by Cee, DW
“Like you were ever on Emily’s radar?”
With gumption, he answered, “She could have been had I really tried.”
Garret threw his dirty, rolled up socks at our little Davis for his ridiculous statement.
“In all seriousness, we’re both happy with the change in Mom and Dad, and we’re psyched to have Jane as our sister. It’ll be nice to have a little femininity in the Davis household.”
“Thanks, Garret. I know Jane loves the both of you, too. I don’t know how long we’ll stay neighbors, but I know both of us are glad for the chance to stay close. What I’ve found with Jane, I wish for the both of you.”
“Amen to that!” Those were the last words spoken before we Davis brothers fell asleep.
Chapter 8 Jane: The Sweetest Day
“How did you sleep last night, my sweet bride?”
“What a delicious wakeup call.” Max and I had been apart since Thursday and I ached to be with him again. After having spent the past ten months living in the same home, sleeping in the same room, half of me was missing. “I missed you is how I slept last night.”
“I missed you, too, Gem. What have you been doing without me?”
“We had an all girls’ pow-wow on Thursday night concerning every topic under the Tuscan sun. Friday was all about getting ourselves pampered. Last night, Mom treated us to a beautiful concert under the stars and dinner at a nearby restaurant.”
“That sounds nice.”
“I would’ve given up every last activity just to lounge at home with you, doing nothing in particular.”
“Tonight’s the night, Babe.”
“Are you talking about the wedding night or the wedding night?”
“Yes!” Max’s enthusiasm cracked me up.
“See you at the altar.”
“See you soon, my precious Gem.”
There was nothing that wouldn’t have put me in a good mood today, but that phone call put me in the over-the-top-happy category.
I was marrying my best friend, my lover, my absolute all, today. Truly, I couldn’t have been more excited.
“Knock, knock.” Laney, Emily, and Ellie walked in.
“Janey. It’s your marry day!” Ellie jumped on my bed.
“It is my marry day. I’m marrying Uncle Max.”
“No!” She brought on her mean-girl attitude. “My Unca Ax.” She let us all know.
“I thought Donovan was your Unca.” Laney brushed Ellie’s hair with her hand and Ellie would have none of it. She lifted her shoulder and basically shrugged off her Aunty Laney. “Babies sleeping right now?” she asked Laney. Who could keep up with the mind of a two-year-old? It was all over the place, just like her mood.
“Yes, both babies are sleeping right now. They were very active early in the morning.”
“Mama. I’m done. I go to Dada now.”
“Bye.” I kissed her reluctant cheek. “Take a nice long nap so you can wear your pretty dress and be my flower girl.”
The mention of her dress put Elizabeth Reid in a really good mood. She flashed us her stunning smile and waved good-bye.
“She’s such a drama queen. Were you like that when you were young?” I asked my sister.
“No. All that drama comes from the Reid side of the family. No one in my family ever talked that much or manipulated so well.”
“It must come from Jake.”
“I think it all comes from you, Janey,” Laney teased. “Gram says it’s time to get up. She wants you to start with your beauty treatments.”
“It’s still early. I won’t get married for another ten hours.”
“According to our grandmother, you need a ‘light facial, a light lunch, a light nap, and then the real fun begins.’”
Emily agreed with Laney’s recantation of Gram’s edict. “Don’t forget, the men will head back late afternoon. That means you need to stay put in your room.”
“Some of these are lame traditions,” I complained. “You two slept with your husbands the past two nights.”
“You can stand in my shoes when Bee marries Nick.” Emily stopped listening to my whining and stepped halfway out the door. “Shall we?” Laney waddled out with her.
Deciding nothing good came of going against Gram’s words, I showered and readied myself for the day.
“Jane?” Sam knocked after she opened the door. “The aestheticians are here. We’ve set up beauty shop in my room. Are you ready?”
“I suppose.”
“You’re only to wear your robe.”
