An Unusual Turn of Events
Chapter 4: Wedding Bells
by Kenshin

"Ooooooo! Jessie, we got a letter!" James cooed, wringing the letter with both hands and jumping up and down. "Calm down James! Don't you want to be able to read it? You can't if it's all wrinkled you know," Jessie sounded slightly annoyed. "You're right," said James, coolly. "Meowth! Who would be writing us?" "I don't know. Let me open it and see," said Jessie, holding out her hand. "No!" cried James, "It's addressed to me!" "HUH?!" "MEOWTH?!"

"Yes, it says 'Viridian City Jail, Viridian City, c/o James'!" he said triumphantly. (Trying to resist....trying to resist....) Jessie and Meowth did a simultaneous facefall. (Don't you just love those?!) "Meowth! Who the heck is writing you?!" "Spill it James! It's not just to you, is it?" demanded Jessie. "No, it *is* addressed to me....and as for who it's from, I'm not telling," he pouted, walking over to his cot on the other side of the cell and hunching over to open the letter.

He read for a few moments, then his eyes widened. He looked up at Jessie with a big, goofy grin on his face. "Wha....?" Jessie and Meowth both began. "Oooooo!" James yelled as he jumped up, "This is too good not to show you, Jessie! Read it! Read it!" Jessie took the proffered letter from James' hand and began to read while James hopped excitedly around the cell.

"Dear James,

First, I would like to thank you for helping Misty
and myself to get together. All we needed was a
little push! We realized what you did when we
couldn't find you anywhere after Misty "rescued"
me. Secondly, I would like to invite you (and
Jessie and Meowth) to our wedding! That's right,
Misty and I are getting married! Well, write me
back to let me know if you can make it. The
wedding is in a month, so that should give you
some time to get out.

Sincerely,
Ash (the Twerp)"

Jessie looked up at James and raised on eyebrow. "James, I'm sorry about what I said before," she said, "I guess you *are* a genius when it comes to women." "Oooooo! This is so exciting!" James cooed.

"Meowth! There's another envelope inside the first one!" Meowth stated, holding up a smaller envelope. "Lemme see it!" demanded James. As soon as Meowth had handed it over, he ripped it open. After a few seconds of reading, he started to shake with excitement. "It's a real wedding invitation!" he said, "And a note that says...Ooooooooooooooo!"

Jessie and Meowth exchanged worried looks. Then, Jessie whacked James on the head. "Calm down, you idiot. I don't want you running laps around this cell! You'll fall and break something, probably me!" "I'm sorry, Jessie, but I can't help it!" he stammered. She took the note from him and read it, then understood why he couldn't contain himself.

Ash nervously rang the doorbell. "Mom? Are you there? I'M HOME!" Ash yelled. "Ash, don't be so loud! I'm standing right next to you," complained Misty. "Oh, uhhhh, sorry Mist," he stammered. She lightly kissed him on the cheek, then poked him playfully in the ribs. "I know," she said.

Naturally, Ash was blushing when the door opened. "Ash! My baby!" Delia almost screamed, "Let me look at you! Oh my, you've grown up so fast! Come inside! I'm cooking meatloaf!" 'Meatloaf?!' thought Ash, 'I *hate* meatloaf....oh, well.' "Hello Mrs. Ketchum," said Misty. "Hello, Misty dear. Where's Brock?" "Oh, yeah. Brock's over at Prof. Oak's. He's checking out the latest upgrades to the pokedex," explained Ash.

"That's nice. Well, come on inside! Don't stand in the doorway all day, dear: you'll let all the cool air out of the house!" Delia scolded, shooing both teenagers into the living room and shutting the door behind them. "Now, you two make yourselves at home while I go check on the meatloaf!" she said, dashing off into the kitchen, "Be right *back*!" she finished in a sing-song voice just as she stepped through the swinging kitchen door.

"Mime, Mr. Mime!" said Mr. Mime as he walked up to Ash with a featherduster. "Ah, no Mr. Mime! My face is clean! Honest!" Ash yelled, backing away until his back was against the wall. "Mime!" said Mr. Mime happily as he cornered Ash and swirled the duster all over Ash's face. Misty chuckled, "Some things never change." "Hey, that's not fair Mist! Why didn't you help me?" "What, and deprive Mr. Mime of his way of expressing how much he missed you?" asked Misty in a scolding tone. "Uhhh, I guess I never thought about it that way before," Ash said thoughtfully. "Mime! (Duh!)"

"Well, are you kids hungry? The meatloaf's done, so we can eat anytime. Or do you want to wait on Brock?" asked Delia. "No, we can eat now. Who knows how long it will take Brock? You know how he gets when he goes over to the Professor's," said Ash. "Okay, dear, but you better save some for him," she warned her son. 'You don't need to worry about that!' thought Ash. "Okay mom!" he said sweetly.

