18. Forever

It's the sensible thing to do. Right?

Warning: moderately strong language

Ian hummed to himself as he prepared dinner. He enjoyed cooking, but he rarely had gotten the chance to after his divorce. It wasn't much fun to cook for oneself. But ever since Chrissy had moved in with him he was enjoying it again. He glanced at the clock as he chopped an onion. Chrissy was due home from work at any moment. He decided he would wait until she got home before he started the pasta.

He was in a good mood. His life was looking up since he met Chrissy. It felt good to wake up in the night and feel her next to him. It felt good to have someone to talk to in the evening. And it felt good to cook again. He took a sip of wine from his glass.

He had noticed that Chrissy's moods had mellowed some, too, lately. He wondered if he should ask her again. It had been a month and a half since he had asked her. He thought about it.

It had been during the biggest fight they had ever had. Chrissy had gone out with Suzee and that other one (Tonya?). Ian didn't like Suzee, and he knew the feeling was mutual. But they were always civil to each other for Chrissy's sake. He especially didn't like that sleazy bar that they went to when they went out together. It had a bad reputation. The police were often being summoned to the place for fighting or some other trouble and it was well known that drugs were freely available there. But he kept his mouth shut about it.

That was the night he was sitting in the kitchen having a cup of coffee when she came home. She immediately headed for the bathroom without a word and he sensed that something was wrong. He got up and went to the bathroom to see. The door was ajar and he looked in. She was bent over the sink splashing water on her face. Her left eye was swollen almost shut, her lip was split, and she was spitting bloody saliva into the sink.

She'd been fighting!

Ian threw a major fit and a nasty argument ensued. He didn't want her going back to that bar again. She accused him of trying to control her. During the argument he let it slip that he was worried she would get involved with drugs again if she hung out there. That really set her off!

She threw some of her things into a bag and headed for the front door muttering something about not being able to stay with a man who couldn't trust her. As mad as he was, Ian didn't want her to leave. He followed her to the front door trying to think of something - anything - to say to make her stay. She reached the door and had her hand on the doorknob.  He was at a complete loss for words.

So he proposed to her.

She stood open mouthed, staring at him for half a minute before she finally said, “What the hell, Ian! Do you think all of our problems are going to magically melt away if we get married?!”

He shrugged. “I was kinda hoping... ” he said sheepishly.

If he thought she had been mad before, he was in for a surprise. Chrissy rarely raised her voice when she became angry... but she did this time! Ian was worried that the neighbors might call the police the way she carried on. After ranting at him for about ten minutes, she grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him into the kitchen and sat him down in a chair. She was no match for his size and strength, but he didn't resist.

She got within three inches of his face and said in a low, icy voice, “You listen to me, Ian Stewart! If there's one good thing I took away from my drug addiction, it's this - I will NEVER allow anything or anyone to have control over me ever again!! That includes drugs, and that includes you!”

He stared back at her without flinching. “I believe you,” he said calmly. And he did.

After that she sat down at the table with him and they talked things out, though not without a couple more heated exchanges. She finally agreed to find a new (and nicer) bar to hang out at with her friends and he apologized for not believing in her commitment to stay away from drugs.

Then he tended to her injuries, which included a frightening bruise that was forming on her rib cage just below her bra. He worried that she might have a cracked rib, but she assured him that she would be just fine in a couple of days. He made her a cold pack out of a plastic bag filled with ice wrapped in a wash-cloth for her eye. “That's going to turn into one helluva shiner,” he said, inspecting it gingerly, “I hope people don't think I gave it to you!” She just rolled her eyes.

His marriage proposal was forgotten and never responded to. So... technically, she had never actually turned him down. He was pondering that thought when he heard the front door open and close. She was home from work. He decided that if she was in a good mood he would ask her again.

“Hey,” she said as she passed him on her way to the refrigerator for a beer.

“Hi, Bittersweet,” he responded with a smile as he started the noodles, “How was work?”

She shrugged. She rarely talked about her job. When quitting time came, she usually just filed it all away in the back of her mind. Today was different, though. “One of the women at work was living with her boyfriend for the past five years,” she said as she sat down at the table, “He was killed in a construction accident last week. The scaffolding he was working on collapsed.”

