But wouldn’t it be funny if Aubrey saw me smoking. Nobody in my family knows I smoke, and although I’m an adult and really don’t care what anyone thinks, I just don’t want to deal with it. Plus it would worry my mother and that’s definitely not what I want to be doing at her advanced age, or ever really.
I look around and see that Bryson has his trash bin out already. Jackpot. Tomorrow must be trash day and although the neighbors seem to be slacking, Mr. Prepared Bryson of course has his out the night before. It’s not like this neighborhood is going to have stray dogs or anything like that.
I’m really impressed with Santa Barbara. I can see how great it would be to live here. I wonder what my sister’s going to do when the time comes. I mean she can’t be a babysitter forever can she? She’s got aspirations to be a businesswoman, that I know.
Well I guess she’ll cross that bridge when she gets there.
I need to toss this empty package of smokes and try and get some sleep. I’ve got presentations to make this week and I don’t need to be stressed out and looking all worn down when I’m making them.
I walk over to the green bin and lift the lid. I don’t want to just toss the empty pack in casually because it might fall out when the garbage truck picks up the trash. I need to put it in a bag.
The things we do to keep secrets.
Luckily the top is sealed with a twisty tie. Again I’m lucky it’s Bryson I’m dealing with here. Not only is he prepared, but he’s organized and orderly.
I untie the top and toss the pack in before starting to put the tie back on.
My hands stop.
Wait a second.
Was that…
I didn’t see…
Did I?
This isn’t my business and I should just go back inside, but the curiosity is killing me. Plus if that’s what it looks like then I just got to the bottom of this mystery.
I breathe out hard. I’ve got to know. Got to take another look.
I untie the twisty tie and look inside the bag.
Well I’ll be.
I feel my face get hot and my blood rush through my veins. I’m angry. Pissed the hell off.
I reach inside and remove the little “souvenir.”
We’re going to have a talk about this in the morning. If I can keep from blowing my lid until then.
Chapter Fifteen
Aubrey
I sit down at the table for breakfast and I can feel Adam’s eyes burning a hole right through me.
“How’d you sleep…sis?”
“Okay,” I say. But it was anything but.
“Really? I heard you tossing and turning all the way from the couch.”
“I was? That’s weird.”
It is weird and it’s even weirder that he knew and that he heard me.
“Yeah, I’m concerned. I mean after what I heard coming from the bathroom this morning.”
“That was me,” Bryson says. “Sorry about that. What I ate yesterday didn’t agree with me.”
I try and think and realize there were no weird noises coming from Bryson’s room this morning. Is he covering for me?
“Not your bathroom, Bry,” Adam says. “The one Aubrey and I are sharing.”
I just ignore him hoping it will go away.
“I heard you puking, sis. Are you sure you don’t want to get that checked out? By a doctor maybe?”
What in the world? Where is he going with this.
“I’m fine. And I wasn’t puking. I was just coughing really badly. Something smelled like smoke and you know how cigarettes bother me.”
Two can play at this game. I could smell it on his T-shirt this morning. I had no idea he smoked, but it sure seems like he’s started.
“A bad cough and dry heaving aren’t exactly the same thing. You know you could probably get something over the counter…to you know run a test and see if you’re okay. You know…over the counter tests work pretty well these days. So I’ve heard.”
What is wrong with him? And what’s up with this passive aggressive line of questioning?
“You know when you picked up Delilah this morning and brought her to your chest I saw you wince.”
“So what! What the fuck? What’s wrong with you? What do you want?”
I can’t believe I just lost it.
“What’s wrong with me? What in the fuck is wrong with you two?”
“Nothing until you got here.”
“Yeah, because I came and ruined your little party, huh? Let’s see…”
“Not feeling well.”
“Not sleeping well.”
“Breasts hurting.”
“Come on, Adam!” Bryson says, but it doesn’t stop him.
“Looking like shit, because you’re not sleeping.”
“Get the fuck out of my house, Adam!” Bryson says pointing towards the door.
“And you peed three times already this morning? Why? Because of this!”
He slams down a box on the counter and then pulls his hand back, crossing his arms over his chest like he’s all proud or something.
I look down at the box and my heart drops in my chest.
Bryson’s about to grab Adam by the back of the shirt but when he sees the box he freezes.
And then looks up at me.
I look away.
“Aubrey?”
“I was going to tell you last night. I just found out, but then this jerk showed up.”
“So that means?”
I nod.
Bryson steps toward me and wraps me up in his arms. A wave of emotions hits me and the waterworks start flowing immediately.
“I knew it!” Adam says.
I feel Bryson step back and pivots on the balls of his feet just before he lands a punch right to Adam’s jaw.
