A couple of days after Betelgeuse proposed, Minerva and I were at a boutique, looking for a dress. I came out in a sleeveless, mermaid wedding dress with poofy shoulders and lace. I hated it. With a passion.

I slowly spun for Nerva, a sour look on my face. She grimaced.

"Yikes. Nope."

I nodded in agreement, going back to change into my regular clothes.

We had been at the boutique for over three hours, and not one dress really called out to me. By the time Nerva and I left the store and made our way downtown to Bernie's to grab a bite to eat, I was feeling pretty discouraged. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to find a dress in time.

We had decided to have the wedding in the spring, since that was Beej's favorite season, and it would be ideal weather for an outdoor wedding. We wanted to have it on the roof.

I sighed and rubbed a hand over my weary countenance. The wedding was three weeks away, and there was still so much to be done. Not to mention I had to invite all of my still living relatives that I could at least tolerate.

I liked some of my relatives more than others. My favorites, though, were my sister's great-times 20 or something granddaughter and her twins. The granddaughter's name was Amalie, and the twins' names were Marlo and Fiora. They were the only remaining relatives I had who knew about my curse. They all three called me "Auntie (Y/N)", and Amalie's husband Francesco just called me "(Y/N)".

I smiled to myself as I thought about how much I was going to enjoy having Amalie, Francesco, and my twelve-year-old niece and nephew come and stay for a while.

Nerva and I sat down at a small table for two, and waved at Riley, who flashed us a Colgate-commercial-worthy smile before waiting on a couple a few tables down from us. My knee bounced, my growing anxiety driving me up a wall.

"Hey, Miss Earthquake, you mind chilling out? Stressed much?" Nerva asked me smartly, chuckling.

I immediately stilled myself and smiled up at her apologetically. "Sorry, just a little anxious, I guess."

"Uh, you guess? Girl, you are losing your mind over this!" she told me, taking a sip of her ginger ale once our waitress brought out our drinks. She swallowed and sighed contentedly. "Just relax; talk to someone who's had a wedding before and get their advice."

I thought about it for a moment. I mean, she had a point.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but who am I gonna ask?"

She picked up her menu and perused the content. "Didn't Delia and Charles get married a while back?"

I sucked in a breath through my teeth, looking out a nearby window. "Um, no offense to either of them, but Delia is extremely... out there with her tastes, and Charles is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum: very traditional and rigid. I want something not too traditional, but not too crazy, either, you know?"

Minerva nodded at me. "Okay. What about the Maitlands?"

I stared at her.

Of course! Why hadn't I thought of that sooner? It was perfect! I grinned at my friend.

"Nerva, you're a genius!"

She shrugged. "I try."

As we were just starting to eat, my phone rang. I looked down at the caller ID, but did't recognize the number. I picked up anyway.

"Hello?"

"Auntie (Y/N)?"

I immediately recognized Marlo's voice. I grinned from ear to ear.

"Hey, bocciolo! How are you?" I asked, resting my elbows on the table like the rebellious child I am.

"I'm great! Really excited to see you and excited for your wedding!"

If it was possible, my smile grew a tad bit bigger.

"Me too! I can't wait for you guys to meet my fiancé."

I heard a girl speak in the background. "Fiancé?" she gasped. "Marlo, are you talking to Auntie (Y/N) without me??"

I heard Marlo sigh in defeat. I giggled. "Hello, Fiora."

I heard her squeal and come running toward the phone. "Hiii!! Tell me all about your fiancé!" she demanded promptly.

I chuckled nervously.

Where do I even start?

"I think you'll just have to meet him. He's too amazing to be put into words. He's also a little on the..." Here I cupped my hand around the phone and whispered. "....paranormal side."

I heard both twins gasp.

Fiora and Marlo were both very into the paranormal/magic/myths. They loved hearing stories, exploring urban legends, and debunking phony tales with cold, hard facts.

But what separated the twins from your average myth-buster, -besides the fact that they were still in middle school- was that they actually believed in the paranormal. They believed in magic. They believed that these things actually existed. So when I told them that my fiancé was "a little on the paranormal side", they freaked. Out.

They both rushed to speak over each other, causing me to wince and hold the phone away from my ear due to the sudden increase in volume.

"Woah, woah, woah, you two! Slow down, and one at a time, please!" I told them, and they finally stopped shouting over one another.

"Do you think we could come a little early, so we can spend time with you and your fiancé?" Marlo asked me, eager, hopeful anticipation in his voice.

I chuckled. "I don't see why not!"

I had to pull the phone away from my ear again when the twins started squealing in delight.

~

It was the next day, and Beej and I were sitting in the floor in the living room around the coffee table, putting invitations in envelopes and sealing them. Betelgeuse did the stuffing and sealing part, while I was in charge of addressing them and putting a stamp on.

"Oh, by the way," I said to him suddenly, "my great times like 20 or something niece and her family are coming early, to stay with us for a couple of weeks. That way they can spend some extra time with us, since they're really the only relatives I like and who like me."

He groaned. "Does that mean that I have to go back to being 'Uncle Larry'?"

I laughed and shook my head. "They all know about my curse, and are super chill about it. They'll be fine with you being a demon from the Netherworld. Plus, the twins love the paranormal, so prepare for a ton of questions."

"Great, two more Minnies."

I chuckled and slapped his arm. "Beej!"

He grinned. "Kidding!"

All of a sudden, he gasped. "Ow!"

"Uh-oh, what happened?" I asked, coming around to his side of the table to look at the finger he was holding.

