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“Alright, just a few more family pictures, then you guys will be all set to head off to your reception.” The collective groans from Sharon & Andy’s respective children were audible. The death glare they were all getting from Sharon didn’t go unnoticed either. Andy, trying to keep the peace, mouthed the words, “I’m so sorry!” To everyone without being seen, but the whack on his arm he received from Sharon told him he was caught. The sheepish grin he gave her didn’t help his cause. “Sorry, babe,” he whispered to his wife.
His wife.
The sound of those two words together made Andy’s heart happy. The way she looked in that dress, well, made…other…things happy. “When is this thing over anyway, Sharon?”
“If, by this thing, you mean our wedding reception, Andrew, not for a few hours. I thought you were looking forward to it? Why the sudden rush to escape?”
“I am happy to be here! The food alone is worth it. But it’s not that. It’s just…” he trailed off, taking a step closer to whisper in her ear. “It’s just the dress. It’s doing things to me that make me want to do things to you, and I can’t do that here. So, again, when can we leave?”
She loved him. She really truly loved him. She wouldn’t have married him if she didn’t. But his impatience and one-track mind sometimes drove her bonkers. But, he also wasn’t wrong. The way his suit looked on him had her brain going all over the place. Sighing, and grabbing his tie, Sharon tried giving him an answer that would satisfy him. “I’ll tell you what. You play along - mingle, dance, eat, pretend like you’re enjoying yourself, then I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself later. Hmm? Sound like a deal?”
“Ha! Mom said deal!” Ricky yelled. “Who’s got the bingo card?” Turning to his mother, he couldn’t help but tease her. “Also, ew, by the way. I heard the rest of that,” he shuddered.
Reaching into his jacket pocket, Rusty pulled out a piece of paper. “I do! I think we’re just missing her losing her shoes, then it’s complete!”
When Sharon turned to Andy for help, he was quick to put his hands up. “Don’t look at me, those are your sons. Mine is staying out of it.”
“Uh, don’t be so sure, dad,” Nicole chimed in. “The bingo card was his idea.”
“Dude! Why?” Joey yelled towards his sister. “Don’t listen to her, pop! Half of those boxes were her idea!”
“Were not!; Were so!” The arguing back and forth between the Flynn children went on for a minute before Emily chimed in. “Oh my god, you guys! Unless you all want to be grounded, I suggest you knock it off. Angering the parentals on their wedding day is definitely NOT on the bingo card.” Her stance did not go unnoticed by Joey. There she stood, a single hand on her hip, death-glaring at the other four trouble makers, looking exactly like her mother.
“Whatever you say…teapot.” The high fives Joey received from his stepbrothers for Emily’s newly minted nickname was confirmation that he was welcomed into this new blended family.
“Andy!” Emily whined.
“Good god almighty, enough! Can the five of you put the antics away for the rest of the day? Please?” Turning to Sharon, Andy continued. “Now do you see why I want to get out of here?”
Sharon was trying not to laugh at everyone, but she couldn’t help it. She was happy, her and Andy’s kids were getting along, the ceremony was perfect, and she was just excited to finally have this day. “I think it’s amusing. Besides, this is what siblings do! Need I remind you of the teasing you and your sister did at the rehearsal dinner last night?” When Andy pouted at her, Sharon knew she got her point across. It was then the venue coordinator popped out into the hallway.
“Okay, folks! We are about ready to get started. First the wedding party will be introduced, followed by our newlyweds for their first dance. Everyone ready?” As everyone took their places in line, Rusty went over and whispered something in the coordinator's ear. She smiled and nodded at him, but no one heard what he said. “You guys all look fantastic! Let’s get this party started!”
As each pairing was introduced, they danced their way into the reception hall. Met with excitement from the attendees, Sharon and Andy couldn’t help but smile. Just as the doors opened for them, Rusty’s voice came over the loud speaker. Flanked by his siblings, he began his speech.
