Going To The Chapel
Chapter 2




Luckily we worked everything out a couple of days later. We wouldn't be here if we didn't. It's surprising how close Julie and Brian's wedding is to mine and Lance's. They're very similiar except for the fact that I'm standing up here alone and he's sitting on a bench.

To tell you the truth I was glad that they decided to have an outside wedding. Lance and I stayed away from most gay-bashing religions but Brian was very much a part of one. He was very understanding when Julie didn't want to have the wedding in a church. He's a good man that Brian.

It was getting the the best part of the wedding. They were exchanging vows. There was something enticing and romantic about the exchange. It always showed the love the bride and groom held for each other.

Damn my emotions. I remember when we brought Julie home that first time. She was such a beautiful child. I couldn't have been more proud to call her my own.

...

Julie cooed and stirred in Lance's arms. I had this feeling like she wanted me to pick her up.

"Let me hold her", I said in quiet demand.

"Okay". Lance handed me the baby and instantly she quieted. "She really likes you, ya know?".

"She's crazy about you, too".

"Do you think she'll wonder about her mother when she gets older? The whole birds and the bees speech doesn't actually explain how both her parents are men".

"I don't think she'll care". I rocked Julie more softly as her little eye lids closed.

"When she goes to school or girl scouts she's gonna start wondering why all the other girls have mommies and she has two daddies".

"Lance, baby, we have several years yet...think positively. She's our child now. Her mother didn't want her and now she has a loving home. What more could she need or want?".

"Someone to teach her how to do make-up?". I rolled my eyes.

"We've been wearing make-up for years".

"That's stage make-up. I would hate to see what would happen if Julie started wearing excessive amounts of make-up".

"She'd probably turn into a New Yorker". Lance chuckled and I sighed at the sound. Did he know that the simpilest things about him made me love him more?

"You're okay with this right? I mean we've been married for two years now and I'd hate to rush you into things".

"Joey...this wasn't just your idea. Remember it was our idea. And I loved the idea and I still love the idea and I will always love the idea. Just like I'll always love Julie and I'll always love you". I was sure I was a puddle. I had melted right there. I guess I still had some Joey-shape left of me.

"Come here, you sap". Lance sat down next to me. I planted a big 'ole sloppy kiss on his lips. Lance grinned.

"You didn't need to slobber all over me".

"Aw, you know you like my slobber". Lance smiled.

"Julie's asleep. Maybe would should put her down and have some alone time".

"Lance, we've had her for nearly an hour and you already feel we need alone time. What kind of parent are you?".

"The kind that's ready to throw caution to the wind and bed the man he loves".

"Wow, you make an excellent father".

"Thank you. Now let's put little Jules to bed".

"Okay".

...

I don't think I'm able to control my own sighs. I think I've sighed a million times since the begining of this wedding. My baby is all grown up. She's not the little girl we used to tuck in at night. And she's not the headstrong teenager we used to fight with. Now she's going to be Brian's wife. Someday she'll be a mother and she'll start her own family knowing that one day she'll be going through the same thing I am now. 

But I only got to hold onto her for nineteen years. That's not fair.

...

"Daddy, the school bus will be here any minute", the tiny five year old girl told me.

"I know, Julie. I almost have your lunch packed. Where's poppa?". Joey chuckled. He tended to call Lance poppa. It started to get really cute when Julie called him poppa, too.

"Poppa!", Julie called as she ran through the house. I hope she doesn't trip. She's wearing those little dress shoes Lance insisted would make her look more like a lady. I told him we wasn't raising a lady but a dolphin instead. Julie heartily agreed with me. I guess she was a tomboy of sorts. Not pink dress material.

"I'm upstairs, sweetheart", Lance called. I suppose he was in the bedroom. It was amazing how domestic we'd become. Ever since 'N SYNC split up Lance spent his time at the Freelance offices. I didn't mind. I liked being the house wife in the relationship. He could go out and bring home the bacon while I sat around and watched soap operas. Okay, so I occasionally had to do laundry and pick up the house but we were fairly neat. Even Julie. My job was a piece of cake. I don't know why women complain about it. I loved it.

"Daddy, poppa's upstairs".

"Okay, Julie. Your lunch is ready and the bus is here. let's move it, girl". Julie ran into the room. I handed her her lunch box, got a kiss on the cheek, and watched as my baby went off to Kindergarten. It didn't matter that she had been going for three months. It still hurt to see her go.

I walked back to the counter and put the finishing touches into Lance's lunch bag. Then I put it on the tabel by the door along with his briefcase. He had a tendency to forget it.

