Since their homecoming Mitch Cartwright and Matthew Walker were busy with the preparations for their wedding. Because the joyful day was coming into sight the invitations were being sent by email.
“Mom, must there really a wedding card to be send to uncle Hugo and aunt Kate?”, Mitch asked his stepmother Sally Cartwright on a morning.
Sally sighed deep and answered, “I know that she doesn’t like you and accepts you as her family member so just don’t send a card. I will phone her first and tell the news.”
“Just don’t say with whom I get married”, advised Mitch.
Sally nodded smiling and phoned her uncle and aunt. To her big relief she got her uncle Hugo on the phone.
After he had heard the story Hugo Johnson said, “So your son gets married on February 14 February? Congratulations. We surely come. Congratulate the couple from us.”
“I surely will do that. Till then”, said Sally.
The phone got put down and she said to Mitch, “I just got uncle Hugo on the phone. You get congratulated and they come.”
“What will aunt Kate be shocked when she meets my future husband”, laughed Mitch.
“As long as you are happy together is that the most important thing for us. We accept your relationship”, said Sally.
When Kate Johnson heard from her husband Hugo that they were going to a wedding on February 14 she said enthusiastic, “How nice that the stepson of our niece gets married to a lovely and cute girl. I am going to give them a beautiful wedding present.”
“Sally will mail the address”, said her husband.
“How old is that boy anyway?”, asked Kate.
“He is just 29. Why?”, Hugo asked amazed.
“Then it’s a shotgun wedding. His fiancée is of course pregnant and that’s why they get married”, Kate answered determined.
She was holy convinced about that and decided to buy a photo album for the couple.
Kate and Hugo arrived at the house of Adam and Sally on February 13. By very coincidence Mitch and Matthew were there too.
Sally answered it and said inviting, “Welcome uncle Hugo and aunt Kate. Come in.”
“Thanks Sally. Congratulations with the wedding of your son”, said Hugo.
Kate corrected him right away snappy with, “Stepson.”
They came inside and got greeted by Adam and the couple.
“Hello aunt Kate. May I introduce you to my son Mitch and son-in-law to be Matthew?”
Kate looked at him amazed and asked Adam for the security, “Did you just say that Mitch gets married to Matthew?”
“I have just said that indeed. Mitch and Matt love each other very much”, said Adam.
“`Yikes! How disgusting. I can't understand that you and your wife approve the relationship of your son”, answered Kate.
“They are happy together. And if they are that it also goes for us”, said Adam said calm.
Hugo walked to the couple and congratulated them.
“Matt, you have with Mitch got a good catch. And that also goes for you as well , Mitch”, Hugo said who could appreciate the commotion.
Kate got to get over the next shock when she asked Mitch the following question, “You are wearing a smoking of course, aren't you?”
“No, a pair of jeans and a shirt. It will be an apart wedding so everyone may wear casual clothes”, answered her great nephew.
Kate sniffed and ignored the boys.
In the kitchen she said to Sally, “Lisa and Rose are wearing if course a beautiful pink dress with lace.”
“They hardly wear dresses so on the wedding day of Mitch and Matt neither. The girls and Benji may decide for themselves what they wear that day”, answered Sally.
But this answer wasn’t good for Kate. Without saying anything she left the house. Her husband stood on the porch looking at the yard.
“Hugo, we go home! I can’t tell on my tea parties that my grand nephew is married to a man, can I?”, she asked.
“Just go home alone because I feel like having in an apart wedding”, said Hugo.
Kate packed her luggage and phoned for a cab. At least she tried but Kate had forgotten to take her cell phone along.
“Alright. We will stay until after the reception”, Kate said with reluctance.
Because her brother and sister had an own baseball shirt Rose wanted to wear one too at the wedding of Mitch and Matthew.
She asked then Adam and Sally, “May I also wear a baseball shirt at the wedding?”
“Of which club?”, asked Adam.
Deep in his heart he hoped that his youngest daughter was also for Boston but Rose buried that hope very deep into the ground.
Rose thought deep for a second and answered then, “LA Dodgers.”
Sally reacted smiling, “Our youngest does have sense of baseball because I’m also a supporter of the Dodgers.”
Adam said, “Rose, Are you coming to Las Vegas? There is a store which you will like as well.”
Of course the girl went along at once. Sally didn’t mind because she had enough to do anyway for the wedding of her stepson.
After she had chosen a home shirt of the LA Dodgers Rose asked, “Daddy, shall we see if we see something for Mitch and Matt here?”
“You mean a wedding present?”, asked Adam.
His daughter nodded.
“Just go and see if you see something nice of the Red Sox and de Braves or Yankees”, said Adam.
They looked around and found something nice after all.
“Daddy, I choose those bears with the club logo of the Braves and Red Sox”, said the young Cartwright.
“Just get them”, Adam said smiling.
Rose grabbed the bears and walked to the cask desk. Quickly Adam grabbed a bear with the logo of the Yankees, White Sox, Colorado Rockies and LA Dodgers. Here after he followed his daughter to the cash desk to pay.
Once at home Rose said to her brother and sister in their room, “We give these 3 bears to Mitch and Matt as wedding present.”
“And those other bears?”, Lisa asked amazed.
“Those are for us. The Dodgers bear is for me. That one of the White Sox is for Benji and Lisa gets that one of the Rockies”, answered her little sister.
