fact, he was bright and happy, and because he didn’t wear his glasses, his joy was naked for the world to see.
Elijah did wear his glasses. He’d been tempted to leave them off, but Baz told him to leave them on. “They suit you.” Elijah already felt comfortable in them, but it was odd to walk around with Baz exposed and Elijah the one behind a set of frames. He marveled at how easily Baz let himself be seen “naked,” and he had to push aside foolish jealousy that everyone else got to see Baz’s eyes too. Baz clearly loved being able to be normal with this carefully cultivated clutch of people he cared about the most.
Elijah, meanwhile, appreciated the buffer of his plastic rims. He went with Baz from table to table, accepting congratulations, hugs, and kisses on his cheeks. There was no pressure, no sense he didn’t belong. He knew almost everyone. They knew him, and they liked him. Yes, it stung to acknowledge no member of his blood family had come to his wedding, would never be a part of his life. But he had new family now. That was all that mattered.
He turned around and saw Randy with a young woman on his arm. Elijah’s world went still. It couldn’t be, but it was. The girl with Randy was Penny.
She clung to Randy as they approached. Randy spoke quietly to her, then smiled at Elijah. “Hey, Dakota. Penny here is nervous, but I told her you only bite when asked.”
Elijah was plenty nervous too, but he did his best to mask it. Thank you, glasses. “Hey, Penny. Thanks for the Facebook request. How…how have you been?” He hesitated, but couldn’t help adding, “How in the world did you get here?”
“I flew in this morning. Randy met me at the airport.” She worried her hands, which trembled, as did her shoulders. She seemed to have a hard time meeting Elijah in the eye. “I hope it’s okay that I came to your wedding.”
Seeing her so flustered undid Elijah’s fear and made him want to put her at ease. “It’s totally okay. I’m surprised, is all. How did you know I was getting married?”
Randy held up a hand. “I did some light retconning of your family, poking around online to make sure t
here wasn’t anyone who wanted to come. I discovered you have some spectacularly fucked-up family members, but I also found the delightful Ms. Penny. When she hinted she’d love to come, I bought her a plane ticket.” He paused, and added, “For her, and for her girlfriend.”
Penny bit her lip and looked embarrassed, but she cast a hesitant glance at Elijah. “You…you might have known her. But she was Kevin in high school, not Kara.”
So many emotions hit Elijah at once. Surprise and unexpected joy to discover there was someone left in his blood family who didn’t think he was a disgusting, scandalous embarrassment. Happiness, hope—and also regret, and a little shame, to discover Penny had been an ally all along, however silent, and she probably needed him a lot more than he needed her. He did his best to organize his feelings and focus on his cousin. “I do remember Kara. I’d love to catch up with both of you sometime this evening.”
Penny’s nervous expression eased, transforming into a tentative smile. “I’d love that. So would she.”
A line of well-wishers had formed behind Penny, and Elijah knew his appointment with his cousin truly would have to be later this evening. He glanced around the tables. “Randy, would you mind introducing—?” He stopped as he saw Lejla and the shoulder-hunched person beside her.
“Introduce Kara to your friend Lejla? Lejla beat both of us to the punch, kid.” Randy winked at Elijah and reclaimed Penny’s arm. “Come with me, Penny, and I’ll introduce you to the rest of Elijah’s friends.”
Penny nodded, accepting Randy’s arm and smiling shyly at Elijah.
Elijah stopped Randy, took Penny into his arms, and hugged her close. “Thanks so much for coming.”
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