42. Caroline Normal Family Ship
caroline: normal family ship
I KNEW THE WEDDING CEREMONY would only take nine minutes.
Nine minutes wasn’t so long. Unless you were my sister, who was silently laboring behind Emerson and me.
Thank goodness they hadn’t written their own vows.
I loved Kyle, but when he talked about how much he loved my sister, the man got a little verbose.
Which, I mean, was sweet. But we were kind of on a time crunch here.
I locked eyes with Sloane and raised my eyebrows. She gave me a tiny okay sign, as Em was saying, “I, Emerson, take you, Kyle, to be my lawfully wedded husband.”
I needed to be here, in this moment, with my littlest sister. But my other little sister was literally about to give birth in the aisle. So we needed to speed this along. Carter wrestled her way down from Vivi’s hip as Kyle was saying, “to love and to cherish from this day forward.”
She was only four. I mean, distractions were to be expected.
But she walked right over to my mom, climbed into her lap, and rested her head on her chest. Well done, Carter.
She was waving at someone, and when I looked over and realized it was Tyler, I almost laughed out loud.
He’d really come through in the clutch today.
And, finally, I felt like I could breathe.
Emerson and Kyle were kissing—so sweet!—and we were cheering, and I was going to grab Adam and tell him to get my sister to the hospital.
But then, about midway down the aisle, instead of leaving, Emerson and Kyle walked a few steps up to where the quartet was playing.
Emerson grabbed the mic. No, no, no, I thought.
Just go, I mouthed to Sloane.
She shook her head, but her face was definitely wrenched with pain. Now! I mouthed.
She shook her head again as Emerson said, “I know this is our wedding day, but Kyle and I have a little surprise for another member of our family.”
They were going to have two surprises if they didn’t hurry up. I really, really didn’t want to be on the news because my sister gave birth in the Yacht House. I walked over to her—totally breaking my bridesmaid-line protocol—and said, “Sloane, you need to get to the hos—”
I couldn’t get the word out because the street-side set of doors to the Yacht House flew open, and backlit by the sun like he’d brought his own lighting crew with him—which, honestly, wouldn’t be totally out of the realm of possibility—was the man who just might be my great love: Chase Aarons.
I dropped Sloane’s arm. In a haze, I walked over to Taylor, said, “Get your mother a chair, please,” and found that I was completely unable to stop myself from walking toward Chase.
For a split second, I worried I was taking focus from the bride.
Which, I mean, I totally was. But I looked up at her and she said, into the microphone, “Yes, Car. The surprise is for you.”
Needless to say, the entire crowd turned to look at whatever dramatic display was about to take place in the center aisle.
And I’m not sure I knew how incredibly much I had even missed Chase, as distracted as I had made myself, until I found myself unable to keep from throwing my arms around his neck.
He kissed my shoulder and said into my ear, “I’m so sorry.
I never want to be away from you again. Not even for five minutes. ”
I nodded, still nuzzled close to him, and said, “Me neither. But we really need to talk.”
That was kind of an understatement.
“In a minute,” he said. He took my hand and led me up the stairs, where Emerson and Kyle were, and took the mic.
“Sorry to interrupt the wedding,” he said. “But if you’ve ever met Caroline Murphy, you know she’s basically impossible to surprise. So we had to pick a moment when she was totally distracted.”
The crowd laughed. I was sort of confused. What was going on here? Was he not the surprise?
And then, well, they surprised me. They all surprised me. The quartet started playing “The Way You Look Tonight,” and Chase dropped to his knee. I looked at Emerson, feeling frozen.
“Caroline, I had this whole big speech planned, but the long and short of it is simple: I love you. I want to spend my life with you. Whatever that looks like, whatever you want, whatever our family turns out to be. I don’t care.
I only know that I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
“We have to talk, like, now!” I hissed down at him.
“What is the holdup here?” Emerson asked, talking over the music. “You have a movie star down on one knee.”
I looked at Emerson and then at Chase. “I know. I mean, I know that. But, Chase, Em, I’m pregnant.”
“It’s okay, Car,” she said. “We know. We saw the picture with the prenatal vitamins.” She looked from me to Chase to Kyle.
She took a deep breath and said, “Look, I might as well get it out on the table. I want you to know how grateful we are. And this is just a miracle all around, and it’s going to be the greatest blessing.
