“No one wants to feel like they’re being used,” King d.Avid had said. “I want people to love me for me, not for what I have or what they think they can get out of me.”
In the end, it had been a taxing process. But each had heard the other’s heart, and they had come to the place that: they were still family. And family was important.
So King d.Avid’s sister was there with her husband and three children from ages three to sixteen; and his brother was there with his wife and two sons, ages eight and ten.
The others in attendance (besides Brianna’s entire immediate family, including her grandfather, Pearson, and Alana) were Minister Nate, his wife Jo Ann, Helena the wedding coordinator, and a few other close friends of King d.Avid’s.
Of course, the paparazzi were there. They’d been effectively tipped off about the hotel where the wedding would be taking place. King d.Avid was certain now who’d leaked the information, since there was really only one person he’d told about the hotel plans: his trusted assistant, Kendall McNair. He had informed Kendall that he was personally taking care of all the ceremony arrangements, including the venue. He knew the hotel hadn’t been the one to leak the information, even though when he confronted Kendall, that was exactly whom she tried to blame.
“Kendall, don’t worry about reporting to work,” King d.Avid said. “Your things will be cleared out and waiting for you at the guard’s station.”
“But I don’t understand,” Kendall said. “I’m telling you, I wasn’t the one who leaked this. It wasn’t me! I’m telling you: it was most likely someone here at the hotel or one of your guests.”
“No, Kendall. You see, none of my guests knew we were coming to this hotel. I sent a car to pick each of them up, along with their luggage, and bring them here. They didn’t know where they were coming until the car they were riding in pulled up at the entrance here.”
“Well, it had to be someone on staff here at this hotel then. I don’t care how much you told them to keep it hushed or how much you paid extra for them to keep it quiet. I’m telling you that it wasn’t me! So it had to be someone who works here.” Kendall was on the verge of tears now. “It had to be.”
“Kendall, believe me: I know it was you. You know it was you. I appreciate your years of service, but I can no longer have people employed in my organization whom I can’t trust. That’s why I terminated Vincent as my manager.”
“But you can trust me, King d.Avid. I’m telling you, I can be trusted. Just please don’t let me go. Listen, you’re right. Vincent had me doing some things, but he’s gone now. And now I can be totally loyal to you. Vincent was holding the threat of me losing my job if I didn’t do what he asked. I needed this job. I still need it. I have two children to clothe and feed. I desperately need this job. Please don’t let me go.” She was really crying now. “Please, I’m begging you.”
King d.Avid looked at her, then at the gathering of people waiting on him in the lobby. “I’ll tell you what: I have a ceremony to attend. I will pray about what to do when it comes to you. But as for now, I don’t want you anywhere near my office. And just so you’ll know: locks, access, passwords, and codes are being changed, even as we speak.”
“Yes, sir. I just pray God leads you to give me another chance. We’ve all messed up at some point in our lives. I just hope you consider that as you pray about me. And I hope you’ll be merciful to me, the way we desire God to be merciful when we mess up and ask Him. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. I’ve been redeemed. I really have.”
King d.Avid looked at her, then nodded before he walked away.
“What was all that about?” Brianna whispered when King d.Avid came over.
“Just some business I needed to take care of,” King d.Avid said.
“Well, it looks like everybody is here,” Brianna said. “Including everybody and his brother with a camera. This is definitely not what I was thinking about when I agreed to a ceremony. How are you planning on keeping all of these cameras out? This is a circus!”
King d.Avid gave a nod to Chad. Chad motioned to all of the plainclothes security guards planted throughout the area. They began to usher the people who were in attendance for the wedding to a back area, effectively keeping the paparazzi away for the moment.
“Where are we going?” Brianna asked as she walked alongside King d.Avid.
King d.Avid smiled as they walked outside through a back door and stepped up into a seven-passenger van. There were six such vans out there. The rest of the attendees filled up those vans, along with the security personnel and everyone’s luggage.
King d.Avid didn’t say anything as they rode. He merely smiled occasionally at Brianna as he held her hand.
They arrived at the airport and were quickly directed to King d.Avid’s private plane. Some of the paparazzi had followed, but they were effectively stopped at the gate.
When everyone, including their luggage, was loaded onto the luxury plane, they took off.
Sitting with King d.Avid in an area to themselves, Brianna looked sheepishly at King d.Avid. “Now will you tell me where we’re going?”
He grinned, then made a show of buttoning his lips prior to turning away to stare out of the window.
Brianna reached over with her hand, gently touched his chin, and turned his face back toward her. She leaned her forehead forward, effectively placing it against his chin.
He stroked her hair. “Patience, my lovely,” he said. “Patience. You’ll find out soon enough.” He kissed her on the top of her head.
Chapter 44
As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
—Proverbs 25:25
Brianna, King d.Avid, and their guests landed at Tortola (Beef Island), one of the British Virgin Islands close to their destination. They transferred to a helicopter and were flown into their final destination of Necker Island, Sir Richard Branson’s private, seventy-four-acre paradise in the British Virgin Islands.
