A Mighty Need

The Monday before the wedding, Noel and Audrey flew into Philadelphia on a first class flight with Ember in tow. They checked into The Hotel Monaco on Chestnut Street, across the road from and kitty-corner to Independence Hall. Noel’s parents and brother were flying in the following day and checking into the same hotel, as was Austin and Lindsay. They were paying to put their immediate family members up in hotels, but they left hotel bookings up to their extended family members and friends coming in from out of town or overseas. Audrey’s parents and her sister’s family were driving in from Columbus on Wednesday while Eddie and Steph, who had only just announced two months back that she was pregnant with their first child, were flying in on Thursday morning. The majority of out-of-towners were coming in on either Thursday or Friday.

It was definitely going to be a busy week. It had only just begun and the couple was already stressed.

Ember was miserable on the cross-Atlantic flight. She cried and made most of the flight uncomfortable for the rest of first class as well. Thankfully, they had a wonderful flight attendant who had dealt with that sort of thing before and was very accommodating with trying to help the couple comfort their child. When they were finally off the plane and passed through Customs, they were finally able to claim their baggage, which included Ember’s car seat they would need for traveling around town. It was no small feat to get organized and get through the airport and get a cab, and then get situated in the cab with a still fussy Ember. Before the cab pulled away from the curb and headed off toward the hotel, Noel and Audrey shared a look with each other that suggested mutual exhaustion, aggravation and the desire to just laugh before they cried.

They got into the Majestic Suite they’d booked and the first thing they did was tend to their daughter. Audrey prepared a bottle for Ember and fed her while Noel took care of calling the front desk to ask where the crib they had also booked for the room was. As Ember was eating, Noel sank down onto the sofa in the living room beside his two girls with his legs stretched all the way out and slouched on the cushions as if he was a rag doll.

“Imagine when we have more than one kid and we gotta do all this shit,” he commented, and then followed it up with a yawn. Since they were still on London time, it felt like nine-thirty at night to them unlike the forty-thirty time it was in Philadelphia, so they were at Ember’s normal bedtime, which meant it was going to be an interesting night to get her to sleep.

“Stop jumping the shark,” Audrey snickered, and mimicked his yawn. They were contagious, after all.

“I’m just sayin’.”

A knock came to the door and it was the Concierge with the crib. He apologized for the inconvenience, which Noel waved off, as he had the Concierge place the crib in the parlor room connected to their king-size bedroom. When asked if there was anything else, Noel shook his head and said he’d call if there was. When it was just their family of three again, Ember was done eating and she was resting up on Audrey’s shoulder as Audrey rubbed Ember’s back to elicit a belch, which came shortly after. It didn’t take long for Ember to fall asleep, though, so Noel took her and put her to bed and then Audrey called room service for a something to eat. When the food arrived, Noel and Audrey sat together at the table in the suite’s dining nook, eating in general silence.

“I’m so fucking tired,” Audrey laughed mid bite. She stared across at Noel and smiled at him, shaking her head and then resting it in her hand.

“Go to sleep, then.”

“It’s only six.”

“Yeah, but it’s like eleven to us.”

“But if I go to sleep now, I’ll be up too early. I need to force myself to get used to this time zone.”

“Then let’s finish eating, and watch some telly and just unwind. We need that.”

“What time is everyone coming in tomorrow? Your parents, brother, my brother and Lindsay…”

“They’re all on the same flight, I think, right?”

Audrey nodded. “Yeah, I think so, but what time are they getting in?”

Noel grabbed up his cell phone and scrolled through whatever information he had stored on it. “Their plane lands at seven-forty, so they probably won’t get here to the hotel until around eight-thirty.”

“They’ll probably be just as tired and hungry as we were, and since our suite is bigger, why don’t we have them join us here for something to eat from room service? That way your parents can see Ember before we put her to bed.”

“Sounds good,” Noel agreed. “Are your parents still taking Ember in their room with them on the wedding night?

“Probably. It’s between both our parents, though. Whoever decides to leave the party first takes Ember with them. Sharlice is going to make sure there’s a portable crib at the venue that Ember can sleep in. Our moms are in charge of looking after her during the reception for us.” Audrey sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Let’s not go over all this again because my brain is hurting.”

Noel chuckled. “Deal.” He stood up and leaned over the table, resting the palms of his hands on the table’s surface. Narrowing his eyes at her, he leaned in all the way and kissed her. “Are you excited?” he whispered against her lips.

“For the wedding? Of course,” she grinned.

“No,” he shook his head and pulled his face back. “In five days we finally get to bone.”

