Page 27 of Klora (Mates of the Mylos #6)
CHAPTER 27
KLORA
Chris and Lynn convinced us all to order a variation of the loco moco, except for Jimmy and Rosie, who had banana and macadamia nut pancakes. I had to admit the gravy covered dish was delicious and I could see why it was considered a local staple. I could see this quite easily becoming a comfort food, one that would always remind me of this moment in time. A mental snapshot of pure happiness, with my friends, old and new, around me, and yes, I now included the L.T.C. in that. He’d proven just how good a friend he was by making sure I kept my mate close by me, giving us the needed time and impetus to realize what our tie truly was.
“So, are you going to plan your wedding while you’re here?” Richie was asking my mate.
“McDuffie and I had not yet discussed that,” I hastened to say. ”We are going to have him apply to become a teacher aboard ship and officially take the mate tests.”
“Hold up,” Richie said. “First, did you just call him McDuffie? He has a first name you know.”
Which I just realized I’d also failed to tell everyone, but then again, so had McDuffie.
“It’s Adrian,” he announced to the table. “And it’s fine. I’m so used to being called Mr. McDuffie or just McDuffie that it feels normal.”
“Yeah, no. That’s weird if it’s your husband,” Lynn chimed in.
He glanced over at me. “Honestly, either is fine.”
I could tell it really wasn’t by the looks everyone was giving me.
“It has been all so sudden,” I tried to excuse myself. “First he was McDuffie, the teacher in our case. Calling him Adrian would have been unprofessional.”
“Right. Sure,” Richie scoffed.
I kissed Adrian’s cheek. “I think I’ll call you Adria now.”
“Good, because all of us will,” Chris said.
“Nuh uh,” Rosie piped up, wearing a milk mustache from taking a swig from her amber colored plastic tumbler. “He’s supposed to be Mr. Adrian if you’re a kid!”
Adrian laughed. “Or Mr. McDuffie if we’re at school and you’re a student.”
“Now that’s out of the way,” Richie said, not to be deterred, “I’m sure I’m not alone in wanting to know why you are having your mate take a matching test when you’ve obviously already completed your mate bond.”
“Just so no one can try to say we might not be real mates,” Adrian explained. “I actually volunteered to do the tests when applying for the job, in case later down the line anyone tried to say we’d violated the treaty provisions or something like that.”
“Ah, okay. That makes sense,” he grimaced. “The whole thing with our Mylos marriages and adopting kids is a political football far too many people want to get involved in.”
“Some people can’t help sticking their nose into other people’s business is why,” Lynn declared.
Adrian nodded. “They do that with gay marriage in general, human and human or human and Mylos,” he observed.
The mood was rapidly going downhill so I decided to change the subject quickly.
“You know, Richie has a good point. We are all already here. Not to interfere with your big day, but perhaps we should look at booking a ceremony before the end of your honeymoons.”
Lynn clapped her hands. “Oh, that sounds so cool! You could book a ceremony like we’ve got. They just need three days’ notice.”
“I’d need more than three days for my family to arrange the time off,” Adrian protested.
“Do any of them work weekends?”
He hummed, thinking about it for a moment. “Only three do. My sister-in-law and two of my cousins. Two work in retail and one manages a bar. How long are we talking about that we can wait?’
“Two weeks for us,” Chis said.
“You’re newly mated, so get two weeks anyway, and after your wedding, two weeks to honeymoon. Some wait longer to have their ceremony, some do it immediately.”
“I guess the time frame doesn’t really matter since completing the bond makes you instantly alien married.”
“Actually, if you’ve signed the agreement before taking the matching test, you’re hitched as soon as they say, “Congratulations!’,” Richie informed him.
“Okay, so, if we can get a date on the last Friday or Saturday, they might be able to get the wedding off. I can’t guarantee the next day, however.” I grimaced. “One of them lives in a right to work state so can be fired for any reason at all.”
