Only Ones Who Know - Derp Crew High School AU

Chapter 23: Benvenuto in Famiglia, pt. 2

[Temporary time skip: June 2019]

My parents were first married in February of 1998. They welcomed two children and enjoyed almost seventeen years of marriage together until my mother's passing in January of 2015. When she passed no one knew if my father would even consider dating another woman, let alone marry again. Then all that changed when a woman named Sandra Harper came into his life. She first married the same year as my parents, but hers had a more abrupt ending thirteen years later. She learned what her husband's true colors were when their daughter Michelle came out as a lesbian. Determined to find a more accepting place for her daughter, she divorced her husband and left her home country to restart in the United States, where she would later meet my father, and from there the story writes itself.

I sat in front of the mirror in my hotel room fixing my hair and the bow tie that goes along with my tuxedo. The wedding starts in a little more than an hour and none of us are ready to go. I haven't worn a bow tie since my senior prom two years ago and I forgot how to do it. I continued to groan in frustration until I felt a pair of hands slip around my shoulders.

Steven ran his fingers through my hair and kissed my forehead. His curly hair was brushed down and his beard neatly trimmed. "Anthony? I got out of the bathroom and heard groans of frustration, are you okay?"

I held the tie in my hand and stared blankly at him. He laughed and took it from me. "I'm starting to hate these things."

"Gotcha. Hey, are you almost ready? Carlo said we have to be at the chapel thirty minutes before it starts and, you know, traffic."

"Yeah, I know. I have to finish this then I'll be ready." I stood up and let Steven fix my tie for me, and I couldn't help but focus on how handsome he was in his tuxedo. We've been going strong for almost four years and I fall more in love with him everyday.

When he finished with my tie, I snaked my hands around his hips, hooking my fingers in his belt loops, and pulled him close for a kiss. "Think I'll be going home with one of the groomsmen?" I whispered playfully.

"If you ask him politely, I'm sure he'll say yes," he replied, playing with my hair. In the middle of our moment there was a knock on the door, and I tore myself away for Steven to answer it.

Dad stood there, fully dressed and ready to go, and behind him were Cielo, his brother Santino, and his sister Gabriella. "C'mon, guys, we have to be going right now."

"We're ready to go." Steven waved me over and I tightened the suspenders on my tuxedo before throwing my jacket over it. We headed down the corridor of our hotel and down to the limo in the parking lot waiting to take us to the chapel on the other end of town.

Dad insisted on returning home to New York for his wedding to his girlfriend of the past three years, Sandra. As we drive through our sleepy hometown, I lean back and close my eyes to think. I have so many memories of my time here as a kid before we left for Sacramento. Of course we still come back here from time to time but our reason for coming back is much different. We drove by all my old schools, the house of one of my childhood friends, my favorite sandwich shop, and the arcade where I spent so many quarters.

Soon the time passed and we were dropped off in front of the Catholic church we used to go to when we lived here, the same one that my parents married in, and down the road was the community center set up for the reception. A crowd was starting to collect in front of it and I could clearly see Minx in her purple bridesmaid dress waiting for us. Dad and Sandra basically brought half of Italy and Great Britain with them, so I'm interested to see how this will work.

We all hugged Dad as he went in around the back and we met up with Minx and the rest of our families for the procession.

"It's about time you got here," Minx shouted, giggling. "Mum's inside waiting for us."