#((to do any otherwise; to even joke about disrespecting one's wife...it just doesn't compute for them!))

[theheadlessgroom]

"Judging from everything I've heard, I have no doubt he'll deliver!" Josephine smiled warmly as she forked herself another bite of pancake, as Randall vouched, "Dorian never does anything halfway, believe me, and since he's the children's godfather, that gives him even more of an excuse to cut loose and go the whole hog!"

Truth be told, the only reason the house hadn't collapsed in on itself from all the revelry was due to the diligence of Elizabeth and Beau, who kept Dorian on a short chain (something Dorian himself would freely admit to, appreciating their efforts in keeping the house from having its roof blown off). He noted his best friend sitting several seats down, him and Elizabeth waving to them as they dug into their own breakfast-if there was anything going on between them, they certainly didn't let on to the other spirits in the house.

Randall watched them quietly for a moment, only tuning back in when he heard the others enthusing about the prospect of a masquerade ball, with Josephine in particular looking forward to further putting on her dancing shoes, with June commenting, "My mother was a dancer in her youth."

"Really?" Randall asked curiously, asked, "What kind?"

"Well, we didn't quite have the term for it back in my day, but I believe you youngsters would call it burlesque or cabaret," she giggled playfully, not heeding the genuinely-surprised expressions of her son-in-law and grandson, neither of them having expected this answer as she elaborated, "I was something of a wild child in my youth, so I danced and sang with a troupe of girls at a bar in New Orleans, and made some damn good money when I was doing it too!"

"What's burlesque?" Lon asked innocently, unfamiliar with the word. Erika, equally confused, asked, "And what's cabaret?" Sounded like one of those fancy wines Uncle Beau talked about...

@beatingheart-bride

"No, I...I wanna try," she replied with a little nod, puffing out her chest in an attempt to look a bit braver as she crawled up into her seat beside her father, who leaned down and lowered his voice, saying, "If you ever wanna leave, if you ever get uncomfortable and want to take a breather, you just let me know and we'll go, okay?"

"Okay, Papa," she nodded appreciatively, smiling sweetly as he kissed the top of her curls, the pair linking pinkies beneath the table just as the Pace brothers came bouncing downstairs, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as they hopped into their seats, Colin cheering, "Good morning! Boy, these spirits here know how to throw a party!"

"Did you stay up with the revelers?" June asked, Callahan reaching for the pitcher of orange juice as he answered, "Oh, yeah; when in Rome, as they say! Col and I stayed up, we danced, we sang, we chatted with some of the other spooks here, knocked back a few drinks, we had a good time! Rowan's gonna love this place-the only woman on this Earth that can drink me under the table."

He said this with great adoration, smiling goofily from ear to ear at the mere mention of her, as Colin dropped his voice, whispering to the rest of the table with a little grin, "Her sister, my wife, Morwen? She can drink him under the table too. Faster, too."

As the brothers continued to bicker playfully over their wives' skill in holding their liquor, Wilhelm leaned over to his son and daughter-in-law, saying, "The talk went pretty well, I think. She's still nervous, sure, but...she knows she's loved. You love her, Junie and I love her, Lon loves her, Dorian and Elizabeth loves her...my brothers and Junie's folks, they're no different, and we told her so. She's a gem of a girl, and we told her so."

"Thank you, Pa," Randall smiled appreciatively, Wilhelm smiling back to the couple as he replied, "Don't mention it," just as the Burke's arrived for breakfast: While Josephine was looking as bright-eyed as the Pace brothers, very chipper and ready to seize the day, August looked rather tired, much less put-together than he did the day before.

"Good morning!" Josephine smiled as they took their seats, August immediately reaching for the coffeepot. Concerned, June asked, "Did you not sleep well, Father?"

"I'm used to the usual hustle and bustle of New Orleans, dearest," he yawned, filling his mug nearly to the brim, with only just enough room for cream and sugar. "The hustle and bustle of Gracey Manor? That I may need some time to adjust to."

The Pace brothers smiled bashfully at this, but otherwise said nothing as they all began to help themselves to breakfast-pancakes this morning, strawberry puffed being one of the varieties: Randall immediately helped himself to some, and was pleasantly surprised that August did the same.