The dinner table was set for 27 people. Sam's parents and the children, of course. But besides that, he had purposely given their guests a seat at the table to see what would happen. Samantha entered the suite and took one look at the table and the name tags and immediately knew enough.
"Shot in your cupid role love?"
"Let's call it a social experiment Red."
She smiled and disappeared towards their bedroom to get ready, the first guests would be showing up soon. Alex looked at the table. He and Sam were at one head of the table with Honeybee crammed between them because she wouldn't want to sit anywhere else anyway. The other head end he had reserved for Lucifer and Ella, and he had his reasons for that. Something the Devil was soon enough to find out. And then the rest of the guests divided, men on his right and the women on Sam's left. First Robert and Salome of course, then the five children David, Jasmine, Sarah and Beatrice with Maila those could be grouped a bit. Next were Michael and Celine, Bearus and Azrael, Belios and Jo, Azi and Anthoney, Raffa and Fuzzie, the next two chairs were reserved for Micky in the hope he too would bring a guest. Gabe and Anna and finally Dan and Laila. Once the table was set the way he wanted it he also left for the bedroom.
His Samantha had just come out of the shower and was still completely naked. He looked at her longingly and said:
"Red, we can still call off this dinner and crawl between the sheets until next year."
Deliberately, she approached him agonizingly slowly so that he could take in her naked body, put her arms around his neck, and whispered in his ear:
"Mr. G, give my parents what they have been wanting for some time now, probably hoping for this since we were thirteen, and make me officially Mrs. G very soon and I'm going to do things to you that will make your toes curl."
To reinforce her words, she nuzzled his neck a little and feather-licked his ear. His heart rate skyrocketed, and he seemed momentarily unable to think. She pulled him out of his tranche by saying:
"Now shower love and for once no jeans and a T-shirt. You are God and you have a dinner party so..."
"Damn it, yet another ice-cold shower..."
Grumbling, he disappeared into the bathroom and when he came back into the bedroom, she was already gone which made him sigh and wish the evening was already over because he could imagine something much more pleasant to get through the evening. Strongly against his will, he manifested a three-piece tailored suit. He hesitated for a moment about his favorite cowboy boots but decided that he would satisfy Sam's wishes, so it became a pair of Louboutin black dress shoes. Then again, his tie was his favorite blue as was his pocket square. He was almost finished when David stormed into the room as one lump of energy.
"Daddy, Mommy is helping the girls, but I also need other clothes. Will you help me please?"
The kid was practically trembling on his legs with excitement. Alex laughed softly and asked:
"Okay kid, what would you like then?"
"Something like you have Dad."
"Well, I'll take care of it, now go take a shower first and I'll make sure your suit is ready when you come back."
As David stood in their shower his thoughts of Samantha flew through his mind. From the moment they saw each other that first time to where they were now. In their minds, they were already long and truly married but he knew that a ceremony was just as much for the family and friends. To let them share in their happiness. He sat at the foot end of the bed with a blissful smile as David entered the room. Alex held out to him a small version of his outfit, the difference being a light green pocket square and a light green tie and the kid's eyes began to shine like a tiny sun. Once dressed, he stood in front of the kid and made sure his tie was straight and that his pocket square showed up just perfectly. Together they stood in front of the mirror as they had done that first morning. Alex thought:
"yes, this is definitely my son."
The boy looked impressive in his tailored suit just like himself. A single tear escaped his eye and David asked:
"Dad, what is it?"
He wiped it away and said smiling:
"You are going to explore this universe to its smallest corners, you are going to grow up to be a giant, you are going to break girls' hearts and make your Daddy proud without a doubt. No matter what son never doubt these words; I love you."
David turned and little red but let his Dad take him in a loving embrace.
"I love you too dad."
"Come the guests are going to arrive and it's not nice of us the hosts to keep them waiting."
One immediately saw David grow a few inches as he was labeled by Alex as one of the hosts. Together they stepped back into the living room. Lucifer, Ella and Jo were already there dressed to the nines. Ella whistled when she saw David and Alex appear and walked up to David:
"Oh David, how perfect you look. I would say you look even better than your Daddy."
