NotExpected 15

Not What We Expected by Tiffany B. Quinn She gave me a squeeze, "You can count on me, Andi. Thanks for being my rock." She wipes the tears from her eyes. "I love you, Sandra," I whispered. "I love you too, Andi," She whispered back as we turn to hug each other. We moved the room's couch so that we could sit together while we continued to stare out the window as the night slumbered on. A sense of peace settle on both of us as we silently sat together, each with her own thoughts.

Chapter 15

When the wake up call came at 6:30 AM, I woke with my head on Sandra's lap. She was stroking my hair and still gazing out the window.

That was the last peaceful moment of the day.

First off, I felt a dampness in my underwear. On investigation, there was a spot of blood. It was the onset of my very first period. When I showed Sandra the problem, she grinned and welcomed me to the world of women. I dug the crystal out of my luggage only to find it uniformly pink. There wasn’t a hint of blue. I then knew that the process is complete. It had been nine months to the day since the visit to Grandma Broussard.

I didn't have time to dwell on this new development. We had a wedding to pull off. A BIG wedding.

I still don't understand big weddings. They are a lot of work, just so that two people can commit, before the world, to being one in mind and purpose and forever true to each other. A marriage is just as valid without the window dressing as it is with it. I guess that it is a big celebration of sorts, and we all need a good celebration from time to time, but I can do that in the backyard with a grill, a cooler full of drinks, and tables to put food on.

With that said, a well done big wedding is a beautiful thing to behold. And this wedding was right up there with Royal weddings.

After quick showers, we went down to meet the bridesmaids and hair stylists. We spent the next two hours getting beautiful. After they were done with me, I paused briefly to examine myself in one of the many full length mirrors. A very cute girl stared back. She had piercing blue eyes and short dark hair with a garland of spring flowers on her head. We'd gotten my ears pierced about six weeks earlier so the cute girl had diamond teardrop earrings and a diamond pendant strung around her neck. The knee length cream sheath hid the fact that her curves were just getting started. The small A cup breasts were appropriate to her age. Her long slender neck held up a pretty heart shaped face with a button nose. Slender arms and delicate hands were held up for examination. With the make up, white tights, and two inch heels the girl in the mirror looked to be about fourteen. The thought had crossed my mind that this was me now. My future was going to be different than anything I had dreamed of only nine months earlier.

I had looked across the room to where Sandra's mother was helping to put the final touches together for the absolutely gorgeous bride. Unbidden I had found myself wistfully hoping that I could be in her position some day.

Then I had felt another abdominal cramp and realized that being a woman wasn't all sugar and spice.

By nine thirty, we were informed that the limos had arrived to take us to the church and we all helped Sandra fight her voluminous dress into the vehicle. Sandra, her mother, and I were in the second limo. The other bridesmaids gently entered the other and we were off.

The last stragglers were still outside the church when we pulled up outside. Upon seeing the limos, the groomsmen, acting as ushers, shooed everyone into the building before we were allowed to exit the cars. Only Sandra's father and a cute little guy in a tux, the ring bearer, were left outside.

Being extremely careful not to damage dresses and make up, we had all assembled in the foyer of the church. Sandra looked radiant. When all was ready, the organist was cued and the music started. Each of the groomsmen offered an arm to the appropriate bridesmaid and started down the aisle. I followed alone, with the ring bearer and flower girl behind me. I could see Tom and his best man standing confidently at the altar. As we took our places at the front of the church the wedding march started and everyone stood. It was hard to fight back the tears as I watched the most beautiful bride I've ever seen being escorted down the aisle by her father. She only had eyes for Tom and he for her. You could feel the intense love in the air. I tried real hard to not compare this with our wedding ceremony. I wanted to be happy for Sandra and Tom. It was surprisingly difficult, given that I had been at peace with the proceedings.

The rest of the ceremony seemed to pass me by in a fog. It seemed only moments later that I was handing Sandra back her bouquet and adjusting her train for the recessional. I then found myself following the newly weds back down the aisle with the rest of the wedding party. It was beautiful, but it was harder than I was expecting.

