twelve
.
October 24th
“Honey, Lauren and Amy are so nice,” Christen gushes, her hand squeezing Tobin’s right hand as Tobin navigates the car with her left. She’s thrilled to finally meet Tobin’s close friends and loved how their visit went. Amy and her husband Adam were funny and kind and their two boys were adorable and polite. Lauren and her husband Jrue were open and welcoming and set Christen instantly at ease in their home. Jrue is a professional basketball player and has a hilarious personality. Within minutes of meeting her, Christen knew how nurturing Lauren was, through how she interacted with her daughter Jrue, or J.D. as they call her and also by how she asked thoughtful questions to them.
Both Amy and Lauren knew the situation of Christen and Tobin, Tobin had asked Christen if minded that she share it with them over a week ago. They were very protective of Tobin, wanting to be sure she would be safe with the attention she would get from reporters. Jrue sweetly offered to have his security guys come out check both of their houses to make sure everything was secure in case they suddenly got some overzealous fans. When Tobin demurred his offer, he reminded her of a few scary incidents he and Lauren had with fans. Christen was horrified to hear of how these people felt the need to demand their attention and ask personal questions and going so far as to come onto their property and into their backyards all for scoring a photo or an autograph. Christen accepted his offer for both of them, frightened by the possibility of that occurring her or Tobin. Jrue tried to reassure her that the dogs would help immensely, especially if they exhibited a protective nature to her or Tobin.
That conversation left Christen feeling worried, but what happened made her practically forget about it. What is making Christen feel so giddy is how this was her first experience seeing Tobin with children. She had virtually met Tobin’s family through Facetime and she’s come to love when she is around when Tobin’s sister calls to witness Tobin talking to her nephew. Now seeing her act with the kids in person today, she felt something stirring deep inside of her. How Tobin devoted her attention to each child, patiently listening to their stories and holding them and after awhile playing with them just made Christen fall in love with her even more if that was possible.
Amy and her husband live in San Luis Obispo and it worked out that Lauren and Jrue could come down to visit as well. From here, Christen and Tobin are driving three hours further south to Palos Verde to visit Christen’s parents at the family home. Her sisters will be there as well, coming in for the occasion. It’s a quick visit for Tobin and Christen will spend the night there before leaving after breakfast to make the six hour drive back home.
“Little Jrue is so cute,” she says, smiling at meeting the small child. She has a darker complexion like Christen with curly hair and a certain confidence that young children can have that was adorable.
“Yeah, she’s so excited about Halloween,” Tobin smiles, “so are the boys,”
“Do you see us with children in our future?” Christen asks suddenly.
Tobin glances over, a little smirk on her face, “Your ovaries talking here, Chris?” she chuckles and grins.
“Well, maybe,” Christen admits, chuckling at herself, “seeing you with the kids kinda turned me on,” she admits, “and it naturally led me to ask you.”
“I would like to,” Tobin nods, her voice serious, “but we would have to really take things slow and figure out what that would look like. I mean, I’m not sure I’d like to work,” she states, “My Mom stayed home until were older and I kinda love the idea of being a stay at home Mom too and then maybe go back to working part time or something when they get older.”
Christen hums, letting Tobin’s hand go and now resting her hand on Tobin’s thigh.
“And I’d never ask you to leave your job,” Tobin continues, “but if you’re travelling then I’d really want to be home.”
Christen hadn’t considered that. “Oh,” she whispers and Tobin’s head swiftly turns to look at her.
“Babe?” she questions quickly, looking at her with concern and then her eyes are back on the road.
“I didn’t even think of that,” Christen confesses, her shoulders slumping slightly, “I don’t think I’d want to leave ever,”
Tobin slides her hand over Christen’s, patting it lightly, “Babe,” she says slowly, “we don’t have to figure this out right now, here in the car,” she reminds her, “besides,” she lifts her left hand up and wiggles her fingers, “you gotta put a ring on it first!” she laughs lightly.
