34. Ajay
ajay
. . .
Q uinn stands in the mirror, adjusting his bow tie. There’s a smirk on his face, one I can’t decipher, as he looks back and forth between his sister and me. To outsiders we’re nothing more than a band, a group of people who get together and perform. But to me, we’re family. They’re my family. Keane and his daughter, Chandler, Dana, Hendrix, Elle, and Quinn… we’re unconventional but it works for us.
Elle looks me in the eyes and smiles softly. I haven’t asked her what she’s thinking or even what her thoughts are about Whiskey and me, but I’ve seen her with Evelyn and she’s a natural. Quinn and Elle’s entire family have taken me in and welcomed my girls with open arms; it’s like we’ve always been this close-knit group, like they’ve been my family from the beginning. It’s taken me a long time to accept that blood doesn’t make a family. Love is all you need.
The door opens and Harrison and Katelyn walk in. One look at the woman who has become a mother to me and my heart lurches. She dabs at her eyes and comes over to me and Elle but pushes her daughter out of the way. “I’m so proud of you,” she says brushing her hands over my shoulders. “This is going to be the most perfect day.”
“I hope so. I’m waiting to hear from Dhara to make sure everything is okay.”
“It is,” she tells me. “I’ve seen her and Evelyn, and oh my… Oh Ajay, they’re just so beautiful.”
My throat tightens. “She’s here?” I don’t know why but there’s a part of me that thought she wouldn’t come, that being with me wasn’t what she wanted. I know what I’m feeling is relief, but it’s more than that and it’s hard to describe.
Katelyn nods. “And dressed. The church is filling up and Chandler looks so cute handing out the programs. The quartet is already playing, and the flowers are lovely. I’ve never seen whiskey colored roses until today. I don’t know how Josie finds these impossible colors.”
“You did an amazing job, Mom.” Quinn kisses her on the cheek. “Maybe you and Aunt Josie should go into the wedding planning business.”
She shakes her head. “I only plan weddings for my kids, that’s it. Two down, two to go,” she eyes Quinn and Elle. Elle holds her hand up, showing off her ring.
“I’m one step closer than Quinn.”
“Hey,” he says. “We haven’t been together that long. You and Ben, Noah and Peyton, and Ajay and Jamie have known each other for years. Years!” he throws his hands up in the air and we all laugh.
“Well, at least Ajay is making me a grandma.”
Elle and Quinn’s eyes go wide and there seems to be an intense standoff between the Jameses. I want to step away but am intrigued with what’s going on. Harrison stands next to me, watching the three of them battle it out via staring contest. Katelyn raises her eyebrow, challenging her children.
“I’m not married yet,” Elle stammers.
Katelyn tilts her head and looks at Quinn. He tugs on the collar of his shirt and asks, “Is it hot in here?”
“Nope,” I say. “It’s a cool sixty-five.”
“Feels like it’s eighty,” Quinn says as Harrison laughs in the background.
“Feels like you’re dodging the question,” Katelyn says.
“I don’t believe one was asked, Mom,” Quinn fires back. “Besides, shouldn’t you be having this conversation with Peyton and Noah? They’re at least married.”
“Do you think you need to be married to have children?” she asks them.
Quinn shakes his head. “No, ma’am,” he says quietly. “But her parents would appreciate the gesture and I want to respect their wishes.”
Katelyn steps forward and sets her hand on Quinn’s cheek. “You’re such a good boy, Quinn.” He leans into her hand and tells her thank you. She goes to Elle, who has a sudden fascination with her fingernails. “And you?”
“Mom,” Elle says sternly.
Katelyn laughs. “I’m only messing with you both. I know when you’re ready, it’ll happen but until then, I’ll spoil Evelyn.”
“I think she’ll like that,” I add.
She turns and looks at Harrison. “You’ve been awfully quiet while I’ve given them grief.”
He shrugs. “I’m just damn happy that my family is happy.”
“We are happy, aren’t we?”
The group of us nod and Katelyn tells us that we need to finish getting ready. Quinn’s my best man. The decision to ask Quinn over Harrison wasn’t easy. They’ve been there for me in different ways and I’m close to both of them. But having Quinn right next to me feels right.
