Mallory's dad gets married
The morning of the wedding arrived, and everything was pretty chaotic as last minute details were taken care of.
Mallory hadn’t slept well because of the spongy spiral rollers she’d had in her hair all night. The results had been worth it though, now that she had dark springy curls tumbling down her back and tiny jeweled flowers pinned throughout. She was wearing a pretty blue batik sarong and a lei of fresh flowers as she sat sipping coffee in an out of the way armchair in the bride’s suite. She still wasn’t sure how or when she’d been wrangled into being in the bridal party, but she suspected it was because her brothers were standing up with their dad.
Mackenzie was sitting still while a woman Mallory hadn’t met applied artful eye makeup to the girl, whose sarong was very similar to Mallory’s. She had warned up a little to Mallory when they’d spent the previous evening in the hotel’s hot tub, discussing boys and the other mysteries of a teen aged girl’s life late into the night. It seemed that they’d bonded enough to be friendly with each other, anyway.
Susan was being attended to by her best friend, Joann, who had arrived the previous night. Joann’s sarong was the negative image of Mallory and Mackenzie’s and Susan’s was a lovely white silk. They were fussing over the crown of white orchids that Susan would be pinning to her hair in a few moments, and both women seemed to have started drinking mimosas quite a bit earlier, and were rather giggly.
In the end, everyone was ready and they lined up at the patio door at the back of the hotel that led to a private beach where chairs and an arch had been set up and decorated for the ceremony. Mallory had never been to a wedding where no one wore shoes, but it was kind of fun! When the music began to play (a small string quartet seated off to one side of the guests), Mallory dutifully walked out and took her place in the sand, to one side of the arch. Her father was there, dressed in beige slacks and a silk collarless white wedding shirt, looking very handsome and very nervous. Simon and Jared stood as groomsmen behind a man named Peter that they’d only met last night and were told was a friend of her dad’s. Peter’s shirt matched Joann’s sarong, and Jared and Simon’s shirts matched Mallory and Mackenzie’s sarongs. It should have been garish, really, but somehow managed to look striking.
Keeping a smile on her face as she waited for the rest of the bridal party to take their places, Mallory noticed that there were an impressive amount of guests for a wedding taking place so far from the couple’s home. Nearly one hundred people sat in in the chairs, most of them barefoot and wearing cheerful tropical clothing.
The wedding went off without a hitch. The sun was shining and the waves crashing gently as a backdrop to the paradisiacal setting. The reception was held in a large open room that opened onto a patio that overlooked the ocean. It was lovely, with plenty of dancing, toasts and laughter; Mallory enjoyed herself and met many of her father’s business associates, a handful of television celebrities, and a handful of Susan’s cousins. She danced, answered questions that curious people asked, fielded some flirtatious pick up lines and smiled until she felt her face would go numb from it. Everyone was friendly and gracious, and even her brothers behaved themselves, for the most part.
After about three hours, her brothers and their new step sister had had enough of the party and took off to ride jet-skis. Once she felt she could leave without it seeming offensive, Mallory wandered away for a walk on the beach .
A few hours later, the last of the guests departed and the happy couple disappeared to go spend the night in the honeymoon suite. Mallory had agreed to share her suite with Mackenzie and keep an eye on the girl in the meantime. It didn’t prove to be a hardship, since she spent most of that time in the boys’ adjoining suite playing video games with Jared.
Mallory wondered in amusement if Jared realized that Mackenzie had a huge crush one him, and decided not to tell him until later. Simon had met a girl his own age at some point in the past couple of days, and disappeared around dinnertime to go meet her in the hotel dining room. Mallory was happy to see him taking some time for himself and having a little romance, and didn’t tease him too much about it. It was their last night in Hawaii--how much trouble could he get into?
She had needed another suitcase to pack all of her new things in for the trip home, but before she went to sleep for the night, she managed to get everything packed. Mackenzie passed out around midnight, and Jared did the same in his suite not long after that. Mallory stayed up reading a novel she’d picked up in the gift shop until she heard the door of her brothers’ suite open and close, and glanced at the clock: one-thirty in the morning. She got up and went to the open doorway to check that it was Simon, and saw him leaning with his back against the wall near the door, a dopey smile on his face.
“You all right there, Loverboy?” she asked quietly, so as not to wake Jared.
Simon only grinned in answer for a moment, then belatedly thought to answer, “Yeah.”
Mallory chuckled, well familiar with the feeling her brother currently seemed to be experiencing. “All right. I’m going to bed, then. Don’t stay up to late.”
He nodded, already unbuttoning his shirt as he headed toward the bathroom.
Mallory closed the door between the rooms, and went to bed feeling content. Tomorrow she would be back at home and she could see Ryu, and wear a dopey smile of her own.