” She paused. “We’ll raise them just like twins! ”
Raise them like twins. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, well—”
But Chase stood up. “Caroline, I’m so sorry. I don’t want to interrupt the moment. But, see, I just read this study that men aren’t fully emotionally developed until they are forty-three—”
“Forty-three!” Emerson shrieked.
I shook my head, forgetting all about the more pressing matter at hand here. “No. That study was done by a man who just got caught cheating who is trying to get his wife to forgive him. Biologically, men were designed to be dead by forty-three.”
Emerson laughed. “Right! Can you imagine the cavemen running around like, ‘Oh, well, I never got to emotionally develop because we die at thirty-four.’ ”
Chase looked to Kyle, helplessly. “Don’t look at me, man. I can’t defend you after that. That’s absurd.”
Chase took a deep breath. “Okay. Forget the study. I behaved poorly. I love you, and I never should have put that sort of pressure on you. Having a baby for your sister is so selfless, and I love you, and I want to be beside you every step of the way. My judgment was clouded by what I wanted for our future. And that was unfair because I don’t get to make your decisions. ”
I looked at Chase and then at Emerson. “Are you two finished?”
They both nodded.
“Emerson, I am very glad you are pregnant, because I am not having your baby.”
“Oh.” She almost looked let down, which was surprising because, come on… Two babies like two weeks apart? “So, you aren’t pregnant?”
“No…” I started very slowly. “I am…”
My gaze traveled back to Chase, who looked at me for a long second and then, connecting the dots, jumped up in the air and screamed, “Yes!” Then he scooped me up in an alarming hug and covered my face with kisses.
When he’d settled down, with his face buried in my neck, I said, “I was going to say that I didn’t want you to feel any pressure to be involved in the baby’s life, but you seem not to need that part of the speech.”
He gasped and pulled his head up. “Now we have to get married.”
Now I laughed. “Chase, that was not romantic.”
“No, I’m sorry, it’s not, but we can’t have a baby and not be married. It’s a bad example for your children.”
“Well, I’ve already been a bad example,” Emerson said.
“But you aren’t their mother,” Chase countered.
And then Vivi was there, and I realized that she was probably the most important piece of this puzzle.
Preston was young enough that Chase was just the cool, sports-playing stepdad he’d slide right into life with.
But my beautiful, erratic girl… Well, I needed to talk to her.
“Mom!” she hissed, also just over the music.
“You have been the most miserable human without Chase. Can you say yes already? We’re all hungry. ”
I laughed again. “Wait. So, are you, like, okay with this? If we get married?”
She scoffed. “It was my idea. Come on, Mom. You think these normals could pull one over on you? No way.” A smile played on her lips.
Chase looked at me. “Car, your whole family was in on this. I’ve talked to your sisters and your mom, and Jack and Vivi and Preston. Even James—who, by the way, still thinks you’re getting back together with him.”
“You guys! You surprised me!”
“Thank God,” Sloane said, standing beside me, now half doubled over. “But can we hurry this along? I have a baby trying really hard to be born.”
All the onlookers cheered because, of course, they thought I had said yes.
“And?” Chase said.
“And I’ll marry you,” I said casually. “Duh.”
He kissed me again and then took the mic back and signaled for the music to stop. “So, we have one more kind of bigger surprise,” he said. My mom was walking up the steps, and I realized that Jack was seemingly walking outside, which was kind of weird.
My mom took the mic and said, “We thought that maybe, since all our friends and family are assembled already, you two might just want to get married right here.”
“No!” I said reflexively. “Em, this is your only wedding, and you love to be the center of attention. I’m not going to share that with you. And, plus, isn’t that kind of sister wife-ish?”
“Caroline, you were going to share your uterus with me. I think I can share an altar for, like, nine minutes.”
I looked at Kyle and we both shrugged.
“I guess I sort of thought if I ever got married again, I wouldn’t have a wedding?” I said.
“But you’re marrying me, so we need to pull out all the stops,” Chase said.
I grinned and put my hands on Chase’s cheeks and kissed him. “I love you a dangerous amount.”
“Caroline,” Emerson said, “you have been an endless support system for me. And there is no one I would rather share my wedding day with.”
