Chapter 20 - Ceremony
Dave, Mike, Roy, and Ken sat together in the media room of the core, waiting to be called to the patio to form up for the weddings they'd each be in. They'd also be standing as each other's groomsmen.
Dave said, "I seem to be as nervous for this one as I was when I married Alice." The other men nodded in agreement.
Mike said, "I fucked up my first wedding. I was too young and too controlling."
Ken said, "Been there, done that, and even have the t-shirt. I guess the track record for second weddings isn't all that good either. Patti and I wrapped up twelve sessions of marital counseling last week. We'd been doing that on and off for the past six months. We want to be sure this one lasts."
Roy said, "That was a good idea. What was it like?"
"We talked about who we really were, and what our hopes and fears were about our forthcoming marriage. The counselor raised a lot of questions or areas we had to work through between sessions, too. When we were overnighting somewhere, we'd sit and talk and talk and talk about all that stuff. I've never known anyone as well as I do Patti, and she said the same thing. We're going into this with our eyes wide open. Needless to say, the subject of the Circle and our values and behavior came up as a constant theme in every session."
"What kind of 'stuff' did you talk about?" Roy asked.
"Home financials and financial priorities were high on the list. Children, but that was easy for us, since we'd already agreed not to have any of our own. We talked about church and spirituality, and what we believed." Ken laughed, "We even had to talk about our sex drives and what we expected, realistically, our marital sex life would be like."
Dave snorted, "How'd you answer THAT?"
Ken was still laughing, "In that area, we'd written our responses out independently and then read them to each other in one of the sessions. We were perfectly aligned, but we blew the psychologist right out of the water. We'd both put down responses that amounted to daily sex - if possible, multiple partners involved, exhibitionist, voyeur, bisexual woman, non-exclusive, non-possessive, and a few other things. Of course, he asked about the 'multiple people involved' remark. We told him more and more about the Circle."
"Shock? Horror? Admonishments?"
"Shock, yes, but not the other two. He was highly curious about the Circle. He even asked us to run over that session as he learned about it from us."
Mike teased, "You recruiting? We still need more males in our midst."
"I think he's married. He has a picture of a pretty wife on his desk. Back to the bigger picture, all the discussion and talk about key topics that are apt to become sore points in a marriage helped Patti and me get on the same page. I had to talk about my first marriage a lot, too."
"But the sex wasn't one of them?"
"Well, we did discuss some of the questions he raised, such as dealing with interpersonal issues within the Circle, or being stalked by someone, or having an infatuation with someone other than each other."
Dave said, "That was smart. Did you also talk about spiritual resonance, love, and respect, or the certainty about being able to work out issues with your mate?"
Ken said, "I'm probably too left brain, and we broached on some of that early on in our sessions and then at the end. We agree on so much it's pathetic."
Just then the door to the room opened and Ross Buckman came in. He was the presiding minister. He was in a long white robe with a purple hood around his upper shoulders. "It's time, gentlemen. Care to follow me out and form up, as the military might say?" He grinned at the grooms.
The five walked out to the patio, and moved so they were on the right side of the beautifully bedecked arbor beside the pool. Dave was aware of several photographers moving silently around them taking pictures; one of them was Meggie who gave him a wink. Dave mused about how she probably still had some of his spunk inside her from the night before. She'd even slept in his arms and they'd made love somewhere in the middle of the night.
A musical canon started at modest volume over the patio speakers. The large sliding glass door of the core living room opened; Clarisse appeared walking between her mother and father and holding their arms with a bouquet of flowers in one hand. She was beautiful and had a smile a mile wide.
Right behind her came Elise on the arm of Roy's brother, Frank. Elise looked stunning and also had a big grin of happiness. Behind her came Patti on the arms of her mother and father with a smile for everyone.
Last, came Cricket holding the arms of her aunt and uncle - the people who had raised her to be the person she was. She looked so proud and happy for this day to finally come.
Each of the women wore a white ankle-length designer gown, high in front with a scooped back to the small of each woman's back. The A-line waists held a sash of peach lace and a bow just above their butt before trailing off behind them with two broad ribbons of material that suggested a bridal gown train. From the top of each bust, the dress changed to a transparent white, right up to the neck. The dresses were sleeveless, and even sexy because of the possibility of seeing side boob. The women lined up on the other side of Ross opposite the men with Cricket being the furthest from Dave on the far side of the arbor. They'd agreed to do their ceremony last.
Matthew had led the procession of bridges to the arbor. He took up a station next to Ross holding a pillow with wedding rings carefully tied to the pillow with ribbons.
Each of the escorts had delivered their charge to the altar, and then gone to their assigned seats that had been saved for them. Dave noted that his four wives had snuck into seats immediately behind the escorts wearing identical pale peach dresses that coordinated with the sash and trim on the bridal gowns. He knew Meggie had a hand in this, and then was certain as he saw her taking pictures of the four as they smiled for her from their seats.
