Still, he turns his attention warmly to Ciana and Landon, shaking hands firmly.
“Good to meet you,” he tells Landon. “I’ve heard a little about you, it’s nice to get to know you in person.”
“I hope you’ve heard all good things,” Landon jokes. “I wouldn’t want to make Ciana look bad,” he says, and Ciana softens at how well he wants to impress her friends.
They make themselves comfortable at their table, both women on each side of one corner and the men on the opposite. After they complete their round of introductions and order drinks, Ciana can see Weldon settling more, and returning to his normal non-frazzled self.
She thinks he’s sizing Landon up a bit, deciding what to question him about. Then she notices Aviana’s hand come over to rest on Weldon’s knee under the table, giving a small squeeze. A moment later she withdraws it, but then glances over at Cia. She winks back in solidarity, and Ciana smiles.
But the evening passes well. Ciana’s entirely confident in Landon and how they are with each other, so far, enough to let him fend for himself. And Weldon warms to him fairly well after several minutes, especially once he discovers Landon also roots for the same football team.
Their conversation continues more into their team’s current chances for the season and then eventually moves on to Weldon’s dance pairs. Landon expresses curiosity about his sponsorship plans and how he prioritizes different funding streams, and soon Weldon’s telling him all about the scoring system and what this season means compared to their long term goals.
By the time they’ve finished eating their meals Weldon and Landon have almost completely forgotten she and Aviana are there, and so the two women spend much of the time reviewing the wedding plans and how much else still needs to be done. Ciana thinks they’ve actually got most things in hand by now, from the sound of it, and she tells her so. Aviana sounds a little anxious, but mostly excited.
At the end of the meal Landon rises to settle the check in person, and Weldon goes to collect everyone’s coats.
“Oh, I like him,” Aviana tells her immediately once they’re on their own. “He’s dreamy like James Bond, only taller and more business-like.”
Ciana laughs out loud. “That’s wonderful. I’ll tell him you said that, he’ll be very pleased.”
“He’s very nice,” she says. “I know that probably sounds not quite good enough, but...he’s really, really nice.”
“He is,” Ciana agrees. “He’s more than nice, actually.”
Aviana winks. “I’m glad. I hope he’s good enough for you.”
“So far so good,” she says, chuckling. She’s feeling warm, now, not just from the wine but at the feeling of relief knowing her friends approve of him.
Weldon returns with the coats just as Landon finishes with the check. They all exchange goodbyes and more well wishes for the wedding. It’s not long before Ciana and Landon are bundled up in a cab again, headed back to her place for the night.
“Well?” He asks with a grin. “Did I pass inspection?”
“With flying colors,” she says, leaning up against him. “I think they’ll let me keep you.”
“Good,” he says. “Because I would like very much for you to keep me,” he adds a moment later, his voice just a few steps above a whisper.
She leans herself in closer to him, then, feeling content and comfortable as he wraps one arm around her, and presses a kiss to her cheek.
*
December arrives, and with it the final days before Weldon and Aviana’s wedding. The rehearsal dinner turns out to be about fifteen minutes worth of rehearsal, followed by a move to the restaurant where dinner stretches on into hours’ worth of food and laughter. They’re at a reserved room in a restaurant downtown, where they’ve managed to gather almost three dozen people.
Weldon and Aviana had decided to extend the invitation to not just the people in the wedding - a list that includes Weldon’s two brothers, Shen, Ciana, Aviana’s aunt Prince and her brother Spencer, and her work friend Herron, among others - but also to their closest friends and extended family. It’s almost a mini wedding reception preview.
It’s towards the end of the evening when the dinner plates have all been cleared away and Weldon’s in the process of looking over the dessert menu to make a group order, when Aviana suddenly takes her leave. He looks on as Ciana, Shen, and Herron all walk away with her off to a corner of the room, all three of them wearing large if mischievous looking grins.
When Aviana returns she has a broad smile on her face to match theirs. They all take their places again, saying nothing. Shen’s back next to Cait, Herron’s with his partner Taylor, and Ciana’s flying solo. All three of them have knowing expressions on their faces as they return to their seats.
“So?” He says, taking Aviana’s hand as she settles herself in the chair next to his. “Are you going to let me in on the secret or what?”
“No,” she says, happily. “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Am I going to like it?” he asks. That’s really all he cares about at this point. Well, actually he mostly cares about whether she likes whatever’s about to happen. The rest is bonus.
Aviana nods quickly. “Yes. I mean, I think so.”
“Alright then, I’ll believe you. But if I don’t like it then I get something in return. Like a say in what you wear on the honeymoon.”
“Oh,” she coughs. “Well in that case I’ll remind you that you chose a honeymoon in an alpine ski resort at the end of December, and you have a soon-to-be wife who very much enjoys being physically warm.” She reaches for her glass and drains the last of the wine in it.
“Oh man, you’re right, I did do that. What was I thinking, again?” He signals for the waiter, ready for a refill himself.
“You were thinking that you love me, and you want me to be happy.”
