Dude Looks Like a Lady

Putting my parents behind me and returning back to bed was something I couldn’t even consider. I couldn’t understand why they’d arranged this marriage anyway, something they’d done even when I was very little and then just ignored me. Sure they’d said that it was all in the name of giving me space to grow up, but just turning up out of the blue? My Dad hated doing that sort of thing and was usually really firm about it with my Mother.

Running my hands through my hair I sighed, groaning to myself about how this holiday was supposed to be awesome, and until my parents barged in on it it had been. Damn parents.

A pair of very familiar arms wound their way round my waist and familiar lips pressed to the side of my neck, “Parent problems?”

I nod slowly, turning in his arms and nuzzling my head in his neck as my arms wound round it as well. “I don’t understand they’re reasoning for any of it.”

He shrugs, “Neither do I – maybe my parents could tell us?”

I nod as he manoeuvres us over to the sofa, getting his parents attention at the same time. He sits us on the sofa, his right arm round me and his left over the back of the sofa.

“What do you want to know?” Donald asks us, slightly surprised.

I look up at him, cocking my head to the side, “Why an arranged marriage? Why didn’t you let us find our own happiness?”

“You two aren’t happy together?” Donna asks disbelievingly. I shake my head.

“No ma, we’re not unhappy. We don’t understand why I had an arranged marriage.”

Donna smiles slightly, “My family goes back a long way; as does Lou’s. When we were in Italy we were a feuding pair of families. To try and prevent the feud the Captain in charge passed a law separating us, Lou’s family to move towards England and us to move elsewhere. This all happened in the time of my grandparents, that they eventually got fed up with the blood feud. To try and tie the two families together the Captain continued to say that my grandparents great – grandchildren would be married; the second son and the second daughter of their grandchildren.”

“You could have ignored it.” I mumble.

“We kept tabs to see if the babies came out the right sex; they did. It seemed that this was all pointing at one thing; we should keep the writ that the Captain told us to do. So we did.”

“Why have my parents been so cold about it then?”

“They weren’t sure it would work. You weren’t ready for it, but if we waited any longer Mikey wouldn’t have been yours to claim as a husband.” Donald finishes.

I nod my head slightly, “So it had nothing to do with religion or anything else. Just some blood feud our ancestors started?” Mikey asks, highly confused.

His parents nod. “Are you regretting anything, Mikey?” I ask, a sudden fear flooding through me.

He shakes his head, “No way. I love you, I love Lizzie and I love UB. I can’t believe we were arranged to marry generations ago, sheesh.” He tells me, moving me closer his left hand resting on UB and his smiles, pressing a kiss to my nose. “I couldn’t ask for a better wife; and to be honest a better reason for marrying someone than it was said to be generations ago.”

I laugh softly and press a kiss to his nose, biting the end of it softly, “I love you too, sweetie.”