That Chelsea dressed in her mother’s room but would walk on her father’s arm from the top level was a theoretical fairytale. In reality the idea grew cumbersome as guests arrived early, staking out spots. Chelsea didn’t want anyone peeking at her dress, so she remained downstairs, hearing giggles from outside her parents’ expansive bedroom windows, younger cousins wishing her well.
Jenny and Sam had dressed in their bathroom, offering the couple an opportunity to stand close, then hold the other, their little girl ready to step away. Jenny wept and Chelsea asked what was wrong. Jenny said nothing as Sam shed a few. Chelsea rapped on the master bathroom door and Jenny let her in. Chelsea’s dress didn’t preclude tight hugs, mother and daughter grateful for waterproof mascara.
By twelve thirty, everyone had arrived, including Andy, but he stood outside surrounded by his brothers and Chelsea’s male relatives. In with the bride were her mother, Aunts Rae and Debbie, Rachel, Alana, Susannah, and Janessa. Family milled about, but the arched doorway was closed, and would stay that way until one o’clock.
Sam’s tie chafed; as soon as it was over, meaning pictures too, that tie would be discarded, probably not pulled out again until the next wedding. Maybe for one of his kids or Emily; yet none of the cousins except Eric had a steady. They all hung together as they had for years, but Sam didn’t expect those solitary natures to last much longer.
Tommie had a chair next to Rae, beside the Schumachers. Janessa would sit between her Grandma Debbie and Bethany, Jacob on the other end. The rest would be on their feet, but not for long. The pastor from Alvin’s church was officiating, no Catholic clergy involved. The Schumachers hadn’t cared, and it wasn’t important to Andy either. All Chelsea wondered was if Tanner would be all right. No one worried about Dana.
Sam was relieved for that. Steering clear of Tommie, Sam spoke to others, including Eric and his girlfriend. Eric would graduate in June, eight months for Sam to pine for his return, and Dana’s too. They were young but committed; Eric must have fallen head over heels to take what Dana carried. Looking at his son, Sam knew Eric was aware.
It was how he held her close, with such tender hands. Sam had been the same with Jenny, with Tracy too once he knew. Both father and son had been young when meeting their first loves. Sam swallowed that, then heard Rae calling for him.
“What?” he asked.
“It’s time,” she huffed from the doorway’s crack. “David’s got the loudest voice. Have him get everyone out there.”
Sam smiled. David had the biggest boom, but Rae was a close second. Sam passed the message along, and soon heard that son rounding all comers.
Alana and her youngest daughters slipped out, Janessa and Susannah giggly. Sam kissed each of them, receiving a hug from Janessa. Debbie and Rae left the room, arms linked. Then Debbie stopped in front of Sam. “You did a great job with her, with all of them. Congratulations.”
A kiss landed on his cheek, tears too. He nodded, then embraced his sister-in-law. Rae clucked again, moving through the room.
“Better go,” Sam whispered. “She’ll be on your case.”
Debbie chuckled. “Coming Grandma.”
Rae snorted and Janessa and Susannah laughed.
Stepping into the bedroom, Sam gasped, finding his wife and their daughters standing close. The photographer was nearly invisible; if not for the camera’s clicks, Sam would have never realized that extra presence. In seeing the three women he loved most, all of Sam’s fears melted away.
“My God,” he sighed, taking Jenny’s hand. “What do I have here?”
“Daddy shut up or I’m gonna cry again.” Chelsea sounded much like her Aunt Rae.
“I’ll see you in a few.” Rachel grinned, kissing her mother and sister. Then she reached for her father’s face. “Looking sharp Dad.”
Sam smiled. “It’ll be you in a few years.”
Rachel left the room, her laughter making him blink away tears.