“The shuttle can fly them here and back in time,” Sachuu promised him.
My hearts leaped in my chest. “So, you wish to do this? To marry me here, in two weeks?”
“We’re already married Mylos style and will be making it treaty paperwork official after we leave here, so why not?” Adrian grinned back at me as he answered, his eyes shining. “It’s been a crazy couple of days, why not go whole hog? My mom is going to be so excited!”
Our waiter had rematerialized, coffee pot in hand. “Anyone want a refill?” he asked. “It’s free.”
“Yes, please,” Adrian replied.
“Can we have the ceremony at any beach?” I asked.
“If you give them enough time to file for the permit, yes,” our waiter replied. He looked bashful when he realized he’d interrupted us. “Sorry, I couldn’t help overhear your question. We get a lot of people coming here to get married, and my uncle is an officiant, so I kinda know a lot about the process.
“He is?” Adrian grinned, looking at me. “It’s like fate taking us by the hand again!”
I nodded at his wisdom. “We should hire your uncle,” I said.
“Oh! Um, let me finish giving out refills and I’ll be right back with his number for you. I’m sure he’ll find a way to fit you in or help you find someone who can.”
“Mahalo,” I told him happily, truly feeling the aloha the islands were so famous for.
“Did you have a particular beach in mind?” Yorix asked me.
“Maybe,” I admitted. “But first, we need to see if the Shrimp Shack is as delicious as it is supposed to be, and if so, can they get enough food for everyone.”
Adrian laughed. “You want a Hawaii Five-O cake too?”
“Malasadas,” I replied, shaking my head. “A stand filled with malasadas, from another truck.”
“Of course you do,” Sachuu sighed as another Mylos and two Japanese males approached our table.
“Sorry we’re late!” the older of the two human males said. “I honestly thought we’d not make it since we had to go to the emergency room after it became obvious the butterfly bandage we’d put on last night was not nearly good enough if he’s going to walk around thanks to where it was on the side of his foot. Think they can squeeze us in still?”
The hostess was already moving a table onto the end, along with some chairs.
“Oh, hi!” he said, looking at my mate. “I’m Chitose, and this is my brother Haru and my mate, Braevan.”
Haru hobbled over to a chair and sat down. I frowned, seeing his foot was bandaged.
“What happened?” I asked, nodding at his foot.
“Someone dropped a glass by the pool and I stepped on a piece before it was cleaned up,” the youth replied.
“They’d taken it from the bar area and were standing right by the pool steps, waving it around, when it slipped out of their hand and smashed right there where Haru was getting out,” Chitose huffed.
“I’m fine,” Haru told him, rolling his eyes. “Just needed some glue and the bandage to keep it clean and stuff.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t anything terribly serious,” Adrian said. “I’m Adrian, by the way, Adrian McDuffie.”
“He and Klora are mates!” Richie told him excitedly. ”They’re going to get married at the end of our honeymoon, and get this - it’s going to be Hawaii Five-O themed.”
Chitose and Braevan chuckled.
“Why am I not surprised,” Braevan smirked.
“Are you going to say, “Book ‘em, Danno!” as part of your vows?’ Chitose teased.
I glared at my best friends.
Adrian laughed. “No way, but did you know the shrimp truck is real and run by the actual guy from the show?”
I pressed a kiss against Adrian’s temple for having my back like that.
“No, really? That sounds so cool! We should go eat there before we go home!” Haru begged his brother.
“That does sound pretty cool,” Chitose admitted.
“We are going to try the food and see if they can accommodate our wedding guests.”
“That sounds fun,” Chitose grinned.
“And perfectly you,” Braevan added. “As it should be. That is your special day, so it should reflect the two of you.”
“‘I love beaches and food trucks as much as the next guy, even if the only time I usually got to see a beach was Coney Island in summer if I had any time when I also had money,” Adrian assured us all.
I reached over, covering his hand with mine. Yet more proof, test or no test, we were indeed a match made by the very heavens.