Chase shrugged. “This is your call. But if you ever want to have a wedding that isn’t flooded by paparazzi, this is probably the time. No one will be expecting this, so we can get married without the press.”
“Please, Mom!” Vivi said, jumping up and down.
I put my finger up and took my daughter’s hand, leading her toward the corner of the balcony. “Honey, this is all really fast, and you’re just a kid and—”
“Mom!” she said, stopping me as the band played again. “I have never seen you as happy as you are with Chase. Not ever.” Then she put her hands on her hips and, very seriously, said, “It’s also a terrible example to have a baby with a man you aren’t married to.”
My eyes widened. “Wait. How did you know about that?”
“I saw the prenatal vitamin picture in Page Six. I know stuff.”
I felt myself going a little pale. I wanted to sit her down, explain all of this to her, have a family conversation.
She squeezed my hand. “I think this is the most fun thing ever. I love Chase. And I love you. And I love the new baby already. I’m serious. I’m a teenager. I don’t get this happy that much.”
“But your dad… And we will never be a normal family now, and…”
I trailed off, and Vivi looked at me sympathetically.
“Mom, look around. This is one of my aunts’ second try at a wedding in this same building.
My other aunt is literally in labor and won’t leave because we all have such bad FOMO.
My real grandfather is married to my real grandmother, but he didn’t raise any of you.
The ‘normal family’ ship sailed.” She squeezed me to her and then backed up.
“Plus, I’d rather be a happy family than a normal one. Wouldn’t you?”
She was so damn smart. “Oh!” I said. “What did Carter hand you? Was that a letter from Tyler?”
“How about you go get married, and then we’ll talk about Tyler at the reception?”
I nodded. I took the mic and said, “Well, everyone, hold on to your hats. Looks like we’re going to have a second wedding. I promise we’ll make it fast.” I handed the mic back to Emerson and said, “Oh my gosh! We don’t have rings!”
“Don’t have rings,” Sloane said sarcastically. “Of course we have rings!”
“Adam,” I said, leaning over into the microphone in Em’s hand, “could you please get up here.”
He ran up the stairs, and I said, “Your wife has been in labor for hours. Could you please make her go to the hospital?”
“As soon as you kiss the groom,” she said. “Then I’ll go. I promise.”
I kissed her. “You’re getting so sassy and self-sufficient. You barely need me.”
“I always need you.”
Everyone else scattered off for their parts. It was just Sloane, Emerson, and me. “You guys,” I said. “I know I’ve never said it out loud, but this is, like, my biggest dream come true.”
Sloane looked confused. “Marrying Chase?”
I shook my head. “That we’re all pregnant at the same time.”
Emerson and Sloane laughed. “For like another two hours, tops,” Sloane said.
Emerson and I hoisted her up, and I gestured for the photographer.
We all smiled and posed and then hugged, and I was so glad someone was there to capture this moment, the three of us happy, in love, pregnant.
I wasn’t sure life would ever get better than this.
I kissed my sisters, placing a hand on each of their stomachs. “Well, here goes nothing,” I said.
Emerson scrambled down the stairs to the altar opposite Chase, my almost husband, the father of my child, and Sloane, wincing, said, “I think I’ll just sit here if it’s all the same to you.”
I nodded. “You’ll be up there in spirit.” Then I looked at the quartet. “A reprise of the Trumpet Voluntary seems appropriate, and let’s make it snappy.”
I ran down the steps in my bridesmaid’s dress and realized that Jack wasn’t leaving. He was loitering by the door.
“Wow,” I said. “You’re really getting, like, all your dad things checked off all at once today, huh?”
He looked sort of nervous. “Well, I mean, I don’t have to… I just thought I would be here in case…”
“Jack,” I said steadily, looking him in the eye. “Would you please walk me down the aisle and give me away?”
He grinned, and I kissed his cheek. “I just got all of you, and I’m having to give two of you away in one day.”
I wrapped my arm around his and clasped my hand in his. “The thing about daddies and their little girls is that a part of our hearts will always belong to you.”
He kissed my cheek. “You ready for this? You sure? Because there’s still time to sneak out.”
I looked down the aisle, Chase grinning at me, and sighed. “I didn’t know that I could love anyone this much.”
Jack looked at me as we started to walk. “My thoughts exactly, sweetheart. My thoughts exactly.”