The Village

Zach’s Perspective

My baby sister was marrying my brother in-law. Soon my brother in-law Eli would become my… well, my brother in-law Eli, I guess. Freddy and Izzy were still with my mother who insisted on keeping them overnight and getting them ready for the wedding so Seth and I could help Eli celebrate his last night of “bachelorhood” (yeah right, my sister had beat the bachelor out of him a while ago). My mother texted us a few times with pics telling us the kids were “little angels,” but we knew those little hellions well, they were undoubtedly giving her a run for her money. Anyway, we took Eli to a strip club and I ended up running into a bunch of high school friends, damn, that was eye-opening. They were all freaking miserable. Single, married, girlfriends, kids, it didn’t matter… they all had one thing in common; they were stuck in a dead-end town and miserable about it. One of my friends was so desperate for any kind of escape that he tried to kiss me. Yup, the tough straight boy who bullied all the kids in high school who were not masculine enough, wanted a blow job from me. I couldn’t help but laugh. Sadly, they were all truly miserable. As for me. Me? I felt like the happiest fucking man in the world!  And the fact that the night ended with me and Seth having sex in the bathtub just made me that much happier.

Mom called first thing Saturday morning to tell us that all the girls (including her and Izzy) were going to the salon to get their “hair and nails did” together, and that she and dad would get the kids dressed and bring them to the church with them, so we should just enjoy our morning off. Seth was hesitant, we missed the little shits, but on the other hand, when did we EVER get time off from them? After we woke up, we went to a leisurely breakfast with Seth’s brothers and our friends at one of my old local haunts. The restaurant was loud with laughter as we shared stories from the bachelor party the night before. Seth told the guys about my old teammate kissing me and expecting a BJ, and of course they all gave me shit about it. After breakfast Seth and I went back to our room to get ready for the wedding. My mom tasked us with getting Eli to the church on time.

I took the first shower and was standing in front of the mirror straightening my bow tie when Seth came up behind me wrapped in just a towel. He reached around to help me with my tie and our eyes locked in the mirror, goddammit he was handsome… and so fucking sexy. “Damn, you look hot” Seth said in a sultry voice. His head was resting on my shoulder while he studied my reflection in the mirror. He kissed my neck and moved his hands south to undo the clasp of my tuxedo pants.

“What are you doing?” I asked with heavy breath. “We gotta go soon, if we get Eli there late my mom will kill us” I could see Seth’s mischievous grin in the mirror, then I saw my soft dick flop out of its confines. Seth took firm hold of my cock and stroked me; our eyes were locked in the mirror as he slowly brought me to full mast.

Seth fumbled with my pants some more, the next thing I knew, they were at my ankles. “We’ve got plenty of time, Eli’s probably still in the shower” he whispered deviously. “Kick off those pants, so they don’t get dirty… your mom would kill us.” I hadn’t put my shoes on yet so I kicked my pants of my sock-covered feet. I almost laughed when Seth grabbed my pants and folded them neatly on the chair in the corner of the room (god, he had turned into such the parent). He came back, knelt in front of me with his hands at his sides and licked my manhood from tip to ball sac with rigor. He had me so horned up and hard as I watched myself getting a blowjob in the mirror. Seth’s prefect ass was on display in the mirror giving me another amazing show. The whole scene was a little surreal with me standing there in my ruffled shirt, black vest, bowtie, and black socks… pants less while Seth played my skin flute like a virtuoso. I rested my hands on the back of his head and slowly pushed myself in and out of his mouth attempting to hit the perfect high note. I was savoring every long stroke and moment of pleasure as it shot through my body. In the mirror I watched Seth’s muscular backside flex and release as he bobbed up and down on me and stroked me with his saliva-lubed hand. I stood there weak-kneed for a good ten to fifteen minutes before I picked up the pace. For the second time in about twelve hours, I face-fucked my husband’s warm, talented oral cavern extracting every bit of euphoric pleasure it had to offer.

I eked out a warning in a low, breathless voice, “I’m cumming” I whispered motivating Seth to work harder and faster until my baby batter poured freely into his busy mouth faster than he could swallow. I looked down to see him looking back at me with dribbles of my cum seeping from his lips. He stood and kissed me, pushing my own cum into my mouth, we pushed it back and forth a few times. I need to share a sidenote here; I remember the first time I tasted cum in college, I was so freaking grossed out by it all. But over the years I had acquired a taste for it (especially Seth’s... my own not so much) and it had become customary for me and Seth to kiss after blowjobs. As weird as that sounds, I loved it.