Keane, Hendrix, and Dana come in. The guys are in black suits and Dana is in a knee length dress, all chosen by Elle to match the bridal party. When Dhara asked me what colors I wanted, I blurted out Whiskey, meaning that she should decide, but that would be near impossible if I were to keep this wedding a secret. Dhara explained that Pinterest would save our asses, whatever that meant, and got to work picking out the attire for everyone. All I know is that Dhara and Josie worked magic, and that I’m going to owe them both until the day I die. Dhara’s words, not mine.
“It’s time,” Keane says. “Mrs. James, if you’ll allow me to do the honors?” He holds out his arm and Katelyn goes to him, but not before stopping at me first.
“Do you have your vows?” she asks.
“Memorized,” I tell her, pointing to my head.
She adjusts my lapel and straightens my boutonniere. “And the ring?”
“In my pocket, Mom,” Quinn adds.
“And Saul took care of your divorce, making sure it was withdrawn?”
I nod. “Yes. Elle’s sneaky way of having Whiskey sign a non-disclosure agreement worked perfectly.”
Katelyn smiles. “While I wouldn’t usually condone that tactic, in this situation it was perfect.” I wink at Elle, who grins back. She’s the best manager a guy like me could ask for.
“Okay, I guess we’re all ready then! In a few minutes I’m officially going to have another daughter and be a grandma. I’m not sure if this day could be any more perfect.”
Me neither, but I’m not about to count my chickens before they hatch or is it count my eggs? Either way, I’m not counting on anything until I slip a ring onto Whiskey’s finger and marry her in front of our friends and family.
We follow Keane out of the room and when I step into the church, I’m taken aback. The pews are filled with people I’ve known for years, people who shouldn’t give a rat’s ass about me, but they do… or they at least care for Whiskey and Evelyn.
“I can’t believe Elle pulled this off, getting everyone here without alerting Whiskey,” I say to Quinn.
“When Elle puts her mind to something, anything is possible. My sister is a force to be reckoned with when she wants something.”
No truer words have ever been spoken when referring to Elle James. I know she moved mountains to get her brother to join Sinful Distraction. We would’ve been good without him, but having him makes us incredible. And all of her efforts gave me a best friend.
The music shifts and people turn toward the double doors. Once they open, Dhara walks toward the alter, a huge smile on her face as her eyes are laser focused on Fletcher. If they’re not together soon, Whiskey is going to lock them in a room. It’s all she talks about — how they love each other but are too dumb to realize it themselves.
My eyes are on the doorway when Evelyn steps through. I quickly glance at Katelyn, who is dabbing her eyes, but go back to watching the little girl that I’m going to raise as my own. Her hair is pinned up, making her curls bounce as she walks toward us. When she reaches me, I kneel so that we’re eye level.
“Aren’t you the prettiest girl in the room?”
She shakes her head and looks over her shoulder. “Mommy is, just wait until you see her,” she whispers.
The music switches and the vibe in the church changes. Everyone stands and I’m forced to move from where I’m standing so I can see my bride coming down the aisle.
“Damn,” I say aloud as Whiskey makes her way toward me. Her dress is tight around her chest, poofy at her waist, and according to Dhara and Elle, this is her dream dress. I don’t know anything about fashion or wedding dresses, but I do know that Whiskey looks fucking hot, beautiful, and drop dead gorgeous in it… and I can’t wait to take it off her later.
As she gets to me, I’m tongue-tied and my palms are sweating. I want to touch her, kiss her, and tell her how much I love her. I want to pick her up and carry her out of here to an empty room and make love to her. Mostly importantly, I want to profess my love and desire to be her husband in front of everyone so that there’s no question in anyone’s mind that this is where I belong… with her. I can’t take my eyes off hers. We stare at each other, both of us smiling, dreaming about our future. She may already be my wife, but this was how our wedding should’ve happened the first time.
The preacher clears his throat, and everyone sits as my knees shake. They’re knocking together as if playing their own song.
“We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Jameson Foster and Ajay Ballard. Who gives this woman to this man?”
I look at the Sheriff and pray that he’s in a giving mood today. “Her mother and I do, happily,” he says as he kisses Whiskey on her cheek. He then places her hand in mine and helps guide her up the stairs to where I’m standing.
“I can’t believe you did this, Ajay.”
“Do you like it?” I look around, seeing everything more vividly now that she’s here.
“I love it and I love you.”
