Savannah Mae, Sawyer Jackson, and I sit in the corner of the room while I give Sawyer Jackson his wedding gift. Sawyer Jackson unwraps a gift that is wrapped in wedding wrapping paper with a silver ribbon and bow. Inside the white box is a pocket watch. I carefully remove the watch and say, “This watch belonged to Pops, then it belong to me, and now I want you to have it.” I turn it over and read what’s been engraved on the back. “‘So you’ll never be late, again.’ Momma got this for Pops, because Pops was late for a very important event.” I don’t expect him to understand or to be happy about this gift. But one day, he’ll appreciate it.
“But, I can’t tell no time,” Sawyer Jackson says in confusion.
I smile and say, “I know, but one day you will and when you do, you’ll need this.” Now I wish I had bought him a toy.
“Savannah Mae explains that this is a family heirloom and that she’ll put it up for him until he’s older. “One day you’ll appreciate this gift, Sawyer Jackson.”
“When I can tell time?” he asks.
“Yes, when you’re older and can tell time.”
Ethan comes by the church to get Sawyer Jackson in the middle of the reception. It’s getting late, and earlier Ethan offered to keep him for a few days for our honeymoon. We won’t have a long honeymoon, but a few days alone in a hotel room will be nice. Ethan looks sad, and I give him and Savannah Mae some time to talk. I’m sure he feels bad for what he’s done to her and to their marriage. Once you’ve cheated, you can’t take back that pain, no matter how hard you try. I still don’t know what was going through his head when he chose anyone over Savannah Mae. His loss is my gain.
I look around the room and I see people from the community kitchen here, the staff and owners of Peaches Place, the workers from the old school and their spouses, and our friends and family. Johnny and his mother are sitting with Rick Crooks and his sister, Diana. Harley is bobbin’ his head to the music, and I watch as Mia and Levi stand to dance with him.
Savannah Mae sits down beside me and says, “So, I’ve never known any of the Kennedy’s to ever be late for anything. Are you gonna tell me what Pops was late for, and that made your Momma buy him a pocket watch?”
It’s true. Very seldom are the Kennedy’s late for anything. “Their wedding,” I say.
“No, you’re kiddin’ me.” She looks at me with a big smile on her face.
“Nope. According to Momma, Pops was more than a little bit late.”
“And accordin’ to your Pops was he on time?” She giggles.
“Nope. According to Pops, he admits he was a little bit late.”
She laughs and says, “If you’re the groom and you’re late to your own weddin’, you’re late. Don’t matter if it’s by a lot or a little.”
“That’s what Momma says. So she ran out and bought Pops two pocket watches so he’ll never have a excuse to be late again.”
“Why two?”
“Incase one quit working.”
“You got one and Levi got one?”
“That’s right.”
She leans in and kisses me. “I’m glad you weren’t late for our weddin’.”
“Hard to be late for something you waited your whole life for.”
People start leaving soon after Sawyer Jackson left. Maria and Blake are heading home on the redeye. “Thank you for everything.” I hug Maria and shake Blake’s hand.
“Yes, thank you for everything,” Savannah Mae says.
“You’re welcome. I’m glad everything worked out, and we wish you a lifetime of happiness,” Maria says, hugging Savannah Mae.
Mack and Tony leave next. They are also flying out on the redeye. Savannah Mae hugs them and thanks them for everything they did.
“Whenever you’re ready to start fighting again, Abel, let us know,” Tony says.
I look at Savannah Mae before answering. “Thank you, but the gloves have been retired.”
“Forever,” Savannah Mae adds.
“Forever and ever,” I confirm.
Mack looks at Tony and says, “Thought we’d try one last time before heading out.”
“Can’t blame a man for trying.”
Savannah Mae and I leave next. When we get to the hotel, I carry her over the threshold. I know it’s superstitious and people may not do this anymore. But it was once thought that if a new bride tripped while entering a new house right after marriage, then demons could be lurking around, bringing bad luck to the new family. Savannah Mae and I had a rough start and I don’t want to take any chances. I plan to carry her through this threshold, and many more if I have to in order to avoid any more bad luck.
