Chapter 9

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The final stage of the reception was about to commence. The happy couple was anxious to leave to begin their honeymoon. Owen and Molly had their own honeymoon suite reserved for the night at the Plaza, so that they would be well rested for their trip to Cancun. Rested being a relative term, when said in the same sentence with 'honeymoon.'

Weddings have a way of bringing out the best and not so best in people. John and Bobby found most of the romantic music to their liking. They shared many dances together. As did Ted and Allen, Mel and Lindsay, as well as Carl and Debbie. Even Drew was able to wrestle his bustling partner away from the kitchen long enough to have a dance or two. Ethan, however, found the whole affair tedious. He did make an effort to dance with his patroness. Then feigning a headache and the fact that he would be on a plane back to Europe soon, Ethan Gold left the building.

Sharon and Sarah were pleased to see that the groomsmen behaved themselves and danced most of the night away with the bridesmaids. Sarah hoped that some permanent and strategic liaisons were forged that day.

Emmett signaled Benny to allow the current song to end and then set up for 'the bride to throw the bouquet and the groom to throw the garter' segment of the festivities. Emmett was eternally grateful that this event was about to end.

"May I have your attention please!" the MC began. "Will all the eligible ladies please move to the center of the floor!" Everyone began to applaud, encouraging the single women of all ages to congregate in the middle of the dance floor.

Joanne pushed Katerina into the crowd of bridesmaids. She really didn't want to be there, but Katerina had to make it look good. Brian has shoved Jennifer into the melee, making her cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink. Several of Owen's cousins stepped into the circle, including Stacey and the two young ladies that thought Gus was interesting earlier in the evening.

In front of the dais on two large white wicker chairs, sat Molly and Owen. Joanne handed Molly the bouquet, Molly stood. Like a quarterback looking for an open man, Molly carefully studied the gaggle of babbling women. It took all her resolve not to roll her eyes. Molly managed to catch Katerina's eye. They smiled at each other sharing a secret conspiracy.

Molly turned; the nervous laughter grew louder. She made a couple of practice swoops with her arm then flung the bouquet over her shoulder toward her cousin. As if in slow motion, Katerina watched the bouquet come spiraling toward her. Within inches of her grasp, Kat batted the hurtling flowers toward Jennifer who had no idea what was happening until the bouquet landed squarely in her hands.

"Touchdown!" Molly cried out, jumping up and down to the hysterical laughter of the Liberty Avenue family and to the groans of the deprived debutantes.

Jennifer's rosy hue deepened as she heard, "Way to go Mother Taylor!" from both of her insolent sons-in-law. Brian and Owen's giggles could be heard above the crowd.

The MC then announced that it was time for the groom to throw the garter. All the single gentlemen in the room were encouraged to step onto the dance floor. It was obvious who the winner of the garter ought to be; however, Seth's social proprieties did not allow him to presume. Brian had no such qualms. He assisted Seth up from his seat then gave him a little shove toward the dance floor.

Molly sat on the wicker chair. She gracefully and slowly raised the hem of her gown to the many catcalls from the guests. Blushing, Owen followed the shapely leg of his new wife to the garter. Instead of pale innocent blue like many, Molly's garter was scandalously made out of red ribbon and black lace.

The debutantes gasped.

The bachelors whistled, calling out words of warning and envy to Owen.

Molly winked at Brian who began giggling madly, as both Jennifer and Justin turned beet red.

With the garter twirling in his hand, Owen stood tall to survey the young men standing in front of him, most of whom were related to him in some way or another. Poor Seth had found himself in the back of the crowd. Owen smiled knowingly at them then he turned.

"Heads up, boys!" Owen called out as he tossed the garter over his shoulder. The boys all took one giant step back to allow Seth to catch it. A cheer went up as Mr. Seth Harris stood grinning in the middle of the floor with the garter clutched in his hand.

The DJ played a selection of crowd rousing music worthy of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as Molly and Joanne led Jennifer Taylor out to the middle of the floor. Emmett brought over one of the wicker chairs so that Jennifer could sit. Owen, and Joey his best man, escorted Seth. As the music rose up in its crescendo, Seth took to one knee.

"Humph, that old man may never get back up again," Craig groused low to himself.

"Watch it, Seth! Once a Taylor catches you, you're hooked for life," Brian called out as he draped a possessive arm around Justin.

Gracefully, Jennifer raised the hem of her dress, revealing her own shapely leg. Justin did a double take, blushed deeply then poked Brian in the ribs as Brian let out a whistle of appreciation. Seth quickly slid the garter up and over Jennifer's knee then gracefully rose up off his knee, silently thanking the heavens that the applause hid the creaking of his bones.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please join our happy couple for more dancing!"

