Chain Reaction 1.53: Family

     Laura and I continue with our working and dating relationship. I'm terrified to lose her on either account. I doubt I've ever been so happy. Speaking of doubts, only rarely do I have moments when I worry she still might be playing me for a fool. If she is, I'm done for.
     The more I consider how devastating it would be to lose her, the more I realize I love her. My heart expands and then some, happily welcoming her in. I tell her, and she drags me into my bedroom, saying she can't take it anymore.

      Loving her is so easy.
      I... have been... missing out. Is it like this with everyone? I would never use this word in her hearing for fear she'd take it the wrong way, but Laura is fun. I can't get enough of her. The way she feels when I... Well, I forget the Maker has to try to maintain a T rating.

     I long ago figured out that Laura is ambitious, but I also very happily discover she's a hopeless romantic. She eats it up any time I do something unexpected, and I like watching her eat it up. ...
     I've made up my mind.

      I have the night start like any other--except when I put this little twist into it. She gasps, guessing what I'm about to do. I look up and already see my answer, and my heart soars.

      As I ask her, my mind flashes back to the last time I did this. I was such an idiot. Fate had different plans for me, and she's standing right in front of me saying yes. I hope she likes the ring.

      Laura likes the best of everything. I don't hold it against her, taking it somewhat as a compliment considering she also chose me.
      "Alex, are you sure you can afford this?" she asks, gawking at her enormous diamond.
      I give her a look like she's nuts. "You know good and dam* well I can."
      My company has taken off. I rent office space downtown. I made Laura a V.P. She's had some difficulty letting go of some of her duties, but if she'd kept doing it all, she'd have a nervous breakdown. It's become too much for one person to handle. Besides, I selfishly want a lot of her time for myself.
     Speaking of which...

     I pick her up and give her a knowing look. "Now, what was that about wanting to go look at a report?"
     "What report?" she asks back, a little facetious but mostly turned on.
     "That's what I thought," I say with a happy smirk and carry her back to my bed. Our bed.

     Laura has a blast planning the wedding, and I let her get whatever she wants, no matter the cost. It's going to be a small affair, but that doesn't stop her from her planning.
     Due to various issues, the only family I have attend is Brielle, Graham, Ethan, and Emily. A few friends from work also come. The Maker never bothers to have any of Laura's family come. It doesn't bother either of us. As long as we're married by the end of the party, we'll be happy.

     My family shows up, the family that matters. I realize that's truly what Brielle is to me. Oh, I won't try to lie to myself and say that's all, but that's what really matters.
     "You're not wearing your glasses," Brielle points out as the first thing she says to me.
     "No, I... decided not to today," I answer. Blue is her color.
     She smiles. "Well, you look nice, not quite yourself without the glasses, but still nice, and Laura looks beautiful."

     For the first time in a long time, I hug her. She happily hugs me back. Brielle will always be special to me, but I truly love Laura.
     I let out a quick sigh before I say, "Thanks." Then I let her go.

     We gather in the living room while the caterer does absolutely nothing of what she's supposed to do.
     Laura and Brielle have met. They acted like they got along, but I couldn't really tell.
     As for Graham and me: Well, we declare a temporary truce. I get the feeling he'd just as soon not come to my wedding, but I also think he wouldn't want Brielle coming alone.

     Laura has the backyard decked out. She hates that she picked a crappy caterer, but the musician is fantastic. While we wait for everyone to come watch the ceremony, Laura nervously brushes some lint off my shoulder.

     I hear everyone starting to mingle around the benches, but my eyes are only interested in my beautiful bride. She hasn't said a word to me since we got out here.
     I kiss her cheek and ask, "Are you okay?"
     "I'm perfect," she replies. "Just afraid if I say too much that I'll start crying."
     "You look stunning. Have I told you that today?" I ask playfully.
     "Only about ten dozen times," she replies with a little laugh, looking more in control of her emotions.

     No one sits down. Why in plum would they sit down? It's not like I didn't spend a few thousand on those benches. No, sir. They all prefer to stand.

     I'm going to fire the caterer.

     Laura gets more into the public-display kiss than I expect. I don't mind one bit.

     I'm married! I'm married to a wonderful, smart, beautiful, sexy woman that loves me, and I love her.

     Yes, we have the lousiest caterer in the biz. I have to make the cake. As soon as the maker places it on the table, the caterer waltzes over and pops the wedding topper on it. I fire her and cut the cake.

     I thank the pianist and dismiss her in a much nicer manner. We have a DJ coming soon.

     The caterer takes her own sweet time leaving, but honestly, I don't care. I happily sit by the pool and flirt with my beautiful wife.
     I get back most of my money by selling most of the reception setup. Then, I spend some more for a great DJ.

     I sit talking to Brielle for a minute when Emily finally shows up. The Maker doesn't know what took her so long. I haven't had much interaction with the little girl, but she strikes me as a bit odd. I wonder if this is how I looked to adults when I was a child. She's a genius, so that might have something to do with it. While Ethan wants to go create mischief and mayhem, Emily wants to figure out how everything works.

     The party ends, and everyone else goes home. Emily stays to watch the DJ since he keeps playing. I see her when I go out to dismiss him so my neighbors don't call the cops on me. She asks me a few questions like why does the DJ wear a mask and what is the purpose of the floor and lights. I sit and do my best to explain everything to her while she quietly listens. I decide I no longer think she's odd. She's just really, really smart. If I have a daughter one day, I hope she's like Emily.

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End of generation one!!!
As it stands now, I'm going to follow Ethan for generation two. I have no official rules, so I'm letting myself start on generation two even though he's still a child for a little while longer. After all, I spent quite a bit of time playing Brielle before aging her to teen and 'really' beginning the story. So, I've decided that the generation switch will happen when I feel the story has progressed to another character. We might get little peeps out of Emily, but I'm really 'hearing' more Ethan than anyone, meaning he's ready to assume the mantle.

Brielle's excitement is over, and she can sit back and relax in her founder retirement. That doesn't mean we won't hear from her occasionally.

There are some tidbits of extra information mentioned in the generation one summaries if you want to find them:
Generation one summary: part one
Generation one summary: part two

Click here to go to the 2nd generation! 2.1