Chapter 55 Pt. 2: Find Me In the Club, Bottle Full of Bub

***A WEEK BEFORE THE WEDDING***

*AMY'S POV*



Time has passed so quickly and it is already a week before Zoey and Terry get married.  Tonight is the night of Terry's bachelor party and Mac has it planned at the house, so I'm taking Zoey for a day of beauty and dinner while they have their fun.

"What do you think they're going to do?"  Zoey asks, "Do you think there are going to be strippers there?"

My, I'm surprised, "Are you jealous?"

Zoey laughs, "Yeah, of them, I just wanna make sure there are going to be strippers at mine."

I damn near fall over from laughing, "don't worry, I got you covered."

"Seriously though, what do you think they're going to do?" Zoey repeats the question.

I can't help but roll my eyes, "Shoot, I wouldn't be surprised if they get a pizza and a six-pack and sit down in front of the TV playing video games."

Zoey laughs and agrees, "You're probably right."

*MAC'S POV*

"Man, put that thing down and pick up the controller.  I am kicking your ass right now," Terry is telling me.

"Dude, I'm checking my e-mail for last minute RSVPs...this party is going to be epic!" I reply.

It's true.  I have put together the best bachelor party ever.  AJ is on his way into town, the rest of the guys are getting ready, and right on cue, the doorbell rings.

"Hey dude, can you get that?" I ask T.  I am hoping it's AJ, but it could be anyone.

"All right, fine," he stops the game and heads to the door.

While he does that, I have to get to making drinks.  This isn't just a beer party, we're doing it up right for my boy.  Never mind that we're probably going to end up throwing it up later.

"Pizza's here!" Terry yells.

"Grab the money on the counter," I tell him.

I busy myself with making drinks.  1 tequila, 2 tequila, 3 tequila, FLOOR!  Haha!  EPIC!

Terry puts the pizza in the oven so that it will stay warm and meets up with me in the dining room.

He sees the trays of drinks and laughs out loud, "Damn Mac, I wanna remember my bachelor party man."

"Oh you will, trust me.  You'll never forget it." I assure him.

Terry nods, "What time are the guys getting here?"

I look at my watch and notice that people should be showing up within the next half hour.

"Shoot, we better be getting ready."

We head upstairs to change into our slightly goofy pimp suits.  I amazingly get into my suit and stuff my dreads into a ball cap in record time and I head back downstairs to finish getting everything ready.

I'm just finishing up when I hear the door bust open and a boisterous voice boom through the house.

"What's up bitches!"

That can only be one person.

Sure enough, AJ busts into the dining room.  

It has been forever since I have seen him, but he looks pretty much the same, with the exception of the skunk hair.

"Dude!" I greet him.

"Hey man!  So isn't there supposed to be a bachelor party here tonight?" he asks me.

"Believe it or not, you're early, which should give you plenty of time to go back to the late 90's and give them their hair back." I joke.

"Har har, why don't you come with me, you can find the New Kids on the Block and thank them for letting you use their hat." he jabs back.

"Oh, you're just beggin' for an ass kickin'..." I tell him and punch him in the shoulder, which gets me a retaliation punch.

"How ya' been, man?" I ask him.

He shrugs, "Eh, ok...SSDD, you know how that goes."

"Yeah, I gotcha...how long are you gonna stay?" 

"I don't know yet, this is a pretty cool little city, I might stay awhile...oh, hey, do y'all have a couch I can crash on for a bit or something?" He asks.

"I'll do you one better, we have an extra room...and it still has a bed in it if you can stomach a fire engine theme." 

He glares at me, "Does one of these chicks have a kid?"

"No, no, nothing like that, Amy's sister has one, but they moved out." I tell him.

AJ looks relieved.

"Well shit, I didn't think they would let you within 100 miles of Butterfly Acres, man." Terry sees AJ and greets him.

"I'm lucky man, we're 103 miles away..." AJ jokes.