He goes down immediately. He reaches up for the table to try and pick himself off the floor, but all he manages to do is tip the table sending the home pregnancy test box sliding down its surface and hitting him right in the face.
Chapter Sixteen
Aubrey
Bryson had Adam out of the house so fast I don’t think he knew what was happening.
He yelled at him to get a hotel in Ventura, half an hour south, and not bother us anymore.
He didn’t want to see or hear from him again until he was ready to be an adult and support his supposed best friend and his sister’s decision.
Adam didn’t say much, but how could he. He left with his tail between his legs which was fine by me anyway.
Bryson came back inside and spent the next hour holding me and making me feel better.
He was so excited about the news and I was too. I was just disappointed in the way he had to find out.
But once we got past that, or should I say I got past that since Bryson seemed to be doing such a good job by forgetting that Adam ever even showed up, there was cause for celebration.
Bryson was practically bouncing off the walls he was so excited. I reminded him we needed to confirm at a doctor’s office, he wanted to throw caution to the wind. I had to slow him down from calling all his friends. He really was clueless when it came to kids, birth…basically how life gets started other than the whole making it part.
He was definitely an expert in that regard and that more than made up for his lack of knowledge in the other areas. That and his exuberance and the way he looked at me. He’s always looked at me with such admiration but there was just something different about it now. It made sense though. I would expect you’d look at the soon-to-be mother of your first-born child differently. Not that Delilah didn’t count, not that at all, but there’s something different about your first child that you yourself make with someone else. Especially when that someone is your soul mate, which he reminded me of over and over countless times this morning.
And he was absolutely right. And the fact that we’d likely gotten pregnant that first night was just more fuel for the fire. We were really meant for each other. Perfect for each other from the start
and in every way.
Including the baby making.
Bryson started talking about having a big family and I had to remind him over and over that we hadn’t even had our first yet, but I have to admit that as much as I was trying to temper his excitement I was ecstatic inside.
But depending on when my brother broke the news to my parents I’d see just how ecstatic, or not, my supposed closest supporters would be.
Chapter Seventeen
Aubrey
“You’re what?” my dad says.
So much for him being excited or supportive.
Not five minutes later the call is over and I can tell my parents are beyond disappointed. All I really got out of the call was, “Your dreams are shattered…blah, blah, blah…your life is over…his job is dangerous and risky and you could end up alone with huge expenses…blah, blah, blah…oh this is terrible.”
The only thing terrible to me was that it was now us against the world. And the more I thought about it that wasn’t so terrible at all.
We’d managed to build a really peaceful existence together in such a short amount of time and with everyone else out of the way that peace was guaranteed not to be interrupted. Granted it came at the expense of everyone else’s peace, but I learned long ago not to worry about things you can’t control. I fail at that often, but for some reason I just knew this wasn’t going to be one of those times.
Chapter Eighteen
Aubrey
Two months later
Bryson and all the other guys from the station paddle out past the surf in San Luis Obispo, or SLO as it’s known.
Once they’re all out there they form a circle in the water as they sit on their boards. Although “paddle outs” as they’re known, aren’t usually used to celebrate weddings, I think it’s the perfect idea.
The rest of the other firefighter’s wives and I stay on the shore and watch from a distance. I’ve been very lucky that the other wives have adopted me into their tight knit community. There’s so much lingo and so many things to learn when you’re married to a fireman, and I will be officially that later this afternoon.
The only downside is I really wish my parents and brother were here. I haven’t spoke with my brother at all since his little unexpected visit and my parent’s pretty much shortly thereafter. My mom tried to talk me out of this for about two weeks, but after she realized her unsolicited advice wasn’t going anywhere she gave up…completely.
I’m a bit sad to be cut off from my family, but I’m starting a new family of my own and that’s what matters most.
It’s hard to believe just three months ago I passed up on starting my career for a babysitting job. The idea would have seen foolish to anyone but me at the time, but sometimes you just have to go your own way no matter what everyone, and I mean everyone, else thinks. It’s part of growing up and being an adult, and I’ve definitely been on that path since I arrived out here in California.
Babysitting Delilah has made me realize I didn’t know nearly as much about being a mother as I thought. It seemed kind of easy from a distance, but once I got in there and got my hands dirty, both literally and figuratively, I realized the work involved is very real and there are absolutely no breaks.
But the most important thing Delilah taught me is how much I do love kids, and how much I want an entire houseful of them to join her. Little brothers and sisters for her to play with. Happiness, chocolate chip cookies, and sleepovers. It just sounds perfect. And I know nothing will make Bryson happier than when he comes home from the station only to be greeted with a child hugging each of his legs before he scoops them up and tells them about his day as a firefighter and they tell him about all the interesting things they do in school and the people they meet.
