Ty Solomon (shadowbadge) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2021-01-07 11:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | #june 2018, jared, jared x ty, ty |
Who: Jared and Ty and Mama Gaines
When: Sunday, June 3rd, most of the day/evening
Where: Texas!
Status: complete
It had been both a relief and weirdly sad to get on a plane to take them out of Maine. Ty knew they were coming back, there was just a strangeness to it that he couldn’t quite place. He knew he shouldn’t miss Point Pleasant, he should be happy as hell to put it behind him, but there were just a lot of mixed emotions. They had a long plane ride to calm down though, and eventually he settled into the white noise and cramped quarters and couldn’t even complain about it. Where he’d been was so much worse, for so much longer, it seemed easy to get through. He wasn’t so sure about poor Jared’s legs cramped up in the tiny space between seats, but his big fiance didn’t complain either. They were headed toward their future, after all.
Before he knew it, they had landed in Austin, gathered their bags and rented a car to drive from the city to the small town Jared had grown up in. It wasn’t the first time they’d made this trip, but it seemed different now. Ty wasn’t just going to meet Jared’s family and have Thanksgiving dinner, he was going there to marry his man. It made him elated and terribly nervous at the same time. They talked plans as they drove out of the city, and Ty watched the skyline disappear as the sun began to set over the farmland that would eventually give way to desert. After a while he looked over at Jared with a faint smile. “You really ready to do this, cowboy?” he asked, reaching over to settle his hand on Jared’s thigh.
"Hell yeah," Jared murmured contently even if he wasn't sure which 'this' Ty was referring to. The answer was the same for all of it, going home, getting married, taking a vacation, spending all his time with Ty; a resounding yes on all of them and he didn't think Ty was talking about something else right now. "Are you, baby?" He covered Ty's hand with his own though he kept his gaze on the road for now. His sunglasses tainted everything with a warm brown color, made all their environment a little softer. He knew his family liked Ty and he wasn't nervous at all about them meeting him again but there were unanswered questions he'd been dodging, like what had happened between him and Ty that had sent him running home with a broken heart. The truth made no sense and he hadn't thought of a better story to tell so he continued to dodge and hoped they wouldn't pressure Ty into answering either.
Ty let his head fall back against the seat rest, gazing over at the way the setting sun painted Jared’s handsome face. He felt full to bursting with love, but there was also a small sink in his stomach whenever he thought about what they were about to do. Ty had never thought he would get married, and the prospect of commitment was a tiny bit scary ... but his nerves were mostly about Jared’s family. “Yes and no,” he answered with a soft laugh. “I can’t fuckin’ wait to be married to you, but I’m nervous to actually be up there, you know?” Ty squeezed Jared’s thigh lightly. “Actually doing the thing. Who-all from your family is coming, do you know yet?”
It had become pretty clear that Jared was running this show. Ty had invited his aunt and his mother to show and Jared had told his own mother that this was not going to be a huge wedding so she did not have to invite every living relative and friend. It was still not going to be a tiny ceremony, Jared had too many cousins who'd be mortally offended if they weren't invited so he just hoped Ty wouldn't be too overwhelmed. "You've met most of them," he said with a smile. "And if it's too much we can always elope." He had floated that idea a few times and in some ways it was tempting to do just that. Ty's mother didn't want to come so it was just his aunt who was willing to fly to Texas to be there for the ceremony. Jared was trying to balance it so that they wouldn't be overrun with his relatives but it was hard to invite some and not others. His last marriage ceremony had been a big one and he was oh so ready not to repeat that.
"I made sure mama knows we don't need two hundred guests so we'll limit it to the closest relatives." He glanced over at Ty, his smile growing a little wider. "Or elope. Again, that's still an option. We get hitched at the courthouse and throw a little dinner party." He was kind of enamored with the idea of marrying Ty in a pretty garden surrounded by people he loved but above everything else, Ty's comfort mattered most to him.
Seeing as how he had no money and not many relatives to start with, Ty had kind of left the planning up to Jared. They would be on his turf, surrounded by his family, and he was the one footing all the bills, so Ty couldn’t exactly be demanding about much for their wedding. Not that he wanted to be. As long as he got to dress up and see Jared dressed up and walk down an aisle and put a ring on his man’s finger, that was all he cared about. So far he wasn’t even upset that his mother had said she wasn’t coming. He did wonder a bit how many of Jared’s cousins actually supported their Gay Wedding, and how many might be coming just for reluctant curiosity. But maybe that was his bias against Texans talking. It didn’t really matter either, as long as they ended up married at the end of it all. Ty laughed softly at what Jared said, quirking a brow at him. “Kinda sounds like you want to elope,” he pointed out. “Are you nervous?”
"Nah," Jared said emphatically, his brows furrowing. "Okay a little. I don't want it to be too much but there's some people I want there and it'll be weird to invite them and not others." He was all too aware that Ty only had one person showing up on 'his side' of the aisle so this was going to be a very casual ceremony if he could help it. He only really wanted close family there but even keeping it to just his parents siblings and their kids made it a big group. At least he'd been gone for long enough that he didn't feel like he had to invite a bunch of old friends too, but even so, it was a lot. "You know, by now my brother's probably looked you up in every database available to him so he'll be more friendly, knowing you're not on the FBI most wanted list."
