About Music and Determinism

"Oh baby love!!! Corny and unconventional is what we ARE! I love it and I will keep that rose forever!!! You are so lovable I could eat (kiss) you (kiss) up!"

"Speaking of which, my beautiful future wife, would you please make love to me?"

"All the furies in heaven couldn't stop me!" He was REALLY rubbing off on her.

"Wow! All right... then would you please wait for me on the bed while I go freshen up?" Mea undressed and waited patiently on the bed, as Matthew took a couple of minutes. She knew, by sound, that he had taken a shower and was shaving, and during more silent interludes, she could only guess what he was doing. When he came out of the bathroom, he walked slowly towards her, naked, and stayed standing near her.

"My beautiful Mea, do you remember that fascinating dance you did for me? Well, I never forgot it and I will never forget it and, tonight, it is my turn. Mea, look at ME. You see me and know all of me, and I am glad. I do not have your beauty, nor your feline grace, and especially not your skill at dancing! But you have chosen me, and I want to tell you that I am blessed for that. I am yours, now and forever, and I promise to spend the rest of my life repaying you for your gift of love and for the meaning you give to my days and nights."

Mea melted. "Do please kiss me Matthew". And he did. To her surprise, he straddled her. He kissed her lips and neck; he cupped her breasts and caressed her nipples. Matthew's every move was slow and deliberate, as if measured to be the most pleasurable possible.

When Matthew broke the kiss, he crawled backward, still on top of her, and showered Mea's body with gentle kisses and whispered words of love in between. When he reached her cock, he took it in his mouth and returned to massaging her breasts with his hands. He kept at it until Mea was thoroughly excited, her cock now in full rigor and her breathing deep and intense.

"Ooooh, baby ... that feels hot! You are good to me baby, let me be good to you." Hearing that, Matthew lowered himself slowly on her, and Mea gasped both at the surprise and at the feeling. Matthew had lubed his anus well and she slid in almost effortlessly.

While pleasuring himself with her cock, Matthew lowered his head so that their nose would touch and he kept on whispering his love."Darling, do you feel yourself in me? I know you do ... it feels good... you make ME feel GOOD. Please tell me you will always do that, baby ... mmhhmmm ... always love me, always share yourself with me ... aaaahhhh ... always cum in me ... mmmghhh ... because I love it, I crave it, I NEED it ... ooohhhh ... God I love you so much Mea! Are you cuming soon, my love? ... mmhhm ... you make ME cum, my angel ... and I want you ... mwwaaagh ... to cum with me..."

Mea was as much overwhelmed by the soft vise on her cock as by the hand on her breasts, the love in his gaze and his vocal appreciation. She was cupping his face with her hands. "Oh, my love! That is so amazing ... YOU are so amazing! Haaaa!!! Yes! Yes! Always! With you! Only you! ... aaahhh fffuck ... coming soon, baby! ... nnggghhh ...wait for meeee!"

And Matthew, upon feeling the first ropes of cum in his insides, let out a wild shout and Mea felt a dripping of cum on her chest. Matthew, still panting, rolled over on his back, lifting Mea and pulling her over him. He ran his fingers in her hair and watched her regain her composure. "Honey... you did it again ..."

"Good flutter?"

"The best ... I love you, my amazing future husband."

"And I love you, my stunningly beautiful future wife ..." which was soon followed by a yawn Matthew did his best to stifle, with little success. "I'm sorry, honey, but Morpheus is about to claim me ... anything I can do before you go to work tomorrow?"

Mea giggled "Work tomorrow? You've got to be crazy! I had already taken a personal day for us and now, NOW, I'm getting married! To a planner! And we have a wedding to plan!"

Matthew was thankful Mea let him sleep in the morning. He woke up to the aroma of her coffee and their breakfast and, after thanking her with a bear hug, they sat down to eat and discussed wedding topics.

They agreed on a very short engagement and a fall wedding. Matthew then turned on his project management mode, scribbling on a notepad. "I believe we have to cover the topics of sizing a budget, choosing an interior venue, choosing the dress and the men's wear, obtaining the marriage license, choosing the catering and the entertainment, securing transportation, sending invitations, taking dance lessons and, last but not least, choosing the rings and planning a honeymoon. Have I forgotten anything, darling?"

"Be kind, rewind ... dance lessons?"

"Darling, we are going to dance a waltz on our wedding and I will the damned if I step on your toes or if you should be looking at me, all stressed out and counting steps, on your big day."