After Tom and Sandra signed the register and the marriage license was completed we spent an hour with a photographer posing for the wedding photos.

After the photos, we had a couple of hours to kill before the before the reception at the Broussard mansion. I found my emotions to be all over the place and I had just wanted to find a nice place to hide for a while so that I could have a good cry.

That wasn't to be.

After the couple had left the church, I was looking for my ride back to the hotel, after having just refreshed my feminine protection in the nearest bathroom, when I ran into Grandma Broussard.

I had groaned to myself when I saw her. All I wanted to do was go back to the hotel to see if a hot bath would help my uncomfortable abdomen. I had a feeling that wouldn't be happening now.

"Hello, Andi," she smiled at me, "do you have some time to chat with an old woman?"

I snorted. "Don't play the helpless poor old woman with me. I fell for it once, I won't do it again."

She nodded knowingly. "You are right my dear. I have found that people are more likely to put stock in the magic with such an act. It is such an unfortunate stereotype. Regardless, it is time for us to talk again. I sense that you are starting to understand what happened but we should talk about it."

I gave a sigh, "I should be really mad a you, Mrs. Broussard."

She waved at a park bench on the far side of the church grounds. "Maybe we should go sit and chat. I think that you will feel better if we do. You might also be able to clear up some of my questions as well."

She patted me on the shoulder as we walked to the bench, "You'll learn to deal with the discomfort and emotional swings, dear. All women do. It is normal to feel irritable and depressed during your time of the month. You will also find yourself crying for no reason, like you want to do right now. Given you emotional state, this might not be the best time to chat, but you have to learn to rise above it. Don't let your period cloud your judgment."

The woman was very observant.

When we were seated, she said, "They make a great couple, don't they?"

I tried to glared at her before responding. I don't think that there was real conviction behind the glare. "They do, but this shouldn't be happening. "

Looking me intently in the eye, she asked. "Why is that?"

I noticed that the thick southern accent has disappeared. She sounds much more cultured, having a more refined southern accent than when Sandra and I first met her.

"Because, on the surface, everything was good between Sandra and I," I replied with a touch of bitterness. I was feeling very irritable. I intentionally ignored the fact that I knew that Sandra and I were on the verge of serious problems when we had visited her. Looking back, I am sure that I was letting my hormones get the better of me. "We had a good marriage and we were making our way in the world together. We came to you for help and you and Tom destroyed what we had instead."

"Did we really my young friend?" She asked me "Think hard about that. Compare then and now. What do you see?"

I wanted to hate the woman, but couldn't. Not after I had realized what a blessing this situation had become. "Nine months ago, I was a man happily married to the love of my life. Things were good. Sure, we had struggles. But what married couple doesn't? Today I am divorced, a new gender, twenty years younger, and just helped the love of my life marry another man who is wealthier and better looking than I ever would have been. It would appear that, as a result of meeting with you, everything I have ever hoped for myself has collapsed before my eyes."

"That's a rather depressing comparison, dear," she smiled, "and I don't think that you really believe it. Perhaps you could try again. This time look at it from the positive side."

I thought for a minute about the conversation I had with Sandra in the night. I thought about where we were nine months ago. I thought about where we were now. I thought about where Sandra and I might have been had things not changed. It was a lot to sort out.

Grandma waited patiently while I reflected on my predicament.

Starting again, I quit trying to hate the woman, "Nine months ago I was married to the love of my life, but she was very sad and it as eating at our marriage. I had hoped that she'd finally accept the cards that we'd been dealt and put her sadness behind her. Our visit to you was going to be the last time we would seek help having a baby. We had hoped that you would help US have a child. I had given up, but I think that Sandra was hanging on to this last hope."

"What do you think would have happened to your marriage if no baby came?" She gently asked.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "When you met with us you predicted that the desire for a baby that would never come would eat away at our marriage. You said that the best that we could hope for is to be two good friends supporting each other through life without the fullness of joy that a family brings."

"I did say something like that," Grandma recalled. "I have seen it happen many times. It is heartbreaking to watch. Did Tom ever tell you what my profession was?"

"Besides being a witch," I snorted, "No, he didn't."