Ty wasn’t even thinking much about the balance. Maybe if they’d stayed in Point Pleasant and Jared’s whole brood had flown up to be there, it would’ve been a little awkward to only have a handful on his ‘side.’ But it somehow felt right since they were doing this in Texas. He wanted Jared to feel surrounded by love, and hopefully with most of them that would extend to him too, at least a bit. He’d liked the cousins he’d met, maybe this would be an opportunity to get closer to them. “It’ll be great no matter what,” Ty said to Jared with a lazy smile. It wasn’t the first time he’d said it, and it probably wouldn’t be the last over the next few days. “Oh damn, he’s probably found out about my double-life as a Russian spy then. Think he’ll bring it up in a toast?” He tittered a bit and shook his head.
Jared chuckled at that before the realization that his brother just might make a toast hit him. "Oh man, I don't want that," he groaned but it wasn't like Ethan made awkward or horrible speeches, it just made him feel weird to think of him speaking at his Gay wedding. He'd done a fine job at his last one, but that had been to a white woman so that was worlds apart. "Just so you know, I don't really care about any of this, I just want to be married to you, live with you and love you for the rest of my life. A wedding party is just half a day, we can have it as big or as small as you want it." So far they'd been in agreement on everything but there were so many things left to plan. Jared had a feeling his mom would take over from here and he was honestly ready to give up the reins.
“I probably wouldn’t be marrying you if you did care about all this,” Ty told him. On the rare occasions he’d pondered what kind of wedding he would have, he’d thought maybe he would be the one to go more Bridezilla, but he felt much like Jared did. He just wanted to be married. ... but he did want an opportunity for them to take some amazing pictures together too. “I want your family there, however big that ends up being. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just simple and nice, you know?” Going to the courthouse would be efficient, sure, but Ty wanted to enjoy it, too. “I’m good with no speeches, though,” he added and chuckled softly. “And no cake in the face or any of that shit.”
Under different circumstances they both might have wanted to make a bigger deal of it, but the last few months had been hard and for now they just wanted things to be easy and nice for at least a little while. Jared had a few relatives in mind that he knew would make fantastic guests, he just hoped the rest of them would behave and not be weird about it. "I can't very well stop people from making speeches," he said with a slightly regretful smile. "But I'll make sure there's no cake on your pretty face. I kind of want an outdoors reception, you know, if we're not just doing a court house thing. Did I mention that already?" It shouldn't come as a surprise, he was big on the outdoors, even when the weather in Point Pleasant got fierce in the winter, he still enjoyed being able to go outside. "Nice garden, we could get a pretty archway." Was that too much? Nah, they could do anything they wanted - within a budget, sadly.
“That sounds nice,” Ty murmured with a lazy smile. He could picture it, the two of them standing up in front of an archway in some park or a meadow or something, nature giving them almost all the decoration they needed, vowing to love each other forever. “Maybe rent one of those tents for the reception, just enough room to cover the buffet and fit everybody in if it rains. ... not that it rains here.” He huffed a little and glanced out the windows at all the desert. Ty looked back at Jared’s profile. “Is it all right with you if we use like, a non-religious officiant? I don’t wanna get preached at while we’re up there, you know? Unless you think that would upset your mom or something.” Ty knew it would upset his mom, but she wasn’t coming, so he didn’t feel obligated to give any sort of a shit. Even if she was, he and Jared just weren’t religious, and Ty didn’t want any God-talk as part of their ceremony.
"Yeah," Jared replied easily. "If we got a pastor it'd have to be one of those pastors who doesn't go on and on about God and Jesus. I'm marrying you, not the lord, the lord can throw his own party." He tittered softly at his own lame humor, tangling his fingers together with Ty's. "Mama won't be upset, she's religious but not so over the top that she gets easily offended. She can listen to preachers in her own time all she wants, this is our wedding." The church hadn't exactly been the first on board to support gay marriage so in some ways it would feel out of place to Jared to include it and it was more than okay with him to find someone else to officiate. "Our wedding," he repeated with a smug grin. "I like the sound of that."
Considering the experiences he’d had with the church and their deconversion “therapy” he’d been through, Ty didn’t want religion anywhere near his gay wedding. He knew not all denominations or Christians were the same, of course, and some were very accepting of others’ sexuality, but Ty still felt like he felt. If God was real and wanted to bless their union, he would do it without having to be asked. He grinned too and focused just on how good it was to hear the words ‘our wedding.’ “Because we’re getting married, holy shit,” he agreed with a laugh, wiggling their joined hands a bit. “You’re gonna look so fucking good, I’m just gonna die walking down the aisle.” Ty paused, then laughed again. “If I’m even the one walking? I dunno, I’ve never actually been to a gay wedding, only straight ones, so ... maybe your mom should escort you and give you away or something.”
Jared had already done the waiting so walking this time didn't sound like a bad idea but it still made him laugh. Maybe that was super heterosexist of him to find the idea of being the 'bride' funny. "Maybe we should both walk, not down an aisle but just, meet in the middle kind of thing. I've never been to a gay wedding either. Maybe we should have an online video marathon with some booze. I bet a lot of people have put up their wedding videos, you gay guys are so showy." That last bit was very tongue in cheek and his grin said as much. He even stuck his tongue out briefly, well aware that Ty was not a flashy sort of guy. He was stylish for sure, beautiful and not shy, but flashy? Showy? Hardly.