"You are so good to me, baby love ... and you truly are the best planner in the universe!"

"Very funny, honey ... you're the one who just gave me the fairy tale. I'm just trying to live up to the challenge of the Happily ever after part!"

Matthew was worried about the marriage license and went into all-out banter to keep the mood light. His worries were largely unfounded, as Mea had already changed her gender on her birth certificate and would marry as a woman, and Matthew was relieved she was unconcerned about legal issues.

Another point of heartfelt discussion was the invitations to family. "Will your children come?" Mea asked.

"Oliver will, for sure. He seemed genuinely happy for me and laughed at my hickey throughout my stay at the house. I'm not sure about Emily though ... but I will make it clear to her that there will be neither pressure nor recrimination."

"Why, baby? Is it something about me?"

"Not at all, honey ... in her passions, she is very much her father's daughter and I reacted badly when dad remarried less than a year after mom passed away ... and she knows it. Well, in my case, my reaction caused a rift that took years to heal, and dad and I use to be real close, the envy of many cousins even, so I always regretted that episode of my life."

"Well, as things stand now, I'm remarrying even sooner, and moving away even further, than he did so I will allow myself to be disappointed now if it saves our future relationship. Besides, she's also losing a neighboring grandfather and babysitter in all this."

"You didn't tell me you were a grandfather."

"I'm not... yet. But she knows Alport means difficult pregnancies, and I know the motherhood question bugs her and Jacob, her boyfriend. How about you? Any thoughts about your family?"

"I'm not inviting them, baby. I know one of the secret reasons we do this is so you can give me the day every woman dreams about and I will not risk having someone object to our marriage and start quoting Leviticus. Are you disappointed?"

"Not a bit ... as long as you can live with yourself with the decision. So, that means a rather small gathering, with mostly friends in attendance. Now, why don't we go out and shop for rings? Any idea on where we should look?"

"Oh, I have ideas..." There came the hungry, husky smile "... but we don't go out yet".

"Well then..." Matthew kissed his fiancee hungrily.

---

"Hi bitches!!! Prepare your anuses!" Mea was startled and Matthew had a mix of resignation and annoyance as he was preparing to return the hug of the approaching young man.

"Seriously, Oliver, one of these days you're going to seriously put off someone with that greeting of yours. Besides, here it's North Carolina, not your World of Warcraft Community..."

"Zero fucks given... now I want a hug, daddy... love you!" As Matthew hugged his son, Mea studied them. Except for the hair - Oliver's was longer and curly - the hearing aid and the pair of glasses, they were carbon copies only separated by age and fashion style. Matthew had warned her not to mention it, as he detested the allusion for some never explained reason.

"The trip was okay?"

"Are you kidding? Have you seen the weather back home?!? Don't you have a room for me here?" As he was kidding, he pointed a finger at Mea and made a whipping sound. "Hola Chihuahua! Mommy dearest, you're even hotter than on your Facebook page!"

"It's nice to meet you to, Oliver... I must admit I'm amazed at how much you look like your father, it's uncanny... you could be his clone!" Mea's smile was forced and, for a moment, Matthew wondered to himself, amused, if her aversion to kids included brash loudmouths.

"Touche! I deserved that one..." Oliver went tit-for-that for a hug. "... and congratulations, that old crouton over there is the greatest soul in the universe, you just make him happy!" For one second, as Oliver let go of Mea, Matthew saw a flash in his son's eyes, a flash he knew: Oliver was processing something. Oliver then returned for a second hug with his dad, a bear hug this time. "You know I'm happy for you, right, Dad? You deserve it. And I didn't think you had it in you... Kudos daddyo!"

"Are you going to introduce me to your companion, Oliver? Even his patience must have limits."

"Ho! Sorry Babe..." Oliver motioned to the young man behind him, late 20s, bleached blonde hair in an asymmetric hairstyle. "James, meet my dad, Matthew Carmichael, and his very hot fiancee Maria Elena Cordoba. You guys, this is James, a dear friend of mine from hotel business class."

Matthew went directly for a handshake "Please to meet you James... anyone capable of surviving 16 hours in a car with Oliver is a friend of mine. Thank you for coming and don't mind him - he's an acquired taste! ... Now, as I understand it, you're going to be our music man?"