Brianna gasped as they flew over the prettiest turquoise waters she’d ever witnessed, a sparkling white sandy beach, with several Balinese houses including the house she and King d.Avid were to stay in, called The Great House. King d.Avid told her that The Great House was known as the heart of the island. There was the Bali Beach house, a mere two steps away from the plunge pool; a three-tiered house called Bali Hi where the top floor gave magnificent views of Turtle Beach. Bali Cliff was just as its name implied, perched off the mountain, exuding nothing but romance as it faced the turquoise ocean, with its open-air bathroom that amplified the view and the sounds of the ocean. In the middle of the island, more private and in seclusion, were Bali Lo, Bali Buah, and Bali Kukila. A small stream ran between Bali Lo and Bali Buah.
“Do you know what Bali Buah takes its name from?” King d.Avid said to Brianna as they walked around, taking in and admiring the beauty of the island as he schooled her.
“What?”
“It’s the Indonesian name for fruit.”
“Wow, that’s interesting.”
“And Bali Kukila takes its name from the Indonesian word for bird.”
Brianna and King d.Avid came upon Mack and Melvin. Melvin was beaming. “Auntie Brianna! King d.Avid! This place is awesome! I can’t believe I’m actually on a private island. And it’s all ours for a whole two days.”
King d.Avid walked up to Melvin. “Oh, so you like it here?”
“Like it? I love it! I love the palm trees everywhere. I love being able to sit here and look out over everything. I can sit in this lounge chair and just feel the breeze. It’s beautiful here. I don’t think I ever want to leave,” Melvin said.
“Well, we’re going to have to leave after two days,” Mack said.
“Maybe we can come back again,” Melvin said, looking at Mack when he said it.
“I don’t know about that. I’m sure it cost a pretty penny to come to a place like this.” Mack looked at King d.Avid and gave him a quick smile.
“How much does
something like this cost?” Melvin said to King d.Avid.
“Melvin, it’s not nice to ask people things like that,” Mack said. “We’re guests here and that’s all we need to know for now.”
“I bet bringing all these folks here cost a lot,” Melvin said. “Doesn’t it, King d.Avid?”
King d.Avid leaned down and hugged Melvin. “Well, don’t you worry your head about what it cost me. You just enjoy yourself. And make sure you get Mack to take you down to the Necker Nymph.”
“Necker Nymph,” Melvin said, laughing. “What’s a Necker Nymph?”
“It’s a three-person aero submarine that goes down about 30 meters.”
Melvin laughed again. “I bet you think I don’t know how much that is in feet.”
King d.Avid pulled back. “You’re telling me that you do? You’re saying that you can convert meters into feet, just like that? No pen or paper? No electronic gadget?”
“Yep,” Melvin said, looking up into the sky. “That’s a little over 98 feet.”
“Whoa, I’m impressed.” King d.Avid said, having quoted it as meters because that was the only way the information had been conveyed to him.
“Oh, he’s really good when it comes to math and science, especially,” Mack said. “He’s a little genius. Actually, he was being modest with you.” Mack turned to Melvin. “Tell him the entire number.”
Melvin grinned. “The total number would be 98.42519685 feet to be exact.”
King d.Avid turned to Brianna. She stood with a smile on her face, then shrugged. “Don’t look at me,” Brianna said. “I would still be trying to figure out that 30 meters equals 98 feet, if it was left up to me.”
“Well, little Mister Genius,” King d.Avid said. “You make sure you check out the coral reefs. I hear the colors are poppin’. And there are a few ancient shipwrecks down there, as well as exotic marine life swimming around.” King d.Avid rubbed his head. “And if you don’t get to do everything you want this time around, I wouldn’t doubt that Mack will bring you back here again in the future, if you’d like to come back, that is. They have what’s called the Family Fun Celebration Week that allows people to come here without having to rent the whole island the way I did. In fact, I’m almost certain Mack is going to bring you back again.” King d.Avid looked over at Mack and winked.
Mack nodded, picking up on the unspoken words that King d.Avid would make sure they did. That had been one of the promises he’d made to Mack when they met that day in December. Melvin would not ever have to do without. Whatever was needed to make his life good and exciting, King d.Avid had promised to ensure that it happened. And so far, he had been more than true to his word. And no one was the wiser.
“Since Melvin brought it up,” Brianna said after they walked on. “You always say if a person wants to know, they should ask. So, how much does something like this cost?”
“I’d rather you not ask that. This is my gift to you. And I was always told that it was impolite to ask someone how much a gift cost.”
“Yeah . . . well, just so you know: it’s going to bother me not knowing,” Brianna said with a twinkle in both her voice and her eyes.
“Seriously?” King d.Avid said, tilting his head slightly. “You would do me like that? Because you know I promised to not ever deny you the truth, should you ask.”
“That is wrong of me, isn’t it?” Brianna said. “To make you tell me on this one.”
“It is.” He grabbed her and hugged her. “Let’s just say there is no amount of money that can ever be placed on your happiness.” He tapped her on her nose.
“And I am happy right now. This was such a great surprise. And to have our family and friends here to share it with us, that’s priceless.” Brianna gave him a quick peck on his lips. “Thank you. Thank you for being so patient with me. Thank you for loving me enough to wait. And thank you for just being you.”
