Chapter 12 #2
“So let’s go. We can leave about one o’clock and go down to the riverfront in town. That’s good enough,” Blue said. “I’ve got the gear all gathered up. All we’ll need are some lawn chairs and some bait, and we’ll be good to go.”
“Well, okay, but I think you’ve lost your mind,” Anne muttered as she left the room.
The kids were happy about the idea. Blue had cane poles for them and an old rod and reel for himself.
They sat down in the chairs there by the river.
The sitting down part lasted all of two minutes for Indigo, and Anne spent her time chasing after the little one.
More than once, she said, “Hey, little minnow, get back over here!” as the baby crawled away in her little overalls with the reinforced knees.
They’d been there for about thirty minutes when a voice said, “Mind if I join you?” Blue watched as Anne looked up and saw her dad and mom.
“What are you guys doing here?” she asked, obviously stunned, and Blue fought to keep his composure.
“Oh, Brent let us know you guys were doing this, and you know how your daddy loves to fish,” Anne’s mother, Mary, said as they sat down in their own lawn chairs.
“You came two hundred miles to fish?” Anne asked, still bewildered.
“We wanted to see our grandkids too,” Miles, her father, said.
“Well, okay then,” Anne said, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Hey, who’s that down there?” Mary asked and pointed down the bank, playing along.
Anne squinted and looked in the direction she pointed. “Looks like… That looks like a lady who was at the courthouse with us, Blue,” she said.
“Well, you know, I believe it is. Polly, let me hold your pole. See that lady down there?” Blue said, pointing, and Polly nodded. “Run down there and ask her if her name is Patty. If she says yes, ask her to come down here.”
“Okay,” the girl said and took off. In just a couple of minutes, she came running back with the woman behind her. “It’s her, Blue.”
“Hey, all!” Patty called out, and everyone waved. “Fancy seeing you here!”
Blue rose and hugged her. “Hey! I’m so glad to see you! Isn’t this great?”
“It sure is!” the gray-haired woman said, her whole face lighting up.
“Okay, what’s going on?” Anne asked, side-eyeing Blue. “Something’s up?”
“What makes you say that? Don’t you think this could just be a happy coincidence?” Blue asked, trying hard not to laugh.
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Well, let’s pretend it is and just keep fishing.” Blue sat back in his lawn chair and watched the bobber in front of him.
“Ms.Patty, I only caught one tiny little fish,” Toady whined.
“Oh, you’ll catch more, I’m sure,” Patty told him with a smile.
“I could sure use some more bait,” Miles said to no one in particular.
Blue leaned down and picked up a small carton of worms. “Toady, please take this to your grandpa.”
“Here, Grandpa,” the little boy said and stepped up beside his grandpa.
“I think I got one!” Polly called out, but when she pulled her line in, there was nothing there. “I was sure I got one.”
“I think I got one,” Miles said. A little louder, he added, “And it’s a big one too!”
Everyone turned to watch as he reeled in his line and, on the end, something flashed in the sun. “What is that?” Toady asked, staring.
“Well, lookie here! I believe it’s a… looks like…” Miles droned as he pulled it close and cut the line. “I don’t know what kind of fish that is. Take it to Blue and ask him.”
“Whatcha got there?” Blue asked, knowing full well what it was.
“Looks like a ring,” the little boy said, holding it up in the sun.
“I think you’re right. Guess the only thing you need to decide is whether or not you want me to give it to your mama and ask her to marry me,” Blue said, grinning.
Polly dropped her pole and it clattered on the concrete bank. “Ask her to marry you? YES ! Please!”
“Yes, please!” Toady yelled.
Anne had started to laugh. “Boy, you guys are lousy actors!”
“Yeah, but we gotcha. Admit it,” Blue said, laughing along with her. Before she could get up out of the lawn chair, he knelt beside it. “Marry me, Anne? I promise you won’t be sorry.”
“I think I already am,” she said, still laughing, then sobered. “Yes, BrentAlan Wallace, I’ll marry you if you promise to never again do anything theatrical that’s as bad as this!”
“Promise,” he said as he slipped the ring on her finger and everyone in the little group started to clap and cheer. They weren’t paying any attention to the little minnow in the group at that moment until Blue caught movement out of the corner of his eye.
Indigo crawled to Patty’s chair, pulled up, and stood there, hanging on, for just a few seconds before she turned loose and toddled straight to him.
The other four members of the family sat there, stunned and silent.
