Part 11
Tom looked over at Cassy, who was lying beside him on the sofa thumbing
through a magazine. He smiled continently and went back to watching the
game on TV.
"What do you think about this one?" Cassy held up the magazine.
He glanced down at the picture and quickly returned his eyes to the game.
"It's nice."
"Nice? I'm asking your opinion on wedding dresses and all you can say is
'it's nice'?"
Tom cursed himself for walking right into that. "It won't matter what
you wear because you will look beautiful."
"It won't matter what I wear?"
Tom bit his tongue and prayed that time would go back thirty seconds. He
grabbed the magazine from her hands and began to flip through it. "You want
my opinion on what you should wear for our wedding?"
"That's what I asked."
He closed the magazine and handed it back to her. "Page 258."
She opened the magazine and began to flip through the pages.
"258...258...258" She sat up and looked at him in surprise.
"Thomas Ryan! That....that...? You want me to wear that to our
wedding? There is more material on a spool of thread than what's on page
258."
He pulled her back into his arms. "You asked and I answered."
"I'm not wearing some little number from the wedding night section."
He began to nibble her ear. "How about for the actual wedding night?"
"Not even then."
He sat up. "What?"
"You heard me. I'm not going to wear something like that?"
"Why not?"
"Look at me. I am not going to embarrass myself by trying to squeeze
into...that thing."
"Don't be silly. I think you look great."
She smiled sweetly at him and pulled him back down. "Whereas I won't be
wearing anything like that, what I have chosen is definitely going to
knock your socks off."
"Really? Can I have a sneak peek?"
The phone rang. Tom sat up and Cassy grabbed the phone. "Saved by the
bell."
While Cassy talked, Tom picked up the magazine. He looked at the dresses
and could picture his beautiful bride in any one of them.
Cassy put the phone down. "That was Frannie."
He sat the magazine on the table. "From the look on your face, the news
wasn't good."
"It depends on your point of view."
"Oh how?"
"The Chapel of Hope is booked solid for the next four months with the
exception of next Saturday. Apparently they had a wedding cancellation."
"So that means that we can either wait four months..."
"At which time I will be almost full term. I will be huge and instead of
gliding down the aisle like most brides do, I will waddle."
"Sweetheart, we do have other options. We can find another chapel or..."
"Or what? Wait until after this baby is born?"
"No, I wasn't going to suggest that. I want to marry you as soon as
possible. And next weekend is free for me."
"What? You want to get married in nine days? We can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Why not? Because it's too soon. We haven't made any plans. We have to
consider flowers and invitations and food. I haven't even told my mother
yet. I wonder how she'll react. She doesn't even know I'm pregnant."
"Your mother doesn't care about you so why are you concerned about her
reaction?"
"Because she's my mother. She may not be the saint your mother is, but
she's still my mother and I owe her."
"You don't owe her anything. Mothers are supposed to protect and love their
children above all else and your mother failed on both accounts."
"You don't understand."
"Maybe not, but I don't want to argue with you over Evelyn anymore.
It's pointless and we always manage to end up fighting. Let's get back
to more important things such as getting married next weekend."
Cassy sighed. "Tom, I already told you that getting married next weekend is
out of the question."
Tom sat down beside her and began to nibble on her ear. "I think it would
be romantic. A small intimate wedding with just our closest friends. And
then a long relaxing honeymoon, just you and me."
Cassy could feel herself falling victim to his charm. She moved her head
out of his reach.
"Come on Cass, for once don't over-analyze everything. Just be spontaneous.
Follow your heart."
Cassy looked at Tom's smiling face. "Then I guess I'd better speed up my
search for the perfect wedding dress."
To Part 12