“Well, you’ve got me there.” He smiles, leans in to kiss her quickly. He then looks over to the approaching waiter, and orders far too much dessert for everyone.
*
As the rehearsal dinner ends Ciana hugs Aviana and Prince goodnight as they head out, back to Aviana’s apartment - what she knows is essentially already Aviana and Weldon’s place, now, until they find a new home of their own. Shen and Cait depart not long after that, and Ciana exchanges a wink with him about the surprise they have planned. She hugs Cait and congratulates them again on their own upcoming wedding which, mercifully, they’ve finally scheduled for next June out in Florida.
She’s on her way to grab her coat when she finds Weldon in the lobby, fresh from waving Mervin and Estabella into a cab. He looks relaxed and happy, the way she recognizes from so many years of watching him be energized by the people he cares about. It’s been a full evening - full few months, really - and tomorrow will be more of the same.
“Hey,” she says gently, kissing him on the cheek. He does the same, resting one hand at her side like he has so many times before. “You feeling ready for tomorrow?”
He runs his hand through his hair then, shaking his head a little as he laughs. He lets his hands rest in his pockets. “As ready as I’ll ever be. I don’t suppose you’ll let me in on whatever it is you and Shen have up your sleeves, will you? Aviana’s lips are sealed.”
She grins broadly, before wrapping her scarf around her neck. “No. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow, just like everybody else.”
“I can see that being the groom gives me no status around here whatsoever,” he says in mock defeat.
“No,” she repeats. “It’s all about the bride, better to figure that out late than never at all.”
They laugh together for a moment, before a silent pause takes over.
“I’m so happy for you, Weldon,” she says then. “Really, I’m happy for you, and I’m proud of you, and I hope you get everything you want.”
Her last few words come out a little more quietly, as she struggles against the knot that’s suddenly formed in her throat. She wipes quickly at o
ne of her eyes and inwardly admonishes herself. She means the words she’s saying, truly, she doesn’t want it to seem like there are any other motives underneath them.
Thankfully he saves her by pulling her into a hug. He holds her tightly, not far off from the steadying hugs they would do before dancing, all those times together. She lets her breath out slowly, feeling herself calm just as quickly as she’d started to unravel.
“Thanks, Cia. I know you’ve said it before, but it still means a lot to hear that,” he says just as quietly into her shoulder.
“I love you,” she tells him for what must be about the millionth time in their lives. “I’m always here for you, I’ll always be your best friend as long as you want me to be.” She hates the tears that are gathering at the corner of her eyes just now as she says this, hates how final the words sound. Because she stands by them with her whole heart, she truly does. She does want him to be happy, she wants him to have everything he deserves in life. This isn’t a goodbye.
He’s nodding against her shoulder. “Same, Cia, always. I’m always going to be your friend. If we weren’t friends…” she hears and feels him falter, holding her even tighter. “I could never have a life without you still in it. Okay?”
She nods too, quickly and insistently. “Yes. Always.”
After a moment longer they separate, gentle, if slightly watery smiles looking back at one another.
“Here,” he says, reaching to help her into her coat. She lets him take it and hold it out for her, and she turns her back to him, slipping her arms into the sleeves. He pulls it around her and presses his hands to her shoulders, ever so briefly, just for good measure.
She turns again to look at him, fully bundled up now, clutching her purse to herself. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says.
“I’ll be there,” he answers.
Ciana leans forward and kisses him on the cheek once more as he does the same, and then she turns to walk away.
*
It’s the next day as they’re all assembled at the church, getting ready for the ceremony, when Weldon finds out what the little side plot was all about. Aviana’s off on her own in a different room, presumably being attended to by Prince and Ciana. He gets his first clue of what’s really going on when Shen and Herron turn up, not dressed in the same black suits and ties that all of his other groomsmen are wearing.
Instead they’re sporting pale grey suits with matching dress shirts, and ties in a burnt orange color that match the roses on their boutonnieres - which Weldon remembers Aviana chose the color of to match her bridesmaids’ dresses.
“So, guys, I’m loving the look, but, uh, what the hell?” Weldon asks slightly confused, wondering about whether this is even allowed to change up outfits at the last minute. And how he’s going to try explaining it to Avia, and how much time they even have left to fix this before the ceremony starts.
Shen reaches out one hand to rest on Weldon’s shoulder. “Man, I have some bad news. We’re changing sides on you.”
“What?” Weldon asks, confused.
“My good sir,” Herron steps in, “we have been part of an ulterior plot this entire time. We took one look at the groomsmen side of things and decided the imbalance needed to be corrected.” He looks down at Weldon with a severe but wry look. It’s true, counting Romilda there are only 3 attendants on Aviana’s side, whereas Weldon has his two brothers, plus Herron and Shen, and Aviana’s brother Rodney. Aviana had insisted she didn’t mind and there had been so many other things to plan for that Weldon hadn’t pressed it at the time.
“We’re jumping ship, bro, changing sides. We are officially brides-men, now. Aviana’s side of the aisle needed more people,” Shen says.