Sam was still awed by Chelsea, and he’d already seen her in the high-necked white dress encrusted with small pearls along the bodice, also trailing down fitted sleeves. No cleavage was sported, a fairy tale gown she had found in Salem on her first look round. Chelsea had tried on several others, but always returned to this one, a flaring skirt from the waist, tiny pearls along the pleats. Even Rae had given her grudging approval of a dress fit for a princess.
Chelsea had never been much of a costume queen, her childhood attire of tank tops and short skirts adorned with rubber boots not changing much as she aged. What was comfortable was preferred, but for this event she had splurged, not that money was an object, but the moment, the meaning. Andy Schumacher made her feel like a queen, and here she was, her long blonde hair swept up, covered by a lengthy veil.
Sam saw her tears, also the incredible joy that brimmed, hitting Jenny, who smiled. “Well, I think she cleans up pretty well.” A mother’s proud voice was unhampered by aches or fatigue.
“A long way from rain boots,” Sam squeaked. Was it the veil, not previously seen, or just the reality of a wedding? She was his daughter, but no longer a child. Chelsea had guts to spare and had needed them for all she suffered, but that day no pain existed. Not even Dana Browning pierced Sam’s thoughts. This moment was all for Chelse.
“Daddy, just take my hand before I fall over!”
He would walk between these women, but it did appear that Chelsea needed him more. Jenny laughed as Sam was struck by his daughter’s unsteady gait, his wife lately more shaky. Instead he supported the one younger as the elder woman led them from the room.
When they reached the front door, Jenny went ahead, Rachel and the flower girls waiting. Sam stopped Chelsea, then kissed her. “I love you baby. Always and forever.”
“Oh Daddy!”
Once more Sam embraced her; was it easier for a mother to let this girl go, as a daughter would always be entwined. A father was being severed, what Sam accepted, but still he had to note it there, with just Chelsea. She had lost one dad, gained another, but never again would Sam be the most important man in her life. He didn’t begrudge Andy any of his due. Only that in those passing seconds, Sam had to tell her, she needed to know.
“Chelse, I love you, but so did he. Alvin adored you from before you were born.”
She hadn’t expected that, began to cry. “Oh my God Daddy!”
Lifting the veil, perhaps Sam breached some cosmic wedding aura, but he wiped her tears, then felt her arms around him. One last time he needed to convey what few realized. That for all Alvin had missed, he was never far away.
When they reached Andy and his brother Philip under the beech, the ooh’s and ahh’s quieted. After Chelsea stepped from the house, the crowd hadn’t kept still, but now that she stood among them, the shine from her attire and face, Andy’s too, demanded a hush. Sam presented his daughter to her betrothed, and as the question was asked, Sam answered for himself, Jenny, and Alvin. Yes, Chelsea was to stand with this man.
Sam moved back, missing the minister’s words, as well as a couple’s vows. Instead he noted Bethany’s large form, Janessa in much of Debbie’s lap. Sam’s three sons gathered at the end, Will in the back not near his wife due to his height. He looked like Alvin, but wasn’t a stand-in.
David and Eric stood next to their older brother, such differing faces with David’s whiskers. Sam thought Eric looked even more like Jenny, and Dana was clutched against him, her tears flowing. Sam knew nothing of her history, but everything. Then he looked elsewhere.
Tommie grinned like there was no tomorrow, Rae too. The Schumachers seemed eased, their last child finally in the throes of happiness. Sam knew some about Andy’s first marriage, but not nearly as much as Andy knew about Sam’s.
The rest were thrilled for their eldest cousin. Scott and Alana seemed at peace, Tanner beside Travis, but not next to Eric. That was all right, for Emily had Tanner’s other side, filling Mitch’s glaring absence. Tanner’s siblings were scattered among the cousins, all with varying t
raits of this or that grandparent, some with green eyes, some with gray. A few blondes but most were brunettes, all thrilled for the reason of this gathering. Then Jenny squeezed Sam’s hand. He looked her way, those shining brown eyes some deep call to his soul. His own wedding day returned, not without some heartache for their lost baby, but the biggest relief and release. Finally Sam had made Jenny his spouse.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister chimed to Sam’s thoughts. “Andy, you may kiss your bride.”