"Just a paper cut, babes."

"Uh, yeah, but it's oozing green, Beej."

He chuckled at my concerned bewilderment. "I know. That's the color of my blood."

"Wait, seriously?"

He nodded.

"Oh, I always thought it was red."

I ran and grabbed him a "cat power" band-aid.

"Sorry, it's the only one I could find that wasn't jumbo-sized."

He opened the bandage and wrapped it around his left index finger. "Hey, as far as I'm concerned, this 'I'm feline fine' pun is the best thing I've seen all day."

I laughed at that.

"So, when did you say your relatives are supposed to be coming?" Betelgeuse asked, getting back to stuffing and sealing envelopes.

"Um, today, at some point, actually," I answered, double-checking an address. It was a Netherworld address. "Does USPS even deliver to the Netherworld?" I asked him, eyebrow arched.

He chuckled. "No, I gotta take 'em down to the post office down there."

"Oh. So, from what Lydia's told me about her trip to the Netherworld, once you go in, you usually don't come back out. You really think your mom'll let all these people come to the wedding?"

"No, but she doesn't have to know." He gave me a sharp-toothed grin.

I smiled at him and shook my head. "Well, I don't want any trouble."

He grabbed my hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, babes, I picked this day specifically because it's the day my mom leaves to go to the capitol to give an update about the traffic into the Netherworld. She should be pretty preoccupied with that to even notice a few people leaving and then coming back."

I sighed in relief as he rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand. "Okay. That's one less thing to worry about."

Just as soon as Betelgeuse opened his mouth to speak, the front door flew open and Lydia stood at the threshold.

"(Y/N)! Why on earth didn't you tell me you had cool relatives??"

I smiled at her. "They must be here-"

"Auntie (Y/N)!" I heard two voices scream in unison, before being barreled into and knocked flat onto my back.

"Oof-"

The twins laughed before letting me up and giving me a hug. I laughed along with them and hugged them close. They pulled away, still beaming at me.

"I'm so glad you two made it!" I told them, offering them a seat on the couch. They obliged me. "Do you guys want anything to eat or drink?"

They both shook their heads. "No, thanks," Marlo said. "We just had lunch a few minutes ago."

"Oh, okay. Where are your parents? Do they need help unloading the car?" I asked, peering out the window as best I could from so far away.

"They're making a quick grocery run," Fiora informed me, pulling her long, dark braid over her shoulder.

I nodded.

"You've been doing invitations all by yourself?" Marlo asked me, gazing around at the stacks of cards, envelopes, and stamps littering the coffee table.

I looked around, seeing that Betelgeuse had conveniently vanished. I chuckled, putting my hands on my hips.

"No, I've had some help."

The twins exchanged an excited glance.

"Is he invisible?" my nephew asked me.

I laughed. "Sometimes. One sec, I'll get him. Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse!"

With a poof of green smoke, Beej was now standing in the middle of the living room, holding a butter knife and what looked to be half of a pb&j sandwich. He looked over at me. "I was sorta in the middle of making lunch-"

He was immediately knocked to the ground by the twins, who were poking, prodding, and asking a million questions.

I laughed. "Guys, let him up."

All three of them stopped wrestling on the ground to look up at me. Marlo had a hold of one of Beej's hands, looking at it closely, and Fiora had her fingers in his mouth, examining his sharp teeth like a dentist. That child has no concept of personal space, I swear.

"Hur da herk ah foo?" Betelgeuse asked.

The twins quickly let him up sheepishly.

"Sorry about that," Marlo apologized, grinning up at him.

Fiora nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I do have a question, though. How in the world are your teeth that sharp?" She and her brother both flipped open notepads and had their pens poised, ready to write.

Beej shrugged. "Dunno, guess I've had 'em ever since I... you know, kicked the bucket."

The twins' furious scribbling abruptly stopped and they stared up at him in awe.

"You're dead??"

"How did that happen??"

"How are you here, now??"

"What's the afterlife like??"

I chuckled and came around to where Betelgeuse was sitting and stood behind him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He reached up and took hold of my wrists, rubbing them absent-mindedly.

"How about we take a breath and ask questions one at tine, okay?" I said, smiling at the twins.

"Okay," they replied, Marlo cleaning his rectangular glasses on his shirt and Fiora pushing her round-framed glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Okay," Marlo began. "How did you die?"

"I hanged myself."

"Oh."

"Okay, my turn!" Fiora blurted, not phased. "When did you die?"

"1810."

"So, what exactly are you?" Marlo asked once he had recovered from Beej's blunt answer.

"I am a demon."

"Woah, really??"

"That's so awesome!!"

Betelgeuse looked equal parts taken aback and also secretly pleased.

"Do you have any powers??" Fiora asked my fiancé, leaning forward in anticipation.

Beej gave her a toothy, mischievous grin and flicked out his snake tongue teasingly.

"You have no idea."

I chuckled. "Why don't you three go outside, and Beej can show you some tricks, while I go talk to Barbara for a minute?"

They all three nodded and took off out the door. Lydia came into the living room, popping a pizza roll into her mouth.

"Hey, would you make sure they don't do anything stupid?" I asked her, stacking up the remaining envelopes and invitations and setting them to the side.

"I don't know why you're asking me, of all people, but yeah, I'll see what I can do," she replied drily, mozying on out the door and shutting it behind her.

I smiled, shaking my head and heading upstairs to talk to Barbara, and hopefully to get some much-needed advice.