Irish Lullaby

"This," Sanders whispered in my ear as his hands snaked around my waist and pulled me back against his chest, his lips touched behind my ear, making me shiver slightly and a giggle to escape my lips.

"Damn it," I grumbled as I closed my eyes in embarrassment. "Sanders, why must you do that to me?"

"Because its fun," he grinned wickedly and ran the tip of his nose down the side of my neck, while he whispered. "Plus I never done it before and it seemed like a good idea."

"Uh huh," I rolled my eyes as Vanessa and Karen started laughing, I flickered my eyes over to their relaxed bodies and raised one eyebrow. "May I ask what's so funny?"

"Oh nothing," they shook there heads as I looked around at each ones face, trying to convey something out of nothing.

"Fine," I mumbled. "Weird people."

~*~*~*~

"Please," I pleaded with Anthony with my hands together in praying position, while he stood in front of me, lips pursed and arms crossed in stubbornness.

"No, I like my hair long and it takes forever to grow, its not being cut," he glared as he stepped back once to allow extra space between up both.

"Please? I don't want to make you but they all," I pointed to beyond the fabric room door we were stationed at this very moment to illustrate my sister, co-worker and step mother-to-be-soon. "Want short hair groomsmen, if it where up to me, which it's supposed to be but isn't, I wouldn't mind."

'I'm not doing it and if you don't mind than it doesn't matter, it's yours and Sanders wedding."

"You have a good reliable point but will it hold in a court of family members," I pointed yet again to the door. "They, scare me."

He chuckled and uncrossed his arms, placing each hand on both sides of my shoulders. "Take control, it's your wedding Harper."

"You're right," I said slightly uplifted, I could say no to my own mother, surely I could say no to my step-mom.

My mother? Oh shit.

"Oh shit," I mumbled as I glanced at Anthony's eyes, flashed him a quick smile and then bolted to the door, I ran out past my father and Fred junior while grabbing my jacket.

"Where are you going?" Sanders yelled as he sat down one of my measuring tapes that apparently he was wrapping around Tegan's neck as a joke and ran to meet me halfway to the door.

"My mother, I completely forgot about her! And my house, oh man!" I whined as I looked up at his emerald greens with horror in my voice, laced in each word. "She's going to be so ticked."

"Why?" he asked as he reached over my head and grabbed his jacket. "I mean what happened and why exactly will she be ticked?"

"One I haven't talked to her in over three days, I think but anyway. Two, I have to make sure she didn't tell the wicked bitches of the east and west that they are my bridesmaids."

"Wicked bitches of the east and west would be?" he slowly drug out.

"Natalie and Jan," I nodded my head and pointed to the door. "Come on, or else I'll leave you're tall ass."

"Sorry," he grinned as he waved at everyone. "We'll be back soon, mom go with Fred and Vanessa please."

"Alright son, be careful," Karen nodded her head and waved to us. "You too Harper."

"You too," I waved and jogged down the stairs to the parking lot; I jumped in the drivers side of my 05' model Mercury and waited for Sanders.

"Is you're mom going to be pissed?"

"Not pissed but not pleased either, when we get to her house do the deep voice thingy again, drives her wild," I grinned with a nod as I turned the car on. "Also, don't mention that Vanessa is helping with the wedding."

"Why not?" Sanders buckled himself in and turned the radio on an old eighties station that was playing Queen.

"She and Vanessa aren't really that tight so to speak, she thinks Vanessa stole my father away and she's a gold digger because she's younger than dad but really, my father divorced my mother when I was fifteen and he met Vanessa three years ago and she really loves him," I explained with a shrug, I had no clue what went on in my mother's brain and god forbid it ever come out in the open, it would send the world into a tizzy.

"She blames Vanessa for something that isn't her fault?" he summed it up slowly an unbelieving eyebrow lifted high above the other.

"Pretty much," I nodded as I backed out of the parking lot. "To warn you, she'll start in on what we're doing for the wedding, vows and crap like that."

"Are we doing our own vows?" Sanders turned to me with wide, fear filled eyes. "Because I haven't wrote jack for vows."

"If you want too, I'm not making you," I said hesitantly as I glanced out the corner of my eye, then back to the road. "I haven't made any either if it makes you feel any better."

"It doesn't really," he shook his head casually, and then held his hand out slowly. "Got any paper or a pen?"

"Why?" I turned to him then fully, then back to the road to make sure I wasn't running off the side of it.

"Don't ask, just do you have any paper Harper," he sternly held his gaze on my face; I sighed in defeat and pointed to the dashboard. "In there is both?"

"Yeah, I'm a neat freak I told you, not organized but a neat freak," I grumbled as I turned on the left blinker, nearing my mother's house made my stomach jump a few feet in the air, it felt.

"You really need to learn how to be sloppy, just a little," he said slightly in shock from the looks of it, I laughed lightly as I pulled into my mother's wrap around driveway and cut off the engine.

"What do we do? I'm not sure why I'm here, oh god I'm going crazy now," I grabbed my hair and clenched it as I closed my eyes. "Great, just what I need right now, to go crazy."

'I'll share a room in the loony bin with you if you want?"

"Oh thanks Sanders," I laughed as I pushed his shoulder, I unbuckled myself from the seat belt and opened my door, letting the slightly chilly wind whip me in the face as I climbed from the leather interior seats. "I'd love to share with you and everything but I'd like a padded room also."

"We could play moon bounce," he grinned as he jumped up in the air. "You get the left and I get the right."

"I'm trying not to go," I reminded him with a playful smile, "And yet you're looking forward to it," I shook my head and rubbed the top of his head, messing his hair up and sending it sticking up in several directions. "Come on Alexander."

"Oh seriously, please don't call me that, I go by Sanders because that was all my mother used to call me, she still does and I can't stand it," he grunted and crossed his arms, standing in spot around five feet from the porch steps. "I'm not going anywhere until you say my real name."

"Alexander come on."

"Real name, what I like being called please," He batted his long, thick black eyelashes at me and pursed his lips. "You know it, say it."

"Sanders," I murmured as I pulled at his sleeve, he grinned brightly and pulled me up the steps, I nearly fell into his back when he stopped on the third step. "Hello Miss—"

"Please young man," I peaked over Sanders shoulder, on my tippy-toes and stared at her outstretched hand. "Call me Janice."

Oh pu-lease…

"Janice," he grabbed her hand and kissed it gently, I sneered slightly and then pulled on my happy face look, where I straightened my back, leveled my shoulders and smiled the brightest smile I could muster as I stepped out from behind the brick wall named Sanders.

"Mom!" I grinned and held my arms out. "Sorry I haven't been over in a while, we have been planning the wedding—"