When I Look to the Sky

by Barbara S. Stewart

  Friday morning, Matthew worked and Carlee rode to White’s with him. He took her to the kitchen, and Cook had coffee and scones ready for her to take to Andy’s room. Matthew called a kitchen helper to go with her.

  “Room service,” she laughed as she knocked on the door.

  “Good morning love,” he said as he kissed her cheek. “This is a nice surprise,” he said, referring to the coffee. “Do you think Geni might be up?”

  “She sent Matthew a text a while ago. Should we invite her to join us?”

  “We should. That would be nice.”

  Carlee dialed her number. “Good morning! We’ve got coffee, and warm brown sugar scones in Papa’s room if you’d like to join us.”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she said. “Thank you!”

  They chatted while they ate and waited for Matthew to complete his shift. Andy made arrangements for a limo to meet Thomas, Brian and their families at the airport.

  When his shift was over, Matthew came up to shower. They all gathered in Andy’s suite before joining together at Six for dinner. Matthew had Cook prepare a special family meal for them. As the evening went on, Matthew had something to share.

  “We’ve chosen a date,” he told them. “Carlee’s spring break begins March sixteenth. There will be a wedding in London on the twenty-fourth.”

  “Because of timing we are planning it backwards,” Carlee added. They all laughed and waited. Knowing the two of them, nothing would be shocking.

  “We’re planning the reception on Friday evening, before the ceremony. The wedding will be very small, intimate,” she said, with a smile, “early on Saturday morning. Matthew spoke with the manager, and we will have both the reception and the wedding right here at White’s.”

  Everyone loved the idea.

  “Carlee has to fly back Monday or Tuesday, depending on her workload, to complete the semester. My break starts Monday but I’m not gonna go back, I’ll stay and work.” Matthew said. “We’ll honeymoon later, after camp. I’ve already asked, and both Brian and Thomas will be my best men,” he laughed.

  “And Jenna and Marissa will be my ‘best women’,” Carlee said with a smile.

  Excited chatter filled the table as they talked about a wedding. Later that evening, Andy and Carlee bundled up to go for a walk. He needed some time alone with her. The area around White’s was quiet as they strolled. They walked a while, not talking much at first.

  Finally, he took her hand and led her to a bench. “Whatever you want, the wedding is my gift to you. Tell me what I need to reserve, do, pay for,” he laughed.

  She leaned into him and he gave her a squeeze. “Will you give me away?” she asked.

  “No,” he said quickly, and she turned to look at him.

  “But I will walk with you to join Matthew. I’ll give him your hand to share you with him,” he smiled as he said the words. “You were mine first; I’m selfish like that.”

  “There’s is something else I want to tell you, I’ve already talked to Geni and Matthew. His mission in the next few months is to find a new place for the two of you to begin your life together. I’ll make the down payment. It’ll seem hard with him here and you at home, but with the Internet and pictures I’m sure you will be able to find something. It’s my wedding gift, and after you find something you want, I’ll send a big bow because I know you like presents,” he laughed.

  “Papa, I love you so much.”

  “My sweet, sweet girl,” he said, “I love you more than I can ever begin to tell you. My world…” he said.

  ~ ~ ~

  On Saturday morning, Matthew left early. He was due in line for the procession at 8:30. The ceremony would begin at 9:30. Andy was having the driver pick up Carlee on the way.

  They made their way to their seats with much excitement among them. Geni was emotional, but not near as much as Carlee. This was a beginning for her and Matthew, her love and pride were evident. Andy sat between them, Thomas and Angela, and Brian and Melia were to Geni’s left as the procession began. They called his name; “Matthew Aaron Davis,” and as he crossed the stage, the bunch of them yelled.

  Afterward, they gathered again at Six. A private dining room was decorated with a congratulations banner and balloons awaiting their arrival. The staff all gathered to congratulate Matthew. The family dined, reminisced, and talked of the future.