“Good evening, everyone! Pardon the interruption, but my brother and sister, or I guess I should say brothers and sisters now, have a little surprise for our parents before their first dance.” Rusty looked over at an extremely confused Sharon and Andy, but continued. “Very early on in their relationship, I discovered something. They dance. A lot. Like, a lot, a lot. All the time. Seriously, it’s insane,” he stated, receiving laughs from the guests. “Now, I won’t lie, it confused the heck out of me when I first noticed, but I got some great help in understanding why it was so important for mom, and for them.” He paused again looking towards Emily and Ricky. “Since I’m a sneaky pain in the…butt…I started recording them. Not in a creepy way, although this explanation isn’t helping, but in a way to show them how adorable and pretty darn awesome they are together.” Looking towards the waiting couple, Rusty read his mother’s mind instantly. “Yes, mom, I know! You hate the word adorable when it comes to you and Andy. It doesn’t make it any less true though.” The collective laughs from everyone at the reception had Sharon rolling her eyes. “Anyway, I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do with these videos, but when the five of us realized we all had a bunch of them saved from various get togethers and events, we decided that this was the perfect way to show them.” Turning towards Andy and Sharon again, Rusty smiled. “Not just because making fun of you guys is one of our favorite things to do, but because in each and every one of our videos, you guys look so happy. So we thought sharing that with everyone here, celebrating your marriage, was the perfect way to show you how we see you. Nothing but pure love and happiness. Mom, Andy, we love you guys, and we hope you enjoy what we’ve put together.”
Backed by the track of Ray La Montagne’s “You Are The Best Thing”, a big favorite of Sharon and Andy’s, the video began. It was only a few minutes long, but what it showed was exactly what Rusty described. Clips of Sharon and Andy dancing around the condo, various parties and family events held over the past few years. It was a beautiful tribute to an amazing couple, both getting a second chance at a lifetime of happiness. But while everyone was watching the montage, there were Sharon and Andy. Hand in hand, watching the delight on their children’s faces as they enjoyed seeing their project come to life.
Somehow, in the time that Sharon and Andy were dating, all five of their children formed a bond that couldn’t be explained. Yes, they had things in common, which was great for conversations at parties. But in the midst of all of that, they all became genuine friends. Joey and Rusty had chess as a common factor. Emily and Nicole bonded over ballet and their odd addiction to Sci-Fi shows. And, somehow, they all convinced Rusty to jump on the Dodgers bandwagon, even when he told them all he didn’t know a thing about baseball. When Ricky snagged a suite from a client, Rusty didn’t have a choice but to go. It was Emily’s idea for her, Ricky, Nicole, and Joey to chip in to buy him a custom Dodgers jersey with his name on the back. It quickly became his new favorite shirt. Ricky and Joey formed their own bond over growing up with an absentee father. Not the greatest way to form an allegiance, but Ricky’s trust in Andy gave Joey a new insight into his father, which helped bridge the gap between father and son. Of course, the one thing they all enjoyed as a collective was making fun of Sharon and Andy any and every chance they got.
After the video came to an end, it was Nicole’s turn to speak. “Thank you, everyone, for indulging us in breaking tradition, and letting us show the video before the first dance. We would’ve saved it for later, but knowing dad and his love of parties,” she paused to make a silly face towards Andy. “He would’ve found a way to escape right after they cut the cake.” Everyone laughed when they saw Andy shrug his shoulders and nod his head in agreement.
When Nicole handed the microphone back to the DJ, he was ready to announce the happy couple for their first dance. What Andy didn’t know was that Sharon had a surprise of her own waiting for him. “And now, taking their first dance as husband and wife, please rise and give a warm welcome to Sharon and Andy, aka Mr. and Mrs. Flynn!”
As the first few notes of Celine Dion’s “A World to Believe In” started playing, Sharon and Andy made their way over to the center of the dance floor, and began swaying in time to the music. Just like every other time they danced, they seemed to be lost in each other, tuning out the world around them. Bringing their joined hands to his chest, Andy leaned in to get closer to Sharon’s ear. “Mrs. Flynn?” He asked, with a grin.
Pulling back, and giving him that thousand-watt smile that only belongs to him, Sharon giggled. “It’s who I am now, aren’t I? Besides, you didn’t see the look on your face the way I did when someone called me Mrs. Raydor.”
“I told you, Sharon, you didn’t have to,” but Andy was quickly cut off with a brief kiss.
“Shhh, I wanted to. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to enjoy the rest of this dance with my husband.”
Her husband.
“Spinning her around, then out and back into him again, Andy beamed. “You’ve got every one of my dances for the rest of our lives, Mrs. Flynn.”
When their song was over, the DJ opened up the dance floor to everyone in their wedding party and whoever else wanted to dance. Sharon and Andy thought about staying on the dance floor, but they decided to head off to their sweetheart table instead. There they got to watch their family and friends enjoy themselves as the reception was just getting underway.
As the evening progressed, everyone seemed to be having a marvelous time. The food was excellent, conversations were flowing, everyone was mingling with each other, and the DJ had a fantastic playlist going that kept everyone on their feet the whole night. Sharon and Patrice even got Provenza up on the dance floor a few times. Now that was a video that they couldn’t wait to show everyone at the PAB.
