Cassidy Anne Coleman, soon to be Misses Cassidy Anne Delaney, stood in front of the ornate full-length mirror that dominated one side of the little room she’d been stashed away in while she waited for the ceremony to begin. Not that she minded. She couldn’t stop beaming at herself in her reflection as she made a few final adjustments here and there to her hair and wedding dress. Today was the big day. It was finally happening!
“You look great, Cass,” said Melody from beside her, flashing her older sister a thumbs up in the mirror.
“Thanks,” squeaked Cassidy, positively bubbling with pent up excitement.
“Knock, knock,” called a familiar voice from the other side of the door to the room, not bothering to wait for an invitation to come in as the person it belonged to pushed it open and stepped inside.
“Oh wow, Cassie, you look spectacular,” cooed Lauren, pausing in the doorway to look her bride-to-be up and down with a long, low whistle.
“I know, right?” demanded Melody, moving to stand beside her future sister-in-law so they could both goggle at her.
“Isn’t it supposed to be bad luck for you to see the bride before the wedding?” teased Cassidy, blushing at all the attention she was getting, but still beaming.
“I don’t think that counts if we’re both the bride,” countered Lauren with a smirk, swishing her way over to her and planting a quick kiss on her cheek. “Can you give us a minute, Mel?”
“Sure thing,” agreed Melody, slipping out of the room with a wave. “Don’t take too long now you two, the ceremony is supposed to start in… ten minutes. You wouldn’t want to be the first people in history to ever have a wedding start late, now would you?”
“We won’t, we won’t,” reassured Lauren, waving the other girl off with a laugh.
“So,” said Cassidy, an eager grin spreading across her blushing cheeks once the door had shut firmly behind her maid of honor. “Are you going to show me what you’ve been hiding behind your back or what?”
“Of course,” purred Lauren, bringing her hands out from behind her and holding out a long, thin box to her future wife. It was made from stiff white cardboard, and had a glittering white ribbon tied in a bow around its middle. “I know it’s a little early for wedding gifts, but I wanted you to have this one before the ceremony began.”
“What is it?” asked Cassidy as she accepted the box and hefted it appraisingly. It was surprisingly heavy.
“Open it,” Lauren encouraged her with a wink.
Her curiosity now piqued, Cassidy pulled the ribbon free and let it flutter to the floor, tossing the lid of the box after it a moment later.
“Oh wow!”
Inside, laid out artfully across a bed of tissue paper, was a leather strap. It looked to be about the same length as her Attitude Adjuster paddle, maybe just a little bit longer, and was slightly wider than a regular belt, though it was nearly twice as thick as one she saw as she plucked it from the box and ran her fingers along its length. The leather was stiff and smelled richly of oil. Its edges were glassy smooth and had been stitched with a border of white thread that offset the black material of the strap beautifully. However her favorite part, the part that made her heart leap with fear and excitement into her throat, was the sweeping white letters embroidered along its length that spelled out the phrase “Delaney Family Discipline”.
“Do… do you like it?” asked Lauren hesitantly, breaking into her thoughts and looking uncharacteristically nervous.
“I love it,” sniffed Cassidy, her eyes growing misty as she threw her arms around Lauren and kissed her hard, not caring if it smudged her lipstick. “It’s perfect!”
“Phew,” laughed Lauren with a sigh of relief when she was finally able to come up for air some time later. “Now bend over.”