Terry walks over with Jake, Robbie, and a couple guys from work with him.

*TERRY'S POV*

I couldn't be happier to see AJ.  This makes it perfect.  The three of us have been best friends since we were in kindergarten.

I grab AJ and give him a hug, and not a normal man hug, but an actual hug.

"Whoa, man, chill out, I don't want your wife to get jealous," he jokes.

I laugh, "Yeah, yeah...I'm so glad you're here man."

"Come on, I wouldn't miss your wedding for anything, you know that." AJ tells me sincerely.

"So tell me about this girl, she's the one, huh?" AJ asks.

"Yeah, man, she's incredible...I don't know how I got so lucky." I tell him.

AJ's smiling, clearly happy for me, but he can't help but make a joke, "Come on man, don't cry.  They might take your Man Card away."

"What about you dude?" AJ turns to Mac, "What about your woman?"

"Amy's great," Mac says, "we're doing really well."

We talk a little more about the girls and then get to partying.

The winner for Best Dressed goes to Sam...he went all out with his outfit...even finding chains and shades.  Of course, Robbie is mortified by his father.

Mac gets sprayed with champagne...

...and sometime during the night, we decide to get into the hot tub.

We're actually getting more low-key when we hear a woman's voice.

"Are there some dirty boys here?"

AJ is the quickest to say something, "Oh hell yeah."

"We're looking for a special dirty boy," the girl's friend says.

Of course that would be my cue...

Day-um!  

Watching the girls, I hear Mac behind me messing with his phone.

"If you are about to take a picture of me, I will kick your ass." I warn him.

The girls hang out when they get done with their dance and AJ promptly heads upstairs with one of them.  Some things never change.

Mac passes out in the kitchen and we just walk around him...

Things start dying down and Sam comes up to me, "Dude!  This was the best bachelor party ever!"

"Yeah, thank Mac...or at least thank him when he wakes up..." I tell him.

"Wait, there's just one more thing I wanna do," he says.

Another champagne bottle down the drain...yeah, I had my doubts when Amy suggested we invite her dad, but he parties harder than we do.

Everyone is leaving when Zoey and Amy get home.

"Hey...what happened here?" Zoey asks, laughing as she puts her arms around me, "You're wet...and sticky..."

"Oh, yeah, champagne..." I start to explain.

"Never mind, I don't want to know," she says.

Sticky or not, I pull her closely to me.

"So how was it?" she asks.

"A lot of fun...but I missed you..." I tell her.

She laughs, "Uh-huh."

"How was your night?" I ask her.

"It was a spa, just relaxed and got massages...went out for dinner, got my nails done, the whole bit.  I'm getting all ready for the big day." She tells me.

I nod, "Where's Amy?"

"Oh, she's outside...she was saying something about the oils they used for the massage irritating her skin a little bit, so I think she jumped in the pool..." she explains.

"Hmm, I have to say, you look exceptionally beautiful tonight," I tell her, rubbing my hand up her back.

She blushes and jokes, "You don't have to butter me up, I already agreed to marry you."

"Oh trust me, I'm going to butter you up every day for the rest of our lives..." I tell her, kissing her neck.

"Hmm, literally or figuratively?" She asks.

"Little bit of both." is my reply.

Let the wedding countdown begin!

*AJ'S POV*

Damn, it's good to be me.  Even though my buddies are getting serious, Terry's getting married and Mac is following this big career, I am doing just fine on my own.  I don't have anyone tying me down, nothing making me stay anywhere...I am still completely free.

After saying goodbye to Candy...or was it Misti?  Anyway...I take a stroll outside.  I have to say this is a nice place...fresh air, nice view...

SPLASH, SPLASH

Really nice view.

I hear sounds of water being splashed and realize I am not alone...

Straight ahead of me is a woman swimming in the pool with long light brown hair and...no...clothes...on...holy shit!  Jackpot!