I dropped to my knees, grabbed Seth’s cock, and started to return the favor. “There’s no time” he said as he pulled me back up and we kissed again. “We only have forty five minutes left to get dressed and get Eli to the church” he said suddenly sounding like my mother. Then he smacked my on the ass, HARD with a THWAP! “Move it stud, let’s go!” That was the end of our pre-wedding sex romp, a quick blowjob in front of the mirror.

We cleaned up, got dressed, rounded up Eli, and headed to the church. We were the first to arrive (as per Kelly’s well-choreographed plan). The church was the same one I spent every Sunday in as a child, it smelled familiar and brought sent me back about a decade and a half to when I was just a kid and just starting to realize I liked boys. My family sat in the same pew every Sunday and I would sit quietly and listen to the sermon (my mom and dad made sure me and Riley behaved… we wouldn’t dare act up in church).  As I got older, the words of the priest started to scare me; I knew I was a sinner... the worse kind… a boy who liked boys. It occurred to me as I stood there looking around, that that church played a huge role in my fear of coming out. It was in big part because of that place that I was ashamed of what and who I was. After a few moments of reflection, I went outside to find Seth, he was talking with Eli and greeting the rest of the wedding party as they started to arrive. “Hey, Seth” I said to my husband, “Can we talk?” He nodded as he walked away from his brother and the others, and followed me into the sacristy, I knew that room well from my years as an altar boy. “I’ve been thinking” I started, “This church is a big part of why I hated myself for being gay and was afraid to come out and be who I was. I don’t think I want to go through with the blessing.” My mom had arranged for the church to ‘bless our same sex union’ after Riley and Eli’s wedding. Seth had been against the idea since my mom sprung it on us the night before but agreed to go through with it because it meant something to me and her.

Seth, who was never in favor of the blessing to begin with said, “Well, I’m not a fan of it either, in fact it pisses me off that we’re supposed to be grateful that three years after they refused to marry us, they want to give us some secondary blessing. It feels like a condescending pat on the head” He scoffed at the idea. “But, and it’s a big BUT, it means a lot to your mom” he said. My mom had supported us from day one! She’d been there through everything! She planned our wedding, she helped us rehab our house and turn it into a home, she helped Freddy and Izzy get settled in their new home, she even put her life on hold for a couple of weeks to pitch in after Seth’s accident… yes, she could be a control freak, and overbearing, but everything she did came from a place of love and we were damn lucky to have her on our side. We talked a lot about it and it led to a discussion about what role religion should play in our kids’ lives, something we hadn’t really discussed before. We were unexpectedly in a deep discussion right before the wedding.

My mom interrupted our discussion as she burst into the sacristy, “There you are! Eli told me you were back here” she said, “Come on out and see Izzy and Freddy before they burst! They’re so excited to show you their outfits.”

“Wait mom,” I said. “About the blessing… we don’t want to…”

Seth interrupted me, “We don’t want to leave the kids out. What if Father Andrew did a family blessing for us instead of a same-sex union blessing.” I thought that was a nice idea and smiled at my husband. He was a thoughtful guy and didn’t want to disappoint my mother.

Kelly answered quickly, “Well, I bet he could do both.”

I decided to just bite the bullet, “Mom, a blessing from the Catholic Church feels like a consolation prize to us. I mean, they didn’t care about our union three years ago and now, well we’re supposed settle for a blessing while Eli and Riley’s marriage is recognized, no questions asked… we’re just not comfortable.”

My mom’s face fell, but then to my surprise she said, “I didn’t think about that. That does kinda suck. Look at you two, look at how much you love each other, look at all you’ve been through, look at your family. You’ve already been blessed. Why the hell do you need the churches approval.” She ended with, “Bring it in” and the three of us hugged. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push you into something you weren’t comfortable with. I just thought it would be nice, but I think a family blessing is a nice idea. I’ll talk to Father Andrew.”

While the three of us were sharing a moment, Izzy yelled from the church. “GWAMA KELLY WHERE ARE YOU??!”

“Oh my god, I almost forgot” Kelly said rushing out into the church with us following behind. We left the sacristy and walked onto the altar, and the foot of the altar stood Izzy, Freddy, and my Dad. My mom made her way quickly down the steps and joined them.

“Oh my god!” Seth laughed out loud.