I can’t wait to make love to her but she wants to give me her wedding gift first. She sits on the bed in her wedding dress looking like an angel holding a small white gift with a gold bow. “I’m nervous about givin’ this to you.”
“You have no reason to be nervous.”
“You say that now, but you haven’t opened it yet.”
“I’m sure whatever it is, I’ll love it.”
“We’ll soon see.” She hands me the beautifully wrapped present.
I open the gift and say, “I don’t know why you’d be so nervous about giving me something.” I look down at the box and my hearts skips a beat. I don’t know what to say, so I just look at it and blink.
“Maybe I should have waited…”
“Is this what I think it is?”
She bites her lower lip. “What do you think it is?”
I try to soften the look on my face. It’s not a scowl, but more like shock. I pick up the small white stick with two red lines. “I think.” I swallow. “I might be wrong.” I blink, twice. “But this looks like a positive pregnancy test.” I can feel the smile starting to form on my lips. Picking up the white stick I say, “This is a positive pregnancy test.”
“Abel Lee, you are correct.”
“This is yours?” I look at her.
“It is.”
“And mine?” I look down at the pregnancy test.
“That’s right.”
“This is ours?” I know what I’m saying doesn’t makes any sense, but I’m trying to process this. I can feel her looking at me, but I can’t take my eyes off of the pregnancy test.
“Yes. Mine and yours.” She clears her throat and asks, “Do you need some water or something?”
Just to be clear, I have to ask one more question. “We’re having a baby?”
She stands. “I’m callin’ your Momma.”
I reach for her wrist and pull her to me. Staring into her blue eyes, I smile. “We’re having a baby.” It’s not a question and I don’t need my Momma. “Savannah Mae, you’re having my baby.” Again, it’s not a question. I gently touch her belly. It doesn’t feel any different. “This is my baby.”
“Abel Lee, I know this is a shock and we didn’t plan this. Maybe you need some time to process this. Maybe tonight wasn’t the best time to tell you.”
I stand from the bed and help her to stand with me. While cupping my hands around her sweet face, I search my brain for the right thing to say. “This is perfect timing. I want nothing more in this world than to have a child with you.”
“Really?”
“Cross my heart.” I kiss her sweetly and passionately. Backing away just enough to look her in the eyes, I ask, “How far along are you?”
“Eight weeks. The pill didn’t work and I just found out a few days ago.”
“I’m gonna be a dad?”
“You are.”
I remember my wedding gift I have for her. “I have something for you.” I move and take it out of my suitcase. Carefully, I hand it to her and watch her face. It’s just an envelope with her name written on it — and the deed to the furniture store tucked inside. “It doesn’t compare to the amazing gift you’ve given me.” I coax her to sit down as I sit beside her. She opens the envelope and I watch as she reads it. “It’s security so you never have to worry about struggling again.”
“
Abel Lee, I can’t take this.”
“We’re married, it’s already yours. Now you have something to fall back on if you ever need to.” I think back on the conversation we had in Florida. There’s this poem that my mom gave to me and my sister when we were little. It’s kind of like a bible for women. It’s called ‘A Woman Should Have’ by Pamela Redmond Satran. Have you ever heard it?”
“No. I never have.”
“Bein’ your Momma has only boys, I reckon you haven’t. Samantha Marie and I try to live by that poem. It talks about things every woman needs in her life. Matchin’ dinner plates, know when to try and know when to walk away. It also talks about havin’ enough money to get out and get an apartment if you ever need to.”
“This is because of Pamela Redmond Satran’s poem, isn’t it?”
“I know how you struggled after Ethan…. Well, I don’t want you to ever worry again. Assuming the furniture store does well and if you ever need to get out, this should be enough.” She wipes away the tears. “Don’t cry, it’s not much.”
She laughs. “I’m cryin’ because you listened to me. You remembered the poem.”
She’s crying because I listened to her? “This is pregnancy hormones at work, right?”
