Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Clouds in My Coffee ❯ No cream, add sugar ( Chapter 3 )

 

Downtown Alba City was pretty thick on a Friday and usually pretty hot for May, but the Weather Center had decided on a thorough shower earlier that morning, so at 3:30 it was only mildly warm. Jet and Faye walked through the crowds of people toward the justice of the peace at the courthouse, and Faye planned on stopping somewhere to buy a dress. She looked pretty funny walking beside him in jeans, flip flops, and a tank top whilst he donned a crisp black suit, hat, and tie. “The store's just on the next block,” she said excitedly, like a kid on the way to the fair. “It's a vintage thrift store so the stuff's pretty cheap…I'll probably need shoes too…” She was counting off the things she'd need with her fingers and then realized she hadn't any make up on. “You don't need it.” He smiled reassuringly at her and she arched her eyebrow as if she couldn't possibly believe that, but smiled back. “I guess I'll just go over to the drugstore across the street and pick up some mascara and lip color. I've needed some more anyways…”

 

They were at the thrift store and Jet still had a few more streets till the courthouse, so he told Faye to meet him there when she was done. “You need any money?” he asked, pulling out his money card and handing it to her. “Oh, no, I think I've got it covered…you still have to pay for the licenses.” She gave him his money card back and began walking away before turning around and giving him a grin and a sharp salute. “See ya in a few!” she yelled, and sprinted toward the store. Jet, sighing a little and hoping she didn't overspend her budget, set out on his own toward the courthouse. He was pretty sure Mr. Signon still worked as Alba City justice of the peace, so the filing process could be cut down to a minimum if he placed a few phone calls. On his way to the phone booth at the corner, Jet heard the lively music of a marching band coming down the street. The music was loud, but fun and easy to dance to, from what he could tell. He couldn't quite see the band yet, but he had a feeling that they'd work their way down Doolane Avenue and over to Main Street before shutting it down for a while. That would at least give him two hours, considering how big the city was and how slow the band was moving, and since he knew that Faye had wanted to watch the May Day parade, he decided they could watch from Vic's ice cream parlor a few blocks down from the library…

Why in the world am I thinking about stuff like that at a time like this?

Jet realized he didn't really want to think about the possibility that Faye may not actually meet him at the courthouse. “What if?” kept running around in his head, followed by the thought that maybe, just maybe, if Faye actually went through with this, she may be only doing it because she felt sorry for him. Or maybe, somewhere down the line, she'd tell him that it was all a joke and would want an annulment. She might just up and leave one day without word of where she was or why'd she'd left…just like Alisa had done. True, Faye was nothing like Alisa, but she did have a tendency of leaving when things got too tough or intense for her to handle. And she'd probably leave him if she actually got around to marrying him. There you go being negative again… He really tried pushing those thoughts out his head, but they hovered around somewhere in the back of his mind like a dark cloud hovering over him. Personally, Jet had never met a groom-to-be who was quite as depressed as he was starting to get; he'd heard of cold feet, but this was ridiculous…and suddenly he was at the phone booth, calling the courthouse, learning that Mr. Signon was still working there and that the paper work could be speeded up, so he had a brief respite from his dark little drops of doubt.

But then it was off to the courthouse after a stop at John-John's Jeweler to get Faye a decent ring, and the nasty little boogers came back again. It was like someone was whispering in his head, trying to get him to turn around and forget the whole thing altogether. Besides, they whispered, it's not like she's really marrying you anyways… It was that thought that put the biggest dint in his previously happy mood; maybe he hadn't been thinking it then, but he'd thought of it before. She doesn't really see me. It's Spike she's seeing, all Spike. Cause that's who she wants, right? As ridiculous as it sounded, he was becoming intensely jealous of his late best friend. He didn't like the idea of holding a grudge for a dead guy, but the cynical, pessimistic part of him really couldn't help it. There was an overwhelming feeling that maybe Faye hadn't let go of Spike just yet; true, he didn't want to forget the guy or anything, but it would be nice if they could move on, if they let go…let go!