  Thomas and Brian left Sunday evening. Andy and Geni were staying until Tuesday. Carlee was staying through Christmas. She and Matthew would fly back on the 27th. There were things Matthew needed to take care of at home, and he would help get Carlee back to school. He would fly back in time to start his teaching position at the University.

  With wedding and relocation plans, Carlee decided to keep her school load light. She would determine how to go forward after she met with her advisor when she returned.

  Matthew worked the lunch shift on Monday, and Carlee spent the day with Geni and Andy. On his break, Matthew made a call. A friend was helping with a surprise for Carlee later. Matthew came up to shower after his shift and the four of them went out for pizza.

  As they prepared to leave the restaurant Carlee said, “We’ll celebrate Christmas with you when we come home. Geni, you will come won’t you and we’ll have a New Year’s celebration!”

  “I would love that,” she said.

  “Me too,” Andy said. “Well young people, our flight in the morning is early. Carlee, I will talk to you once we land.” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “I love you, sweet girl,” he whispered.

  She squeezed him and whispered back, “That’s how my mama always said it.”

  “I know,” he said, and he squeezed a little harder.

  “I love you too,” she said, as she kissed his cheek.

  In the car as they drove, Matthew told Carlee, “I have a surprise when we get back to the flat.”

  “What a coincidence! I have one for you too,” she laughed, cocking her head to peer at him out of the corner of her eye with a playful grin.

  “Oh, come on now,” he laughed. “I’m serious!”

  “And you think I wasn’t?” she teased.

  Matthew parked the car and took Carlee’s hand as they entered the building. At the door, he wrapped his arms around her. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  “I am. Are you?” she laughed, and it was a throaty, seductive sound.

  “Stop it! You’ll ruin my surprise!” he teased and stuck the key in the door.

  It was dark, and when he flipped the switch nothing happened. Carlee stepped in from the hallway. “It’s OK,” he said. “Wait here just a minute. The lamp must have gotten turned off. OK,” he said, “Now flip the switch.”

  And when she did a little Christmas tree lit up. “Surprise!”

  “Oh, Matthew, how sweet! When did you have time to do this?” He loved the happy sound of her voice.

  “I went to my friend Michael’s last week and decorated it. He and his wife Deborah brought it in for me this evening.”

  “I love it!”

  “Now,” he said. “Tell me about your surprise.”

  “I’ll have to go get it ready. Are you sure you want it now?” she teased.

  “I think so,” he said. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I do.”

  “OK then, I’ll be right back,” she said over her shoulder as she left the room.

  She was gone a few minutes; “You’ll have to unwrap your surprise,” she said from the other room and Matthew laughed.

  When she reappeared, he was speechless. It was red, and lacy, trimmed in white marabou. It laced up the front and when she told him, “I’m one of Santa’s helpers, tell me what you want for Christmas,” he scooped her up and ran with her in his arms to the bedroom.

  Sunday morning was cold. They bundled up and Carlee grabbed her iPad and they went out for a walk. They made their way to the bakery on the corner for espresso and pastries.

  “I’ll have a Venti espresso with extra soy milk and one of those big
apple things, please,” she told the girl behind the counter. “I’m starving,” she told Matthew.

  “She’s starving,” Matthew said to the girl taking the order with a chuckle. He looked at Carlee and shook his head, and then laughed as he placed his order.

  After they took a seat, Carlee took a bite of the apple turnover and pulled up a site on the Internet. She turned the screen so that Matthew couldn’t see.

  “Have you ever had an eye exam?” she asked him out of the blue.

  “Yes,” he replied, looking puzzled.

  “So you know they switch the screen thingy and say ‘this, or this’ and you decide which is better, right?”

  He nodded, and laughed, having no clue where this conversation was going, but he loved her kooky humor.

  “OK then, this? Or this?” She toggled between two screens showing him, as she took a big bite of the turnover. One was a tuxedo, the other a suit.

  “Suit,” he said.

  She pulled the screen back toward her took another bite, worked a minute, and then pushed it back to him. “This? Or this?” One was black, the other was charcoal grey.