“Oh, all right.” I proceeded to change out of my outfit with the prescribed robe.
“You and Laney are going first since she says she needs a nap more than you do.” Sam giggled. “It’s still a shock for me to see such a ginormous belly on our cousin. She’s much bigger than Emily ever was, right?”
“That she is.”
“Hey, I heard that.” Laney came at us from the opposite direction. “I will ask the baby fairy to bless you both with twins. We’ll see how big you both get, considering you’re both shorter than I am.”
“Dear God. Today’s my wedding day. I wish only to think happy thoughts.”
“Babies only bring about happy thoughts. Feel the twins right now.” She offered us her belly. Sam and I were grossed out at the jutting and moving of human beings under all that skin. “They’ve had a hearty breakfast and they’re playing well with one another.”
Sam and I could only wonder how the hell she knew the twins weren’t beating each other up because one twin ate the other twin’s portion of food. I had to wonder why the hell I was conjuring ridiculous thoughts when all I should think of was marrying Max, right now.
“Let’s go, Cousin.” I pointed to the door.
“See you two later. I’m last on the totem pole so my appointment isn’t until late afternoon.”
“Bye, Sam.” Laney called out, still caressing her babies. “You talk to Max this morning?” She changed subjects once we sat ourselves in the comfy recliners.
“Yeah. He called to say good morning.” Thoughts of Max brought me to that happy place, again.
“You’re extremely lucky, you know.” Laney’s voice went all soft. Both of aestheticians started with a soothing massage. “He’s an incredible man. I would have loved growing up with such a caring brother.”
“You mean your brother wasn’t as caring as my two?” I laughed. Laney followed.
“When I was mooning over Donovan, I always wondered why I couldn’t love a man like Max. If he was a Boy Scout, he’d rank as an Eagle Scout. If he was a fish, he’d be a shark, at the top of the food chain. If he was an animal, he’d be a lion, the king of the animal world.”
“Where do you come up with these things, my dear cousin? Does your mind always work in metaphors and similes?”
My eyes were closed, enjoying the massage, but I knew Laney’s shoulders were shaking in amusement.
“I often think I should write novels for a living. I have stories in my head all the time and I love talking in allegories. Donovan would love that too, if I stayed home with the kids.”
“Are you really finishing med school? Not to add to your concerns, but Max worked hard in med school. From what I can tell, it’s not an easy road.”
The sigh ricocheted off every wall in the room. “I know. Half of me wants to give up. I was so damn tired during finals. If I’m this exhausted with the babies contained in my body, what will I do when they’re out and mobile?”
“But?”
“But, this can’t last forever. I will finish school one day. The kids will grow up and have lives of their own. I will try my hardest to be a fantastic mom, but I don’t want to give up my dreams. Is that selfish of me? Should I stay home and raise the kids, instead? I suppose I could re-enroll in med school after the kids are in school fulltime.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Laney. You’ll do a fine job raising your kids. You have grandparents w
ith ready hands, dying to help. I’m afraid mine will be over the whole baby thing once my kids are born. They’ll have gone through three of Jake’s already.”
“Four.”
“Four? How the hell do you know this before I do?”
“I don’t think Emily is fully aware of it herself.”
After our massage, Laney and I grabbed a salad for lunch, went off to our own rooms and took a long nap.
The phone awoke me to reality.
“Hello?”
“Did you have a nice nap, my precious Gem?”
“How’d you know I was napping?”
“I watched you sleep for a while.”
“No fair. You were here and you didn’t let me know?”
“I snuck in and snuck out without Gram catching me.”
“You should have woken me up. I would have liked to have seen you.”
“You were knocked out. I don’t know that I could have woken you.”
“What brought you to the villa, Dr. Davis?”
“Mrs. Davis,” he chided gently. “We are all back. There’s only a couple of hours left before we say, ‘I do.’ I needed to make sure my bride showed up to the altar.”