"I was a marriage counselor," She said, ignoring the witch comment. "I worked with many troubled couples over the years. I was not always successful in helping them. The saddest cases were marriages that were strained due to circumstances outside of the couple's control. Things like infertility or the loss of a child. I watched too many marriages disintegrate under the pressure. From your answers to my questions, I was very sure that the same was happening to your marriage. It was early stages, but there would have been a painful, slow disintegration. There was no magic involved in that prediction, just decades of experience helping struggling couples. If things were left to continue as they were, you MIGHT have stayed friends, but it was unlikely. Friendship would have been the best that you could have hoped for. It would be a very sad friendship. I believe that the reason the magic asked for the mismatched nut and bolt was to represent that, while you were technically joined, your relationship was becoming tentative and would soon be dysfunctional."

I sighed as I considered her statement, "You might be right, but we were hoping that we could rebuild our joy after accepting our fate if no baby came."

"It would have been a noble and difficult effort," she replied. "You might have succeeded, but the odds were very much against it. Both you and Sandra are extraordinary people so you had a chance at making it work. A very slim chance. But if you had, there would always be that deep sadness shadowing your relationship and impacting everything else you did in life."

"Have you used magic to help your practice?" I asked.

"Rarely," she admitted, "I only did when I got a feeling that it might work to the advantage of everyone involved. The magic is fickle and I don't control it. I am more of a conduit. The results were often unpredictable, but the end always resulted in the participants finding peace and happiness, like you eventually will. The magic I represent is benevolent and only works to bring peace and happiness to those who seek it.  Sandra has found happiness and is finding peace now."

"Not if there isn't a baby soon," I pointed out.

Grandma smiled, "Oh, I am pretty sure that they are working on that as we speak. Sandra will have conceived before the reception tonight."

"Is that the marriage counselor's guess," I asked with a raised eyebrow, "or the witch's knowledge?"

"It is the insight that I have been given," She replies cryptically with a gentle smile.

Continuing she asked, "We've established where you were nine months ago and the likely outcome without my help. What do you see about the current situation? What has my ‘interference’ resulted in?"

"The most obvious is that I have changed gender and regressed in physical age," I mentioned.

"Yes," she said, "that was most unexpected. I have never seen that happen before. I was expecting that a path to overcoming your infertility would be revealed. Instead, the magic of the ceremony told me that Sandra would be the answer to Tom’s singleness and that Tom would be the answer to her childlessness."

"All at my expense," I said, pointing to myself. "So why did it turn out this way?"

"I really don't know," she sighed. "As I said, I have never seen this solution before. The magic also told me that you would gain the most from the ceremony. Do you have any ideas on why the magic thinks that this was a good idea? I have my guesses, but I have not figured that one out yet."

"Assuming that the goal was for our love as friends to grow but not as husband and wife," I said thoughtfully, "the gender change makes sense. My becoming female definitely ended the marriage and opened the door for today’s wedding without destroying my closeness to Sandra. My being a woman would make it so that my relationship with Sandra would not interfere with her new marriage. Like or not, neither Sandra nor I are interested in same sex marriage. A same sex marriage would not alleviate Sandra's desire to get pregnant within the bonds of a loving relationship. So, that meant that there needed to be another man and Tom was conveniently available. I don't think that magic was responsible for their attraction to each other. While Sandra was doing a good job of resisting the attraction, it probably would have grown as our relationship declined. Sandra was doomed to conflicted feelings regardless of what happened. I think that fate had a lot to do with bringing them together."

"I agree with you," she smiled. "The magic doesn't change the heart. In hind sight, I have come to think that Tom would have eventually married Sandra with or without the magic. It just would have taken longer and been more painful. Sandra's ethics would have meant that your marriage needed to end before Tom could step in to pick up the pieces. Tom's ethics would have kept him from intentionally interfering until the marriage died a natural death. It would have been a painful end and, even with a marriage to Tom, both of you would have carried a heavy burden of sadness and regret for the rest of your lives. You would have suffered the worst without someone to help you pick up the pieces of your failed marriage. I am starting to see how things are better the way they turned out.