Audrey cackled out loud. She hadn’t been expecting him to say that. Standing up, she placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him in for another kiss. “Oh, god, yes. You might think that I’ve been aloof about it, but trust me, I am as excited to bone as you are. I’ve just been better at suppressing the urge to cave than you.”

“You could’ve been an actress,” Noel snickered.

Audrey shrugged. “When I was fourteen, the idea had crossed my mind.”



As they had expected, Ember slept her usual eleven hours through the night, waking up only once for a feeding and a changing; however, those hours were off because of how early she had gone down. Instead of going to bed at nine-thirty at night and waking up at her usual seven in the morning, she had fallen asleep at six in the evening and woke up for the day at four in the morning. Still exhausted, themselves, Noel and Audrey got up and changed Ember again and let her lay between them on the bed as they dangled toy keys above her face to keep her occupied for a while. Eventually Ember began to cry because she was hungry, so Audrey made her another bottle and fed her, and then laid her down in the crib in hopes she would fall back to sleep so that they could get more sleep.

By six that morning, Ember finally did and all three slept again for another three hours. By then, they decided to just stay up and start their day. Noel and Audrey took turns grabbing their showers while the other occupied Ember. They ordered room service for their breakfast and passed the rest of the morning, changing Ember again, since she pissed and shit so frequently, and played with her on the floor.

A little after two in the afternoon, while Noel was napping face down on the sofa while Ember napped on a blanket on the floor nearby, there was a knock at the door which Audrey answered. It was her best friend Val, lugging an infant stroller.

“Hey,” Audrey greeted with a whisper. She held a finger to her lips. “Noel and Ember are both sleeping so we gotta be quiet.”

“Oh, I know that all too well.” Val pulled the stroller inside the suite and Audrey closed the door behind them. “Here. I figured you might need this at some point during the week and wouldn’t have brought your own with everything else you had to bring.”

“Oh my god, yes, I hadn’t even thought about a stroller. We brought her car seat, and the hotel provided a crib but, yes…a stroller. Thank you.”

“So, let me see her. I took off work early to come here.”

“Are Joe and the kids at home?”

Val nodded. “Yeah. I gotta be home by four when he goes into work, though, so I don’t have too long to visit.”

Audrey showed Val in toward the living room space where Noel and Ember were. Val chuckled at the sight of both of them out cold. She crouched down in front of Ember and touched her fingers softly to Ember’s back, careful not to wake the baby up. Both women then retreated to the bedroom to sit in the connected parlor room so they could talk more normally and play catch up. They talked about the Jack and Jill party that was going to happen on Thursday night in place of bachelor or bachelorette parties. Everyone from the wedding party and any other close friends that were in town by then would be joining them out for one last hurrah to celebrate the couple before the big day. The plan was to go out for drinks to a club, or two or three. They would see how the night went.

Friday evening was the rehearsal at Front and Palmer, the venue for both the ceremony and the reception, as well as cocktails in-between for guests while the wedding party went off for photographs elsewhere. The rehearsal dinner was being held at their hotel for just the wedding party and their immediate family and that night Noel was going to be sleeping in the extra double bed in Mike’s room while Audrey stayed in their suite with her mother who was going to help take care of Ember through the night.

While Audrey and Val were talking, Noel came walking into the bedroom with Ember on his hip; both with sleepy faces as they greeted the women.

“Omigosh, there she is,” Val cooed. “Lemme see her.”

Noel smiled and said hello, then passed Ember off to his fiancée’s best friend and bridesmaid. Val took the four month old girl into her arms and immediately smooched her face and cuddled her, gushing over how adorable she was and then commenting how she really did seem to take after Noel more so in his looks. Noel frowned, trying to say any good looks she got came from Audrey, but Audrey just nodded and agreed with Val.

“She is her father’s daughter; that is for sure.”

Shortly after, Val left. Noel and Audrey decided to put the stroller to good use and bundled Ember up. The weather was a bit brisk and grey out, as it would be all week, unfortunately. Saturday, the day of their wedding, was even calling for some rain showers. As they left the hotel, with Audrey pushing the stroller so that Ember faced them and was blocked from the wind, they turned left and headed east on Chestnut Street and within five minutes they found themselves standing in front of Rotten Ralph’s, the same bar and restaurant they had eaten at seven months prior when they had their altercation with Steve. The two of them looked at each other, clearly thinking the same thing and just smirked before continuing their walk down the street.

When the clouds grew darker, they backtracked and turned around to head back to the hotel. Both had wished they could’ve last longer outside, as the fresh air had been nice, but it was better than nothing. They killed time in their suite again, feeding Ember again and putting her down for another short nap while they picked at some snacks from the mini bar and watched some television.