The boy's eyes sparkled completely, and he enjoyed Ella's hug. Lucifer looked at Alex and said playfully:
"Yes, now I am convinced that you are my son Alexander."
He couldn't resist throwing a jab at his father:
"Dad, we can't all be snobs like you. But I must admit that this suit does indeed look better when I wear it. Unlike you, that the suit makes you look better."
Lucifer was momentarily defeated with words by his son who looked at him with undisguised pleasure. When Samantha entered, his breath was cut off. Her hair was slightly done up and he could swear it had green diamonds in it, a silk soft green gown with a slit that showed more than enough of her gorgeous leg up to her thigh, high-heeled shoes, the ring he gifted her on their first anniversary together, earrings with small green diamonds and the half necklace half work of art he had made by Eloch years ago, worthy of a Goddess. A white gold creation that looked a bit like a spider web filled with tiny white, blue, and green diamonds and in the center a pink diamond in a heart shape. Beneath that necklace, barely visible and yet again strikingly present the very first gem he ever gave her the day they had met Maila. She was enchanting and he had to force himself to breathe again. Honeybee was wearing a cute little white/blue dress and had seemingly insisted on getting a diadem in her hair like her grandmother wore, nothing flashy, just a toy that sparkled. Sarah, Jasmine, Maila and Katharina were equally the epitome of elegance in their silk dresses. Sarah had chosen a soft blue dress how could it be otherwise if her mom's color was blue? Jasmin a soft pink one, Maila a slightly beige dress reminiscent of the color of parchment, she too was wearing the necklace that Alex had given her. Trixie had chosen a soft yellow one, she was obviously a sunflower. He stepped up to Samantha, took her gently in his arms and kissed her on the lips, and said:
"Red, I was in love with you from the moment I first looked into your eyes. Every time I look at you, I fall in love all over again and that feeling never goes away. You simply look divine tonight."
Playfully she said:
"Perhaps you should have saved those words for your wedding vows Casanova."
"Don't worry, there are plenty more where those came from."
Slowly the room filled up and everyone was chatting with everyone. The children were mostly the object of attention, and they were letting themselves get all the attention and affection. Especially honeybee who seemed to go from arm to arm. From Angel to Demon, to Human and back again. Any topics that could be related to work were purposely avoided. This was an evening to relax. To spend time with family and friends. A little after seven, Alex announced it was time to go to the table. Normally an hour too early for that kind of dinner party but they understood the choice because there were young children present who could not be sent to bed too late because tomorrow another mountain of work awaited. Many, to their surprise, saw name tags on the table but otherwise had no thought of it and took their seats. The appetizer appeared on the table, and everyone enjoyed it. Alex had resolved to leave ample time between courses because he wanted to see, wanted to observe the interactions at the table. Belios and Jo were seemingly engaged in a deep conversation about parenting versus punishment. Bearus and Azrael, in turn, were in a light-hearted conversation about things they would like to see but had never had the chance to. Raffa and Fuzzy, how could it be otherwise about their own medical knowledge and the latest techniques used on mutual Earths. Azi and Anthoney simply enjoyed an evening among friends and enjoyed the wine. Michael, Celine, Ella and Lucifer were in a cozy get-together. As were Gabe, Anna, Laila and Dan. Only Sam's Michael was still missing but he had said he could be a little later because there was a problem with the containers that couldn't wait. Finally, he came in and to the happy surprise of Alex, Samantha, Robert and Salome he had apparently brought a guest with him. A beautiful Angel named Muriel. Swiftly they slid in and attacked their appetizers. Perhaps they had forgotten to eat anything during the day. Alex resolved to instruct the heads of all departments tomorrow that their people were required to take at least a half-hour break to eat something. Samantha looked at Alex, leaned in his direction, and whispered in his ear:
"I don't know what or how you did it cupid but it works."
"I know, am I good or am I good."