“Kiss your bride nothing!” Chelsea took her new husband’s head in her hands. A long, passionate exchange was framed by whistles and applause from a clan now more encompassing.
Sam laughed, couldn’t help himself. Andy had been ambushed as Chelsea left nothing to the imagination. Sam stared at others, finding laughter, everyone appreciating one woman’s bliss. Then Andy turned the tables, taking Chelsea in his arms and dipping her back. Another fervent kiss was planted. Then they were married.
Groups huddled in Sam’s house and in the barn. Eric and Dana were outside, but Sam wasn’t sure where.
The large living room was stuffed with people and plates, caterers making sure all were attended. Sam didn’t have to do more than talk to relatives, for basically they were now one huge family.
Will’s tall stature wasn’t missed, nor was his wife’s large frame. Sam smiled, watching as Bethany went from standing to sitting, no position comfortable for long. Maybe they would have that baby before Vanessa Traynor arrived, Will and his wife bringing their child into the world as they wanted, just the two of them.
Sam found Jenny in the kitchen holding court with Rae, Debbie, and their daughters. He kissed his wife, noting in her soft brown eyes no knowledge had been revealed. She was still unaware and for that Sam was also pleased.
“Ladies, you need anything?” he asked, not bothering to take the empty chair.
“Sit down Sam,” Rae smiled.
Chocolate crumbs littered her plate and Jenny’s, and Sam laughed. “Oh I think not. Father of the bride’s gotta stay limber.”
“You mean clear-headed,” Debbie teased.
Lexi, Alana, Liz, and Marcy all groaned.
“Something like that,” Sam said. “Just wanted to make sure everyone’s having a good time.”
“Of course we are,” Jenny giggled.
“Uh-huh,” Sam said, kissing her cheek.
He stepped out the back door, finding the men associated with those women. All held half-filled plates, talking of weather, sport, and cows. Sam didn’t linger, hearing younger voices in the barn, those of his children and their cousins. Really their nieces and nephews, but all were family, a few Schumachers intermixed.
Popping his head inside, Sam saw Eric and Dana, Tanner and Travis, Rachel, David and some of Andy’s nieces and nephews, names Sam imagined he would learn soon enough. One of them sat beside Rachel, and she didn’t seem bothered.
Sam moved to the front yard where Scott and Alana’s youngest ran around with Schumacher grandchildren. The minister stood on the front porch, speaking with Andy and Chelsea, who after that post-ceremony kiss hadn’t been separated.
Love had been shared that day and a tree had been exorcised. Sam stared at the beech, couldn’t conjure Alvin falling from it. That memory had been with him since the third of March twenty-eight years before. Now it was only a tall sprout in his front yard.
Chelsea caught his eyes, her smile a beacon. For whatever reason Alvin had gone up that tree, now it was irrelevant. Sam felt only joy and he stepped the new couple’s way.
Chelsea reached for his hand; she hadn’t lived at home since she was seventeen, since Grant died. Then the farm was bereft of that duo, a tandem departure, but years later, she stood with Grant’s nephew, stunning and besotted. Her dress was that of some Cinderella, and Sam couldn’t wait to dance with her as soon as all had eaten.
Those twirls would commence in the barn after the cake was cut, which seemed to be soon. Chelsea asked the pastor if he would stay for that, to which he gave a resounding yes.
“Well then, let’s get going,” she smiled, her hand still in her father’s. “I think I have someone to dance with.”
Andy sighed, shifting in his shoes.
“Not you,” Chelsea bellowed. “Daddy?”
Andy showed relief as Sam grinned. “Whatever you say Chelse.”
An hour later music still played; after that first dance for Chelsea and Sam, Jenny and her husband took to the floor. Andy wasn’t a bad dancer; it was just all those people Chelsea had later whispered to her mother. Their initial spin less than a year ago in Tommie’s barn on New Year’s Eve had been much less of a spectacle. There in front of his family too, Andy was out of his element, in a different uniform.