 

At the courthouse, a pretty, twenty-something woman sat at the front desk simultaneously typing and talking on the phone. She looked up, and Jet noticed that her name was Amy, when she smiled and whispered, covering the phone, “You must be Mr. Black. Mr. Signon is waiting for you in his office. It's the last one down the hall on the right.” “Thanks,” Jet murmured. Then, she went back to her conversation and Jet walked down said hall to the offices of Alba City's justice of the peace: Mr. Vance M. Signon. Jet had known Mr. Signon since his earliest days at ISSP, when Signon had been the D.A. on Ganymede. A few years after the young Jet joined the force, Signon retired at the ripe age of forty two, settling down in Alba City, Mars with his wife, Carrie, and taking up the job as justice of the peace. That had been seventeen years ago. As Jet took off his hat and entered the open door of Signon's office he glanced around at the tastefully decorated office and smiled. Mrs. Signon was an amateur interior decorator; she must have put all the nice paintings and furniture in the office. Jet figured Mr. Signon could've cared less.

The man sitting at the desk in the center of the room was a bit more aged since the last time Jet had seen him, but still looked pretty young for fifty nine or sixty. He was tan, like he'd spent most of his life out-of-doors, and still had a head full of hair; though it had some grays in the soft brown. He raised his head, and smiled then, his azure eyes twinkling like they always had; his grin somewhat mischievous and a bit cunning, but good natured like when he was on Ganymede. “Jet Black!” he exclaimed, standing up and surprising Jet with how tall he still was. “Nice to see ya, boy,” he said, and walked around the table. Jet extended his hand but Signon pulled him into a friendly hug and gave him a hearty slap on the back. “How ya been?” Jet smiled. Still the same old Signon… “I've been okay, I guess.” Signon laughed then and put his arm around Jet. “Well, I guess so, you're getting married! Who's the lucky girl? I hope it ain't that Alisa dame.” “Naw, her name's Faye,” Jet said shaking his head. Definitely not Alisa… “Alisa…left me a few years back.” “Well, good riddance. I didn't take to the chick anyways.” All Jet could do was laugh at that. Signon went back to his desk then and handed Jet a thick set of papers and chuckled at the chagrined expression on the younger man's face. “Don't worry, Jet-boy. I filled out most of that stuff. You just gotta do the personal stuff and your intended-whatcha say her name was?” “Faye.” “Faye…nice name, nice name. You and Faye can fill out your birthdays, Social Security Cards, Driver's License Numbers, etc. etc. and then we'll get you two kids hitched.” Jet sat down at the desk and looked over the papers carefully; Mr. Signon had indeed got the dirty work done, and fast, too. He'd only been over at John-John's for about an hour or so. Amazing. “Alrighty, then,” the older man said and grabbing the phone on his desk, dialed a number. “Hey babe? You won't believe it. I got Jet…yeah, that Jet…yeah... he's here in my office, and look babe-he's getting married!”

Thirty minutes later, Jet's part of the forms had been filled out, his hat sat on Signon's desk by the telephone, and Mrs. Carrie Signon was sitting beside him in her husband's office, chatting gaily about her new grandbaby and her youngest daughter's upcoming marriage. She'd greeted Jet with a big hug and a smooch on the cheek; Carrie was always the affectionate type. “So four year old Miranda walks up to me and says, `Maw maw! The new baby spit up on me!' The poor child was livid, I tell you!” and she burst out into a fresh round of laughter. Her husband merely shook his head, an amused smile on his face, and Jet chuckled along, but he really wasn't feeling the tale. It had been almost two hours since he'd last seen Faye, and she still had yet to show up. The negativity was beginning to set in again, even with sweet Mrs. Carrie talking and Signon's hearty laughter. The doubts he'd had earlier were resurfacing with full force; his stomach was literally doing somersaults and his heart felt ill. She's not going to show up. She's not coming. She left; she backed out, she- she's coming, man! Get a hold of your self! A silent battle raged on in his head while the Signons' talked, and an agitated Jet stood up to stare out of the window. Where are you, Faye? Are you serious about this? He hoped with everything and then some that she hadn't backed out on him. He stood, silent, staring out the window so intensely that if he had the ability, he could've made her appear just by thinking of her. Faye… “Worried son?” Signon asked quietly. Jet turned around and smiled weakly. “She said she'd meet me here. I was just wondering where she was…” Mrs. Carrie smiled reassuringly at Jet and smoothed her hair back. “Don't worry honey. You did say she had to get a dress and everything, right?” Jet nodded. “Well then, it's just going to take a little while, that's all. Woman can't just go out and get her wedding dress in a few minutes.” “She's right,” Signon added. “Dame's probably trying to figure out which shoes she wants.” Jet chuckled, feeling a bit better as Mrs. Carrie laughed. “Oh Vance, you silly goose!” and then, as if to make everything better, Amy's voice filtered down the hall. “Right this way, miss. I think you're fiancée's been waiting for you.” Jet glanced at Signon, who glanced at Carrie, who looked down right thrilled to be meeting Jet's “pretty little intended” for the first time. The footsteps got closer to the office with every tick of the clock and with every passing second, Jet found himself getting even more anxious and more nervous and more…

