CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kayla
When I walk out the back door, I come to such a hard stop that the iced lemonades I’m carrying slosh on the tray, spilling little splashes of citrusy scent.
The backyard has been transformed into a Mario wonderland. This shouldn’t be so surprising, since I’ve been right in the middle of everything, setting it up all day, but this is the first time I’ve taken a step back to take in the full effect.
Two-foot mushrooms dot the grass, their red caps covered in white polka dots.
Violeta and Jasmine helped me make them yesterday out of papier maché, along with the taller stacks of gold coins that stand on each side of the arbor.
My closest friends among the Witch Bitches spent the morning helping me paint them.
Golden power-up stars decorate the wisteria-covered arbor, while another batch floats overhead, powered by Severin’s magic.
When it gets darker, they’ll glow. You can even jump up and tap them, just like in the game, and they make your hand tingle with magic.
Two long picnic tables wait to the side, groaning under all the Mario-themed food.
There are personal pizzas and adorable mini spaghetti and meatball appetizers, fruit bowls, and peach cobbler.
A grill stands waiting on one side, along with all the hamburger fixings, and on the other sit casks of orc ale and cider.
Luke used a crystal to wrap the area in a stasis spell to keep everything fresh, so we can start to eat immediately after the ceremony.
This was all Violeta’s idea: if we were going to have people over to help with the fake wedding, why not have a fake reception that turns into a real cookout party?
She trots over to me, followed by the other Witch Bitches, who swarm around the cold drinks with the zeal of gamers who forgot to hydrate coming off a long campaign.
The men have long since cleared out. Jace and Rune took Shadow into town before we started decorating so as not to spoil the surprise.
Severin, Luke, and Thorvinn left to join them once they did their parts, and I sent along the white tux and top hat for Shadow to wear so he can look like Mario from the Odyssey wedding scene.
A super sexy Mario that is, whose werepanther form is like a hot Bowser. Yum.
One by one, the empty glasses clink back onto the tray, and Violeta pulls out her phone to check the time. “The guys will be here in an hour. Let’s get you ready!”
“Yes!” Skye claps so hard the blonde curls of her 1950s retro hairdo dance around her pretty face.
Hannah takes the tray from me, Jasmine hooks my elbow to pull me into the house, and Autumn runs over to her ancient Land Rover to carry everyone’s dresses inside.
They shove me into the shower and take turns doing quick washups at the sink.
By the time I’m out, they’re wearing a rainbow of bright dresses: Violeta in red, Jasmine in lime green, Skye in hot-pink, Autumn in teal, and Hannah in neon blue.
I didn’t ask anyone to buy anything Mario-themed, just to bring the most colorful dresses they own to match the hyper-bright colors of the game.
I’m the one who’ll be in costume.
Once I blow-dry my hair, Violeta sits me down in front of my vanity and does my makeup while Jasmine styles my hair. Both of them are far better at this than I am, and by the time they’re done, I look so good I almost don’t recognize myself.
“If I ever get married for real, you guys have got to do this again.” I turn my head from side to side, admiring the reflection in the mirror. “I actually look pretty.”
“Girl, you are pretty.” Jasmine wags a finger at me. “So don’t go thinking you’re not.”
“Let’s get you into your dress,” Skye says as Autumn and Hannah hold it up.
They all help me into it, and as a final touch, Jasmine secures the crown on my head and steps back. “Ta da!”
I twirl in front of the mirror in my Princess Peach costume from a couple of Halloweens ago, all pink and girly with oversized blue gemstone jewelry.
The two colors kind of work with my purple hair, turning me into my own version of a video game heroine: bright and colorful and over the top.
It’s not the white wedding dress from the Odyssey game, but I’m probably the only one here who knows that, and I like this one better anyway—it’s classic Princess Peach.
The sound of kitchen-cupboard applause comes from below, and Victoria writes, “What a pretty pink!”
“Thank you all so much.” I try to wrap my arms around all of the Witch Bitches, and they bury me in the middle of a group hug. “You guys are the flipping best. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
“Are you kidding?” Skye beams up at me. “This is fun!”