Christen smiles and leans in her seat, letting out a sigh, “You’re right,” she agrees, “but I’d like to talk more about it sometime,”
“Of course,” Tobin agrees, “and since we’re talking about serious stuff,” she says, “maybe we should start making a timeline of when we might want to live together,”
Christen grins, “I have some ideas about that,” she states happily.
“Yeah?” Tobin glances over, “You got a spreadsheet already?”
Christen looks over at her, waiting to speak until Tobin looks over again. “I do,” she says, narrowing her eyes and scrunching her nose at her.
Tobin chuckles, “My ideas are in my journal,” she shares, “so I’m on the same level as you,” she chuckles, “so, technically, I’m poking fun at both of us,”
“Yes, sweetheart,” Christen says condescendingly.
Traffic stops and Tobin leans over, “I can’t wait for all of this stuff to happen, babe,” she smiles at her and kisses her before settling back I her seat.
Christen takes hold of Tobin’s hand again, “I feel the same way, honey,” she says, her heart filled with love and happiness.
----
“This will be cool, this will be cool,” Tobin repeats as she wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans again as they walk up the sidewalk to Christen’s childhood home. “Is this how you felt meeting my parents?” Tobin questions, her grip on Christen’s fingers tightening slightly.
“No, it was fine,” Christen states airily, “just like this will be,” she says and stops walking to pull Tobin in and kiss her. “They’ll love you, sweetie,” she says reassuringly, “and I bet you within ten minutes, my Dad will be telling you to call him Big Daddy and my Mom will want to know if you’re joining us for Thanksgiving.”
Tobin nods while she listens to her, “Okay, yeah,” she says, pumping herself up, “it’ll be fine,”
Christen begins to step away and Tobin’s grip holds her in place. “What if it takes longer? Do I win the bet?” her lips curl into a smirk, her eyes darkening a little. She bites her lower lip as she looks at Christen expectantly.
“If he hasn’t said the words Big Daddy or Thanksgiving isn’t mentioned in ten minutes, then I’ll be your sex slave for an entire night,” Christen says slowly, letting her free hand trail down Tobin’s sternum to the loop of her jeans. She curls a finger in the loop, kissing her hard and then she lets go. She opens her purse and swipes to open the clock icon, quickly setting a timer. With phone in hand, she opens the door, “We’re here!” she announces loudly as she presses the timer to start, smirking at Tobin who is wiping her mouth and shaking her head.
XXXX
October 25th
Christen is trying her best to contain herself as she sits next to Tobin as they pull away from her parents’ house. The visit had been a huge success, Christen’s family fell in love with Tobin almost instantly, enjoying her calm demeanor and easygoing attitude about life. Christen could feel how Tobin relaxed almost immediately following the official introductions. Christen had been smiling through the late afternoon through evening while they hung out on the back deck enjoying the weather and then around the dining room table enjoying her Father’s tasty grilled meal. They returned to the patio in the evening to enjoy drinks around the firepit and talk and enjoy the company.
They spent the night in Christen’s childhood room, now converted to a guest room that still retained some of Christen’s youthful belongings. When Tobin had opened the closet to put her backpack away, she looked with humor at the Spice Girls poster adorning the inside of the door. They fell into bed with a happy tiredness, Tobin’s mixed with some relief and Christen’s mixed with elation over how much her family loves Tobin. When Christen awoke the next morning, she was surprised to be alone in bed. After slowly checking the en suite bathroom and finding it empty, she headed downstairs to find Tobin helping her Mother in the kitchen and offering answers to Cody who was reading the clues aloud while he worked his crossword puzzle. Christen had hung back, just out of view from them, taking in the scene.