"Hey there, cutie, room in there for one more?" I call to her.

She turns to me quickly and looks startled.  She has big blue eyes and from what I can see, a nice set of knockers.

She unsuccessfully tries to cover herself with her arms before realizing that it's just not happening (Thank you, Baby Jesus!), and ducks down in the pool.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asks.

"Long enough," I grin.  I can't help it...hello, naked woman, right in front of me...

"The polite thing would be to turn around," she tells me.

"Hmm, says the woman swimming naked in her pool," I tell her.

"Uh, yeah, key word:  my pool.  What the hell are you doing on my property?" she's irritated.  She's cute when she's irritated.

"Hey, don't get mad...I was just taking a walk," I say.

"Does this look like a state park?  Go take a walk down the street..." 

"Relax, I'm a friend of Terry's & Mac's..."

"Well, friend of Terry's & Mac's...how about you go inside and give a girl some privacy?"

"The name's Andrew...Reed...but my friends call me AJ."

Chapter 55 Pt. 1: All Dressed in Love

*ZOEY'S POV*

"This isn't outside, is it?" I ask Amy as we are driving closer to a location she is saying would be perfect for the wedding.

It's been about four months and time is running out, so we need to pick a venue.

"It's not outside, trust me.  I remember it from when I was looking at places with Bec." she assures me.

As we continue down the road, I start wondering.  All I see is beach.  I really don't want a beach wedding.

"I swear, I think it's right over here..." Amy starts pointing out the window.

"Just tell me when to stop." I say.

"THERE IT IS!" She yells and points across my face.  I look over and see a tiny wedding chapel.

As we get out of the car, I look over at a tiny brick wedding chapel...hmm, this definitely has potential.

"What do you think?" Amy asks as we walk inside.

"Awww, this is beautiful!" I can't help but gush.

There are chairs, an alter, simple candle lighting...this will definitely work.

The reception area is outdoors, which I could do without, but the only place in town that has an indoor reception area is huge and has a huge down payment - so that's a no.

"Oh wow!  They have tables already set up for everything!" I observe looking at the reception area.

"Yeah, they do all kinds of parties, but they specialize in weddings." Amy tells me, reading from a pamphlet.

We look around a little longer and the more I see, the more convinced I am that this is the perfect place to get married.

"You rock, bff!" I compliment Amy.

She shrugs it off, "Eh, it's cool...so we can check that off our list.  Now on to more important things..."

I look at her curiously, "What's that?"

"Your hair and dress." she answers.

I gulp.  I have been meaning to hit the gym so I can lose weight and fit into a wedding dress, but I haven't had the time, "I'm not ready...I still want to lose some weight..."

Amy gives me a look, "the dresses are all big anyway, they take them in and make adjustments all the time.  You can try one on that looks good now and then when you have your fittings they can take it in if you need them to."

I groan.  I really despise shopping and to be honest I haven't been able to decide what kind of dress I want.  I have been scouring bride magazines and all I can find are sleeveless, which I don't want because I freeze, and if they do have sleeves they are based on Victorian or Medieval times, which I certainly don't want.

"Come on," Amy coaxes me, "let's just go look, you don't have to try anything on."
"Uh-huh, sure..." I say, disbelieving her.  I know when we get in there, she's going to want me to try something on.

The first place we find is a pretentious bridal shop that advertises makeover consultations for brides-to-be.

We go in and I am overwhelmed by the scents of roses and musk and the sights of white taffeta.  Oh lordy.  A bubbly blonde woman walks up to us, "Can I help you?"

"We were wanting to look at wedding dresses," I tell her.

She squeals, "Oh!  Who is the lucky lady?"

Amy smiles and replies, "She is." gesturing to me as if she's Vanna White and I'm a vowel.

"Well, you are in luck," blonde woman tells me, "Kelley, our personal stylist is here and will help you out.  Have you thought about hair and makeup ideas?" 

