Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home

Posted by Civilian Micah Pikelsimer (Federation Security Agent) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home

Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“A few moments of it. Enough to to piece things together.” Shara looked down at the toilet, trying to decide if her stomach would rebel again. So far so good. She set her hand in his and pulled herself weakly to her feet, looking Micah over as she did. “Fine, but I think we’d be able to take this more seriously if you put some clothes on Hun.” She at least had his t-shirt which she could wear as a short dress. “I’ll meet you downstairs. I think I need more coffee.” Whatever was going on in her head, her tone had become more straight-forward; not cold, but not exactly lovey-dovey just now.

Micah shrugged and said “Whatever you say…”

Shara moved away and slipped out of the bathroom after retrieving her mug and moving down the stairs, this time not trying to be as quiet.

~Shara

Less than a minute later, Micah came down the stairs wearing socks. He took a seat next to her on the couch and said “All right, lets see this wedding of ours.” and he tapped play.

She had pulled up the files after grabbing her refill and looked at him sideways.

The video showed two sides of a vid call. One side: a remarkably sober looking Shara and Micah on the couch they currently sat on, dark of night in the window behind them. On the other, an Andorian woman with long white hair with beads in it. Her face was painted to resemble a rising sun in yellows and oranges.

“Dearly beloved,” the woman began, “… we are gathered here under the blessings of the Universal Harmony and Light-Bearers Church of the Everlasting Love and Harmonious Living Church and Souvenir Store to join these two beings in holy matrimony. Shara Calloway… do you love, honor, trust, cherish, and desire the man next to you? And do you wish him to be your partner in love and light till darkness takes you and you cast into the abyss of the everlasting night never to be seen or heard by the universe again?” Shara looked at Micah and smiled. To anyone who didn’t know her, it looked like a love and adoring smile. Micah, though, saw the struggle to keep from laughing and simply nodded and said softly “Yeah, I know…” “I do.” said Shara. The ‘minister’ looked at Micah. “And do you, Micah Pikel… Pikelsimmer? Piike-simer? Pickalsimmer?” and Micah rolled his eyes at Shara and said “Pikelsimer. Close enough. Lets do this.” and the minister said “Right, Pikelsimer. Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and satisfy all the needs - both physical and spiritual- of the woman next to you?” and the ‘minister’s’ eyes focused on Shara and she licked her lips as her words took on a somewhat daydream-like quality. “Even if that means taking on a second lover to help with her most intimate desires… satisfying her while she tells them about how she makes homemade yogurt and cheeses… and wants to raise small horses and sell them to tiny cowboys…” and she shook her head and said “Oh, I’m sorry… What was I saying? Oh yes… do you promise to love and cherish her as your partner and wife until such time as the holy light is vanished from the universe and you are left alone and cold amidst nothingness for all eternity?”

Micah and Sha stared at the screen and then Micah just said “Uh… yeah.... sure. Except that one past with the tiny cowboys.” The ‘minister’ smiled and said “I pronounce you wed! Congratulations. Now.. we have a wide assortment of souvenirs to help you memorialize your wedding. Would you be interested in the -” and the vid ended.

Shara sat there and having watched the whole thing, her brows were set in seemingly permanent raised position.

Micah looked at Shara and said “Holy shit… that had to be the best wedding ever.” and he started laughing.

Micah

But Shara wasn’t laughing, though it was ridiculously hysterical. The wedding itself, not the rest. “I’m so glad you’re enjoying this,” she said flatly. “I sure hope we didn’t pay extra for the woo woo banter.” She inwardly cringed at the edge she heard in her voice. Was she angry? Like hell if she knew.

Rising from the couch, she gripped her coffee cup as it alone might ground her in reality. “What the hell do we do, Micah? I mean, besides double-checking to see how legal that actually was. But… what about us? What the hell do I tell my daughter?” Oh… there went her stomach again.

~Shara

Micah leaned back with tears in his eyes and looked at her. He pulled up the marriage license and looked at it. “Yep… thats the real deal. We are officially and legally husband and wife. Wish to the gods above I remembered who asked who, though…” and he thought hard enough his head hurt, so he stopped. Standing up, he walked up to her and took her free hand in his.

