Millennium Love Brian 47

Our flight was finally called and we boarded the plane. After a short ninety-minute flight we landed in Kentucky. My brother was waiting to drive us to the farm. By the time we got there, it was late and we were exhausted. Scott and I managed to greet Mom and Dad, before excusing ourselves to go up to our bedroom and crash.

I woke up Christmas Eve morning in the best place in the world, Scott's arms. I rolled over to look at him and we smiled at each other. I leaned in for a quick kiss.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you," he whispered back.

The alarm beside the bed suddenly went off, making both of us jump slightly. Scott rolled over and turned it off.

"Did you set that?" he asked as he turned back to me.

I shook my head. "No. Maybe Mom did for some reason?" I suggested at a loss for a reason.

Before anything more could be said, there was a knock at the door. We both sat up in the bed and made sure the blankets covered us.

"Come in?" Scott called.

The door opened and I was stunned as Louise, Richard, my Mom and Dad walked in.

"Surprise!" they said in unison.

I had no idea what they were up to. A glance at Scott showed that he was confused too. He was probably wondering why his parents were there. I hadn't expected them at the house until later. Dad and Richard were carrying trays with food that they brought over to the bed and set on each bedside table.

"You two are wonderful sons and smart men, but we decided to let you both in on the big secret," Louise said.

I was confused. I knew about the secret, since I planned it. I looked at Scott again. He looked just as confused.

Mom laughed. "Boys, you really shouldn't keep secrets from each other! Now, eat your breakfast and talk!" she instructed. The four parents left, closing the door behind them.

"Um, I was going to talk to you after breakfast," I said softly.

Scott looked at me. "I was going to talk to you after breakfast too," he admitted. I looked up at him startled.

Then I began to smile as I started to suspect what was going on. Scott started to laugh. "You didn't?" he managed to say.

I started to laugh too. "I think I did," I replied. "Tuxedos, decorations, and rings," I added.

Scott shook his head. "And all our friends and families! They must be killing themselves laughing at us. Everyone knew but us!" He pulled me into a hug. "When did you start planning?" he asked curiously.

I turned so I was tucked under his arm, but could still see his face. "Right after your birthday," I replied. "I realized how much I wanted to be 'married' to you."

"That's when I started to make plans too. I called Jackie when you guys were at rehearsal in Tulsa," Scott said.

My eyes widened. "I called her when we were in the limo on the way to that rehearsal!" I exclaimed.

Scott kissed my nose. "Well I guess great minds do think alike," he commented lightly. "So what are we going to do? Do we have two completely different sets of plans?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Let me guess. Mom offered to make all the arrangements for you?" I said.

Scott nodded, then realized what I was saying. "And she offered to make all arrangements for you too," he said. I nodded.

"Your mother is one scheming ..."

"Hey!" I protested.

Scott grinned. "Beautiful, wonderful woman!" he finished.

I laughed and hugged him. Scott glanced over at the bedside table, obviously smelling the breakfast we'd been brought.

"Why don't we eat, before we go down and face the embarrassment?" I suggested, smelling the wonderful food as well.

We both turned to our respective trays and lifted them onto our laps. Then I noticed the ring box sitting on my tray. A quick glance showed that there was one on Scott's tray too.

We looked at each other. "Jackie didn't happen to send you a picture of anything, like rings, by chance?" Scott asked.

I smiled ruefully. "Yup." I picked up the box on my tray. "Shall we?"

Scott picked up the box in front of him. At the same time we opened them. Neither of us spoke immediately as we stared at the rings. Each ring had the yin and yang symbol. The one in my hands had white gold with a sapphire for one half of the symbol, and yellow gold with an emerald for the other half. I glanced at the ring Scott held. The ring was the same.

"Beautiful," I whispered. The two individual rings had been joined with a flawless seam so that if you didn't know they had been two rings, there was no way to tell. I knew instantly that the sapphire and white gold were the ones Scott had picked out. The redesign joining the two rings together was incredible and very unique.

"I think we owe your Mom a gigantic thank you," Scott said as he leaned closer to me.

I turned my head and kissed him. "No kidding." I looked back at the ring in the box. "I can't wait to slip this on your finger, Scott," I murmured. "Then everyone will know that you are mine, just as I am yours."

Scott kissed my cheek. "Why don't we eat, then go thank a few people?" he suggested.

I agreed. We each closed the box we had and set them on the bedside tables before turning back to the food.

After devouring the bacon, eggs and waffles, and drinking the fresh orange juice, we finally got out of bed.