I shake my head.  I typically run from makeup...and hairstyles...my hair is generally uncooperative, as has been previously discussed.

"Wonderful!  Let me go get him!" She scurries off and we are left to our own devices.

Eventually, I hear the sound of a much more masculine voice than I would expect to come out of a Kelley.

"Zoey?  Are you Zoey?" he calls out.

I timidly raise my hand.  New people freak me out and this new person is going to be helping me to pick out a dress.

He throws his hands up in the air and greets me, "Great!  I'm Kelley, I'm going to be your stylist.  Why don't you come this way, we'll go to my station and talk about what you're looking for."

"Wait, my best friend can come too, right?" I ask.  There's no way I'm picking out all this without her input.

"Of course!  Come on, sweetie!" He grabs her hand and mine and we damn near skip to his station.  Damn, I need some of what he's on.

"Hop up there, honey," he gestures to a pedestal in front of a mirror.  Yeah, this isn't unnerving at all.

"When are you getting married sweetie?" He asks.

"A few months," I tell him, "I want to get some weight off before then..."

"Perfect!  We'll find a dress that looks great on you now and you will be ecstatic come wedding time when you squeeze your smaller tush into your dress!" He tells me excitedly, "So, what were we thinking?"

"I'm not really sure," I tell him, "I want something preferably with sleeves, but I would like something a little more unique...maybe with a little color in it."

"What does best friend think?" he asks Amy.

"Anything she wants, honestly.  Sleeves, a touch of color..." she replies.

"Hmm," he puts one hand on his hip and taps his mouth with a finger from the other hand, "We might have some things that fit that description.  Why don't you give me a twirl honey."

I spin around a couple times as he watches, apparently taking notes in his head and making me slightly uncomfortable.

As I catch glimpses of myself in the mirror I worry how I am going to look in a wedding dress...

"What were you thinking about your hair?" He asks.

"I haven't a clue," I confess, "I don't have much to work with."

"Shoot honey, that's what extensions are for!  We'll put some temporary ones in for today...are you thinking an up-do? Or something long and luxurious?  We can do it all here!"

He must be good at what he does because I feel more comfortable talking to him.  

"I'm not really sure..." I tell him.

"Okay, let's try up first...I've got a hair piece you just clip in the back that would look great on you..."

The big bouffant hair piece feels like it weighs a ton and he poofs up my bangs and lays them straight across to give them a little different look...I don't know how I feel about it.

"Wow," I comment.

"You like?" He asks.

"Um...I don't know..." I reply.  I try to look at Amy but I have trouble moving my head.

She's twisting her face in deep though, "I don't think you need all that on your head.  It looks like a pet."

"Let's go with something a little simpler," he says as he takes off.

This look might be simpler, but it takes longer.  There are several pieces that clip all over my head and a huge hairpiece that looks like a big mess until he curls and pins it up.  I have to say it looks pretty, but damn these clips have major headache potential.

"What about this one?"

Just crinkling my forehead in thought is pulling at the clips making my scalp hurt.

"How many bobby pins did that take?" Amy asks him.

"Oh, only about fifty or so." he replies.

FIFTY?!

"Let's try something else..." I tell him.

Next he comes at me with a big ball of hair with a veil attached...wow, the illusion is lost!

He slicks my hair back and pins the bun in...yeah, this one is a no too.

Then he tries working with the hair I have, spiking it out and sticking big flowers in it...yeah, no.  I want something a bit more glamorous for my wedding.

He twists my hair up and amazingly makes it look like a big bun and that I have a lot more hair than I really do before putting a tiara on my head.

"Hmm..." I say.

He gets way too excited, "Do we like this one?" 

"What do you think, Amy?" I ask her.

"It's nice...I don't know about the twist, but I like the tiara.  How about you?" she replies.

"I like it more than I thought I would, but I think you're right about the bun.  Maybe we can try something longer?" I ask Kelley.

