starting out on the wrong foot

April 2077, Jackson Phoenix and Nessa (Curtain) Phoenix are 28.

Jackson Phoenix and Nessa Curtain met their freshman year of college, though didn't start dating until their junior year. They are finally getting around to tying the knot this spring.

Jackson works as a Detective, with his dad, Micah, on the police force, though he long dreamed of being a famous sports star. He was never drafted from college though, and the right chances just never came along. So here he is, a cop like his brother, Hayden, who is a cop like their father, who was a cop like their grandfather, each of them with a failed sports streak (except for Hayden, he's more of a video-game sporty type). Jackson isn't quite giving up on his dreams just yet, but he is 28 already. That's getting on in the years for a wanna-be sports star.

Nessa works for Bryson Riley, and is a corporate manager at the Riley Estates Company Headquarters. It's her job to listen to his ideas about real estate over fancy business lunches of lime seared prawns, and pretend every idea is interesting and brilliant. Not a hard day's work, really.

The Phoenix family is a large one, and even though Nessa has no family in town, they're expecting it to be a big wedding. Bryson's wedding gift to the couple is a discount on the garden room at Riley Hall. There are nice perks working for Bryson Riley.

It's the night before the wedding and time to celebrate. The plan is girl's night out, boys night in. Jackson's dad, hired them a bartender for the night - and not an ugly one either. Well, Nessa supposes it's better than a stripper, or is the bartender gig just a cover until the girls leave the house?

So the girls head out, just her best friend, Clarice, and Jackson's mom, Sophie. She had invited Lara and Rhianna but they didn't feel like coming. Great in-laws they'll be! Who needs them anyway? They head over to Kokubo Karaoke for their little bachelorette party. Nessa and Sophie have some drinks, and Clarice is just hungry!

But their moods lighten up after a few drinks and what else do you do when drunk but smustle? Go Clarice smustling six months pregnant!

Well, it must have been a lot for her, because Clarice was feeling too pregnant and went home early. So Nessa was drinking some coffee and trying to sober up...

because Jackson's mom got herself TOASTED and spends the night singing bad karaoke complete with flying leaps off the machine. She would obviously not be their designated driver for the night. Oh God, Nessa couldn't even watch!

Meanwhile back at home, Nessa's suspicions about that fishy bartender were partly right, and it doesn't really look like Jackson's dad is looking at the drinks.

"Not a bad idea, Dad," the boys say, "Not bad at all."

But they didn't just stare at the bartender all night. They also played kicky bag in the kitchen.

By 2:00 a.m. Nessa still hasn't arrived home and Jackson is starting to get worried.

"Oh my God, Nessa, what did you do???" Jackson says. Nessa was caught driving drunk when she crashed their car into a light pole.

Nessa's never been in trouble a day in her life! Not even a detention in high school! So considering that, and the fact that she's marrying into a family of cops, the officer decides to just impose the hefty $1000 fine, instead of making Nessa go for a court date. Their car was totaled in the crash, and the household is prohibited from owning a vehicle for 6 years. They were both exhausted, and went straight to sleep without really talking about it.

So the next morning, their wedding morning, they had quite a few things to say to each other. Add to that their worry about their outdoor wedding and that it's been snowing on and off this week, in April! The TV just broke, and then the shower broke, and Jackson is in a terrible mood. And Nessa has a hangover, and is in a terrible mood too.

So they have an argument on their wedding morning. Him, about how he can't believe they have to go to their wedding in a taxi; her, about how she knew there was something fishy about that skanky bartender, and man, she thinks his mom could stand to drink a little less!

They aren't speaking to each other as they climb into the taxi, just glad to be going to their wedding at all at this point.

But they do get married... and the weather does warm up just enough that not everybody freezes their butts off. In fact, it actually ended up being a really pretty day, which helped them forget that they were mad at each other long enough to make it through their vows and mean it.

(a nice Phoenix family Smustle)

And though this wedding may have gotten off on the wrong foot, hopefully their marriage will start out on the right one, because they're going to be going a lot of places by foot these next six years.

Though one problem remains - one of them must learn how to cook!

***

note: It was Nessa who drew this round's DUI random event ;) She's really never been in trouble a day in her life, so I had no idea how I would work that in, lol.