Marrying Mallory

by Diane Craver

  “When I was small, I thought I’d marry and live happily ever after.”

  “You still can. God’s practically throwing Seth into your lap.”

  She smiled at her mother. “I think you should work with Jeremy in counseling divorced women. He gave me a similar talk.”

  ***

  A few days later, Mallory couldn’t wait to see Seth again. They’d been inseparable since his return from Vietnam. She no longer felt guilty about falling in love with him, and in her heart she’d finally forgiven Toby for cheating on her during their marriage. Life was great and she gave thanks to God for Seth. She even hoped that Toby and Samantha would have a happy and long marriage together. Only one thing bothered her a little. Did plastic surgeons sometimes fall in love with patients after giving them a new look? Was Seth’s fascination with her because he’d created a new Mallory? It seemed so right to her whenever she looked in a mirror at her new nose. She loved what she saw, especially since the swelling had lessened, so Seth must feel the same pleasure at his work.

  Logic told her that he’d been interested in her from the beginning, but her focus had been on the guilt she felt for a failed marriage. Well, okay she had feelings for Seth at the same time. These thoughts were in her mind when Seth arrived to take her to dinner.

  When she opened the door, her heart raced at the sight of Seth’s handsome chiseled face. He wore khaki pants and a blue striped shirt. While holding a soccer ball, he asked, “Where’s Josh?”

  Seth had already met Josh and it’d gone well. “Heather picked him up. She decided to take him to a movie instead of hanging around here to babysit.”

  “I remember he said his ball got lost at practice, so I bought him one.”

  Mallory grinned as she took the ball from him, putting it on the couch. “You realize that you won’t have an excuse not to play soccer with him now. He’ll be asking you to play with him all the time.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping. Josh’s a great kid.” He pulled her into his arms. “You look gorgeous.”

  She wore a black skirt with a beige top. The pleated bib-top with its frills made her feel flirtatious. “That compliment deserves a kiss.” When her lips met his, it felt natural. She couldn’t imagine not being in Seth’s arms.

  When the kiss ended, Seth’s blue eyes were filled with tenderness. “I missed you.”

  “You just saw me yesterday.”

  “I can’t keep my hands off you.”

  “I don’t want you to.” She pressed herself closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.”

  His hands grabbed her buttocks, giving them a squeeze. “My mom wants to know when I’m going to propose to you.”

  She laughed. “We just met each other in April.”

  “Mom reminded me that I’m not getting any younger. And she thinks you are a mature woman of thirty-two, so we don’t need to wait.”

  “Hey, are you saying that I’m old?” She’d been happy that Seth’s parents and sister, Amy, had approved of her from the beginning. Her divorce and having a son had never been an issue with them. She met them right after Seth had returned from Vietnam. They’d shared a lot of amusing stories of Seth growing up.

  He grinned. “Old enough to know I’m the guy you want as your husband.”

  She stared at him. It was time for the big question. “When you see me, do you see the old Mallory? Or do you see the woman you made beautiful?”

  “I see the beautiful woman I fell in love with on her first visit to my office.”

  Although having the perfect nose was wonderful, more important was having Seth in her life. He was the perfect guy for her. As they kissed, she thought how remarkable it was that they had become a couple because of her nose.

  Mallory silently prayed, Thank You for giving me a big nose so that I met Seth. Your timing in bringing him into my life was awesome.

  As the kiss ended, she saw a vision of herself floating down the church aisle to Seth. “So what’s your favorite month?”

  He winked at her. “Oh, I get it. You’re wondering when we might get married. I better propose soon. How can I have a favorite month when every month will be the best…as long as I’m married to you.”

  Epilogue

  A few months later

  “Thank you for coming to our wedding. I know you had to drive far.” Mallory smiled at Seth’s aunt and uncle before giving them each a hug. She was glad they decided to have the traditional receiving line. They’d talked about skipping the line and visiting each table of guests after the dinner. Seth’s mother suggested having the reception line so they wouldn’t have to spend time table-hopping. Fortunately, the group wedding pictures inside the church didn’t take as long as they did at Elizabeth’s wedding. Before the ceremony took place, Mallory enjoyed taking photos with the mothers, her bridesmaids, the flower girl, and her amazing son Josh. He loved being the ring bearer and being included in the bridal party. Seth’s mother had been right insisting they have a traditional formal wedding. After all, it was Seth’s first marriage.

  “I couldn’t miss my favorite nephew’s wedding.” The elderly woman beamed at them. “When we received the invitation, we were worried that the weather might turn nasty in November, but it’s a perfect and lovely day to have a wedding.”

  Mallory nodded. She’d been so happy when Seth officially proposed to her in July, but was even more elated that he wanted to get married as soon as possible. They decided to wait until November to have enough time to plan for their special day. Their wedding day only had a bit of a chill in the air with a bright blue sky and gorgeous sunlight. A few trees still had colorful foliage so the photographer used this spot to take a few shots of Seth and her. Choosing early November proved to be a great time to marry her surgeon. Gazing at her handsome husband in his black suit, Mallory realized how blessed she was. Faith in God had brought her to this wonderful moment.