"Hmm, I have just the thing." he takes off and comes back with a wig.

"Now, this is just an example of what we would do for this.  We have some more permanent extensions we can put in for your actual wedding and then this hair piece goes over...with a little crown in the front...," he tells us as he works, and finally, "there!"

I see it and my heart skips a beat.  This is so pretty!

I can't help but beam.  I look over at Amy and using super psychic bff powers, I tell her I like it without saying a word.

She puts her hands to her face and gets misty, "Awwww, Z...this is it..."

"Yeah," I am getting damn near misty myself.

As we're having our moment, Kelley is having one of his own.  He does a few hand waves in front of his face to air his eyes out, "Perfect, this is perfect!"

Our happiness is short-lived though because we have to continue on with the dress.  Kelley comes with two sleeveless gowns with splashes of lilac and one with sleeves and no splash of color.

"This is what we have..." he says.

First I try on a flowy gown with a lilac sash, but it doesn't feel right...

Amy agrees, "It's really pretty...but...there's something..."

"Not right about it," I finish, "yeah, that's what I was thinking."

The next one is very unique with a huge collar and a plummeting neckline.

"How about this one ladies?" Kelley asks us.

"It just doesn't match the hair, I think that's what it is..." Amy says.

"Hmm, maybe..." I agree.

"Well, this next one I am sure will go perfectly with the hair..." Kelley says as he gets the next one.

It takes a little bit to get into it because I have to step in and be careful of the lace work...

But when I finally get to see myself in the mirror, I instantly love it.

"Now, this one doesn't have any color other than white...we can make it in an off-white...maybe eggshell..." Kelley rambles.

"No, it's perfect." I tell him.

The next thing he does is work on my makeup, which includes liquid eyeliner, fake eyelashes, a pound of skin makeup, threading my eyebrows (ouch!), and putting on a no-smudge lipstick with a shimmery gloss over the top.

Kelley stands back, admiring his work, "Girl, you definitely look like a bride now."

I have to admit I am amazed that Kelley could get me in my dress, hair, and makeup all in one afternoon, and damn, do I look good!

"Okay honey, take a walk around, work it for us..." Kelley instructs.

I step down off the pedestal praying I won't step on my dress and rip it.

I turn around and look at Amy.

She is looking at me, but she's not saying anything.

She puts her hand to her mouth and I think she might get misty again, "You look absolutely stunning."

"Really?" I ask her, unsure.

"Absolutely.  T is going to spaz when he sees you." She assures me.

I take a deep breath.

I've got the location, the dress, the groom...this wedding is really coming together.  It's exciting, but also terrifying.

Chapter 54: One Step at a Time

*ZOEY'S POV*

As much as I can't wait to tell Amy about my and Terry's engagement, there is someone else I have to tell first, but they're far away, so I have to call.

"Hello?" she answers.

"Moooom!" I greet her.

"Zo-zo!  Hey baby girl, how are you?  You sound happy..." my mom replies.

How do mothers always know?

"I have the best news Mom...Terry proposed!" I just blurt it out.  Mom has met Terry before (I could never marry someone my mother has never met) and she loved him, so I know she'll be thrilled.  Sure enough...

"AHHHHHHHH!" CLUNK!

"Mom?" I ask.

From a distance I hear, "Hold on, don't hang up baby, I'm here...hold on."

Then she returns to normal, "I'm sorry, I just dropped the phone.  That's wonderful!  I can't believe my baby girl is getting married!" Mom continues to gush, "Do you all know when?"

"Not for awhile.  I want a nice long engagement." I tell her.

"Wonderful, that's so great...he's a very good man.  I'm so proud of you." she continues to gush.

I can't help but tear up again, "Thanks Mom...I know he is...and to be honest, I can't believe I'm getting married either."

"Well, I can't imagine anyone more perfect for you," Mom tells me.

We talk for a few more minutes and I tell her that I will keep her update to date with all the plans.

