My father came home quietly from work around eight PM that night. Molly and I did get a small snack earlier that afternoon, though from some of the meat we had bought for the trip... so we couldn't eat too much. As we then moved into evening, Molly and I stepped in to help my mother put dinner for that night. We were just finishing when my father returned home.
"Have you been cooking all day today, dear?" Jacob Wayne asked as he came in, noticing two large water glasses that Molly and I had been drinking from.
"Yes, dear," Polly Wayne answered, "seeing as how tomorrow will be full of wedding activity, I doubt George and Molly have the time to set things up to take back to Columbia Falls fully prepared. So, Mr. Rhoer and I provided them with help."
"You can open a few windows, dear," Jacob Wayne gave a chuckle, "the oven's heated up everything in here."
He then turned and pushed a window open near the kitchen sink. Polly nodded and opened another window near what was her chair in the dinning room. Opening the windows let a cool breeze in, which felt good against my fur. Although winter had long left Peoria by this time, it wasn't quite hot enough for anyone to have air conditioning on yet, and the constant use of the oven left the kitchen and dinning room area very warm. For Molly and I with our fur, the added heat was not a comfortable thing to add.
"How was your day, dad?" I asked as my father moved to set a few things down.
"Fairly good," Jacob Wayne sighed, "I had to shuffle some paperwork things around for tomorrow, but that's mostly setting up shifts and so fort."
"So you will be coming to the wedding, dear?" Polly Wayne asked.
"Most of the officers here that normally do the day shift will be there," Jacob Wayne nodded, "some of them are to be the groomsmen... or probably bride's men now."
"Jacki and Leon stopped by the station?" Molly asked.
"To let me know how it all went, yes," Jacob Wayne nodded, "Never thought I'd see the day when I'd see someone I knew as a male would become female..."
"They've had basic sex change operations for a while now, dad," I reminded him.
"None that are as complete and total as what Jacki went through, though," Jacob Wayne nodded, "Leon's research is fairly confident that it could be physically possible for Jacki to become pregnant... although that's the capability. I think they might be too old to start a family in this specific case. Most other sex change operations are nowhere near as complete."
"They didn't do it to be deviant, though," Molly pointed out.
"I know and I understand," Jacob Wayne patted Molly's shoulder, "they have a good relationship going... to be honest, if Polly and I were in the same position... I'd probably make the same decision Jacki has. Those of us that will be attending the wedding will be there to support Leon and Jacki."
"What about the guy from the party..."
"I didn't give him time off," Jacob Wayne answered, "given how he reacted when Jacki... then Jackson... announced her plan, the last thing I want is some agitated political speech interrupting a wedding. To be honest, the politicians on both sides have me flustered and I'd prefer to avoid it at all costs."
Molly and I nodded. The wedding was to give a friend of ours a happy beginning to a new life with one who was now his mate.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next day, the day of the wedding began with some hustle and bustle. Molly and I both got up early, but Molly was the only one who had to go out early. This was mostly so she could get ready for her role in the actual ceremony. My folks were asleep at the time and we prepared our own breakfast. Doing this woke up my mother, who seemed to react instinctively to the use of "her" kitchen. And my father ended up coming out with her.
It caused no real problem however, and Molly left with a wave and a smile with the dress she had been given to wear for the wedding in a plastic protector under her arm. As "bridesmaid's dresses" went, it wasn't too bad, and my mother promised Molly she'd get a picture of her in the dress.
Frank Rhoer was the next to wake up, and he was dressed in fairly good clothing.
"Are you seeking to join us, Mr. Rhoer?" Polly Wayne asked, as she worked on the next order for breakfast.
"It wouldn't be a problem, would it?" Frank Rhoer wondered, "I've already handled all of the errands I had on this trip other then transporting my niece and her husband."
"I don't think it'll be a problem," I commented, "it's common that one can bring a guest along to these things, and since Molly is part of the wedding itself, you can be my "guest". I don't think anyone will complain too much."
"Thank you," Frank Rhoer nodded, "I don't want to intrude, really. I've been away from Peoria for long enough that your Officer Jackson... Jacki is a stranger to me... and when Ms. Leona was in Columbia Falls, Mr. Beauregard had relations between myself and my niece strained, so I never got the chance to meet her..."
"You won't be intruding," Jacob Wayne spoke from where he was eating and looking at the front page of the paper, "from what Jackson told me about the wedding before becoming Jacki, yesterday, it should be small. More organized then Molly and George's but still small. Even if you were a stranger off the street, so long as you behave yourself and don't cause a riot, I don't think anyone will really complain."
"You hear that," Polly Wayne added, "there'll be plenty of room in the church."
"Thank you," Frank Rhoer added.
With that settled, the rest of us then went about getting ready. I dressed in the best clothes that I had packed on the journey. It was all semi-formal in many ways, but that was to be expected. The top was a button down silk shirt with short sleeves. The bottom was a pair of silk shorts that had been made with a fly and a button. Both articles of clothing were black, and while they didn't entirely look formal or even semi-formal by comparison to what a lot of human fashions looked like, it was the only style that really fit me well. I was also sure that Leon would be wearing something similar.
