Four Grooms and a Queen (6 page)

“I’m afraid so. We need to eat, and then get into our tuxedos; so don’t dawdle.”

Hank mumbled as Shawn went back into the other room where the breakfast cart waited with their coffee, orange juice, bagels and cream cheese. Shawn heard the rustle of the covers and knew that his sleeping bear was getting up. He smiled and poured the coffee as Hank sat down as naked as he was when he went to bed.

“Well, you could have at least put on shorts, dear,” chided Shawn.

“Why? I need a shower before I put on clean shorts.”

Shawn decided not to belabor the point.

In the other suite, Pat was a little more awake when he got out of bed to the smell of coffee. He kissed his beloved on the cheek and sat down to drink his orange juice in one big gulp.

“Damn that was good.”

“It should have been. That one glass of orange juice was three-fifty!”

“Oh, who cares? We’re about to be married and go on our honeymoon. No sense in worrying what orange juice in the hotel costs,” Pat replied.

“Actually, I was joking, but you’re not awake enough yet to realize that. Take a sip of coffee and hit the shower. I’ll reheat your coffee in the microwave when you get out.”

Pat remembered the envelope that the sergeant had given him. He retrieved it and sat back down.

“What’s that?” Dean asked.

“I’m about to find out.”

He tore open the envelope and found a wedding card inside containing a one hundred dollar bill. Pat was as shocked as Hank would be when he opened his envelope.

“Wow, I can’t believe the sarge did this. This is way above what he had to do,” Pat said.

“Didn’t you once say you thought he might be gay?”

“Yeah. We thought he might be after the way he handled the blackmail case that Hank and I had to put up with. This is really a cool thing for him to do.”

Pat smiled as he headed for the shower. When he got out, he found Dean standing holding a towel to dry him off with. “Thank you, honey,” Pat said feeling like a new man after the shower.

“You look nice standing there all wet and naked, “ Dean said with a smile.

Pat smiled back. “Are you trying to tell me something or do you want me to get dressed?”

“What I want at the moment and what we have time for are two different things. Go get dressed,” Dean said with a sigh.

When Pat walked into the bedroom, he found his tuxedo laid out on the bed, and his coffee on the nightstand. Pat had already shaved and brushed his teeth so there was no reason not to get dressed right away. Pat also noticed that Dean had packed everything even though they had one more night to spend in Boston.

As they got dressed, Hank and Shawn were only moments behind them in preparations. Hank’s shower had the same effect on him that Pat’s did. Both men were now raring to go.

Dean answered the knock on their door to find two very handsome young men in black tuxedos. Dean whistled and waved them into the suite. Pat came out of the bedroom with his jacket over his left arm and added his own looks of approval.

“Damn, you two look finer than a hooker at a Vegas bar!” Pat said with a giant smile.

“Why, thank you; coming from you, that’s quite a compliment,” said Hank in return.

Shawn said nothing but just smiled that confident smile that said he
knew
he looked hot.

“Well, it’s time to head to the church. Are we all ready?” Dean asked.

Pat put on his jacket, took a look in the mirror and said, “Damn, but I’m good looking!”

After the laughter ended, Dean grabbed the room key and they went to the car. When they exited the elevator and walked through the lobby, people stopped and admired the four handsome young men in tuxedos gliding through. Even the front desk staff looked up from their work to admire the young men most likely on their way to a wedding.

They climbed into the rental car and left for City Hall to get the licenses and then to the church—a ten minute ride from the hotel. They parked in the “Pastors Reserved Parking” space and entered two minutes early.

They found Father Mark waiting at the altar and greeted him warmly. They also noticed several men sitting in the pews by the altar.

“Did you remember to get the licenses?” Father Mark asked.

“Of course,” Pat said as he handed both licenses to Father Mark. The priest would sign them and drop them off at City Hall after Christmas.

“If you’re ready, then let us begin. These gentlemen are friends of mine and will stand as your witnesses.”

“We’re used to different kinds of witnesses,” Hank cracked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Pat smiled and agreed. All four men took their places before the priest.

“Pat and Dean, is it both of your wills to come before the church to declare your love, and ask for God’s blessing on your marriage?”

“Yes,” responded both men.

“Pat and Dean, do you desire to spend the rest of your lives with one another?”

“We do,” they replied.

“Pat do you love Dean with all your heart and soul, and will you keep him in sickness and health, forsaking all others?”

“I do and I will,” Pat responded.

Father Mark asked the same questions of the other men and, after their consent and agreement, took the wedding bands, blessed them and gave them to the wedding party. Pat and Dean put rings on each other’s fingers as the other couple watched, and then Hank and Shawn followed suit.