Ty was carefully avoiding bringing up Sadie during all of the wedding talk they’d done so far. He didn’t want to compare the two weddings, nor did he want to remind Jared of all he’d lost, so it just seemed safer not to mention her. He was sure there were parallels being drawn in Jared’s head, but so far he hadn’t mentioned Sadie either. Ty hummed an approving sound. “I like that idea, meeting in the middle,” he murmured with a smile. “We’re definitely watching some videos.” A lot of those traditions were kind of dumb and patriarchal anyway, so why not tweak them however they wanted? Ty took the little jab at gays as it was intended, chuckling and straightening his shoulders a bit. “Well y’know ... when you’re a peacock trying to impress the other peacocks, you gotta put some effort in.”
That made Jared laugh again and there were some obvious coarse jokes about peacocking but they were low hanging fruit, even for him. Ty hadn't exactly peacocked at him to get his attention, being closeted and all, so clearly it wasn't necessary. "So what do you want to do for our honeymoon?" he asked instead. "I know we can't splurge too much but I want it to be special. Anywhere you really want to go? Anything you really want to see?" He had some places in mind to stop by as they drove back to Maine but that wasn't the same. Honeymooning should not involve days and hours of driving. "Or do you just want to curl up in a luxury hotel room for a couple of days?" He gave Ty an easy smile at that because honestly that sounded nice. Jared was game for anything though, there were some sights he'd love to show him if Ty felt up for hiking but none of it felt as important as just being close to him.
He was honestly looking forward to the road trip. Ty didn’t mind doing a lot of the driving, since he knew Jared had been doing a lot of that on his lonesome journey while Ty had been gone. “I think ... a couple of days in a luxury hotel room would be fucking fantastic,” he said. “But then -- and tell me if you think this’ll be too expensive -- I wanna rent an RV and hit up places on our way back. Like New Orleans and then maybe up the east coast ... we could see DC and New York and a bunch of parks and just kind of meander where we feel like going, you know? Find some ridiculous ‘giant ball of string’ roadside stuff to take pictures next to.” Just picturing the two of them drinking coffee at a picnic table in the fresh air, watching the sun rise over some mountains, made him feel like weeping with joy. He’d been stuck in a disgusting, narrow hell for way too long and thought he’d never get to roam and breathe freely again. Ty had never been a terribly outdoorsy guy, but fuck if he didn’t want to binge on nature now.
"That sounds like the best plan," Jared murmured and he could easily imagine just how sweet it would be, taking their time and hitting up strange and fun places. "And I think there's a giant ball of some kind in Oklahoma or Kansas if you're dying to see it. Or we'll find some other random things to look at. Too bad the Grand Canyon is kind of in the opposite direction." He pulled a face, wondering if it'd be worth the drive anyway. He wasn't going back to work for a while so while they didn't have all the time in the world, they had a lot of it and he wanted to make the most of it. "New Orleans sounds amazing, even if we missed Mardi Gras. I'm sure they have a lot of cool things going on this summer."
“There’s always cool shit going on there, from what I hear,” Ty said. He wasn’t in any big rush to plan out a route yet, they could figure it out when they got there, but it gave him a deep sense of peace to think about being out there on the road. Away from the tiny weird town in the corner of the country that kept trying to kill them. He lifted Jared’s hand to kiss his knuckles, closing his eyes and just focusing on that for a long moment. He’d missed those big strong-but-gentle hands so much while he’d been gone -- all of Jared, really, but certain bits of him kept sticking out to Ty in particular. He had been almost clingy with giving those bits affection. After a moment, he let their arms relax again and sighed. “So ... what have you told your family about me?” he asked, looking over at his man again. “Like, about why we had uh ... a break, or whatever.”
Jared enjoyed the love Ty was showering him with and he'd gotten used to the clinginess, craved it if anything, always happy to be touched or to be touching Ty. He idly rubbed at Ty's hand with his thumb, smiling at the little kiss and feeling his own sense of peace wash over him. It was slightly interrupted by Ty's question because he honestly didn't know what to tell people and he'd been avoiding it so far. He groaned softly, a more telling answer than any words he could muster before he actually spoke. "I haven't told them anything," he admitted. "I said it was complicated, that it was nobody's fault but I couldn't talk about it, that I wasn't ready to talk about it. I didn't stay around them much while you were gone so that helped, I guess. They stopped asking after a while. God only knows what they think has been going on." He shook his head softly. "We don't have to tell them anything, just that it's deeply personal and nobody's at fault but it's over now. Maybe they think you went to rehab." He snorted softly and even that didn't make a lick of sense. If Ty had been in rehab or a hospital, Jared wouldn't have been so devastated, he wouldn't have left Maine behind and spent the last few months roaming the countryside with a broken heart.
All of the excuses that had floated through Ty’s mind had been similar -- he’d had an addiction problem and went to rehab, he’d had a mental breakdown and run away for a while, he’d had some family emergency he had to fly across the country for and stay indefinitely. The problem was, he could only imagine Jared being completely wonderful and supportive through all of those situations, not heartsick and wanting to run away himself. Ty would’ve had to hurt Jared somehow, and he hated the thought of Mama Gaines thinking he’d cheated on her son or something. Jared’s family surely wouldn’t believe the truth. “Maybe we can make it fun,” he murmured with a lazy little smile, obviously not serious. “Tell them I had to go into witness protection, or I ran off to join a cult for a while, or something. Or maybe tell everybody something different and watch them put together an even crazier story on their own.” He tittered a bit, then sighed. “If I’d just disappeared like a regular person, you wouldn’t have left ... I just don’t wanna disappoint your mom, I guess. Or prompt your brother into trying some FBI Jedi-mindtrick interrogation bullshit on me.”
