I nodded. “I didn’t want to alarm you, but I’ve been having these pains for a while now.”
“Does anyone else know?”
I shook my head. “No. I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s good time.”
“Typical wedding coordinator.”
“If I am in labor, and I’m pretty sure I am, it might take awhile. The last babies had to be coaxed out. Surely these two will—” I stopped as a full-out contraction gripped me.
“Bella?” My mother took several steps in my direction. “What’s happening?”
“I . . . I . . .” I took several short, cleansing breaths.
The guests kept dancing, but several took note of the fact that something odd was going on. Twila, Bonnie Sue, and Jolene rushed my way.
“I’d know that look anywhere.” Twila shook her head. “I was afraid of this. You’re in labor, aren’t you, Bella?”
When I nodded, a chain-reaction gasp sounded from those closest to me. Armando let the music lapse, but Mama gestured for him to turn it back on.
D.J. flew into action. “Okay, we’re leaving. Right now. I have to find the keys to the truck.” He hollered across the room. “Bubba, what did I do with my keys?”
“You didn’t have the truck,” Bubba responded from behind the food table. “Bella did.”
“They’re in my purse. I’ll need it because my insurance card and ID are in there.”
“Right.”
“I’ll get it!” Jenna bounded through the foyer and into the bride’s changing room, then returned with my purse.
D.J. seemed more than a little discombobulated. “Do you think we’ll make it back to Galveston, or do you need to go to the hospital in Cleveland or Kingwood?”
“I think I’m okay to go back home.”
Home. Even as I spoke the word, a rush of joy flooded over me. My babies would be born at home, on Galveston Island. I hoped.
“You sure?” D.J. said.
I nodded. “This is no way to spend our honeymoon, D.J. Neeley, but I blame it on you.”
“Well, yeah.” Twila giggled. “Who else could you blame it on?”
My handsome cowboy turned as red as the sauce on the barbecue.
“Let’s get on the road then, Bella.” He turned to my mother and Aunt Rosa. “Let me get the car seats out of the truck for you.”
“Done!” Uncle Laz hollered. “While you folks were in here trying to figure out what to do, Cosmo and I took care of it.”
“The kids’ clothes are in their bags back at the trailer,” I said.
“It’s not a trailer, Bella,” Earline said. “It’s a manufactured home.”
“Don’t worry, Bella.” Mama gave me a little smile. “We’ll take care of all of that and meet you back home in Galveston. You two go.”
“Do you want us to drive down and meet you there?” Earline asked.
“Of course!” I nodded. “Don’t want to go through this without all of you nearby.” I looked at Mama and said, “Especially you, Mama. Promise you’ll come down as quick as you can?”
She nodded and gave me a thumbs-up.
“We’ll all head back home after we’ve cleaned up, Bella,” Uncle Laz said.
Cleaned up. Ugh!
I looked around the wedding facility covered in debris. What a mess. How could I leave it like this?
Then I realized that Clayton and his uncle Tommy were already working alongside the Splendora trio to tidy up some of the tables. Hannah too. And Gabi. And Cassia. And Alex. And Brock. All of my friends had banded together to do what I could not. In that moment I realized the truth of it—I was blessed. Supremely, blissfully blessed.
I noticed Scarlet at the cake table. She looked a little dazed. Confused.
The cake! Would I ever get a slice of that amazing cake?
“Don’t worry, Scarlet,” I hollered. “Just feed the guests and save the top cake for us.”
“Will do.” She gave me a thumbs-up. “See you soon, Bella! We’ll be praying.”
The Splendora trio paused at this proclamation, and Twila shook her head. “Oh no, ma’am. We’re not going to wait to pray. We’re gonna stop this shindig right now and pray for the health and safety of those babies. They’re going to need divine intervention.”
And that’s exactly what she did. As D.J. gathered our things so that we could leave, Twila prayed for safe travels and a safe delivery of our precious babies. She prayed especially that the Lord would make sure their little lungs were fully developed.