“What the hell, mom?” I asked looking at the four of them, “Those aren’t the outfits we sent!” My mom completely ignored the outfits we had sent for the kids to wear, instead she had her seamstress make Izzy a dress that matched hers, and Freddy was wearing a vest and tie that matched my dad.

“I couldn’t resist. Look how cute they are!” Kelly responded… dear lord she was taking this grandparent thing to new heights.

“Wookit” Izzy said holding up her hands, her little nails had been painted to match Grandma Kelly and all the bridesmaids. She looked beautiful! Her hair was so curly and fixed just perfectly with flowers weaved through, her dress was so cute and girly, and it fit her perfectly (I think it was her first non-hand-me-down dress), her tiny nails were shiny, and her smile was priceless. Izzy loved being a girly girl! It hit me at that moment that she was going to grow up in a world of men, we were lucky to have Gina, Mom, and Riley around. Freddy stood next to my dad in his little tuxedo, his hair styled perfectly, damn he looked handsome. Just like a tiny man.

Seth gushed over the two of them. “Izzy you look like a princess, and Freddy you’re so handsome!” They both smiled proudly and showed him every bit of their outfits from the flowers in her hair to the socks on his feet.

“Okay! The fashion show’s over, we got a wedding to coordinate” Kelly announced with a serious tone. “Seth and Zach, Take the kids out and get them settled, then get the guys lined-up for the walk down the aisle.” She barked as she shifted into command mode. “Nathan, get ready to walk your daughter down the aisle, and I’m going back to the choir room to round up the ladies.” Then she was off.

We took the kids outside to find Kev and Randy mingling with the rest of the Nicholl’s clan in front of the church. Kev, Randy, and Mom & Pop Nicholl’s agreed to watch the kids until Kelly and Nathan sat down. Outside of the church it was a reunion of friends and family. I introduced Best to Mom, Pop, and their family so that he had someone to hang with while Dad walked Eli down the isle. Daddy, BA, and Dylan were hanging out letting everyone coo over baby DJ while Maggie ran around with the other kids. Izzy and Maggie found each other and rejoined at the hip to work the crowd with their cuteness (they had become such amazing friends, more like sisters).

Elliot and Cam were there with Cam’s entire family including his brother Dane, but that was about it for our other college friends. Eric, Hunter, Teddy, and the rest didn’t really know Eli or Riley well, so they didn’t make the cut. Max and Brody were ushers, and busy in the church seating the crowd, they enlisted Freddy and Theodore to help, it was so damn cute! Freddy and Theo were walking guests down the aisle with the most serious looks on their little faces, Max and Brody made them feel important. With the kids safe under the watchful eyes of our friends and family, we mingled for a bit before Seth gathered all the groomsmen and lined them up at the back of the church. While he was doing that, I found Eli and took him back into the sacristy for the ‘you’re marrying my sister’ talk.

Eli (and all the Westin brothers) welcomed me into their world almost seven years earlier when I spent Thanksgiving with them for the first time and now, he was marrying my baby sister, I felt I needed to say a few words. As we stood face-to-face, I couldn’t help but realize how much he looked like Seth, the two were almost clones. “Eli, from the first time we met you made me feel like part of your family, then three years ago Seth and I got married and I was officially part of it. Now, you and my baby sister are getting married… I could NEVER have predicted that, but it’s so… so… perfect! You two are the right fit for each other, you bring out the best in each other. I just wanted to tell you how happy I am for you, and how happy I am that you are such a big part of my world.” Eli just wrapped his arms around my shoulders and embraced me tight. I whispered in his ear “and it goes without saying that if you hurt my sister, I will be obligated by honor to hunt you down and beat you senseless in order to defend my family name.”

Eli laughed and responded, “Understood. I love you too brother.” It was a nice moment between two friends, brothers in-law (times two), brothers. After that, I straightened his tie and walked him out of the room and to the back of the church where Seth had assembled the groomsmen, and Zoey had assembled all the bridesmaids, and Mom was lining them up, two by two.

“It is about time, Zachary, you’re holding up the wedding” my mother barked, “now go stand next to Gina. Eli go to the end of the line and wait with your dad and Brad” Then she busied herself straightening ties, and fine-tuning the bridesmaids until the string quartet started to play. “Go, go, go!” she said to Theresa and Scotty as she patted him on the butt. When they were near the front, she signaled Mary and Brian to go, then at the perfect moment she sent Me and Gina strolling down the aisle behind them.

