by M. E. Nesser
“Thank you for making my mother so happy, Ian,” he said to me.
“No, I want to thank you. Your mother has made me so happy, and I can’t thank you enough for letting me be a part of your lives. I love her so much, Jackson. I promise I will take good care of her and love her forever.”
I walked over to my fiancé’s son and gave him a hug. We started to laugh and walked out of the greenhouse to get some breakfast.
48
The girls were squealing as we ran up to the guest room. They couldn’t wait to show me the dress that my girlfriend had shipped to the villa. Sara and Emily had gone online and picked out a couple of dresses they thought I would like from the selection Gabriella had sent them. She had been able to figure out which dress would work best with my body type, and she also knew what designers I liked the best. She had decided on a Lebanese fashion designer named Georges Chakra. His designs were stunning. I had originally seen him at Paris Fashion Week and had been a fan ever since. I hadn’t worn many of his designs, but I had mentioned him to Gabriella once. Now I was glad I had: the dress was spectacular.
The girls had me try the dress on to make sure it fit—Ian had a seamstress on call in case any alterations needed to be made. It fit perfectly, and all three of us burst into tears once it was buttoned up. Then I asked what they were wearing. My girlfriend had sent the girls two awesome Vera Wang dresses. All they’d had to do was send their measurements to her, and she’d made sure the dresses were a perfect fit. Sara had picked out a soft blue dress, and Emily had decided on a pale yellow one. They told me that Gabriella had sent suits for the men, too. Apparently, the clothing was a wedding present to us. I needed to call her when I got the chance and thank her.
The ceremony was set for four o’clock, so they helped me change out of my dress, and we went back downstairs to join the guys for breakfast. We sat around the breakfast table for nearly two hours. Nothing was rushed in Italy, which was a welcome change from the constant hustle of New York City. The relaxed way of life was one of the many reasons I loved Italy so much.
We collectively decided that we needed some exercise, so we all went to change so we could go for a long walk through the quaint town. We were all anxious to check out the church we were going to get married in later in the day.
Everything was happening so fast, and I couldn’t have been happier. As Ian and I were dressing for our hike, he came behind me and enveloped me into a huge hug.
“Happy?” he asked me.
“Deliriously,” I told him.
“Want to show me?” he asked playfully.
“Not a chance. You have to wait for the wedding night,” I scolded.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to wait that long,” he whined.
“That’s just too bad. I’m not letting you sample the goods until you’ve purchased the mule,” I laughed.
“Mule? Woman, you’ve lost your senses.” We were still laughing as we went downstairs to join our party.
49
We roamed around the town for over an hour before we got to the church where the ceremony was to be held. Italy was known for its thousands of churches, nestled in picturesque nooks throughout the country. I had come across this particular church when I was traveling in the area with my daughters three years ago. Built in the fifteenth century, it was a small church with ornate stained glass designs and marble statues. As soon as Katharine walked in, her eyes filled with tears. It was a cozy and intimate church full of history and charm. I knew she would love it. I found a bilingual priest willing to perform the ceremony, and he was going to have all of the legal documents waiting at the church for us to sign.
We stood gazing at the alter for a long time, just hugging. Jack was going from statue to statue admiring the craftsmanship. Whoever had designed this magnificent relic of a building was an incredibly talented architect and artist. Every square inch of the church had something beautiful to admire.
“How’d you find this place?” Jack asked me.
“I brought the girls here three years ago. We were roaming around the area, and we made it our mission to go into every church we could find. We couldn’t get over how different every church we came across was. We just couldn’t seem to get our fill. When we came across this particular one, we sat down in the pews for the longest time, just admiring its beauty. To say that the churches in the United States pale in comparison is a gross understatement. The people who built the churches in Italy were true artisans, especially since the structures were built hundreds of years ago, and it had to be so much more difficult to construct these magnificent works of art. We agreed that this church was our favorite. At one point, Sara made the comment that she would love to get married here one day. That thought made me smile. Never in a million years did I ever picture myself being the one to get married here, but here we are. I’m experiencing a dream that I didn’t even know I had six months ago. It’s surreal,” I commented reflectively.
We all agreed that this was the perfect place to get married. Everyone was starting to get hungry, so we wandered back to the villa to have lunch before we started getting ready for the ceremony. The staff had prepared a fantastic spread for us. Food tasted so much better in Italy; everything was so fresh and delicious. Once we had our fill, I gave Katharine one last kiss, and we went our separate ways to get ready.
The girls had advised me that they would need about two hours to get ready. Jack and I decided that we wouldn’t need that long, so we went to the veranda to hang out and relax for a while. I didn’t get a lot of time with Jack at home, so I took advantage of this time we had together. It was obvious that he was a bright young man with a lot of ambition. It was also obvious that he loved his mother very much and had felt very protective of her since his father passed. I was looking forward to having a son in my life.
We didn’t have any problem finding things to talk about. He was an easygoing young man, and I liked him a lot. At one point, however, the conversation stalled, and he was looking at me strangely.
“What’s up?” I asked him. It was obvious he wanted to say something to me.
