The Saga of Steve and Joey-Part 11

Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a good start to the week. Either way, here's Part 11 of The Saga of Steve and Joey. Enjoy!

Part 11

Steve

Ugh. Weddings are expensive. Even small ones. When Joey asked me to marry him, I never thought we would have to be fronting so much money for so many little things. As I surf the web, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed at all of the information on budgeting, clothes, flowers, venues, favors, invitation and everything else. If it isn’t the money making me nervous, it’s the sheer number of things to do. I don’t know how people plan for a four hundred person wedding.

Groaning, I set the laptop down on the couch next to me and rub my eyes.

“Problem,” Joey asks as he comes into the living room.

“Remind me never to look up wedding stuff. I think my brain is melting out of my ears.”

“Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad.”

“No, it’s worse. Come here and I’ll show you.”

I pick up the laptop so Joey can sit next to me, which he does, sitting close enough that our legs touch.

“All ready. Prepare yourself,” I warn as I set the laptop on his lap.

Joey shakes his head, as if to laugh as me, but I don’t say anything. Let him find out all on his own.

Over the next fifteen minutes, I show him site after site that terrified me to no end. At first, Joey doesn’t take me seriously, but by the end, he’s just as pale as I am.

“They want us to do all of that?”

“Well, I don’t think there’s a ‘they’, but that’s what recommended, yeah.”

“But I don’t want to do all that. Isn’t there a simpler way?”

It’s a simple question, but it makes me realize that I’m missing something. “Joey? I just realized I never asked you what kind of wedding you want.”

Joey looks down at the couch. “That’s okay. I was just going to let you handle it.”

“But don’t you want to have a say? You’re so creative. I would have thought you would have wanted to do something with the decorations or something.”

“No. Whatever you want is fine.”

The way he says that puts me on high alert. Something is wrong here. “Joey, babe? What are you not telling me?”

“Nothing. I just don’t want to plan a wedding.”

“But you proposed to me,” I say in shock as my heart skips a beat.

“Oh, no,” Joey exclaims, turning so he can grab my hands and look me in the eye. “That’s not what I meant. Of course, I want to marry you. I just don’t care where. Or when. I just want you there. Wherever that may be.”

“But what about our families? And friends?”

Joey shrugs. “I don’t want my family there. If they can’t accept me then they don’t get to come to my wedding. And Lucas is my only real friend.”

His quiet words drove a spike through my heart. How could I be so thoughtless? I know Joey doesn’t really have anyone in his life. And I have to go and rub that in.

“Do you want to elope,” I ask.

“But what about your parents? And Lucas? And your friends from work?”

“Well, Lucas can come. We can bring witnesses. My parents could come to if they wanted. And I’m not so close to any of my friends at work that I have to invite them. But we could bring five to ten people with us wherever we go. And technically, we don’t even have to leave the state to get married, so we wouldn’t have to elope. We could just go down to the courthouse one day.”

“But wouldn’t it bother you? Not having a big wedding.”

I look at Joey’s worried face before leaning forward and wrapping him in a hug. “I don’t care just so long as I have you.”

“Really?”

“Really. Besides, after seeing all of the crap that goes into a wedding, I’m pretty sure it will be a lot less stress if we do it this way.”

“So when do you want to do it?”

“Why wait? Let’s check our work places and see when we can get two weeks off together. After all, we’re going to want to take a nice long honeymoon, right?”

I feel Joey’s nod against my chest and it causes me to smile. This is really happening. I’m going to marry the man of my dreams. And it isn’t going to involve stress or money or any everything else, which suits me fine. After all, all I need is Joey.

Well, there’s Part 11. Be sure to check back next week for the wedding! Have a good week!