When the rings were exchanged, Father Mark wrapped his clerical stole around the joined hands of each couple and said, “In as much as you have both declared your love and intentions before these witnesses and before God, and exchanged a symbol of that love, I declare you married in the eyes of the Church and the world. You may kiss your husband.”

 As the two couples kissed, he and the witnesses applauded. Father Mark shook hands with all four men and gave them a final blessing.

“I pray that you will be together forever and be assured that I’ll say a prayer for all of you at midnight Mass tonight.”

After Pat slipped the priest an envelope, everyone hugged, said their goodbyes, and left the church. Four newly married men hit the streets of Boston filled with joy and love.

“What should we do now? Go somewhere for lunch?” Pat asked.

“Actually, honey, we don’t have time. We need to get back to the hotel to check out,” replied Dean. Shawn just smiled in the back seat.

“Check out? I thought we were here in Boston through Christmas?” Pat asked.

“Well, in fact, no. We have a plane to catch for New York and we need to hustle.”

“New York?” both Pat and Hank said at the same time.

“All will be revealed in due course,” Shawn added.

After getting back to the hotel and creating the same sort of buzz in the lobby as when they departed, they got to their rooms, changed and zipped up their bags.

“Now I know why you had practically everything packed!” Pat said.

“I’m just being my usual efficient self,” Dean said with a smile.

“Well, what time is the plane?” Pat asked.

“In one hour,” Dean replied after looking at his watch.

With that, the couples raced to the car, threw the luggage in and sped to the airport. If they were pulled over for speeding, they all knew they wouldn’t get a ticket.

They arrived just in time to check their luggage and get their boarding passes. They were flying into JFK and Dean prayed the plane would leave on time.

After a quick, smooth ride, they landed at JFK, retrieved their luggage and looked for a cab.

“I guess spending Christmas in New York is kind of cool when you think about it. We can go see the big tree and all the lights of the city,” Hank said.

“Yeah, but I just wish we didn’t have to rush so much leaving Boston. You’d have thought the cops were after us,” Pat replied.

They got a cab and Dean gave the destination to the driver.

“Can you get us to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal quickly?” Dean asked.

“No problem,” answered the cabbie and away they went.

“Cruise terminal?” Pat said and looked at Hank.

“Yeah, Shawn and I thought we would take a ride on a tugboat around the harbor,” replied Dean.

“Tugboat my ass! We’re going on a cruise,” replied Pat with a broad grin.

“Gotta hand it to you and Dean; you guys kept this well hidden,” Hank said to Shawn.

A short while later and the guys were staring up at the Queen Mary 2. “You’ve got to be kidding? This is our ship?” Hank asked with wonderment.

“Yep, let’s move it and get on board; she sails at six,” said Shawn.

*  *  *

The
men proceeded to board and learned that they were headed to the Caribbean for ten wonderful nights before returning to New York. They would then fly home to Maryland with wonderful memories. As they settled into their adjoining suites, champagne corks popped, canapés were eaten, and beds were eyed with lust. Both couples were determined that this would be the finest honeymoon anyone could ever have.

It was now officially Christmas Eve, and they were spending it on board one of the most luxurious ocean liners in the world. As the giant ship left its dock and sailed passed the Statue of Liberty, the four best friends looked up at her in admiration.

“Ya know, America may not be perfect in many respects, but we got to marry the people we love in a colonial city that played a major role in the birth of America and now we’re sailing away on our honeymoon. No, she’s not perfect, but damn it… she will be!” Pat said and the rest of the wedding party nodded with tears in their eyes.

“Merry Christmas,” Shawn said.

The couples faced each other, raised their glasses of champagne and Pat made the toast:

“To the men we love, to our wedding night, and to the Queen!”

Got
Mistletoe Madness?

The Dreamspinner Press 2009 Advent Calendar is available at
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About the Author

John Simpson
, a Vietnam-era Veteran, has been a uniformed Police Officer of the Year, a federal agent, a federal magistrate, and an armed bodyguard to royalty and a senior government executive. He earned awards from the Vice President of the United States and the Secretary of the Treasury. John has written articles for various gay and straight magazines. John lives with his partner of 35 years and three wonderful Scott Terriers, all spoiled and a breed of canine family member that is unique in dogdom. John is also involved with the Old Catholic Church and its liberal pastoral positions on the gay community.

Visit John’s web site at http://www.johnsimpsonbooks.com/.

Copyright

Four Grooms and a Queen ©Copyright John Simpson, 2009

Published by

Dreamspinner Press

4760 Preston Road

Suite 244-149

Frisco, TX 75034

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the Authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Design by Catt Ford

This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 4760 Preston Road, Suite 244-149, Frisco, TX 75034 http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

Released in the United States of America