At seven fifty-five, they got a call from Noel’s parents. They had all just gotten off the plane and made it through Customs and were headed to the baggage claim. Austin sent a text to Audrey around the same time, saying the same thing. Diane, Ray, Mike, Austin and Lindsay had all traveled on the same flight from London and would all be staying at the Hotel Monaco as well. Since the hotel had no shuttle service, the fivesome split into two separate cabs they were able to snag at the airport and made it to the hotel by eight-forty to check in. Noel met them all down in the lobby to make sure that went smoothly since he and Audrey were paying for the extra hotel rooms. Noel’s parents were in one of the corner one bedroom suites, while Mike was in a single room, as were Austin and Lindsay. Once they had all dropped their luggage and other belongings off in said rooms and taken in their temporary lodging with excitement, they came up to Noel and Audrey’s suite where Diane made an immediate beeline for Ember who had been awake from her little nap for some time. She recognized her Nana and Papa, as Diane and Ray were being referred to now, and smiled brightly.

“Oh my god, she gets cuter every day,” Diane gushed, kissing all over Ember’s cheeks, which caused the little girl to gurgle and coo with glee. “She looks more like you did as a baby, Noel.”

“So, you keep telling me,” Noel smirked as he sat down beside Audrey.

“Can we take her overnight in our room?”

Audrey looked at her soon-to-be mother-in-law, then to Noel and shrugged. “Sure, if you think you can handle it.”

“Oh, I can handle anything where this cutie patootie is concerned.”

“I like how I have no say in the matter,” Ray chimed in, taking a seat at the dining table and sliding his shoes off to rub his aching feet on the floor.

Diane turned Ember around so she was facing her Papa. “I dare you to say no to this face. Do it. I double dog dare you.”

Ray narrowed his eyes and then outstretched his arms to take Ember from his wife. As soon as the baby girl was on her Papa’s lap, he kissed her forehead and smiled. “Of course I can’t say no to my granddaughter.”

Audrey looked at Noel again and smiled, curling closer into his side; linking her arm through his and then resting her head down on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head, briefly inhaling her scent. Eventually he called down for room service to feed their family members and they all chatted for a while before heading off to their rooms. Ray pushed the crib out of the suite to the elevator down the hall while Diane followed behind him with the diaper bag, stocked with plenty of diapers, wipes, toys, bottles, formula, and a change of clothes.

Audrey and Noel bid adieu to their daughter for the night and then closed the door. It was suddenly way too quiet, despite the fact that the television was on. They looked at each other and could’ve easily taken advantage of the time alone to fuck like bunnies, but they were keeping to the plan to wait until Saturday night.

“We can still do sexy things, you know, without the sex,” Noel remarked. “Bubble bath?”

“Mmm, I like that suggestion.”

Noel turned off the TV and let Audrey head toward the bedroom first before slipping into the bathroom to fill the tub with warm water and scented suds.



Audrey’s parents arrived into Philadelphia the next day about a half hour before her sister Crystal and family did. Ember was down for a nap when Audrey went down to greet her family members and help them check in, just as Noel had done the night before. They had all gotten on the road at the same time, but Crystal and her family had to make more frequent stops because of the kids, which meant more bathroom breaks, aside from the usual stops for filling up the gas tank and getting something to eat. The latter were booked into a room with two queen beds for the family of four, while Audrey’s parents were booked into a corner King Spa Room.

It was starting to become a bit insane with both sides of their immediate family showing up. The only two people left were Eddie and Steph, who were flying in the following morning from Sioux Falls. After the new arrivals were all settled in, they all seemed to converge on Noel and Audrey’s suite again, with Crystal the most excited because it was the first time she got to meet Ember in person. When Ember woke up, that is. Crystal was given full reign to occupy the four month old for the rest of the night. They went downstairs to the Red Owl Tavern a couple of hours later for dinner and their party of thirteen, as Ember didn’t technically count, were seated up in the Mezzanine atop the restaurant. When Ember started to get antsy and cry a little, Mike swooped in from out of nowhere and quite utterly silenced his niece whose face lit up when she saw him. She was the apple of Uncle Mike’s eye.

“No fair playing favorites, little girl,” Austin joked, tugging at Ember’s toe when Mike sat down with her, as he had been sitting in a booth across from Austin and Lindsay.

“You can’t blame her for having good taste.”

“It’s probably because you’re so short, Mike,” Noel teased. He and Audrey were sitting in the booth with Crystal and Avery, which was just behind Mike. Noel had sat up a bit and turned around to face his and Audrey’s respective brothers. “She just thinks you’re a baby like her.” Noel then made a crazy face at his daughter and stuck out his tongue, all of which garnered a happy gurgle from her.