"You said that your are not interested in a same sex marriage?" she changed the subject.

"Yes," I sheepishly admitted, "My interest in girls was pretty much gone by Christmas, and if last night is any indicator, I am starting to be more attracted to boys than girls. At the dinner last night, I was finding some of Tom's nephews to be kind of cute. I suspect that as I continue to grow up as a girl, that my new hormones will only make that attraction greater."

I sighed, "I just hope that I don't become boy crazy."

Grandma smiled at that, and patted my knee, "I think that almost all teen girls are a bit boy crazy at some point, whether or not they want to admit it. It goes with the hormonal changes that take place during puberty. It is the natural course of things."

I had groaned at that bit of information, "I really hope not."

She smiled at me and gave my hand a squeeze. "You will survive it, dear. Most of us do. I am pretty sure that the magic made you a complete female in everyway, even to physically reforming your brain to match that of a typical naturally born female of your apparent age so this development is not a surprise."

"What about the age regression?" She continued. "I am most confused about the reasons for that."

"I had a hard time understanding that one for a long time," I admitted, "But I think that I can see it now. What better way to maintain close contact with Sandra than to be her child? We will be together daily and it will not interfere with her new marriage. The family connection will enable us to stay very close throughout our lives. From what I've seen, mother-daughter relationships can be intense and last a lifetime. I needed to be just old enough to be a companion instead of ward, so just entering teen years makes since. Imagine the awkwardness that would exist if I moved in with the happy couple as a thirty-two-year-old woman.

"When we married, Sandra's relationship with her best girlfriend at the time changed because they did not spend so much time together anymore. Eventually their relationship became a bit more distant, though they remain friends to this day. In fact, she was one of the bridesmaids. I think that she was a little put out that she wasn't asked to be the Maid-of-Honor this time around. Being a young girl and part of the family is probably the only possible way that Sandra and I will stay close after her marriage to Tom."

"Good point," she concedes. "this makes sense. Are there any other benefits to the age regression? It seems like an extreme measure to just keep you close to Sandra."

"It keeps coming to me," I tell her, "that the greatest gift of the age regression is the chance to start over again. Just changing gender would not have done that. I needed to restart my life where the decisions have the most impact.

"You pointed out, when we first met you, that I was operating below my potential. The coarse threaded bolt was a good representation - I was not willing to put in the effort to excel, to be like a fine threaded bolt. Your observation was very true. All my life, I have been told the same thing. I was comfortable just getting by and taking a supportive role in our marriage. Sandra was the real driving force in our relationship. I think that my lack of ambition was also a thorn in Sandra's side and contributed, in some measure, to the friction within our marriage. I now wonder if my lack of ambition could also have eventually led to a failed marriage. I am sure that I was sometimes holding her back from realizing her full potential. I don't know how long she would have endured that. In hind sight, I can see where we were not perfectly matched, though we were well enough matched to make a marriage work with effort.

"Becoming a twelve-year-old again has opened a lot of opportunity. First, since I need to figure out the new me and where I fit into the scheme of things, what better way to do that than with peers that are all trying to do the same thing? As you know, people spend their teen years trying out different identities to see what works best for them, hence all the confusion of that period in a person's life. My own identity confusion will be viewed as just another kid trying to find herself. I will be enrolling in seventh grade again in the fall primarily to surround myself with other girls going through similar experiences. While the primary reason for going back to school is social I also hope to also rise to my potential academically. Socially, I will learn how to BE a girl and accumulate girl experiences as I grow into adulthood. Growing up as a girl will be a valuable experience for me, paying dividends as I enter adulthood again. Academically, I can take advantage of the opportunity to excel - it should not be hard since I have been through the process before and even hold a college degree. And I will know why I am there, unlike last time.

"I did not 'live' my teen years the first time around. I was a geeky gamer and squandered my time and energy. I did not take advantage of the opportunities offered. Math, science, and technology came to me without effort, but I practically failed out of my other classes because I would not engage with them. I have often regretted not applying myself. I was not involved in extracurricular activities and had no social life outside of a small circle of similarly inclined geeks and my online 'friends'. I was lucky to get accepted into the state college. I finally came out of my shell when I met Sandra. I know exactly how Tom felt when he first met her. Like him, she opened my eyes to see a whole new world. I still remember that snowy day we went to dinner while waiting for the traffic to clear. I was so smitten that I never wanted to leave her side. She told me later that she felt the same way. It was meant to be. We had a good thing going, at first.