Her eyes focused on Tobin, she had her hair up in that messy half bun ponytail thing she always did that somehow looked really looked good on her and had been wearing her favorite hoodie, the one that said ‘All My Friends Are Baked’ with the cartoon of a piece of toast. She was sure her Dad loved it and had probably commented on it already. Tobin had been wearing her glasses, something Christen is still not used to seeing her do and it always pulled at her loins with how attractive Tobin was wearing them. Christen wasn’t paying attention to what was being spoken, but her Mom said something and Tobin gave her the shyest smile as she blushed, it made her heart swell larger than she thought it ever could. He Dad had piped in with something and Tobin bit her lower lipped with her eyes down and then had looked at him and her Mom and just beamed.
Christen didn’t want to interrupt whatever had been said but then her Mom waved to her and the moment was gone. Breakfast had gone well and her Dad took the opportunity to ask Tobin more in depth questions about her schooling and her job and he had pulled details from her that Christen hadn’t heard yet. And when breakfast had been completed, the two washed the dishes and then prepared to get on the road.
Goodbyes weren’t as difficult as they had been for Christen when she usually left her parents and she wasn’t sure if it was because technology kept them connected so well lately or because it was that she was leaving with Tobin by her side.
So now she feels a little righteous, smirking to herself while Tobin fumbles with her seatbelt. She knew without a doubt her family would love Tobin and now she can’t wait to cash in on their bet. Especially since Tobin had worn not only her usual shorts and t-shirt to bed last night but had added sweats and a sweatshirt and shut down every playful attempt Christen made to have sex.
“Don’t even say it,” Tobin warns with a smile as she starts the vehicle, “I know you were right,” she adds with a roll of her eyes.
Christen breaks into giggles, “You’re my soulmate, how could they not like you?”
Tobin eyes her before she puts the car in gear, “Well,” she gives her a smirk of her own, “maybe I liked the idea of losing the bet,” she licks her lips and lets her eyes roam on the sliver of cleavage showing on Christen’s chest, “kinda curious as to what being your sexual slave entails,” she says, her voice dropping a low.
Christen takes a slow deep breath, turning slightly to show her chest and gives a tug on her shirt to bring it down lower, “Well,” she says breathily, desire shooting through her, “maybe I’ll just have to do some research on the ride home so I don’t disappoint you, sweetheart,” she teases lightly, pulling her phone from her purse and holding it up with her lips pursed and eyes dancing with mirth.
They’re not even out of the subdivision when Tobin nearly hits the curb when Christen flashes her a rather explicit photo on her phone of a sexual act she’d like to try when she cashes in on winning the bet.
XXXX
October 27th
“Okay Jen,” Tobin smiles at the teenager, squatting down before her, “Let’s get you back in your chair. You did awesome today!” she enthuses, taking the two dumbbells from the mat and placing them back on the rack. Tobin has been working with the teenager for over a month now and Tobin really likes this young lady’s positive outlook. She works hard and does her exercises at home and is the perfect patient in every way. She wishes all of her clients were this motivated.
“Thanks Tobin,” she smiles at her as she settles herself in her chair, pulling at her legs and strapping them in, “I think that was a new max,”
“It was,” Tobin nods and grabs her iPad, entering the final weight in and the repetitions into Jenny’s profile, “and your form has improved so much. Have you been working at home on that?”
The girl nods shyly, “Yeah,” she says and then shrugs, “I want to get on a club team and then tryout for the Para-Olympic youth team,” she explains, “They’re having tryouts in January,” The teenager had played hockey before a boating accident resulted in a permanent spinal cord injury.
Tobin nods, “Have you found a rink yet?”
Jen smiles brightly, “Yeah, it’s close to my house too,” she says and then face falls, “it’s not the one I used to play at, they don’t have sled hockey there. But I’m also still saving for a sled,”
They both turn when they hear the door open to the facility.
“Hey Mom,” Jen waves.
“Hi honey,” the woman greets, “hi Tobin, how are you?”
“Good Mrs. Bertucci, how’s it going with you?”
“Just fine,” she replies with a smile, “Jen did you max out?”