Jenny saw a man slightly stiff, but Chelsea was warming him up. All of her female cousins took notes how their eldest and sometimes tomboyish ringleader had turned a page. No one would ever view Chelsea the same.
Not her mother or father even, for now she was Andy’s and he was hers, even if Andy’s moves weren’t quite up to Chelsea’s speed. Had they danced since New Year’s, Jenny wondered. In Sam’s arms, she felt as if she wasn’t ill, carried no pain. She was the mother of the bride and would ride that high until she was forced otherwise.
It was many things, not just her daughter. Dana was a beautiful girl, a little skittish, but she clung to Eric as if for life. That night Jenny didn’t see any more to them.
Tanner danced with Janessa, a princess in her own world. She had all the attention not focused Chelsea’s way, taking her brother from the spotlight. Tanner seemed edgy, like Dana, but not so much that his baby sister couldn’t take him for a spin.
The rest fell into their usual slots; David and Emily either danced or talked, both missing Mitch. Everyone noted his absence, but those two were the most concerned. Rachel stood with Andy’s nephew Zack; were they another couple in the making? Then Jenny found Will and Bethany seated. Beth looked exhausted while Will was dreading his mother-in-law’s arrival. As the song ended, Jenny led Sam that way. Then she sat next to her daughter-in-law.
“You all right?” Jenny grasped Bethany’s hands, receiving a strong grip in return.
“Contractions since they cut the cake,” Beth whispered.
Sam stared. “Real ones?”
Will nodded, but didn’t smile. “Not trying to get our hopes up.”
Jenny placed her hand along the large, firm belly. Only ripples of movement remained. “You need to call the doctor?”
“Maybe,” Bethany sighed. “They’ve been going between twenty and twenty-five minutes apart. Mom’s labor with all of us took days, probably gonna be my luck too.”
Jenny set her hands the baby. “Sam, move over.”
“What?”
“Just hide me.”
“Mom, what?”
Jenny stared at Will. Then back to the baby at hand. “It’s, oh there, Bethany?”
“Oh God yeah, oh Christ!” Her voice was hushed, but pain was evident. Bethany took a long breath, then exhaled slowly.
“Time it Will,” Jenny ordered.
He looked at his watch. “I’ve been doing that. Fifteen minutes since the last one.”
A smile overtook Jenny’s face. “I think you better call your doctor.”
“Oh God, are you sure?” Bethany set her hands along Jenny’s.
“I’ve had five,” Jenny beamed.
Bethany’s labor was kept only between those four; if she was anything like her mother, it would be many hours before something occurred. Once another contraction ended, Will said their good-byes, no one else aware of another impending event.
Jenny’s feet didn’t touch the ground as she danced with Sam, then with her other sons. All had their father’s gift, but she could have been dancing with a man owning two left feet. In a matter of time Jenny was going to be a grandmother.
She was entranced with that idea, slipping into her as motherhood had, sort of by surpris
e, then all she could dream. That Vanessa would miss much of it, depending on how easily Bethany’s labor proceeded, didn’t concern her, only that Jenny’s son was going to be a father and Sam would be a grandpa. Jenny released a happy sigh. If David let her go, she would hit the ceiling.
“Honey, I need to sit,” she finally said, wanting to find his father. She passed Eric and Dana, noting more time on their faces than had actually been accrued. Jenny missed the why, but did think Eric’s eyes were aged. Even with shorter hair and no beard, Eric looked so much like Sam.
Then Jenny found him, speaking with Tommie and Jacob. “You ready for bed?” Sam asked, kissing her face.
“I wish,” she said.
“What?” Tommie laughed. “Got another party to attend?”
Jacob smiled. “Soon enough. Will’s wife looked like hell tonight.”