"You were right when you told me that I was operating below my potential." I told her, "All my teachers and professors told me that I really needed to step up my game. My supervisor, when he let me go, said that he was doing me a favor if I would take the opportunity to realize my potential. He felt that my job was beneath me. I do want to change that."

Grandma smiled, "You are an unusually mature young girl."

I snorted at that, "Thirty-two years of life experiences will do that to a girl."

She put her arm around me and gave me a sideways hug, "I have a feeling that things will work out wonderfully for you, Andi. It will also be great to have such a wonderful new great granddaughter. Welcome to the family, dear."

Grandma then took my hands in hers and stared intently into my eyes. That strange tingly feeling returned.

"Yes," she said more to herself than to me. "I see great things in your future."

"What do you see?" I asked curiously has she let go of my hands.

She smiled a knowing smile, "I see accomplishment, strong friendships, love, and happiness in your future. You will be an admirable woman, Andi."

"You are not going to give me any specifics," I asked already knowing the answer, "are you?"

She patted my knee again, "Some things are best discovered on your own, sweetheart. Just follow you desires, work hard, open your heart, have courage, and be kind. You will do well."

"I have a question for you," I told her.

She nodded at me to continue.

"Why did you include Tom's bolt in the ceremony?" I asked.

"That's a good question. When I talked with Sandra on the phone the first time, I had a vision that Tom was going to be part of the solution to the infertility and that I needed his bolt for the ceremony," she explained, "though, at the time, I didn't know how or why. I just hoped that it wasn't to break up your marriage and steal your wife. I am not a fan of intentionally destroying marriages. I hoped that maybe it was that he would, with his medical industry connections, be instrumental in helping you to find a way around your infertility. Given his wealth, I thought that he might even finance whatever treatment was necessary.

"By the way, sweetie," she sidetracked, "your infertility has been cured. Be careful what you do with those cute boys or you will find yourself to be a mother too. It is best to wait until you find the right man and are prepared to raise a loving family. Be patient."

I had blanched at that news.

"It's okay, dear," she had almost giggled at my expression and gave my hand a squeeze, "we all have had that problem."

"Anyway," she got back on track, "I wasn't totally surprised to see his bolt joined with Sandra's nut, and I was relieved that his role was not to be the home breaker, but to be there to pick up the pieces for Sandra after your marriage ended. It is not what I expected, but I think that things are turning out just fine. I am very sure that your marriage would have eventually ended with or without the magic’s help. As you pointed out, with your relationship with Sandra changed, there needed to be another man to fill Sandra's need for a child within a loving relationship. I think that, as it turned out, Tom is a good choice, don't you?"

"I guess so," I had admitted without enthusiasm.

"Do you know of any man who would have been a better choice?" she asked.

As I thought of it, she had a point there. I just shook my head.

"I can see now that including Tom's bolt also solved another problem," she continued. "Shortly after he first met Sandra, he came home for a family event. He took me aside and told me that he had, unexpectedly, met a woman who filled his every dream, day and night. This was good news to me, the boy has been so focused on work his whole life that he has barely noticed that women exist. The family had resigned itself to the fact that he was to be a confirmed bachelor for his whole life. Unfortunately he seemed very conflicted over this new revelation. He went on to tell me that the only problem was that the woman of his dreams was happily married to a fine man. Over the next weeks, after he went back to Wisconsin, he'd call me when his anguish was at its worse and I'd try to help him get past this infatuation. His infatuation was getting in the way of his productivity, which caused its own problems. On one of those calls, he told me of Sandra's frustration with not being able to have children and asked if I could help the two of you. As we were talking, I had the vision of the ceremony that needed to be performed, In the vision I saw that he had a role to play in the saga. I then asked him to send me a bolt. Like any good mechanical engineer, he had one in his workshop. I told him that I could help with the infertility and to have Sandra call me."