  “Grey,” he said and laughed.

  “OK!” she said and closed the device, turning it off.

  “OK, what?” he laughed.

  “Now I have a starting point. I needed to see where your thoughts were. Now that you’ll to be comfortable, I can start planning. I couldn’t ‘see’ anything else until that was settled!”

  “Oh, I see how this goes. May I see that thing a minute?” She pushed the device toward him. He typed something in and looked for a minute, “I’ve been thinking about this too. Ready?”

  She waited, then cautiously replied; “Uh hunh…”

  “This? Or this?”

  Carlee laughed out loud as Matthew toggled between pages on the Victoria’s Closet website.

  Back at the flat, they spent the afternoon on the sofa. Matthew had U.S. football on TV, and Carlee had the iPad on her lap. She made lists that Matthew looked over. They determined how many, and what kind of rooms they would need to reserve, and how many they would be feeding for the reception. What Carlee referred to as ‘The Big List’ was underway.

  She searched for locations in London that carried the suit Matthew liked, and sent the information to Andy, Brian and Thomas, so they could find them back home, as well. She looked at dress styles for Jenna and Marissa and emailed pictures of what she liked for them to look over. She looked at styles of wedding dresses, but she wasn’t seeing anything in pictures that resembled the picture she had in her mind. Matthew cooked dinner and watched her, as he did he saw that glow that he loved.

  Christmas morning, they woke early to fresh snow. Carlee had seen pictures, but she’d never been in real snow. They quickly dressed, bundled up and walked to Regents Park. There were already people there, and they looked on as the kids made snowballs and snowmen, and Carlee loved it. They walked a while and then headed back for a Christmas celebration. Carlee made breakfast and they opened gifts.

  Matthew handed Carlee the first box. She ripped as he watched. It was a small velvet box. Anxiously she opened the lid, and let out a gasp. “Matthew, these are so beautiful!” The box contained a pair of earrings. She took them out for closer examination. They were sapphires and very much like her engagement ring. She could tell they were antique.

  “I got them at the same shop where I got your ring, and I’ve been holding them until we pinned down a date for the wedding. When I saw them, I thought about all that wedding stuff, ‘something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.’ I thought those could be either the old or the blue,” he told her, and smiled.

  “Have I told you how much I love you?” she asked him.

  “Not yet today,” he laughed.

  “Matthew, I love that you even knew about the ‘somethings’,” she laughed. “These are a beautiful treasure.” She put them back in the box, set it aside, and hugged him.

  She picked up a box to hand him, but held it on her lap. “I’m afraid you unwrapped your present the other evening,” she laughed.

  “Carlee, if that’s the only present I got for the rest of my life, it’d rank up there as number one in my book,” he laughed.

  “I just love you,” she laughed as she handed him the box she’d been holding.

  He tore through the paper to find an iPad. “Thank you! I love this!”

  “There are all kinds of photography applications, and they’re constantly adding more,” she said. “I thought it would be something useful, but also something fun.”

  “On that note,” he said, “I’ve been thinking about something. What do you think about asking Dan Patrick to take the photos for the wedding? He mentioned to me that he’s done several weddings. I thought it would be more personal than someone we don’t know, since I can’t take them myself,” he laughed.

  “Well, tick another thing off our list! I love that idea!” But she knew he would have a camera handy for candid shots. He always had the camera handy. Even when he was home for Tom’s funeral he took lots of pictures of the family and friends who gathered.

  Matthew handed her another box and she ripped into it to find a photograph of her and Andy. He’d taken it at camp that summer. As soon as he saw the image he knew it was special. Carlee looked beautiful and Andy was smiling, proudly. He’d taken it across the fire pit when neither of them knew. It was a priceless moment, Andy’s arm around her, her head on his shoulder. He had cropped it so it was perfect, printed it in sepia, and found an antique looking frame for it.

