Given Joanne Mabel's considerable wealth and her prominence in the fashion industry, many people expected a big spectacle of a double wedding for her and her daughter. However, there were a few understandable reasons why the wedding ceremony itself was kept small and private. For one thing, Nicole had asked her mother not to make the wedding a flashy public affair. But a more prominent reason was that while people have grown used to the odd pairings that the Animalian virus's double-dosing made possible, there may still be some that might object to who was marrying who here. For while young Master Philip Sanford was marrying the widowed Joanne, Nicole was marrying his father, Lars.
But while the wedding ceremony had been private, the wedding reception was anything but. The couples had delayed the wedding date until they could be married during Animalia's birthday celebration. Many Animalians joined the party, particularly to have some of the enormous wedding cake. There were many festive songs played at the reception, including the inevitable 'I'm My Own Grandpa'. Of course, the fennecs didn't really mind it. In fact, Nicole had gotten a henna rinse so she could fit the lines of the song better.
"Do you think my hair looks good red?" asked Nicole, looking into a hand mirror. She didn't dye it bright red as some other people, but she was definitely at least auburn.
"Honestly, you might be able to pull off anything," said Lars.
"Wait until we get to our honeymoon suite," said Nicole teasingly.
"So, no regrets about marrying an old codger like me?" asked Lars.
"Honestly, I kinda expected this as a potential outcome when I first sought you out," said Nicole, "It had originally been an attempt to make my mom jealous or hook her up with someone closer to her actual age. But I don't really regret claiming you for myself. You complete me a lot more than Philip would have."
"Even if we have kids?" asked Lars.
Nicole paused and said, "It's not that I wouldn't want to have kids someday, but I can't really keep working at the Meat Market if I'm a mother. I'll need to set a better example for them."
"I don't think those are mutually exclusive," said Lars, "But we'll have plenty of time to plan it out first."
"Say, when we have our own kids and Nicole and Philip have their own kids, how will those two sets of kids be related to each other?" asked Nicole.
"Don't even ask me that," said Lars flatly, "I get a headache just trying to contemplate that."
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While Joanne agreed to having a small wedding ceremony, she was glad to have a big wedding reception. She really wanted to show off her wedding dress. It was quite a classic white gown, at least from the waist down. From the waist up, it was design to hug the contours of her torso very closely. She didn't need any straps, she pretty much just needed to peel the lace off her bosom. Perhaps it was a bit daring, but that came with being an Animalian.
"So, where's the big honeymoon going to be?" asked one of the wedding guests.
"New Zerzura," said Joanne promptly.
"Egypt? In the middle of the summer?" asked the guest incredulously.
"We're fennec foxes," said Philip, pointing at his large ears, "We're literally built for the heat."
"The only real concern is whether the coronavirus is still a major problem there," said Joanne, "I know it's settling down for most of the world, but some places don't have enough medical coverage."
"It is settling down in Egypt," said Philip, "I checked."
"What can you even do in Egypt?" asked the wedding guest.
"Oh, quite a bit," said Joanne, "Tour the ancient ruins, sail along the Nile, see the museums."
"And me and Dad can enter the Set Lookalike contest in New Zerzura," said Philip, "I hear that's quite a hit." Due to the infamous unidentifiable nature of the animal that is associated with Set, New Zerzura had contests to see which Animalian could best represent the dreadful Egyptian god of deserts and storms.
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The only one who wasn't fully enjoying herself at the reception was Morgan. Her punishments were officially over and she didn't have to anything worse during the ceremony than be one of the bridesmaids. Still, it left a bitter taste of what she had thrown away. It didn't help that some of the predator Animalians have been startling her with 'pouncing' so that they could get some funny photos out of it. At least the brides and grooms admonished them when it was becoming too much. Morgan had paid her dues and she didn't deserve that much harassment.
While Morgan was unlikely to say it, she hoped her ex-husband and son would be happy with their new marriages, unconventional pairing asides. It made her hope that she may have luck getting a new mate, er, husband. She had been hoping to run into those rabbit rangers during the reception, though she hadn't seen them yet. Still, they were bound to cross paths at some point.