“I want to talk to you about something. But I need to preface it by saying that my mom and I have an honesty pact. We’re honest with one another even if it threatens to upset the other person. It’s important that I know you’ll be honest with me, too,” he said cautiously.
“OK. I promise to be honest with you, regardless of how I may think it may make you feel. Fair enough?” I asked him.
“Fair enough,” Jack said. “This is the thing. Oh, this is hard…”
“Just spit it out, Jackson. You can ask me anything,” I encouraged him, even though I was a little nervous about what he was going to say.
“OK, here it is. I’m crazy about Sara, and I’d like to ask her on a date, but only if I have your permission and your blessing.”
Wow, I hadn’t seen that one coming. I gave myself a minute to think about it before answering. How did I feel about our children dating? The notion had never crossed my mind. Sure, there had been moments when I was startled by their affection, but Sara was such a demonstrative girl, I hadn’t really given it a second thought.
“I didn’t see this coming, Jackson. To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about it, if you want my initial reaction. You two don’t have a biological connection, but we have merged our families. Then again, I haven’t been crazy about her boyfriends in the past, and I already like you. It seems a little unorthodox, I guess, but it doesn’t seem like it should be taboo or wrong. How does Sara feel?” I asked him.
“I’m not totally sure. We’ve gone out a few times without you guys, and we always have such a good time together. I have been really careful not to allow it to go any further, because I didn’t want it to be weird. More importantly, I really didn’t want to screw up what you and Mom have. I’ve told her all about it, but I asked her not to say anything to you because I wanted to speak to you directly. I was just waiting for a time when we could be
alone, when no one would barge in on us.”
“This is a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. I think I’m fine with it, Jackson. If my daughter is interested in dating you, you have my blessing. I’ll warn you that she can be quite a handful. She is impetuous and has absolutely no control of what comes out of her mouth. The beauty is that she is also honest to a fault and life will never be boring. You and Sara? Interesting. Good luck, son. I hope it turns out the way you two want it.”
We stood up, shook hands, and went our separate ways to get ready for the wedding. What an interesting twist to the day: Jackson and Sara.
50
Oh my God, was I glad that was over. I’d wanted to get Ian alone to talk to him pretty much since Thanksgiving, and I never could find the right moment. There was no way I was waiting any longer, though: Sara and I had gotten to the point where we talked almost every day, and I really wanted to take her on a proper date. If Ian hadn’t wanted me to, though, I would have backed off. It was more important that my mom be happy.
Now I didn’t have to wait any longer. I needed to decide the best way to approach Sara. It was obvious that she liked me, too, but I only hoped it didn’t freak her out—after all, our folks were getting hitched in about an hour. One hour? Holy crap, I needed to get ready!
51
Ian arranged for separate cars to take us to the church; Emily had told me that he didn’t want to see me in my dress before I walked down the aisle. Jackson checked in on me right before he was getting ready to leave. He asked the girls for a moment alone with me before everyone left. He needed to make sure I was ready and certain this was what I wanted to do. I told him that I couldn’t wait to marry Ian. I think he just needed to be certain and to hear me say it one last time. He also was anxious to tell me that he had finally gotten the chance to talk to Ian in private.
“Ian gave me the thumbs-up on the Sara thing, Mom. I’m so happy right now,” he beamed.
“I’m glad, sweetheart. I never said anything to him. Was he surprised?” I asked.
“Oh yeah. It took him a minute to process everything. I mean, it is kind of weird. But he gave me his permission. Now I just need to ask her out. We’re in, like, the most romantic place on the planet, so maybe I’ll do it before we leave—I don’t know. Anyway, this is your day. I’m really happy for you. And you look like a queen in that gown. Who knew a guy from Beirut could come up with something so beautiful and elegant? The dress rocks, Mom, and so do you.”
He kissed me on the cheek and disappeared. The girls came in to make sure everything was all right, and I assured them that everything was perfect. It was fun having them around. I really liked having daughters. We got the rest of our things together and headed out the door.
I heard an organ playing as we pulled up to the church. The music added so much to the historic splendor of this magical place. Ian said that the ceremony would be brief. The priest would say a blessing, we would say our own vows, and then we would receive communion. After one final blessing, we would be man and wife. It was happening so fast, but it felt incredibly right.
The vows were, by far, the best part of the ceremony. Ian spoke first. “My dearest Katharine, you have completed my life by filling my heart with laughter and love. Before I met you, I had accepted the fact that I would spend of the rest of my life alone. You gave me hope and made me believe in love again. You brought me a dream I didn’t know I had. You brought joy to my somber existence and filled my life with sunshine. I had lost all faith in happy endings, but you restored my faith with your unselfish love and trust. I didn’t realize how lonely I was until I met you. Thank you for agreeing to be my forever.”
It took me a minute to compose myself before I was able to speak. “My dearest Ian, you brought me out of the depths of despair. If it hadn’t been for my beautiful son, Jackson, I would have perished long before I had the chance to meet you. You turned the light on in my very dark and lonely world. I no longer believed in fairytale endings, but you made me believe in magic again. You have given me strength when I felt weak, solace when I felt uncertainty, and love—unconditionally. You also brought me two daughters I cherish with all my heart. Most importantly, you brought me forever. For that, I will be eternally grateful.”