Mallory hadn’t slept well because of the spongy spiral rollers she’d had in her hair all night. The results had been worth it though, now that she had dark springy curls tumbling down her back and tiny jeweled flowers pinned throughout. She was wearing a pretty blue batik sarong and a lei of fresh flowers as she sat sipping coffee in an out of the way armchair in the bride’s suite. She still wasn’t sure how or when she’d been wrangled into being in the bridal party, but she suspected it was because her brothers were standing up with their dad.
Mackenzie was sitting still while a woman Mallory hadn’t met applied artful eye makeup to the girl, whose sarong was very similar to Mallory’s. She had warned up a little to Mallory when they’d spent the previous evening in the hotel’s hot tub, discussing boys and the other mysteries of a teen aged girl’s life late into the night. It seemed that they’d bonded enough to be friendly with each other, anyway.
Susan was being attended to by her best friend, Joann, who had arrived the previous night. Joann’s sarong was the negative image of Mallory and Mackenzie’s and Susan’s was a lovely white silk. They were fussing over the crown of white orchids that Susan would be pinning to her hair in a few moments, and both women seemed to have started drinking mimosas quite a bit earlier, and were rather giggly.
In the end, everyone was ready and they lined up at the patio door at the back of the hotel that led to a private beach where chairs and an arch had been set up and decorated for the ceremony. Mallory had never been to a wedding where no one wore shoes, but it was kind of fun! When the music began to play (a small string quartet seated off to one side of the guests), Mallory dutifully walked out and took her place in the sand, to one side of the arch. Her father was there, dressed in beige slacks and a silk collarless white wedding shirt, looking very handsome and very nervous. Simon and Jared stood as groomsmen behind a man named Peter that they’d only met last night and were told was a friend of her dad’s. Peter’s shirt matched Joann’s sarong, and Jared and Simon’s shirts matched Mallory and Mackenzie’s sarongs. It should have been garish, really, but somehow managed to look striking.
Keeping a smile on her face as she waited for the rest of the bridal party to take their places, Mallory noticed that there were an impressive amount of guests for a wedding taking place so far from the couple’s home. Nearly one hundred people sat in in the chairs, most of them barefoot and wearing cheerful tropical clothing.
The wedding went off without a hitch. The sun was shining and the waves crashing gently as a backdrop to the paradisiacal setting. The reception was held in a large open room that opened onto a patio that overlooked the ocean. It was lovely, with plenty of dancing, toasts and laughter; Mallory enjoyed herself and met many of her father’s business associates, a handful of television celebrities, and a handful of Susan’s cousins. She danced, answered questions that curious people asked, fielded some flirtatious pick up lines and smiled until she felt her face would go numb from it. Everyone was friendly and gracious, and even her brothers behaved themselves, for the most part.
After about three hours, her brothers and their new step sister had had enough of the party and took off to ride jet-skis. Once she felt she could leave without it seeming offensive, Mallory wandered away for a walk on the beach .
A few hours later, the last of the guests departed and the happy couple disappeared to go spend the night in the honeymoon suite. Mallory had agreed to share her suite with Mackenzie and keep an eye on the girl in the meantime. It didn’t prove to be a hardship, since she spent most of that time in the boys’ adjoining suite playing video games with Jared.
Mallory wondered in amusement if Jared realized that Mackenzie had a huge crush one him, and decided not to tell him until later. Simon had met a girl his own age at some point in the past couple of days, and disappeared around dinnertime to go meet her in the hotel dining room. Mallory was happy to see him taking some time for himself and having a little romance, and didn’t tease him too much about it. It was their last night in Hawaii--how much trouble could he get into?
She had needed another suitcase to pack all of her new things in for the trip home, but before she went to sleep for the night, she managed to get everything packed. Mackenzie passed out around midnight, and Jared did the same in his suite not long after that. Mallory stayed up reading a novel she’d picked up in the gift shop until she heard the door of her brothers’ suite open and close, and glanced at the clock: one-thirty in the morning. She got up and went to the open doorway to check that it was Simon, and saw him leaning with his back against the wall near the door, a dopey smile on his face.
“You all right there, Loverboy?” she asked quietly, so as not to wake Jared.
Simon only grinned in answer for a moment, then belatedly thought to answer, “Yeah.”
Mallory chuckled, well familiar with the feeling her brother currently seemed to be experiencing. “All right. I’m going to bed, then. Don’t stay up to late.”
He nodded, already unbuttoning his shirt as he headed toward the bathroom.
Mallory closed the door between the rooms, and went to bed feeling content. Tomorrow she would be back at home and she could see Ryu, and wear a dopey smile of her own.