  Seth kissed his aunt’s cheek, and said, “Now Aunt Esther, you can stop praying for me to find the right woman. Your prayers and mine were answered.”

  His Uncle Tom chuckled. “She wants to see Amy married next.”

  Amy, dressed in a black dress, stood next to Elizabeth in the receiving line. “I heard that Uncle Fred.”

  “We better move on, Esther. Other people want to offer their best wishes to the couple.” Uncle Fred gave his wife a slight push.

  After they finished greeting the remainder of their guests, Seth leaned down and gave Mallory a long kiss.

  A flicker of passion quickened deep within her heart as she returned Seth’s kiss.

  “Let’s just escape for a few minutes. How about it?”

  Before Mallory could answer Seth, Henry appeared with Josh and the other groomsmen. “The disc jockey is ready for us to enter the reception room so we better line up.”

  Heather, her maid of honor, gave her a hug before getting in line next to Henry, the best man. Her three bridesmaids wore black dresses and carried red roses while the groomsmen wore black suits with red ties. I can’t wait to throw my bouquet of red roses. I hope Heather catches it. I have a feeling the next wedding will be Heather’s. Jeremy and she make such a great couple.

  She grinned at Seth. “I’m glad you want to escape with me and not from me.”

  “As much as I’m enjoying all this, I’m really looking forward to our honeymoon.”

  “Me too. I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii. I can’t wait to spend alone time with you.” Two weeks in Hawaii worried her a bit because of Josh, but he seemed thrilled to stay with her mother and Alan. He’d be going to school during the day so that would help. She hated to leave her students during the school year, but there were three days off for conferences so the school only had to get a sub for her classes for seven days. In December, they planned on moving into their new brick house. Selling the house she’d shared with Toby had been a good decision. Seth said they might need a bigger house anyhow with the future children they hoped to have.

  Josh pulled on he
r hand. “Don’t forget to watch me dance when they announce my name.”

  “I’ll be sure to watch. You’ll be awesome.” Josh had been more excited about his name being announced when he walked in at the reception hall than walking down the aisle with the pillow in his hands. He thought it was pretty cool that the DJ would say his name into the microphone in front of all the guests. She looked down at her flower girl, Ally. “You look very pretty. The photographer will take your picture when you two walk in.”

  “Remember, Ally, to smile,” Elizabeth said.

  Her mom looked lovely in a maroon dress. “Mom, are you and Alan still going to dance your way in? You don’t have to. You could just wave to the audience.” Her mom hadn’t been on board at first about dancing to music during the introductions. But when Seth’s parents said it’d be fun for all of the bridal party to dance, then her mom and Alan agreed to dance too.

  Her mom nodded. “I’m looking forward to it. Alan and I’ve been practicing our moves.”

  “Your mom’s a great dancer.” Alan smiled fondly at his wife.

  The disc jockey, a young man in his early twenties, appeared in front of them. He said to the bridal party, “Okay, we start with the parents, then the ring bearer and flower girl. I’ll announce your names as soon as you enter the hall. I’ll wait around thirty seconds in between couples so that the guests and photographers can take your pictures as you enter the main reception area. That should give enough time for each couple to dance. Heather and Henry, you walk in before the bride and groom.” He gave a quick glance at Mallory and Seth. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  “After Seth and I do our wedding dance for a couple of minutes, invite everyone to join us on the dance floor.”

  The DJ nodded. “I will. Have fun and relax.”

  Within minutes everyone became quiet in the hall. The dance music started as her mom and Alan entered the huge room.

  While waiting for their turn, Seth said, “If anyone ever asks me what the happiest day of my life was, I’d have to say it’s today. I’ve never been so happy. I’ll love and cherish you the rest of my life.”

  “I love you so much too.”

  Henry snapped his fingers. “Hey, you two, Heather and I are leaving for our grand entrance.”

  Nervous energy flowed thru her body as she realized everyone’s eyes would be on them soon. But that was okay because she had her husband to share the spotlight with.

  “Please stand for Mr. and Mrs. Seth Whitman,” the disc jockey announced.

  “Are you ready, Mrs. Whitman, to do our dance?” Seth asked.

  “For you, my love, I’m always ready.”

  The End

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Diane Craver met her husband while teaching at an orphanage. While raising their six children in southwestern Ohio, Diane started writing nonfiction. Several nonfiction articles of Diane's have been published in Woman’s World Weekly, The Catholic Telegraph, Virtue, Down Syndrome Today, WritersWeekly.com, and several other publications. Later, she decided it would be a nice escape to write fiction.

  Diane has published through a variety of houses, including Samhain, Whimsical Publications, Publishing by Rebecca J. Vickery, Booklocker.com and Victory Tales Press. She writes fun and inspiring stories filled with memorable characters. Diane gives thanks to God daily for all her wonderful blessings.

  Learn more about Diane and her books at:

  http://www.dianecraver.com/, http://www.dianecraver.com/blog

  http://www.jewelsofthequill.com/