After the bouquet and garter toss, followed by the cake cutting ceremony, the dance floor was opened up again. Looking around for her date, Sharon found Andy talking amongst some of his friends. “Excuse me, gentlemen. Pardon the interruption, but I’m here to steal my husband back.” She tried getting him off to the side where they couldn’t be seen, but someone started clinking a utensil against a glass. Not one to break tradition, Andy dipped her ever so slightly to give her a kiss. The hoots and hollers they received from everyone had Sharon blushing. Finally getting him secluded, she pleaded her case. “So, remember earlier when you were trying to get out of here as quickly as possible?”
“Yeah. Kinda,” he smirked.
“Oh, stop,” she said, pulling on his suspenders. Looking around at everyone dancing she grinned. “I was thinking, since everyone’s dancing, and this thing is almost over, that you and I could slip away and get a jump on…”
“Each other?” He interrupted.
Smirking, Sharon responded. “Oh, that is absolutely what I was thinking. So, what do you say, Mr. Flynn? Ready to head out?”
“Why, Mrs. Flynn, I thought you’d never ask.” Taking one last look around to make sure no one was looking, Andy grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and placed it around Sharon’s shoulders. When he spotted a side exit where no one was standing, he grabbed Sharon’s hand to take her away. Before taking a step he noticed that she didn’t have her shoes on. “Your shoes, babe.”
“Leave them. It’s the last thing on the kids’ bingo card anyway,” she shrugged before leading him away.
They thought they had gone unnoticed, but it was Provenza who witnessed them sneaking out. “Who knew the ol’ girl had it in her?” He chuckled.
“We did,” Patrice and Andrea said together. The look on Louie’s face was priceless. Turning to her husband, Patrice continued. “Louie, honey, there are plenty of things about her that you don’t know. We know, but you won’t. And that’s all I’ll say about that.”
“Egads! Please, please don’t put that image in my head. Gah! There isn’t a bar open enough for me to drown any of those images out of my head.” As he walked away towards the bar, Patrice and Andrea laughed.
“I take it you did not tell your husband about our bachelorette weekend in San Francisco?” Andrea said, taking a sip of her drink.
“Oh no, ma’am! What happens in San Francisco, stays in San Francisco. If word got out about what Sharon did, they’ll be looking for our bodies somewhere on Alcatraz.” Lowering her voice, Patrice continued. “Do you want to feel the wrath of The Darth? Because I know I certainly do not.”
“Been there, done that. She’s scary. So I’ll just say no thank you, and file that weekend away, never to be spoken of again.” Putting her drink down, Andrea grabbed Patrice. “C’mon. I’ve got another dance left in me. Let’s go torture your husband.”
As the women danced their way back to the dance floor, they left behind five of the most confused children ever.
“Do we want to know?” Joey asked.
“No, we do not,” Rusty responded while emphatically shaking his head no. “I’ve heard and seen enough over the past two years to last a lifetime. I’m good, thanks.”
“Again, ew,” Ricky chimed in.
It was Nicole’s turn to jump in. “Oh, leave them alone!”
“Yeah, guys. Or do we need to explain to you how relationships work? Emily asked. “Ricky, have you forgotten the talk we had with mom? I could go over it again if you’d like.”
Placing his hands over his ears, Ricky quickly began to walk away. “La, la, la, la! I can’t hear you!” Rusty and Joey looked at their sisters and joined Ricky…wherever he was going.
“Boys,” the girls said to each other while making their way back out on the dance floor.
Listening to the music fade away as they made their way through the hotel lobby, Sharon and Andy couldn't suppress their excitement. The entire Major Crimes squad had joined together to get them the honeymoon suite for the evening before they headed off to Ireland for their honeymoon.
Arriving at the door, Andy smiled as he unlocked it. Sharon had told him that he didn’t need to carry her over the threshold, as they really didn’t need to continue on with that tradition, but he was quick to scoop her up. “Andy!” She squealed.
“Shhh, save that for inside. What will our floor neighbors think, Sharon?”
“Probably that you’re insane for even picking me up in the first place!”
After crossing the threshold, he placed her feet down on the floor. “I assure you, no backs were hurt in the process. Besides, I didn’t hear any complaints from you the other night when I did it.”
Blushing, she smiled. “No complaints from me, my love. Today was absolutely perfect.” After planting a quick kiss on his lips, she whispered, “I love you, Andy.”
“I love you too, my beautiful girl.”
There may not have been any music playing, but the way they danced with each other the rest of the night proved just how far and deep that love went. Starting over is never easy, but, when it’s with the right person, the music never stops.