To Begin Anew (Blue Jay Romance) (21 page)

Birthdays were for young people and older people who no longer cared. Except when you were standing with the man you loved before a crowd of people that loved you and you realized that of all the perfect moments in the history of the world, you were in the middle of the most perfect of them all.

Dressed in a gown that could only be described as expensively gorgeous, Debra understood the meaning of love as Eric’s eyes locked with hers. The reverend standing between them was a man she’d known all her life and he represented to her the entirety of her life as she’d lived it in Blue Jay. The reverend, like the people on her side of the church there to witness her take Eric’s hand in marriage, were the people that had been with her, helping her, and who loved her as a family would. How an entire town could be a family, she didn’t know, but Debra did know that she wouldn’t trade them for the world. Jeremy, the man who’d given her first horseback ride and who’d been her father’s best friend, had walked her down the aisle and had, with tears running down his face, given her away to Eric like the father Debra missed with her entire soul.

Of course, the local television gossip lady, Chatty Cathy, had tried to attend the nuptials along with her entire camera crew. Fortunately for both Eric and Debra, his mother stopped her before the woman could even get close to the door.

“I’m sorry, young lady, but your presence won’t be welcomed here,” Gladys told her as she tried to ascend the steps in front of the church.

“My presence anywhere is none of your concern, madam,” Cathy snipped, her nose in the air to indicate she was above such nonsense.

As she tried to move past the older woman, a hand gently, but firmly, grasped her arm and she came to a stop next to Gladys.

“You don’t know me - yet - so let me inform you,” she said as she turned to look Cathy in the eyes. “I’m the mother of the groom. I don’t take kindly to folks who stalk my son and I don’t care if you
are
a newsperson. His life and what he does with it are no longer any of your business.” She paused long enough for Cathy’s heart to beat only twice, then released her arm and turned the young woman around, adding, “You may go now. Don’t bother my family again.”

Cathy, confused and certain that she wasn’t welcomed here - especially with her news crew - relented and went away. On the evening news, she simply reported that the wedding had taken place and acted as though she was getting bored with the local celebrity doctor.

The only one of Debra’s family who couldn’t make it was her youngest sibling, Aaron, who was in his final year of Law school with bar exams looming in the week immediately after the wedding. It was a time for preparation and intense studying. He desperately wanted to be there, but it just wasn’t possible and Debra understood. She’d told him not to bother himself about it and that his schooling and career were much more important. To compromise, Debra agreed to allow Emma’s son, Billy, to videotape the ceremony so Aaron could view it at a later time and see how beautiful she looked and ‘meet’ his new brother-in-law and the cherubic step-nephews.

As for Eric, his mother was the Matron of Honor for Debra. It took some convincing from him to get her to agree, but in the end all that mattered to Gladys was that her son was happy, so she finally accepted. He was even able to persuade Tina’s parents to attend. After all, they loved him nearly as much as they had loved their daughter and were excited to meet the woman who had won his heart and would be raising their twin grandsons. Debra wasn’t sure about meeting them, but Eric, in that special way of his, convinced her they would love her - and they did.

David and Danny, in their little suits, looked like tiny gentlemen cherubs, and as they beamed at her, as they walked hand in hand bearing a pillow with huge wedding rings nestled on top of it, she knew that beyond her love for Eric, she loved those little angels to the point that if she hugged them, she’d make their beautiful sandy heads pop off.

“At this time, we would hear your vows to each other,” the reverend said, his eyes looking to Debra first and then to Eric.

Eric swallowed before he began to speak, his eyes brimmed with unshed tears, “The moment I met you, I was struck by how different you are. I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re the strongest, most giving and loving person to have ever graced my life. I was living in darkness before I met you, afraid that I had lost the ability to feel happiness. When we first met and you stole the apple from my hand, little did I know that you also stole my heart. You are the light that has re-ignited my soul, and for that I would spend the rest of my life with you.”

He kissed the palm of Debra’s hand and when he looked up to her, a tear slid down his cheek. She squeezed his hands in hers and began, closing her eyes so that she wouldn’t forget what she had to say. “I didn’t know that a person’s life could change so much so quickly that they wouldn’t have the time to object. But change, when you can’t do a thing to stop it, has the ability to make you see what you’ve been ignoring, what you’ve been hiding. You’ve given me the gift to face myself, to put my faith in another person and believe that together we’re stronger than we are when we’re apart. I love how you make me feel needed, how when I’m with you, I’m home and that it’s easy and natural and safe.” Debra paused, opened her eyes and lifted a hand to Eric’s face. “I wasn’t living when I met you either, but the moment you crash landed, my heart took its first free beat. You’ve given me a beautiful life to live, and I want to be with you forever to keep living it.”