“Sorry I'm late!” the violet haired woman said breathlessly, holding the train of her gorgeous vintage wedding gown in one hand and a bouquet of white lilies in the other. Mrs. Carrie's eyes popped open and she squealed delightedly. “Oh, you must be Faye!” and she tottered over to her to deliver a light kiss on the cheek. “She's ravishing, Jet, simply ravishing!” Faye blushed a little, but smiled politely and took Carrie's hand as she walked toward Jet. Signon nodded toward her and smiled warmly. “Nice to meet you, Faye. I'm Vance Signon, my wife Carrie”-and he motioned toward his wife-“and you've met my receptionist Amy”-who smiled and waved to Faye-“now all there's left is…Jet? Jet-boy, you haven't said a thing yet!” Thing was, Jet couldn't say anything. Faye had him mesmerized. Her dress was amazing, ivory with beading and lace and pearl strands for straps; it was fitted throughout the bodice and hips, and flared out at the bottom leaving a long lacey train. She wore a beaded headband in her hair, behind her bangs, and a veil that hung to her elbows. She had gone on his suggestion that she really didn't need make up, because she only wore a smidge of mascara and light pink lip color. He would've told her she was stunning, but he couldn't seem to get the words out. All he could do was stare.

Mrs. Carrie's giggle jolted him out his stupor and planted him back into the present. “Poor boy. He's dumbfounded.” Jet blushed slightly and smiled at Faye. “I'm sorry…it's just…well…you look…magnificent.” Faye's smile turned into a full on grin and she bit her bottom lip, looking very much like an innocent schoolgirl. “Thank you,” she said quietly and lowered her lashes to stare at her shoes (which perfectly matched the dress) for a few long moments. For a bit, there was an uncomfortable silence, until Signon cleared his throat and said loudly “Well, kids, let's get this show on the road, shall we?” Faye stood at Jet's right in front of Signon, who stood in front of his desk holding a book, and Amy and Mrs. Carrie stood on either side of the couple, serving as witnesses. “Ready?” Signon asked. Faye looked at Jet and Jet at Faye and for moment, neither said a word. Then, they nodded in unison and she took his hand, and Signon started the ceremony. “Dearly beloved, we're gathered here today…”

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000

 

“Did it just get hotter out here?” Faye asked, fanning herself as she walked arm and arm with Jet down the busy Alba City Main Street. Jet sighed a little and nodded in agreement. “I think it has. I guess the shower this morning really didn't do much, huh? Hungry?” Faye shook her head and pushed her veil out of her face with her free hand, which was also carrying her bouquet, and thanked her self for choosing the ballet flats instead of the heels. “Oh, no. The chicken spaghetti we had for lunch still hasn't digested yet. I could use something cold though.” “Ice cream at Vic's?” he asked, and fanned her with the brim of his hat. “God, yes!” she exclaimed as her eyes bulged out momentarily, and then she got the dreamiest look on her face as she thought about the treat. “Ice cream sounds heavenly right about now…I can only imagine what it's gonna be like in July…and to think I actually thought about buying the poofy dress…” Jet just laughed, imagining Faye in a huge, princess like gown, sweating and swearing as she walked the sweltering streets of Mars. Then again, she was sweating and swearing right now and the dress wasn't even poofy. But she did have a lot of fabric on that thing…and it was embroidered pretty heavily. He glanced at her again and went over in his head for the millionth time just how gorgeous she was. `She's really got good taste in clothes…' he thought absently as they neared Vic's.