That sentence elicited a bright smile from Samantha and again he felt the tingling in his stomach. After the main course, he and Samantha stood up. Honeybee, however, did not agree at all and tugged at his jacket. He shook his head and lifted her into his arms laughing softly.
"Okay folks, we all know why we are here. Sam's parents want Samantha to get into a forced marriage."
That earned him a tap on the shoulder from Sam as considerable laughter could be heard at the table.
"But before I go any further with that, I have some unfinished business with two attendants here."
His voice seemed to become stern but anyone who looked at his eyes knew this was being played.
"Gabriel, is it true that you took my little sister to Earth, to that hedonistic place Lux? Did you expose my little sister to my father's party paradise of which even Bacchus would get red ears?"
Poor Gabriel turned all red and didn't know what to say. Alex had already shifted his attention back to Anna.
"Anna, is it true what I heard that you were the center of attention on the dance floor in that club? That all the men and women got dreamy little eyes seeing you. That you couldn't get enough of all that attention and that you and Gabriel closed the joint?"
Now both sat there with red heads and didn't know what to say. Somehow a little afraid that they were in trouble because they had not told anyone anything beforehand. Alex quickly put them out of their misery:
"If that is so dear Gabe, dear Anna then I hope you will have many more of those nights. I hope Gabe that, like I do with Samantha, every time you look at Anna you may be amazed at what you see. Of what she makes you feel."
Samantha added:
"Dear Anna, love at first sight exists and we all deserve to have true love in our lives. If Gabe makes you feel the same way Alex makes me feel every day, then you have a glorious future ahead of you. Alex and I couldn't be happier for you guys. Enjoy it, enjoy each other."
Alex of course couldn't resist when he added:
"Yes, but not here and not now."
And that again earned him a tap on his shoulder with laughter as a result. He continued again more or less seriously:
"Robert and Salome are right. It's time for Sam and me to tie the knot and get married. We've been together since we were thirteen. We have endured so much in those years. Samantha could do nothing but wait anxiously in her universe to see if I would make it through my little journey in time. I can't imagine what the last five years must have been like for her."
Samantha said:
"I had to wait five years until I had the love of my life back in my life and not for a few days before he already had to leave to get through his next two thousand years."
Suddenly she got tears in her eyes and had a little trouble speaking:
"He had to get through six thousand years. I'm an Angel and immortal but I'm only twenty-three, I can't imagine with the best will in the world what six thousand years is. That is the man who is Alexander Marcus Morningstar! It was necessary to save this universe, so he did it, without hesitation. I am so so incredibly proud of the person I will very soon no longer be able to just call my man but will also be able to officially call my husband."
At the table, heartfelt applause erupted, and congratulations came flying at them from all sides. Alex raised his hand and said:
"The ceremony is going to take place before we make the jump. First a small ceremony and on return after both universes are connected a big ceremony so everyone in both universes can join in. The ceremony here will take place shortly before our departure. We can't say exactly when yet because we don't want to do it without all the people who are important to us being present. So that will be a bit of planning. Samantha's parents, her brothers Michael, Samuel and Fuzzie. My parents, we'll all my parents."
He said with a chuckle:
"Alisha my Mom, Franklin my Dad, Salome who became my Mom when I needed a Mom the most, Robert who took on the roles of mentor, friend, and Dad knowing full well what was in store for me and that I could use all the support I could get. Sam's, Michael."
He stopped for a moment, looked playfully at Sam and said:
"Sam, we're really going to have to do something about that with those two. My Michael and your Michael, there's got to be a better way to keep them apart."
She seemed to think for a moment and said:
"Why don't we simply call mine Micky and yours Mr. Celine?"
