The Devil You Know: Chapter 61

As Victor, Tea holding Leo and Dani walked into St. Timothy’s, Victor could not help but be overwhelmed by the memories of St. James’ on the day Todd and Blair got married.  While it was usually very uncomfortable having his brother’s memories, he still relished that one, seeing a beautiful bride so deeply in love on her wedding day.  

A hand touched his shoulder.  “Hey, where’d you go off to?” Tea asked.  She had an inkling of what her husband was thinking of and strangely enough, didn’t find herself the least bit jealous.  A wave of reassurance swept over her further when Victor turned to her, took her hand and kissed it.  

“Just was thinking how the idiot will screw this up,” he answered, a smirk crossing his lips.  He had given up any notion of going the day without taking a swipe at his twin, at least without him present.  

For once, it was Dani who gave him the admonishing glare.  “Really, you’re going to start that now?” she asked.

Victor looked behind his daughter.  “Did Viki get here already?”  When he saw Dani’s 
expression turn even more sour, he held up his hands.  “Fine, I’ll stop.”

Just then, CJ walked in, finishing a call on his phone.  “Yeah, he’s here now.  Okay, Mom, I’ll see you all in a bit.  Bye.”  He walked up to Victor and Tea.  “That was my mom.  Uncle Todd is getting ready and they should all be here soon.”

Tea and Dani took their seats as Victor and CJ walked to the back of the church.  They waited there in silence for a good five minutes.    As they stood there, CJ turned to his uncle.  “Is this weird for you?”

Victor gave him a strange look.  “Why would it be weird?”

CJ shrugged his shoulders.  “Right now, I remembering the last time I was in a church for Uncle Todd’s wedding.  And with you having all those memories also…”  His voice trailed off.

Victor would never admit it, but there were feelings confronting him.  What ones, he wasn’t sure of.  He looked back at Tea, his eyes full of love.  No, there was no jealousy for Todd and Blair.  He turned back as he heard the doors to the church open up.  Walking in were Clint and Viki, Tina and Cord, and Todd, Jack and Sam.  Looking at Todd, he realized what those feelings were.  Todd was positively glowing.  He had never seen, nor remembered, a time when Todd seemed this carefree, this positive.  Even that day, all those years ago in St. James, Victor had the memories of Todd’s trepidation for the wedding.  But not today.

Victor pulled his brother aside.  “We should go over some things before, well, this is official, again,” he said.

“Well, Jack, as best man, he and I went over everything in the limo,” Todd informed him.  Victor narrowed his eyes as everyone else moved further in.  “Just humor me.”  Todd scowled and crossed his arms over his chest as his twin began.  “Okay, no pregnancy secrets, right?”

“Uh, no, we already know she’s pregnant,” Todd replied.  

Victor nodded as he seemed to be counting off on his fingers.  “No attempted murder charges hanging over anyone that you can blow out of the water?  Or other deep dark secrets lurking around Port Charles?”

“No to that as well,” came the answer.  “At least, none that I’m privvy to or would want to use to stop today.”  

“Right, no ‘dead baby’ secrets?  Or ‘dead nanny’?”  A smirk appeared on his lip, now.  Todd narrowed his eyes.  He could see where this was headed.  That look only provoked Victor even more.  “No damsel’s you need to go off and help?”

“Victor, I swear--” Todd growled.

Victor held out his hands.  “No new identities you are trying to hide or obsessed women ready to swoop in and kidnap you?”

“That never happened,” Todd stated, confused.

“Oh, right, that was to me.”

Todd just turned and walked away.  When he entered the sanctuary, he had to marvel at the arrangements.  Shorty had done a perfect job, bringing what he had imagined for months to life.  

As he looked around, Sam tugged in his jacket.  “Is this what the church looked like when you and Mommy got married the last time?”

Todd looked around again.  “Yep.  Just like this.”

As the Lord side of the family were waiting at the church, Dorian and the Cramers were back at the hotel getting ready.  While Cassie, Sarah and Starr were fussing over Blair, Dorian stood back, still not in complete approval of the events.  She loved her niece and in some way understood that Blair loved Todd, but she still wasn’t happy.  Maybe she could hope he got cold feet like he nearly did all those years ago.

Addie saw Dorian standing off to the side.  She approached her sister and asked, “You should come and join us.  Today is such a happy occasion.  And we have, quite frankly, not had a lot of those lately.”

“But why did it have to be a happy occasion…with Todd Manning?” Dorian grumbled.

“Because she loves him, Dorrie, and he loves her.  It’s always been that way, since the first day they met.  They have a love that has stood the test of time, though other people, traumatic events, long separations.  They truly can’t function without each other,” Addie said eloquently.

As she was finishing, there was a knock at the door.  Starr went to answer it and was greeted by her cousin Jessica and Jessica’s daughter, Bree.  Her emotions nearly overtook her when she saw the little girl in the flower girl dress that matched her own.  Jessica didn’t seem to notice but Bree, observant even at such a young age, tugged on Starr’s dress.  “Mommy gave me this angel pin,” Bree pointed to a golden broach on her shoulder strap, “and told me that Hope was in it.”

Starr could feel the tears sliding down her cheek as she bent down and hugged her cousin’s daughter.  She couldn’t form any words and then moved to a mirror to retouch her makeup.

Blair was the interaction and walked up to her daughter.  “Hey, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I am,” she replied.  “No more tears for today.”

Cassie clapped her hands together.  “Okay, we have some wedding traditions to continue.”  The women gathered around.  “Okay now, for the something old.  Viki wanted me to give you this,” she said as she handed Blair a jewelry box.  Blair opened it and found a diamond bracelet.  “She told me it was her mother’s.  She wanted you to wear it today and apologizes for not giving it to you five weddings ago.”  Everyone let out a chuckle except Dorian, who who rolled her eyes.  

Cassie caught her and sent an elbow into her mother’s arm.  “Viki also told me she was giving Todd diamond cufflinks that were Joe Riley’s.”

Everyone in Llanview knew the love Viki still had for her first husband.  Blair was touched at the thought of the gift from sister to brother.  Even Dorian had to admit it was generous of the woman.

“Now for the something new,” Starr chimed in.  “Aunt Viki told me about the bracelet and Jack, Sam and I bought you this.”  Inside the box her daughter handed to her was a diamond necklace that looked like a perfect match to the Lord heirloom.  

“Oh, Starr, this must have cost…”  Blair’s voice trailed off.

“Mom, don’t even say it,” Starr said sternly.

After a minute, Dorian piped up.  “Well, something borrowed is from your mother and I.”  She handed her niece a delicate handkerchief.  “It was our father’s.  I always remember him folding it into his breast pocket when he went into the office.  It’s one of the few things of his that I’ve held onto for all these years.”

Blair held it in her hand and thought she would start crying.  She had never had a male figure in her life and the thought of her grandfather’s handkerchief was a connection to that.  She walked over to Dorian and Addie and gathered both in her arms.  

After they broke the embrace, Sarah called out, “Oh we need to get moving.  Don’t want Uncle Todd to get nervous about being left at the altar.”  She saw Dorian’s expression and couldn’t help but smirk.

With that, the gathered Cramer and Lord women put the finishing touches on the bride.


*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Your comments are 'payment' for the work of the authors. Our writers like to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment when you read.