I sigh.  Okay, now it's time to talk to Amy.

*AMY'S POV*

"Oh, listen to this shit," I tell Zoey when she walks in.

"What's up?" She asks.

"So apparently Mac is getting transferred to Bridgeport," I start, "and he asked me if I wanted to go with him, but I don't think there's any way I can...so we're going to try a long-distance thing, and we all know how good those work...so I don't know..."

I ramble for forever while Zoey nods and laughs appropriately.  I have no idea how she puts up with me.

Finally, it occurs to me that I have been going on for forever and I haven't even told her good morning.  Shit.

"How's it going for you today?" I ask her.

She looks at me and smiles like she has a big secret, "Well, actually...I have news..."

"What is it?" I ask her, confused.  I have never seen her act like this before...

"Last night, Terry proposed." she says.

My jaw drops, "And you let me ramble on about my stupid bullshit?  Holy shit!"

She laughs, "it's fine, you're going through stuff..."

"No, it's not...OMG!  You're getting married?!  Ahhhh!"  I get up, jump up and down a bit and give her a hug.

She can't help but laugh at me and I know I'm making a spectacle, but come on, my best friend is getting married...this is huge!

"OMG!  We need to get started...we don't have much time...we get to plan a wedding...and pick out a dress...and find where to have it...and get a florist...and a caterer...and...the bachelorette party...and..." I start rambling.

Zoey sits us both down, "Whoa, calm your crazy...this is not going to be some quick as a flash engagement.  I want plenty of time to plan, get in good enough shape to fit into a dress, really think about exactly what I want..."

"What, like weeks?" I ask.

Zoey shakes her head, "You all...are crazy...no, I'm talking months...months would be much better...so chill your inner planning freak for right now...I really only need one thing from you at this point..."

I look at her curiously, "What's that?  Oh no, you're not pregnant, are you?"

The look Zoey gives me can only be described appropriately if imagining someone that just bit into a cow pie thinking it was a candy bar.

"Are you crazy?  No...I just want to know if you would be my maid of honor."

I hug her again before I can help myself, "Of course!  Eeeek!!!"

She literally peels me off of her, "Okay, as long as you calm the fuck down."

I lean back and compose myself, "Okay, I'm good.  I promise...no more crazy."

"Somehow I don't believe you," Zoey says.

*TERRY'S POV*

After calling my pops, really the only two people I want to tell are Mac and AJ.

As soon as I tell Mac he's excited.

"You know I'll be planning your bachelor party...I hope we can pin AJ down long enough to get him here." Mac tells me.

I can't help but laugh.  AJ is our good buddy - he grew up with us too, but as soon as he hit eighteen he ran out of town and hasn't been back.  I understand though, he's been through some shit.

"The promise of partying and beer?  Oh he'll be here." I tell him.

Mac laughs aloud, "Yeah, I guess you're right...so this is it, huh?  You're going to be the first one of us to bite the bullet."
"Ha, yeah, she's making an honest man out of me," I say.
Mac punch/pats me on the shoulder and laughs, "Congrats bro."
"Thanks man," I tell him and head into the house where Amy is clearing the table from dinner.

She looks up when I walk in and greets me, "Hey."

"Hey," I reply, "can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure...what's up?" she asks cautiously.

"I just wanted...to say thanks...for being supportive." I tell her.

 She looks at me oddly, "Sure, I'm happy for both of you."
"Yeah," I start, "but I know it hasn't been easy, and I want you to know that I know how you all are and I have no intention of coming between you."

"T, I'm not worried, really...I know you'll be good to her, and that's all that matters to me." she tells me.

I nod in agreement, "I am going to do my very best."

Just when I think we have succeeded in having a nice conversation for once she adds, "and besides, I know if you hurt her I will hunt you down and castrate you with a rusty pocket knife."

"Right." I gulp.  Damn, this girl scares me.