Jet was on cloud nine; not only was he escorting probably the most beautiful woman on Mars right now (almost everyone turned their head to look her way), he was married to her. The wedding ceremony was short and simple, just an exchange of the customary vows, a few words from Signon about the “sanctity of marriage”, and then they exchanged the rings that Jet had picked up from John-John's. His was a simple silver band with three small diamonds spaced evenly around it; Jet didn't really want anything elaborate for himself. It was Faye's ring that he was the most proud of (and had paid the most for; those payments were going to stretch for awhile). It was silver like his, but had a one carat diamond centered right dab in the middle, with smaller diamonds placed on the band and vintage detailing around the edges. The moment he saw it he knew he had to have it, even if it did cost more than most of the bounties they had gotten in the past year. It was discounted, though, because John Marley knew Signon, so the jeweler took off a big chunk of what he would've usually wanted for it. But Jet would've paid a billion woolongs for that ring just to see the reaction that came from Faye-and Amy and Mrs. Carrie as well-when he pulled the ring out. For a few moments the poor girl couldn't speak, and when she finally did, all she could do was murmur `oh lord' over and over again. When the time came to kiss the bride, she was still swooning from seeing her wedding ring, and, caught up in the moment, kissed him quickly though passionately…on the lips.

Jet probably would've melted if she had kissed him for any longer. He couldn't hide the blush that settled over his face, but nobody seemed to notice. Signon was announcing `man and wife', Mrs. Carrie was crying (bless her heart), and Amy was gushing over Faye's ring. It actually didn't settle on him that he was now the husband of Mrs. Faye Valentine Black until he picked up the marriage licenses and the certificate-registering to get married only took a few minutes these days-at the front desk and looked at them. Jet and Faye Black. Faye and Jet Black. No matter how he turned it around they now had the same last name. He was legally bound to her, and she to him. Man and wife. Best friends and mates. I'm married…to Faye…Oh. My. God… But he didn't have a minute of elation before the nasty negative side of him started to pipe up. Just because it's your name on the certificate doesn't mean she really wanted to- Oh shut up! Usually, the rational and seldom used optimistic sides of him rarely ever got along, but this time, they seemed to work in unison to shut down the pessimistic side. A few more moments of successful bantering later and the two had managed to keep Jet in a pretty darn good mood. And he didn't care if it rained, hailed, sleeted, snowed, or showered fire and brimstone from the sky: nothing short of Faye taking off would make him unhappy.

They were at Vic's quicker than he realized, and sat in an outside booth facing the street. Faye ordered chocolate chunk with fudge swirls and he got butter pecan. The waitress smiled at the two and complemented Faye on how pretty she was; all Faye could do was smile and giggle. “I'll bring you a tablecloth so you don't mess that pretty dress up, honey,” she said and then left to get their order. Jet shook is head and thumped Faye on the hand. “If I hadn't known any better, I would've thought you weren't used to complements,” he said smiling. She rolled her eyes and propped her other hand on her cheek, the silver wedding band shining brilliantly in the afternoon sun. “Well I am, but it's not everyday that a girl gets to strut around town in her wedding gown with Mr. Jet Black.” He chuckled and wiped his brow with a napkin from the table; she followed suit and glanced out at the crowd of people lining the street. “Hey Jet? What's today?” Jet took his jacket off and rolled up the cuffs of his sleeves. “Friday.” Faye's eyes widened and she gasped. “It's the May Day parade!” she squealed, as the waitress brought their ice cream and a table cloth. “That's right, honey, and you two are in the perfect spot for viewing it.” Faye turned to look at Jet and her face burst into a wide grin. “You knew! That's why you brought me to Vic's; you knew I wanted to see it! Oh, you are soooooo sweeet!” At that, she jumped up and planted a pink smooch on his cheek and, covering herself amply with the tablecloth, dug right into her ice cream with the enthusiasm of a child. “This. Is. So. Good,” she murmured, her mouth full of the cold confection and her face twisted in bliss. “I can't wait to see the band…I wanna go dance. It's the street dance tonight.” Jet nodded and took a bite of his ice cream. “They'll be here in a-wait, there they are.” He couldn't see the band yet, but could hear them coming up the street, and Faye's eyes got big. She grinned and put her almost finished ice cream down, grabbed Jet's hand, and began dragging him out to the street. “What in the world are we going, Faye!?” he yelled over the noise, trying not to bump into the hordes of people in his way. “Dancing!” she yelled back, and he could hear the excitement in her voice. “It's time to boogie!”

