“You didn’t drop your cover at all. I was worried one time when you looked like you were going to dash out of there.”
“Yes, I thought about it, but changed my mind.”
“I’m glad you did,” the judge said. “Mason, the guard by the door you came in through, can get a little nervous when things don’t go as expected. He might have shot you.”
“Then I’m very glad you didn’t try to run,” Michael said.
“You created quite a problem putting me down as your next-of-kin,” Maggie said. “I came here to get you, but when we found you had listed me, we knew I couldn’t. Jean-René called Chuck who stepped in and Pauly took my place.”
“I didn’t know who else to put there and I needed another address to put down. I couldn’t put my new address on those papers. I knew you’d take care of it if you were contacted.”
“You rely on me much too much, Cameron. Besides, you’ll have a new next-of-kin in a few minutes.”
Cam looked up at Michael who took her hand. “Yes, I will.”
“I don’t know if I can do as good a job in the legal department.” Michael smirked.
“I’ll try to be less rambunctious,” Cam pledged.
Teresa came in from the kitchen carrying a two-layer white cake.
“I hope this will suffice,” she said. “It’s all I had on such short notice. I couldn’t put icing on it because it hasn’t had a chance to cool, so I glazed it with honey butter, so it’s not really white.”
“That’s okay, Teresa. We’re not really virgins,” Michael said with a laugh.
“You’re not?” Cam exclaimed.
“No, and neither are you,” Michael retorted.
“Oh,” was all Cam said. “It’s beautiful, Teresa, thank you.”
“Not that I want to seem ungrateful,” Michael said, “but I would like to get this started. I’ve been three days without Cam and I can’t stand it.”
“Where would you like to do this?” the judge asked.
“Right where we are,” overlapped with, “Anyplace you want.”
“All right, right here in front of the windows overlooking the lake,” the judge decided.
“Perfect,” said Michael. “Absolutely perfect. Are you ready, Mrs. Gauchet-Andrews?”
“Extremely, Mrs. Gauchet-Andrews,” Cam responded.
Cameron beamed up at Michael as they joined hands. Today was the best day of her life.
THE END
ABOUT NANISI BARRETT D’ARNUK
Known mainly as a conductor and jazz pianist, Nanisi has the distinction of being the first open lesbian to conduct on the stage of D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. She has degrees in music from Boston University and studied for her doctorate at the University of Oklahoma. Aside from her performance as a timpanist with several orchestras and appearing at several women’s music festivals as pianist with MoonRise jazz trio, she has been Artistic Director of NYC's Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corpse and conductor for the Lesbian and Gay Band Association. She served as Artistic Director for LGBA’s appearance at Gay Games III in Vancouver, Canada and Gay Games IV at New York’s Madison Square Garden. She was also assistant conductor of The Women’s Chorus of Dallas.
While living in New York City, Nanisi was a member of the playwriting group Women’s Ensemble. Several of her novels and short stories grew from scenes written for that group. Nanisi has traveled extensively and loves to write about the paces she’s visited. When multiple sclerosis curtailed travel and performing, she returned to her second love, writing. She currently lives in Oklahoma. For more information, visit facebook.com/nanisibarrettdarnuk.
ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC
JMS Books LLC is a small queer press with competitive royalty rates publishing LGBT romance, erotic romance, and young adult fiction. Visit jms-books.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!
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