"Yes, sir. Oli and Mea have exchanged on Facebook all the musical styles favored by the guests and Oli gave me the files of the classical pieces you wanted. I will inspect the gear during the rehearsal and I promise you all will be perfect, and a little eclectic, for you tomorrow."

"Glad to hear it. Now, Oliver, you're sure about the bar tomorrow? I asked you here to be my best man, not my volunteer barman."

"Are you kidding, dad? You think I'm going to let you pay for bartending clinics and then not serve my most important customer? Besides, I suck as much as you at dancing!"

(We really are a corny bunch... I love you son)

"So, dad, is everybody here? The three stooges made it?"

"Yes son, you were the last we were expecting. So why don't you go unpack and rest a little... we meet in about 2 hours for the rehearsal dinner."

"Okay... oh! This is for you, and this is for you... see you then!" This time, he kissed Mea on the cheek and then walked away with James, hand in hand, towards their room at the Inn. Matthew and Mea watched at their respective envelopes, which were supposed to be opened tomorrow. "Oh! And dad, after diner your ass is mine!!!"

"Yes, yes..." Matthew sighed "... just remember..."

"I know, dad: no strippers, no tequila! Those terms I can live with!"

Mea was smirking "Something I should know about?" She could see Matthew was embarrassed.

"Well... if you must know, my former bachelor party was my very personal version of the Front Grill incident. My fist and only bender... but, since I don't remember anything from after the third strip club and after 1h10 AM, you'll have to ask Martin for the crusty details. I'm sure they have been expanded to mythical proportions by now, but I must say I did have the bruises and the hangover to match the tale. I woke up naked on a naked bed in my parents' guest room; my dad took time-off from work to tend to me, something he had never done and never did ever afterwards; he also ordered the subject never be brought up again. But my body remembers something, because any hint of a scent of Tequila will turn my stomach seven times over."

"Oh, I will SO ask!" Mea shrieked in delight.

Saturday November 5th was sunny and a very comfortable 63 degrees "perfect tuxedo weather" whispered Oliver to Matthew. Matthew, remembering his first wedding under a muggy 91 degrees July afternoon in Montreal, nodded his approval in silence and kept the memory to himself. True, he had frequently wondered aloud why tuxedos were made from wool since then, but right now, waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle, he couldn't care any less. He took again a quick glance around the elegant and cozy room. The people at the Boathouse at Front street village had really outdone themselves.

The guests and the celebrant were all looking at him, smiling expectantly. Mea, as befits a bride, was fashionably late, and they were enjoying watching Matthew squirm in place. Eventually, he thought he heard the distant sound of a limousine, then the opening and closing of doors. Upon hearing the opening chords of the wedding version of Pachelbel's Canon, Matthew took a deep breath and felt the warmth of the rushing blood in his face, as he tried to catch a first glimpse from the hallway.

Then the air was sucked out of the wedding hall.

(OH! MY! GOOD! GOD!)

Of all the items they had both meticulously planned, budgeted, discussed and settled upon, the wedding dress was the only one that Mea wanted to keep to herself, even using her own savings so Matthew would be unaware of its cost. Naturally, Matthew was all too happy to oblige her, and he was thus totally in the dark as what to expect. From her very first appearance, Mea dazzled everyone into stunned gasps and, from her very first nervous step in synch with the Canon, she overwhelmed all into silence.

Mea had chosen a look both traditional and regal, wearing a crinoline dress of pure white silk with lace on the sleeves and the train. Her head was coiffed up with a tiara and masked with a sheer veil, giving her a face Audrey Hepburn would have envied. The veil, the sleeves, the dress and the train were all sparkling from sequins and pearls. She was wearing a bouquet of fresh red roses, which practically matched both the color of her lips and the lapels on the tuxedos. Had Matthew used his imagination to conjure up the image of a princess claiming her knight's hand, it would have been supplanted by the mesmerizing vision walking up to him. When she arrived at his side, Matthew could see the perfect jolliness and intensity of her smile. Only then did he notice Gina and Elizabeth behind her, holding the train, and taking place at her side.

Before the celebrant could begin, Matthew could not resist a whisper. "Mea, you are so perfectly beautiful... I've missed you." Yes, even one night at the inn without her was painful to him now.

"Ssshhhtttt, honey, I missed you too." She was smiling shyly, like a partner in crime.

The celebrant quickly took over the ceremony, with dignity and a gentle, fatherly tone, until it was their turn to speak. "Mea and Matthew have asked to recite their own marital vows..."

