Eddie opened the doors as we reached the top. The wedding march began to drift swiftly through the hall and everyone stood, turning towards us. Eddie helped me quickly remove my cover and took his place beside the door holding my things for me. It seemed he had the best spot in the house. He could see everything from where he stood.
I placed my hand on my father’s arm and took the first step forward. I squeezed his arm a little tighter as we slowly approached, and I saw Jackson standing up at the alter smiling brightly at me. I noticed his hands were shaking slightly and he looked a shade paler than normal. Emily wasn’t kidding when she said he was nervous.
He looked so incredibly handsome. His dark grey suit fit him perfectly and showed off his broad chest and brilliant green eyes. William and Alexander stood beside him both with slight smiles across their faces. On the other side of the aisle stood Olivia and Elizabeth, each holding their lilies and watching me try not to stumble towards them.
The faces of everyone I had ever known were staring back at us. My mother and Emily were crying softly as was Rachel, Lizette. and Phoebe. I blinked away from them and turned my eyes back to Jackson. As far as I was concerned, we were the only two people there. I kept repeating . . . one step at a time, once I reach Jackson everything will be fine.
Pastor Jacobs motioned for everyone to be seated when we finally reached the altar. He opened up with a prayer before my father kissed me one last time and placed my hands in Jackson’s. Yet, before he took his seat beside Mother, he placed his hand on Jackson’s arm and whispered something in his ear that I couldn’t hear. Jackson grinned slightly and nodded in return.
I handed Olivia my bouquet and faced Jackson, each of my hands holding his. My eyes embraced his while Pastor Jacobs rambled on for what felt like an eternity. My body still felt numb and the whole ceremony passed by in a blurred haze. We each recited our parts perfectly and finally said our “I do’s.” Jackson slipped a beautiful white gold band with several small diamonds encased in it on my ring finger with the biggest smile I had ever seen across his shapely lips. I blushed brightly and took his ring, a simple white gold band, from Olivia and slid it on his finger with trembling hands. I gazed back up at his gorgeous face and heard the minister say, “You may kiss your bride.”
Jackson wrapped his arms about me and kissed me deeply. Fire raced through every fiber of my being and I embraced him back. Reluctantly, he pulled away with a cheesy grin.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson Chandler,” Pastor Jacobs announced loudly.
Everyone in the church stood up and applauded. It was then that I noticed standing in the back of the church was not only Eddie but Mimi, Sarah, Cora, and our entire newly hired house staff. I was so happy to see them all there.
Jackson and I stepped down from the altar and made our way through the crowd that gathered quickly around us. Several minutes later the cold air hit our faces like razor blades after being so long inside the hot stuffy church.
He helped me climb into his awaiting carriage and stuffed my dress in around me. “We did it! Can you believe it? We actually did it, Mrs. Chandler!” He beamed and climbed in beside me.
“I love the sound of that.” He leaned over and pulled me closer to him as Barnaby launched the carriage forward. Jackson wrapped me in his arms and kissed me passionately.
“Mrs. Chandler,” he whispered softly in my ear and brushed his lips over my neck. I felt goose bumps run over my entire body and not from the frigid night air.
“I love you.” I brought my mouth to his and devoured it.
“I love you,” he replied breathlessly.
I could not get enough of him. I loved the way his lips molded to mine, hot and firm yet soft and caressing all at the same time. His arms wrapped around me with a gentle force compelling me to do anything he wanted. One of my hands held onto the back of his jacket tightly while the other slid gracefully through the back of his hair, each pulling him into me, crushing me against the back and side of the carriage. I wanted him so badly. I couldn’t have cared less about going to the reception, taking pictures and cutting the cake. All I wanted, all I would ever want, was right here in my arms. Nothing else in the world existed but the two of us.
Barnaby halted the carriage at the porch steps of my parents’ home and cleared his throat loudly. Jackson and I relented and released each other from our passionate spell. “Guess we have to make an appearance,” he said sadly.
“I wish we didn’t.”
“Me too.” Yet, Barnaby opened the door and offered me his hand to help me out of the carriage.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Chandler.”
“Thank you, Barnaby.” I stepped down and waited for Jackson.
“I’s took a turn or two through the park on our way here, Mr. Chandler. I wanted to give everyone time to return from the church.” He winked at Jackson who grinned and nodded in return.
“Thank you, Barnaby. Please come in and share a piece of cake with us.”
“Thank you, Mr. Chandler.”
Jackson took my hand and led me up the steps as Barnaby held open the front door. We were greeted by an outcry of cheers and greetings. Everyone surrounded us conveying their congratulations and best wishes. My mother pushed her way through the crowd of family and friends.
“Pictures first . . . pictures first.” She grabbed my arm and tugged us through the commotion into the front room by the hearth. I glanced back towards Jackson with a slight smile on my face. I knew each of us was thinking the same thought . . . these are the photos that I had discovered in the old album in 2009.