Jen smiles at her, “Yeah, it was awesome,”
Her Mother high fives her, “You worked for it, babe,” she says proudly.
“Oh, hey, that reminds me,” Tobin says, “do you have a minute? I got something for you Jen,” Jen nods and Tobin walks over to her office cubicle, locating the file folder she placed there this morning and returns to her side.
“So, you know,” Tobin says, rocking on her heels a little, “two weeks ago when we were talking and you said you waned to watch to the Steel play,” she opens the file and hands over an envelope, “I sorta happened across these,”
Jen opens it and her eyes grow huge as she looks up at Tobin. “Tobin,” she breathes, looking at the four pack of season tickets, “this is amazing,”
“Tobin,” Mrs. Bertucci says, “that’s too generous, we can’t accept this from you,”
Tobin grins, “Oh, but they’re not from me,” she shakes her head, “I’m just the messenger. Here,” she hands over the folder.
Jen opens it and finds an 8 x10 for Ashlyn Harris from the Steel, autographed to Jen “Bertzy” Bertucci with a short note saying she can’t wait to meet her. There’s another team signed photo and an envelope in there with a letter from Ashlyn. Jen tears up as she reads the letter and then looks up at Tobin. She wipes at her eyes, “She said there’s something else?”
Tobin nods, “Outside,” she says. “Tommy,” she calls out to her coworker, “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” when they get outside, Tobin points to her truck, “You wanna pull over there?” she asks Mrs. Bertucci, who nods and smiles. Tobin had already texted the woman about the contents she had in her truck. “Come on, Bertzy,” she smiles, gesturing for the teen to follow her. Tobin waits until Mrs. Bertucci arrives and is out of the van, her phone ready to film the unveiling of the contents of Tobin’s truck.
“What the…” the teen mumbles as she gazes with wide eyes at the hockey sled Tobin is pulling from her truck.
“Ash wants you to practice with this,” Tobin informs her, handing her the sticks that are used to play. Players would use them to propel themselves along the ice as well as for shooting and passing the puck. “Email her like she asked and she’ll get you hooked up to practice with the team sometime,”
“Tobin…” she cries, the seventeen year old is overwhelmed and she reaches her arms out and Tobin hugs her.
“You’re gonna tear it up out there,” Tobin says to her quietly, “you’re gonna do great and have so much fun,”
Tobin retrieves a gear bag full of pads, more sticks and practice clothing and hands her an Ashlyn Harris Steel jersey. She holds it up with the sled and gear bag by her chair and smiles as Tobin snaps a few photos. “I guess I didn’t tell you that Ash is one of my best friends,” Tobin grins at them, “so when you mentioned it, I knew she would be so tickled to help you get started in the sport.”
“Thank you so much, Tobin,” Mrs. Bertucci says heartfully, nearly crushing her in a hug, “you are so kind to think of us,”
“Aw, you’re welcome,” Tobin says shyly when they pull back. She sets her hand on Jen’s shoulder, “And you,” she smiles at her, “you have my number, so when you turn eighteen, you can come train with us. Road races are awesome. Just let me know,”
“I will Tobin,” Jen says, nodding her head, “This is so awesome!” she sighs happily.
“Let me get you guys loaded up,” Tobin suggests and grabs the sled.
----
“Yeah, it was so awesome to be able to do that,” Tobin sighs with contentment, her eyes still welled with happy tears as she recounted the story to Christen that night. “I don’t know what was better, how totally jacked up Ash was to give her everything or Jen getting it,”
Christen pulls her closer, bringing her hand to caress Tobin’s jaw, “I think I’m most excited for how you enabled that to happen for both of them, sweetie,” she says heartfully, looking into Tobin’s eyes and seeing how brightly shine, “I love that you chose to do such a wonderful thing for both of them,” she leans in and kisses her softly. Tobin looks at her, exuding so much love in the moment.