To make sure they had a similar structure and tone - once a planner, always a planner - Matthew had agreed with Mea on a basic structure for their vows. They also agreed to keep the surprise and sparkle, so Matthew only knew partly what to expect.

"Life has been hard on me, and so I had learned to defend myself against it and I was ready to react to it with solitary determination. Then, one afternoon, you came to me, all alone from a boat, with a gentleness and honesty that disarmed me. Then you offered me nothing but your heart, because it was all you had, and in so doing, my love, you have given me everything. Then you convinced me to be open to change, and you have changed me. So now, I stand in front of you ready to be the princess that you hoped for, accepting her knight's vow of love. I choose you, Joseph Patrick Matthew Carmichael, to be my best friend, my father figure, my lover, my partner, my source of wisdom, of love and happiness; to love and to hold, in happiness and sorrow, in sickness and in health, from now on and until death do us part. With this ring, I thee wed."

(And she once said she was not as eloquent as I was... Jesus Christ, I feel week in the knees...)

After Mea placed the wedding band on Matthew's ring finger, all eyes turned to him.

"Life has been good to me, for I have been smitten twice, but life has also taken from me, and so I was adrift that afternoon, all alone on a boat, hoping to find a mooring upon which to anchor my life. You reached out to me in kindness, my angelic guide, and in so doing you have given me back everything I lost and so much more; I was hoping for a mooring and you were a haven from the storm; I was lost and you were a lighthouse in the night; you opened your heart to me and mended my soul. So now I stand, blessed, ready to offer all of my heart to you, my princess too beautiful for even the bards to do justice. I choose you, Maria Elena Cordoba, to be my best friend, my lover, my muse, my dance and life partner for all time, my well of love and happiness; to love and to hold, in happiness and sorrow, in sickness and in health, from now on and until death do us part. With this ring, I thee wed."

(You did it again ... you ALWAYS do it, my beautiful Matthew... I love you so much...)

After Matthew placed the ring and, with the celebrant's blessing, proceeded to lift the veil and kiss his newly wedded wife, Matthew saw the contented and loving smile he hoped to see for the rest of his days. Discreetly, he took a quick second to wipe her eyes and then, foregoing proprieties, kissed Mea with the kiss she probably expected on that first day, a probing kiss full of passion and pent-up desire that crystallized 75 days of inexplicably intense infatuation, love and desire. Mea was swept over, returning the kiss with equal ardor, and they finally stepped back under cheers, laughter and some wolf whistles.

On the pier, for the wedding photos under the sunset, the photographer had to convince both of them to tone down their smiles for artistic effect. Strolling back towards the reception hall afterwards, they had their first real time to chat.

"I love you so much, Madame Carmichael, are you having a good day so far?"

"I am so happy there is a Monsieur Cordoba in my life now... and my day is so perfect. Thank you, Matthew, for you and for everything."

"Monsieur Cordoba..." Matthew caught her reference at their first dinner "... I like the sound of that. But Hey! The day is not over yet, dear! And I hope you have moist lips and a full stomach... you do know we will be barely able to touch our food?"

"Like I would mind!!!" Mea was beaming happiness.

They barely ate indeed. Then they both proceeded to the cutting of the cake, which brought back memories to Matthew of another time, another wedding, when Lupe had smudged his face with cake cream. As it turns out, Mea could not resist doing the same, laughing out loud and then joyfully licking his face clean. Matthew subjected himself to it in stride, smiling all along.

(There must be something about Latin beauties and wedding cakes!!!)

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for being here tonight! My name is James and I will host the rest of these festivities this evening. May I please summon our newlyweds on the dance floor! Give them a warm applause, as I understand we are about to witness a classic case of little grace under great pressure from the part of the groom!"

Under heartfelt laughter and applause, Matthew and Mea proceeded to the dance area, their gaze interlocked in love and anticipation. Mea then picked up her train and looked up to her expecting husband.

"Are you ready, my angel?" he whispered.

"Show them what you got, baby!" she whispered back.

(Shoulders back, chin up, elbows up, chest out... and breathe!)

And then it started. For both Matthew the romantic and Matthew the geek, there is no waltz but "An der schonen blauen Donau" commonly called the Blue Danube. Mea took a deep breath upon hearing the introduction chords of the violins and horns, and gleefully followed her beloved's lead.