Best Man

After the events of the prior night, it wasn't until well past noontime that everyone involved in the wedding party woke up; some with hangovers and some just completely exhausted because they'd never gone to sleep.

It was the day of the rehearsal at the church and Caroline was running around like a chicken with its head cut off with all the last minute details because, unlike the certain person she'd been more than two months earlier in Alex's basement studio, she was no longer as such now that the day had pretty much arrived.

Adrienne was following her around, laughing more with her than at her over how nervous Caroline was about everything working out and how she was begging the older woman to explain her secret on how she pulled off planning a wedding in just two weeks.

But Adrienne's answer didn't help.

"We got married in my mother-in-law's backyard with just our close family and friends. I wore a simple white dress I got from Sears department store and my bouquet and hair piece were made by my mom who's just crafty with stuff like that. We kept it simple so it didn't take much planning," the brown-eyed woman, who was a few months away from turning forty, commented. "We just wanted to get married. Not to mention, the guys just put out Dookie so they weren't exactly rolling in the bucks to put together a huge event like yours."

"Do you think a big wedding is the right way to go?" Caroline questioned, nervously biting her bottom lip.

Adrienne smirked and patted the younger woman on the shoulder. "It's your day. Do with it however you like."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks, Yoda."

Laughing, Adrienne moved about to where Caroline had her wedding dress hanging up. It was a beautiful white, two-piece gown with straps which held up the top half well enough to keep Caroline's cleavage in check when she wore it the next day. And the skirt belled out enough to give her stomach breathing room; even though her pregnant belly wasn't big enough to show as much just yet.

The veil was a fine tulle material that lay draped across the mattress of the spare bed which Giselle had used when she first came out to live with Caroline and Mike; before officially moving in with Tre.

"You're gonna look beautiful tomorrow, Care," Adrienne assured. "Don't worry so much about it, okay?"

"I'm trying not to, but it's hard."

The two good friends shared a moment of silence before Adrienne sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb the veil as she faced Caroline who sat at the desk chair and was turning her head to stare out the window.

"When are your sisters getting here?"

Caroline shrugged. "Soon, I guess. They're supposed to be picking up our bouquets from the florist so we can chill them overnight in the fridge. And I think Claudia's giving them all a ride, that way us girls can all go to the church together for the rehearsal and then meet up with the men folk to head over to Rudy's for dinner."

Adrienne nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"There's just so much going on. All the guests and wedding party...I might just go insane."

"Care, I've been saying it and I'll keep saying it: you'll be fine."

Caroline sighed with Adrienne's assurance but then a second later her eyes went wide. "Oh, shit! I need something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue."

Adrienne let out a laugh. "Well, let's see what we can do about that." Standing up, the older woman looked around the room with her hands on her hips. "For something old, you can wear the earrings I wore on my wedding. That also covers something borrowed. Something new," she gestured to the dress. "Is kinda obvious. And something blue? Well...Mike's eyes are blue."

Caroline perked up at the thought of Mike's blue eyes.

"As long as his eyes are on you at all times, you got your something blue, now don't you?"

"Yeah," Caroline began to beam. "I do."



"Christ, Bill, if I didn't know any better I'd think that you were the one getting married tomorrow and not me," Mike commented with a laugh as he watched his older friend pacing around his kitchen.

Mike, Billie Joe and Tre were all hanging out at Billie Joe's house while their children were outside in the swimming pool without a care in the world. Except for Billie Joe who was more wound up than Tre at his drumset during a concert.

"Sorry," the green-eyed man muttered. "I've just been feeling flustered since last night."

"Yeah, last night..." Mike trailed, a sublime smile on his face as he remembered how his beautiful wife-to-be had given him a lap dance.

"What about it?" Tre inquired, taking a sip from his water bottle.

"Caroline totally gave me wood and I feel like shit because of it. I mean, yeah, Adie took care of the problem afterward, and...boy, did she ever, but that doesn't change the fact that I feel guilty about it still."

Mike laughed. "Dude, I don't care if you got a boner from watching Caroline. I'm pretty sure some of the girls had one, too. She looked good and did a good job. And I'm happier than a monkey flinging shit that I get to marry that very woman tomorrow."

"But I had a sex dream about her last night," Billie Joe whimpered; his expression pained. "I didn't mean to. I mean, in my dream I was sitting on this stage in front of one of our crowds and I think you two were there, but I can't remember. And then Caroline was there and she was totally naked." Mike just smirked as Billie Joe retold what his mind had created while he slept. "And before I knew it, I was on my back and she was giving me head."

Quirking an eyebrow, Tre coughed as some water went down the wrong tube; waiting for Mike's reaction.

"Was she any good?" Mike wondered.

