WARNING: If it is illegal for you to be reading these stories or you find them disgusting or immoral, please refrain from reading further. Must be 18+ to read! Any characters, places, or people depicted in this story is entirely in the fantasy and imagination of the writer and in no way reflects real persons living or dead. If any people, places, or actions depicted in this story reflect real life events or situations it is entirely by accident or coincidence.
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El Paso 12
Like a rainbow in your eyes... ¹
You ask me if there'll come a time
When I grow tired of you
Never my love
Never my love
You wonder if this heart of mine
Will lose it's desire for you
Never my love
Never my love ²
Murphy's Law ruled our wedding plans; everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Our original plan was a cliché June wedding, but every date we came up with ran into problems with either his family or mine. In July, I had a major project for work due early in the month, then late in the month Felino had to go to a training seminar for his job. August was no good because the one weekend everybody was free was the weekend of Hank and Valencia's wedding, which we'd be taking off for. My birthday is September 5th and Felino's is October 7th, so we tried splitting the difference and shot for the middle of September but got excuses from multiple directions about those dates too.
"I give up" I said, I'd really had it by this point.
"How important is all the pageantry to you?" Felino asked.
"Not very, why?" I responded.
"Let's go get married then" he said.
"What?...now?" maybe I was missing something. It was just some random day in May. None of our family could get here today. What was I missing?
"Oh my God, you would frustrate the devil himself" he said. "Wait, I may have an idea..." He took out his phone and called somebody as he walked out of the room. When he came back in, he said "June 20".
"We've already been through every date in June, my folks can't get here and neither can your Aunt Rosa" I said.
"They don't have to" he said, "I talked to a chick at the tourist wedding planner place, she said she can set up a live video feed over the internet. The people who can't come can watch at home."
"Why June 20?" I asked.
"It's the longest day of the year, the first day of summer; it will be impossible to forget" he said.
"It would change every year" I said flatly.
"Yes and no. The actual date would change but it will always be the first day of summer" he said.
"That would only give us about a month..." I said, trailing off.
"The wedding planner will handle all the details. We go see her in 30 minutes and tell her what we want and she will make it happen" he said. I've got to admit, the idea was growing on me. No stress for us. Let somebody else handle the headache.
"What about the price?" I asked.
"Well, this particular planner is Felicia Morales-Hernandez, another one of my cousins so I think we can probably get a deal" he said smiling.
"Let's go talk to her and see what we can work out" I finally agreed.
One minute it was May, the next it was June; time went by so fast. We'd sent out invitations to everybody and asked that they RSVP as to whether they would be attending in person or via zoom meeting so Felicia would know how many place settings we would need. Let's just say Felino has a large extended family. As the number of place settings went up the menu changed to accommodate the cost. By June 10th, we had reached capacity for our venue. I asked Felicia how we could cut any more corners. She said we could drop the video feed.
"We can't do that; how will my family see it?" I asked. She pulled out the RSVP list and showed me Henry K. Schneider plus one and William S. Davis on the list, as well as Rosa and Tomás and Tomás' mother Idilma. On the video chat sign up list there were no names.
"How?!..." I was at a loss for words.
"Ask your future grandmother-in-law" she said, "Maria is a very persuasive woman. Anyway, since we won't need the international call, it should just about offset the per guest cost."
Even with the family discount, it ended up costing us 40,000 pesos, but since I didn't plan on every getting married again, I guess it wouldn't be that bad. All 28 rooms in the Hotel Mar de Cortés would be occupied by wedding attendees on the night of the 20th. I found out that Hank and Valencia were getting the honeymoon suite a little prematurely, but then so had Felino and I. I asked Maria what room she'd put Bill in and she just obliquely said "Don't worry, he'll be taken care of." Felino elbowed me and whispered "mind your own...", I think I got the picture there.
The ceremony would be in the hotel ballroom and Abuela insisted on footing the bill for the decorations, so long as she could help design the room. We would both wear white tuxedos; we were allowed to know that much. Our court of honor would be Hank, Valencia, Bill and Maria. Felicia's children Mateo (7) and Lucia (5) would be the ringbearer and flower girl. One of my expat friends, Don McKillip, would be performing the ceremony.