The reverend, who’d been silent the whole time, looked down at the patiently waiting twins and said, “The rings, please.”

Eric broke his eyes away from Debra, smiled at his sons, and picked up Debra’s wedding ring which he held for a moment before he looked to the reverend.

“Dr. Eric Nelson,” the reverend began, “with this ring, do you promise to love, honor and cherish this woman until death do you part?”

Eric listened the reverend, staring straight into Debra’s eyes. Words never meant more to him than they did as they left the reverend’s mouth now. He slipped Debra’s ring onto her finger, the action making his heart flutter thump in his chest so wildly that he felt light-headed, and he whispered, “I do.”

 Debra’s agile hand found the wedding band she’d picked out for him and the reverend, on his cue, said, “ Miss Debra Brown,” he paused, his face full of happiness as he continued, “with this ring, do you promise to love, honor and cherish this man until death do you part?”

Debra inhaled before she spoke, her green eye encouraging her to say the words calmly while her blue eye demanded she spit it out quickly so that she could get to the kiss at the end, and as she warred with them, she said the words softly, tears rolling down her cheeks. She slid Eric’s ring on his finger and had to blink as the world around her blurred. “I do.”

“With all the power vested in me, with all the love in my heart and happiness for you both, I now pronounce you man and wife.” The reverend paused dramatically and several chuckles rang through the audience, then he added, “You may now kiss the bride.”

Eric, not waiting a beat, took Debra’s face in his hands and pulling her to him, he kissed her fiercely and with enough joy in his soul to propel him to the moon. He felt her kiss him back, felt as her entire body connected to his in such a way that he knew they were joined forever and when he let her go, he said happily and with a mischievous grin, “Happy Birthday.”

As they turned to head back down the aisle toward the front door, the choir began their recessional song. Debra was shocked and delighted to hear the entire church erupt in singing, “Happy Birthday to you!” She turned to Eric and his childish grin told her all she needed to know. He’d planned this as a special surprise just for her. She poked him with her elbow as they began walking down the aisle to be showered with rice.

~*~*~

Debra entered her new home, literally as Eric carried her over the threshold, and when she was finally set down she had to brace herself as David and Danny attacked her and she fell with them to the floor in a heap.

“You did it, you did it!” David said as he buried his face in her wedding dress. Danny was there with him, hugging her so tightly that Debra began to wonder if the pair of them were ever going to let her go.

Eric stood over his new family, wanting to burn the image of them like this in his mind so that he would never forget how lucky he was that Debra was in his life. He was shocked out of his thoughts when, tinkling like a bell, Danny began, his voice precious in the moment, “We thought our wish was never gonna come true, but you’re here and we know
you’re
what we asked for.”

David said, his voice equally as clear, “We wanted it to be you, we wanted you to be with us. I was afraid you would leave, but then we made our wish and God gave you to
all
of us. I
know
it.”

Eric was astounded at his sons, more because he hadn’t known how strong their desire was for him to be happy. The knowledge of how much they loved him rocked his soul. He got down on the floor with Debra and the boys and he scooted close to them, not caring if he ruined his tuxedo. He was a famous doctor and could afford it.

“We all got our wishes granted, don’t you know that?”

David lifted his head from Debra at the exact same time that Danny did, and as they wiped their eyes, they asked, “You made a wish too, Daddy?”

“I most certainly did.” Eric looked at Debra and she smiled at him, her arms wrapped around her new sons and he continued, “I made a wish that my sons would be happy, that they would find someone to love them as much as I love them, as much as their mother loved them.”

David chuckled and snuggled with Debra until it appeared as if his entire body disappeared within the fluffy fabric of the gown. Danny was already lost in his new mom’s dress, his head the only part of his little body that was visible and resting on her shoulder.

There was a space of several moments when the four of them simply cuddled each other on the floor and Debra was deep in thought. She had about two weeks to get used to her new home and decide what to do with the Bed and Breakfast before Aaron was due to come for a visit. She’d missed him terribly while he was away in college and couldn’t wait to see him again.

She was nudged out of her reverie when David lifted his head and said, “I guess we’ll all live like those people in the fairytales.”

Eric looked up and nodded at his son, knowing truly that with God up above in his corner, he had nothing but the rest of his life to live happily ever after.

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