"So what you're telling me," I interjected, "is that you knew, from the start, that Sandra would eventually marry your grandson."

"Not at all," she said, "but I knew that there was a distinct possibility that she would. As I said earlier, I was hoping that his role might be something different. After the ceremony, however, I knew. It made me sad as I hate to see marriages begun with love and promise end. However, knowing how the magic operates, I knew that I just had to wait to see how the happy ending would eventually prevail. There is often pain and heartache on the road to joy and happiness. It is often the painful experiences that make you appreciate the joyful ones."

We sat contemplating for a moment.

"You told your son and his wife that I had already been compensated for the changes," I told her. "What did you mean by that?"

"I wasn't sure," she admitted, "when I told them that. The magic had just reaffirmed to me that you had been blessed beyond anything that even I could have expected. Our conversation here has helped me to see how. You have your loving connection with Sandra, but not in a way that you expected or wanted nine months ago. It is very clear to me now that your real compensation is the opportunity to make something of yourself. In addition I just saw into your future and I believe that you will someday bless the day that you and I met. You will feel, with all your heart, that the ceremony was a turning point for you and the start on the road to something great. This change has not done you any real harm. You will eventually realize that."

"I hope that you are right," I sincerely tell her.

She gave a gentle smile as she quietly said, "I generally am."

"How do you feel now?" She asked with genuine concern.

"Besides being uncomfortable and irritable?" I smile at her, "I am actually more at peace. Thank you for helping me put things in perspective, Grandma."

"Any time dear," she smiles again, "Counseling services are free for family. Call me anytime you want to talk."

"You will answer the phone now?" I asked with a touch of accusation in my voice.

She had smiled her annoying knowing smile: "It was important for you to arrive at your conclusions without help from me. I will take your call now that you have come to see the impacts of the ceremony for what they are."

I gave her a hug and thanked her again for helping me see things as they are.

"You helped answer some of my questions, too," she added. "So, thank you."

Grandma gave me a ride back to the hotel where a couple of Motrin pills and the Jacuzzi tub in my room helped to relieve some of my physical distress as my thoughts had dwelled on what we had discussed.

As I had enjoyed the magic of over the counter pharmaceuticals and a good hot bath, I remember thinking that just maybe things were better. What had transpired in the last nine months was just not what we expected when we first visited the Bayou State. Life is full of surprises.

----<0>----

After an all too brief soak in the tub, I caught a ride to the reception the Broussard's mansion with Sandra's parents. We brought Sandra's luggage with us and one of Tom’s cousins hauled it into the house and left it by the front entrance, waiting to be put in the couple's get away vehicle. We arrived early so that we could help wherever necessary.

There wasn't much for us to do as the wedding planners and caterers had everything in hand. It was amazing to watch the efficiency of the professionals.

Not long before the first guests arrived, the newlyweds made an appearance. Sandra had changed into a floor length gown that was a toned down version of the voluminous wedding gown that she had worn at the ceremony. The ceremonial dress would have been too difficult to manage through the reception.

The couple had the glow of sexual satisfaction about them.

I found that I was at peace with the idea of their union. I was seeing a pleasantly satisfied and happy best friend, not an unfaithful ex-wife.

When Tom was otherwise distracted, I went to give Sandra a hug.

"Congratulations BFF," I told her sincerely. "You deserve it all."

"He is a wonderful guy, isn't he." She sighed. "Thanks for everything, Andi. I wouldn't have made it without you."

"By the way," I grinned slyly at her, "I'd go easy on the alcohol tonight if I were you."

She blushes, "We've already consummated the marriage, and we were both sober."

"I know," I continued to grin at her. "And Tom has already given you your heart's desire for a wedding gift."

She looked at me confused.

"You conceived this afternoon." I cleared up her confusion.

"You can't know that," she said uncertainly.

"I can't," I agreed, "but Grandma Broussard can. She told me this afternoon that you'd be pregnant before the reception."

"Oh, I hope so," she said wistfully.