“Ali mentioned to me last week about how excited Ashlyn was about having a fan who wanted to play hockey like her and she was getting some equipment together to give her,” Christen grins, “I didn’t know you were involved with that,”
Tobin gives her a half shrug, “It wasn’t a big deal,” she demurs, her eyes looking in her lap and a shy expression on her face. Christen slowly moves to straddle her, cupping Tobin’s cheeks with her hands.
“It was a big deal to Jen and her Mom,” she says quietly, “and it was a big to Ash and her team. Ali told me how they signed a poster for her and went in together to buy the season tickets,”
“I’m just glad I was in the position to make it happen,” Tobin states gently, “it was pretty awesome.”
“I don’t know how it’s possible,” Christen says tenderly, “but I fall deeper in love with you every day,” she sees how Tobin’s eyes crinkle with her wide smile. “I love you,” she moves her head closer to capture Christen’s lips.
XXXX
October 31st
Tobin and Christen are standing on the corner a half a block from Ashlyn and Ali’s street. They had taken an Uber here to this location, needing to meet up with whatever it was that Tobin had been working on to complete their Halloween costumes. She swore it would win them the grand prize.
“Sweetheart?” Christen questions, feeling out of place standing here dressed as Queen Nefertiti on a suburban street corner. Tobin looks up from her phone, “Any minute,” she gives her a confident smile. She puts her phone in the leather pouch hanging off her belt. She’s carrying two wraps for them in case they grow cold with the night air in a few hours. They both can hear faint music from what they assume is the block party. The party started an hour ago in the afternoon so kids could have a good time before the adults had an even better one. Christen looks over Tobin’s shoulder, seeing a large pickup truck with the hazards flashing slowly approaching them.
“Ah, here we are,” Tobin grins at her, “your conveyance awaits, my Queen,” she says and bows deeply.
The truck pauses and little heads poke out from the tailgate. “Auntie To-To!” It’s Amy’s boys and J.D. Holiday.
Christen’s eyes grow larger when she sees Lauren step out, looking like an Egyptian socialite. “Good evening, Your Highness,” she greets them formally with an exaggerated bow.
“What the…” Christen lets her mouth drop open as Lauren gives her a hug.
“You look amazing,” Lauren nods her head approvingly, “just like a Queen should.”
“I love the eye makeup,” Amy chimes in from Christen’s left, she is dressed similar to Lauren.
Greetings are exchanged and little Jrue looks up at Christen in awe. “You’re the Queen,” she says with amazement, “you really are,”
“She’s Queen Nefertiti, remember?” Lauren smiles at her.
“I’m your Princess!” Jrue proclaims. Christen bends do to look at her, “You certainly are, sweetie,” she says warmly, loving her Egyptian outfit, “you look amazing.”
Then Tobin is in front of her, looking at with pride, “Your palanquin is ready,”
Christen’s eyebrows shoot up when she looks over Tobin’s shoulders and sees the litter intended to carry her. There is a platform on which an ornate throne sits, with three small seats, one on each side of her chair and one in front of the throne. But what is amazing is how the poles extend out with a semi-circular padded shoulder rest which currently has twelve of Tobin’s friends in wheelchairs holding it up. The shoulder pad allows the guys to have both hands free to wheel Christen to her destination. All of the guys are in some form of Egyptian costumes.
“Tobin!” she exclaims, “How did you do this?”
Tobin just grins and takes her hands, “You guys ready?” she looks over and asks and the kids scramble back up on the tailgate. “My Lady,” Tobin kisses Christen’s hand, “your conveyance awaits,”
“I’m going up in there?” she questions, starting to smile at how amazing this is.
“Yeah, and if we could speed this up so we’re not blocking the road,” Tobin suggests, jerking her head to tailgate. She helps Christen up and once she’s seated, she discovers that Jrue has a big palm frond to wave at her and also a large bag of candy. The boys are to her sides, hands in the candy bags, ready to toss it.