“Well a funny and original present for an apart wedding couple”, Benji remarked.
They laughed. The bears got put down at their baseball collection. Only the bears of Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees received an wrapping present paper. Lisa and Rose together made a congratulations card with it.
Meanwhile the Chinese cook Hop Sing was at the big ranch house busy with the snacks and drinks for the reception. Hereby he got support from Betsy and Paula Cartwright. The ladies were respectively married to the brothers Hoss and Joe Cartwright. They took care of the wedding cake and cupcakes. Their husbands were responsible for the building up of the reception.
“Our nephew gets married”, Hoss suddenly said.
“He is now big enough for the grownup life”, said Joe.
Though they liked it that their nephew had found the true love. Even though that was one of his own sex.
It was February 14, 2013. For many people an ordinary day but not for Mitch Cartwright and Matthew Walker. Today it was their wedding day.
Matthew had slept with his parents Dan and Laura Walker and was busy preparing himself for the memorable day. Especially for this day he had bought a white baseball shirt of his favorite baseball club Boston Red Sox.
Laura said while she helped Matthew, “Make sure that I won’t be crying too much during the ceremony.”
“Mama, I only have 1 solution for that: make sure that you have enough handkerchiefs with you”, answered her zoon.
“What is Mitch wearing?”, asked Laura.
“Knowing him he will be wearing a shirt of the Yankees. If it was only to pester his father and me”, answered Matthew.
Laura said laughing, “You love each other too much to fight about this.”
“I don’t say that you will never become a grandma but Mitch and I first want to enjoy each other for a while”, said her zoon.
“I completely understand that. Yu are still young enough”, said Laura.
Mitch got support from his father Adam Cartwright.
“Would mama have liked this too?”, Mitch suddenly asked.
“Yes. I know for sure that she would cry very much during the ceremony. And Sally will do that too. And your mother-in-law to be too. And then I’m not talking about your aunts yet”, said Adam.
They laughed.
“But if all women are going to cry uncle Hoss will probably be joining them spontaneously”, Mitch said laughing.
“What do you think bad about your beloved uncle”, Adam said laughing.
Mitch put on his black jeans and the home shirt of the New York Yankees.
“What the baseball clubs is concerned matt could have been better your son. He is also for the Red Sox, just like you”, said Mitch.
Adam’s reaction was, “Your mother just took care of it that you also became a Yankees fan.”
“Well, mama had sense of baseball and you still don’t”, was the reaction of Mitch.
Adam had to do with this.
The daughter of Hugo and Kate, Peggy, arrived just before the wedding.
“What are you doing here?”, snapped her mother.
“I love weddings”, answered Peggy.
“Then it’s about time that you also find a fellow to marry”, said her father.
The ceremony began at precisely 10 o’clock. Judge Paul Jackson performed the wedding which took place at the Ponderosa.
He asked, “Who gives whom away?”
Ponderosa owner Ben Cartwright answered, “I give my grandson Mitch away.”
“The boys have their parents as best men.
Ben went to get his grandson for the wedding ceremony. Mitch was in his bed room.
Ben asked, “Mitch, are you ready for it?”
“Yes and no. On the one hand I want to spend the rest of my life with Matt. But on the other hand I’m afraid that we will become so middle-class civil”, answered his grandson.
The rancher said laughing, “You will never become a real middle-class couple.”
Mitch nodded and said, “Just bring me to the slaughter.”
Ben looked for a second if Mitch was dressed nice and well and took him then downstairs.
When the ceremony had began the Cartwright women and Laura Walker held it dry. But that didn’t go for Peggy Johnson.
“Why are you so blubbering?”, Kate asked her daughter Peggy.
“The bridegroom is so handsome”, answered Peggy.
Hugo asked dry, “Which bridegroom do you mean? There are 2.”
“That’s why I’m crying too”, said Peggy.
After Mitch and Matthew had given to each other the yes I do words the judge said, “Hereby I declare you to husband and husband. You may kiss each other.”
The boys didn’t let this say twice. After the kiss came the congratulations of the families.
Because Mitch still couldn’t stand big crowds of people the guest list wasn’t too long. But because they were friends with the Cartwrights for years sheriff Roy Coffee and deputy Clem Foster also dropped by to congratulate the newlyweds.
Of course the baseball team the Ponderosa cowboys where Mitch and Matthew played were invited on the reception. On behalf of the team coach Steve Keller gave the present.
He said, “In the team you are for the same team. But as soon as the training and /or game is over or are over the rivalry between you starts. That’s why you may go to 4 games between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox on our costs. That are 2 games in Boston and 2 in New York.”
“Thanks coach and guys”, said Mitch.
Matthew was also visible pleased with it.
“Does my nephew who is now married to a man in a baseball team? Scandalous!”, Kate said indignant.
“Mitch is al since his 1st year a baseball talent. Aunt Kate, you know where the door is”, reacted Adam.
Kate understood the hint and left at once with Peggy.
After the departure of the angry step aunt and cousin it became directly cozier at the ranch.
When the party was almost ending Matthew said on behalf of his husband, “Mitch and I want to thank everyone for your presence, congratulations and presents. We will think back with joy of this day and you hopefully too.”
There was an applause for this very short speech where after everyone went home.
That evening Mitch and Matthew slept for the first time as a married couple in their baseball room. They were tired but super happy.