“Oh, yeah!” Ian replied, “I read about that in the paper. Three guys died!”

“Yeah. One of them was her boyfriend,” she said.

“That's a shame!”

“It gets worse!” she continued, “His family never liked her. His name was on the lease, so they kicked her out of the apartment. They wouldn't let her keep any of their things - the TV, computer, furniture. They wouldn't even let her come to the funeral! Since they weren't married, there was nothing she could do. She had no say in the funeral arrangements or anything! Any money that Workman's Comp pays out will go to his family and not to her.”

“That's awful! It's bad enough she has to deal with his death! But they have to treat her like that?!”

“Yeah. I think we should get married.”

Ian almost dropped his wine glass. He stared at her for several seconds. “Seriously?!” he asked incredulously.

“I don't have any family,” she answered in a business-like manner, “I want you to have a say in what happens to me if I get sick or die. And I want control over what happens to you if the situation is reversed. Your daughter, Carey, lives half-way across the country. It would be more convenient for me to take care of things for you. Getting married will give us that power. It's the sensible thing to do, don't you think?”

His face burst into a huge smile as he realized she was serious! “Fantastic!” he said excitedly. Then he, too, grew serious and said, “I mean... um... yeah. That would be very sensible.” He sat down with her. “That sounds very logical,” he added with a nod. He looked at the calendar on the wall. “I think we should do it soon. How about in a month? That will give us time to plan a wedding, don't you think?”

“We don't need a wedding!” she replied, “Let's just go downtown and get a license and find a judge to marry us.”

“You don't want a wedding?”

“Naw,” she shrugged.

“Bullshit!” he said, startling her, “Every woman wants a wedding!”

“Ian, it's okay. I don't need a wedding.”

“Well, I'm giving you one!”

“Ian, please!”

“Don't worry! I'll keep it simple. I promise!”

She sighed. “Alright... but please keep it simple!”

Ian kept his promise. He decided to hold a simple wedding at 'Reverend Chive's House of Jazz'. For a reasonable price, Chive allowed him the use of the club for two hours before it opened for business. He also included a small table of refreshments and four bottles of champagne for a mini-reception after the ceremony. Chive even offered to perform the ceremony himself. Ian laughed, thinking Chive was making a joke, but Chive only looked at him seriously.

“I'll have you know that I am an ordained minister of the 'Holy Urban Temple of St. John the Baptist's Evangelical Kingdom of the Sacred Trinity' and licensed to perform weddings in this state! Why do think they call me Reverend Chive?!” he said with authority.

“But... but... you run a night club!” said Ian with a bewildered look.

Chive shrugged. “I'm between gigs right now. A cat's got to make a living.”

On the day of the wedding, Ian acted as his own usher and greeted guests at the door while Chrissy got ready in Chive's office. They had agreed on an informal wedding, so Ian wore a rust colored dress shirt with no tie and tan slacks. Since Ian and Chrissy had been loners before they met, there weren't very many guests, making Ian's ushering job easy. Meredith and Tony Fini showed up, along with a few of Ian's co-workers and a couple of his artist acquaintances. He recognized Chrissy's boss, Derek Brosky, but there were some others that he didn't. All together he counted about a dozen guests.

He felt apprehensive. Something had been gnawing at the back of his mind all week. He'd tried to shrug it off, but the closer it came to 'crunch time', the more it bothered him. He checked the time on his phone. The wedding was supposed to start in just a few minutes. He decided to go talk to Chrissy about what was bothering him. Besides, he had something to give to her.

He grabbed a long box that was sitting on a table nearby and walked over to Chive's office and slipped in through the door. Chrissy was standing by Chive's desk while Suzee made last minute adjustments to her make-up and outfit. “It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!” Suzee scolded.

“Pfft,” Ian made a dismissive gesture, “I'm not superstitious.”

Chrissy was wearing a short, clingy black dress with heels and a dark burgundy veil that Suzee was attaching to her hair. Her nails and lips were scarlet.

“You look like you're going to a funeral,” said Ian.