Another pain gripped me, and I looked at D.J., wide-eyed. “Better get on the road.”
“Yep.” Just one word from my Texas cowboy. We walked through the foyer to the parking lot, and Bubba pulled our truck around to the front door. D.J. opened the door on the passenger side and offered me his hand. I somehow managed to get up into the cab of the truck without tripping on my wedding dress.
My wedding dress!
For the first time I realized what this would look like once we arrived at the hospital. I was still dressed in a floor-length bridal gown. What would the fine folks at the medical center in Galveston have to say about that?
One thing was sure and certain: if we didn’t get on the road soon, there wouldn’t be anything to fret about where that was concerned. We would never make it to Galveston in time.
26
From This Moment On
A song like “Once in a Lifetime” is inspired by my marriage—it’s a good, life-changing happening in my life. I think when you find your once-in-a-lifetime love, that’s what everybody’s looking for.
Keith Urban
D.J. closed my door and ran around to the driver’s side. He got in and we took off out of the parking lot with our guests waving their goodbyes.
“You okay?” D.J. asked.
I pulled off my boots and sighed with relief. “That helps. My feet are so swollen.”
“I want you to be honest with me. If I need to stop at the hospital in Kingwood, let me know. It’s right on the freeway.”
“I’d like to make it home, baby.”
Baby.
Ha.
“Something smells really good in here,” I said.
“Smells like barbecue.” D.J. glanced behind us. “Yep. Bubba put a big plate of barbecue back there. Thought so.”
“Hope I get to eat some of it,” I said.
“Yeah, me too. Barely touched my food.” D.J. slowed to a stop at the light near the highway. “Well, lookie there.” He pointed up at a brand spanking new billboard with a huge head shot of Twila. The text underneath read, “Vote for Twila: A Splendid Choice for Splendora.”
“Ooh, I like it. But I think they Photoshopped her face. Look how young she looks. And thin too.” I glanced out the window and noticed a familiar woman on the side of the road, holding some sort of handwritten sign.
No way. Could it be?
I rolled down the window and hollered out, “Harriet!”
“You know that woman?” D.J. asked.
I nodded in response. “Harriet, do you need a ride?”
At the sound of my voice, the older woman turned and gave me a toothless grin. I made out the words on her sign: “Hungry. Will work for food.”
“Bella! It’s you! Did you get hitched?”
“I did! This is my husband, D.J.”
“Earline’s little boy?” she asked.
I nodded.
She gave him a solid once-over and nodded. “Well now, didn’t you turn out nice.”
“Um, thank you?” D.J.’s brow wrinkled, and I could read the confusion in his eyes.
“Harriet, are you really hungry?” I asked.
“Yeah, girl. You know what a tough night I had. And today hasn’t been much better. I’m starving.”
I gestured for D.J. to grab the plate of barbecue, and he handed it to me. I passed it her way just as our light turned green. “Here you go. Eat up!”
“Mmm, smells yummy.” She tore into it right away. “This from that new barbecu
e place that just opened up?”
“Yes. Bubba’s Barbecue.” The driver behind us beeped his horn. “Are you sure you don’t need a ride?”
She nodded and spoke with her mouth full. “Just passing through, honey. Just passing through.”
As she stepped away from the truck and waved goodbye, I leaned back against the seat, overwhelmed with what God had just done. It seemed that everything in my life was coming full circle. Things like this only happened in Splendora. Splendiferous Splendora.
“Um, Bella?” D.J. slipped the truck back into gear and we took off down the road. “Do you mind if I ask how you know that lady?”
“Oh. Hmm.”
“I’m not complaining that you gave our food away. Well, not really. But I’d like to know who you gave it to, and why.”
“It’s kind of an interesting story, really. I think you’ll like it. The long and short of it is this: She’s a new friend who was in a tough spot. We both were. But God picked us up and moved us to a better place.”
“O-okay. That makes no sense at all. Are you deliberately being vague?”
