He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. Their slow, yet passionate, love-making was her favorite Christmas gift.
* * * *
The next day Maggie threw up once out of pure nerves. Then it was time to meet Eric's parents. Before she could say anything, a short, plump woman came up to her and hugged her. They were at the air strip outside of Sully Point, and his parents had just flown in on a chartered Lear jet.
"There you are! Maggie, you are a godsend. What a miracle that you two met. I've been telling Grant this whole time on our way back that it was like the fairy tale, except that Eric was the sleeping beauty."
Maggie was somewhat confused, but so happy to be hugged instead of slapped that she didn't care. Then her hand was being shaken by Grant, Eric's father, who had a big smile on his ruddy face.
"Nice to meet you, young woman. Little thing aren't you, just like my Louise."
Maggie realized that she and Louise were about the same height. The older woman put her arm through Maggie's as they walked toward the car. "You'll have to tell me the whole story, but later when we have more time. Tell me first how the wedding plans are coming along."
"Uh, you do know that I'm pregnant, right?"
"Yes, yes. I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to be a grandma. Eric sounded thrilled about it on the phone, and if he's happy then I'm over the moon."
"Why? I mean, you make it sound like you thought he would never get married."
"That's because I didn't think he would. He was always so caught up in his computers and his work, first studies and later his business, that I despaired of him ever meeting a nice girl and settling down like a normal person. Not that Eric could ever be normal, as I'm sure you already know."
"Yes, I do know that."
"Then we got the telegram saying he was in love and I couldn't believe it. Next came word that you would be getting married, and then the pregnancy. You could have knocked me over with a feather."
They got into the car, Maggie being maneuvered into the back seat with Louise. "Now tell me about the wedding plans."
On the drive to the cabin, Maggie told Louise exactly who was doing what in preparation for the wedding. Louise asked some questions using the right names for the right people, and Maggie mentioned she was surprised Louise was keeping track of all the new people's names so well. Louise smiled and said, "Photographic memory. And I remember pretty much everything I hear. Eric gets those talents from me."
Maggie nodded and didn't let on that she hadn't known Eric had those gifts. This very talkative woman was not the bubblehead Maggie had first thought. Louise had kind, but sharp, eyes that took in everything. She had an infectious laugh, and smiled frequently. Maggie began to relax in her presence, and realized that she could like her future mother-in-law very much.
They dropped his parents off at the cabin to let them unpack and get refreshed, promising to return within the hour. Everyone was gathering at Holly and Jason's house for some updates to the plans and to assign duties. Everyone except Julia, who was manning the phones in her shop, answering questions from all the new computer users. She expected to be there all day. She had promised to start on the invitations, in between calls.
Maggie suggested they pick up rolls from the bakery, and some meats and cheeses from the deli, to take to Holly's. They bought a large amount of both and stopped by the florist to talk to him about coordinating with the florist in the city. After some consultation on when and where things were to be delivered, and negotiating a bonus since it would be happening on New Year's Day, they were finished with their errands.
Grant and Louise were waiting for them, standing outside looking at the view of the ocean.
"Mom, Dad! Get in the car, it's freezing cold out here," Eric shouted to them. They walked carefully over the snow to the car.
"What a marvelous place," Louise said. "I can see why this is a tourist town."
"We're hoping to make it more than that with the Sully Point Project," Maggie said, and proceeded to fill them in on the details.
When they drove up to Jason and Holly's house, Louise's mouth fell open and she was silent for the first time since Maggie had met her.
Grant said, "That is some house."
"It's huge," Louise finally said, getting out of the car. "How on earth does she keep it clean? It would be a full time job."
"It is, pretty much. She has help," Maggie told them.
They went inside and Holly and Jason were there to greet the newcomers. Holly took the lunch supplies they'd brought with a grateful smile.
"Come on into the big room. Sophia and Ed are already here. They took Anna's car. Sam and Anna were having a time with Joshua this morning. They'll be here for lunch."
Soon Cody, Betsy, and Frank joined the group and Louise and Grant were introduced to everyone. Louise was thrilled to meet Sophia and knew of her designs in the fashion world. She immediately wanted to see drawings of the wedding dress.
"The plane that brought you in is going to pick up Beatrice next. She's got the dress and has done a wonderful job on it thus far."
"Mom," Maggie said. "I still say it's wrong to ask Bea to come here for this."
"My dear, you have no idea how excited she is to be coming for your wedding. When we ran up the preliminary dresses this past June, she was the one to talk me into going ahead and working on them."
"Dresses? As in, plural?"
"Um, yes. I ran up Beth's and Rose's too."
"Do they know?"
"Rose does. She just laughed and said she's never getting married so I'm wasting my time. Beth doesn't know."
"I guess it's good you did it, since otherwise I'd be getting a dress off the rack. Thanks, Mom."
Sophia looked surprised and gratified as her daughter came over and hugged her.
They talked of flowers and limos, invitation deliveries and food prep, and everyone was feeling pretty good about how everything was coming along. Until Grant spoke up.
"I've heard you talk about everything but one--who is standing up for these two?"