By the time the pictures were over I was seeing spots from the numerous flashes going off in our faces. I tried to close my eyes but that only made things much worse. I held loosely onto Jackson’s arm to steady myself. He guided me towards the dining room where Sarah and Mimi had put out an amazing buffet of food with a tiered caked in the center that was easily twice the size as the one she had made for my birthday.
With the entire house in commotion, the cutting of the cake and everyone smothering us for the next several hours, we never got five minutes alone. I could hardly breathe in my gown and I was quickly growing tired with the whole fiasco of it all. I only wanted to be alone with my new husband. I had been dreaming of this night for years and now that we were officially married, I could not get a word to him.
***
The house had begun to clear around ten o’clock. Jackson and I settled down on the lounge to breathe for a moment. I leaned my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes. All I wanted to do was go to sleep. I began to wonder if I would even have the strength to be conscious long enough to have the night I’d been dreaming of for as long as I could remember.
Robert stood and walked over to the hearth with Emily and raised his glass. “I would like to formally toast Jocelyn and Jackson. I wish you two all the happiness in the world.” Everyone took a drink believing that was the end of his toast but instead Robert continued. “Now it is typically the tradition that the parents of both the bride and groom give them a special wedding gift to enhance their new lives together. However, in this case it has been very difficult to come up with something since you are having so much difficulty finding a suitable new home. Well, we put our heads together and I believe we have come up with a solution that will make you both very pleased.” My parents were seated beside one another holding hands with a smile across their faces that told me they were in on it as well.
Our siblings and their families lined the walls in a fashion that made me feel uncomfortable. My eyes scanned over the room, carefully looking for some sort of facial expression that would give me a hint as to what was coming next. There was nothing.
Robert continued, “Emily and I purchased a home for the two of you.”
Immediately my heart sank to my feet. Jackson and I had searched every available home within a twenty mile radius and could not find one suitable home that we cou
ld agree upon. I had finally accepted that we would stay with his parents and start building a new home in the spring.
“Now, Jocelyn, wipe that look off your face. Do you think I would allow him to proceed with this without having some say so in it?” Emily laughed. I hadn’t realized I physically cringed when he dropped the news.
“Sorry,” I said softly.
“What she meant to say,” Jackson glanced my way before looking back at his father, “is that we looked at all the homes in the area and did not find anything, that we felt, portrayed our personality.” I could tell he chose his words very carefully.
“But somehow you managed to miss one particular house,” my mother smiled coyly.
Robert reached into the inside pocket and handed Jackson a cream enveloped tied with a green ribbon.
“What is this?” Jackson took it with slight hesitation.
“Open it.” Emily shifted impatiently.
Our eyes locked for a moment before he slowly untied the ribbon and pulled out the contents. It was a single silver key. “Okay. It’s a key.” Jackson looked confused as he stated the obvious.
Everyone around us broke out in a low giggle as if the two of us were ignorant and did not get the punch line.
“It is a key to your new house.” William came up behind us and slapped him lightly on the shoulder.
“All right, but where is it?” I locked eyes with my mother, knowing she’d crack under the pressure. But for once, she didn’t. She and my father continued their stoic stance.
“Our wedding present to you both is a new house.” Emily could hardly contain herself.
“And our gift was the furnishings,” my mother piped up. “It is all ready for you to move right in.”
I was speechless. My whole body went numb and I felt lightheaded. There were no words to express the shock and gratitude I was feeling. I placed my hand over my new husband’s. He sat there stone faced, stunned and at a loss for words.
“My goodness, I cannot believe this. Thank you all so very much,” I managed to squeak out.
“Emily and I with the help of these other ladies,” she nodded towards my extended family, “picked out the new furniture, wallpaper, and accessories for your new place. It was quite the ordeal keeping it all a secret from you both. But we had to include them because we wanted to make sure that we picked a décor that matched your taste.”
Jackson turned the key over and over between his fingers nervously. “Silly question, but where is this house located?” He scanned over the faces around him.
“Haven’t you figured it out by now, little brother?” Alex teased him only to be met with a glare from Jackson. I knew he was as tired as I was and I don’t believe that either of us was in the mood to play games. “All right,” Alex glanced over at his father who nodded in return. “Your new home is next door.”
“Are you serious?” My eyes immediately landed on Olivia.
“I cannot believe you did not figure it out before. All those times you saw me watching the house being renovated from the window, I thought for sure you knew.” She grinned widely as she got up and walked over to us.
“Are you all right with this?” I whispered.
“Are you kidding, it was my idea.” Very few things shocked me these days but her words completely floored me. She leaned down and hugged me tightly. “I know you two will have a wonderful life there. Besides, this way I still get to see you every day.”
“True. Thank you so much.”
“Well now, I am sure you both would like to see your new home. I believe Bertina and Cora have everything ready for you.” My mother rose and placed her hand gently on my arm.
***
Jackson carried me over the threshold of our new home and put me down in the foyer. “I apologize for not carrying you upstairs except I do not know which bedroom is ours,” he chuckled.
“If it is all right with you, I would like to look around the house first and see what they have done.”