A shared shower was definitely in order. Scott started the water running, while I pulled out two large fluffy towels from the cupboard. Scott stepped in under the water and I quickly followed him. Scott stepped back so I could get wet, and then he poured some shampoo into his hands and massaging it through my hair.

"What were you planning on us wearing tonight?" he asked as he worked the shampoo into lather.

I laughed softly. "Well, based on everything else, I imagine we're wearing black tuxedos with a green cummerbund for you, and a blue one for me," I said.

Scott turned me back under the spray to rinse the shampoo. "Sounds about right," he agreed.

Scott quickly worked the conditioner through my hair, then waited while I rinsed. Then it was my turn and I shampooed and conditioned Scott's hair. In order to prevent delays we decided to wash ourselves. Once done, we rinsed again, dried ourselves and went back into the bedroom to dress.

We both decided on jeans and sweaters for the time being, knowing we would be changing later in the afternoon. Once dressed, I grabbed Scott's hand and led the way downstairs. We followed the sounds of voices into the living room and discovered another surprise.

Our friends and many family members were there setting up chairs, blowing up balloons and hanging up streamers. When Sheri noticed us first, she nudged Kevin beside her. They started to applaud, making everyone turn. Soon they were all cheering and applauding. Scott and I simply stood there and grinned.

When the noise quieted down, Kevin spoke up. "Does it scare anyone else, how much these two think alike?" he asked. The rest of the people laughed.

"Ha ha, Kev," I said. "All I can say is I'm truly impressed how everyone managed to keep this a secret. Now, what can we do to help?" I asked.

I was pulled over to help Kevin and Tim hang streamers while Drew and AJ dragged Scott over to where they were blowing up balloons. I looked around so happy to see everyone. I noticed Nick and Nora working on decorations to put along the aisle chairs. I was glad Nora had come. We worked for a while helping put the decorations up. Then Mom asked that Scott and I join her in the kitchen.

We sat at the kitchen table where some freshly baked muffins were sitting. Neither Scott nor I could resist having one.

"Is everything okay?" Mom asked as she sat down with a cup of coffee.

I looked at her. "Everything is perfect Jackie," Scott said honestly.

She smiled and looked at me. I agreed. "It's wonderful Mom."

"Good. I didn't want you boys to think I was trying to take over. Its just when you both called within about ten minutes of each other, with the same plan.... It was just easier for me to make most of the arrangements so we only had one set of plans," she explained. I could see that she had been seriously concerned about us not liking the plans.

Scott noticed too and put his hand over hers. "Jackie, everything is amazing. It's perfect. I mean, the most important part to me was having friends and family here. Everything else is a bonus," he told her.

"What about the rings?" she asked.

Scott and I looked at each other and smiled. "They were a bit of a surprise, but they look wonderful Mom. Whoever worked on them did a beautiful job joining each of the two rings into one. I would say they are two of a kind and fit our personalities perfectly."

Mom looked relieved. "Thank you. It was the rings I was most concerned about. I had seen the design in a magazine, then when you both talked to me about your plans, I thought I would send the pictures. I was hoping you would both select the same material and gem. It threw me when you didn't. I asked the jeweler if he could merge two of the rings into one. I thought he did a great job, but was afraid you would be disappointed it wasn't what you had asked for."

"Well, stop worrying Jackie," Scott said gently. "You worked wonders with the mess we gave you. And I love the rings. I think this is going to be a wonderful night for everyone." Scott looked at me and reached for my hand, bringing it to his lips. "I know I'm going to love it," he said softly. I think I blushed.

"Okay. That relieves my mind," Mom said. "Now I'm going to check and make sure the caterers are going to arrive on time. I booked them to bring in the food for lunch and for tonight, but we'll be responsible for putting it all out. And Marcus promised to be here to make sure there are no hidden cameras or recorders, just in case," Mom explained.

The rest of the day flew by. Lunch was a variety of sandwiches, cheese, crackers and dessert squares. Everyone simply wandered through the kitchen when they were hungry and grabbed a plate. Scott and I mingled, telling people more about our condo and the plans we had. I found I didn't want to be too far away from him. I was enjoying simply watching him and listening to him talk. How I managed to get so lucky I'll never know. It amazed me that we were so in tune that we had both planned commitment ceremonies.

After lunch Scott grabbed me and pulled me up to the study, ignoring the catcalls and laughter that followed us.

He closed the door and turned to pull me to him, kissing me passionately.

"Mmm, I needed that," he murmured when we separated.

I smiled and kissed his chin. "Me too." I kissed his throat and along his collarbone. I had a thought. "I was wondering...did you write vows for tonight?" I asked softly.

