Shanni and Agnes were married at 11am on a Friday, an odd compromise between Adjo and Layla’s work schedules. It wasn’t too difficult to find a venue for that time, at least.

Shanni had always dreamed of her all-eyes-on-you moment, resplendent in a white wedding gown. But now that she was marrying another woman, she had no idea what would be appropriate, and she tried not to care.

When Agnes persuaded her to share her fantasies, she squeezed her hand with a gentle smile. “If a white wedding is what you want, then that’s what you’ll have. But you’re right. It will look silly if we both do the train and veil thing. It’s a bit silly for me to be even pretending to wear white at my second wedding.”

Instead, she wore the formalwear that Shanni had designed for them the day they met.

Shanni was shocked when she saw the wedding invitations.

“Mortimer? We’re inviting Mortimer?”

Agnes laughed. “You didn’t know that Cornelia Goth was my sister?”

Shanni blinked. “Your sister? She was nearly old enough to be your mother!”

Agnes shrugged. “I was a surprise baby. Nobody would have guessed I’d inherit the family money.”

“Then that means….”

“Your ex-boyfriend is about to be your nephew? Yes, indeed.”

What could you say to that?

“You’re stunning,” Adjo told her. “I always knew you’d be a beautiful bride.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Shanni said.

“Nonsense. Maybe I helped you get there a little faster.”

Lancelot at last had a chance to be the father of the bride.

“Are you ready to do this?” he whispered to his youngest daughter, his eyes twinkling. “I can still sneak you out the back.”

Shanni cast a nervous glance at Agnes waiting for her. “No way back now. I better know what I’m doing.”

“Then let’s get this show on the road.” He took her hand and wrapped it around his arm. “Don’t worry if you feel a little woozy. I’ve been there myself. You can lean on me.”

Shanni felt her knees go weak as she took her first step and leaned into Lance’s shoulder. “Thanks, Daddy.”

Agnes and Shanni recited their simple vows.

And just like that, Shanni Sample became Shanni Crumplebottom.

On to the reception!

Much fun was had by all. The Samples were spreading out even more now. Everyone jumped at the chance to connect.

“I can’t tell you how great is to get a babysitter and hang out with adults for a while!” Toya confided in Ada.

“I’m about to be in high school,’ Ada reminded her. “I offer very reasonable babysitting rates.”

Charles, unfortunately, learned that asking Genvieve Goth to dance was a non-starter.

Mortimer caught Shanni alone for a moment to say, “I know I maybe wasn’t the most sensitive guy, but do you think we can put it all behind us?”

Shanni offered him a tight-lipped smile. “Well, we’re going to be seeing a lot more of each other,” she replied. “I think we can let bygones be bygones, nephew.”

That was just never going to get old.

“Let me know if you and Agnes are thinking about kids,” Zahra confided. “I can probably help. I don’t work in Mad Science for nothing.”

Shanni blushed. “We haven’t really talked about it, but… I’ll let you know.”

Only Fabian kept himself to the edges of the celebration.

“You don’t seem to be embracing the joy of the moment,” Layla pointed out as she took a break from dancing.

Fabian signed. “This is Agnes and Shanni’s time,” he said. “Agnes made it clear she never wanted to see me again. I’m only here because Zahra made me come. I don’t want to do anything that would make Agnes unhappy.”

Layla look up at Agnes’ face on the other side of the fountain. “I think you’d have to work pretty hard to make Agnes unhappy. If you’re looking to make amends, this might be a good time.”

Fabian thought for a few minutes. “All right then,” he said, took a deep breath and headed in the direction of the brides.

“I want you to know I couldn’t be happier for you and Shanni,” he told Agnes.

Agnes offered him a wry smile. “It seems like Shanni and I both have some unexpected family. Being enemies now would be a real pain in the butt.”

Fabian felt a grin spreading over his face. “Yeah,” he said. “You’re right about that.”

And that was that.

When the dust was settling and everyone was heading home, Layla looked wistfully at Lance. “Our last child is grown up and out of the house,” she said sadly. “We won’t ever have another.”

“That’s right,” Lance said. “We won’t ever have another child.” He gave her a wicked look. “But we sure can practice.”

(Better late that never! I don’t know what readers are left! CourtneyHelen might just be out for an extended holiday break. Lost Dreamer Girl’s blog disappeared right after I caught up on it. LDG? Are you still there??

Lance actually did start rolling a crazy number of naughty wishes about Layla right at the end of the wedding. Unfortunately, Layla had to go straight to work, so they had to be put on hold.

Mortimer came up to congratulate Shanni after she was married and actually out of the household, so that exchange was between two NPCs. It was pretty cute, all things considered.

And then there were six. It breaks my heart to say goodbye to Shanni, who was definitely my favorite out of Generation 3, but it was nice to get the household size back down again.)