"Let's just leave it vague," Jared said. "We can say it was a work thing, it's not that far from the truth. Not quite witness protection but we can't talk about it." Supernatural shit was hard to explain away, no wonder it stayed under most people's radar. How many things had happened around him that he never would have suspected were just cover stories for something bigger and stranger? It couldn't be happening in Point Pleasant and nowhere else, right? "Ethan can try all his Jedi-mindtrick shit, he won't find anything about what happened and we've interrogated enough bastards to know how to deflect, even if he's FBI." They also had mama Gaines on their side, she wouldn't let her older son get away with any nonsense. Maybe it was cowardly to hide under her skirt, so to speak, but Jared didn't care. Sometimes letting someone else take care of things was okay, he didn't have to fix every damn thing himself. "Just don't worry too hard about it, baby," he murmured. "You mind if we stop and grab something to eat? We've got a turnoff coming up and traveling is hungry work with all the dodging I gotta do on the plane."
Ty wasn’t sure he would be good at deflecting a federally-trained agent who was also about to become his brother in law -- which was a crazy phrase to have in his head now -- but he could just hope that it didn’t come up. All of Jared’s family had been nice when he’d met them the first time, hopefully they would just leave it alone and not ask questions and mind their own business. At least to the happy couple’s faces. Ty tried to do as Jared suggested and not worry about it. They were getting married, that was all that mattered. Why should he care if half the audience thought he was a drug addict and Jared was making a huge mistake? “Of course I don’t mind,” he said with a little smile. “I’m hungry too.” After months of not eating, Ty couldn’t seem to get enough food these days, now that he could stuff his face.
It was a long drive and stopping for some food helped make it feel less endless. It was somewhat amusing to Jared how much longer it felt to him now that he had lived in Point Pleasant for years, even after his recent road trip, Texas just felt so much bigger than it had when he lived there. It was close to dinner time by the time they rolled up to his mom's house and he couldn't deny that he felt a little nervous. He might make damn sure not to let Ty know about it but his family asking questions weighed a bit heavily on his mind by now and the wedding suddenly felt so much closer and - much like the state they were driving through - bigger. "Not much has changed," he murmured as he parked the car behind his mom's sedan. "If anything, actually. House isn't full of relatives right now though - or shouldn't be." He hoped not, he was a bit travel-weary and not at all prepared to deal with more than just his mom at the moment.
Now that they’d stopped, Ty took a moment to lean over and grab a quick kiss from Jared before they got out. “I didn’t expect much to change, I was only here, what ... six or seven months ago?” Ty said breezily, sitting back as Jared turned the engine off. It looked like the same cute ranch style house he’d seen on Thanksgiving, only with a greener yard and blooming flower beds lining the base of the front porch. And the humidity that rolled in when he opened the car door. The heat of Texas was already oppressive for Ty, and he was slightly worried about sweating through any suit he tried to put on for their outdoor wedding, but he would cross that gross bridge when he got there, he supposed. Ty got out, stretched with a groan, and then stepped to the back of the car to grab some of their bags.
The door to the small house opened and Caroline Gaines pushed the screen door open and stepped out, beaming from ear to ear. “‘Bout time y’all got here,” she called as she headed down the porch steps. She was never one to wait in the house for guests, especially when she was so excited to see them. She approached her son first, holding her arms out in a silent demand for a hug.
Jared let out a deep chested chuckle as he got out of the car and strolled up to meet her, stretching his arms out before enveloping her all too easily in a big bear hug. "Didn't wanna get pulled over for speeding," he murmured. "Don't have my badge back yet." He felt a little naked without it, that was something he had to admit to himself, and it had been too damn long since he wore a uniform here in Texas so he probably didn't know most of the cops working in the area. "It's good to see you, mama." He gave her a little extra squeeze before letting her go and craning his neck to holler back at Ty. "Leave those for now, babe, come give my mama a hug!"
Caroline laugh-cooed as she hugged Jared tight, always enjoying that feeling of being wrapped up by her big son. She patted his back and returned the squeeze before Jared let go. She looked around for Ty, still smiling warmly despite the pang of worry in her chest. She still didn’t know what had happened between them that had broken Jared’s heart and sent him backpacking around Texas like Jesus wandering the wilderness, and she knew she might never get the full story. Things had obviously changed again, and now they were getting married, and Caroline was happy but still concerned.
Ty came around the side of the car with his own smile, one duffle bag slung over his shoulder and the other in one hand. He put both of them down on the driveway to hug his soon-to-be mother-in-law, some worry in his own heart. Caroline hugged him tight and patted his back too, giving him a murmured “so good to see you,” before they parted. It didn’t tell him much about what she really thought about all this, but he supposed it was a good sign to start with.
“Well come on in, boys,” Caroline said, waving them in toward the house. “I got supper on the stove, shouldn’t be too long, I’m sure you’re hungry. The spare bedroom’s all made up for you, got fresh towels in the bathroom. We can eat after you’re all settled in.”
