Healing Inc. (20 page)

***

The Wedding…

The expansive dining room of the hotel had been rearranged with an aisle down the center flanked by two rows of chairs.  An older woman, who Tyler started to suspect was partially deaf, sat at the piano waiting for her cue.  He stood at the front of the aisle dressed in the black tie event tuxedo that he kept on hand at the hotel for special events.

To say he was nervous was an understatement.  He hoped Evy would go through with this seeing how he had given her little choice in the matter.  He wished he had been allotted the time to at least fly Miguel in to give her away and  have Nita be her maid of honor, knowing she would have wanted it that way.  A reverend waited in front of him and the sous chef, who Tyler trusted more than the head chef for the task, stood beside him as his best man. 

The extent of his uncle’s power was phenomenal.  All that should have taken several days to do had been completed within a few hours at the mention of his name.  Nathan also called the Reverend Rizzo, who was obviously a close friend of the family.  He insisted that all Moriatti weddings must have his blessing if the marriage was to succeed.

Adelina stepped through the dining room entrance and gave a thumb up, indicating the ceremony could begin.  The lady behind the piano started to play an offbeat version of
Back at One
by Brian McKnight.  A moment later, the two young women appeared in the entrance dressed in simple soft peach bridesmaid gowns flanking Evy who looked stunning in the wedding dress and veil they had chosen for her.  Both women had insisted on being the one to give her away.  Tyler was captivated by her beauty as the lyrics to the song played in his head.  They had never rang truer for him than they did at that moment as he watched his lovely bride advance toward him.  The smile on her face reassured him he had done right by her, pushing all anxiety aside.

He couldn’t hold back his own smile as the girls handed her off to him then took their place beside her as bridesmaids.  The head chef occupied one of the chairs on Evy’s side of the aisle with the hotel manager and his wife occupying the two on Tyler’s side.  With everyone in place, the ceremony began.

“Dearly beloved...”  Reverend Rizzo started.  He continued through the ceremony in the traditional manner.  Tyler held his breath, casting a wary glance at the head chef when the reverend asked if anyone protested their union.  The head chef squirmed in his seat but withheld judgment on the matter. 

“I now pronounce you man and wife.  You may kiss your bride.” 

Evy felt her knees give from the kiss Tyler laid on her.  She couldn’t have been happier than she was at that moment.  The small crowd was overjoyed with the union and the parts they all had played in making it happen.  Evy was here to stay.  They would see her at least once a year from now on and they were ecstatic about it. 

Everyone had already eaten dinner so they celebrated with champagne, hors d’oeuvres and dancing late into the night.  The Chef had made a small wedding cake that Tyler and Evy graciously cut and fed to each other before serving pieces to their guest. 

No one was more elated than Tyler.  She was now his wife, Mrs. Moriatti.  All his.  He reflected on their journey from the time they met to the present and how hard he had worked to turn her head.  He couldn’t get past the fortuitousness a box of clothing left by his daughter had brought him. 

The friend at the Embassy had done most of the work for them but they would have to wait until Monday to try to get her name changed.  Until then, he would spend the weekend consummating his marriage.  Needless to say, he looked forward to it.       

The Monday before Thanksgiving brought more cold rain to Oklahoma City.  Nita rode in the back of Tyler’s limo heading for the airport.  She liked the comfort of the limo.  She liked the courteous driver that drove it.  What she didn’t like right now was Tyler. 
I am so sick and tired of that gringo fucking with my life!
She thought. 
First he takes my best friend away from me, which I know I encouraged but I miss her like hell all the same.  Then the bastard goes behind my back and convinces my brother that we should only contact her through him.  To top it off, he has the audacity to go and marry her without us, her only family present.  And then he demands that we not tell anyone!  Now, of all things, he has me running my ass off to meet some new partner of his because his ass is too lazy to fly back here and do it himself.  Does he think he’s the only one with work to do?
  An undeniable scowl permeated her beautiful face.

“Mamabicho!” she mumbled audibly, no longer able to keep her disdain in her head.  “Who the fuck does he think he is!  His ass may think he owns her now but he doesn’t own me!  Gringo got my hair all frizzed out from this goddamn rain!” she screeched. 

Luckily, the glass shielded the driver from most of her private tirade.  In all honesty, she was glad to be able to take her frustrations out on Tyler instead of the true root of her ire.  Tony had canceled Thanksgiving, saying he had an important business trip to take.  She still planned to go home Wednesday for the holiday but it wouldn’t be the same without him.  She had spent the last few weeks going over what she and Evy discussed.  Tony had rejected their offer of coming to work for Healing Inc. and was in the process of accepting a partnership with someone else.  She was afraid that she had put him off for too long and now she had lost him forever.  She refused to cry over it.  She wasn’t the crying type.

 “Fuck him then!  Pendejo!”

The limo parked in the area allocated for picking up travelers.  The driver opened the door for Nita who rushed in the building trying to avoid further damage to her hairdo.  The only information she had on the new partner was a sign handed to her by the driver which read ‘
Moriatti Real Estate Partner’
. 