“Nope.” A labor pain gripped me. “Not deliberately, anyway.”
D.J. looked my way, his eyes now misted over with tears. “You’re a wonderful woman, Bella Neeley.”
“You think so?” I held my hands on my belly and blew out slow breaths.
“I do. You’re the most loving person I know.”
“I am?”
“Yes. This is what love looks like.” He pointed at me.
“It looks like a pregnant woman in labor?” I asked.
“Well, yes. But what I meant was, it looks like a woman who would give the shirt off her back to a total stranger because she cares that deeply. And . . .” He paused as he turned south onto the highway. “It also looks like a husband calling the mayor in the middle of the night because he’s so worried about the woman he loves.”
“Wait . . . you called the mayor?”
“Only after I got a call from Clayton filling me in about what happened at the Piggly Wiggly.”
“Are you saying you knew all along?” I slapped myself in the head. So much for keeping my trip to the pokey to myself.
“Of course I knew, Bella. Clayton called me right away.”
“Why didn’t you come rescue me?”
“Oh, trust me, I was there in spirit. But he asked me to give his uncle a chance to make things right, and I wanted to do that. So I stuck with him on the phone for the better part of an hour until Mayor Deets pulled up to the Piggly Wiggly with you in his car.”
For whatever reason, this got me tickled. “Oh, D.J., do you think I’m a goober?”
“Do I think you’re a goober?” He laughed and laughed, then laughed some more. “Yes, Bella Neeley, I think you’re a goober. Probably the biggest goober I’ve ever known.”
“Are you calling me big?” I pouted.
He gestured to my belly. “Well, if the shoe fits . . .”
I slugged him in the arm and another pain gripped me. “Ooh, don’t make me laugh.”
“You gonna make it to Galveston?”
“Yes.” I leaned back against the seat. “I’ve done this a couple of times before, so I know more what to expect this time. We’re just in the start-up phase of labor. It gets a whole lot worse than this.”
“Just in the start-up phase, huh?” He laughed. “Remember when you first started managing Club Wed? You really were kind of in the start-up phase then. And then you met me, and we were in the start-up phase.”
“And now we’re opening a facility in Splendora and it’s in the start-up phase.” I closed my eyes and tried to relax.
“I have to admit, I feel a lot more secure with you leaving it in Jasmine’s and Lily’s hands now, since the mayor backed off,” D.J. said.
“Me too. Speaking of the mayor, did you hear the news about Clayton getting a new job in Austin? He said that Jordan Singer somehow stumbled across some of his older articles. The nature pieces. They’ve asked him to write for Texas Highways.”
“O-oh?”
I knew from the look on his face that he had somehow played a role in this. “Strangest thing. He said that someone randomly gave Jordan his articles.”
“Interesting.”
“C’mon, tell the truth. You had a little something to do with that, didn’t you?”
“Maybe a little.” D.J. grinned. “But it was for the good of the town. And maybe it had a little something to do with Cecil.”
“Cecil?”
“Well, yeah. With Clayton out of the picture, Lily could focus more clearly on Cecil. You see?”
“D.J. Neeley, are you playing matchmaker again? I thought you didn’t believe in that. You’re as bad as the Splendora trio.”
“Take that back!” he said and laughed.
I didn’t have time to respond because another contraction hit.
We somehow passed the time by talking about the new wedding facility. We both expressed our joy over how it had turned out and how special today had been.
“Was it worth it, Bella?” D.J. asked. “Moving to Splendora and starting something new?”
I paused to think it through. “If you had asked me a couple of months ago, I might’ve said no. But now that I see what God has done—in the lives of our friends, our family, even Mayor Deets—it makes me feel like it was all worth it. We’ve been through some hard stuff, D.J. But I think I’ve found the beauty in it.”
I wanted to tell him Jasmine’s story about the chocolate, about how it was molded into a thing of beauty after going through the fire, but I couldn’t because of the pain that gripped me. Once again I breathed through it, finally relaxing. I looked ahead, noticing the skyline of downtown Houston. Had we really come this far?
