All righty, ladies and gentlemen, we are nearing the end of our theme. Of course, so for its been la-di-da and quips, but now, we delve into the deeper psyche of our cast. Yeah, don't expect any grand revelations and such. Its actually pretty predictable, on a second read. But there is some background-sih parts. You may begin to get the jist of everyone's relationships. Also, sorry about all the typos on this post. I have a feeling there are a lot of them. The little green man that is my spellcheck is tearing out his hair. Never a good sign. Bain sult as! The next day, the day before the wedding, was everyone's day off. Everyone except the caterer, the decorator for the church, the tailor, the travel agent and James. As the only family member of the bride, preparations for the big day had fallen to him. There was, of course, a wedding planner who did most of the heavy lifting, but he approved everything from her work down the line. It was a hard job, a taxing job, one that required a lot of tact because the caterer, the wedding planner, the decorator and the travel agent were all women and women, as a rule under every circumstance, needed to be treated diplomatically. That was no trouble for James who had that talent, peculiar to charming young men, for giving commands while making it out that he was entirely in the person's debt. As a result, women loved him and he managed to escape the first portion of the day unscathed. That left only his tailor, thankfully, a man.
"So good of you to come, Fitz," said James, shaking the gentleman's hand. The hotel had a room set apart for the dress preparations in which Fitz had set up his shrine to the final fitting. "I'm sorry it couldn't have been sooner, but I was swamped at work right up until the day I left for this short time off and that has been just as busy."
"I understand perfectly. Its been no trouble anyway, since we've made suits for you before."
"And excellent suits they are. Alright, let's get this over with." The final fitting went perfectly. Fitz had been James' tailor since his business carreer had started and Eric's before that. He was trusted. Afterwards, James went to meet Joanna in one of the lunch shops in the old part of the city.
"So, should I apologize?" asked James. They were sipping their drinks, hers a pepsi, his a black coffee. Unlike Laurence, who was fresh as a daisy, he had awoke with a major headache and he was subsisting on quiet places and caffeine. His morning's activities had not assisted his recovery, but the quiet interlude with Fitz and now the lunch were recharging his strength. Joanna across from him was sympathetic, but unbending in her opinion thet he'd brought it on himself.
"Not unless they bring it up," she said. "And if they do, don't give excuses, just a sincere apology and leave it at that. An apology is all that is ever required."
"Sometimes. Sometimes there is just more to be said."
"Not in this case." She took a sip of her drink and said, "Now that its been brought up, I've wanted to ask you that same question ever since the engagement. Do you feel like I'm replacing Eric?"
"I think its a little late for that, don't you?"
"James."
"Do you feel that way? Is that what this is all about?" his voice was gentle, not accusing. He watched the tears well up in her eyes, a hurt expression on her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Joanna, I would never dare to judge you."
"But I can't help thinking that maybe I should wait longer, that being in love with Arthur is to disrespect Eric's memory and I just couldn't go through with it if you felt the same way. It would confirm every bad thing I've been thinking about myself."
"Joanna, I don't feel that way," he reassured her, taking her hand in both of his. "Listen to me. I would never feel that you were trying to replace Eric, because you can't. Not for me. We were a family for twelve years and friends long before. He was my dad. And you two loved each other very much. Nothing can replace that, no one. And I know you better than to think you would try."
She wiped her eyes. "I do miss him, Jay, a lot. I always will. But I'm on the cusp of forty and I'm so used to having a husband to take care of."
"Yeah, I know. For awhile I was tempted to move in with you and enjoy the benefits, but I couldn't get out of my lease." She laughed. "Do you love him, Jo?" he asked seriously.
"I do."
"Then you go tomorrow and say exactly that. I still don't understand why you two don't elope and get it over with. It would be ever so much cheaper that way."
"We wanted the whole big wedding thing, this time around. Neither of us had it before."
"True. You know, its funny, but I actually feel like I'm giving you away this time. Last time, I got more of you back."
"I know what you mean. Tell me, when am I going to give you away?"
"Here we go, I knew it. You're getting married and you just thought you'd push your little brother into it, huh?"
"Yeah, sure, I'm that devious. I was just wondering whether there was any special girl who had caught your attention and even had the remotest chance of dragging you away from that job of yours to live a real life. I don't see oyu enough to know about your feamle liasons. Take your time though. It'll give me more time with my baby brother."
"Yeah, I'm not liking where this is going. Is this going to be a baby story moment?"
"Oh, I remember-" she began.
"It is" he groaned.
"-when you were just two-"
"Here we go again."
"-you dove off the end of the couch and landed head first on the carpet. I thought you were going to die or something, me, a fourteen year old kid. It was so scary. But for all your sobbing and screaming, you were just fine. We were living with Gramma and Gampa at the time. I don't think I let you near a couch for the longest time and I didn't buy one when we moved out either."
"Something for which I was mocked all the way through school. You ruined my life back then."
"Oh," Joanna sighed, patting his cheek, "maybe Oprah will listen to you."
"Ha, ha, very funny. Just don't go ruining my life now by pushing me into marriage. I'm still very young and have yet to sow all my wild oats yet." He ordered a cup of coffee to go and they took a walk to nowhere in particular. The restaraunt was close to the Capitol building with its garden and imposing steps. They wandered around into its rosie pathways, linked arm-in-arm, talking and laughing. The rain driselled all around, remaining as silvery pearls on the flower petals. "How long do you plan to be on this honeymoon of yours?" James asked as they took the stpes of the Capitol one by one.
"I don't know," she answered with a shrug. "Arthur wants to keep it open so if we decide we want to extend it we can."
"Good plan. You should enjoy all the time you have together."
"We have the rest of our lives together, Jay."
"You said that with Eric, too." Joanna looked hard at her brother. His face was set naturally, but there was an edge to his voice that had prompted her to stop in her tracks. It was a raw tone. He turned to face her, open and direct. "I've been thinking about things, not only because of your upcoming nuptuals but becasue there are changes at work and all and we shouldn't take it all for granted. We do, but we shouldn't. I know you know all this, hell, you taught it to me in the first place. But a reminder can't hurt anything, can it?" He smiled to one side and went up further under the portico.
"She followed him saying," I don't have to worry about you anymore, do I? You've grown up perfectly, even if I do say so myself."
"Well, mimicry, flattery and all that, yes?"
"You're better than you think," she said. "I'll definitely take your words under consideration."
"Thank-you, and I really do mean them." They continued walking back to the hotel.
"James, what is going on at work?"
He shrugged. "Not sure. Laurence has been touchy about it, too. And an office can only truly be judged by its best slacker. It doesn't matter and will all assuredly be there when I get back on monday." He suddenly stopped motionless, a bemused look on his face. "I do wish I could find a way to solve your in-law problem."
"It would probably involve murder suicide." Joanna said jokingly.
"Of course. I've got to talk to Arthur. We're taking him out for one last romp before the wedding, Laurence's idea of course. He's promised to stay out till ten at the latest so you know we'll be partying it up big time. Don't worry, it will all be fine."
"Last time you said that you broke your arm mountain biking."
"I know, but I mean it this time."