Her imagination kept entertaining different outcomes from this scenario.  For all she knew a serial killer could walk up to her claiming the sign was for him.  She’d get him all the way to the designated condo Tyler had rented for him just to have him kill the limo driver and get his ass thoroughly kicked for fucking with her when she was in such a foul mood. 

She stood in the lobby holding the sign, feeling utterly ridiculous.  She was wet, tired and mad as hell but she managed to hide it behind her well established business smile.  As she started to scan the crowd for anyone wearing the same uptight attire Tyler preferred her gaze fell on a sign on the other side of the lobby.  Her eyes grew wide when she noticed that it had her name on it.  Reluctantly, she made her way over to the young man holding it.

“Hi, I’m Anita Vasquez.  Why are you holding a sign with my name on it?” she asked, acknowledging that the sign bearer was way too young to possibly be Tyler’s new partner.

“Ma’am I’ve been instructed to bring you to the V.I.P. room as soon as you arrive.”  This sudden change in venue caught Nita off guard.  “I’m also supposed to take the sign you’re holding from you.”  He held out his hand for her to pass it to him. 

Eyeing him carefully, she handed it over, the serial killer scenario still fresh in her mind.  Cautiously, she followed him to the V.I.P. room sizing the five foot ten escort up the whole way just in case she did have to fight this man.  She thanked him as he held the door open for her to enter the room. 

Turning into the room she received the shock of her life as her eyes came to rest on its solo occupant.  Anthony Sparrow, the love of her life sat in a plush lounge chair before her holding a single white rose.  He rose from the chair, slowly making his way toward where she stood in the center of the room.  He caressed her cheek with the delicate flower conjuring memories of a similar encounter that took place long ago.  She closed her eyes and shuddered as her nipples hardened from the touch of the rose and the memories it provoked.  An audible moan tried to escape her but it was captured in his mouth as he closed it over hers.  The kiss was long and sweet.

“So, you’re Tyler’s new partner, huh?”  Her face reddened slightly as her most recent thoughts of Tyler came back to her.

“That I am.”  He moved closer to her, taking her in his arms.  “I was hoping that now I can claim you as my partner as well.”

“Wha, wha, what do you mean?”  She couldn’t explain why she was suddenly nervous.

“Well, you wouldn’t come back to Chicago, so I decided to move here.  Tyler and I have been talking since last summer.  Once he started pursuing Evy I knew he had good taste and was willing to take the gamble of becoming partners with him.  We plan to keep the loan business going in Chicago with my brother but want to open a branch here as well.”  Nita was reeling from his words.  “So?”

“So what?”  Confusion was clear on her face.

He chuckled.  “So, will you be my partner?”

“Your partner?  I thought Tyler was your partner!”

“No, not that kind of partner.”  Nita turned to the sound of the door opening.  A violinist came into the room followed by the man who had guided her there who was now carrying more white roses and a pillow with a large diamond ring on it.  Nita turned back to Tony to find him before her on one knee.  “Will you marry me and become my partner for life?”

“Iye, Tony!”  Nita’s eyes grew wide in disbelief.  A single tear slid past her tough resolve.  “Of course I will.  Just don’t ask me to quit my job.”  

***

Meanwhile In London, England…

“…and Cecile this is Evy, now my wife.”  Tyler finished introducing the two women, enjoying the look of astonishment displayed by Cecile.

“Your wife?” she asked with more enthusiasm than she intended to.  Now she wouldn’t be able to give him a hard time about having sex outside of marriage.

“So nice to finally meet you,” Evy stated as she stepped forward to give her new stepdaughter a hug. 

She was blown away by Cecile’s beauty.  She had her dad’s royal blue eyes and straight nose but her lips were fuller and her skin much darker.  Tyler had told her that Abby was very light skinned, almost comparable to a white girl with a slight tan.  Cecile was more of a light mocha color.  Her hair was the same texture as Evy’s but she had it styled in long dreadlocks that reached the middle of her back.  A small diamond adorned the indent of her left nostril.  She wasn’t much shorter than Evy and they were very similar in build.  The two women took an instant liking to one another.

After gathering Cecile they made their way to Tyler’s hotel in London.  Upon settling everything in Venice they had spent the time since then journeying to England, stopping in Switzerland and France along the way.  Although they had grown to love the staff in Venice they were happy to spend time alone as husband and wife.  They were now ready to get semi-settled again amongst people they knew and were relieved when the driver pulled up in front of the hotel.

“Thank you Arnold.  You handle the London traffic very well,” Tyler complemented.  This didn’t escape his daughter. 

They made it to their suite which was a bit smaller than the one in Italy.  The sitting room was identical with beige and white as the colors and much smaller furniture.  The two bedrooms shared a bath and Tyler’s office consisted of a desk against one of the walls in the larger of the two bedrooms.  Cecile wouldn’t be staying with them during the week because she had classes.  She had made sure to keep her schedule clear for tonight and Thursday evening so she could join them for Thanksgiving dinner, despite being in a place where the holiday wasn’t recognized.

They quickly changed clothing while Cecile’s mouth was going a mile a minute, catching them up on her college life.  In celebration of their new union they took her to one of her favorite restaurants.

“I wish I could have been at the wedding.  I bet you were a beautiful bride.”  She was sincere in her statement, thankful that her father had finally found someone she deemed worthy of him.