Since Jeremy had been the primary driver in the Pasternak family car, he was exhausted and chose to excuse himself after the meal to head back to his room and just relax and try to sleep. Crystal followed shortly after to see Tristan and Avery off to bed as well before joining Audrey and Noel back in their suite to cuddle Ember some more. Austin and Lindsay were heading out to meet up with some of his old friends, and were taking Mike with them, and both sets of parents had chosen to gather together in Diane and Ray’s room for a nightcap. Audrey let Crystal do the honors in putting Ember to bed for the night and afterward the three adults sat around talking animatedly about the wedding and other recent, albeit minor, life events in general. By ten-thirty, Crystal retreated back to her room and left the couple alone.

Noel and Audrey curled up together on the couch and looked at each other, as Noel smirked. “Wanna make out like a pair of teenagers in a parked car?”

Audrey bit her bottom lip and smiled. “Okay.”

She leaned in and pressed her lips firmly against his as she snaked her arms around his neck. She lifted up and turned in order to sit in his lap facing him. His own arms promptly around her waist, Noel held her tight against him as their kiss deepened. Audrey casually ground into him a bit, which was enough to elicit a moan from his depths of his throat.

“Don’t do that. You’ll wake the beast.”

Audrey cackled, then pulled back from his face and covered her mouth very quickly, hoping she didn’t wake Ember. Noel caught her drift as they both looked in the direction of the bedroom and stopped everything; listening to hear for any sounds their little one might make.

But there was nothing.

Crisis: averted.

“Our first kiss went a little something like this,” Audrey commented when they were in the clear to talk. She smiled at him and leaned back in to kiss his lips again. “Almost three years ago, you and I were a bit drunk off our asses, sitting just like this in a chair at that pub. I can’t remember which one. I always mix up The Oxford Arms with The Camden Head because we were at both within a few days of each other. Which came first?”

“It was The Camden Head. That was Halloween night and the first kiss. The Oxford Arms was when we met up with Dee and Sue for dinner.”

Audrey grinned. “Oh, yes,” she nodded. “And the Oxford Arms was our last stop before you came back with me to the Savoy and we made like a pair of bunnies.”

Noel grinned back at her and kissed her again. “Our first time, and what a wonderful time it was.”

“And still is.”

“I remember how exciting it was to discover all your curves, your every nook and cranny for the first time ever. It was wonderful.” Noel lifted a hand up and brushed her hair away from her face. “Feeling how your bare skin flushed when I touched it…”

Audrey’s breath hitched as she brushed her nose against his. “Now, you stop it before you unleash the Kraken.”

Noel chuckled quietly. “I don’t think we can be trusted together in such close proximity tonight. Maybe I should sleep here on the couch.” When she pouted at him, he grabbed her chin between his thumb and index finger. “Seriously, though. I will end up fucking the daylights out of you and then all of this waiting for our wedding night will have been for nothing.”

“I know.”

“I think it would be okay to go down on you, though, right?” Noel smirked mischievously at her. “Like sampling the frosting before the cake is decorated.”

Audrey’s smiled darkly at him as her skin flushed with excitement, just like it had always done around him in times like this. “I don’t see any harm in that,” she replied with a shrug.

Noel lifted her off his lap and set her down beside him before sliding down off the couch himself to kneel in front of her. He placed his thick fingers at the top of the leggings she was wearing and began to tug them down off her hips. Subconsciously she covered her stomach with a hand; still not one hundred percent happy with how it looked and wanting to hide the bottom half of it from Noel’s gaze as much as she could. As he slid the leggings down off her legs, he leaned back on the heels of his feet and hunched his back to slip the leggings completely off her and drop them to the floor.

He frowned. “Shit. I should’ve taken your pants off with the leggings and saved myself some time.”

Audrey giggled a little. “I can do it.” She lifted her ass up a bit, hooking her thumbs into her underwear and sliding them down off her rear and then letting Noel take over from there. He wiggled his eyebrows and made a creepy clown-like face at her, which made her cover her face with her hands and shake her head. “You’re hopeless,” she laughed.

“No, I’m horny. It’s the other ‘H’.”