Maggie stared at Grant and then looked to Eric. He shrugged. "We forgot about that."
After much discussion over how many attendants she should have, Maggie said, "Look, if Beth can get here, she can be my maid of honor. It's the role that is generally taken by a sister. Too bad Rose is on duty and can't make it."
At which point, Maggie called Beth and had a twenty-minute talk with her. The gist of it was that Beth was up for a part and didn't feel she could leave. Maggie was disappointed, but she hadn't pushed Beth because her sister had sounded down. She knew she was letting Maggie down and that seemed to depress her further. But not enough to get her on a plane in time.
Maggie and Eric talked and then they asked the three couples to stand up for them. Cody, Sam, and Jason would be groomsmen and Julia, Anna, and Holly would be bridesmaids. That solved, the question became what everyone would wear. Calls were made so that in the end, Beatrice was bringing three more gowns from Sophia's studio, and the men were getting tuxes from a local clothing store.
"I'm famished," Maggie announced. "Have you got any chocolate, Holly?"
They ended up having sandwiches and chips, much to Maggie's regret.
* * * *
The rest of the week passed in a whirl of activity. Eric had never been in a wedding before, and had no clue that so much was involved. Between picking up tuxes, transporting parents from one place to the other occupied him, until he bought a car from Joe to have his parents use. He also got Maggie alone for an hour to go pick out a car.
"I'm not driving a Humvee, Eric," she said, obviously exasperated. "You surely weren't serious."
"Sort of. Okay, okay. Check out these over here."
They looked at a variety of sedans and SUVs, but Maggie finally agreed with him that an SUV made sense in terms of space for carrying anything. After telling her to stop looking at the price lists several times, she picked the one she wanted. Thankfully, it was the Me
rcedes GL-550. By the time he'd added every possible extra package to the automobile, it ended up costing close to one hundred thousand dollars, which in his mind was a bargain.
"I feel like I've just run a marathon," Maggie said, as they drove away. The car would be delivered in the morning.
"Thanks for doing this now, even with everything else going on. I'll feel better knowing you and the baby are in a safe automobile."
"It's practically a tank."
"Yes," he said. "I know."
She laughed weakly, then asked him to pull over so she could be sick on the side of the road.
"Maggie, is this normal?" He was getting scared by how often she was getting sick.
"I don't know. How should I know? I never did this before."
"I'm calling Doc Watson."
"Okay. You do that. Just get me home and in bed first. I want to lie very, very still."
After making sure she was as comfortable as she could be, he called the doctor who said he'd be right over. Eric waited in the living room while the Doc talked to Maggie. He came out, closing the bedroom door and handed Eric a prescription.
"Okay, two things. Get that filled and it might help. Next, keep her in that bed for two full days. I know you've got the wedding coming up in three days. She needs rest, lots of it. She's worn herself out with all these plans. For food, give her whatever she wants and can tolerate eating. She's lost a few pounds and she really can't stand to lose any more. Can you handle this?"
"Yes, I'll make sure she stays in bed. And I'll keep everyone away from her. Will she be okay?"
"With rest she should be fine," Doc Watson said and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I told her I was sending you for a prescription. I'll stay here until you get back."
Eric worried all the way to the pharmacy and back again. When he arrived, the doctor was shaking his head and coming out of the bedroom.
"What? What's happened?"
"She had her cell phone in there and people were calling her asking her questions. You need to talk to that gang and lay down the law."
"Yes, sir. I'll do that right away."
"Okay then. Call me if there's any change."
Eric turned off Maggie's phone completely. Then he set his to vibrate so that she wouldn't hear any ringing. Carrying a glass of water in with her medication, he smiled at her as she lay propped up against the pillows.
"Doc took my phone! Right out of my hand when I was on it. Mom is going to kill me."
"No, she's not. I'll call her and explain. You've got to rest, it's that simple."
"Yeah, I know. He told me. It just sucks so close to the wedding."
"We have all these helpers. They can get everything done without either of us. I think they'd prefer it that way."
She laughed. "Okay. I'll rest. Can you move the TV in here?"
"Absolutely. And the Doc said eat whatever you want whenever you want. So just tell me whatever you think you can eat."
"Nothing at the moment. Do we have any ginger ale?"
"Yes. I'll get it."
He got the TV set up, and ginger ale delivered, and then went into the kitchen to make some phone calls. It didn't matter who they were, he did lay down the law and explained that nobody was to try and see or call Maggie until the day of the wedding. Of course, everyone wanted to come over to help or see how she was doing. He told them all firmly to leave her alone, and then turned off his phone. He felt the need for a few minutes peace.
It scared him that she had lost weight. She was such a tiny thing to begin with. He made one more call and ordered some groceries to be delivered from the local store, basic stuff that he could have on hand to cook for her.
When he went back into the bedroom, Maggie was sound asleep. He turned off the TV but left the light on by the bed so she wouldn't wake up in the dark. Then he laid down beside her on top of the covers and fell asleep in the middle of worrying.