D.J. looked my way and smiled. “You never asked why I chose an emerald for your ring.”
“I assumed it was because Hannah and Scarlet told you I loved it,” I said. “Is there another reason?”
“I’ll admit I liked knowing that you wanted this particular ring. A fella can’t go wrong knowing in advance what his girl wants. But I did a little research before I bought anything. The emerald ring made perfect sense because the stone reminds me of you.”
“I remind you of a stone?”
“Well, no. Not when you put it like that. It’s just that emeralds are strong. Hard.”
Surely the man didn’t mean I was hard like a stone. I was the biggest softie on earth.
D.J. chuckled. “I said that wrong. I just meant that emeralds are tough. Solid. They withstand a lot of pressure during formation.”
“Ah. Well, I’ve certainly been through a few pressures.”
“Especially these last few months. And you’re tougher than ever. But like the emerald, that toughness has only made you more beautiful to me.”
I reached over and rested my hand on his arm. “You are a real peach. You know that?”
“Well, thanks, but I think the proper phrase for the day would be, ‘You’re a real pear.’”
“A real pear?” Another labor pain gripped me, and I did my best to breathe through it.
“Yes.” He pointed at my belly. “A real pair. Get it?”
Yep. I got it. And I got him. Totally, completely got him. My Texas cowboy and I were a match made in heaven. I would tell him just how grateful I was if and when we made it back to Galveston. Right now I had to keep my eye on the prize. Two little girls needed me, and I needed to stay focused on them.
We made it to the hospital in Galveston, and the next hour and a half proved to be a doozy. Just about the time Mama and Jenna arrived, Dr. Mullins made an executive decision to do a C-section because of the position of Baby B. The idea of having surgery on my wedding day didn’t hold much appeal, but giving birth to two healthy babies did. And so I agreed. What else could I do, really?
Between the meds and the pure adrenaline, the delivery part whirled by, much like a dream. Thing One made her entrance into the world at 8:14 p.m.
, weighing in at four pounds, two ounces. Thing Two arrived two minutes later, a whopping four pounds, eleven ounces. The high-risk pediatrician took good care of the babies while Dr. Mullins worked on me, but I couldn’t stop worrying about my daughters. At this point my emotions finally got the better of me. I couldn’t stop the tears. As I watched my baby girls from the delivery table, as I heard their sweet little cries, I simply fell apart.
So did D.J., who stood near the warming beds, watching the pediatrician work.
“They’re going to do just fine, Bella,” the doctor said with a smile. “But I think maybe we had a slight miscalculation with their due date.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“These babies aren’t as early as you think. They’re thirty-five, maybe thirty-six weeks along.”
“Are you serious?” That explained so much.
Dr. Mullins continued working on me but chatted with the high-risk doctor, both of them offering their thoughts on how the ultrasound measurements could have been so far off. In the end, the only explanation that made sense was the “we don’t always get it right” one.
“Are they healthy?” I asked.
“They’ll need some time in the special nursery,” the pediatrician explained, “but with some TLC from our staff and some loving from their parents, they should be home before Christmas.”
Home before Christmas. My heart did the happy dance.
The babies were wrapped and brought to me just after I was wheeled into the recovery room. “You can hold them for a few minutes, but then they’ll have to be taken to the nursery,” the nurse said as she situated them in my arms.
I stared down into their precious little faces, and the tears started all over again. I’d somehow forgotten just how emotional this moment could be. We’d created two little lives, and they would change us forever.
D.J. stood next to me, his eyes filled with love as he watched the babies sleep. “What are we going to name these two?” he asked.
I stared into the beautiful faces of my daughters and sighed. “I know that choosing a family name would probably be a good thing from a traditional standpoint. And I’ve tried to think of all of the A and B names I could. But I keep coming back to two names that just feel right to me.”