Molly and Owen enjoyed one more dance before making their way around the room to thank their guests for attending and to receive the well wishes of all assembled.

"Thanks for being here today, Debbie, and you too, Carl," Molly said, as she and Owen approached Debbie's table.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It was quite the affair," Debbie laughed.

"You can say that again."

"I hope you and Owen will be as happy as Carl and I are."

"I hope so too," Owen said, looking into Molly's eyes.

"What's your secret, Deb?"

"Love hard, and fight hard, and always try to forgive. Be passionate," Debbie advised.

"It's never boring living with Deb," Carl added with a laugh.

"That sounds like good advice," Owen said. He hugged Deb while Molly hugged Carl before moving on to Michael and Ben who were sitting at the same table. They had watched Debbie dish out her marital advice. Molly leaned over to hug Michael.

"It must be nice to be able to get married legally," Michael said with a catch in his voice.

"But you're married," Molly replied, wondering what he was getting at.

"It was legal in Canada, but it's still not legal here," Michael explained. "It may never be."

"I'm sorry, Michael," Owen commiserated. "Maybe some day."

"It will happen someday," Ben said adamantly, "and we'll be first in line when it does." Ben squeezed Michael's shoulder. "We hope you two have a great life together."

"Thanks," Molly said hugging the big man.

"Yeah, we'll be first," Michael mumbled as they turned away to find Ted and Allen standing behind them.

"Don't let Michael get you down," Ted exclaimed cheerfully. "Allen and I are very happy to have been at your wedding. And I know you'll enjoy the honeymoon." Ted winked at Molly before she hugged him warmly.

"I won't offer any advice, since Ted and I aren't married," Allen explained. "I'll just say that the wedding was beautiful and you two make a lovely couple."

"Thanks so much," Molly replied. She hugged Allen while Owen shook Ted's hand.

They then moved on to some of Owen's family who were very polite and wished them well. They observed all the social niceties, but Molly noticed the lack of warmth. Her family and friends were always boisterous and loud, and often swore, but they were also caring and kind and warm. You never got a lack of warmth from someone like Debbie, and even the melancholy Michael. They approached the table where Sarah, Sharon and Owen Sr. were seated.

"There's my boy, and my new daughter," Owen Sr. greeted them warmly. He stood up and kissed Molly's cheek. "Welcome to the family."

Molly felt herself relax. She did like her new father-in-law … a lot. Too bad his wife and mother-in-law weren't anywhere near as palatable. She gave Owen Sr. a big hug.

"Well, dear, you survived the big day," Sarah said imperiously.

"I certainly did," Molly affirmed. She wasn't going to show them any signs of weakness. "There were even moments that I enjoyed."

Sarah gave her a look before saying, "The wedding will be written up in all the society columns this week. It was the social event of the year." She looked at Molly with a prim smile on her face.

Molly assumed that Sarah must think the wedding had passed muster. At least that was one thing she didn't have to worry about anymore. "I hope they give Emmett all the credit he deserves," Molly stated. She didn't want to be the only one responsible for the obscenely lavish affair.

"I'm sure he'll get his fair share of the credit and lots of publicity for his party planning business," Sharon said, nodding knowingly.

"That'll be good," Molly replied. She allowed Sharon to stand and hug her.

"Mother," Owen Jr. interrupted, drawing his mother away from Molly. "Thank you for everything. The wedding was beautiful, and Molly and I are ready to start our lives together.

Sharon ran her hand across Owen's cheek. "I'm sure you are, darling. We'll be expecting lots of grandbabies any time now."

Molly gulped and bit back a retort.

Owen Jr. gave his mother a quick hug and kissed Sarah's cheek. He quickly grabbed Molly's hand and dragged her away, before she said something they'd both regret. "We need to keep going or we'll never get around to everyone," he said by way of explanation for their hasty departure.

"Who the fuck does she think she is?" Molly demanded through clenched teeth, when they were a few feet away from her in-laws. "We're fucking not having babies according to her schedule."

"Of course not," Owen Jr. tried to reassure her.

"Where does she get off saying stuff like that?"

"Just ignore her, sweetheart, and remember that we'll be on our honeymoon in a few minutes."

"Lucky for you! Another minute with that woman and I would have ripped her head off."

"Molly, you're related to that woman now, and she's my mother. Try to be nice." Owen Jr. was seriously worried about Molly's reaction.

"Can we live in Hawaii or Alaska, anywhere that's a minimum of a thousand miles away from your mother and her mother?" Molly asked.

"Molly, please," Owen Jr. begged.

"I'm sorry, honey. She just pushes all my buttons." Molly's blood pressure was starting to come back into the normal range.