Spreading her legs open, Noel lifted them up and rested them over his shoulders as he leaned in with his face, flicking his tongue out for the first, initial gesture and then working two fingers into the deal. Audrey had since dropped her hands to the top of his head and coiled her own fingers within his dark tresses. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes whilst biting down on her bottom lip. She focused on every swirl and zigzag of his tongue, every thrust his fingers made and the warmth of his breath. He had started out slow, and almost painfully so. To encourage him onward, she gripped his hair tighter and allowed a moan to escape her lips in between the tiny whimpers she was making. His tongue felt like dull sandpaper and it was heaven to her. She turned her head and looked out the window at the stormy night sky and the rain pelting the glass and her mind wandered a bit to the first night she spent with him. Even though they hadn’t done anything other than kiss and partake in some heavy petting, she still considered it their first night together; just not their first time.

They had gone to Stonehenge together during the day but got rained out and came back to the house where he showed her his artwork, gave her a quick tour of the house, they ordered pizza, and drank both wine and mixed drinks. It was the loud clap of thunder, the bright flash of lightning and the power going out that had brought them back to reality, or else they would’ve most likely sealed the deal right then and there without a care and with no regrets.

Three years later and he still made her wet like the window.

When she came, she gripped his hair like it was her job and dug the heels of her feet into his upper back while she shivered all over. Noel lifted his head, wiping his chin with his thumb and then pushing Audrey’s legs off his shoulder to slide up her body and kiss her fully and hungrily on the mouth. Audrey felt flush everywhere and reached out to encircle her arms around his neck as she tasted herself mixed with his saliva on his lips and sighed into his mouth. The kiss deepened and their chest pressed firmly together as Audrey scooted closer to wrap her legs around his waist. When they parted for a mere moment, they looked each other dead in the eye and lust took over. Audrey dropped her hands to his pants and began to undo the top button and unzip them. Bending her legs, she used her toes to push his pants and underwear down off his hips and then use her hands to lift his shirt up off his head.

And they would’ve gone further if it hadn’t been for the sudden and consecutive booms of thunder outside that seemed to come out of nowhere and made it sound like the end of the world, and was accompanied by a flash of lightning.

Unlike their first overnighter, it didn’t end with the power going out but it did end with Ember bursting out into a scared cry as the thunder had woken her up.

Noel and Audrey looked at each other, incredibly flustered and for good reason.

With a sigh, Noel ran a hand down his face and then up again to ruffle his hair and push it back a bit off his forehead. When he brought his hand back down, he gave Audrey’s knee a squeeze. “I’ll get her,” he said, getting up off his knees with an aching expression. “Ugh, that hurt.”

Audrey watched as he stood up and pulled his pants back up. He zipped the zipper as he walked off toward the bedroom and grabbed his junk through the material which was now even tighter on him since their daughter had just blue-balled them both, really. When he disappeared from sight, Audrey sat back into the sofa and gathered her thoughts before hunching forward to snatch her underwear up and slip them back on. She was sliding back into her leggings when Noel came back into the suite’s living space with Ember in his arms.

Their little girl was red in the face from crying, which was now just down to a whimper. Audrey smiled at her and walked up to both father and daughter. She placed an arm around Noel’s bare back and brought the opposite hand up to grab Ember’s and kiss her palm.

“Hey, Emmie, did the mean ol’ thunder scare you?”

Ember leaned into Audrey, signaling she wanted her mommy to hold her, so Audrey took her from Noel. Audrey still remained close against him, though; the three of them standing there, swaying slightly to console a pouty Ember. Noel placed a kiss on his daughter’s temple and then on Audrey’s.

“My girls,” he smiled.



The following evening was Thursday and the rainstorm from the night before had temporarily cleared up and provided all present with a lovely night out on the town without any worry of getting drenched. Eddie and Steph had arrived to the Hotel Monaco, after their flight landed, just after ten-thirty in the morning, but their room wasn’t ready yet, Audrey and Noel let them store their bags and belongings in their suite until the room became available to check into. They weren’t the only ones who arrived, though. The majority of their guests from London flew in that day, and that evening one of Noel’s family members from Canada came in, as well. Julian and Julia arrived, as did the boys from Kasabian, Blacky and his girl, Tom and Kim, Tom Meeten, Dolly and her husband, Dave and his girl, Richard and Sarah, Juliette and Paloma. Basically, the entire wedding party was finally in town in time for the Jack and Jill party. They were all a bit jetlagged, though, but those who got in earlier had time to take a nap in their hotel rooms at whatever hotels they had booked themselves into.