“What are you going to do?” Christen calls out to Tobin. Tobin hands her their wraps and she stuffs them on the side of the chair.
“Lead you in with my army,” Tobin smirks, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. Behind her a group of about thirty people are lining up in ranks, a mix of those walking and in wheelchairs of all ages and all in costumes of Roman and Egyptian soldiers. There’s men, women and children, all laughing as they get into position. Christen watches as Tobin straps on a leather belt with a sword attached and is given a staff with the curled python on the top. She adjusts her headpiece, smooths out the front of her tunic and pulls down the fake metal armor she’s wearing. She makes for a compelling Akhenaten.
“Let’s go Nefertitty!” Little Jrue shouts and it causes laughter.
“Nefertiti,” Christen gently corrects, trying not to laugh and feeling a blush rise in her face. It’s especially hilarious to her since she’s not wearing a bra and Tobin has been making comments about freeing the titties since she’s first seen her dressed.
After they had checked each other out in their costumes, Christen and Tobin had gone out to the beach. Tobin had placed her camera on a tripod and set it to take photos. They posed as if they were in character, looking strong and serious, side by side, holding their spear and the staffs. Then they relaxed and took more natural photos, holding each other and kissing. Christen couldn’t wait to see them later after Tobin downloads them to her laptop.
She looks down and gives Tobin a broad smile, loving how Tobin’s eyes light up and she gives her a wink. Tobin strides over to her side, looking up at her, “Please make sure the kids start to throw candy when we get near people and not before, okay?”
“Will do,” Christen nods, “did you hear that kids? We only throw candy when we see the people.”
“Okay,” they answer in chorus.
“Would you like to throw candy, Nefer-Christen?” Jrue asks, looking up at her.
“Sure, honey,” Christen agrees, smiling at her sweetness. She accepts a handful from the child.
“I think we’re ready to go,” Tobin announces after checking with the crew. Christen watches her stride to the front, enjoying the view of her powerful legs.
“Honey we need” Ali stops speaking abruptly, her eyes growing large at the sight coming down the street. Ashlyn wheels around to see what she’s looking at. “Holy fuck!” she exclaims. “You guys!” she calls out to their friends up the driveway, “check this out!” she gestures with her arm.
A parade of people are approaching their house, being led by someone dressed as an Egyptian.
“Is that Chris and Tobin?” Ali questions, letting her hand rest on Ashlyn’s shoulder as they watch from the foot of their driveway. As the group marches up, the wheelchairs slowly gliding on the street carrying Christen and the kids tossing candy at children and adults they pass, a crowd of neighbors are walking behind them, curious to watch how this unfolds.
Mark, Ali and Ashlyn’s neighbor and emcee for the night, stands in the middle of the street in front of the driveway, waiting for Tobin and her army to approach. Tobin stops, straightening herself to stand tall before him and makes a fist and taps her chest in greeting. They’ve known each other since Ali and Ash have moved in and are friends. He gestures to someone in Ashlyn's driveway and the music shuts off.
He lifts the wireless microphone to his lips, “Greetings and welcome,” he says, his voice amplified through speakers nearby, “please introduce yourself,”
Tobin nods, getting herself into character, “I am Akhenaten, Pharaoh of Egypt and it’s lands,” she says into the microphone, “these are my people, and my wife, Queen Nefertiti and Princess Jrue and Prince Ryan and Prince Luke.”
Behind her, Jrue and Adam, Lauren and Amy’s husbands, approach the litter and assist Christen down gracefully. Tobin gestures to her and she regally approaches her side. “I am Queen Nefertiti,” she announces coolly, looking at Mark in his Shaggy costume from Scooby Doo.
“The pleasure is all mine, your Highness,” he bows grandly. “Please, enjoy our festivities this evening.”
“Thank you,” Christen replies with an air of majesty. It makes Tobin shiver next to her.