* * * *
Maggie woke up and tried to decide how she felt. Still tired, but no longer nauseous. Eric was beside her on the bed. When she started to get up, he stirred, and then sat upright.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"To the bathroom. That's allowed, isn't it?"
"Yeah, okay," he said, a bit sheepishly. "But then back into bed with you."
"Yes, yes," she said, feeling a bit peeved. She wasn't an invalid after all. On the other hand, she wanted the baby to be safe, so she would follow orders.
When she got back, Eric was bringing her a fresh glass of ginger ale. "Do you feel like eating?"
"Yeah, what have you got?"
"Potatoes, rice, pancakes, eggs, sandwiches," he started on the list.
"That all sounds pretty boring, but safe. Let's do pancakes. Only I'm not eating them in bed. That's a syrup accident waiting to happen. It'll be okay if I eat at the table, won't it?"
"I guess. As long as you come back here after."
When he left the room she looked around for her phone but couldn't find it. She did find the remote, however, and decided to see what was on. The surprising thing, she discovered, was that over a hundred channels provided nothing at all good to watch.
They had delicious pancakes, and she didn't get sick. Eric brought out a stack of movies, all of which were oldies that he liked. They watched Notorious with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. She loved it.
The next thing she knew, it was morning.
"How long did I sleep?" she asked Eric, after her trip to the bathroom.
"Ten hours. You must have needed it."
"Wow. Guess so. I feel much better today, not so drained."
"What's the word on food?"
"The word is, bring it on. I'm starving."
They had an omelet with veggies, and home fries on the side. Then they spent the day playing Scrabble, Monopoly, and watching more movies, in between Maggie's naps. By the following day she had more energy and stayed awake more. She knew Eric was holding off her mother and his mother from coming over, and she was grateful for that. She'd needed this time to calm down and just relax. She could do that with Eric, more than with any other person she'd ever met. He could be exciting and stimulating to be around, but he could also give her a peaceful environment, especially when he sang to her.
The morning of the wedding day arrived. Eric made biscuits and eggs with cheese. She didn't have any nausea and they were both happy about that. There was a knock on the door just as she ate her last bite of eggs.
"I'll get it," Eric said. "Guess we can't hold them off any longer."
She laughed and followed him into the living area. Her mother and his mother came barreling through the doorway. Sophia was carrying a long garment bag.
"The dress!" she announced.
Louise said, "Eric you need to leave. You can't see her in the dress yet. Bad enough you saw her at all today before the wedding. Go spend time with your father. Maggie can call you when we're done here."
The wedding was to be in late afternoon at four o'clock. She assumed this morning fitting was about making any last-minute changes to the dress. Another knock at the door and Beatrice walked in carrying a sewing basket.
"Good Lord, you didn't tell me about the stairs, Sophia. Hello, Maggie."
Maggie rushed over to embrace the woman who'd been at her mother's side all these years. Bea was an old friend. "Thanks so much for doing this, Bea."
"And who else would you have? Now tell your man here to leave so we can get this wedding happening."
Eric left, tossing her the cell phone she hadn't been able to find for two days. "Call me later, darling."
He left and Bea said, "That is some fine specimen of a man."
"He did turn out well," his mother said.
The dress was almost a perfect fit. The few pounds she'd lost meant it had to be taken in at a couple of places, which Bea did very quickly. When Maggie looked in the mirror she gasped. It was an enchanting, fairy tale kind of dress. Long sleeves were covered in beads and lace sewn to a material of
semi-lustrous satin sheen which was the background for the entire dress. The sleeves came to a point across her wrists onto her hands. The neckline was a sweetheart shape cut low enough to allow the tops of her breasts to show. The bodice was fitted tight to her body, encrusted with beading over lace. Then the skirt flared out into a full drape around her body. When they put the tiara, with the veil attached, on her head, she looked like a pale fairy princess.
"It's amazing. Mom, you outdid yourself. I love it!"
Her mother stood behind her and looked at the mirror critically. Then she smiled. "Thank you, dear. I do believe it works exactly how I planned. You will be a lovely bride."
"I'll need some make-up, but yes I think you're right. And I can wear the new earrings Eric gave me for Christmas."
"I've got an old deep purple velvet cape that Bea shortened for you to wear when you leave the building," Sophia said.
"And you can borrow a lace handkerchief from me," Louise said. "I'll bring it to the church."
"Holly said she'd be providing a blue garter so I think that covers all the bases," her mother said and gave her shoulders a squeeze. "I think we're going to pull this wedding off."
Maggie got tears in her eyes as she looked at her reflection and then at the three women surrounding her. She couldn't believe how much everyone had done for her, and she was filled with love for all of them.
"Oops, no time for tears," Louise said, spotting the shiny eyes. "Let's pack this up and take it to the church. They have a room there where you'll get changed. Just put your make-up on here, and don't forget to wear the earrings.
"But you haven't told me anything. Did the invitations go out? Are people coming?"
"Well, yes, they are, but mostly because Maelynne told everyone about it."
"Maelynne..."
"She doesn't seem to be holding a grudge, is what I've heard," her mother said.
Love Promises (Sully Point, Book 4) Page 17