There wasn’t a dry eye in the church. We were officially united as one in the most magical place on all the earth. After we kissed, our children joined us in the most loving and heartfelt embrace. It was hard to put into words how blessed I felt as this moment. I had never thought I would feel such joy again. Life was perfect.
52
There was something pretty cool about honeymooning with our children. We ate and drank like royalty. We had massage therapists and estheticians come to the villa to provide us with facials and massages. The weather was unseasonably warm, so we were able to utilize the pool and the outdoor hot tub. The only sad thing about our week was that it ended much too quickly. I could have stayed here forever.
The flight back was quiet but peaceful. We all loved our week in Italy. Katharine and I were giddy in love. We spent most of the flight locked up in the cabin, fooling around. The children didn’t seem to mind at all; they slept most of the way back anyway.
We had closed on the new apartment right before we left, but we had decided to hang onto the apartments we currently had. Katharine intended to rent hers out to one of the attorneys at the firm who needed a new place to live. The rent was pricey, but he didn’t blink an eye at the cost. He worked in the environmental law department, which was proving to be quite lucrative these days. I also intended to keep my apartment as a place for the girls to stay if they didn’t want to stay with us. Besides, it was an awesome place, and I didn’t want to give it up. I knew it was a great investment.
I got an email the day we landed in Italy that said we had closed on the new apartment. The day after the wedding, we started talking about living arrangements. That was when I surprised her by telling her the closing had been finalized; we were free to move in whenever we wanted. As another surprise to her, I had already moved all of my things, as well as the things she had acquired at my apartment, to our new place. She was thrilled. She knew she wouldn’t have time to move when we first got back. After being out of the office for nine days, she thought she would have a lot of work to catch up on. Before we left, however, I called Suzie and asked her to clear Katharine’s schedule for the week we were in Italy, so Katharine wasn’t totally bombarded with work when she got back. Since the firm was closed for a few days during the holidays, she wouldn’t be as overloaded as she initially thought.
She decided to have movers come the following week to pack up and move the rest of her stuff. She had mentioned that she was renting her place furnished, so I took the liberty of having my decorator furnish the new place while we were away. I had suggested using my decorator when we first looked at the place, and she told me she would love having someone else make the decisions. It wasn’t something she enjoyed doing. Katharine loved my apartment and said she didn’t care if she lived in a cardboard box as long as we lived in the box together. I knew she’d approve of how our new box was decorated.
The limo driver dropped Katharine and Jackson off at her place so she could get organized for the week, and he could get ready to go back to school. The girls wanted to stop by their mother’s place to wish her a merry Christmas. I went to my old apartment to see if anything had been left behind, gathered some paperwork I needed, and had my driver take me over to Katharine’s. I wasn’t planning on spending a night without her. By the time I arrived at her place, it was after 11:00 p.m., and we were exhausted. We crawled under the covers; she thanked me again for our wonderful vacation, wedding and honeymoon; and we passed out.
53
I was excited to see how the decorator had furnished our new place, but I had long hours to put in all week, so we decided to wait until the weekend to go over there and check it out. I knew if we went there now, I’d want to move the rest of my stuff and get organized, an
d I just didn’t have time to do that during the week. Saturday morning, I woke up really early, excited about the move. Ian was sound asleep, so I snuck into the kitchen to make the coffee and start my day. As I was washing out our wine glasses from the night before and waiting for the coffee to finish percolating, I felt hands creep under my shirt onto my bare bottom.
“I thought you were sleeping,” I said playfully.
“I got lonely without you, counselor,” he said in his deep, husky morning voice. His hands started to roam over my body.
“I didn’t go far. I couldn’t sleep. I’m excited to see how our new place looks. I’m also a little anxious about moving—I’ve lived here a long time. On the other hand, I want to be in a place that doesn’t hold so many memories of Bryce. I want all new memories with you.”
“Well, I think we should start by saying a proper good-bye to this kitchen,” he suggested.
He turned me around and lifted me onto the counter. He pulled my shirt off over my head and started sucking on my neck and shoulders, and then he buried himself into my breasts. I wrapped my legs around his waist to pull him closer so I could feel his heat. He continued his assault on my nipples, and I couldn’t hold back the sounds that were escaping from my mouth. I used my feet to pull his boxers down, a trick I had gotten pretty good at, and I could feel his arousal hitting the inside of my leg. You’d never know this man was almost fifty years old. He was built like a man in his twenties. And I loved it.
He worked his mouth up to find mine. I reached down and starting stroking him. Like always, he was ready for me. As our kissing deepened, he buried himself inside me, as deep as he could go. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he grabbed me securely so he could hold me in place and slammed into me as hard as possible. He could always sense how I wanted it—it was a gift. It didn’t take long for either one of us to get where we needed to go. God, this was the best way to start a day. But now it was time to check out our new home.