The women insisted that the day before the wedding we couldn't see each other so Felino was sent to room with Antonio at Margarita and Victor's house, leaving me to sleep alone tonight. We each had bachelor parties, my family and friends at the house and Felino's group at Margarita's. We talked and laughed and partied until around midnight or a little after, then the crowd began to slowly dwindle. Maria stopped by to pick up Bill near 1am and then the house was empty except for me and little Appa. He kept looking around the house for Felino until I finally scooped him up and took him to bed. Late as it was, I tossed and turned for a while; I was so used to having somebody to sleep with. I guess I faded somewhere around 2-2:30; fifteen and a half hours of single life left.
Over at Margarita's, Felino was bedding down in Antonio's upper bunk bed in a room that smelled of hormonal teen boy; dirty socks and underwear with a faint odor of semen. His party had broken up around the same time, más o menos. As he settled in, the thought occurred to him that tonight he would be a married man. He almost panicked, but stopped himself. I know this is what I want he thought as he gave up to sleep.
The wedding wasn't until 6pm; we wanted the ceremony to end and the reception to begin around sunset. Even though I'd not gotten to bed until late, I still woke up around 10:30 so there was nearly a whole day to kill without Felino. I called and woke up Hank and after an adjective filled one-sided conversation on his part, he said him and Bill would be over in a little bit and we'd go get a light lunch somewhere. I took a shower and got dressed and shortly after they arrived. Bill told me per Maria's edict we had to stay on the north side of town; Felino would be corralled on the south. I let them do the tourist thing for a while, then we ate lunch at Mariscos El Molinito. Afterwards, we drove up to Tecolote and hung out under a palapa for a while, just enjoying the beach; none of us had thought about bringing trunks.
About 4 o'clock Bill's phone started blowing up; our orders were to come back and get ready.
The ballroom of the hotel was situated between two hallways, so we were pointed to our side where I was sent to get ready in a room belonging to one of the wedding guests. Felino was doing the same on the other side. We were both told not to come out until somebody came to get us. It was a little past five now and I was pacing the floor due to nerves.
Around 5:30 Bill came in to wait with me, since he was my escort. Since this was an unconventional wedding anyway, Maria would be walking out with Felino. The minutes felt like excruciating hours until finally we heard the music start. Bill waked out first and peeked through the doorway, then signaled for me to come. We walked in from the right side of the room and Felino and Marie came from the left side to meet us in the middle; we both stood facing the beautiful flower-covered white arch under which my friend the pastor Don stood. Bill and Marie moved behind Felino while Hank and Valencia came up to stand behind me.
The music stopped and Pastor Don began to speak about the seriousness of marriage and outlined the duties spouses had to one another, but it all kind of felt like a radio turned just off the station to me. All I could do is stare at the man in front of me; the man who was about to be officially part of my life forever. I was lost in his dark brown eyes and he seemed to be adrift in the ocean blue of mine. We had written our own vows for each other. Neither of us had seen or heard what the other had written except for the last line we shared. I was going over it in my head when I was startled by Don clearing his throat; apparently, I'd missed my cue. I looked at Don and he nodded and put his hand on my shoulder as a sign to start, so I began my part.
"Felino, mi querido, I was a lost soul until you found me. I was a jigsaw puzzle with some of the pieces missing, then you came into my life and filled in all the empty spots. You are my friend, comforter, counselor, therapist, travel companion and my lover. Every day I wake up with your arm draped across me is a day I thank the universe for. You've helped me through my hard times and provided me with more love that almost any other human being. The very thought of being without you now seems like a place too dark and lonely for me to exist. I offer myself to you. Not some idealized version of me, but me as I am with all my ups and downs, quirks and eccentricities, and fears and passions. I invite you to be with me until the end of our road; wherever we end up I'm sure it will be a blast. I promise you I'll do everything I can to be the best man I can become for you, and I will always love you to the depth of my soul, from this day forward into forever." I let out a sigh of relief that I hadn't messed anything up. Then Don tapped Felino on his shoulder and Felino began to speak.