She giggles and wipes away her tears. “Yeah, I’m afraid so.”
Savannah Mae
It’s been almost a week since our weddin’ and the night I told Abel Lee about the baby. He took the news the way I suspected he would. He was shocked at first… I was shocked at first, too. I’ve never missed takin’ the pill and never did I dream that maybe it wouldn’t work. I didn’t have a problem with it before decidin’ to have Sawyer Jackson.
Abel Lee and I just spent a few days in the hotel. He searched on his phone to make sure sex wouldn’t hurt the baby. I laid on top of the bed in a white sexy lingerie set waitin’ for him to read what I already told him. Sex is safe, and encouraged durin’ pregnancy. The minute he confirmed I was right, he tossed his phone on the table and was ready to consummate our marriage.
On the way home from a three-day honeymoon, we stop by Mia and Levi’s house. They called and said they had something to show us. I wanted to see them and Harley anyway. When we get there, everyone is upstairs in Harley’s bedroom.
“Hey, big boy.” I smile as I walk over and take him from his crib.
Mia is standin’ across the room, wearin’ a paint smock and holdin’ a paint brush and a small can of paint in her hands.
“What are you workin’ on?”
“Just a little something I thought of last night. Can you read it from there?” she asks, steppin’ out of the way from the blank wall she’s using as a canvas.
Abel Lee and I step forward and Harley squeals. I giggle and kiss his forehead. Written on the wall in Mia’s beautiful handwritin’ is “If God had given us all of the children in the world to choose from, we would have chosen only you.” I’m speechless. This is the most beautiful thing I have ever read.
“That is so beautiful,” I finally say.
“Thank you. It’s true,” Mia says, smilin’ and reachin’ out for Harley’s hand.
“That’s why it’s so beautiful.”
Since we’ve been home, it’s been work as usual. Abel Lee is determined to get the house built before the baby comes. Mia and I have been in the furniture store gettin’ it ready for the grand openin’. She quit her job at Peaches Place, and she and Harley will be helpin’ me out at the old school. Abel Lee still hasn’t seen the inside of it. He’ll have to wait for the grand openin’ like everyone else. It’s not because he gave the business to me; it’s because I want him to be surprised. I’m also worried that he’ll try to move things around and make a mess of things. I think he’s a great business man, but he knows nothin’ about decoratin’.
I would have done my best to make sure this business succeeded anyway, but since he’s givin’ it to me, I feel like I have to make it a success. It can’t fail because of me. This is something I never dreamed would ever happen for me. I never imagined that I would own my own business, and I never imagined that I would be Ethan’s boss.
There’s a knock at the door before it opens. “Is it okay to come in?” Abel Lee asks.
He knows it’s not okay for him to come in. He doesn’t poke his head in and look either. He does this at least five times a day and I still laugh whenever he does it. “Don’t you dare come in here, Abel Lee.” I giggle.
“I want to see my wife. Is she in there?” he teases.
I walk over to the door that is still partially opened. He’s leanin’ against the buildin’ lookin’ straight ahead at Sawyer Jackson playin’ on the playground. “What do you want this time, Abel Lee?”
“Can’t I come over and see my beautiful wife and my baby-to-be?” he whispers.
It’s too early to announce the pregnancy so we’re still keepin’ it a secret.
I giggle. “Well, since you put it that way.”
“How’s Mrs. Kennedy feelin’ this afternoon?”
I walk closer to him, and he wraps his arms around my neck.
“Are you talkin’ about me or your momma?”
He kisses me softly. “I’m talking about you.”
“Well, Mr. Kennedy, this Mrs. Kennedy is great.”
“Not working too hard?”
“Nope, I’m hardly workin’.” I giggle. I turn around leanin’ against him as we both watch Sawyer Jackson on the swingset. “What are you doin’ here?”
“Waiting on Johnny. Taking him out driving today.”
“Oh, I forgot. How’s the house comin’?”
“It’s a slow process.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. As long as it’s done before junior comes.”