“And while your delightful niece Romilda is a formidable young lady,” Herron adds, “we feel the bride’s side needs some extra reinforcements.”
“Also, we like Aviana better than you,” Shen adds.
“Yes, that too,” Herron agrees, nodding enthusiastically. “We definitely like her better than you.”
Weldon’s grinning from ear to ear. All three of his brothers have joined around them, now, clapping hands on shoulders and nodding appreciatively at Shen and Herron’s new kits.
“Okay, yes, go,” Weldon says, starting to shake hands with them before hugging them one at a time instead. He knows why they’re doing this and he loves them so much for it. “Thank you for this. I’ll see you guys at the front of the church.” Shen hugs him tightly, slapping his shoulder once and then twice for good measure.
“You’d better. Or else we’re having the party afterwards anyway.”
He nods, laughing at the same time as being on the verge of swallowing back tears. “Count on it.”
CHAPTER NINE
Less than an hour later he’s standing at the front of a church filled with all of his friends and family and more besides. His parents and cousins are grinning at him from the front row. His mother starts dabbing at her eyes already, before fixing the corsage on his father’s lapel.
The music starts up, then, and the minister pats a hand on Weldon’s shoulder and offers him a kind smile. Weldon turns to look to the back of the church, feeling suddenly very ready to be joined by everyone else who should be here next to him. He watches, then, as his niece walks the aisle first, happily sprinkling rose petals as she goes. She’s followed by his brother Ren, who nobly escorts Shen and Herron at each elbow, as amused laughter ripples softly through the crowd. Ciana follows next on Rodney’s arm, then Prince with Dewer. Ciana kisses Weldon’s cheek before she takes her place on Aviana’s side, and Prince does the same.
And then the music changes again and all he sees is Aviana, walking towards him with such happiness in her expression, and a smile he knows is only for him. And that’s all he needs.
*
Ciana spends the first couple of months of the new year alternating between being consumed by her studies and keeping up with her sponsorship engagements and plans for future projects. While she’s content to continue with the same partners who have always been so good to her, she’s looking for something more. And she takes Landon’s comments to heart, when he encourages her to think beyond her goals for the program.
So by February she finds herself taking a fresh round of meetings with her team, planning out not just a new line of customized apparel but one that will actually carry her name on the label. The final products will need several months of attention for concept sketching and final development, but she arrives at her winter break week with a brand new business plan for much of the rest of the year. She makes sure to allow room at peak study times, and works out a communications strategy with her team manager that will allow her a healthy amount of oversight without needing to micromanage.
She returns to Boston filled with her new plans, eager to tell them all to Landon - even though he’s already gotten the gist from her messages.
“So pretty soon it’ll be ‘Ciana Rollins for Quick Silver’?” he asks. They’re sitting half entwined on her couch, having finished dinner and now well into their second hour of conversation.
Ciana nods. “At least, that’s the hope. It’ll be an affiliated label, but launching only in Quick Silver stores. If it’s approved,” she adds.
“Babe, that’s amazing, of course they’ll approve it.”
She’s smiling, nervous but filled with anticipation about all of it. “I really thought I would just use it as a test project later this year, I hadn’t actually thought they’d go for it for real.”
Landon tilts his head with a wry expression. “I’ve only known you for a few months and even I know they’d have to be foolish not to go for it. You’re a recognizable name with a solid market presence, and people like you.”
“Well, but you might just be saying that because you like me,” she says, leaning in closer to him.
“Of course I like you,” he answers warmly, “because I am definitely not a fool.” And then he closes the remaining distance between them
and kisses her soundly.
*
In March, three things happen that change Weldon’s life.
The first is that he and Aviana officially buy their house - a century home in Asda that’s large enough for their future plans, and just accessible enough that Weldon still feels confident they’ll be able to send their children to college.
Once they’d decided on a wedding date they’d decided there was no harm in starting their house hunting, given the market and not knowing how long it would take. During the month of February several options had suddenly presented themselves, and they decided to move on one that ended up falling through. When one comes up at the beginning of the month, on a week when Weldon was still in town before leaving for Professional International Ballroom, they take one look at the expansive backyard, updated kitchen and multiple bedrooms, and put in an offer on the spot.
This time their offer goes through. They discover they’ll be able to officially close the deal within a couple of weeks, and move in by May.
They open a bottle of bubbly to mark the occasion, excitedly looking over the photos again and remembering the parts they liked the most when they toured the house in person. There are a few spots with room for improvement - they’d like to finish the basement into a proper rec-room, and knock down a wall in the first floor to make the living room and dining room more open concept - but on the whole they know they got very lucky, very quickly.
Weldon lingers, looking at the photos for the extra bedrooms, wonders how long it will be before they’re all occupied. Both he and Aviana have known for a while they don’t want to wait very long before starting a family, and they know they’re both healthy and ready. But he’s also aware these things can take on a kind of pace of their own making. He’s heard his friends and brothers and their wives talk about their children, how some had come as very much planned and long-awaited arrivals, and others sudden but welcome surprises.
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