It had been a couple of hours since they ate and Jared was honestly always hungry so he nodded eagerly as he headed back to the car to get the rest of the luggage. He still felt a little antsy but it wasn't really a worry about how his mother felt about Ty. He loved him so she would too, that was just how the family worked. She'd hate him if Ty broke his heart but right now he was making Jared happy. On some level Jared wished he could tell her everything that had happened, just be level with her and let her in on it all. It was both insane and hard to believe though and even if she did, she'd never let him go back to Point Pleasant. Not a chance. He let her lead the way inside, hoisting his bag over his shoulder and giving Ty's arm a little squeeze. Jared might not be worried about his mother but Ty had every right to be and he hoped to soothe those worries at least a little bit.
Ty appreciated the brief squeeze and shot Jared a little smile back as they headed inside. The house was just as cute and welcoming as he remembered, and the food in the kitchen smelled delicious. Caroline escorted them up the steps and down the hall to the guest room, even though they knew right where it was, and patted them both on the arm before she left them alone again to get settled. Ty dropped his bags in the corner, crouching and unzipping one to pull his suit out so he could hang it up. That done, Ty kicked his shoes off and flopped onto the bed, giving a little groan as he stretched all his limbs out. It might have been fantastic to take a road trip with his love, but he was glad to be out of the car. “You want a little time with your mom?” he asked Jared softly. “I can take a quick shower or something.”
"Yes and no," Jared admitted and sat down by Ty's side, gently rubbing at his leg. "I'd like a shower too but I think I'll take one after dinner. I should probably talk to her a bit, but don't leave us alone too long, alright?" There were all those mixed feelings again. He was happy to be home, it was always good to see his mama but at the same time a part of him missed hiding away from the world with Ty, to not have to talk to anyone but him. Juniper had been a reprieve from the world and that wasn't healthy in the long run but Jared still kind of wanted to be back there. He knew it was because of this secret hanging over them, if he could just let it all off his chest it'd be so much easier. "Like the lady said, supper will be ready soon."
Glad that his instinct to give them a bit of privacy had been correct, Ty smiled at him and sat up. He wrapped his arms around Jared’s broad shoulders and kissed his cheek. “Not too long, I promise,” he murmured. “Just enough time for her to ask awkward questions if she has any, and guilt trip you about not calling more or ... whatever normal moms do.” Ty grinned a little, obviously teasing. He didn’t think Mama Gaines did many guilt trips, she didn’t need to. Her boys were dedicated to her. One of them, anyway, Ty didn’t know how often Ethan called. He squeezed Jared, snuck another kiss onto his lips, then stood up and went to his bag again to grab something to change into once he’d washed off the road grime.
Jared leaned into the kiss, smiled contently then got to his feet. He left Ty to his shower and headed downstairs, his grin slowly growing when he found Caroline in the kitchen and gave her another hug. "Ty hopped in the shower," he told her, patting her back as he pulled away. "Something's starting to smell good down here." There were times when he wished they didn't live so far apart and her cooking definitely brought that familiar pang to his chest. "You need any help, mama?"
Caroline patted Jared’s arm when he came to hug her, chuckling a bit. “It already smells good,” she corrected. “Just keeping it all warm in the oven, there’s nothin’ much left to do, sugar.” She waved her hands to shoo him away from said oven and led the way to sit down at the kitchen table with him. Catch up chats were always best done in the kitchen. Caroline had already made a plate of cookies for them earlier in the day, and she nudged it closer to Jared once he was settled. “How was the trip? Didn’t hit any bad weather, did you?” They’d obviously gotten there safe and sound, but it was always a pleasantry to ask.
"Smooth sailing through blue skies," Jared replied as he took a seat, sprawling a bit on her dainty kitchen chair. Of course he helped himself to a cookie, it wouldn't ruin his appetite and she was offering, there was no way he was refusing that. "Well, we soared above some clouds but they were pretty. Have you heard from Ethan? Any word on if he's coming?" So maybe asking that was a tactic to delay the inevitable. Jared knew she wanted to ask about Ty, nudge him to tell her more, and he still had no answers. Asking about his brother was easier much like planning a wedding and making a guest list would be so that was what he'd focus on.
It was true that she had a lot of questions, but she’d learned over the years that trying to pressure Jared into sharing anything with her was usually an exercise in futility. He was a gentle giant, but he had a stubborn streak in him. Caroline claimed it came from his father’s side, but she could dig her heels in too when the situation called for it. “Yes, he called last night,” she answered. “He’s coming. Said he wouldn’t miss it.” Really, Caroline had told him he’d better not miss it, so that might have influenced him some, but Ethan wasn’t too resistant to the idea, so she hadn’t had to push hard. “Is anyone from Ty’s side flying in?”
"His aunt," Jared replied. "Detta, she's a real sweetheart, I think you'll get along just great." And that was it. He really wished he'd had to memorize a long list of aunts, uncles and cousins for the occasion but Ty was nowhere near as rich as he was with relatives and his own mother wasn't coming. It broke Jared's heart but at the same time he wasn't so sure he could have handled her negativity at something as important as their wedding. She still didn't approve of him even if losing Ty for so long had softened her toward Jared, he just wished he knew how to change her mind and override all those years of Christian doctrine but it was too big, even for him. "He doesn't have a big family," he added almost apologetically and that was another thing he worried about, the wedding feeling awkward as it was almost entirely made up of people on his side.
Caroline hadn’t even spoken to anyone in Ty’s family over the phone, so she was both nervous and excited to meet one of them in person. She just hoped Detta felt welcomed when she came. It was a damn shame about his mother, and Caroline had said as much to Jared a few times now, but that was a change that had to come from within. She kind of wished she could talk to the woman, share about the emotions she’d gone through when Jared came out to her, maybe bond over how much they loved their sons. Maybe someday. “Well, I can’t wait to meet her,” she said to Jared for now, smiling warmly. “We’ll make sure and give her a big southern welcome.” Caroline paused, eyeing Jared for a moment. “How’re you feeling, baby? Nervous yet?”