I turn my head and crinkle my nose. “You’re not really gonna call our baby Junior, are you?”
“Do you have a better name for him?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “I should have known. What name do you have picked out for our son?”
“Well, assuming it’s a son, I’ll name him. But, if it’s a girl, you get to name her.”
“Okay, that’s fair enough. He thinks for a minute. “You won’t want to name him Abel Lee, will you?”
“No, not Abel Lee. I’m too afraid you’ll call him Junior.” We both laugh.
“Are you going to tell me what name you have picked out?”
“You won’t tell anyone, right?”
He laughs. “No, Savannah Mae. I won’t tell a soul.”
“And you won’t laugh either, right?”
“Are these pregnancy-hormone questions?”
“Abel Lee?” I place both hand on my hips.
He raises both hands and says, “Okay, okay. I was just kidding and I won’t laugh.”
“Good. I’m namin’ him Stetson Lee.” I repeat the name over and over. The more I say it, the more I like it.
I watch him as he tosses the name around in his head before sayin’ anything. He smiles. “I can see a little blonde-haired boy named Stetson Lee in my future.”
“Good, I’m glad you approve. But, if it’s a girl, you’ll need to have a name ready for her. I’m keeping the name Stetson Lee for a boy.”
“That’ll be easy, I already have my name picked out for her.”
Now I’m concerned. “You do?”
“Sure do. It’s a family name. Been passed down from all the girls in my family for five generations.”
I don’t know of any girls in Abel Lee’s family other than Nelly. Not sure I want my daughter to be named Nelly. “What’s your family name, Abel Lee?”
“Promise not to laugh.”
I laugh, before coverin’ my mouth with my hands. He raises a teasin’ brow. “I promise.”
“It’s Momma’s middle name and it’s her mother’s first name, and her grandmother’s middle name and so on.”
“Really?”
“Yep. It’s Rose. I’ll need to
put more thought into her middle name.”
I lean into him. “Rose.” I like it.” It’s beautiful.”
“I’m glad you approve.” He smiles as he uses the same words I used when I told him my name for a son. “Of course, if Levi has the first girl, he’ll probably claim the name for his own daughter. He always wanted children and he planned to keep the tradition going.”
I also recall Mia sayin’ that because of Harley’s Down syndrome, they wouldn’t risk havin’ another child. I watch as Johnny walks across the playground towards us. “Looks like your student’s here for his first drivin’ lesson.”
Abel Lee looks at his watch. “He’s right on time, too.”
Abel Lee makes sure Johnny has proof of insurance and his driver’s permit before they leave for his driver’s lesson. I’m glad to learn that Johnny’s mom has been takin’ him out drivin’ some before Abel Lee does. First-time drivers are scary. I remember that when my sister and I got our drivin’ permits, Mom and Daddy used to argue about whose turn it was to take us drivin’. Neither one of them wanted to go. Well, they didn’t want to go after I hit the tree with Daddy’s new truck. I had to hit the tree to avoid hittin’ the squirrel that ran out in front of us. I watch as they drive off in my car. Abel Lee’s truck is not the kind of vehicle you learn to drive in. Now I pray that a squirrel don’t run out in front of Johnny.
“C’mon, Sawyer Jackson, let’s go and get something to eat.”
“Can we go to Peaches to eat?” he asks as he races away from the playground.
“We can. Let’s see if Mia and Harley wanna come, too.”
Later that night, Abel Lee teaches me some more things about bein’ a business owner — not just a business owner, but a successful business owner. I learn that the furniture store has a well-designed webpage and a catalog that is bein’ distributed over the last few weeks promotin’ the grand openin’. He teaches me how to maneuver around the website and to check for new orders and comments. When I express my concerns that I may not be able to do this, he assures me that he’ll be there whenever I need him. Other than at the furniture store, Abel Lee spends his time over at the new house. He’s spendin’ his savin’s and I worry he’ll spend it all. He assures me he won’t. He says he’s got something else planned, but I’m not sure what it is.
Rose Farm Trilogy Boxset Page 45