Jet had no problems with dancing, just as long as the music was slow and there weren't a lot of people around. This time, it looked like he was a bit out of luck. The music pumping was lively and it seemed like more and more people crowed the street as the seconds passed. By now, Faye had pulled him right in the middle of the street for the street dance. The band was setting up by Snop's Sandwich shop a few stores down from Vic's. A wiry man in blue velvet suit (wasn't he hot?) stood up on the platform and tapped the microphone. “Mic check 1,2,3…we're on? Kay…Alrighty then, Alba City, and welcome to the May Day parade, Mars' third biggest parade, second only to the Halloween parade and the Christmas party!” The crowd, including Faye, screamed like he was a superstar or something, a fact that Jet could only chuckle at. “Who's ready for some jams?!” he screamed, and everyone responded excitedly, “WE ARE!” “Oooookaaaay! Now, for our first number on Main Street, we'll take requests. Anybody got a special song they wanna hear? Anything! Just remember to keep it hoppin'!” Instantly, everyone began yelling at once; Faye bit her lip and pushed a little further into the crowd but couldn't get that much closer. “Ugh! I wanna hear a song!” she yelled over the ruckus, “But I can't get to the conductor!” Faye was getting irritated, pushing some people out of the way and dragging Jet behind her. “Wait a minute, Faye!” he yelled, and when she turned around, he picked her up and set her on his shoulders, pulling satin and lace out of his face. “Oomph! What are you…Oh! You're a genius!” Faye waved her arms impatiently, finally getting the conductors attention. “Hey folks, let's get the pretty lady in the gown's request!” Jet set her back on the ground, and everyone parted so the conductor could make his way toward Faye and Jet. “Whatcha name, babe?” Faye leaned forward to speak in the microphone and reminded Jet a lot of a supermodel doing an interview. “Um, Faye!” “Well, Faye, whatcha doing all dressed up? Looks like you just came from the bridal shop!” Faye giggled into the mic and said in a sing song voice, “I just got married!” as she pointed to Jet. All the people cheered at that, though some of the guys did an inconspicuous `awww'; Jet felt like someone had thrust him into the limelight while he was only in his underwear. He nodded and smiled sheepishly, trying not to look as flustered as he was. “Well, toots, that sure is one lucky man! Now, what did you wanna hear?” Faye looked over at Jet, and for a few seconds, looked like she was somewhere else. “I want to hear `Yo Pumpkinhead'”, she replied, her voice somewhere on the edge of cracking from yelling so much. There was something else there, too, Jet noticed, something kin to…nostalgia. He couldn't remember why, but he had a feeling he knew the song…

Faye turned around after the conductor left and walked back over to Jet, her eyes a little misty and her smile wistful. “Dance with me,” she said and held her hands out to him. He took them, and as the music started, he realized why she had sounded the way she had. The song was the one that Alba City usually played at its Halloween parade, and the last time either of them had been to the Halloween parade was when they were out to get Vincent, and Spike had…Suddenly, he was hit the same wave of reminiscent sadness, and an ache that he knew would never really go away throbbed in his chest. “I remember…” he whispered, and though the crowd and the music were pounding, she could hear him. Faye snuggled in close to him for a few moments, although there were people pressing on all sides, dancing and shouting, and the air was hot and thick. “I miss him, Jet…I miss him now.” He looked down at her to see tears on the brink of falling down her face and cupped her chin in his hand. Don't cry. “Me too…but I don't think he'd want us moping around at a time like this, now do you?” She shook her head, the light returning in her eyes and her smile brightening. “C'mon,” he said, “let's dance.” They began to sway to the bass and the horns and the crowd singing along all out of key, and Jet still missed Spike but felt better because he knew that Spike would've wanted them to dance anyway. Faye seemed to cheer up as she wiggled around and then broke away from his arms and danced all by herself, spinning around and laughing and looking radiant; and all Jet could do was watch in awe as she danced and her veil and her train spun with her. She was the center of his attention then and everyone else disappeared and there was only her, him, the music and the heat of the fading afternoon.