“I love you too,” I lean forward to kiss her, but Quinn pulls on my tuxedo. “Not yet,” he whispers loudly enough for his parents to hear, who start to giggle along with everyone who saw me try to sneak one. I smile and shrug.
The preacher talks about our love story, from when we met to how we found each other again. He tells about our lives and how they blend together and what our future holds, and how our parents can’t wait for the pitter patter of baby feet. I glance at Katelyn, suspecting she might have said something. She shrugs as if to say it wasn’t her, but I know better. When he tells us it’s time for our vows, Whiskey hands her bouquet to Dhara and grips my hand.
“Ajay, all my life you’ve been the guy who helps me up after I’ve fallen, who holds my hand in the dark, who makes sure I get the last bite of ice cream. Even though we took a detour in our lives, I know we were meant to, that we had to pass that test before we could find each other again. Our love story may not be perfect, but it’s ours and no one can take that away from us. I can’t wait to restart our lives, to raise our children, and to live happily ever after.”
My eyes go wide at her choice of words. I want to ask her if she’s pregnant but figure this isn’t the time nor place to blurt something like that out. Instead, I clear my throat and try my hardest not to picture her with a growing belly.
“Ja…” I stop and shake my head. “I’m sorry, I can’t say your name because to me you’ll always be my Whiskey Girl.” Everyone around us laughs. “Whiskey, from the day I met you, I knew you were always going to be in my life. You’re the one person who saw me for me and not where I was from. You never cared that I didn’t have the same things as you, and it never escaped me that you always had enough of everything to share. You’ve seen me at my worst, and baby, I’m here to say that my best is yet to come because without you, I’m only a shell of who I can be. You’re my partner and my wife, and as I stand in front of our friends and family, I swear to you that I will always be the man that deserves to be loved by you. I love you, Whiskey, and I love Evelyn, and I can’t wait to build a life with my girls.”
Whiskey nods and a single tear falls down her cheek. I let go of her hand and wipe it away with my thumb.
“Jameson Foster, do you take Ajay to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, until death do you part?”
“I do,” she says with the biggest and brightest smile I’ve ever seen from her. Yeah, this day is so much better than last time.
“Do you, Ajay, take Ja, er, Whiskey…” Everyone laughs, but I must hand it to this man as he knows what to call her, “…to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, until death do you part?”
“Fuck yeah, I do.”
“Ajay said a word,” Evelyn says loudly. I lean to the side and see her watching me. I beckon her to come to me and she does.
“Ajay, what are you doing?” Whiskey asks, but I ignore her question.
When Evelyn is standing next to her mom, I drop to my knee and pull a necklace out of my pocket. “I know your mom and I get rings and you’re probably wondering what you get, right?”
She nods as I fumble with the necklace I had made for her. Katelyn comes over and finishes the task for me.
“Evelyn, I’m wondering if you’ll accept me as your dad?”
Evelyn fiddles with the heart, which is etched with our names and today’s date. She looks at her grandparents, her mom and finally at me. She shrugs. “Can I call you dad?”
“Of course,” I tell her. “Or Ajay, whatever you want.”
“I don’t have a daddy,” she says quietly.
Tears form in my eyes and search for the right words. “You do now.”
Evelyn springs forward and wraps her arms around my shoulders. “I love you, Evelyn,” I tell her in her ear before letting her go. I stand, but keep my hand on her shoulder, unwilling to let her go. When I look at Whiskey, she’s dabbing at her face and trying to smile at me.
The preacher breaks our moment by asking for our rings. Quinn hands them over, two new ones for her and one for me. I can’t wait for her to slip the band on my finger. I’m going to wear it proudly and never take it off.
“Repeat after me,” the preacher says as he hands Whiskey’s wedding band and engagement ring to me. So what if we’re doing things backwards? The point is, we’re doing them our way.
Whiskey holds her hand out and I take it in mine. I repeat what the preacher says as I slip the set onto her finger. She does the same for me and we lock hands, waiting for the words that tell me she’s mine.
“Hey, Daddy,” Evelyn says as she tugs on my jacket. “I think you’re supposed to kiss Mommy now.”
I can’t help but laugh as the most unthinkable words come tumbling out of my mouth. “Damn straight I am.”
It’s only when the preacher announces us as Mr. and Mrs. Ballard that I finally pull my lips away from my wife, and even then, it’s only for a minute.