Then I saw the love of my life rush into the kitchen. He was working on his tie. Then he sat down and hurriedly put on his shoes. He took way too much time to get ready in the mornings and always found himself rushing out the door.

"Okay, I gotta go, baby", he said to me.

"You didn't even eat breakfast".

"I will tomorrow, I promise".

"You don't eat enough. Look at you, you're working yourself to death".

"Not now, Joey. I gotta go to work. We'll talk at dinner, okay?". 

"Sure". We had a extremely typical life. I was the whining housewife and he was the businessman always on the go. Something needed to change.

"I love you". I smiled at him.

"I love you, too". Then he kissed me the way he did everyday before going off to the office. Except this time the kiss held promise for what was to come later. I moaned into his mouth. It had been way too long since we had last been intimate. To tell you the truth I was a bit horny. I think Lance could tell.

"Bye". Then he was gone. I waved out the door before retreating to the living room. There I put my feet up and watched tv willing the lonely hours to pass quickly. Sometimes being a housewife wasn't fun at all.

...

"You may now kiss the bride". The small space of landscape was filled with hoots for the young couple.

"Go Brian!", one of Brian's buddies yelled. I just stared at the couple. it was final now. She wasn't mine and Lance's child anymore. She was her own woman and all grown up.

They walked down the aisle and I walked the retreating figures. Soon Lance was by my side and I hugged him to me tightly.

"This is a lot harder then I thought it would be", I whispered into his neck.

"I know. But aren't you proud of the beautiful woman she's become?".

"Why do you have to be so optimistic? That boy just took our baby away". Lance pulled my face away from his neck so he could look into my eyes.

"Cry later, rejoice now". I smiled. Then I softly kissed Lance's lips.

"I was thinking how lucky I am".

"How are you lucky?".

"I have you". Lance blushed. I couldn't believe that after twenty-one years of marriage I still had the power to do that. "You gotta know your perfect. How in the world could you not know it?".

"You can save the compliments for when we're alone. Right now we need to go get congradulated by the guests".

"I know". I sighed. Again.

...

"You are going to break your neck and I'm not gonna save you", I told Lance as I tried to hide my grin.

"I can do this".

"You're really out of shape".

"I believe in you, poppa", Julie said with a grin that showed off her newly missing teeth.

"Well if Ms. Jules believes in me I can do anything I want". Then he fell. I don't know what possed him really. He didn't need to help Julie with her gymnastics. She was doing well on her own. But no, he had to go play the hero and save the day. So instead he suffered. Broken arms are a bitch.

...

"Hey guys!", Chris greeted. "Congradulations! Julie looked really beautiful up there".

"Hey Chris. We're glad you made it". I swooped Chris into a hug and Lance did the same.

"Group hug". Then with that said Chris grabbed the two of us close.

"Wow, it's been a really long time. What have you been up to?", Lance asked after the embrace was broken.

"Aw, we don't need to talk about me. We need to talk about that beautiful woman who just got married. You know the one you guys like to call your daughter".

"She's so amazing", I gushed. "I can't believe she's all grown up and married".

"You can't belive it? I haven't seen her in a couple of years. Imagine my surprise".

"It's not like you haven't talked to her recently, Chris. She tells you everything". Lance said those words bitterly and I wondered if he was jealous of the relationship Chris had with Julie. He had always been her cool Uncle Chris. When she was little he would take her out to get ice cream. When she was a teen he would cover up for her and he was always giving her advice. I had once been a little jealous of their relationship but it didn't bother me anymore. I knew that I was one of her fathers and Chris was not. There wasn't anyway he could replace my spot in her heart. That thought always made me feel good and loved.

...

"Julie, we should talk about this", Lance yelled through the door.

"I don't want to talk, poppa. If you don't accept Jason you don't accept me".

"That's not true and you know it. I love you. I don't want you hanging out with that bum anymore".

"Don't talk about him that way".

I just sat in the stairway listening to the bickering. Julie was sixteen years old and she claimed to be in love with this Jason guy. I didn't really like the kid myself but I was a lot less vocal about it.

"How am I supposed to talk about him then?".

"With respect".

"Julie, open this door".

"No! Not until you open up your mind and let me go away with him".

"Oh no, young lady! You will not go away with this boy".

"I'm not a kid anymore, poppa!". Then Julie came out of her room. She glared at Lance. When she saw me in the stairs she nodded at me. "Hey, daddy". Then she ran down the stairs. Right before she left the house she hollered, "I'm going to go to Uncle Chris' house. At least he understands". Then the door was slammed and Julie was gone.

...

"She may be all grown up now but she was quite a handful when she was younger", Lance said with a chuckle.

"Do you remember that time she ran away to Chris' house?", I asked Lance. 