My mind is already so far into the future it’s scary. I feel like I want that big family right now, almost skipping all the childbirth parts and the early years…but why would I ever want to do that.
Seeing Delilah take her first steps took my breath away. I never truly realized how some of the simplest things in life could be so rewarding. And it feels so much more fulfilling when you watch someone else “succeed” than when you succeed yourself. And after numerous attempts to stand and take those first few steps I know that “success” is definitely the right word. She was smiling so big and laughing so loud after she successfully put one foot in front of the other and didn’t fall that it brought a tears to my eyes. Bryson said a gnat flew into his eye, and I won’t press him for the real truth, but I know he was touched too.
And just to think I’ll get to experience that again soon. Sometime in the next year and a half or so.
Us ladies look out and see our men slapping the water with their palms down before turning their hands over and splashing it.
The way the late morning light reflects off the droplets causes a prism to form…a little rainbow on a sunny day.
And nothing could be more appropriate. I found my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and it was Bryson, Delilah, and Douggie…and soon to be one more.
Chapter Nineteen
Aubrey
My maid of honor helps me with my final touches and leads me down to the front of the church. I’ve got a bunch of helpers with my dress and I truly feel like a princess ready to become a queen with her king.
As we approach the doors to the church I see a man in a gray suit facing forward, looking at the closed doors. That’s weird. What’s he doing here.
I’m so focused on not tripping or getting my pristine white dress dirty I give it no mind. Plus I really need to concentrate where I’m walking.
But as I get closer I realize that random man is anything but.
I feel my lower lip begin to quiver and right on time I’m handed a tissue to wipe away the tear that is threatening to cause havoc on my makeup.
“Daddy.”
My father turns around with his hands cupped together in front of him. He looks so handsome and almost out of place in a suit, but out of place he is certainly not. He’s right where he belongs and where I’d secretly wished he’d be, but knew he wouldn’t.
I’ve never been so happy to be wrong in my entire life.
“You didn’t think the people that raised you would miss this moment did you?”
My dad quickly moves down the hall and takes my arm, guiding me to the doors.
“With your blessing, I’d like to continue our little walk another fifty feet or so.”
His words hit me like a ton of bricks and all I can do is nod my head. He removes a tissue of his own and dabs at my eyes.
I hear the organ begin to play and to my surprise two of my little cousins pull the big church doors open with huge smiles on their faces. I look inside and see my brother stand first, as he locks eyes with me from the front row.
My side is much more filled out than I’d expected, and certainly more people are there than there were last night at our walk-through.
And my eyes move a bit towards the center and I see my king. My fantastic fireman. My everything.
“Shall we?” my dad says.
“Thank you. Thank you, daddy,” I say.
I haven’t called my dad daddy in years, but for some reason it just feels right now. I just feel like a little girl. Like a princess in that make believe fantasy world I created when I was a child. But sometimes dreams really do come true. And mine is about fifty feet or so, as my dad said, straight down that aisle.
My dad carefully and slowly helps me down the aisle. I look to my right and two my left and see so many people I hadn’t expected to turn up today.
Today was already the best day of my life no matter if no-one showed up but Bryson, but if I’m being honest with myself I need these people here. I need my support system and as tough as I’ve been trying to act these last few months trying to be prideful and pretending like I wouldn’t be hurt if my family weren’t here I always knew I’d look back and see the day as incomplete.
Now all those thoughts are complete
ly gone. My perfect day truly is perfect.
And when I reach the front row I see my mother there, holding Delilah. A show of support that hits me right in the chest.
She has to hand off Little D to my brother so she can dab at the tears flowing from both of her eyes. I stop briefly and we exchange kisses on the cheek. It’s something we’ve never done before but for some reason now we think we’re European or something. I laugh at the thought, but it’s out of my head just as quickly as it entered.
There are just so many thoughts flying in and out of my head right now it’s incredible, but after I turn back to the front and take the last few steps with my father my mind stills…because I’m completely focused on him…again.
The man of my dreams. My first crush. The only man I’ve ever given myself to, and not long from now the whole world will know that we’ve given ourselves to each other officially forever.
Good things really do come to those who wait, but I don’t want to wait any longer. I move up the stairs as quickly as I can ready to become Mrs. Aubrey Blaze. My new initials will be the first and the second letters of the alphabet. One and two.
I’m not the best at math, but my new favorite equation is two and one.
As in our two hearts beating as one together…forever.
“You look beautiful,” he mouths to me.
“Thank you,” I mouth back.
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the….”
A Man Who Knows What He Wants Box Set 5 Page 10