"Otto, I remember when we were just kids in school. The first time I met you I had a funny feeling in my stomach, but I didn't know what it was then. As years went by and we became friends I tried to bury the feeling away because I didn't think you felt the same way. When you started stalking me in Tia Rosa's bar, my feeling came back but again, I told myself no way. The rainy night we went to my apartment, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife but I wanted to be sure it was real so I put you off and kind of pushed you away. After our first real date, I was yours, cariño; no doubts. During your most down time after your mother passed, I wanted to give up on you and move on, but I couldn't; no matter how hard I tried. When I called your brother, I didn't know what to expect. The macho marine thing was kind of scary, but when it came to his little brother, he was all ears. He agreed to help me save you from yourself. I've grown to be so glad I didn't turn my back on you because this world would not be so beautiful without you in it. I promise you I'll do everything to be the man you see me as, and, I too, will love you to the depths of my soul, from this day forward into forever." I heard him blow out a breath like I did earlier. Then little Mateo stepped up between us with the rings on a satin pillow. We each took a ring and gently placed it on each other's hand.
"With this ring, I, thee wed" we said in unison. After a minute of silence, Don began to speak again.
"Dearest gathered acquaintances, friends, and family of these two wonderful people standing before me: It is my honor to have been offered the opportunity to officiate this ceremony of this sweet couple Otto and Felino. Marriage is about two becoming one, and although I've only known them for a relatively short time, I've seen how selfless these two are in regards to one another. All one has to do is spend some time with them to feel the love they have for each other. It is my privilege to present this couple before you as they seek to become one and start their life together. I ask you now if anyone here has any objections to these two joining in this most sacred bond, speak now or forever hold your peace.
The crowd fell into complete silence.
"Very well" Don said, "Felino Morales do you take Otto Schneider to be your husband, to have and hold, in sickness and in health, through wealth and poverty, forsaking all others, until death do you part?
"I do" Felino said, his deep brown eyes boring a hole into my soul.
"Otto Schneider, do you take Felino Morales to be your husband, to have and hold, in sickness and in health, through wealth and poverty, forsaking all others, until death do you part?"
"I do" I said, my eyes filling with tears of happiness.
"I pronounce you to be married, may every day of your lives together bring you a new blessing" Don said.
We came together like perfectly matched bookends and sealed it all with a kiss. The crowd went crazy as we walked hand in hand to the reception set up on the beach.
The reception was full of great food, ample alcohol and loud music for dancing. Our playlist was songs we had both picked, both traditional and contemporary. A couple of hours into the party the sound of an accordion blasted as Tragos Amargos³ played, though we couldn't hear much of the actual song as all the inebriated Tios sang along at a slightly louder volume. Around 11:30 we decided to take our leave. We got on the PA system and said gracias and goodnight to everyone. Our core group of supporters walked us to the street where I found my completed truck sitting, complete with the obligatory tin cans tied on the back. Felino's cousin said something to him and he turned to me and said "the keys are over the visor".
As we got in and took off the crowd erupted in another sing along round of Tragos Amargos. Felino slid across the seat and pressed up next to me as we took our loud strings of cans down the road. We stopped before we turned into the neighborhood and cut the cans loose so we didn't wake up everybody on the street.
When we got to the house it was my turn to surprise Felino. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a small remote and when I pushed the button, the gates leading into the back yard started opening inward. I pulled the truck in and hit it again and we watched it close as Appa danced around our feet and whined. Our last surprise of the night was when we walked into the house and found a trail of flower petals leading from the back door into the bedroom. Neither of us had done this one, I wondered if it was Hank and Valencia. There were candles beside the bed which Felino lit, then turned out the lights. We undressed each other and carefully hung the rented tuxedos, then jumped into bed and consummated our marriage. The acts were all things we'd done before, but never as a married couple.
"Te amo" I whispered.
"Te amo mas" he whispered back, smiling.
Appa appraised the situation and decided to go into his crate; it looked like we'd be busy for a while.
The End
Lambodara 5/19/21
Comments/feedback/criticism/etc. lambodara@protonmail.com
I'd like to personally wish the happy couple the best of luck in the future!
¹ https://youtu.be/CvFUHoaPUtE
² https://youtu.be/UzgpB9xpyT8
³ https://youtu.be/3coFfbVgRso