When I got near the front, I saw Freddy and Izzy sitting with Kev et al, Dylan had DJ in his arms with Maggie, BA, and Daddy surrounding him. The kids all waved to me and Gina as we made our way to the altar. Maggie was yelling in a whisper, “Mommy, Mommy, Hi Mommy. Mommy, HI!” the people around her chuckled quietly at her excitement.

I took my place on the altar and watched as my stunning husband walked down the aisle with Riley’s BFF from high school, Zoey. He got as far as the second row of pews from the front when it was Izzy’s turn to yell in a whisper, “Zeff, Zeff, Hi Zeff!” Her little arm waved wildly while the congregation chuckled again. He took his place on the altar in front of me. Next on deck… Eli walked down with his dad on his left and Brad on his right. When the got to the altar, his dad shook his hand and gave him a little hug, then Brad pulled him in for a hug to end all hugs and whispered something personal in his little brother’s ear. His dad joined Best in the front Pew, and Brad sat right behind them with the Nicholls clan. Then the music changed to Wagner’s Bridal Chorus(Here comes The Bride) all other noise disappeared and all eyes were on Riley for her big moment. She floated down the white carpet in her sleek, white dress with mom on one side, dad on the other, and a ten foot train following behind. I had to admit, my little sister looked beautiful and so happy. We both hit the jackpot in the husband department, I reached over and took Seth’s hand as I watched her walk down the aisle, he squeezed mine in response. She made it to the foot of the altar where my father lifted her vail and gave her a kiss goodbye. Then she kissed my mother, meanwhile my dad stepped up on the altar, whispered something in Eli’s ear and shook his hand, then my parents went and sat down in the first pew with Best, West, Brad, and the others. Izzy crawled from the second row to the first to be by my mom.

The ceremony was beautiful as my sister and brother in-law exchanged vows and proclaimed their obvious love for each other. Damn, I would never have thought to pair the two of them up, but they were so perfect for each other. They worked. There was a very touching moment when Eli and Riley lit the unity candle. There were six other unlit candles in addition to the two small candles that they used to light the large one. Eli turned to the congregation and announced, “I’d like to invite my brothers, my sisters, and my father to join me on the altar and light a candle in memory of my mother who passed away last year and share the light of our love with her.” Seth looked at me, obviously surprised by the gesture… I assumed it was my mom’s idea (I found out later I was right). The Westin family stepped up on the Altar and the quartet started to play ‘Shower The People’ by James Taylor. I found out later that it was Mother Westin’s favorite song. Seth told me that before things went bad, before the church ripped them apart… when they were still a happy family… that she used to sing that song to the kids when she put them to bed. Father Westin took the candle lighter from Eli and lit a small candle from the large unity candle that the happy couple had just lit. He passed the lighter to his eldest son (Brad) who did the same, and then the lighter moved its way down the line from Westin to Westin until the youngest Westin (Seth) lit the final candle. Standing on the altar, I was close enough to hear the quiet, almost absentminded singing coming from the family. When they were done, they all hugged and shared a good cry. I couldn’t help but notice Brad and his father were even more emotional than the others. It was the first time they truly grieved as a family. The kids had been estranged from their parents for a decade when their mother passed and her death brought up a million raw emotions for everyone, but they all just went through the motions at her funeral. Since her death, they had all been working hard to forgive their father and let him back in their lives… but no one (other than Father Westin) truly grieved the loss… until that moment. Those of us who knew what the family had gone through watched on with empathy as we watched the catharsis.

After the ceremony, the guests left the church and greeted the Bride, Groom, and wedding party on the front steps of the old building. My mother pulled Seth, me, and the kids away from the hugging and handshaking and back into the church. We stepped on to the Altar and Father Andrew blessed our new family. My mom and dad, and my father in-law were the only witnesses to the private event. Seth and I weren’t into all the “blessing” this and that, but we figured the two little lives entrusted to us deserved all the help they could get.

After the wedding, it was off to the reception at the country club where Seth and I had ours. I was seated next to Seth at the head table. We were elevated on a small platform and had a great view of the crowd. As I looked out on all the people there to celebrate the vows of my sister and Seth’s brother, I couldn’t help but think back to the night that my life had all changed for the better. My first night living in the dorms.

That first night I went behind the dormitory, past the wooded area and laid on the grass with my new suitemates. That first night I found out Seth was gay. That first night I knew I would have to face my own demons. That first night I met my soulmate, the love of my life, the person I would build my life with. That first night that I decided to quit living in the shadows and be who I am.

To be continued…