Mark grins and turns from side to side quickly, “Everybody, let’s hear it for Queen Nefertiti and Pharaoh Ahkenaten and their army!” The crowd on the block cheers wildly and Tobin and Christen laugh and wave. Tobin joins those who walked in their procession to help the kids down and then lift the conveyance to free the guys in the wheelchairs to scoot out from it. They place it just off the sidewalk on Ali and Ashlyn’s front lawn and it’s instantly swarmed by kids who climb in it, pretending to be royalty.
“Christen…” Ali’s voice trails off as she gets her first up close look at her friend, “you look incredible,” she says in awe.
“Holy shit,” Ashlyn mutters as Christen bends down to hug her, “you look just like the painting,” she says quietly with shock on her face.
“It’s really something else, huh?” Christen smiles at them, feeling Tobin slide her arm around her waist.
“Isn’t she amazing?” Tobin asks, still just blown away with how incredible her soulmate looks. It takes her right back to the days before Hatshepsut courted Thutmose the Second and they spent all of their time together. “She’s ageless,” she says emotionally. Christen gives her a kiss and rubs her back.
Ali flutters her hand just under her chin, “I need a drink,” she says hurriedly, “and then I want to say hi to Amy and Lauren,”
“Help yourselves,” Ashlyn offers, “you guys really do look amazing,” she says, feeling they carry this aura with them.
“Yeah, thanks,” Tobin says, “nice costume,” she compliments, admiring the DJ booth she’s created. “Does it work?”
Ashlyn smirks at her and flicks a button on her small table attached to her chair and music comes to life up the driveway of her house.
“Sweet!” Tobin grins and offers her fist. They bump them together and then get swept away by members of Ashlyn’s hockey team and move up the driveway.
----
“My feet hurt,” Christen whines quietly as she lays her head on Tobin’s shoulder. They’re slow dancing on Ashlyn’s driveway. It’s late, well past midnight and the party has been so much fun. Tobin and Christen played games with the kids, helping Ryan, Luke and Jrue win small prizes. Many houses on the block sponsored some type of activity or had food and drinks available. They made the rounds, Tobin introducing Christen to the neighbors she knew and mingling with their friends in the street and on Ashlyn’s driveway.
After Amy and Lauren and their crews left along with many of the other youngsters, the party kicked itself into another gear. Beer pong and flippy cup tables were set up in the street and competitions started. Ashlyn’s friends created a makeshift obstacle course in the street, challenging those who wanted to try out a wheelchair into racing against them. Tobin and Christen joined in, Tobin giving her competitor a close race and Christen gaining a new appreciation for the muscles needed to navigate in the chair.
Megan and Sue were there, just gushing over them and taking photos of them, knowing it would be pretty awesome for Megan's article. They hung out with Becky and Zola, laughed with Syd and Dom over their Flintstones costumes, Dom being Wilma and Syd being Fred. They were introduced to Alyssa's soulmate, a shy young woman who owned a bookstore. They spent time dancing on the driveway, hanging out on the back deck and eating a feast of foods. Neither of them drank a whole lot, preferring to have a buzz throughout the night, just being slightly tipsy.
Now, as the night winds down, they slow dance in the driveway surrounded by twinkling Christmas lights, stealing kisses during the songs and holding each other close. “I wanna marry you,” Christen murmurs, lifting her head to look Tobin in the eyes, “I wanna make our union official in this lifetime soon,”
Tobin knows Christen is buzzed but she also knows the truth behind her words, “So do I,” she agrees, “what do say we do it soon?”
Christen stops moving and looks at her seriously, “Wait, really?”
“Yeah, why not?” Tobin grins at her, she’s buzzed as well, “Thanksgiving weekend,” she proposes.
“When everyone is coming over on that Saturday?” Christen asks, somewhat hoping that’s what Tobin is thinking.
Tobin nods, “Yeah, you wanna?” she’s grinning wildly at her.
“Absolutely,” Christen smiles at her, feeling excitement course through her body.
“I want my sisters to stand up for me,” Tobin breathes out, “you want yours?”