"So tell me, is he as big as you thought he was?" I asked with a wicked grin. "And is bigger better?"

"It's HUGE," she whispers in my ear, "but the geek doesn't really know how to use it to best effect yet. I will have to help him figure that out on the honeymoon."

It was my turn to blush.

"And as far as the second part of your question goes," she continued, "I am not going to make comparisons to you."

After giggling, she gave me a look of concern.

"You talked with Grandma?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied, "And don't worry, all is well. I am starting to like the old lady. You and Tom will need to find time to talk with her."

The look she gave me said that she wasn't convinced.

"I'll tell you all about it sometime," I promise her as Tom rejoined us.

The receiving line seemed to last for an eternity, and I was happy to finally take my seat at the head table when dinner was served.

When it came time for the toasts, I was asked to give one as the Maid-of-Honor.

"I am very happy for my BFF. She is happier than I have ever seen her.

"Since Tom has come into her life, Sandra has become a new woman, literally. Nine months ago she was your average wonderful woman. Tom's love has transformed her into the ravished beauty before you."

There were a few giggles at that line and the couple blushed mightily.

"His love for her has resulted in major changes for me as well, but we won't go there. Today we are here to celebrate their love. Today Tom has taken my place as the most important person in Sandra's life and I am happy for her. For them. May their love continue to grow." raising my glass, I continued, "I give you the happy couple. To their happiness and good health."

Before sitting down, I turned to Tom and added, "As I give her into your care, be aware that if you ever mistreat her you will suffer my wrath."

That threat got chuckles from around the room.

The evening had progressed according the time old traditions. At the appropriate time, I had to dance with the best man, who was a foot taller than me and twenty years older than my apparent age. It was awkward. I danced with Tom but due to height differences I was unable to talk with him. After a while I took him aside and let him know that I thought that he was the best thing that had ever happened to Sandra. I told him that I was happy and at peace with the way things were.

"I was going to tell you to not come home until she's pregnant, but you've already accomplished that." I inform him, "Instead, don't bring her home until she's satisfied. That will be a bit harder to accomplish."

"She's pregnant?" he exclaimed, "We only did it twice this afternoon."

"Well," I snorted, "You must really pack a punch. I tried to get her pregnant for a decade with no success. You accomplished it on the first try. Congratulations Daddy."

He looked at me in a daze, "How do you know?"

I sighed, "Grandma told me."

I noticed that the happy couple managed to corner Grandma Broussard during a lull in the festivities. Sandra later told me that Grandma had given them a condensed version of our earlier conversation. She had told them she felt that their love would have brought them to this place with or without the magic, but that the magic made is so that it was a win-win situation for all of us. She had only smiled her annoying smile when the couple asked her if they were already pregnant. She had told them that only time would tell.

I seemed to be popular that night. Many a young boy asked me to dance. Of course, none knew how. A few of them strutted about trying to impress me with their manliness in the awkward age-old manner of boys all over the world. I remember trying similar stupid stunts when I was a boy at that age.

The rumors of my transformation and past relationship with Sandra had been making the rounds within Tom's family and some of the guests. The rumors weren't entirely accurate but it resulted in a lot of strange looks from the party goers. Several of the bolder family members sought me out over the course of the evening to express their regrets for Grandma's actions, but they were all happy that Tom had found such a beautiful wife. A few asked me how I was holding up. I reassured them that I was at peace with the proceedings.

Eventually, the time came for the couple to leave the reception. The wedding party had all gotten together to decorate the Rolls Royce parked at the top of the circular driveway. It had all the traditional streamers, signs, tin cans, etc. and was ready to go. About the time we finished with the car, we heard the thumping of helicopter rotors approaching. I had slapped my forehead. Of course, I had thought, what does a rich guy do to make a statement?

The helicopter landed on the front lawn and the happy couple was soon airborne and heading into the night to the well wishes of the assembled guests. Before they left, Sandra told me that she still didn't know where they were going.

After Tom and Sandra had made their exit, the party started to slowly break up.

I had been exhausted when I finally slipped into bed at the hotel well after midnight. I fell asleep with a sense of peace and wondering where the happy couple had gone.