She couldn’t even look at him just now. Her head hurt too much to process any of it, but the immediate implications were deep. There were questions they could never likely get answers to and maybe one day they could laugh at this all, but it was too new, too shocking to brush off.

“Sha… I really do love ya. And right now, there ain’t jack or s#!+ we can do about any of this. We got at least three days for the records to upload from whatever commune or nudist colony that nut job was broadcasting from. And even then, we’d have to go all the way to Knoxville and sit for days trying to get an annulment done… and I don’t get vacation all that often. I really don’t want to spend a chunk of it dealing with lawyers.” and he pulled her close to him. “So how about we just don’t worry about it right now, huh? Let’s see how we do these next few weeks. I mean… I love you, you love me. We aren’t stupid and we damn sure aren’t too young. Maybe… maybe we could be a couple… like a real married couple? Gods know I ain’t looking for nobody else after you. And I won’t say the thought never crossed my mind… ” and he glanced at the computer, “… **obviously. So what say we just see how we do? And if we don’t like it after two weeks, we spend our last week getting it erased. How’s that sound?”

Micah

He was appealing to her sense of logic. Damn him! It made sense, what he was saying. There was reason and thoughtfulness behind it. Just because they had gone and done something rash didn’t mean it wasn’t what they wanted. But that was the question, wasn’t it? Did she want to be married? More importantly, did she wanted to be married to him?

It went without saying that Shara was not an impulsive woman. The closest thing to impulsivity was the last time she got married and it took her six months together to truly decide Edward was right for her. But they had been very young and lost, searching for something good amongst pain and loneliness. Her and Micah had known each other six weeks! But then she thought of Faye, of that strange romance between her and Big Green, how after over a year apart and having only spent a week together, just a series of subspace calls had made her daughter understand she was in love with someone she barely knew and that that love was the truest more deeply felt thing that had ever existed in her life. And Faye didn’t have quite as much experience with life as Shara did. So who said this couldn’t work?

But it was the how she was hung up on, that hurt so much. She sipped on her coffee, gathering words that seemed hard to pull from the ether. “I swore I’d never be like my father and blame others for the things that happened to me, that I did myself.” She gestured to the computer. “Clearly I did something and I have to live with the consequences, one way or another. So, okay, we’ll do it your way. See how it goes,” she said quietly.

~Shara

Micah looked at her and then shook his head. “Huh-uh. Nope. We ain’t doing that. We ain’t starting off our married life with you sulking and thinking you made some kind of mistake and regretting something you ain’t givin’ a goddamn chance to. On your feet, Calloway. I know your head hurts, so does mine. But we’re hitched. And by god we are gonna celebrate that like we should.” He pulled her up off the couch and led her up the stairs and into the bathroom. “Since you’re my wife and all, I’m gonna show you one of my secrets.” He went to the side of the tub and turned on the water. He then lifted up one of the stones to reveal a secret compartment under it. From that, he withdrew…

If she had wanted to put up a fight, there’s no way he’d have gotten her up the stairs unless she was unconscious. Still, she went grudgingly… because she was slightly curious about his secret. Yeah, that was it.

Lavender and citrus-scented foaming bath salts.

“Didn’t see that coming…”

“No comments, dammit. Sometimes a man likes to pamper himself.” and he poured some of the salts into the tub and they immediately began forming effervescent bubbles. “Now… get in, wife. I’m gonna go get you some fresh coffee. I love you. And I for one am glad our drunk asses went and got married.” and he turned and walked, nay, stomped out the door and down the stairs.

Micah

A part of her was rebelling against all of it, his assertions, his tone. “I don’t take orders from you!” she shouted down the stairs.

When he came back up, the t-shirt had been folded up on the generous surround of the tub and Shara was lying in there, foam all about her. Her hair was pulled up and draped on the back of the tub where her head rested, face gazing up at the ceiling and her eyes closed.

~Shara

Micah smiled. “Damn, but you’re a fine looking woman. I’d ask if you had a man, but there’s this file on the computer that says you do. Lucky fella, he is.” and set a pot and mug of fresh coffee and dry toast next to her head. “Look out, husband coming though.” and he stepped down into the bubbles and sat down opposite her. As he waited for the water to calm, he looked and Sha and just… smiled.

Micah