“Yes,” Christen giggles, “lets keep it simple, okay?”
“On the beach, before we eat, then we hang out,” Tobin offers, having obviously running this scenario in her head before. They had discussed the holidays and Tobin would join Christen Wednesday to Friday for Thanksgiving with her family and then meet Tobin’s family who was flying out to celebrate the holiday on Saturday. They would be in town from Friday night to Sunday, a quick visit but they all wanted to meet Christen in person. Saturday would have both families meeting at Tobin’s house with their friends included. The gathering would include their closest friends and family and it would perfect. It would be a whirlwind weekend with lots of driving but totally worth it.
“Who would marry us on such short notice?” Christen wonders. “Ali and Ashlyn,” they say in unison and laugh.
Then Christen is pulling at a ring on her hand and gracefully takes a knee, “Tobin Powell Heath,” she says, her voice trembling slightly, “you found me and I never want to let you go ever again. Will you do me the honor of being my wife in this lifetime and forevermore?”
They both hear shrieks and gasps around them as others become aware of what’s happening on the driveway but neither look away.
“I will,” Tobin chokes out, suddenly overcome with emotion, nodding at her through her tears. She watches as Christen tenderly slides the ring on her finger. They kiss to cheers and then Tobin drops her hands from Christen, pulling at the ring on her ring finger. She kneels down, “Christen Annemarie Press,” she states, looking up at her with love and devotion in her watery eyes, “would you do me the honor of being my wife in this lifetime and forevermore?”
“I will,” Christen agrees, tearing up as well, “a thousand times over, I will,” she says as Tobin stands and gently places the ring on her finger. They kiss passionately until they become aware of the cheers and break free to breathe deeply, their foreheads touching, smiling at each other.
They are swarmed by people offering their congratulations and don’t make it off the driveway for a half an hour. When they finally find Ali and Ashlyn, they hug one another, Ali and Ashlyn feeling especially emotional knowing the truth of their friends soul bond and how it will become public. Ali insists on taking photos of the two, in costume, glowing under the lights, flashing their newly ring adorned fingers as the shutter clicks.
A couple hours later when the crowd has thinned out and both of them have helped Ali and Ashlyn clean up for the night, they sit around the table on the back deck, relaxing before they go home.
“So,” Tobin says after while of talking with them, “would you two be willing to get ordained and marry us the Saturday after Thanksgiving?” she asks casually.
“Seriously? At your party?” Ashlyn asks, her eyes popped wide open as they nod. “It would be a total honor,” she says emotionally, “You’re sure?” They nod at her, both grinning.
“We want you both,” Christen confirms, “but we’re not sure if we want to surprise everyone with the wedding yet or not,”
“We’ll keep it on the downlow,” Ali promises, “I’m so happy for you guys,”
Now, in the backseat of an Uber and nestled into Tobin’s side, her body heat radiating and keeping her warm, Christen suddenly realizes they have a lot to do to pull off this wedding. “Tobin,” she says in an urgent hushed voice, “sweetheart, we,”
“I know,” she says quietly, “we’ll figure it out when we get home, okay?”
Home
Christen swoons at the word, knowing in her heart she wants to live at Tobin’s house. Not just because of the beach and the ocean, but it makes sense. Tobin works a little further south and the commute from Christen’s house by campus isn’t fun. Christen’s commute the university wouldn’t be bad at all, maybe adding twenty minutes to her time to get there.
She lets her mind lazily wander over details, feeling content that her and Tobin would figure it all out with no problems. She likes the idea of being barefoot in the sand when they say their vows, she thinks she wants to wear a something basic, a simple white dress, feeling Tobin would be pleased to wear a dress shirt and slacks. She might surprise her though, Tobin might want to wear a dress. Whatever she wears will be perfect and it could even rain and not ruin their day.
She drifts off to the steady hum of the tires and Tobin’s relaxed breathing.
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