"Which time? There were so many of them".

"I know".

"There they are", somebody shouted from a distance. "There's the parents of the bride". I turned and found myself face to face with JC Chasez.

"Hey, man". I greeted giving my friend a big 'ole bear hug. The other two men in the group did the same thing. "I didn't think you were coming. Aren't you supposed to be in Europe?".

"Yeah, but I told the record company heads I had a much more important engagement. It's not everyday your niece gets married. Besides they don't need me to supervise every second".

"Are you sure, Jace? I know how you love producing songs".

"You worry too much, Joe. I wouldn't have missed this for the world. Man, Julie looked really wonderful up there".

"I know", Lance said with a sigh. "I wish Justin could have been here".

"He did try to come", JC said. "He just couldn't leave the tour".

"Ya know, it's weird how we've all grown apart. I mean I have Fuman, Lance has Freelance, Justin has his solo career, JC has his producing, and Joey has his housewife gig. We've changed so much". I totally agreed with Chris. Things had definitely changed since our youth. Especially our priorities.

"Things have been different for a long time, Chris. We can't stay the same forever". Why did JC chose to always bring people down? Talk about a happy mood killer.

...

"Daddy, poppa, this is Brian", Julie said excitedly. She was definitely nervous and so was he.

"It's nice to meet you, Brian", I said immediately shaking his hand. Lance chose to stand back and look the young man over. Like he was trying to see if this boy was good enough for his baby. I nudged his shoulder. "Don't you have something to say to Brian, Lance".

"No, not really. I'll go check on dinner". I glared at Lance.

"I'm making dinner. You don't know how to cook". My mouth was really tense and I trying really hard to not yell at Lance. This was nerve wracking. Why couldn't he be nice to any of Julie's boyfriends? I could tell this boy was a keeper. From what I knew about him I could tell already.

"Yes, but I think I'd like to go watch it for a while". Lance walked into the kitchen.

"Excuse me". I smiled at Brian and Julie. Then I stormed into the kitchen. "What the hell do you think you're doing?". The boom of my voice could probably be heard in the other room but I didn't care.

"I don't like him", Lance stated simply.

"Why not?". My voice had significantly lowered in it's volume.

"He has a funny nose. Do you want our grandkids to look like freaks?". I slapped my hand to my forehead.

"Since when do you care about looks?".

"Since Julie fell in love". I saw the slump in his shoulders and knew what was really wrong.

"Lance...Julie's growing up. We knew this would happen one day".

"I know. Why does it hafta happen so soon?".

"She's eighteen years old".

"Still...".

"Are you going to be mature about this and go greet our guest or what?".

"Alright. But I warned you about the nose thing". I chuckled.

"You called it, baby". We then walked back to the two teens.

...

I sat down at the table and watched the couples dancing on the floor. Weddings really were a magical time. My eyes drifted to Julie and Brian. They looked so happy together. I was happy for them, too. Even if it didn't always show. The same for Lance. He even grew to like Brian after a while.

"May I have this dance?". I turned around to look at the person who propositioned me.

"I don't know. My husbands a jealous guy". Lance grabbed my hand.

"I could see why. A sexy man like you shouldn't be left alone for too long. Somebody could take you away. Your husband is a wise man. So, are we gonna dance or what?". That was a silly question considering he had already pulled me to the dance floor.

I rested my head on his shoulder. I could feel his cologne tickling the senses in my nose. The rightness of the moment was astonding.

"I love you", I whispered into his ear.

"Now, your husbands gonna be really jealous. How many men do you tell I love you to?".

"Just you".

"I guess it's okay then. Especially since I couldn't possibly love you more then I already do".

"You do know that we're gigantic saps, right?".

"I think it comes with the territory of being a gay man". I giggled.

"You did this to me".

"I made you gay?".

"No. You made me into a sap".

"I know, but I like you this way".

"I think we should have another baby".

"Really. I'm forty-eight years old, babe. I may be to old to have a baby".

"Yeah, but I think we should have another one and this time we won't make the mistake of letting her go". I sighed.

"Still, it's probably not a good idea".

"I guess".

"You know, you used to be the one that reassured me but I've been reassuring you all day".

"I did such a good job reassuring you that I forgot to reassure myself. I figured that since you got some good pratice that you could reassure me".

"Oh, Joey. You are a silly old man".

"I'm not that old".

"You're fifty".

"I feel like I'm twenty".

"I suppose you're as old as you feel".

...

Soon the song ended as did the wedding.

We went home and life continued on pretty much the same way as it had before. Except we saw Julie less.

I think I may be a silly old man. And I am way too sappy. Damn Lance and his sap-ta-fy-ing.

THE END