A day before the wedding . . .
The rehearsal went well at the church as did the rehearsal dinner at the Waldorf Astoria. Christopher was gracious enough to pay for two rooms there; one for Selena and the other for Bill, Elle, and Susan. Selena had moved out of her apartment two days ago. Christopher had tried to get her to stay at the mansion the night before the wedding, but she wouldn’t because she didn’t want to risk them bumping into each other before the wedding.
Christopher and Selena walked slowly to the Hudson limo where Bruce and Trevor were waiting. It was twenty-five degrees outside, but to Selena it wasn’t cold at all. Her heart was full and her soul was light and warm. She was looking forward to tomorrow. They stopped a few feet away from Ray who was standing next to the limo door wai
Selena had never received so many gifts at one time. She had gotten so much lingerie that she could open her own boutique. They had also played a drinking game that had almost all of them two sheets in the wind. Joanna was the only one still sober. She had opted out of the game. The girls started telling bad date stories. Selena excused herself to use the bathroom. She walked to the bedroom and used the bathroom adjacent to it. When she walked out, she sat on the edge of the queen size bed. She thought about tomorrow and then her mind drifted to after tomorrow. What would married life be like now she knew she loved Christopher? The door cracked open. Beverly stuck her head inside. “Hey, are you okay?” Her brown hair had grown another inch since December.
Christopher had guided the girls who were all over him to a few of his old frat buddies and retreated to the other side of the room and took a seat. As everyone drank and flirted with the girls, Mel approached Christopher with two glasses. One was tall and full of clear liquid and ice. The other glass was shorter with brown liquid. “It’s ice water. You need to stay hydrated. We don’t want you waking up with a throbbing headache and cotton mouth in the morning. Your fiancé wouldn’t be happy with that,” Mel slurred and offered the tall glass to Christopher. He took it. “Thanks.” Mel sat down on a stool that matched the armchair Christopher sat in.
When Christopher opened his eyes again it was daybreak. The black man, who Christopher learned last night was called Cootie, looked down at him. “Hey, playa, you awake?” Cootie asked. “Yeah,” he answered hoarsely. He had a headache. “Ah, shit.” He slowly sat up. Cootie backed away to give him some room. Christopher looked around the room.Riley and Allen were dead asleep in armchairs with their flies open and their shoes off. The rest of his frat brothers were gone. Trevor and Bruce were no were to be seen. A few of the strippers were putting on coats.“What time is it?” Christopher asked weakly.“It’s almost seven a.m. Look man, I know you busy today, but I can’t leave without the rest
Ray had driven faster than he ever had since he had been working for the family to the Lenox Hill Hospital. Dr. Jonathan Kilmer had met them in the parking lot ten minutes after they got there. “You guys were lucky I had gotten out of surgery an hour ahead of schedule,” Kilmer said as he climbed into the back of the limo. “Mr. Christopher Hudson, I presume,” He said as he hovered over Christopher. They had never formally met. “Yeah. I would shake your hand, but you know,” Christopher stated with a deep frown. “Yes. Trevor said you were on the way to the church to get married and you just went limp, correct?”&
Christopher tried not to roll his eyes when Heather entered the limo. She had on gold wire-rimmed glasses, a white coat buttoned up to her neck, black stockings, and black high heels. A black purse hung from her shoulder and she was carrying a clipboard. The back of the car was getting full. It took her fifteen minutes to show up, which told Christopher that Kilmer had to convince his wife to come – and to ride to the church while she treated him. “Before I do anything, I need you to sign these forms,” she said without saying hello first. “I can’t,” Christopher bit out. “Can’t move your hands either, huh?” she said. He could have sworn he heard a
Selena had just finished taking pictures with her bridesmaids, Uncle Bill, and Aunt Elle. Her wedding dress was a princess ball gown with sheer long sleeves. The dress had a scoop neckline, but it didn’t show any cleavage. She had wanted to be respectful and wear something conservative in the church yet classy. Her reception dress, which she bought with the other half of the two hundred thousand dollars Christopher had given her, was a lot sexier and fun. There was a knock at the door. Susan walked to it and cracked it open. “Well, hello, Susan,” Trevor said happily. “Is the bride receiving visitors?”&n
At the church, Christopher didn’t think Selena could look more beautiful - until she reappeared by his side to walk into the ballroom at the Hudson Estate. Selena had changed into a satin formfitting white dress with a slit all the way up her thigh. The bodice of her dress was pulled back like a corset showing a respectable, yet tantalizing amount of cleavage. Her shoulders and arms were bare for him to admire. She had removed her veil letting her hairstyle show more clearly. “Wow,” he blurted out as she approached him. Selena bashfully glanced down. “I take it you like my reception dress.” “I like it a lot, but I liked the other one, too,” he assured her. &
Christopher and Trevor stood in the ballroom talking as the party continued. Christopher was thinking Selena and Megan had done too good of a job with the reception. It was almost ten o’clock and he hadn’t seen one guest leave. The reception had officially started at six. Christopher’s eyes widened when he saw one of the bartenders bend over and pull out two bottles of champagne. He was heading to the champagne faucet, as Christopher called it. He leaned towards his brother. “When in the hell is this going to end? Or are all these people planning to stay all night and drink everything we got in the house?” Trevor laughed. “Maybe they are having their homes fumigated and can’t leave yet,” he jested.&