Both sets of parents took to looking after all three kids that afternoon; those kids being Crystal’s two and Ember. Noel and Audrey went out with Julian and Julia, as they had arrived even earlier that Eddie and Steph. The Barratts were staying at the Marriott on the corner of Market and North 12th Streets, across from the Hard Rock Café. Since they were also too early for their check-in time, Audrey and Noel offered their hotel suite as storage of sorts until then. Julian and Julia had slept pretty well on the plane and were good to go. Both couples went out and grabbed breakfast together at the Dunkin Donuts near the Hard Rock Café and then went walking around the city for a bit. The first stop was the Love statue, where Noel and Audrey felt it necessary to keep with the tradition of taking their picture in front of it once again. Julian and Julia did the same and then Noel and Julian took a picture together, kissing, which brought hearty laughs to their ladies. They walked along Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art so Julian and Julia could see where the famous scene from Rocky was filmed, and also because Julian wanted to recreate it. After all that, though, they were all tired from walking and whatnot, so they called for cabs to pick them up and take them back to the Hotel Monaco where they grabbed lunch with some of the others in the Red Owl Tavern.

Others arrived in the late afternoon and called up Noel to let him and Audrey know they got in alright and were either already checked-in to their hotels or about to be. When it became close to check-in time for the Barratts, they grabbed their belongings from Noel and Audrey’s suite and took a cab to the Marriott. After then, the consensus was for everyone to meet up at the Hard Rock Café for dinner. Having planned it in advance, the soon-to-be wedded couple blocked out the Philadelphia Room for those in town already for the Jack and Jill party.

They all sat down for the meal, grouped together at random tables, but at any given time there were a few people up and moving around to mingle and talk with those at other tables. After the meal was done, joke cakes were brought out that Mike and Crystal, as Best Man and Matron of Honor, had arranged together. Noel got a cake that looked like a pair of tits and Audrey got the penis cake. Plenty of hilarious photos were taken with both and shared to several Twitter and Instagram accounts, Audrey and Noel were sure. Joke gifts were also given, which included furry handcuffs, and lingerie that Julian joked could be worn by either Audrey or Noel. Juliette presented the couple with a pair of matching T-shirts to wear for the rest of the night: Noel a black shirt that simply said Groom and Audrey a white shirt that said Bride. Audrey was also given a plastic tiara to wear that had a white veil attached and a penis shaped Ring Pop to wear on her hand.

Keeping with their duties as Best Man and Matron of Honor, Mike and Crystal gathered up what gifts Noel and Audrey weren’t wearing and returned them to the hotel before joining everyone at the next stop for the night.

By eleven o’clock they had all moved on toward Whisper Club where, again, Audrey and Noel had booked with in advance to get the VIP service, which included a “no wait” entry into the club and access to one of the VIP lounges that only members of their party were allowed into for the duration of their stay there. They were all pretty drunk by midnight, with the bride and groom obviously the center of attention. Noel and Audrey had broken away from the VIP lounge eventually to head to the dance floor and dance together and were quickly joined by much of their “entourage”. Because Juliette and Paloma were more well-known faces in the States, they garnered the most attention and club goers were snapping pictures with their phones and asking if the two women, respectively, would take photos with them (the club goers).

With her arms limply tossed over Noel’s shoulders, Audrey had her head tipped against his chest while they danced to some club mix version of a current top 40 hit. The song didn’t much matter, just the beat that allowed them to move in time together. His hands gripped her hips and kept her close as the world around them went on like a blur of motion and colors.

Audrey lifted her head and looked at him with a lazy smile. “We’re gonna need two honeymoons to recover from all this celebration,” she said as loudly as she could manage so he could hear her over the pulsing music.

“I’m okay with that,” he replied back with a laugh and then a kiss.

She tightened her arms around his neck and rested the side of her face onto his chest as they continued to dance, occasionally interrupted by their friends. A few of them were too exhausted from travel that they were forced to cut their involvement in the evening short and bid the couple adieu to head back to their hotels to get some sleep, but the rest seemed to stay until Noel and Audrey were done; which wasn’t until two in the morning.

Since Audrey’s parents had claimed Ember for the night in their room, Noel and Audrey had invited several of their friends back to their suite for a nightcap, to listen to some music and just hang out. This only lasted about another hour before Audrey fell asleep, laying down on the sofa next to Noel with her head in his lap. In order to say goodnight to their guests and show them out, Noel had to carefully lift his fiancée’s head and set it gently back down to the sofa cushion. Once everyone else was gone with the promise of seeing them later in the day (since it was technically Friday by that point), Noel tiptoed back over to Audrey and lifted her up into his arms.

She stirred slightly but he just hushed her with a cliché shh and carried her into the bedroom where he laid her softly down onto their bed. She woke up then but he once against hushed her back to sleep as he pulled the covers up over her. There was no point in bothering to undress her, or himself for that matter, so he simply climbed into bed and laid back with his head on the pillows while staring up at the ceiling for a while.