Jenny said nothing, rescued by her daughter. “Mom, Andy and I… Hey, where’s Will?”
Chelsea looked around as Jenny grasped her hand adorned with a wide, gold band. “They left. Didn’t he say goodbye?”
“Not to me.” Chelsea pouted, then smiled. “I bet ten bucks that baby comes early.”
“Maybe,” Sam offered.
“Better not get here before her mother does,” Tommie laughed. “From what Will says, World War Three’ll break out if she misses it.”
“Worse’s happened,” Jenny said.
“Well, he’s got a point,” Chelsea chuckled. “I think we’re heading out too. Gotta catch an early flight for Hawaii in the morning.”
They were spending a week in Maui, but Jenny knew what the coming baby meant to her eldest. Taking her daughter to the side, Jenny spilled the minimum. Chelsea fought tears, then nodded. “Maybe we’ll change it, I mean…”
“Can you?”
“Shit Mom, I am not missing that child coming into this world!”
Jenny stroked her daughter’s teary face. There would be no babies for this couple, but if Vanessa’s place was absent, perhaps the new Mrs. Schumacher might fill in.
By nine o’clock the last of the caterer’s trucks headed down the driveway. Rachel and David had changed clothes, were on their way too. The cousins would continue this bash in town, so rare were the times all got together not for a holiday. Jenny appreciated their festive natures, but didn’t want David suffering from a hangover.
“Take Eric and Dana with you,” she said from the front porch as Rachel got into her car.
“Oh, I think they wanna be alone,” David laughed.
He was already tipsy, not the only one of her children to imbibe. Chelsea liked a glass of wine or a beer, but Will never drank, the athlete in him. Eric had just turned twenty-one that year, but he steered clear, mostly for Tanner, what Jenny assumed.
She wasn’t aware that Dana liked to get loaded on whatever took away the pain. All Jenny knew was that Will would need them, maybe sooner, maybe later, but definitely not wasted.
Making her slow way toward them, she decided to share the news. Will had texted; contractions were ten minutes apart and not easy. Once they were down to five-minute spans, he was taking Bethany to the hospital. They hadn’t yet called her mother, for it could be false labor. Jenny knew it wasn’t, but why inform Vanessa until they were certain?
But to her children, Jenny wouldn’t fib. “David, don’t you have another drink.”
“Oh Mom, you know me.”
She did, and her smile said so. “David Thomas, you don’t wanna be hung-over if your niece or nephew makes an early appearance.”
Both David and Rachel stared. “Are you shitting me?” David said.
Jenny smiled as her daughter came toward her. “Are they in labor?”
“Maybe,” Jenny said, embracing Rachel.
“Will’s on the phone,” Sam called from the front door.
All three looked at him. “They know Sam. What is it?”
“She’s at five.”
“Centimeters?” Rachel gasped.
Jenny laughed. “Oh, they wish. No, five minutes apart. Are they going in now?”
Sam nodded. “Then they’ll call her mother.”
Jenny didn’t miss his chuckle, nor the way David’s eyes bugged. “Well shit, here we go.” His voice was as pleased as his father’s.
“Listen, they’ve got plenty of time until that baby comes. But don’t drink, or say anything, not unless I call you otherwise.”
Rachel trembled. “Oh Mom, I can’t believe it! Does Chelsea know?”
Jenny explained that night’s clandestine plan. “You two have some fun. Party for Will.”
David kissed his mother, then lifted Rachel, spinning her around. “Well yeah, I think we’ll do just that, a new baby par-tay. Shit! I can’t believe it!”
Jenny smiled, thinking to the births of these two, happy but painful, what Bethany was learning. Then Jenny thought to Eric, a blessing from heaven, making up for the mixed fortunes of Will’s arrival. Watching her children depart, Rachel nearly spinning her tires squealing down the drive, Jenny compared Will and Eric, feeling Sam’s warm frame join hers.
Sam was alive, just as their children were.
Chapter 7