"Well..." Billie Joe fought to reply. "Yes."

"Okay. And what's the problem I'm missing?"

"Dude, your fiancée gave me a boner last night and I totally dreamt she went down on me. I woke up and then I went into the bathroom to whack off."

"Billie. I really don't care."

"How are you so calm about this?"

"Because I know that if you ever acted on your impulse after one hard-on and one dream you whacked off to, Adrienne would cut off your dick and shove it down your throat."

Billie Joe was silent for a moment as he rested one hand on the island in the kitchen and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"That's true," he agreed. "But there's more, Mike. And I need to get it off my chest."

"Oh?"

"Remember the party where Care and I got totally shitfaced and you walked into the hallway of the club where Adrienne was dragging me away?" Mike nodded. "Well, I kinda remember you asking what happened or what was going on or...whatever. Well, Care and I were making out. I mean, making out. My hands were on her dress and she was about to go for gold but then I moaned my wife's name and she moaned yours. And then Adrienne found us and broke it up."

Mike was silent, and both Billie Joe and Tre waited for the axe to drop.

"I knew something like that happened," the bassist finally muttered, holding Billie Joe's gaze. "Shit like that always seems like it's close to happening whenever the two of you get drunk and start dancing together."

"I'm sorry," Billie Joe offered.

Mike shrugged it off. "It's okay."

"What?" suddenly came Tre's voice. The older friends stared at him without missing a beat as he set his water bottle down and stared back in confusion. "How come you get off making out with Care or just getting drunk and dry-humping her in public while I get punched for kissing her?"

Billie Joe shot daggers at Tre as he tilted his head to the side. "Because I never had any motives. I was drunk and you were sober. You knew what your were doing," he replied. Then mumbled, "You still do."

"What?" Mike questioned, not hearing the last thing Billie Joe had said.

"Nothing."

"Okay, well, it's settled then? Everyone's hot for my woman and I'm still gonna marry her. Yada, yada, yada. Blah, blah, blah. Are we all ready to head to the church rehearsal?"

Billie Joe nodded as Tre did the same.

"Alright then. Let's get our kids and go," Mike announced.



At the church, the women of the bridal party were already there when the men arrived with their kids in tow.

Mike separated from his daughter to jot down the aisle of the sanctuary to meet with the pastor and Caroline at the foot of the altar to discuss some trivial details. Then, the men gathered near the altar and all the women walked back toward the narthex to gather in the order they would be walking down the aisle in.

And then the mock procession began.

The men filed out from a door on the left side of the altar and crossed over to the right side to line up so that Mike stood front and center with the pastor.

Soon, the mothers were led down the aisle with their male escorts: Cheryl Nasser with Mike's stepbrother Christopher Pritchard, Lucy Reinhardt with Mike's half-brother Shawn Reinhardt, and Joanne Woods with Dave Jozwiak.

Once the mothers were seated and the remaining ushers joined the others already waiting at the base of the altar, the organist began, Alex walked out at the top of the altar with his acoustic guitar to play Tracy Chapman's 'Wedding Song.'

The narthex doors slid open and out came Estelle who walked a little too quickly with Frankito. The two of them were to be Flower Girl and Ring Bearer. Following the two kids was Caroline's friend from high school, Julie. Then came Claudia, Mike's stepsister Lauren Pritchard, Timmy, Mike's other sister Myla, Adrienne and, at last, Giselle; the Maid of Honor.

Though, last but not least, was Caroline, who had Paul Woods, her adoptive father who raised her, linked through her arm as they walked down the aisle side by side.

When she reached the end and stood before Mike and the pastor, Paul let go of her arm and the rehearsal ceremony really commenced. The pastor skipped over the main parts, while stopping to inquire if they would be reciting their own vows, but Mike and Caroline shook their heads. They didn't think much on caring to write their own, and being just fine with whatever the pastor had them repeat.

Afterward the pastor said when all was said and done, they'd do this and that, and then they could kiss and he would announce them to everyone as husband and wife. They'd then walk up the aisle in pairs from then on. Mike with Caroline, followed by Billie Joe with Giselle, Tre with Adrienne, Christopher with Myla, Shawn with Timmy, Jason with Lauren, Dave with Claudia, and Nef with Julie.

They all gathered back in the narthex and the pastor followed them, saying the rehearsal went off very well, and Mike piped up that this was his third marriage so everyone was used to it by now.

Once the rehearsal was officially over, everyone split up and went to Rudy's in different cars that they'd arrived in.

Mike and Caroline brought Estelle with them, like one, big happy family. And they weren't even thinking about the diner they were headed to, nor were they really paying attention to Estelle rambling about how excited she was to be the Flower Girl.

Their focus was on the road ahead of them.

And not the one they were literally driving on.