A celebration

Because it was getting late the consul put you up in the guest rooms in another wing of the embassy. You grinned at Sophie after you'd been let inside and the young man on the embassy staff had left.

"I guess this is as good a place to honeymoon as any" you told her.

Sophie laughed and put her arms around your waist. "This doesn't count" she told you, "We were already in Greece."

You smiled and kissed her forehead. "Alright, alright" you said. You held her for a while longer before letting go. "I should call home, tell her we'll be along later than we thought."

Sophie nodded and went to the little kitchen where she went and made some coffee for the two of you. Smiling at your fiancée you sat down on the bed and got your phone from your pocket.

"Hey, mom" you said as she picked up.

"Hey honey. How are you? How's Sophie? Are you sure we don't need to come pick you up from the airport?" she asked, leveling her rapidfire questions at you. Unable to help yourself, you laughed.

"I'm fine. So is Sophie. We won't be coming home tonight yet, sadly" you replied.

"How come?" your mom asked.

"We're at the embassy. The consul wants to talk to the Greeks about our find first" you said.

"Don't tell me you have to pay for your own stay in a hotel" your mom said.

"Nah, the consul put us up in a guest room attached to the embassy" you explained.

"What about your ticket?" your mom asked.

"We called the airline. We'll be rescheduling when we need to" you told her.

"I see" your mom said, letting you know she didn't like it but she didn't want to be rude.

"Yeah, you'll hear from us soon enough. No worries mom, it'll be fine. You tell the girls, okay? It's pretty late here so we're about to hit the hay" you said.

"Sure thing, honey. Say hello to Sophie for me. We'll speak tomorrow" your mom said.

"Love you mom. Bye" you said before hanging up.

The next morning the Greeks sent a small delegation to the embassy to parlay with you. Sophie smiled when she saw her opposite number.

"You know her?" you asked.

"She was my roommate in college" she whispered. "An exchange student from Thessaloniki."

"Huh" you said, looking at the woman who was tan, dark haired, and fairly attractive. She had nothing on your Sophie, but looking was free.

"Dr. Wilson, mister Doe" the consul said, "this is Dr. Galanis and director Danielopoulos of the National Archaeological Museum" he said, indicating the woman first, then a sour-looking man, "and lastly mister Doukas, of the Greek government."

"Hello Callista" Sophie said with a smile towards Dr. Galanis before turning to the others. "Hello director Danielopoulos and mister Doukas." You nodded at them all in turn.

"Hello Sophie" Callista Galanis replied. "Who's this young man?"

"My assistant and my fiancé. We found the site together" Sophie said.

"Ah, yes, this mystical site that you tried to cover up" Doukas said.

The consul shot the man a look but said nothing. Your heart sank. You'd hoped this would be a quick meeting but this first sentence out of the man's mouth proved it would probably be a hard-fought battle.

"I can't believe they took half" you said.

"Are you kidding me?" Sophie said as she watched embassy staff bring in two suitcases that looked extremely sturdy and safe. "This is better than I'd hoped for."

"Really?" you asked as you watched the two men and a woman pack up the jewellery in the diplomatic suitcases so nobody could get to them.

"Oh, yes. Usually the Greeks aren't too happy about letting foreigners get away with their heritage" Sophie explained. "My knowing Callista helped a lot."

"Oh yeah? How close are you two?" you asked, waggling your eyebrows.

"She was my first lesbian experience" Sophie said with a straight face.

"Really?" you asked, gawking at your fiancée.

"No, you idiot. Not every college girl makes out with her room mate" she replied. You laughed and nudged her shoulder playfully.

"You're a tease, you know that?" you asked.

"All too well" Sophie replied with a teen-like giggle and a kiss on your nose.

When you finally got home the next day you were met by your sisters and mother, who all hugged you tight. The talk of the moment was not your massively lucky and important archaeological find, but the fact that you'd asked Sophie to marry you.

"How did you ask her?" Rebecca asked.

"Was it romantic?" Dawn added.

"Sophie, how did that make you feel?" your mom wanted to know.

You answered all those questions and more, each one making your smile grow wider. They knew you loved Sophie and that you were going to marry her wasn't a surprise. That it wasn't Alison no longer bothered any of them. Out of sight, out of mind..

You barely had time to get used to being back home as the very next day Sophie came into her kitchen holding a letter while sporting a very large grin.

"What is it? It better not be that paternity test" you joked.

"Idiot. It's from our own Archaeological Museum. They are throwing a gala fundraiser where they want to present our treasure as a reason to keep digging" she said with a smile. This made you sit up straight.

"Wait, what? Really?" you asked.

"No lie. Here, check it out" Sophie answered, handing you the letter. You read it and frowned.

"You and your husband.." you read out loud. Sophie giggled.

"Okay, they jumped the gun a bit on that one, but I like it. Dr. Sophie Doe" she said proudly.

"In your dreams" you said.

"For now" Sophie replied.

"Yeah,yeah, we'll get around to it when we get around to it" you laughed. "Urgh, I suppose I'll need to get some fancy clothes from home."

"You better do that. We're not going to the gala without you looking sharp" your future wife said.

When it was time for the gala you had to do something first, so you agreed with Sophie that you'd meet her at the museum. That made the surprise even greater when you finally saw her in her dress. After parking your car, no valet, sadly, you walked up to the entrance.

"Name?" the porter asked.

"John Doe" you said, patiently waiting for the man to check the list for your name.

"Oh, there it is. Yes, go on in" he said, opening the door for you.

When you came inside there were several staff waiting for guests to show them the way to wherever they needed to be.

"Can I help you, sir?" a young woman asked, around Dawn's age.

"I'm John Doe" you said again.

"Excellent. Please go upstairs, sir. Your wife is waiting for you there" she said. You nodded your thanks and went up the stairs across from the entrance and smirked when she couldn't see you. Hearing Sophie be referred to as your wife made you giddy. With a smile you rounded a corner when you saw a woman lean against a railing, looking down on the people below her. She turned around when she heard you. You were speechless save for one word.

"Soph" you said, smiling.