Brianna and King d.Avid walked into The Great House with its slanted roof and chandeliers looking like hanging mangos. She loved the dark, shiny floors made from Brazilian hardwood. Of course, there were mosquito nets, which were necessary, since everything was so open to the outside. There was bamboo wallpaper and bamboo furniture, sitting areas with purple and pink pillows, and loungers everywhere. The dining tables were long, one made out of solid teak and in the shape of a crocodile.
“I still can’t believe that this is the surprise place you had in mind for me,” Brianna said, having completed their tour of the entire island. “Well, this certainly exceeds anything I could have ever imagined.”
“That’s how our God is,” King d.Avid said. “He will do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we can ever ask or think. We just need to line up with His Word, then watch Him wow us with His wowness and pow us with His unlimited power.”
“Amen to that,” Brianna said.
“Because I must confess: when I told you I would take you to a special place, I didn’t originally have all of this in mind,” King d.Avid said.
“You hadn’t intended to bring me here?”
“Oh, I had fully intended to bring you here. But I was planning on it just being me and you. Then God placed it on my heart to go farther . . . bigger. This is a new beginning for you and me. And I wanted us to do it the right way this time,” King d.Avid said. “And what better way to begin than to renew our vows to each other in a place of forgiveness and newness, a place of God’s redemption. I guess you can call this my own attempt of redeeming Waters. You—whose last name was Waters—in every sense and respect becoming a Shepherd, with our family and closest friends sharing the moment.”
“Well, you certainly will get no complaints from me,” Brianna said. “So, since you’re the one coordinating everything, and I’m merely left to be a spectator, or at best, to follow your lead: what’s the plan from here on out?”
“We will all be here today enjoying the island. And tomorrow, you and I will repeat . . . renew our vows to each other.”
“Except this time, we’ll really mean it from our hearts,” Brianna said.
King d.Avid smiled. “I meant it from my heart when I said it the first time. So does that mean that you love me now?”
She became serious. “Yeah,” she said, gazing into his eyes. “I . . . love you. You’ve become my best friend. You’ve been positively wonderful these months. I’ve seen and gotten to know who you really are. And I’ve seen how much you truly love the Lord.”
Brianna and King d.Avid reaffirmed their vows before the Lord with family and friends in attendance. The ceremony was simple, yet extravagant at the same time.
Brianna had originally purchased a cute but unpretentious little dress. King d.Avid had commissioned Helena, the woman he’d hired to handle the things for the ceremony, to purchase a special dress for his wife. Helena chose a stunning Vera Wang, ivory, Victoria wedding gown from the Luxe Collection, also called the Ribbon dress, priced at $15,000. King d.Avid didn’t care how much it cost; he merely wanted his wife to have the best. The A-line gown consisted of individual Duchesse silk ribbons, hand sewn, with every third ribbon having a herringbone pattern. Originally not intended for sale and merely for display only, it was the Princess of Kuwait’s insistence on having one for her own wedding that caused the gown to be placed into production.
Wearing a light yellow tea-length dress, Brianna had chosen Alana to stand with her. Surprisingly, King d.Avid asked Brianna’s grandfather, Pearson, to stand with him. And Pearson had been both touched and honored by the request.
Brianna and King d.Avid recommitted themselves to each other outside on the sandy white beach, at the height of a beautiful sunny day, the last Saturday in March. Yet another piece of information Brianna learned about Necker Island: the lows averaged between 67 and 73 degrees (depending on the time of the year), and the highs averaged from 79 in January to a high of 87 degrees during July and August. Their end-of-March, 82-degree-weather timing couldn’t have been more perfect—not too hot; not too cold. Absolutely perfect!
Minister Nate prayed a special blessing over them. “I declare and decree, in the mighty name of Jesus, that your latter days will be greater than your former. What God has ordained, nothing and no one can or will stop it. I pronounce that you are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony with all of the benefits afforded the children of the Most High God.” Minister Nate smiled.
“So, by the powers invested in me as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus, I now pronounce you even greater, closer, and more loving husband and wife. Now you, David Rondell Shepherd, may salute your bride . . . your wife. And you, Brianna Bathsheba Waters Shepherd, may receive the salute from your husband . . . the priest of your house.”
King d.Avid looked at Brianna with such love and adoration. He slowly leaned down and gave her the most touching, most loving, the tenderest kiss she’d ever received. He kissed her again. Then again. And she couldn’t keep herself from giggling with joy after he delivered the final kiss and she saw him smiling with such love.
Chapter 45
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
—Proverbs 5:18
Everyone had been flown off the island and back home. Everyone except King d.Avid and Brianna. They now had the entire island to themselves (with the exception of the unobtrusive, year-round staff that took care of things on the island).
It had been a wonderful ceremony, followed by a joyous and fun time with family and friends. The island had a minimum stay of five nights, which worked out perfectly for King d.Avid and Brianna. They had arrived, spent two full days on the island with their family and friends, then were left with three days and nights alone . . . together.
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