Page 3 of Wed
"I think it's great you are wearing her dress. I'd love to wear my mom's if I ever get married, but I'm about fifty pounds lighter. And her dress was way short. Too short for me. It would take a lot of alternations to make it fit me." Faith waited as Becca opened the door to her suite.
"It can be done, but there are some great dresses out there you can buy new. I had a hard time deciding, but in the end, I wanted to wear my mom's dress. In a way, it's a way to have her as part of my wedding. Since Dad died a few years ago, I've tried to think of ways to include their memory in things. Like using Mom's Christmas ornaments on the tree or hanging some of Dad's photography around the house. Makes me feel like they're there with me sometimes." Becca walked into the suite and set her bags down on the large couch.
"I like that you've done that. Dad was good about keeping Mom's stuff for me, but honestly, I don't know what to do with it. I don't wear jewelry often, and her clothes don't fit me. They're all stored away. Someday, I'll have to decide what I want to do with it all." Faith let her bags fall on the other end of the couch and looked around. "So what are you doing for a honeymoon?"
"Bryon found this great place in Fiji. We're staying at a beach resort there. We'll fly home to California after the wedding, then next week leave for Fiji. He's booked a small cabin right on the beach for us to enjoy for two weeks." Becca motioned to Faith to follow. "Come see my dress."
"Bryon won't walk in on us?"
"Nah, I'm sure he's out with the boys already. They were going to hit a buffet and then hit the casino. I told him I'd meet up with him later tonight. I'm not big on playing the tables, but I'd like to go down and sit in front of a slot machine for a few hours." Becca turned to Faith suddenly, feeling like the biggest fool ever. "Oh my God, I just realized you're not twenty-one yet. You can't gamble. I'm so sorry. I would have never held the wedding here if I'd thought about that."
Faith laughed. "No worries. I'll be just fine. I've booked a late appointment at the spa. I'm getting a full workup before your wedding tomorrow. I'll be pampering myself while you guys all lose your money. When I'm done, I'll curl up with a good book by the pool or just watch TV for a bit. I'm not upset at all. In fact, I was excited you picked to hold it here. I'm going with Xander and Dad to the tattoo studio tomorrow and then they're going to show me some of the sites the next day. We fly back to California Monday morning. We figured once you're married, you and Bryon will do your own thing."
"Yeah, we're actually flying out Saturday morning. I think everyone else is staying through the weekend. I just feel crappy you can't join me in the casino." Becca sighed. "I'll make it up to you by bringing you here when you turn twenty-one."
"Deal, but seriously, it's okay. I'm looking forward to the spa treatment and a night on my own. You forget I live with two other girls. I never get time to curl up on the couch alone." Faith sat down on Becca's bed.
Becca pulled a dress bag out of the closet and laid it beside Faith. "How are things going at school?"
"It's summer break right now, so it's quiet, but I'm working at a local clinic where I'm getting a ton of experience. I've also volunteered with a rape crisis center in the area. It keeps me busy." Faith stood as Becca pulled the dress out of the bag. "Oh, it's beautiful."
Becca smiled proudly. She did love the dress. It was an ivory color with lace and beadwork across the neckline and shoulders. It was long, the front going to just above her feet while the back had a short train that would trail behind her. "It's a bit more conservative than many of the dresses you see now, but I like that about it. I don't need to be showing off my assets to everyone. I like the idea of Bryon peeling me out of this dress after we get back to the room."
"I'm so excited for you. I know you've been living together forever, but this is a huge step. I wasn't sure Bryon would ever ask you to marry him."
"Either was I. And honestly, I would have been okay with not getting married. I know he was so focused on work and the team. He didn't want to leave a wife behind if something happened. The thing is, I would have mourned just the same being married to him or not. It wasn't like being married would make losing him any easier. But now that the team isn't as active, he's eased up a bit on all the overprotectiveness. He's thinking more about his life than trying to control everyone else's."
"Will you continue to work at the courthouse?" Faith asked.
"Yeah, for a while. I still get good information from there. While we might not be going after pedophiles every night, we are still keeping track of them and handing what we can to the police anonymously when we can. Noam's team still handles a lot too when it can be done legally." She'd been the team's court connection for years, giving them updates on cases and alerting them when pedophiles would come through the court, usually let off with nothing more than a slap to their hand. The team had files on almost every sexual predator in the area thanks to Becca.
"Good. Because I don't believe for a minute that they're all retired and going to sit home and play video games all day. They might slow down, but they'll still hunt." Faith ran a hand over the dress. "It's in their blood to save people. I used to hate it because I was so scared they'd get hurt, but as I get older, I understand things better. They have to do what they do because no one else will."
"Sad but true. You'd think our courts would be justice enough, but when half the judges and cops are dirty, they let these assholes walk when they should be locked up for life. Did you see that case recently in Utah where an elected official was involved in ritualist satanic child abuse? Even some big named child psychologist was charged." Becca shook her head.
"You know what they say. The biggest child sex trafficker in America is Child Protective Services. Get a kid lost in the system and they can disappear quickly without anyone asking questions or noticing. I'm not shocked by much anymore." Faith waved her hand. "Enough about all this. We're here to celebrate. Show me the shoes you're wearing with this."
They talked about the wedding for a bit, then Becca suggested they head down to the lobby and find a place to grab dinner. While Faith couldn't hit the main casino floor, she could walk through as long as they were headed to a place to eat. "What are you in the mood for?"
"There was a seafood place I saw advertised. I'm not sure where downstairs it is though." Faith watched as Becca zipped up the dress bag and put it back in the closet. "I could get lost down there."
"Yeah, it's crazy huge. You almost need a map to figure it all out. We'll ask in the lobby when we go down. Do you want to go to your room to change?" Becca asked.
"I'm good. I have to be at the spa by seven. That gives us two hours to eat and get back up here. Are you going to be okay on your own tonight down there later?" Faith headed out of the bedroom.
"Yeah, I'll text the guys and find out where they're at later. I can meet up with them. I'll find a slot machine in the area they're playing and be fine. Parson mentioned he doesn't play tables, so he'll probably join me at a slot machine if they come down to play tonight. Their plane got in about an hour ago." Becca checked the contents of her purse, setting aside receipts and other junk she didn't need while also making sure she had her room key. "Ready?"
Faith nodded and followed Becca out of the room. "Dad mentioned they might try and get tickets to some comedian Sunday night. I can't remember the guy's name. I was looking through one of the guides in the hotel room. There are so many options. I could spend a month here and not see everything."
"Vegas is like that. There's always something to see or do, no matter the hour. I love visiting, but I couldn't live here." Becca hit the button for the lobby once they were in the elevator. "We debated on getting married in Hawaii and renting out a place on the beach for everyone but decided to save that for some time later."
"I guess Dyson isn't coming for the wedding?"
"We invited him, but at the same time stressed that he isn't safe coming here. While his ID is legit and could pass any security, we can't alter his face, and any facial recognition software at the airport could alert on him. It's not worth the risk. We promised to go visit soon." Becca walked off the elevator and pointed. "That looks like your seafood place right there." She nodded to a restaurant at the far end of the lobby.
"That's it." Faith smiled as she started in that direction. "I'm starving."
Becca followed, enjoying the time with Faith. She didn't have many close girlfriends. She spent most of her free time with the team or alone with Bryon. She'd never been good at making friends, then once she joined the team, she'd just spend her time there with them. When Faith came into their lives, she'd enjoyed having another female around to go shopping with and do all the girl stuff the men weren't interested in.