His head was spinning a bit and he was trying to focus on one point to keep from feeling too dizzy and getting nauseous. Noel ran his hands over his face and then rolled onto his side to stare at Audrey’s sleeping form. For a minute he forgot Ember was in Lou and Mary’s room, so he lifted his head to stare across toward the parlor room only to find the crib wasn’t there and neither was Ember. He momentarily panicked and then quickly remembered where his daughter was and, with a sigh of relief, set his head back down on his pillow and resumed staring at Audrey.

All he could think about was the first morning he woke up to her next to him; the night after the thunderstorm that knocked out his power. He had woken to her still asleep beside him and found himself playing himself playing with the ends of her hair, twirling a lock around his finger as he watched her sleep. It was rather soothing to him and something he found great comfort in. Leaning closer to her body, he kissed her cheek and then wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him and resting his head on her shoulder as he spooned her side.

“I love you,” he whispered, before closing his eyes and letting unconsciousness soon take over.



Friday morning, Noel and Audrey both woke up around ten, deciding to shower first before heading off to her parent’s room to claim their daughter. The family of three enjoyed what was left of the morning together in their suite before Ember was carted off once again, this time by Diane and Ray. The hotel’s in-room spa service had been booked by Audrey and Noel so they could receive a wonderful joint massage as it would be the only time (aside from the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner that night) they would have together until she joined him at the end of the aisle the following afternoon.

After their massages, Audrey was carted off with the ladies in her bridal party so they could all get manicures and pedicures together and have a bit of an all-ladies’ afternoon together, which also included a late lunch. Noel had hung back at the hotel with “his boys” and taking calls from their other out-of-town guests that were arriving in from abroad. Those guests included Melvis and her husband, Alison, Russell, Dee, Chris O’Dowd and his wife Dawn O’Porter, Rich and his wife, and Courtney Love…to name a few.

The Hotel Monaco and other local Philadelphia hotels were starting to turn into a hotbed of celebrity Who’s Who? with all their more famous friends arriving. A local news team seemed to catch on to the fact that a slew of famous people had been spotted at the airport and checking into hotels; wondering what the reason was. Some digging had been done and a popular radio station discovered all these celebs seemed to be in town for “some wedding,” and further digging after that produced the fact that “Author and Screenwriter Audrey Woods had come home to Philadelphia to marry her fiancé and father of her child, British Actor and Comedian Noel Fielding.”

The information about the impending wedding and celebrity guests broke as part of the evening news channels entertainment segments. While this “news” aired on television, Audrey and Noel were at Front and Palmer, the wedding ceremony and reception venue, with their immediate family and wedding party for the wedding rehearsal. Sharlice was there as well, to go over last minute details about the big day and the Justice of the Peace they had to officiate the ceremony was there to go navigate the run-through of the ceremony.

It was so very surreal. It didn’t feel like they were actually about to get married but instead play-acting. Audrey held Ember on her hip to carry down the aisle in lieu of a bouquet, as they had originally discussed and thankfully Ember was quiet and content. They just hoped she remained that way for the actual ceremony. After the rehearsal, Sharlice pulled the couple aside to go over a few more things before they all departed back to the hotel for dinner.

Everyone that was at the rehearsal met up at the hotel’s Shanghai Private Dining Room, which was just gorgeous. It had a vaulted ceiling, mahogany paneled walls, exposed brick and vintage chandeliers. The table was actually two incredibly long, distressed wood tables put together and paired with leather wingback chairs. The tables themselves were adorned with several taper and votive candles going down the center instead of centerpieces. Noel and Audrey were seated at opposite ends; which was a bit weird, but at least they could see each other across the table and their friends and family could see them better as well.

Ray stood up just after dinner was initially served, holding his glass of wine up with him. Both sets of parents were seated to the left and right of their child. Ray was at Noel’s left, Diane at his right. Lou was on Audrey’s right and Mary on the left. Basically all the women were on one side and all the men were on the other. That included the children, Avery and Tristan, except for Ember who was seated in her car seat which was perched on top of a restaurant-style high chair next to Audrey.

Looking down at his son with a smile, Ray placed his free hand on Noel’s shoulder. “I just wanted to say a few words tonight because I don’t think I’ll get the chance tomorrow. The father of the groom doesn’t really do much during the ceremony or reception other than stand there looking good,” he remarked and smiled again when everyone laughed. “It sounds cliché, because it is, but tomorrow I don’t lose a son, I gain a daughter.” He turned his attention down the table at Audrey. “In the last three years that you and my son have known each other, I’ve seen him at his happiest; this year more than ever. You’re the daughter Diane and I have always wanted and without you we wouldn’t have such a beautiful granddaughter. We can’t thank you enough for bringing such joy into our lives and, more importantly, into Noel’s. Cheers.”