Jared furrowed his brows in thought, taking his time by finishing his cookie. Was he nervous? Hell yes. So very nervous. He didn't remember being this nervous when he married Sadie but maybe there was a gentle blanket of forgetfulness over that memory. "Yeah," he finally answered, sounding a little surprised by it. "Possibly more nervous than, you know. I've never even been to a gay wedding so it's a bit like jumping right into the deep end." He'd been to weddings, he knew how they went, Sadie had been the center of attention on their special day but now it was him and Ty and it felt so equal and so strange. "Lil worried about Ryan," he admitted. "I don't even know if he's coming." His dad's brother hadn't been all that understanding on Thanksgiving. He might not have caused a scene but it got under Jared's skin, like somehow getting his approval was more important because he couldn't get it from his dad.
She nodded slowly as Jared spoke, understanding where he was coming from with each point. Caroline had wondered how the usual wedding traditions would translate into a gay wedding -- she’d done some reading about ideas on making it their own, but she hadn’t brought much up to Jared yet. She hadn’t had much to do with planning his first wedding, and she didn’t want to impose unless he needed the help. “You’ll do fine,” she said, reaching over to pat Jared’s hand and smiling at him. “This day is about you and Ty. You can make it anything you want it to be, just forget about all that traditional crap if you want to.” She gave a dismissive wave, as if sweeping all of the heteronormativity away from weddings in general. “And if Ryan comes, he comes. If he doesn’t, then he’s missed out on sharing in a lotta joy.” She had no doubt there would be plenty of that -- Ty made her boy happier than he had been in years ... aside from the past few months. “Can I help with anything?”
"Probably everything," Jared replied with a sheepish smile before shaking his head. "Nah, we're gonna try and get a plan together in the next couple of days, figure out what we want to do. Right now all we know is that we kinda want an outdoor reception and we don't want a priest." He knew she wouldn't mind that bit terribly much, especially since she didn't have a problem with the kind of marriage he was getting into, but he still couldn't help but give her a slightly apologetic look. "But I figured we might even just do it in the backyard, it's big enough. Or that little park where Nicole and Thomas got married, I liked that place a lot. If it's... still around." But that meant talking to Nicole and asking her how she went about getting a park and maybe it was way more hassle than he could imagine. That's where Caroline definitely came in, she was far better at keeping in touch with all his cousins than he was.
Something did seem wrong to Caroline about getting married without any clergy doing the ceremony, even if it was someone from one of those hippy Unitarian churches, but she knew people did that sort of thing these days. She’d never been very forceful about pushing faith on her boys, though she’d taken them to church when they were younger. Neither of them were very devout, but Caroline didn’t fret over their souls too much. The God she believed in knew their hearts, that was all that mattered, and they were both good men. Caroline half-stood to reach for a pen and pad of paper that were sitting on the table. She flipped past her grocery list and got ready to jot a few things down. “It’s still around,” she told him cheerfully. “And it’s still nice ... they got those big trees around the little pavilion, there’s lots of shade ... more than my yard has. I’m sure I can find the number for reservations on the Google, if you want me to give them a call.” She was more than happy to help make arrangements, Caroline hated feeling useless.
It was something Jared was simultaneously afraid of and hoping for and his mixed feelings reflected it pretty well. Relief was the bigger emotion that won out this time and he let himself relax a little into it. It had taken him years to understand that his mother enjoyed helping so letting her do so was as much a favor to her as it was to him. "I don't know if we can get it on such short notice but yeah, let's look them up on the Google." He smothered his laugh at the way she put it, but there was a gleam of amusement in his eyes anyway. There was a part of him that kind of wanted to let her handle the whole thing so that all he had to do was show up in a nice suit and not worry about it but that was too much and he needed to get over this weird nervousness that was eating at him.
“Oh pish, it’s not like there’s a wedding every other day there,” she said, waving her hand before she wrote down the name of the park and some question marks to remind herself to inquire. Caroline looked up at Jared again expectantly, fully sliding into planning mode. She didn’t want to step on Jared’s toes if he’d already made some decisions, but she knew deep in her bones that men always needed help with things like this, gay or not. Bisexual, she silently reminded herself, Jared was bisexual. Did it really need ‘sex’ in the word, she wondered? It was sort of uncouth. Wasn’t the love part more important? Bi-love-ual? She was still learning. “What about food? Weddings make people hungry ... we could have some finger foods at the park, have everybody bring something ... or we could come back here for the reception, have a spread. I know you didn’t bring no cake on the plane, so I took the liberty of arranging that for you -- you remember Darlene in my sewing circle? She makes the prettiest cakes, she said she would be happy to help.”
Jared had to laugh this time and he shook his head with a delighted smile. "What are you talking about? I packed a cake, mama. Didn't you see the size of my suitcase?" It wasn't overbearing, though he couldn't help but worry Ty might feel differently, and most of all he loved how eager she was to take part in this, especially considering he wasn't marrying a woman - not to mention just how strange things had been for the last few months. He didn't remember Darlene but his Caroline provided the context enough for him to keep up and there was something sweet about getting it from someone his mother knew personally instead of some fancy bakery but that spoke volumes about how he wanted to treat this marriage. Nothing showy, nothing too big. He wasn't even sure if it was because he had some issue with it being a same sex wedding or if it was still him tiptoeing a bit around Ty, not wanting to overwhelm him or trigger something that would send him running. "I'll talk to Ty about the food," he added. "I don't want to make a lot of decisions without him."