Everyone murmurs their agreement, and Violeta says, “Plus, we get a party out of it!”
Laughing, we break apart, and the next few minutes are a swirl of rustling clothing as the other women jockey good-naturedly for the mirror to do last-minute touchups.
I follow them down the stairs easily in my bright pink sneakers covered in gold glitter instead of the Heels from Hell. Everything about this costume is comfortable and cut to my size, no Girdle of Doom required.
“Snickerdoodle!” Skye shrieks from the bottom of the stairs. “What the fudge is that?”
I crane my neck in time to see the green shirt inchworm its way across the hall to disappear into the living room. “That’s, uh… That’s another of my creations.”
“Is it a shirt?” Autumn asks, glancing back over her shoulder to wiggle her eyebrows at me. “A man’s shirt?”
I’m so flipping busted. But instead of trying to deny it or wish I could disappear, I own it. “Yeah, it’s Shadow’s. I kinda found a new way to get him shirtless the other night.” I grin. “It crawled right off his body.”
They whoop and lift their hands for a round of high fives.
In the kitchen, Violeta presses my bouquet into my hands and joins the others outside. It’s a big, colorful bunch of flowers so obviously fake they look like something out of an old-school Mario 2D-platformer game, which makes them perfect.
I pause by the parchment in the kitchen. “Can you see everything in the backyard okay?” Victoria said she can, but I want to double-check. After all, this “wedding” has to satisfy the fine-print requirements.
“I can.”
“And you’re okay with everything?”
I keep expecting the house to complain that a video-game theme isn’t appropriate for a wedding, but she’s been surprisingly tolerant. I didn’t even need to shove the disaster of the Weddingpocalypse in her face. I think I’m growing as a person.
“It’s been fun,” she writes. “I forgot what it was like to have a big bridal party in the house. I’ve enjoyed it.”
“Get ready for more fun, then.” I pat a cabinet. “Because we’re about to throw our first party!”
“Shadow says everything’s ready outside.” Jace attached a piece of magical parchment to the arbor, which is an extension of the house, so Victoria can take part in the ceremony.
“Start the music!”
The upbeat theme song from the original Super Mario game plays from the speakers I put outside, and Victoria opens the back door for me.
Friends fill the yard, all wearing their colorful best—even the men have on bright shirts.
Shadow stands in front of the arbor, wearing the white tux and top hat Victoria found in the attic. It should look at least a teensy bit ridiculous, but he wears it with the self-confidence of a top model ready to storm the runway during fashion week, so he looks fantastic.
The joy filling his gorgeous green eyes pulls me forward. Say what you will about Shadow: he knows how to have fun. That’s the Kayla I want to be tonight: the one surrounded by the things she loves most and the people who support her. The one that’s nothing like my parents always said I’d be.
I look at all these happy faces and let the good feelings fill me, my fast footsteps matching the lively music as I stride down the aisle. The song fades into silence once I reach him.
Dewdrop swoops down from the top of the arbor to take my bouquet, and Jace steps close, ready to pull the rings from his invisible storage pocket.
Shadow takes my hands. “You look beautiful, my wife.”
“So do you.”
Words appear on the parchment as Victoria spells out the vows I created.
“Kayla, you’re the gamer girl for me,” Shadow reads. “Will you campaign beside me always, through cavewights and power-ups, through empty inventories and loot stashes?”
“I will.”
New writing fills the parchment.
“Shadow, you’re the gamer boy for me,” I say. “Will you campaign beside me always, through cavewights and power-ups, through empty inventories and loot stashes?”
He squeezes my fingers. “I will.”
“Now the rings,” Victoria writes.
I turn to Jace and extend both hands as he pulls out a two-foot-wide papier-maché wedding band.
I might be the only one who gets the homage to the oversized ring Bowser tries to give Princess Peach in the game, but what the hell—it’s my fake wedding, so why shouldn’t I have fun with it?
