An Occasion

The morning of the wedding dawned bright and clear. The family had breakfast together with Jasmine joining their number. The adults laughed with the children as they pulled out all the stops to be especially goofy this morning. Mia had a calm morning with no morning sickness. After breakfast they all dispersed to get ready for the day.

Mia had her and Tim's formal wear hanging in bags to change at Aide Castle later. Mia was working today but Tim, Caleb, and Jasmine were going to stay with her while she checked that the event today went off without a hitch. She could have done it on her own, but Tim wouldn't hear of it.

The wedding would take place outside this evening followed by a reception inside Aide Castle's main banquet hall. The event was the talk of Norde City. Everyone that was anyone would be there. Mia and Jasmine had gone shopping the day before for the event. While not everyone would be in attendance for the wedding ceremony the banquet hall would barely fit the number that would be attending the reception.

Mia wanted everything to be perfect for this event because it was the largest and most prestigious that Aide Castle had ever hosted. It was the first event since the collaboration with Barrett Group and the event was a union of Barrett and Nolan. Her name was tied to it in every way, and she wanted the day to be talked about for years to come as an example of what a high society wedding should be. This event could ensure that Aide Castle stayed the number one site to host for years to come.

Mia dressed in a midnight blue off the shoulder dress with an A-line skirt that flared from her waist and stopped at her calves. The dress was a soft material that ruffled loosely when she walked. A small color matched belt sat around her waist. Mia added a pair of dark gray pearl earrings and pulled her hair back loosely at the nape of her neck with a barrette.

Timothy wore dark gray slacks and a white button-down with a matching jacket over the shirt but unbuttoned. Mia grabbed her small clutch that would match her evening gown as well and Tim grabbed the bags containing their evening clothes. They walked out to the living room to see that Caleb and Jasmine were ready as well.

Jasmine wore a navy-blue sleeveless dress with a high neckline. The dress was fitted and ended about four inches above her knees. She had paired in with diamond studs and a diamond tennis bracelet. Caleb's suit was a light tan, and he was wearing a white dress shirt. He was carrying garment bags as well. Mia had a personal room at Aide Castle where they would all be able to get ready with ease.

Mia and Tim said goodbye to the children and told them to be good for Angela and Peyton who was doing preparations for the release of the Heir Apparent Documents tomorrow morning. Mia felt the timing was perfect because if something went wrong tonight at the wedding it would be overshadowed by the documents. While no one would forget a great party she hoped that the documents might help people forget a bad one.

Timothy looked at Mia thinking she looked beautiful in her new dress. He knew she had wanted to wear something else but had said her stomach was slightly too noticeable to pull off her original choice. He had told her that whatever she wore she would be radiant and here Mia was proving him right. The four of them left the hotel and got into Tim's Rolls Royce for the drive to Aide Castle.

When they arrived at Aide Castle, Mia led her party straight to her personal quarters. They hung up their garments and decided on their plan for the day. Timothy would check on the wedding part since he was to walk Shelly down the aisle. He would need to dress before the wedding ceremony. Caleb and Jasmine would accompany Mia while she saw to the arrangements in the banquet hall and on the grounds.

Mia gave Timothy directions to the wedding suites, and he gave her a quick kiss before heading off to find his family members. Mia and her two escorts headed down to the banquet hall. There Mia found Mr. Lapont, her new general manager, and he began walking her through the preparations for the event. Mia walked through the banquet hall seeing the dozens of tables that each sat a dozen people.

The tables were elegantly decorated with large flowing centerpieces. Mia quickly spotted a problem with the centerpieces. There was a particular flower in most of them that was starting to wilt. Mia told her manager to have each of the flowers replaced with something else and run the air conditioning in the room on full until an hour before the reception. At that point he was to bring the temperature back to a comfortable level for the guests.

The dance floor was large, but Mia noticed several large scuffs in its shine. Mia told Lapont to have staff re-polish the dance floor. Mia had noticed name tags next to each plate at the table. Nearing the front of the reception Mia found herself seated with the rest of the Lanes. They were at a long table that seated eighteen people. They were also seated with the Mayor, Jasmine, Caleb, and Luna. Nicholas Merches and Bethany Neece were seated with them as well. Mia found Timothy's name at the head table with the wedding party. Mia and Caleb shared a look, he wasn't going to be happy about this.