Caroline wrote down cake and put a check mark next to it. At least that part was sorted. Darlene had reassured Caroline that she had a niece who was a lesbian so she had no problem with making a cake for a gay wedding. It was silly that she’d even felt the need to say that, but Caroline appreciated the gesture anyway. She’d been asked so many times now how she felt about it all, and it still wasn’t easy to parse her feelings out besides ‘whatever makes him happy.’ She set her pen down and smiled as she nodded. “Of course,” she said. “How ‘bout rings, you bought those yet? Did you get down on one knee and all that?” Caroline smiled at the mental image -- rings were pretty universal, weren’t they? She knew her son was a romantic, she couldn’t imagine him asking someone to marry him any other way, no matter who they were.
Jared's expression veered between a smile and something that said he didn't know how to put this, his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he smiled and wrinkled his nose. "It was more of a ... conclusion than a proposal," he admitted. "But it was beautiful, better than any planned proposal could have been." And he should know, he'd gone down on his knee with Sadie all those years ago, just like he was supposed to, she'd gotten weepy, just like she was supposed to, they had danced and laughed and cried together and it had been beautiful. Their whole marriage had been beautiful up until the end. It felt right that this was different in every way, no less emotional and no less beautiful but completely different.
She hummed softly, able to see in Jared’s face that he was happy with how it went, which was really all that mattered. That was what Caroline kept telling her worries, anyway. Jared was very obviously in love with this man, she just hoped that whatever problems had sent her son on his months-long wilderness wandering had been resolved. “So you’ll need to shop for rings, then?” she murmured, arching her graying brows at Jared. “And ... you’re sure now’s the right time, sweetheart?” Caroline’s voice was hesitant, and she was trying so hard not to pry into details that Jared didn’t want to provide, but he had to know she fretted, as his mother. She’d seen him go through so much heartbreak already, she hated to think he was diving headfirst into more. “I know it’s not my business, of course, but ... you two worked it out, whatever it was?”
Caroline was good at hiding her fretting but Jared was good at seeing through her subterfuge. He wasn't a high ranking detective but he didn't need to be to catch the micro expressions or to simply guess at what she was thinking. He knew how it looked to someone who didn't know the truth, all he could do was reassure her since he couldn't tell her what had really happened. "It's the perfect time," he told her with an easy smile. "And yeah, ring shopping. Should be easier since I don't have to secretly measure his finger while he's sleeping or steal his jewelry. And yes, none of it was his fault - or mine - life just got weird for a while and now we're together for good, God willing." He might not be religious but she might appreciate the sentiment and it was applicable to him, in that the world might not be done with them.
The ambiguity of course made Caroline’s imagination run wild -- had it been drugs? A drinking problem? Some old ghost of boyfriends past on Ty’s end popping up again? She would have given a lot to know the full truth, but she was old enough to know that sometimes you didn’t get what you wanted. She just had to trust in her wonderfully grown up son’s decisions for his own life. If it hurt him in the end, she would be there for him, just like always. Caroline gave him a faint smile and reached over to squeeze Jared’s hand again. “I truly hope so,” she told him. “You seem happy, and you deserve lifelong happiness. I know I’m a little biased, but ...” She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “I love you, darlin’. My biggest baby boy.” She stood up and moved in closer to kiss his temple, then headed toward the oven before she got all misty eyed. Ty would be done with his shower soon, and Caroline wanted to have the food ready when he did.
"I love you too, mama," Jared murmured warmly, grateful that she wasn't asking and moved by how open she was to all of this. It was no small thing, coming out as bi in his thirties and getting married to a man. She could have been so upset by it all, maybe she was and she just didn't let on but he understood those reasons. Nobody wanted their child to face bigotry, the laws that protected his upcoming union were fairly new and he knew not to take them for granted. Caroline had every right to be upset about those things, Jared was just glad she seemed to like Ty and was as eager as he was to plan this wedding. "My teeny tiny mama," he added with a little grin, well used to being the baby boy, even if he was the biggest person in the family. Ethan wasn't much shorter than him but Jared had an inch or two on him.
Upstairs, Ty tried to keep the ‘not too long’ in mind as he showered. He was positive that they were talking about him down below, and he was okay with that. It was necessary. He knew that Caroline had liked him when they’d met the first time, and she approved of their relationship ... he just hoped that was still the case. He supposed they wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t. He trusted Jared to handle his own mother though, and as long as his man for sure wanted to marry him, that was all that mattered. Once he was clean, Ty got dressed in some joggers and a t-shirt and made his way downstairs. It smelled even more like food, which reminded him of how hungry he was, and he headed toward the kitchen with a little smile in place. “Smells good,” he said to announce his presence, moving over to Jared for a quick kiss of greeting.