His Michael nearly choked on his drink and Celine laughed out loud. Alex continued speaking and pointed to the Michael he meant:
"Micky who from the moment I made my decision to embark on this adventure mercilessly pushed me in the right direction and landed me in Fuzzie's infirmary time and time again. Fuzzie who patched me up time after time and saw to it that I took occasional breaks to enjoy my youth together with Samantha. Celine, who was by my side from the very beginning, automatically became my left hand and never for a moment hesitated to follow me, who so often grabbed me by my neck and read the Levites and so often stopped me from storming in somewhere first. Celine who is totally loyal to Samantha. Not because she was her nanny and bodyguard but because in her own heart and Sam's heart, she was simply a mother. And believe me, ladies and gentlemen, when I say she was a true mama bear, and oh boy if you looked at her cub the wrong way. My first meeting with her, she threatened to wipe me out of existence if I hurt her little girl. My Michael, the first one I contacted six thousand years ago in this universe. Who has been my right hand ever since, never deviated from that position, and did everything but everything in his power so I could accomplish my task. Anthoney and Azi who for six thousand years have been faithful friends where I could kick off my shoes from time to time and relax knowing that I was perfectly safe under their watchful eye. No, my dear idiots you are not just close friends, You are my older brothers who protected me so many times when I stayed under your roof. My father Lucifer, who believed in me unconditionally, gave me the keys to Hell and told me to just do what I had to do. Belios and Bearus listened to me skeptically when I explained my plan to renovate Hell and then believed in that project and made every effort to make it happen. My little Anna, my bright spot whenever I stayed in Hell, the proof that Hell was worth reforming. Rae Rae, who met me when I was only thirteen, listened to me and believed in me and that I could make it happen. Gabriel who was introduced to me by Michael and thus was the second in this universe to know who and what I was. In addition to being a loyal fellow warrior, he became my best friend almost immediately. And as I said at the beginning, I don't want to do this without all my parents Salome and Robert, Aisha and Franklin but also Lucifer and Ella."
He looked at Lucifer, His green eyes bore into his father's brown ones and said deadly seriously:
"And Lucifer Morningstar as your new God, I instruct you to urgently come up with something to make our dear Ella, Mrs. Morningstar! Because if our children see and address her as Grandma El then you will have to do something about that and make it official too!"
There was silence at the table for a moment and not a few sat there with tears in their eyes. It was, of course, their Honeybee who brightened the mood considerably:
"Daddy me Flowgirl?"
Alex and Samantha laughed softly, and they knew immediately who was behind it to acquaint the children with those roles within an Earthly marriage. It was inevitable that it had been Ella. He said:
"Honeybee, you are the most important part of the whole ceremony no flower girl no ceremony."
If the girl lit up anymore, she would have been blinding. David was the next to ask enthusiastically:
"Can I please be the ring bearer dad, mom?"
Samantha said:
"I don't see any other tough, beautiful, perfect boy who would be better for that important job than you David."
She saw Jasmine, Maila, Sarah and Beatrice looking a little mischievous and Samantha said smiling:
"Girls, I need you too and you are important in the ceremony. You will be my bridesmaids and make sure everything runs perfectly. A bride is lost without her bridesmaids."
The girls were excited by the role they were about to play. It was exactly the role they had hoped for, leave it to Ella to arrange such a thing in no time flat. Samantha looked at Alex and with a warm smile she nodded at him.
"Well apparently the kids have already claimed the main roles, all that remains is for us to fill in the minor supporting roles, you know those roles on the side that have no importance whatsoever."
He Said with a thick smirk on his face but then becoming blood-serious from one second to the next:
"Celine and Michael, my left and right hand, would you do me the honor of acting as my witnesses, to stand with me?"
Both of them sat looking a bit in shock and it was extremely rare, but the Demon let two thick tears roll down her cheeks, and almost simultaneously with Michael, she said yes. Samantha asked:
"My dear Michael, my Micky, you were the first one who believed in Alex and me. Who said we were destined for each other. Fuzzie, you patched Alex up time and time again when he was in bad shape. You comforted me every time. You treated us like friends instead of children. The big teddy bear of a brother we both often needed. Will you do me the honor of being my witness, will you stand with me?"
The healer was struggling because, like Celine, he shed a few tears. What eluded no one was that Raphael had placed a hand comfortingly on Fuzzie's hand. Michael bought him some time and replied:
"My Princess, My Lady, My Goddess it is my honor."
