Diplomacy

“Next thing you’re going to tell me Lucy made it, too, and then Santa Claus came down the chimney.”
    Lucas went silent. “You know she wouldn’t come.”
    “Would you want her to?” Jack asked, pulling Lucas closer.
    Lucas pursed his lips and shook his head. “Sometimes I think AnnElise would like to meet her.”
    “She probably will some day, but they both need to be ready for that. No use trying to force it. Now let’s go in there before our guests wonder what we’re up to. Besides, it’s not fair to AnnElise to let her look after all those people alone.”
    Lucas snorted. “As though she isn’t doing a better job than either of us.”

    “CAN I please have everyone’s attention?” AnnElise stood on a chair between her two fathers. She looked over at Liz, who gave her an encouraging nod.
    She started hesitantly, clearly a little intimidated by the crowd, even though she knew most of them quite well. “Dad and Jack know I’m going to say a few words, but they don’t know exactly what I’m going to say, so please listen.”
    Lucas heard Jack nervously clear his throat and admitted to himself that there was probably good reason to be nervous. Their full-of-surprises daughter was not to be trusted.
    “First, some of you may already know this, but for those who don’t: Jack handed in his PhD thesis a little while ago, and he was told last week that pretty soon we will have to call him Dr. Christensen. I told him
    ‘fat chance’.” A few people in the crowd laughed out loud, and she continued. “Please make him blush by clapping your hands for him.” Lucas saw Liz passing around the glasses of champagne as their guests applauded and cheered Jack loudly, making him smile uncomfortably.
    “Secondly, Jack was asked by the President to become an ambassador again.”

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    This too was met by cheering and Jack had to raise his hand to give AnnElise a chance to continue.
    “After some heated discussions around the dinner table…” she looked at both her fathers, placing her hands on their shoulders. Both men were laughing nervously and looking at each other, “he decided to decline, saying they should ask him again when I was in college, which was really nice, because I really like my school here.” Aawws and ooohs sounded all around the room, but their friends still smiled.
    AnnElise cleared her throat and Jack realized this was one of his nervous ticks she’d inherited. “Then lastly… and I may be sent to bed without dinner for this…”
    AnnElise looked over at Liz who winked at her.
    “Before I was born, Jack asked Dad to marry him and Dad said yes, only they couldn’t then because Jack was still married.” She rolled her eyes and Maria smiled at her in acknowledgement. “Then again when I was six, at Stacey’s wedding - for those of you who don’t know her, Stacey is the tall, beautiful lady with the red lips and the long dark hair, who looks like she’s going to have her baby any minute now. Well, at her wedding, Dad asked Jack to marry him and Jack said yes, but not until they could do it in their own country. So now, finally, in the State of New York, two men can get married.”
    She turned to her two dads. “Could you two please get your act together already?”
    Loud cheers rose from the group of people in the living room.
    They heard “Hear, hear!!” and “It’s about time”.
    Jack blushed as he looked at Lucas and threw him a ‘how about it’
    look.
    Lucas bit his lower lip and nodded. “I guess there’s nothing stopping us now,” he whispered and leaned forward to kiss Jack. Their friends rose and as they looked around they could see raised glasses and happy faces everywhere, not one disapproving frown in the bunch. Even Maria was beaming, although she was no doubt explaining a few things to the handsome man, who had his arm around her shoulder.
    Mark had a wicked grin on his face. “You’re both going to need best men, guys!”

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    Which made Liz answer from across the room, “Who says the men should have all the fun here?”
    “Well, you better go pick out your tux then, Liz,” Lucas teased his best friend.
    Jack and Lucas hugged with AnnElise between them. “Happy now?” they asked the young lady.
    AnnElise ruffled both men’s hair. “Yes!” she shouted. “I’ll no longer be a child from a broken home! Now can we go check on dinner?
    I’m starving!”

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