It was Mary’s voice that cut through their muteness when she asked, “I take it she’s never done that before? ”
“No. She just walked. She walked ! Indigo, you walked!” Blue yelled and grabbed the laughing baby. “You can walk! When did you learn to do that?”
“I’ve been practicing with her,” Polly said proudly. “But I didn’t think she’d do that right now!”
Blue kissed his baby daughter on the cheek and nuzzled her sweet-smelling hair. In that moment, he saw love everywhere he turned. That was a first for him, but he was hoping he’d see it again and again.
It was a small gathering. Anne had invited everyone who’d been at Indigo’s baby shower, and they all came, plus Glen came with Shelby.
Mary and Miles were there, Patty came, and so did DeloresBingham, Cindy’s mother.
Both of the Wentworth men came, and Chuck brought his wife, Erin.
All the guys in the band, including Gary, were in attendance with their wives or girlfriends, and quite a few of the techs Blue worked with had come too.
Blue had just put on the suit he’d worn to family court that day, and Anne had a new dress, a pretty floral number, that she’d bought for the occasion.
Devon stood nearby in a nice suit talking to Toady, who’d asked to be the best man but had to settle for being a junior groomsman.
Patty had happily agreed to be Anne’s matron of honor, with Polly serving as junior bridesmaid.
And running around all over the room from one guest to another as she flagged around a bunch of silk flowers was the flower girl, occasionally letting out a squeal of laughter when someone tickled her tummy, or running a bit, falling on her butt, then getting up and running again, laughing the whole time.
“I never thought I’d be glad to see you,” Blue whispered to JudgeHargrove when he came through the doors of the small courtroom at the county courthouse.
“At least this time it’s a happy occasion,” the judge said and slapped him on the shoulder. “I suppose I should get on with this,” the older man said as he scanned the attendees at the gathering. “You two,” he said, pointing at Blue and Anne, “get on up here and join hands.”
He said all the usual words and made the usual pronouncement.
In fifteen minutes, minus the times they had to stop to keep Indigo from smashing her fingers in the big double doors that led to the hallway, Blue and Anne were joined forever, never to be apart again.
Some of the ladies from the hospital had planned a little reception at a steakhouse near the mall, and they all ate cake and drank punch after they’d done the big buffet.
The restaurant even gave all the guests a discount, so they had a spectacular time.
When it was time to leave, Anne started to gather the kids up when she realized they weren’t there. “Blue? Where are the kids?”
“Your mom and dad took them to the house. We’ve got the night to ourselves,” he said with a grin, to the hoots and catcalls of everyone else. “It’s our wedding night. We’re going to make the most of it.”
She sat in the van and watched as Blue went into the hotel and came back out with a key. “She said we’ll be closer to the room if we park around back,” he announced when he got back into the van.
“Like we’re sneaking around,” she whispered and giggled.
“Exactly!”
The room was on the third floor and when they got to the door, Blue insisted on picking her up and carrying her over the threshold.
As soon as he put her down, she turned and kissed him, then pulled back and held up her hand, admiring the ring.
“Look at that. I’m Mrs.Brent Alan Wallace,” she murmured.
“Yeah. That’s a bum deal. At least you got a ring out of it, huh?” he answered, snickering.
“Oh, the ring is about like the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks. The candy-coated popcorn around it is much better. And you, my hunky husband, are the candy-coated popcorn,” she said, then leaned over and nibbled his neck.
And she almost squealed when he grabbed her, kissed her, and walked her backward until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed and she tumbled back onto its soft surface.
“And you’re my cotton candy from the county fair,” Blue said with a laugh as he loosened his tie and started undressing.
“That’s a beautiful dress, but I think it would look a lot better on the floor. ”
“Think so?” Anne asked as she sat up to unzip it.
Five minutes later, Blue kissed her, knowing she could taste herself on his lips. As he powered into her softness with his hardness, he smiled. I’m not having sex , he thought. I’m making love to my wife! “My wife,” he whispered, aloud but unintentionally so.
“My husband,” Anne whispered back and smiled. “I love you, Brent.”
He chuckled. “Say it.”
“What?”
“You know what.”
Anne laughed. “I love you, Blue!”
That was all it took for him to finish. He’d come full circle. Falling on his side in exhaustion, he gathered her into his arms and felt her kiss his chest. It didn’t matter that they were in a hotel. No matter where they were, as long as they were together, he was home.