“Of course,” Jackson agreed.
Cora walked around the corner. “Good evenin’, I thought I heard you.” She embraced us both. “Congrats.”
“Thank you,” we replied in unison.
“Would you mind showing us around the house? I am afraid we are a little lost.” I felt so foolish. This house had practically been my second home as a child, in both my lives.
“O’ course.”
We explored our new home with Cora in the lead. Tamesha, Davonte, Betsy, and Bertina were in the kitchen relaxing around the small informal table drinking tea and enjoying a piece of wedding cake from my parents’ home. The four of them jumped to their feet when we walked in the room.
“I sorry, sir.” Davonte immediately hung his head and the other three followed suit.
I looked over at Jackson confused. “Please, sit down and relax. It has been a long day,” Jackson smiled. The four of them nervously sat back down. “Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to talk to all of you.” He cleared his throat and leaned against the counter. Cora and I stood off to the side of him not sure what he was going to say.
“I know that the four of you have lived with the Seatons for many years and that he was a very demanding, strict, and unpleasant sort of man. Cora, on the other hand, is the daughter of Mimi and Eddie and was born into the Timmons household. Therefore, she has been with Mrs. Chandler since birth.” He glanced over at the two of us. “I believe Cora is about ten years older than my wife. Is that right?” We both nodded but remained silent.
“Anyway, I know our mothers Mrs. Timmons and Mrs. Chandler went over your job descriptions with you when you were hired. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask Cora, myself, or my wife. This is your home now and we want you all to feel comfortable here. If there is anything that you need, please tell us. We are a great deal more lax than your previous employer. Any questions?” Jackson searched their faces for some sort of recognition. He received none. They all just stared blankly back at him.
“Well then, are your living quarters suitable to your liking?” The four nodded without meeting his eye. “Is there anything you need?” he questioned.
“No, sir,” They answered in unison.
“Very well, have a good night. Sleep well.” He took my hand and Cora led the way out of the room.
“I beg you’s pardon sir, but I think it may take some time before they feel comfortable here. They seem very skittish with me,” Cora explained walking into the parlor.
“What a lovely room!” I remarked spinning around slowly taking it all in. “I cannot believe it. This is exactly what I would have chosen had I been given the chance.”
“I am so pleased you like it, my dear.”
Cora continued the tour giving us a glimpse of everything from the cellar to their quarters on the third floor. The ladies in our lives had done an astounding job in transforming the old Adams’s estate into something entirely new. It resembled nothing of its former self . . . thankfully.
Cora saved our bedroom for last. She opened the door and stood aside. “Now the master’s quarters.” Jackson scooped me up and carried me into the bedroom laughing. She closed the door behind us and disappeared.
“Can you believe this? I cannot fathom the amount of work and money our families must have put into this place.” Jackson set me down on the corner of our new oversized canopy bed.
“I must admit, I was very worried when I first learned what they had done. After all that had happened here with Mr. and Mrs. Adams I thought I could not bear to live in this home.”
“I had the same thoughts, my dear. Luckily, there is no proof they ever resided in this place.” He casually strolled about the room, taking it all in.
Our bedroom furniture, like all the others in the house, was a brilliant cherry wood. There were two large armoires in the room, matching bedside tables on either side of the large canopy bed with cornflower blue drapes. A large dresser, a vanity with a taupe coverlet and all my accessories were
waiting for me beside a full-length mirror. The walls were painted taupe to match the duvet with its decorative cornflower blue design throughout. It was such an elegant room so tastefully decorated.
As I looked around one thing stood out above everything else. On the mantel above the roaring fire rested the glass vase from my old bedroom. My wedding bouquet of white lilies and violets were artfully arranged as a centerpiece in the room. I knew no one else but Mimi would have thought to do such a thing and it made me smile to myself.
“Are you happy, Mrs. Chandler?” Jackson came over and sat down beside me.
“Yes, very much so.”
He leaned over and took me in his arms. “I have been waiting all day to be alone with you.”
“Me too,” I whispered and kissed him fiercely falling back on our new bed.
CHAPTER 33
Saturday, December 26, 2009
JACKSON AND I delayed our departure by a day so we could drop my uncle Nicholas off at the airport that afternoon with promises that we would see each other again soon. He was such a sweet man, a little quirky but had a true heart of gold. I thanked him repeatedly for coming to my wedding and for giving me away. We exchanged cell numbers and email addresses before he left. I told him that I would try to come see him on spring break and that I would keep him updated on things with Sidney.
It was harder to say good-bye to him than I initially thought it would be. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with him and he patiently answered the million and one questions I had. Plus, he was my one genetic link to my other life in this one and that gave us a truly special bond. I realized this as I hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Jackson and I watched him until he disappeared through the security check-point. I wiped the tears off my cheeks and took Jackson’s hand as we walked away.
***
Jackson gave me a tour of his little section of the world. The life he had before he realized I was on this plane with him. He showed me the elementary school he went to, the intermediate school, and the high school he graduated from.
Perception Page 25