“What?” I yelled and popped out of bed. “Shit. The wedding starts in two hours! Why the hell didn’t anyone wake me up?”
“I told them not to. You need your rest if you’re going to fulfill your promise of a wedding all-nighter.”
“But my makeup and hair aren’t done. Oh my gosh. I’m going to be late to my own wedding.” The hyperventilating began. “What about the flowers, are they all arranged properly? The chef—I was supposed to taste the salad dressing. And my dress! Who pressed my dress? Ah!!!! I’m so behind schedule. How could I sleep my wedding day away?” Forget hyperventilating, I was having a full panic attack.
“Relax, Gem. Everything has been taken care of—all you have to do is doll yourself up a little more than usual, and walk down that aisle to meet me.”
“What do you mean? Who took care of everything?”
“I talked to Chloe and she has everything under control. The reason I came in the room was to pick up your dress—I promise I didn’t peek—and deliver it to Chloe. I think she’s hired every spare hand in the Tuscan region to set up our wedding. It looks stunning.”
I was still stressed. “I should have been there to answer any questions.”
“There were no questions. Harry Bennington knew what he was doing when he hired Chloe. She’s smart, has good common sense, and a wonderful sense of style.”
“I suppose as a designer, she would. Are you sure I wasn’t needed?”
“You were not.” Max reassured. “Now get to the aesthetician in Sam’s room. Emily just told me you’re up.”
“All right.” Somehow, it felt wrong to feel so relaxed on my wedding day. Someone must have drugged me because no bride in her right mind would sleep away her most important day.
“I love you, my beautiful bride, and I can’t wait to marry you.”
My groom always knew just the right thing to say. “I love you, too,” I professed with a big lump in my throat.
I was marrying the best man, ever!
About an hour into all the grooming, my bridesmaids came in, ready for my special day. Each one of them looked gorgeous.
“Oh Jane! Max is going to flip when he sees you.” My best friend, Becky, helped me out of the chair.
“Let’s get you into your dress and see what the total package looks like.” Evie carefully carried over my gown.
While Evie held up my dress, Emily and Becky helped slide my fitted wedding gown over my bodice. My non-traditional wedding wear was a V-neck, sleeveless, sleek ivory silk gown with a plunging cowl neck in the back. A loose tie held the top of the back together, and a belt from the same fabric kept the cowl neck from falling below the lowest part of the back.
A simple ruffle cut the floor length dress starting from the knee, reaching to the floor as it curved to the back. The dress was simple and elegant. I loved it. I knew it would please Max.
“You look stunning, Jane.” Emily spoke it and the rest of the ladies agreed.
“Thank you. What’s going on outside?”
“Everything is set. All they need is for you to walk down the Gone with the Wind steps and onto the flower-covered aisle. It’s beautiful down there, Jane. You and Max will have the perfect night you planned.”
“Thanks, Beck. I’m getting butterflies now. I hope the ceremony isn’t too long. I don’t know that I’ll be able to stay focused.”
“You’ll be fine, Jane. Look at how our little sister did it with two babies in her tummy.” Becky grinned at Laney and rubbed her stomach. “My brother is sick in love with you and the babies.”
“I know.” Laney’s grin was even wider. “Let’s get this show on the road, Cousin. The babies smell bisteca.”
“Heaven forbid we keep you and those steaks away from one another.” I commented, gliding into my shoes. “I’m ready!”
Dad was already outside my door as the bridesmaids met Ellie and James at the bottom of the stairs.
“You look beautiful, Darling. I can’t believe my little girl has grown up to become a bride. Where did all those years go? I remember you as a little girl about Elizabeth’s age. You looked and acted very much like your niece.”
“I was not that big of a brat.” I whispered, just in case my brother’s family could hear our conversation.
There was a twinkle in Dad’s eyes. “Oh, I don’t know about that. Our Ellie gets her sassiness from somewhere and it isn’t from her mother.” That twinkle turned to sheer adoration as he watched his granddaughter doing pirouettes in her fancy flower girl dress. “Your mother and I are very proud of you and we love you.”
