"Va bon, we're doing this," Mariah said, taking a deep breath.
"Remember boo, it's your job to tackle her if she makes a break for it," Aadi said brightly.
"Why is it my job?" Jordan asked with a grin.
"You run faster," Aadi grinned.
"Proco cane! I'm not going to make a break for it," Mariah grumbled.
"Remember, she bites," Aadi added. "It's a vampire thing."
"Ex-vampire," Mariah said firmly, "and I was only a vampire for, like, one night so that shouldn't even count."
"You guys and your tall tales," Jordan chuckled. "You know, Aadi here is still trying to convince me that Jake, our landlord back home, is a werewolf."
"Yeah, I... heard that," Mariah said hesitantly. To be fair, she'd only met Jake once and she'd never actually seen him become a wolf, but since Miranda came into her life, she'd seen weirder.
"Hey, Jordan, grazie... thank you... for doing this," Mariah added. "I mean, you don't know me from Eve, so I really appreciate..."
"Say no more, sister," Jordan grinned. "Any friend of Aadi's is a friend of mine."
"Yeah, well, I don't have many... friends," Mariah said uncomfortably. "I mean, I spent my teen years deliberately alienating people... my whole self-destructive, cry-for-help phase."
"You are talking to the only black, gay, non-binary kid to go through Henford Secondary School," Jordan said. "I get it. I'm glad to help."
"Besides," they added, "I got to meet Londyn and Danielle Huntley, a movie star and my fav writer... who are awesome... plus a free trip to Tartosa. Girlfriend, you can call me anytime."
"Heard," Mariah laughed. "E si, they are figata... awesome."
"I gotta ask though," Aadi put in, "who was the scary lady in black again?"
"Liberty? She's an old friend of the family," Mariah said. She carefully left off the part about Liberty being a spy, the Agency's chief spy in Tartosa in fact. Aadi tended to get overly excited about the whole 'spy' thing. "She can't actually make the wedding. She's got a work thing."
"So, you mind if I ask... no vicar?" Jordan said, slightly puzzled. "Back home, vicars and weddings are kind of a thing."
"No vicar," Mariah said firmly. "I... I did the whole teenage runaway thing a lifetime ago and let's just say I had some bad experiences with a missionary type. Left a bad taste in my mouth." She grimaced at her private bad joke. "In my head, I know they're not all like that but..."
"The heart and the head don't always agree," Aadi said sagely.
"Sorry," Jordan winced. "Didn't mean to poke a sore spot, today of all days."
"Figurati... no worries," Mariah said. "Anyway, we don't need one. We'll do the paperwork at city hall, but this ceremony... our real marriage... that's for us."
"See," Aadi smiled at Jordan.
"Aspetta un momento! Are you two... ?!" Mariah asked, excitedly.
"No, no... this is your day," Aadi said firmly, but with a broad smile. "My boo and I are not stealing your thunder."
"... but we will talk about this later," Mariah said firmly.
"Count on it," Aadi grinned. "Right now, no more stalling. We've got to get you to the party or Miranda might start without you."