Fuzzie had finally found his voice again:
"I have been waiting for this moment for you two for so long I am overjoyed but I never dreamed you would want me to be a part of it. Yes, Sam, it will be an honor to be your witness."
Samantha looked at Alex with watery eyes and nodded. He said:
"And you Lucifer fucking Morningstar, did you think I forgot about you? Who is better than the Lightbringer to perform this ceremony? Samantha and I want you to bless it, Dad."
Lucifer was totally out of sorts and could only nod with tears in his eyes.
And with that, dinner was over. Everyone jumped up and the couple-to-be was just about buried under hugs and kisses but even the children did not escape the affection that was being passed around.
Later that evening when just about everyone had left and the children had been put to bed, only Alexander, Samantha, Ella, Lucifer, Gabe, Anna, Dan and Laia were left in the living room. Jasmine and Maila had seemingly gone out to get some air in the garden. Alex excused himself for a moment because he wanted to go out on the balcony and smoke a cigarette and was promptly followed closely by Sam. He lit his cigarette and she asked:
"And anything wiser from your social experiment?"
He laughed:
"As if you wouldn't have noticed darling Red."
"Hmmm, maybe not, tell me."
"Okay, Michael and Celine, Azi and Anthoney, Lucifer, and Ella we already knew that. We had nothing to do with that. Gabe and Anna that was obvious since she arrived here, and Gabe showed her around town. Surprisingly though, they are such party animals, especially Anna. So, building a new Lux in the new Heaven was indeed a good idea. I'm so glad she shook off the misery of Hell so well. But have you seen the rest? Micky showed up with a guest, Muriel, and they only had eyes for each other all evening. Belios and Jo. Dan and Laia who kept a very low profile but are now both chatting in the living room anyway, Raffa and Fuzzie."
"Because they are gay?"
"Ah come on for fuck's sake, of course not Sam. I knew that about Fuzzie from my second day in your universe, never bothered me for a second. I've lived with Azi and Anthoney for thousands of years and it hasn't bothered me for a second. It never bothered me when I was alive on your Earth, life and let life, that's my motto remember. No, because they are both grumpy, surly, and sometimes blunt. And here tonight they seemed to have turned into marshmallows and didn't care that everyone saw that Raffa had to comfort Fuzzie for a while. What bothers me a bit are Bearus and Azrael. I have a funny feeling about that. Obviously, something is going on there but I'm going to keep myself out of it for now. When the time comes, they will come out with it themselves."
"You forget one more love."
"Hmmm, that was everyone present, wasn't it?"
"I know there were others present."
He looked at her completely uncomprehendingly. She smiled and said:
"Our little Maila and our little Jasmine are no longer just friends. They have taken their very first step as real girlfriends. They told me that they'd kissed for the first time as they were getting ready for dinner. With a little red head and a little fear that you or I would object. I reassured them and told them we had nothing against it. That they should enjoy the feeling of being in love."
"Oh wow, Maila with her love of parchment and everything that can be done with parchment and paper such as etching along with Jasmine who loves everything art. How could it be otherwise, art attracts art. I'm happy for them dear, though I can't help but hope they'll take it a little slow."
A genuine burst of laughter echoed from Samantha, and he got butterflies again from that bright laugh.
" What's sweet?"
"Alex, we were thirteen when we formed a couple and now you sound a lot like Dad with his sermon about releasing the fury of Hell."
"Jeez, since the kids came along, I must have really shot into the dad role. For fuck's sake I sound almost like him without the threat with the fury of Hell."
He laughed:
"But I'm glad this experiment was successful."
"Me too my Love."
He smiled and stared into nothingness for a moment. After a few minutes, she asked:
"What are you thinking about Alex?"
"I have an idea, but I don't know if you're going to like it."
The way he said it didn't sound like one of his typical crazy ideas that usually turned out to work so she asked seriously:
"What idea?"