“I love you, too, Daddy. I’m sorry I was such a brat growing up.”
“That’s all a part of growing up, Darling. When you and Max have kids, you’ll suffer through all the same issues we faced.”
“Oh no!” I didn’t want a daughter like myself—disobedient and rebellious.
“You and Max have good heads on your shoulders. You’ll walk through life without too many problems. And if there are issues you can’t resolve, you have all of us on the cul-de-sac.” Dad patted my hand and continued his words of wisdom. “From your grandmother to your mother to your sister, there are no finer examples for you. I hope one day soon you and your husband will choose to live on the cul-de-sac with us. It’s wonderful for us to see Ellie, James, and JR daily. Your Gram and Roland won’t live much longer, and you know how much Roland adores you.”
“I don’t think we can afford a home on the cul-de-sac, Daddy. Max wants to do everything on his own strength, and selling our home will not yield a down payment for a Reid home.”
“We’ll figure something out. Henry loves having Laney next door. I’d like to have my little girl next door to me, too.” I’d never thought of myself as Daddy’s little girl. I supposed when I was younger, that’s how my father saw me. When had I grown up and why had I wanted to grow up so soon? “I think they’re ready for us.” I looked to the empty foyer. During our conversation, all the bridesmaids and groomsmen had walked down the aisle. “Are you ready for your big night?”
“I am, Daddy. I was born to marry Max Davis.”
With that conviction, my father led me to the man who would lead me the rest of the way through life.
Chapter 9 Max: The Sweetest Bride
There she was—my bride! Walking down the aisle with her father, she was stunning. No Tuscan sunset could outshine my Gem tonight.
Wearing a simple gown that hugged her perfect frame, she was the epitome of a beautiful bride. She looked flawless. What a lucky man I was.
Thinking back to the way our relationship began, we had had our share of ups and downs. From Jane’s wavering mind, to Donovan’s interference, to Hannah’s appearance, to everything in between, I thought we were doomed. How
ever, our love for one another held together and pushed away all the temptations and hindrances.
Back in college, I thought Emily was the ideal woman for me. Hindsight being 20/20, I had much to learn and mature. Jane and I continually push and sharpen each other to achieve our full potential. My bride walking down the aisle was absolute perfection for me.
“Hey,” Jane whispered when she approached.
“Hey, yourself. You come here often?” I whispered back.
My very-soon-to-be father-in-law chuckled his way to his seat.
“There was a close encounter back in undergrad, but no, I can’t say I come here often.”
I kissed my bride’s lips as soon as I lifted her veil back. “Reid family tradition, I’m told.”
“Ahem.” The pastor cleared his throat. “Talking during the ceremony must also be a Reid family tradition. It started with your grandparents and has continued with you, your brother, and your cousin.” Pastor John married every member of the Reid family since Estelle and Jerry’s days. We didn’t know if he and his wife could make the flight out here, but he said as long as he was alive, he’d stand at the head of the altar with the Reids. It didn’t hurt that we provided a trip to Italy for him and his wife.
“Sorry,” we whispered simultaneously.
“Dearly Beloved…” I didn’t listen to anything Pastor John said. I was too engrossed with my bride.
Our not-so-secret conversation continued. “You look ravishing, my dazzling bride. There are no comparisons tonight or any other night.”
“Considering my competition consists of a six-month-old prego woman carrying twins, I’m sure I outshine her.”
“You outshine the Tuscan sunset. You are perfection.”
“You’re getting lucky tonight.” My bride mouthed those words.
I mouthed back, “I know!”
Somewhere during our conversation, the vows were spoken, my grandmother’s wedding band found its way onto my bride’s ring finger, and our lips enjoyed their mating. Since I’d been deprived for months, I decided we could kiss longer than propriety allowed. Pastor John had to “ahem” his disapproval to get me to let go of my bride.