2.42 – Seems About Right

Here it is!  The inevitable conclusion to this great love story between two amazing sims.

And just so you know, I put up the previous chapter yesterday.  So go read that first if you haven’t already.

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Thomas’s PoV

I stared at the arch. “It’s happening,” I whispered. I could barely breathe. I’m getting married.

“Yes,” Chloe responded. “You’re getting married.” She brushed invisible dust off the shoulder of my rented tux. “And you’ll be fine, so breathe more and refrain from passing out.”

After many discussions about the number of guests and what weather to expect, we were having a wedding in the middle of winter after all, Darlene and I had decided to host our wedding at the Stony Falls Country Club.

We originally wanted very few people there, just a nice, cozy, family gathering. But Darlene comes from a rather large family. I know I have five siblings, but she has six and most of them have families of their own already! So we agreed on a long list of family and close friends and added ‘more chairs’ to our list of expenses.

It seemed like we’d only just finished organizing the whole thing and straightening out any kinks (like Chloe’s boss insisting she work through my wedding…Chloe had words with him), and then the big day was here, staring us in the face.

“It’s time.” Chloe smiled encouragingly at me and I took a deep breath.

“Let’s hope I don’t fuck this up,” I whispered. She smacked my shoulder and, chuckling, went to round up the guests.

As I walked up to stand beside the arch, I gazed around at everyone who’d showed up.

There was Sam Sekemoto, my old friend throughout school. He’d agreed to be my groomsman and had brought his fiance, Trista Ursine, who was pregnant with their first child.

Ethan Bunch. Darlene’s older brother was here to give her away, as her mother had passed away last summer. He was here with his wife, Holly, and their five boys. Holly was heavily pregnant with their…sixth? child, so them coming out here was greatly appreciated.

Irene Funk and Malcolm Landgraab were both here, friends of both Chloe and I, with their respective partners and some respectable family members. Darlene’s younger siblings Faye and Marc had come, as well as her older siblings, Arlo and Lisa, with their families.

There were Mortimer Goth and his younger brother Titus. They were both chatting up Bella Wilson. She and Mortimer had been a thing during high school, but had surprised everyone by splitting up the day of graduation. She was now happily married to a local doctor and, if the rumor mill was to be trusted, was expecting their first child.

There were so many people. Friends and family on both Darlene’s and my side. All here to celebrate this special day with us.

Then Darlene walked up and I only had eyes for her. The minister’s words were only a muffled distraction to her beauty.

“Careful with that gaze,” she whispered. “How long do’ya plan on keeping that up?”

I smiled and whispered back, “A lifetime seems about right.”

It was the happiest day of my life. Made even happy by my family celebrating it all with me. Even if Medea was glaring at the paparazzi for blocking the view and Shaye was hiding behind said paparazzi.

Chloe later told me that the audience was exceptionally pleased.

We eventually got to the cake cutting, which, according to Valley tradition, we cut together.

“Great cake, Donny!” He beamed at me. It really was good cake. Probably the best I’d had since that melt-in-your-mouth sugar concoction we’d had back in France. Actually, this tasted like Donovan had been attempting to recreate just that! Not bad!

It wasn’t just the cake my brother had made. He’d prepared all the food for the occasion! He’d been baking and cooking for the past couple days, all for this moment.

At some point, Shaye whipped out her guitar and provided some light music for the guests to dance to.

Chloe mingled. I say mingled, but not really. She was making sure everyone was having a good time, getting drinks, helping with plates. She might not like people, and this was probably the most uncomfortable situation for her to be in, but she was trying to make sure everything went perfectly for Darlene and I.

Then I was jerked away into the arms of the only woman who could sweep me off my feet.

“Dance with me!” she demanded.

And, well, how could I say no?

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Chloe’s PoV

I haven’t been the first to state that I am a loner and, as such, excruciatingly uncomfortable in large social gatherings. But this was Thomas’s special day. And I was determined that nothing would ruin it. He happily fed cake to his new wife and danced away. When Ms. French and Mr. Frio got into a spat, I resolved the conflict before anything could be heard. When Holly went into labor, I fetched Ethan and escorted them out. I made sure the mixologist kept producing drinks and that every guest had a plate of food.

As the party dwindled to a close, I was on one such final mission when I, quite clumsily, bumped into a guest, spilling an alcoholic beverage all over him.

“I’m so sorry, sir! I—”

He’s incredibly handsome, was the first thought in my head as my eyes left the floor to look up, up and up until his chiseled face came into view.

You’ve just covered him in nectar, was the second.

“Let me get you a napkin,” I shrieked and fumbled along the buffet table.

“No, no, I’m fine,” he chuckled, dabbing at his coat with a handkerchief. “I don’t believe we’ve met.” He offered his hand. “Mortimer Goth, old friend of Tommy’s. You?”

“Uhm…I’m, uh, um, Chloe!” I stuck out my hand and tried to calm my racing heart. “My name is Chloe.”

“Chloe, huh?” He smiled and his dark eyes twinkled. He took my hand and then, to my utter amazement, kissed my fingers!

I wasn’t quite sure how to react to that.

I scuffed my sandal on the carpet while desperately trying to think of something to say.

“So, uhm, how do you know the groom? Or bride?” Mortimer asked.

“Huh? Oh! I’m Thomas’s sister! I…helped plan the wedding.”

“Sister? Ah! You’re the smart one! Tommy says you make video games now?”

“Yes, yes!” A subject I knew! I latched onto the social lifeline and proceeded to describe in depth what I did as a programmer.

And he listened! Raptly! He even asked a few actually intelligent questions!

“Hey Chloe!” A loud voice broke through my bubble. Medea was waving me down and gesturing to all the chairs. “You gonna help me with this? Scrawny here’s not much good!”

Beside her, under a stack of three chairs, Donovan was sweating and his knees were shaking. “I got it!” he squeaked. “I got it!”

“I can help,” Mortimer volunteered. He ran over to catch Donovan’s stack and helped him out the door.

“What’re you so happy about?” Medea grunted as she passed me, carrying her own stack of ten chairs.

My smile broadened. “I don’t actually know, but I believe I have some research to conduct to find out.”

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There you have it, folks!  A beautiful wedding!  That’ll be the last non-house party for quite a while.  I had to save about every sim hour because I kept getting Error Code 12s.  But restarting my computer seemed to help with that.  Shutting down your computer more than once a month helps with game play.  Go figure.  XD

I wasn’t expecting to find Chloe a man at the wedding!  I’d pretty much enlisted her for stealing someone’s husband for genetic material just so she could carry on the family.  Then Mr. Tall, Dark & Handsome walks in and Chloe route-fails all over him.  XD  So far, we only know she’s attracted to him and that they have compatible star signs.  We’ll see how they get on later.

Also, cookies to anyone who noticed the subtle deformation in Darlene’s strangely appropriate attire.  😉

Thanks for reading!  ^_^