Month 14 Day 18
2314 Hours
Anna Hamara
The living room door opened and Mac came
in. Her hair was mussed, her uniform disheveled, and she seemed dazed. Anna
stood up from the couch. "Mac, I need to speak to you."
The redhead blinked a couple of times,
unconsciously twisted her uniform into something resembling its proper
position. "Chef Hamara, what's the problem?"
"You haven't answered any of my
messages asking what type of wedding cake you want."
"Messages?" Her face turned
pink. "I don't seem to have any time for messages, any more. What were
they about? A wedding cake?"
"It is traditional for there to be
a wedding cake when there's a wedding ceremony. But before I can make it, I
need to know what kind you want."
"Oh, I don't know. The traditional
kind, I guess."
Anna ground her teeth in aggravation for
a moment. Most brides aren't as
feather-brained as this. "The tradition is for the cake to have tiers.
There really isn't any tradition as to what type of cake or frosting is
used."
"Oh." Now she seemed
completely at a loss. "I guess I haven't given it much thought."
At
least I have some idea what she might
like, thanks to Bugalu. "Here's a suggestion.
I can make a white cake with white frosting, and put a layer of pineapple puree
atop each tier. How does that sound? I know how much you like pineapple."
The talk of pineapple finally seemed to
soak through her dazedness, and her face lit up. "That sounds wonderful!
And it will look beautiful, too! Oh, I can hardly wait! Getting married and
having pineapple to celebrate! Thank you, Chef!"
"Good. I'm glad that's settled.
Now, I'll leave and let you girls get some sleep." She walked out and made
her way to the officers' quarters, where she buzzed the doorbell on a certain
doorway. The door opened and she walked in far enough to let the door close.
Smitty appeared in the bedroom doorway,
his uniform tunic missing, a glass of booze in his hand. "What are you
doing here?"
Apparently,
he hasn't had any time to check his messages, either.
"I understand you're getting married next week."
"Ahh, yes. About that—"
He's
defensive? With me? Thought we were better friends than that. "I just spoke to
your bride, at long last, about what type of wedding cake she wants, and she
settled for a white cake, white frosting, and a layer of pineapple atop each
tier. I hope that's agreeable with you."
"What? Um, yes, that sounds fine.
Whatever Colleen wants is fine."
"I assume you two have finished
making all the rest of the arrangements, and that the selection of the cake was
merely an oversight."
"Ah. Arrangements." He took a
healthy gulp from his glass. "Well, the captain will perform the ceremony,
of course."
He
seems as feather-brained about this as she was.
"It won't mean a thing if you don't have approval from Headquarters. Have
you even submitted that request?"
"I..." His voice faded away,
his face pale.
"Smitty, are you even serious about
marrying this girl?"
"Of course I am!" he declared.
"Well, it hardly seems like it! You
haven't submitted the formal request, made any of the normal arrangements, and
you couldn't even be bothered to choose what type of cake to have at the
ceremony! What have you two been
doing with your time?"
Now his face went red. "Well, we've
been... we've been... getting to know each other. In a manner of
speaking."
She nodded in understanding. No, they wouldn't want to be interrupted
during that. "You've been having sex."
His face turned even more red. "Not
exactly."
"Then what have you been
doing?"
He swallowed and tried several times
before he got out, "Making out."
"That's a great way to get started,
but it quickly turns to frustration, if that's all you do." At his continued discomfort, she asked, "She
won't have sex with you?" That's an old-fashioned
attitude, but Gaelund hasn't been colonized that long.
He sighed and drank the rest of his
drink. "Not until we're married."
Now she got a little angry, sure she
understood what was going on. Wouldn't
have believed it of Smitty, but he's practically admitted it. "Or at
least, until she thinks you're
married. Have a nice little ceremony, have your way with her for a few days,
and then, suddenly, you realize the approval never came through from
Headquarters, so you aren't married
after all!"
"No! Anna! It's not like that! I
really want to marry her! But when I'm with her, she drives me to distraction,
I can't think about anything but her! And then when I'm not with her, I can't think about anything but being with her! That's why the paperwork hasn't been
submitted, or any of the decisions been made!" He sat down at his desk and
called up some paperwork, began filling it out. "Here, I'm going to fill
out the request to get married and get it mailed out tonight. But honestly, I
don't care about any of the details of the wedding. Whatever she wants will be
fine. Although, I would prefer a small ceremony, and not some grand
event."
"Even a small ceremony, Smitty,
should have a few guests, so people don't wonder what you're trying to hide.
Not to mention she should have a maid of honor and you, of course, should have
a best man. If you insist on going through a charade of a marriage, at least do
it right, and not some cheap imitation!" She gave him a dark glare.
"And I thought I knew you!" She marched for the door and out it, and
had reached her own quarters almost before she took another breath. She was too
upset to get much sleep that night.
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