No Ordinary Love - G.Callen NCIS L.A

Chapter 56

"Dad, you in?"

Garrison looked from his paper at the sound of his son's voice. "It's open."

The door opened and Grisha stuck his head in. "There you are. Morning."

"Good morning." He put the paper down. "Coffee?"

"No, thanks." Grisha sat down next to his father at the kitchen table.

Noticing the tension in his shoulders and the way his blue eyes had clouded over, Garrison raised an eyebrow at him. "Something on your mind, Grisha?" Garrison liked to think they had grown closer since Christmas, but every now and then he caught Grisha being cautious. Not that he could blame him. They had missed each other for forty years. There was no way they could bridge that gap in a few months.

Grisha opened his mouth, closed it again and shook his head. "It's silly." He'd come to ask his father for more answers, but somehow it seemed childish now.

Garrison couldn't be discouraged. "Can't be that bad. What is it?"

"Where did you and Mom get married?"

Ah, he wanted more pieces of the puzzle. Garrison folded the paper back in half and thought. "We got married in front of a befriended judge, extremely early on a Monday morning, with two friends as witnesses. I doubt you'd find a paper trail, let alone the picture we had made." He'd become indifferent to the evidence of his life, having lost so many things. He held his memories tight. "The middle of winter, too, so it was cold. And since we couldn't afford anything else, I got married in my uniform and your mother wore a dress she had borrowed from a friend." He chuckled at the memory. "We were freezing but so happy."

Grisha smiled. "No regrets?"

"About our wedding day? No, none. Why?"

"Just wondering." With the preparations of his own wedding underway, Grisha had found himself curious about the way his parents had pledged their eternal love to one another.

"Wondering whether or not I would've like to give her an extravaganza? Of course I would have, but at that time, it was not the time or place to do that. And don't forget, she was an operative, I was a KGB Major... We'd kept our entire relationship pretty much a secret until then. Getting married, starting a family right under everybody's noses could prove lethal. We did it anyway. But, if she had wanted an extravaganza, I would have found a way to make it work. She didn't."

"Yeah."

"Are you worried about what Deja might want?"

He smiled sheepishly at his father. "Am I such an open book?"

"You're getting there," Garrison teased. "Not to everyone. Are you worried?"

"Maybe a little," he admitted. "I'm only going to do this once. I want it to be perfect."

Garrison took a sip of his coffee and put the cup back down. "It will be. There's a reason she put you in charge. That means she trusts you. She wouldn't have done it otherwise. Have you figured something out yet?"

"I have." Grisha took a breath. "Actually, are you busy, today?"

"I was going to catch up on some reading, but if you have a better plan, I'm all ears." It only registeren now that Grisha was home on a Tuesday. "What are you doing home, anyway?"

His son shrugged. "I have a day off to get some of that wedding stuff handled. Tell you in the car? I have some ideas and we have a date, so that's taken care of."

"Give me ten minutes to clean up here?"

"I need to get my notes." He rolled his eyes, his smile spreading from ear to ear. "At risk of sounding like a groomzilla, I have notes."

Garrison laughed, pushing his chair back to stand up. "Isn't that a good thing? What date have you settled on?"

"The courthouse had a cancelation. First weekend of May."

Ten minutes later they were on their way, but it wasn't until Grisha had steered in the direction of the high way, Garrison realized they weren't staying in LA. "Where are we going?"

"Santa Barbara."

"Van Nuys courthouse not good enough?"

"It crossed my mind," Grisha affirmed. "But when you see the Santa Barbara courthouse, you'll understand why Van Nuys didn't stand a chance. Besides, Tom, of course, owns a house, because his gallery is there. Big enough for all of us to stay the weekend. And he offered, so we're touring it today to see if I can take him up on it."

"You haven't seen it?"

"Pictures. Not the house itself. Would be great to have the party there, a rehearsal dinner. Make a weekend out of it."

Garrison studied his son from the passenger's seat. He had it all organized. Knew what he wanted. He was doing this. Choosing to have a life with her, rather than work the job. It was a choice Garrison secretly admired him for; a part of him wished he could've made the same decision back in the day. Maybe their family would've been complete, now, if he had. Grisha's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Are you going to bring a date?"

"A date? To your wedding? Why would you think that?"

"Oh, come on, Dad. I might almost be retired, but don't give up on me yet. You really didn't think we wouldn't see the car in front of your place? You live in our backyard."

"Maybe I want to keep her to myself a little longer," Garrison shot back. "I believe you did the same with Deja?"

"Touché." Grisha chuckled. "Fine. Let me know if you do, okay? We'd like to meet her, too. Your timetable."

"Thank you." He appreciated that. "It's all a bit new, still. But I like her. It's nice to have that sort of companionship back." He changed the topic back. "A wedding weekend, huh?"

"Depending on a lot of things. The ideas are still a bit rough, but they're here." He'd been meticulous in his planning so far. He was on the phone with Nanna and Maria every few days to talk things through. He had a leather binder with notes, sketches and samples. Dare he admit it, he even had a Pinterest board. He was worse than Kensi had been. "If the house plans out, we'll have a wedding weekend. Rehearsal, dinner. Brunch the next day, ceremony at the courthouse, as well as pictures and then dinner and a party back at the house. Topped off by a post-wedding breakfast on Sunday morning before we leave for our honeymoon."

"You're going all out."

"Dee's not for things, Dee's for memories. So let's give her a wedding she'll remember."

Garrison nodded. "And your honeymoon?"

"Haven't decided yet. I have some ideas lined up, but nothing concrete yet."

"Let me know when you do."

The tone of his father's voice took him by surprise. "Why?"

"Because I'd like your honeymoon to be my wedding present."

"Dad..."

Before he could protest further, Garrison held his hand up. "Like you said, Deja's not for things. She's for memories. You two have everything you need. Let me give you something you don't need but want, okay?"

Grisha was touched. "Are you sure? You don't have to do this, we're more than capable..."

"Don't make me beg for the honor, Grisha." The tone of his voice made more than clear how much he wanted to do this for them. "Please?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Grisha nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Garrison turned his gaze back ahead. "Now tell me about what else you have planned."