In a side room off the banquet hall a group of artists were assembling a massive wedding cake. The topper on the cake was a full replica of Aide Castle and its grounds with the bride and groom in front of it. It was an impressive work of artistry, and the sugar flowers were beautiful as well. On their way out to the grounds Mia checked with both open bar sites to make sure they had enough alcohol for the duration.

Mia stopped by the kitchen to check progress but stayed out of the way because the Chef was deeply in his element putting together an elaborate meal and cocktail hour. Mia had the Kitchen Manager call all the servers and bartenders and she did a quick inspection of their uniforms and the tidiness of their appearance. She asked all of them to make her proud tonight before giving the kitchen manager a nod of approval.

Mia, Caleb, Jasmine, and Mr. Lapont headed outside to the ceremony area. Mia checked on the decorations, the audio system, the officiant, and that the staff knew their jobs. Then Mia checked that the photographers were prepared. Caleb and Jasmine's heads were together talking hurriedly.

"What is the matter?" Mia asked with concern.

Caleb sighed. "I've checked every seat. None have your name, Mia." Mia chuckled with humor.

"They are seriously pushing their luck, Mia. First, they seat you apart from Timothy at the reception and now there is no seat for you here. Do they think Tim was joking about the consequences of being disrespectful." Caleb said angrily.

Mia was still chuckling. "I am not surprised at all. I knew it would be something like this." Content with the preparations, Mia told them they could not tell Tim about this. She wanted the evening not to dissolve into needless fighting. Neither Aide Castle nor Barrett Group wanted that to be the first impression of their collaboration. They argued with her, but they eventually agreed not wanting to upset Mia too much. Doing one more quick walk-through of the banquet hall, Mia retired to her personal quarters. She didn't want to deal with guest arrivals.

Mia was seated at her desk watching people arrive through the security cameras when Tim, Caleb, and Jasmine came in forty minutes later. Caleb looked at her imploringly, but she shook her head when Tim looked away. Tim got dressed but had to head out first to go over the schedule. Mia told him she would be along shortly as she had a couple last minute details to see to.

Caleb and Jasmine left a short while later after telling Mia emphatically that Tim was going to be irate when he figured out that this was happening. Mia just smiled serenely secretly glad she didn't have to go but still irritated that the Barrett women would try this after their dinner talk.

Mia changed into her evening gown. It was a dark silver glittering dress. It had a halter top that crisscrossed in the back. The dress showed more of her back than she would normally show but she felt good in it. The skirt fell in an A-line from her hips to the floor with a slit in the side that rose to just above her knee. Mia pinned her hair up loosely letting strands hang down. She traded her pearl earrings for a pair of drop diamond earrings and applied lip gloss calling herself ready.

Timothy arrived at the ceremony venue and sought out Shelly. He would have much rather walked down with Mia, but he could understand in this instance why they would arrive separately since he had other duties to see to anyway. Ten minutes later he walked Shelly down the aisle and handed her off to Chuck Nolan. His mother pulled him into a seat next to her and the ceremony started. He looked around and every seat was filled but Mia wasn't in any of them. What was going on here?

The ceremony wasn't terribly long and ended twenty minutes later. Everyone cheered as the bride and groom walked down the aisle. Timothy couldn't find his wife. He saw Caleb and Jasmine head back to the banquet hall and tried to catch up but lost them in the crowd. Tim started back to the hall continuing to look for his wife.

Mia stood near the entrance to the hall watching as people arrived dressed in their finest. Mia saw many people she recognized and greeted each one if they stopped by her. The Merches car pulled up and Nicholas stepped out then helped a woman from the car. She had light brown hair and a sweet smile. Nicholas was walking into the venue when he spotted Mia. He paused for just a moment before walking over to her.

"Mia, how are you?" Nicholas greeted. "This is my friend..."

"Bethany Neece. I know, we are sharing a table." Mia chuckled. "Near the front. I'll see you later."

Nicholas nodded rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Yeah."

Shortly after Nicholas left Mia headed in herself. She found Jasmine and Caleb and the three of them went to the table they had been assigned.