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I didn’t say no.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Alexa
Friday dawned bright and warm, perfect for our weekend wedding in Westhampton.
My stomach was even worse than usual, so Luke kept the drapes closed and let me sleep it off while he got everything ready in consultation with Candace, who he went to pick up and bring to the hotel before we left for Westhampton.
I finally felt the nausea and fatigue lift around eleven thirty and went right to the bathroom to have a shower and get dressed. When I emerged from the bedroom, everyone was already there, sitting in the living room, drinking coffee and going over the itinerary.
“There she is,” Candace said. “The Bride-to-Be. Looking refreshed. How are you, kiddo?”
I went to her and squeezed her shoulders, before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“I’m good,” I said and sat beside Luke, giving him a quick kiss. “What’s the plan?”
We went over the itinerary for the weekend and then packed up, leaving the hotel around three for the drive to Westhampton. We took the stretch limo so we could all go together. My brother wasn’t able to attend the wedding because he was deployed somewhere in Afghanistan, but we’d Skype as soon as he was able and try to catch up.
Once we arrived, I felt happy to be back at the beach house and remembered that weekend that we got back together again after I mistakenly left Luke, thinking that it was a huge mistake to become involved with someone with such a different background than mine. My memories of the place were now only happy, and I felt the way I did on The Phoenix – like I was in a happy place. I could imagine Luke and me and our baby living there once I was finished with my classes and could manage working from home on my dissertation.
The place had been cleaned before we arrived and the beds all set up, the refrigerator stocked, and the patio set up with a huge awning over the table for the al fresco dinner. My excitement grew as the caterers arrived for the rehearsal dinner. I didn’t have to lift a finger and so could spend my time with my mom and Candace, Jan, Mara and Dana, talking about the wedding and the eventual honeymoon once my morning sickness was over. We passed little James between us, each getting some baby time. I hadn’t been around a lot of babies, so James was my first and I felt a bit awkward, but it felt nice to imagine my own little baby in my arms one day if all went well.
Luke and my father spent the dinner talking about my father’s various deployments, and postings. He really enjoyed my father's military stories and was a rapt audience for a man who loved to tell them. Luke’s father talked with John and Felicia, and with Craig and his girlfriend, Sarah. It was an enjoyable evening with all the people Luke, and I loved and cared about.
When we went to bed that night, Luke joked about sleeping on the sofa in the living room, so we could keep the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride until the ceremony, but I said no.
“You’re sleeping with me,” I said and laughed. “Life has tried to throw a lot at us to keep us apart. It didn’t work and some silly tradition isn’t going to keep us apart tonight.”
He relented, not really being serious, and so we spent our last night together as an engaged couple before the wedding.
When we snuggled together into bed after Luke turned off the lights, he pulled me into his arms.
“Should we deprive ourselves of pleasure the night before our wedding, just to be on the safe side?”
I lay there for a moment, wondering if we should but I shook my head.
“I’m pregnant. You don’t have to use a condom anymore, so why should we?”
“I like the way your mind works,” Luke said and that was all the encouragement he needed.
When I woke the morning of my wedding, I found a tray beside me on the bed with my crackers and peppermint tea at the ready, organic honey in a tiny pot beside it. There was a note on the tray from Luke.
Good Morning My Love
See you at the ceremony.
Love, Me.
I smiled and took a Dramamine, ate some crackers and sipped the hot peppermint tea, hoping it would lessen my nausea and that I wouldn’t be too tired for the ceremony. I usually felt like a million dollars around five o’clock in the afternoon, so I hoped it would be the same today.
My mom wheeled Candace into my room before noon, after I’d had a shower and was lying in bed, waiting for the sickness to pass, the drapes closed and some soft meditative music playing in the background.
“How are you, kiddo?” Candace asked and used her crutches to hobble over to the bed. “Can I join you?”
“Be my guest,” I said and so she carefully positioned herself and laid on the bed beside me. “Don’t make the bed move too much or I’ll be throwing up all over you.”
“That’s not the way to treat your maid of honor,” Candace said and laid back, a pillow propped behind her head. “You that bad? Dramamine doesn’t work?”