"Your parents threw a grenade into the henhouse, and I feel like throwing one right back. It will probably give Samael heartburn and most of the Angels will get dizzy or get a headache. On the other hand, we can offer your parents a five hundred years vacation where they can have fun with their grandchildren, something they want more than anything else."
She looked at him with seriousness and said:
"Okay, suppose I were to agree with your idea how will you implement it?"
"Changing the order in which we wanted to hang the three universes together a little bit. First your universes and this universe and after our little trip the new universe."
She nodded:
"Other than some temporary chaos what are the further implications?"
"Twenty thousand Angels who will be extremely nervous for a while because their daily life as they know it has been turned upside down forever. Probably some friction here and there but I'm not really worried about that. Nothing major, any creases will be smoothed out in no time. Your universe is going to have new gods because your Mom and Dad are going to retire."
She pondered this for a moment and asked:
"And what about Hell? Hell must have a king."
He lit a cigarette and replied:
"That's actually the least of our problems. My Dad is the king of Hell, and our Hell hasn't needed his presence for ages. I want to bring in Belios and Bearus and teach your Demons how to work through a council as happens here with us. Yes, a King on the throne but that is a purely symbolic task, more for ceremonial matters. I don't think Robert would have anything against presiding over that council in Hell once a week for a day, he would hardly be an hour or two away from Heaven. That would give us time to see what we should do with the throne in Hell more permanently."
She looked at him as mischievously as he so often looked at her:
"We are the Princess and Prince of Hell Alex. If that task as you say would take us only a few hours a week away from the madhouse in Heaven, why don't we ascend the throne together, the thrones in Hell, and give them a King and a Queen? You know how my Dis thinks of us."
He looked at her with a wide smile and asked:
"Are you ready to throw a grenade darling?"
She giggled and replied:
"Maybe just before we do it it would be better to send Fuzzy back to assist Samael for a while because the least he is going to get is a heartburn."
He pulled her into a firm embrace, kissed her, and said:
"You do know that your parents are going to drive us crazy right?"
"Yep, not only do we have six kids to give a balanced life but we also have two out-of-control grandparents to keep in check...hihihi..."
After a rather passionate kiss, Alexander said:
"Let your mom know we're coming by tomorrow at six, the whole gang. We need Samael of course but also your Laila and Haniel. Gabe is here anyway so we'll put him to work in a bit. Then we'll throw everyone out so I can fuck you straight through the shower wall."
She laughed:
"I'll hold you to that mister!"
She closed her eyes and sent a message to her mom.
In the other universe, Salome sighed deeply and mumbled:
"Oh boy, what is that kid up to now..."
Robert, who was sitting next to her got a rather wide somewhat mischievous smile and thought:
"This could be fun."
They stepped back into the suite hand in hand but remained standing. Alex said:
"Gabe, I have another message for you to send, right now! We are going on a school trip to Samantha's universe tomorrow morning. So first, postpone the council meeting until nine o'clock. We need the full intimate circle, the two Michaels and if Micky wants to bring his lovely date from earlier Muriel, she is very much welcome, Celine too of course. Fuzzie and Raffa. Bearus and Azrael, Belios and Jo, Azi and Anthony. The kids will all go too of course, including Beatrice because Salome and Robert have claimed her as one of their grandchildren. You six too of course!"
Laila and Dan sat looking at him wide-eyed. With his typical mischievous smile, Alex said:
"What? Do you two think you can just be part of our intimate circle without sharing in the mess? You Dan accompany your daughter so she can visit her Godly grandparents and you Laila accompany your boyfriend, so he doesn't have a panic attack."
Samantha, who had an equally mischievous smile made the four of them even more uncomfortable:
"Oh, yes after this message, all six of you get out, we need some privacy. Anna, I think Gabriel has a place for you to sleep somewhere and I'm sure Laila has a place to put Dan to sleep!"
As the six continued to look at them with open mouths Alex said:
"Chop chop we don't have all night. Gather at five to six in the square in front of the palace. And now get the fuck out of here..."