Scott shook his head. "No," he admitted. "I didn't think it would be fair to have something written, while you only had a few hours to come up with something. Now I wish I had."

I pulled back and smiled. "Don't worry, I didn't even think to write something down. Do you want to do that now?" I asked. "We could sit here, or go to separate rooms and put something on paper," I suggested.

"I don't know, the idea of saying what first comes to mind has some appeal," Scott commented. "Maybe write down a few thoughts, but when it comes to the moment, I'd rather just let the words flow."

He glanced down to gauge my reaction. I grinned. "Sounds good to me Angel. Do you know if Mom has anyone doing readings or poetry? I really don't know what she has planned," I added.

Scott shrugged. "Neither do I. Why don't we find her and see what the plan is? She has done such a good job so far, I'm sure she has the rest planned perfectly too."

I took his hand and led him back downstairs. We found Mom in the library, talking to Louise and Richard. The three looked up and smiled happily at us. I was again reminded how truly lucky Scott and I were.

"Hi parents!" I said happily. They laughed at our giddiness. "We have a question for you Mom," I said, looking at her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We were wondering about the rest of the plans. We don't know if you have someone leading the ceremony, or if anyone is doing readings. That type of thing," I explained.

"Well, I think I'll see what else needs to be done and let you four iron out details," Scott's dad said, before leaving the room.

Our Moms, Scott and I sat down.

"Well, when I knew that both of you wanted the same thing, I called Louise and talked to her. Then I did some research. I'll tell you the plan, but if there is anything either of you don't like, it can be changed or dropped, okay?"

Scott and I nodded, and Mom continued. "In my research, I found a number of ministers from different religious denominations that will marry same sex couples. And I found one here in Lexington, to my great surprise. You both expressed a wish that the ceremony could be validated somehow so I thought having a minister would help that, even though it isn't legal as far as the government is concerned."

Scott and I smiled. "A couple of days ago, Brian and I changed most of our legal documents to name each other, for things like power of attorney. And we jointly own the condo and have a joint bank account. That's about as legal as things can get until governments recognize gay marriages," he told them.

"That's wonderful!" Louise said.

"I definitely like the idea of a minister. It makes it feel that much more official," I said, looking at Scott for his reaction. He agreed with me.

Mom continued. "Okay. So the minister is a go. I had also asked a couple of people to do readings either from the bible or poetry, their choice. I wasn't sure if you were going to have best men?"

Scott and I looked at each other in surprise. "I never really thought about it because it was supposed to be a surprise," he said.

I nodded. "But, now that we know, having best men stand up with us might be nice," I commented.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that," Scott added. "Who do you want?" he asked me.

I thought for a moment, although I already knew my choices. "Harold and Kevin," I stated. "What about you Scott?" I asked him.

He thought for a moment. Drew was obvious, but who else? "Drew and Nick," he replied.

Mom smiled. "Great. So for readings I was thinking about your sister Sheri, Scott, and Howie or Alex," she added.

I shrugged. "Whoever wants to, is fine with me."

Scott agreed with that. He looked at me. "Guess we should inform our best men eh?" I grinned. We left the moms to their planning and went to find the guys.

We found the gang in the kitchen standing around talking and munching on food. "Kev? Could you, Harold, Drew and Nick come here for a minute?" Scott asked.

The four men joined Scott and I in the dining room where about fifteen card tables had been set up for dinner later.

"Well, we were just talking to our Moms about the plans. We discovered that one key element had been overlooked. So, Harold, Kevin, will you stand up with me tonight?" I asked my brother and cousin. Both men grinned and nodded. Harold stepped forward and pulled me into a hug that Kevin quickly joined.

Scott looked at Drew and Nick. "So I guess you know why you're here?" he said lightly. They grinned and quickly enfolded him into a bear hug.

"Thanks Scotty," Nick whispered.

Scott grinned. "You're welcome Nicky," he replied.

Once the hugs ended the six of us returned to the kitchen. Scott decided to talk to the others about the readings. He found Howie, Melissa, Nora, AJ and Sheri sitting at the kitchen table talking.

"Hey guys!" he greeted them. "So who actually did their 'homework' and found a reading to do tonight?" he asked with a grin.

Sheri, Howie and AJ raised their hands. "Great! Since the other guys are standing up with us, you three are elected," I said as I walked up beside Scott.

"Actually, I was going to sing a song if that's okay?" Howie spoke up.

Scott and I looked at him. "It's perfect D. Thanks," I said sincerely. "Now lets go back to our mothers and see what else is planned," I added. "Oh, and best men? Do you guys have suits or tuxes? If not we have a few hours to run into town before the stores close."

The four best men started to talk. We decided to leave them to that and went back to the library, to join our mothers.