Everyone else followed suit in raising their glasses and repeating, “Cheers.”

Lou stood up next, either because he’d planned on it, or he suddenly felt obligated to say something as well. “I just wanted to say a few words, too.” He looked at Audrey with his heart on his sleeve. “I remember the day you were born and the day your mom and I got married, watching as she carried you down the aisle with her just as you’re planning to do tomorrow with Ember. I remember your first day of kindergarten, you suddenly becoming a teenager in what seemed like the blink of an eye, watching you go off to school dances and eventually going off to college. I’ve seen your every milestone and watched you grow into a beautiful and talented young woman and I watched as you struggled to find your place in this world. When your first book got published, I jumped for joy as if it had happened to me. I’ve also seen your heart break when love seemed lost on you, but then, nearly three years ago on Thanksgiving, this guy shows up on your doorstep after dinner with a suitcase in his hand and dressed like Keith Richards in the ‘70s.”

Everyone chuckled and Noel just nodded as he smiled across at Audrey; conjuring the memory in his mind.

“I saw how you looked at him and I saw the way he looked back, and I knew something good was going to happen for you. Each time you came home from visiting him in London, you seemed sad and that made me sad for you. Each time he came here to Philly and I saw you with him, you came alive again and it was then I became even sadder; not because I was unhappy for you, but for myself. I guess a part of me felt like I was losing you for good and an even smaller part of me wished Noel wouldn’t be good enough for you so I wouldn’t lose you. But, that was selfish of me to think. You have only ever deserved all the happiness in the world and Noel was – is — your happiness.” Lou had tears brimming his eyes, which had brought tears to the eyes of several others, including Audrey and Noel. “Seeing you fly away to London to live with him was one of the most bittersweet experiences of my life. You weren’t just my little girl anymore. My little bird had flown the coop and had become someone else’s girl; the love of someone’s life, and I’m glad to say I wholeheartedly approve. I just wish you all the happiness in the world, Aud, and would love to get more grandchildren out of you.”

Audrey laughed and flashed Noel a look.

Lou turned and looked at Noel as well with a faux stern gaze. “And, Noel: if you ever hurt my little girl, I know where you live and I will book the first flight out and hurt you.”

Laughter echoed in the room as Lou smiled and nodded at his son-in-law-to-be, and then sat down. Everyone toasted to Audrey and Noel again and the party chatter picked back up. Noel stood up eventually and made his way down to his girls, placing a kiss on both.

“Where are you staying tonight?” Audrey asked. They had since decided that Noel would sleep elsewhere the night before the wedding, as most couples did.

“I’m crashing with Mike in his room.”

Audrey held his eye for a moment and smirked. “Tomorrow night can’t come soon enough.”

“Tell me about it.”

Dinner was over by this point, as was dessert, and everyone was merely sitting back enjoying their post-meal drinks. Crystal had since called it a night to put the kids up to bed and Diane had gone up to take Ember up to her and Ray’s suite for the night. Audrey would have the entire Majestic suite to herself and she was not liking the idea at all anymore. Soon, everyone dispersed from the private dining room and went back to their hotel rooms or, in some cases, other hotels entirely.

Noel and Audrey walked together back to their suite where he gathered his stuff that he would need for the wedding, which included his clothes. Austin was the one who had been charged with bringing Audrey’s dress in its garment bag on his flight and store it in his hotel room so Noel wouldn’t see it until he saw her walking down the aisle toward him in it.

Standing in the doorway with his own garment bag slung over his shoulder and his smaller toiletries bag in his opposite hand, Noel leaned against the frame of the door and kissed Audrey.

“The next time we see each other we’ll be getting married.”

Audrey grinned. “It seemed like the day would never come and now here it is, tomorrow already.”

“I know; it’s crazy, right?” He shook his head and then pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m gonna stop by my parent’s room and look in on Ember.”

“Okay.”

“Is it too soon to wish you goodnight, Mrs. Fielding?”

Audrey shook her head and smiled. “It’s never too soon.”

“Alright then,” Noel spoke quietly, pressing his lips once more to Audrey’s. “Goodnight, Mrs. Fielding.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Fielding.”

After the kiss, Noel stepped back and retreated down the hallway, walking backwards so they were still looking at each other. She watched as he pushed the button for the elevator, just like when he left her at the hotel in San Francisco just before Christmas the year before. As the doors slid open for him, he gave a nod of his head and blew her a kiss, and then he was gone from view and Audrey’s heart ached a little.

Emitting a slight sigh, Audrey closed the suite door.