"I know."

"I'll try not to do anything too rash or disgusting," Molly promised, not wanting to hurt her new husband. "At least not until after the honeymoon." Molly waited while Owen's face contorted in distress then she giggled. "I'm joshing you. Her comment took me by surprise. I'll be on my best behavior."

"You mean it?" Owen asked, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"I promise." Molly crossed her heart. "I plan to do my very best to get along with your mother and grandmother."

"Thank you," Owen whispered, as he pulled his new bride into a warm hug and kissed her sweet lips. "I love you."

"I love you too, puddin'. You're the best."

"Thanks, cupcake," Owen joked.

"Let's go visit some more of my family," Molly suggested. She grabbed Owen's hand. Everything was always so much better when Owen was holding her hand.

"There's Emmett," Owen observed. "Let's thank him."

"You bet," Molly agreed. She walked over to Emmett who was dancing with Drew. "We just wanted to thank you for all your expertise and holding everything together when I thought it was all going to fall apart," Molly told him sincerely.

"You're more than welcome, sweetie," Emmett replied as he hugged Molly and kissed her cheek. "It was my pleasure … for the most part. Although, there were some parts that weren't so pleasurable. Like your meltdown and my meltdown and Bree's meltdown at the rehearsal. It's a wonder we all aren't just a big pile of goo." Emmett finally took a breath. "But we got past all those trials. And you had a fabulous wedding!" He grinned at Owen and Molly.

"Yes, we did," Owen replied, once he took in all that Emmett had managed to cram into his brief tirade.

"We wish you both the very best," Drew said sincerely.

Molly gave Drew a hug and Owen shook both men's hands. "We couldn't have got through this without you, Emmett," Molly said sincerely, before they walked away.

"Hi, Mom," Molly greeted her mother as she and Owen made their way to her table.

"Hi, sweetheart," Jennifer said kissing her daughter. "You looked so beautiful today. I'm so proud of you." Tears welled up in Jennifer's eyes.

"Don't cry, Mom. I'm only going away for a couple of weeks," Molly tried to joke, while she hugged her mother fiercely.

"I know," Jennifer sniffed, trying to get herself under control. "You deserve a good spanking," she added, raising an eyebrow at her daughter. "Just who gave you the idea of making sure I caught the bouquet, young lady, and that Seth caught the garter?" She smiled in spite of her stern words.

"I thought it would be appropriate," Molly chuckled, and Owen blushed.

"It was much appreciated," Seth laughed. "I've convinced your mother to come on one more date with me. We're having dinner next week."

"That's good," Molly smiled. "I was hoping you might get to spend some more time together … without half of Pittsburgh in attendance."

"Don't forget all the out of town guests," Jennifer added with a grimace.

"We will enjoy a lovely dinner for two," Seth professed, giving Jennifer's waist a little squeeze.

Molly noticed the closeness between the two, and squeezed Owen's hand in acknowledgement that they had done a good thing by giving Seth and her mother the bouquet and the garter. "I wanted to thank Brian and Justin, but I see they're dancing up a storm out there," Molly added.

"They know you were glad to have them here," Jennifer said. "You'll see lots of them at the brunch tomorrow."

"Oh shit!" Molly reacted. "I almost forgot about the damn brunch."

"Molly!" Jennifer reprimanded her with a frown.

"Well, I did."

"You will be there," Jennifer stated firmly.

"I'll be there," Molly sighed.

"Good night, sweetheart. You too, my new son," Jennifer said, kissing each of them. "I'll tell Brian and Justin that you were asking about them."

"Thanks," Molly replied.

They started towards the exit of the room. As they passed the dessert table that Emmett had laid out for late night snacking, they spotted Raphael and Hector, and went to speak with them. When they turned around, they saw Craig and Susan just coming off the dance floor.

"I need to talk to my father," Molly told Owen. They made their way over to the couple. "Daddy," Molly said, throwing her arms around her father's neck. "You don't know what it meant to me to have my whole family here today, and to have you walk me down the aisle."

"I think I know, sweetheart. I feel the same way," Craig replied. He hugged his daughter tightly, knowing in his heart that he had made the right decision.

"Good night, Molly and Owen," Susan contributed. "I hope your lives as a married couple may be happy and fulfilled."

"Thanks," they both said, before they were finally able to leave the room.

"It's time for us to go," Craig stated.

"I was hoping for another dance," Susan laughed.

"Not with them doing that!" Craig retorted, as he glared at the dance floor.

Susan followed his line of sight and her eyes came to rest on Brian and Justin who were once again grinding against each other to the thumpa thumpa music the DJ was playing.

"Let's go! NOW!" Craig ordered taking her hand and practically dragging her from the room.