Jared caught his hand in a warm grip, smiling at the kiss. "Mama's going stir crazy planning everything," he told him with some amusement. "Good thing you came down now or we'd have laid out all the plans and you'd just get to show up to your wedding with no clue how it was gonna go." He gave him a cheeky grin to show he was kidding but really, only half-kidding. "Did you have a nice shower, babe?" It was a little strange feeling so happy and yet so nervous at the same time. He kept trying to gauge his mother's reactions and expressions, the way she looked at Ty, feeling a bit like there was a ticking time bomb in the room. Secrets were tough and he half wished he'd stayed in Point Pleasant and not told anyone something was wrong. Of course he'd thought he'd never see Ty again and he couldn't have known he was wrong about that, if he'd had an inkling he would have stayed, patiently waiting for his return.
“Yeah? Isn’t that what grooms are supposed to do?” Ty asked with his own grin, squeezing Jared’s hand back before he moved to sit down at the table. As soon as his ass hit the chair, he realized he should’ve offered to help Caroline get dinner on the table, but it felt like it would be awkward to hop right back up again. He felt hyper-aware of everything just like Jared was, trying to read into every little gesture to make sure his future mother-in-law didn’t secretly hate him. Her wanting to help plan the wedding was a good indication that wasn’t the case, but still, it was a worry. “But yeah, it was a good shower, thanks,” he added.
“I was just asking about some details,” Caroline said with a light laugh as she got a couple of plates of food together. “We’ll need your input, of course. But I’m happy to help if you need some extra hands.” She carried the plates over to the table to set them down in front of the boys, giving Ty a warm smile. She still had some worries and doubts, but if Jared said this was the one and now was the time, she would do her best to believe him.
"I was thinking we could go buy some rings tomorrow," Jared murmured to Ty as he wondered how to make sure both his mother and his man were comfortable. He would be joking around a lot more if it wasn't for the fact that the situation was delicate and he was hyper aware of it. "Mama knows a lady who's eager to make cake for a gay wedding so the south ain't as bad as they say." He reached over to tangle his fingers with Ty's. "I think we're gonna watch some videos when we settle in tonight," he added, to his mom this time as well. "Get some inspiration, jot some things down. I think the only things we're really sure about right now are that we're getting married and it'd be nice to do it outside."
Buying rings made it even more real, and Ty felt a flutter in his stomach that was half nervous and half thrilled. He’d never been a big jewelry guy, but he kind of couldn’t wait to feel the constant presence of a wedding band around his finger. He squeezed Jared’s fingers and smiled at him, chuckling a bit. “I knew there were good people down here, of course, I found one,” he murmured. Caroline joined them with her own plate and Ty gave her a smile as well. “And I’m sure of suits, because your son looks incredible in a suit,” he added. For the rest of it, Ty also thought that watching some videos and seeing how other gay men did their weddings would be helpful. He knew they weren’t going to be able to pull off anything elaborate, and he was okay with that. He just wanted it to be nice.
Caroline settled in with her meal and picked up her fork and knife, smiling back at the two of them. “That sounds like a good idea,” she said to Jared. “And I’ll call the park service in the morning to see about reservations. Hopefully it won’t be too booked up! And y’all let me know if there’s a certain kind of cake you might want, and I’ll pass it along to Darlene. Oh, or any food allergies, Ty. Write them down.”
"We've got a place in mind," Jared explained. "My cousin got married in this little park not far from here, mama's definitely got some photos we can look at if it's not on Nicole's Facebook page. I think it was a spring wedding though, maybe we're crazy for wanting to be outside in the middle of summer." He'd marry Ty in shorts if he had to but maybe they'd have to forego their outdoor plans if they wanted suits. He could easily picture a lovely evening ceremony though, little fairy lights all over the park or something. It brought some more pleasant feelings to the nervous buzz in his stomach and he voiced the idea with a sappy little grin that he was all too aware of. "Too gay?" he asked jokingly, grinning at Ty.
Ty could picture what Jared was describing and it made his heart twist in a sweet sort of way. It sounded beyond perfect to him. He’d never thought he would get married in the first place, so he wasn’t one who had dreamed of all the details of his Special Day or whatever. But saying “I do” to Jared in the early evening under pretty sparkly lights in a park ... well, it was pretty magical in his mind’s eye. Ty grinned back. “Is there such a thing?” he murmured. There probably was, for Texas, but still. “It sounds beautiful, let’s do it. It’ll be cooler in the evening.”
Caroline smiled between them as she chewed her food, watching all of those wordless communications pass between them that lovers were so good at. Her son looked so happy, and there was obvious love in Ty’s eyes as he looked back at him, and just seeing it settled something in her stomach. If the two of them had enough love, most anything else could be overcome. “We’ll iron out all the details,” she said warmly. “I’m just so glad you’re both here safe and sound. Get some rest this evening, you’ll need it.”
"Yeah we do," Jared said with a little laugh because despite everything he was tired from their long trip and sitting down to eat was reminding him of the fact. He didn't want to go to bed too early but sprawling out and watching tv for a bit sounded like heaven. He told her some travel stories while they ate and they subtly led back to wedding plans because that's what was on all their minds and slowly he began to feel a little more at ease. It was clear what Caroline was thinking - about him and Ty, about all the weirdness. She wasn't going to push, not yet at least, and she didn't have some horrible suspicions about Ty in her head that needed dispelling. It made it easier to relax and by the time they moved to the living room, they had a small agenda for the next couple of days and having some sort of a plan was good too. They'd find out tomorrow if their park was available and Jared was a little worried that this was all too short a notice, that people wouldn't want to come, that they wouldn't find a good place. Those worries were thankfully very much drowned out by his happiness and an overall 'we'll figure it out' attitude.