I place it over Shadow’s head, careful not to knock off his top hat. “With this ring, I thee game.”
Jace hands Shadow an equally large ring, this one topped with a big blue stone that matches the ones on my costume. Shadow places it over my head so the stone rests right at my cleavage, his eyes arrowing in on the spot as he shoots me a wicked grin. “With this ring, I thee game.”
“I now pronounce you a gamer guild of two. You may kiss.”
Shadow scoops me into his arms, bending me over until I worry my crown might fall off. Then his mouth covers mine, and I lose the ability to think of anything but his kiss.
The crowd breaks into cheers, and Shadow stands me upright, so we can turn and wave.
“Let’s eat!” I call out, which is met by more happy yells.
Victoria cranks up my party playlist, and Rune and Luke carry empty picnic tables from the side of the house and spread them across the lawn.
The Witch Bitches surround us, offering congratulations and hugs, followed by the men.
Once we work our way through all of them, Dewdrop flies over but can’t land on my shoulder because of the ring, so I hold out my forearm for him. “Did I do good?”
“You were perfect.” I rub his little forehead and take back the bouquet. “There are fruit cups on the table. I put pineapple chunks in them so you’d have something new to try.” He’s like my own miniature Yoshi, and having fruit for him totally fits with the Mario theme.
“I have a present for you, Dewdrop.” Shadow reaches into the breast pocket of his tuxedo jacket and pulls out a silver chain with a small purple crystal mounted on it. “This is a special necklace made just for you. If you get it caught on anything, the clasp will release so you won’t get hurt.”
His green eyes meet mine, and I give a grateful smile and a nod of approval.
Shadow fastens the necklace around the dragonet’s neck.
“It’s so pretty.” Dewdrop cranes his neck, tilting his head to look down at himself. “It’s purple like me!”
“It’s exactly your color.” Shadow laughs. “It’s also a translation crystal that lets you talk to anyone.”
“So you understand me?” Dewdrop flaps over and throws himself at the werepanther’s chest. When Shadow catches him, the dragonet rubs his head against Shadow’s jaw. “Thank you!”
Dewdrop takes off, flying circles around the yard, swinging sideways to avoid hitting the floating power-up stars. “Everyone! You can talk to me, and I can talk to you! I’m Dewdrop!”
“Where in the world did you get the crystal?” I ask.
“I had Jace make it for me.”
“Thank you.” I meet his eyes. First the cat tree, now this. He’s really going out of his way to make my familiar happy. It’s so amazingly sweet and caring. “That’s the best present you could ever give me.”
His fingers curl around my cheek.
“I got you something, too.” I crouch and pull a small package from behind one of the decorative mushrooms.
He rips off the paper to expose a game controller box.
“It’s a special one for people with really fast reflexes,” I explain. “And I figured if you have your own, you can program the various functions so they’re exactly what you want.”
“I can’t wait to use it,” he says.
“Was this okay, all the gaming stuff?” I wave to take in the whole backyard. “I know it’s kind of… different.”
“It’s a lot of fun, and you know how I feel about fun.” He grins down at me. “I love it. Even if I didn’t, it would still be okay, because this is what you wanted, and you deserve to have things that make you happy.”
His words make me tingle all the way down to my toes, my heart beating against my ribs as if to join Dewdrop in flight. No one’s ever said anything so sweet to me.
Then Luke yells at Shadow to come run the grill, the Witch Bitches surround me, asking about Dewdrop’s new necklace, and we’re swept up into the party.
Being here as Princess Peach, surrounded by so many gaming things, frees me.
I have so much fun, from dancing with my besties to Beyoncé, to taking a cupful of cider from the grumpy Thorvinn, to helping Shadow grill his first burgers.
I even set up a special gaming rig that projects the visuals onto Victoria’s exterior wall, so everyone can play the Mario 2D-platformer game that’s great for newbs.
But no matter how amazing all of it is, the part I keep tucked close to my heart is Shadow’s achingly sweet words declaring I deserve to be happy.