| Chapter Twenty-Nine The pains had continued throughout the next hour, but I kept them to myself. They weren’t as strong as before and they weren’t regular so I decided not to worry. I pushed all thought of my impending labor aside and concentrated on the fact that in a few short minutes I would head downstairs and outside to stand beside the man I loved. ********** From inside the back door I could hear the strains of the music that had been chosen. My breath hitched in my chest as I watched Kevin take his place. The man looked utterly delicious in a black tux, his green eyes glowing as he looked out over the crowd of guests. “It’s just about time. Are you ready?” Carly asked as she came to stand next to me. “Oh yeah,” I whispered, unable to take my eyes off of Kevin. “You’re sure your doing okay?” Callie asked as she too moved next to me. I inwardly grimaced, thinking over the pain that I had had in the last few minutes. The pains were getting stronger. “I’m fine sis. I promise,” I assured her as I squeezed each of their arms affectionately. The music changed signaling their cue to begin their walk up the aisle. “Go on,” I directed when Callie continued to look at me. “If you make me late I’ll never forgive you!” “I’m going and so is she,” Carly said as she pulled Callie away. I sighed in relief as I let the next pain wash over and through me. I breathed deeply as the pain ended and noticed that the pains were still about twenty minutes apart. I prayed that the time in between that pain and the next would be enough to make it through the ceremony. The music had changed and I felt a bright smile spread over my face. I stepped out of the house and began walking toward the only man I had ever, would ever love. As I reached Kevin, he took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I smiled up at him and then we turned towards the minister. From that moment on everything faded into the background. Logically, I knew that there were big white bows tied to the fence, flowers of every shape, color and size set in pots, or planted in the ground and a large trellis overhead filled with huge red roses, but everything ceased to exist for me except the words of the minister and the man whose hand held mine. I even forgot about the labor pains I had been having. Nothing mattered at that moment but the vows we were solemnly speaking and each other. He turned to his brother and took the ring and then turned back towards me, holding my hand tightly. I could tell he was filled with emotion by the way his fingers shook as he slowly slipped the broad gold band onto my finger as he repeated his vows. My own hands were none to steady as I slipped the matching band onto his finger. My heart felt as if it was overflowing with love and happiness as we were pronounced man and wife. We stared at each other for a moment after being given permission to ‘kiss the bride’. When his lips descended towards mine I tilted my head back and rose up to meet his kiss with my own. The applause of our guests went unheard as we clung to each other, reveling in the first few seconds of our new life together. We slowly broke apart and turned to face our guests as we were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Richardson. Reality slowly started to seep in to my fuddled brain as we headed up the aisle. I could feel my body begin to tighten as the contraction began to build. I felt him stiffen next to me and I knew he could feel the tightening of my muscles. “Cassie?” His tone of voice was half shocked, half worried as he stopped in the middle of the aisle. I gave him a sheepish smile and I watched as his eyes widened. “You’re….I mean…um well.” He stuttered nervously. I tried to smile up at him but the contraction was raging like a lion and I groaned instead. He tightened his hold on me and spoke softly. “Look at me Cassie. That’s a girl. I want you to breathe; okay? Just breathe for me. That’s it, you’re doing fine.” He leaned in closer, resting his cheek next to my temple and whispered, “Although I don’t know how long that’s going to last!” I knew he said it in a teasing way, but I also knew he was very serious. He wasn’t happy that I had obviously been in labor for a while without telling him. When the pain ended he pulled back enough to look into my eyes. “Why?” I knew what he meant so I didn’t bother trying to play it off. “I wanted today, the ceremony, to be perfect. I didn’t want you to worry about anything. But most of all I wanted to be married before the baby was born.” The light that came into his eyes at my answer threatened to cut off my oxygen. The look he gave me was soft and so full of love. He rested his forehead on mine and he sighed softly. “Are you okay?” he whispered. “I’m fine for now,” I answered as I carefully took stock of my body. “Kevin? Maybe we should get her to the hospital.” His mother’s voice was soft and gentle as if she was crooning to a baby, and I guess in a way she was. After all, Kevin was still her baby. “Mom’s right,” Tim agreed. “I’ll go get the car.” “I’m going with you,” Callie said as she started after Tim. “Carly, make sure everyone knows that they’re free to stay and enjoy the food,” she called over her shoulder. I saw Carly nod and then step away to make the announcement. The next few moments were a blur of activity. Someone was sent up to get the bag I’d packed to take to the hospital, my doctor was called, the cars were brought around, and the guests yelled out advice and good wishes as we climbed into the car. To this day I don’t remember much about that ride to the hospital. When asked, all I can say with surety is that the contractions were building in intensity and that they were coming closer together. My mind began to process again as we pulled into the emergency bay of the hospital and Kevin helped me out of the car. “Come on sweetie. Let’s go have our baby,” he said as he led me to the labor and delivery floor. CCC Index Chapter Thirty Main |