Chrissy shrugged. “In a way I am. It's the death of my old way of life,” she replied. “But also a new beginning,” she quickly added.

“Here, this is for you,” he said, handing her the box, “You should have a wedding bouquet.”

“Oh, Ian. You know I'm not a flowery kind of woman!” she said as she opened the box. Inside were two long stemmed roses of the deepest red shade possible with a spray of small, dark flowers. “Wow! You did good, though!” she added as she took them out and admired them. “Where the hell did you find black Baby's Breath?”

“I searched every florist in the city. Who're those people sitting with your boss, Derek?” he asked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

She walked over to the door and opened it a crack to peek out, much to Suzee's consternation since she was still adjusting her veil. “Those are my co-workers,” she answered.

“I thought your co-workers didn't like you.”

“They don't.”

“Then why would they come to your wedding?”

“To see you.”

“Me?”

“They want to see who would be crazy enough to marry me.”

He chuckled as she closed the door and came back to the desk. Then his face grew serious. “Chrissy, there's something we need to talk about.”

“Now?! They're waiting for us!”

“It's important!”

She looked at Suzee and cocked her head toward the door as a signal to leave. Suzee gave Ian a dirty look as she left.

“Okay. Make it quick!” said Chrissy.

“Chrissy. We don't have to get married.”

“What?!!”

“We could go to a lawyer and have legal documents drawn up giving each other power-of-attorney and all that stuff in case one of us gets sick or something. We don't have to get married for that.”

“For Christ's sake, Ian! I know that! Do you think I'm stupid or something?!”

“But... I - I thought that's why you wanted to get married!”

She averted her eyes with a look of embarrassment.

“Hey! Wait a minute!” he said, breaking into a big grin, “You don't want to get married to be sensible! You want to get married for love!”

“D****t, Ian! There's no time for this!” she said angrily as she spun him around and shoved him toward the door, “Now get your a*s out there and tell them to start the music!!”

Reviews

[John Lauterbach]

The use of Ian's proposal made me laugh. It's a fitting scenario to have Chrissy get proposed to in the middle of an aggressive fit.

The jump into the wedding day felt sudden, but didn't interrupt the read too much. The length of the name of Reverend Chive's Church, and Ian's effort to expose Chrissy's sentimental feelings for the wedding both made me laugh as well.

[Craig2591]

Poor Ian. The proposal was the best he could come up with at the moment.

My brother jokes that the poorer the church, the bigger the name.

[PureHeaven]

Very nice and creative, I enjoyed it.

[Craig2591]

Thank you.

[Bella Luna]

Great ending! Once again Chrissy is very sneaky but I love that Ian manages to find out her true intentions! They really are such a perfect couple!

[Craig2591]

Thank you.

[Enigma]

I must admit that I had to go back to chapter one to read the whole story! I've gotten attached to your characters! I love this!

[Craig2591]

Thank you very much!

[Enigma]

Your very welcome.

[Sukriti Suki]

nice one. very cute, short and umm sweet. I enjoyed it.

[Craig2591]

Thank you.

[Christine Mae]

I love how you always say at the beginning; "strong language" or whatever! It makes me laugh. As always, great job with this chapter!

[Craig2591]

Some people are offended by such things, so I warn them. But Chrissy (and sometimes Ian) talk like that and I'm not going to clean it up. I want it to be real!

[Shadow Kat]

I fell in love with these characters. Especially Chrissy, she is one wild woman. I find it so very cute how different Ian and Chrissy are and yet they are perfect for each other.

[Craig2591]

Thanks! I have a lot of fun writing about them.

[Kaya]

This is the most romantic romantic story without being too romantic whatsover. It feels real and thats what i love most and what i connect with.

[Tabitha t]

This is great...as always! I love the characters and each time I read them now I feel as if I know them and I know how they would react a few times I am right and then a few other times I am taken by suprise but then I think Yeah that is so Chrissy-ish!

[Tina Kline]

Good chapter. Finally they get married and for love as Ian was happy to find out. Good story. I like the two characters. They are so different from each other.

[Craig2591]

Thanks!