Ash and Misty followed Delia into the kitchen. "Wow, that smells really good Mrs. Ketchum," said Misty. 'YUCK!' thought Ash. Needless to say, he wasn't looking forward to this particular meal, but not just because it was meatloaf night. He hadn't told his mother about his and Misty's engagement yet. 'I didn't know that this would make me more nervous than asking Misty!' he thought, trying to think of how to break the news to his mother. 'C'mon Ash! This is good news! You should be excited, not nervous...' Ash sighed.

"Is something wrong dear?" asked Delia, looking across the table at him. Ash looked up at his mother and almost jumped out of his skin. "Uhhh, ummm, nothing mom!" he said, suddenly developing a insatiable appetite for meatloaf. He stuffed his face to avoid responding further to his mother's question for the moment.

'Wow, I had no idea Ash was so hungry...' thought Misty. 'What's wrong with Ash tonight?' thougth Delia, 'I didn't think he liked my meatloaf *that* much...' "Ash, are you sure you're okay? You're not sick, are you?" asked Delia, looking a little concerned. 'Oh, great. Now I've got her upset!' Ash thought, exasperatedly. "Mmphf..." Ash tried to say. "Don't talk with your mouth full, dear," scolded Delia. Misty snickered. 'She's really not helping any,' thought Ash.

Ash swallowed, chewed a few more times, swallowed again, then began to choke. "Ash!" Delia and Misty both yelled at the same time. Misty picked him up out of his chair, giving him the heimlich. Delia then shoved a glass of water into his hands. "Drink!" she demanded. After a few swallows, Ash started to feel a little better. "Mom..." he started, but he still hadn't caught his breath yet. "Ash dear, don't scare us like that," Delia said, "Now, sit down and catch your breath."

Ash sat down and just breathed for a few moments. As his nerves started to calm he looked at his mother and said, "Actually, I have something I need to tell you." "What is it? Is Team Rocket after you again? Are you in financial trouble? Is Brock picking on you? Is Misty picking on you?" Delia suddenly turned bright red as she realized Misty was standing just a few feet from her. Luckily, Misty wasn't mad and had caught herself on the table, preventing a facefall (hah, didn't see that coming, did you? *sigh* Misty's so great!^_~)

Ash, however, fell out of his chair. "Mom!" he complained, "Let me finish!" He picked himself up and took a deep breath. "Mime, Mr. Mime," said Mr. Mime as he began dusting Ash off. This time Misty caught Ash before he fell. (Okay, enough with the falls. Even I'm getting tired of it!)

"*deep breath* Mom, I have some great news," said Ash. "Well, I wish you'd said that from the first. You had me worried for a moment," said Delia. "Mom, are you going to let me finish or not?!" Ash sounded aggravated. "Yes, dear. Sorry," said Delia, "Please continue." She had noticed that Misty was starting to look nervous. 'I wonder....'

"*deeper breath* Mom, I have some really great news," Ash began. He looked around the kitchen as if searching for something, then started when he realized that nobody had interrupted him. "Misty and I....are engaged," he finished.

"ASH! MY BABY ENGAGED!" Delia screamed at the top of her lungs. 'Is she happy or upset?' thought Misty. Delia ran over and hugged her son and his fiance. "Oh, Ash dear. Misty, I'm so happy! My little baby is getting married!" she continued gleefully. 'Guess she's happy!' thought Misty, relieved. The relief was shortlived, however, as Delia's iron grip closed around her. "Mrs. Ketchum...I can't....breathe...." gasped Misty. "Mom......let go......" gasped Ash.

Delia released them. "Oh, sorry children. I guess I got a little carried away, but I'M JUST SO EXCITED! HAVE YOU SET A DATE YET?" she started to clasp her hands together. "Well, yeah we have," stammered Ash. "We're getting married in about a month, Mrs. Ketchum," said Misty. "Oh, Misty dear, please call me mom. After all, it won't be long until I am....ONE MONTH! That's great! I'll have to send out invitations to all of our relatives," said Delia, already pondering on who she should invite.

"Mom, I already did that," said Ash. If there was one thing he didn't need, it was his mom inviting a lot of crazy fourth cousins and great, great aunts to his wedding. "Oh, of course dear. How silly of me to not think you had a guest list already. Let me just go over it and see if you've missed anyone," said Delia. *sigh* 'Guess I can't get out of this one,' thought Ash, admitting defeat.

"Oh, by the way Ash dear, who is the best man? Brock, I assume," she said. "Actually...." Ash began. "Of course he is!" Misty cut him off.

TO BE CONTINUED (DUN-DUN-DUN!)