209 - Cakes and Cut
209 - Cakes and Cut
Forget weddings. We need a reason for Nessie to make me a cake. WAIT! Does she put cake out on the line every day? Toad, do you want to trade clubhouses? - Trigg
Just like Nessie had promised, their cakes had been taken care of. As expected, they were perfect for the couple. At the top of the five-tiered cake sat two oversized cupcakes. These were both topped with a small alligator – one with a bridal veil.
The large cake had cascading wildflowers on the top four round tiers. Along with the wildflowers, there were also tulips and Louisiana Irises. In a large open space between the bottom tier and the others, a small garden of tulips and irises bloomed.
Surrounding the square bottom tier, was what looked like the traditional Delft pattern of flowers, Dutch windmills, sailing ships and a kissing couple. Mixed in with the very Dutch images in the small squares and circles were other images. Shrimp boats. Alligators. Mardi Gras masks and beads. Crawdads.
Breaking with tradition, the images were not in the usual Delft blue but instead were in Camille’s signature red. Simple black piping sat along the edges of the top and bottom tiers. The other three tiers had smooth icing with perfectly rounded edges. Ribbons and strings beads in black and red were woven in with the flowers.
Nessie had even picked a flavor of cake that was traditional white with non-traditional Camille. Vanilla sponge cake with raspberry swirl, layered with raspberry compote and covered in vanilla buttercream. Most people saw Camille using the red jelly on her toast and were surprised to discover that she actually used raspberry jam. Nessie used this knowledge to introduce Camille’s friends to yet another hidden side of the quiet woman.
The groom’s cake was just as intricate with two tiers. The top tier was offset with it appearing to float above the bottom one with a clear custom-made plexiglass stand. Louisiana sat above the state of Massachusetts with Baton Rouge directly above the Tri-city area.
On the cake that was shaped like Louisiana, was the state flag that was also the Cajuns club patch. The blue background with a pelican, her wings partially spread, as she looks down at her three hatchlings. A gold star marked the city of Baton Rouge.
The lower cake was in the shape of Massachusetts with the Devil’s Saints patch in the center. It was flanked on either side with the state coat of arms which sat on a white field for the state flag. A blue shield showing an Algonquian Native American holding a downward-pointing arrow to symbolizing peace and a white star representing statehood. Above the shield is a crest with an arm holding a broadsword indicating their role in the fight for independence from Brittain.
It was missing the blue ribbon below the shield displaying the Latin motto, "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem." The motto meant "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty" which Brute had often told her was a polite version of the club motto. May the Saints bless us as we do the Devil’s work.
A red banner ran across the bottom of the cake with I belong to the Darkness, that’s where the stars shine the brightest written in black lettering. Seeing the cakes for the first time, Darkness pulled Camille against him and pressed a kiss to her temple. Pressing her face into his chest, she wrapped her arms around his waist, and he felt her fighting back the tears.
“I discovered,” he murmured softly against her hair, “that Brute and I had a similar taste for cakes.”
Camille tipped her face up to look at him. Blinking away tears, she asked, “Chocolate banana with salted caramel buttercream?”
Nodding he said, “The bottom one. The top one,” he grinned and shrugged, “may just be me and your mom eating cayenne pepper chocolate cake.”
She gave a small laugh, “You should give some to dad. That might break him of always wanting cake.”
Looking over at the man that was practically drooling over the cakes, Darkness shook his head. “I don’t think that the gods or Satan himself could get your dad to not want cake.”
“Good point.”
Darkness looked back at Camille and moved his arm behind her thighs and lifted her slightly. Her hands moved to his shoulders and then behind his neck. Her left hand slid up to the back of his bald head and pulled him in for a kiss.
“Are you two ever going to cut the damned cake?” Trigg demanded.
“Shut up, Trigg!” Sid commanded from where she stood behind Priscilla as she snapped pictures of the newlywed couple. “You’ll get me copies of these?”
Laughing, Camille ended the kiss and pressed her face into her husband’s neck. Shifting slightly, she looked at her friend who was knelt on her knees with an amused grin. Priscilla changed her position and snapped a few more pictures. When she went to stand, her husband helped her up and the press of his hand over Priscilla’s stomach told Camille the secret that her friend was keeping.
Darkness walked around the table and sat his bride down behind the cakes. With the large cake sitting on the table, the alligators on top of the cupcakes were slightly above her head. Camille picked up the cake knife that had been found in Brute’s storage locker along with his wife’s wedding dress. She looked over at Scrapper who grinned back at her.
Carefully, under the direction of Priscilla as she snapped the pictures, the bride and groom cut the cake. Darkness gently placed a piece of cake in his wife’s waiting mouth. Leaning down, he whispered softly in her ear.
“I love it when you submit like this.”
As expected, she blushed a light pink. Looking at her husband with eyes that were dark with desire, she licked the icing off her lips. There was a soft sound at the back of his throat that told her it was a good thing that Noah was staying with her parents, and they had a hotel room for the night.
Darkness eagerly accepted the piece of cake that she offered him. He grinned at her when she swiped the icing on her finger onto his nose. Before Priscilla even said anything, he looked at her and posed for his picture to be taken.
“Okay, daddy,” Camille said once the pictures had been taken and Darkness was getting the cupcakes off the top. “Come get your cupcakes.”
“I needed you to do the cake so that I could give your husband something.” He accepted the box that his vice handed him. Opening it, Trigg removed the new cut with the Devil’s Saints Patch on the back. Walking around the table, he helped Darkness slide the new cut over his ivory button up shirt.
“We didn’t want you to feel like you had to choose between the two clubs,” Trigg explained. “So, I want you to keep your Cajuns cut. And have this one.”
Darkness hugged his father-in-law, “I guess there’s just one more thing to do.”
“Tattoo?” Trigg asked.
“Two things.”