"So what time is the minister coming? What time is the ceremony planned for?" I asked excitedly.

Louise and my mom laughed. "The minister should be here by four, and we thought seven would be a good time to start," Mom replied. "That will you give you time to speak with the minister and decide exactly what words you want used and any other details you can think of."

"Thanks Mom," I said, walking over to hug her. "Thank you too, Louise," I added, hugging her too. "You two have really done a great job and this is going to be a wonderful night."

Scott stood and walked over to me. "I agree. Everything has worked out better than I could have imagined. I know I'd originally thought of just Brian and I standing up in front of everyone and saying a few words. But this is better. It feels more...real, I guess."

"I'm glad," Mom said. "I think most people are going to be heading out soon. They are booked in at the hotel. Now that we have the decorations up, everybody can go back and get ready. I've told them to come back for just before seven."

"Okay. Thanks Jackie," Scott said. He grabbed my hand. "We'll go see people off and make sure the guys have figured out what to wear. Then maybe we'll wander out to the barn for a while," he suggested, looking at me.

I smiled. "Sounds good. We'll see you both later. We'll be around, but definitely be here at four for the minister."

Louise and my mom nodded as Scott and I left. We thanked everyone as they left, letting them know how much we appreciated all the help. Our best men were going with my Dad into town. He and Mom had obviously anticipated the dilemma and contacted a rental store earlier so they were expecting the four men.

Scott and I put our coats and gloves on, and wandered out to the barn, hand in hand. I led us to a spot in the hayloft where we could sit on bales of hay and look out over the gently rolling hills of the farm. Scott sat down on a bale and leaned against another. I sat in front of him between his spread legs and leaned against him. This was our favorite position.

"Can you believe all this?" I asked quietly as I snuggled against him. He wrapped his arms across my chest.

"It's incredible and wonderful," he murmured, leaning in to kiss my ear. "I can't believe that we're actually getting married today."

"Me either," I agreed softly. "But now that the day is here, Scott, there is no where else in the world I would rather be."

Scott squeezed me tighter. "I feel the same Bri. Today has turned out to be much more than I expected, but I wouldn't change a thing."

We sat out there for a couple of hours, talking occasionally, but mainly enjoying the quiet and each other's company. Finally I stirred and looked at my watch. It was a quarter to four. I stood and stretched then offered my hand to Scott. I pulled him to his feet. He stretched too having gotten a little stiff from sitting for so long.

He pulled me into a hug. "Love you," he whispered.

I returned the hug forcefully. "Love you too. Now lets go get married," I added.

Scott laughed and grasped my hand. We walked back to the house. I was secretly glad we hadn't planned everything out too far in advance because I knew our best men would have forced us to keep apart right up until the wedding. While I found some traditions sweet, I don't think I could have stood being separated from Scott.

Exactly at four PM the gate buzzer rang and Mom admitted the minister. Scott and I waited in the library with growing excitement. We both rose when Mom led another tall, regal woman into the room.

"Brian, Scott, I'd like to introduce Reverend Ellen McGrady," Mom said. "Ellen, my son Brian and his fiancé Scott Waters."

I stepped forward to shake the woman's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Reverend," I said formally.

The tall redhead smiled. "Please call me Ellen, Brian. And it's wonderful to finally meet both of you." She turned to Scott and held out her hand, which he accepted. She looked to be a woman about forty years old, red hair and bright green eyes. Mom indicated the two couches so we sat, Scott and I on one couch, and the two women on the other. "Jackie has told me much about both of you, but I'm glad we have this chance to talk before the ceremony."

Scott and I both smiled. "We're glad too. Things are a little different than what either of us expected first thing this morning, so we've had some serious thinking to do," I told her. I glanced at Scott. "I think Scott and I would both like to hear what you have planned."

Ellen smiled. She gave us a run through of the general order of the proceedings and the wordings she had selected. She handed us some sheets of paper with options for parts of the ceremony. Scott and I read through the choices and selected the ones we felt suited us.

The four of us walked into the living room that had been re-arranged for the ceremony. Rows of chairs had been set up, with a beautiful flower arrangement set on a small table in front of the fireplace at the front of the room. We decided we would walk down the aisle in the center together, entering from the sunroom. Our best men would precede us.

"Scott?" Mom spoke up. "You're Mom had a suggestion earlier that I forgot to mention. She wondered if you would like Andre to act a ring bearer?"

He glanced at me and I smiled, knowing he would love the suggestion. Scott nodded. "I'd like that. We'll see if he wants to do it when they come back. If not, no big deal, but it would be nice for him to have a part."