My father actually wore his formal uniform, which he didn't have to wear to work, as he was the chief of Peoria's Police, but at an event like a wedding... it probably was expected. It also reinforced what my dad had said about many of his officers coming to the wedding to support Jacki.
Once we were ready, we headed out in two groups to the Methodist church where the rehearsal had been the previous day. My parents went in their car, and Frank Rhoer and I went in my truck. Carpooling probably would have been more economical, but Frank Rhoer would not have been able to sit in the back seat of my parents car if I was laying across it. So, we took two vehicles.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
We arrived at the church and quietly made our way in. There were a few people in the main entry room outside the sanctuary, and most of them were talking with Leon over things. Mostly asking curious questions about what it felt like to actually change genders or if the second transformation for him helped him deal with the male instincts he had had from day one. I decided not to pay attention as it wasn't my business. We all made our way toward the sanctuary where Leon's sister handed us programs for the wedding.
"The other Peoria officers are sitting at the front on the left side, sir," she said to my father.
"Thank you," Jacob Wayne replied and lead our group into the sanctuary.
We walked quietly in and sat down in the same pew that the other Peoria officers were seated at. All of them were in their best uniforms for the occasional, while most of the rest of the guests were in more informal attire then that... in accordance with the original invitations. Frank Rhoer and I sat on the end, with him to my right and my mother to my left. We then sat quietly listening to the organ music being played in the background while we waited for the ceremony to start.
After a few minutes the minister entered the sanctuary and walked quietly up to a small platform from where he would normally deliver the Sunday sermon. After a few moments he cleared his throat and the official part of the wedding began.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," the minister spoke politely, "guests and friends of the couple to be married here today. As I am sure you are aware, your invitations listed this as the wedding of Jackson Kearns and Leona Washburn... I feel that I must announce first that since those invitations were made, the couple has since changed greatly. The people are still the same where it matters most, but their external forms are now different. The present wedding is between Leon Washburn and Jacki Kearns."
There was little vocal response, even that I could hear. And as the minister finished the announcement of the changes in gender that Leon and Jacki had undergone, and for Jacki a change in species as well, Leon slowly made his way into the sanctuary with his groom's maids following behind him. As I had suspected, he was dressed similar to the way I was, though he had apparently paid the additional money to have them make silk pants that would fit him. Molly gave me and her uncle a small smile as she walked past and took her position in line below the alter with the rest of the groom's maids.
The minister then quietly moved over to a position where he would be standing between Leon and Jacki in terms of left to right and would be a step above them in order to perform the ceremony. As he did so, the organist began to play the typical wedding "march" that kids always sang "here comes the bride" to. This resulted in everyone turning back to see Jacki moving up the isle. She wore a white silk dress, and seemed to be doing her best not to fuss at it, like it was something she wasn't fully used to. It would be the truth, as she had only just become female, but fussing with it would not be entirely proper at a wedding.
Once they were in position, the minister began to go through what was the standard part of the ceremony.
"We are gathered here today to join this lion and this lioness in holy matrimony," the minister spoke, "marriage is a great step to be taken between those who love one another and with God's blessing, Leon and Jacki may join all others who have undergone this journey before them."
I glanced to Molly. She smiled at me and glanced down to a small ring that hung from a chain around her neck. It wasn't an actual wedding ring, as I never had the money to buy her one, and Molly had owned it for a while. I had given it to her, but it was no where near as good as a proper wedding ring. It was, however, all Molly and I could afford... to let a cheap ring double as a wedding ring.
At the same time, the minister took Leon and Jacki through the process of exchanging rings as well. As with Molly's, the rings they had were suspended from chains with a large enough circumference for them to be worn around their necks. Even with Leon's mane.
And much of the wedding went smoothly and well. There was singing, with the words printed on the pamphlets we'd all been handed when we entered. They did a symbolic gesture of what marriage was by mixing different colored grains of sand together.
"And now Leon, repeat after me..." the minister began the formal vows, "I, Leon Washburn, take thee, Jacki Kearns, to be my lawfully wedded wife."
Leon repeated the statement.
"And will you love and cherish her, in all things? To have and to hold, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" the minister asked.
"I do," Leon rumbled.
"And you, Jacki, repeat after me," the minister turned to Jacki, "I, Jacki Kearns, take thee, Leon Washburn, to be my lawfully wedded husband."
Jacki repeated it, though she sounded a little weak on the gender related terms at the end of the sentence. But that was likely the fact that she would probably be adjusting to being female for awhile. In time, it would probably become second nature to her.
"And will you love and cherish him, in all things? To have and to hold, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" the minister asked.
"I do," Jacki answered.
"Then by the powers invested in me by Almighty God and the State of Illinois," the minister spoke, "I now pronounce you man... lion and wife. You may "kiss" your bride. And let no one tear asunder what God has brought together."
Leon gave a smile and hugged Jacki to him. The two then nuzzled their muzzles together, the closest thing they could do to actually kissing.
"May I now introduce to the world, Leon and Jacki Washburn!" the minister finished as the organist began to play the wedding recessional music.
And with that, Leon and Jacki made their way out of the sanctuary.