  “Matthew, this is beautiful; it’s precious,” she added. “Thank you for sharing it with me. I love it.” She sat it on the table at the end of the sofa. They finished opening their gifts and planned a lazy day. Carlee put a roast in the oven and they settled on the sofa for a Christmas movie marathon. They were waiting for the clock to catch up to call home and wish their families Merry Christmas.

  “I can’t wait to spend Sunday afternoons, forever, doing this,” Matthew said as they watched the holiday classic movie, A Christmas Story.

  “Me too,” Carlee said. “The only memories I have of stuff like that were weekends I spent with Jenna at Aunt Kimmy and Lane’s. My dad never planted in one place very long for that family stuff,” she said sadly. “Papa tried,” she smiled. “We’ll make this a Sunday afternoon tradition.”

  “I’d like that,” Matthew told her, remembering Sundays when he was young. “Dad was so involved in the business that movies were a huge thing at our house.”

  Around four they called Andy. “Merry Christmas!” they both yelled when he answered.

  “Merry Christmas to you! I saw on the news that you had snow this morning.”

  “We’ve already walked to the park to see it!” Carlee told him. “I even made a snow angel! Matthew will send you the picture.”

  “And I will treasure it. I miss you Carlee. The house is too quiet.”

  “I miss you too, but we’ve had a wonderful morning!” She told him about her gifts and shared their thoughts on their wedding plans.

  “Reserve the number of rooms you think we’ll need and I will call tomorrow to hold them, same with the banquet rooms.”

  “I love you, Papa. Don’t forget to get us at the airport Wednesday!”

  “Carlee, I miss you so much,” he told her, “there is no chance of me forgetting to come get you!”

  Next, they called Geni. Matthew’s brothers were there and it was loud and chaotic with laughter from Percy and Megs as they opened gifts. “Sounds like the girls are having a ball,” Matthew said.

  “They’re in the midst of a new-toy high,” Geni laughed.

  “Get back to the madness,” Matthew said. “We’ll see you soon!”

  They spent the next day packing to go stateside. With each thing Carlee put in her bag, the harder it was to think about leaving. She knew it wouldn’t be long, but it didn’t make it any easier. She left what she could leave behind there. Ma
tthew knew her thoughts because he was thinking them too. He tried to focus on the positive and exciting time ahead of them.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE ~ PULLING it All Together

  Geni was at the airport with Andy when they arrived. Andy grabbed Carlee, hugging her. “Man, I’ve missed you,” he told her.

  “Right back at ya, Papa!”

  Matthew let Geni go and Andy hugged him too. “Glad to have you home,” Andy said.

  They stopped at Giovanna’s for dinner before going to the house. Carlee shared the wedding plans they had decided on, so far.

  “Geni, I’d like to plan a weekend soon to go look at dresses - you and Aunt Kimmy, Jenna, Marissa and me. I’d really love for you to go with us.”

  “I would love that. The only wedding dress I ever shopped for was my own. Yes!” she said. “I would love that! There are some great boutiques in Jacksonville. I don’t know what’s here, but that’s an option.” It made Matthew happy to see Geni so excited, and he loved that Carlee thought to ask her.

  Back at the house, Carlee took Andy aside. They went to the living room and sat on the sofa. “I have a couple of important things I want to talk to you about,” she said as she sat beside him.

  “Do I need the credit card?” he laughed.

  “Not yet,” she smiled. “I want to sleep with Matthew. I just mean in the same bed, here,” she stammered.

  Andy smiled. “Carlee, hard as it is for me to admit, you’re a grown woman. You’ve been to London several times alone with Matthew. I’m not naïve enough to believe that he slept on the sofa. You’re a smart girl, I trust your judgment.” He pulled her to him for a hug. “Thank you for talking to me about it though. Someone did a good job raising you,” he laughed. “What else?”

  “Well, I wanted to ask you if something was OK, because I know the significance. I’m pretty sure that I want to carry daisies as my bouquet, but I’d like to have calla lilies on the tables at the reception and breakfast.”