We let the minister know we had two people doing readings and one song being performed during the ceremony. We also told her Scott and I wanted to say a few things when it came time for the vows. She readily agreed.

The four of us talked for a while. I could tell the minister simply wanted to find out how Scott and I were together. Get a sense of us. When the best men and my Dad returned we did a very quick run through so the guys would know when to enter and where to stand.

We decided to use the music from My Angel, My Heart as we entered. It was the first song I had written for Scott and meant a lot to both of us. Neither of us knew what song Howie was planning to do, but we knew it would be appropriate.

By six our best men escorted us upstairs to separate rooms to get ready. Scott and I tried to object, but they wouldn't listen. I quickly showered and shaved, throwing on a little aftershave before returning to the bedroom to get into my tux. Kevin and Harold were both getting ready in the room with me. They looked good, and had managed to find tuxes matching mine with a similar blue cummerbund.

They were arguing over which one of them looked better.

I laughed. "Hey what about the groom here, people?" I said.

They turned and looked at me then looked at each other. Simultaneously they shrugged. "Eh, not bad," Kevin said.

I grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at him.

Harold walked over to me, and he was blushing. He handed me a box.

"What's this?" I asked curiously.

Kevin grinned. "You know that saying, 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue'?" he asked. I nodded warily. "Well, when we were getting our tuxes, someone mentioned it. Now, Harold and I tried to go with something more traditional, but Drew wouldn't hear of it. So you can blame him for some of what's in here."

I laughed and opened the box. On top was a picture of Harold, Kevin and I when we were little kids. I guessed that that was the 'old'. Beneath the picture was another smaller box. Inside was an assortment of massage oils with different scents. Some were even edible. I blushed and set the oils and picture aside. Next in the box was a fur mitt. I picked it up and looked at it strangely.

Harold cleared his throat. "That is from Drew. He said to give you strict instructions that he wants it back at some point. But apparently it feels incredible on your skin." I ran the soft fur across my cheek. It made me shiver. I could have fun with that.

The last thing in the box was wrapped in tissue paper.

"Once again, this is Drew's idea," Kevin said. I knew whatever it was had to be blue. I carefully unfolded the paper and stood, staring at the thing in my hands. I felt a deep blush course up my body and knew my face had to be pure red. I was holding a moderate sized, blue, dildo!

I looked up at my cousin and brother. They were both trying very hard not to laugh out loud. I tried to keep a frown but a smile soon cracked through. "Go ahead, laugh!" I tossed the dildo into the box. "Its not like Scott doesn't have more than that piece of plastic," I commented.

Harold and Kevin started to choke. "Oh, too much info cus, way too much," Kevin gasped out.

I laughed and finished getting ready.

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Kevin opened it to find Scott's sister Liz and his nephew Andre.

"Hi Uncle Brian! Uncle Scott said I was s'posed to get a little box from you. So I can carry it in the weddin'," Andre said excitedly as he walked into the room and over to me.

I grinned down at the boy. "He did, did he? Well, I guess we have to do what Uncle Scott says," I said. I walked over to the dresser where the ring box was. I handed it to Andre, who turned and gave it to Liz.

"Mommy's going to keep it until we're ready, 'k?" he said.

I smiled and nodded. "Sounds good Andre. I'll see you downstairs in a little while, okay?"

"Okay!" Andre said and left with his mom.

I looked at my two best men. "I'm really glad you are both here," I said seriously.

"Us too, little bro," Harold said.

Howie knocked on the door letting us know it was time. The three of us stepped into the hall at the same time as Scott, Drew and Nick did. Our eyes met and we smiled at each other. We both walked forward and grasped hands. Scott leaned down to kiss my cheek.

"You look incredible, Love," he whispered.

"So do you," I whispered back.

Howie herded the six of us down the back stairs through the kitchen and into the sun room. AJ was waiting there talking with Andre. I glanced into the living room and saw that the room was full, about fifty people had come. Howie walked to the doorway and looked in, I'm guessing at the minister. He must have got the signal because he walked over to Andre and talked to him for a minute. Andre nodded and AJ handed him a small pillow with the two ring boxes on top.

AJ started the CD player and the music began. Scott smiled as Andre looked at him. He winked and Andre grinned before walking into the living room and down the aisle. When he was about halfway down, Harold and Nick started followed by Kevin and Drew.

I glanced at Brian and smiled, not quite believing we'd actually made it to this point.

"You ready?" I asked softly.

Scott smiled. "Absolutely." He raised my hand to his lips and kissed me before we started to walk down the aisle.

To be continued...

Email me at kenitra_canada@hotmail.com