Weddings are such a drag...

Epilogue

I said yes, of course, but he had to talk me into it. It took him three days and he never once said I should marry him because I didn’t have any better options.

What finally clinched it was when he said, “Willie, you know we love each other and have for years. What kind of sense would it make for us not to get married?”

“You--you love me?” I stammered.

“Yes,” he said, smiling.

Well, that did it. I dissolved into tears for about the twentieth time and he held me close and kissed me, on the lips this time. “I want to make you happy,” he said.

We were on the loveseat in the living room of the house in Elk City. I looked at him, his face just inches away from mine and yet he still seemed so far away. “How can you love me? I’m not a real girl,” I blubbered.

“Willie, you’re the realest person I’ve ever known. Real sweet, real kind, real pretty and real loveable.”

I said I would marry him then if we could work out the sex thing. “‘Cause I know you’re not gay and I’m not going to go under a knife just to get married.”

“I figured that,” he said. “If I hadn’t worked it out in my mind first, I wouldn’t have proposed. And if it wasn’t something I needed to decide first, I would have asked you to marry me years ago. Willie, you’ve always been a girl, you just have a little plumbing problem.”

“You really think of me as a girl?” I asked.

He nodded. “For years now, that’s why the short haircut always bugs me. I know you only do it so you can visit your mom without getting a rash of trouble.” He took my hand and kissed it.

Of course, I had on my pageboy blond wig, the one modeled on Doris Day. I blinked, not sure if I had tears in my eyes. “We’d better find out if we’re compatible in bed before we do anything like send out invitations.”

“Ayuh,” he said, doing his Gary Cooper impression. Then he picked me up and carried me to the bedroom.

I did take off the wig before we had sex, just to be sure it wasn’t all based on some weird kink he had for blonde 50s movie star impersonators.

* * *

We managed to get permission to use the club for the wedding. I wore a bronze gown designed by Raelynne who served as my maid of honor. I had a new wig, waist-length, blonde of course.

Hi Jacks was Aaron’s best man, both wearing traditional boring tuxedos but what are you going to do? It is after all Iowa.

The girls invited friends from as far away as Denver and Cincinatti, it was a big wedding. We painted the place with our tears, remembering everything that had happened there and would never happen again but it was a great send-off for the old place.

* * *

We spent our honeymoon in San Diego and had some very nice sex in a hotel near the water. Afterwards, we drove up to Rancho Domingo to pick out a house. His favorite was one on a cul-de-sac on the hillside.

“It’s got four bedrooms,” I pointed out.

“For the kids,” he said.

“Kids,” I almost squeaked.

“We’ll have to adopt, of course. But I know you’ll make a great mom, think of all the mothering practice you got with the girls at the club?” He grinned. “And me.”

I smiled at him and he wrapped me in another hug. “Can we get the place repainted? Beige nauseates me. And gray trim, yuck.”

We kissed. “Anything you like, June. The house is your department, just wear your pearls when I come home for dinner.”

I laughed and we kissed again. “Anything you say, Walt.”

“Ward,” he managed to say while choked up with laughter. “I think Mr. Cleaver’s name was Ward.”

“Walt, Ward,” I said, “what’s the difference?”

“Okay, then you must be Jane.”

I kissed him again. “You Tarzan, me Jane?”

“Mmm,” he said.

“Mmm,” I agreed.