Chapter 17 #2
“With this ring,” she said smiling at him as she slid it onto his finger, “I reaffirm my love and devotion.”
“Jordan,” he said proceeding to go through it again.
“With this ring, I reaffirm my love and devotion,” Jordan stated sliding the eternity band of emeralds and diamonds onto her hand, “for always.”
She smiled as tears hit her at the truth behind his words and she was incredibly happy when the reverend stated, “I now pronounce you still husband and wife, you may kiss the bride.”
His lips settled on hers and she let herself melt into him just enough for their crew to grow boisterous.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Jordan and Melinda Turner.”
She had never felt happier, and it stayed with her throughout the entire reception, even when Tate pulled her out onto the dance floor and demanded she admit she was wrong.
“I told you so.”
“Oh shush,” she laughed pushing at his chest.
“Mel-Mel, you’re never going to lose me no matter what, no matter how often you choose Jordan over me I won’t be going anywhere.”
“I know Tate but that still doesn’t mean I could choose which of you I can live without because the answer to that is, I can’t choose. I can’t live without both of you or with being the reason one of you aren’t here anymore.”
“I take it Jordan finally realized that?” Tate said as Jordan watched them at last entirely content with their connection.
“Yeah, so you were right and Jordan did really love me the entire time but maybe it’s better that it happened this way. Well, not the kidnapping part of it but holding it back.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because if I’d known that he loved me, really loved me I’d never have gotten finished with school because I’d want to be with him all the time and there’d probably be one or two more Turners running around today.”
“Does that mean we should expect some sometime in the near future?” Tate teased.
“Not too near, we do have a very overdue honeymoon to go on.”
“And between me, Dwight, and Ford we’ll make sure the company stays moving forward. We’ll get the house done too and the campus project.”
“I know, it’s why I can go without worrying about what I’m leaving behind.”
“Good, did I mention how amazing you are or how good your as…”
“Don’t even try it Jo…” She lifted an eyebrow as he gave her a glare, stopping the name, before resting her head against his chest as they danced.
“I love you Mel-Mel.”
“I love you too Tate,” she stated sending a smile towards Jordan and Nicole who’d just joined him.
“You don’t seem as tense as you usually do when you see them like that,” Nicole said sliding over beside him. “Don’t tell me you’ve finally got it?”
“Took me six years but I did.”
“And?” she asked brightly.
“And she made her choice six years ago,” he admitted twirling his ring around as the words engraved inside it played through his mind. My always choice.
“She did?”
“After she told him about me finding out the truth, my proposal, Tate offered to run away with her, help her play pool, go pro.”
“Instead she married you,” Nicole stated.
“She did and now, I’m the one she chose to be with, and I’ll never question that again.”
“Even though she couldn’t make a choice when Kevin held a gun to both of you?” she inquired.
“Could you make a choice between Caleb and Dad, or even Caleb and me?” he countered and he saw the dilemma in her eyes.
“It’s too different of a choice Jordan. Caleb’s my heart but Dad…he’s Dad and you’re my brother.”
“While I’m Mel’s heart and he’s her Tate, her family,” Jordan stated and he saw her understanding of it.
“Yes in the first instant I hoped she’d choose me and when I saw the terror in her eyes I told her it was okay to save Tate even though my heart was shredded.
Then she told me she couldn’t choose because she couldn’t see a life without us both, couldn’t deal if she were the reason one of us wasn’t here, and I got it.
If places were reversed, if I had to choose between Mel and you or Alana…
it’s an impossible dilemma, either choice would completely destroy not only me but our entire family, and that’s what was right in her face.
This impossible demand that she picks me or Tate to die, and not just hypothetically, but with a gun pointed at us.
I get that she couldn’t make that choice but I’m the one she chose to stay with, and I will do anything in the world to make sure it stays that way,” he added as they came over to him.
“I am so glad,” Nicole stated as Mel slid into Jordan’s embrace. “Now, what about making some nieces and nephews for Cord, Trent, Sam and the baby boy Susan and Jake are having?”
“What’s the rush?” Mel asked with a laugh. “We just got married.”
“Six years ago,” she said.
“How about this, next year will be seven, which happens to be one of our lucky numbers,” Mel said with a grin to Jordan. “We’ll see about it then?”
“Alright,” Nicole sighed with a smile before she and Tate let them head out to the dance floor for the last dance of the night, for them at least.
“Are you serious about that?” Jordan asked as he pulled her into his arms. “You want to see about having a baby?”
“Not right now, but yeah, more than anything in the world I want to be the three most important women in your life Jordan.”
“Three?”
“Mhmm…wife.”
“You already are that.”
“Your lover.”
“That too, baby,” he teased his lips whispering over her forehead.
“And the mother of your child,” she stated.
“We’ll just have to work on that one, won’t we?” he said kissing her. “But it might take a long time until we get it just right.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed and that night she knew she wanted to be with just him like this for a bit longer.
They spent almost two months away on their honeymoon and when they got back they found the campus project complete, their house ready for them to furnish, and enough possible contracts to last them for fifteen years.
They stayed busy but made sure to find time to spend together, and as their anniversary rolled around they were both ready to see about starting that family.
“Mel, you look very happy tonight,” Dwight stated. “It wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with the fact that your design landed one of the biggest awards out there, would it?”
“Maybe,” she replied and Jordan kissed her temple. “Or it could be because of having the most amazing husband ever and that it’s our anniversary.”
“I still can’t believe it’s been seven years Mel,” Alana stated, “and we’re getting ready to celebrate our seventh.”
“Seven amazing years,” Jordan said.
“Well here’s to seventy more,” Ford replied.
“Just seventy?” Mel joked.
“Well that would put Jordan at a hundred and two,” Tate said.
“Mhmm and our son or daughter at sixty-nine,” she stated.
“Sixty-nine? Oh my god!” Alana cried.
“You’re pregnant?” Nicole asked. “For real?”
“Very much for real,” Jordan answered.
“When?” Gabrielle said beaming with happiness at them.
“Our due date is,” Mel said pausing for effect, “November sixth.”
“But I say it’ll be the seventh,” Jordan added.
“So were you all trying?” Nicole asked.
“We’d decided to let nature take its course,” she admitted. “We were a bit surprised at how quickly it did.”
“Okay TMI,” Tate said covering his ears.
“Why didn’t you say anything before now?” Lori asked. “I knew you weren’t feeling well when we stopped by a few weeks ago.”
“We wanted to save it for tonight when we knew everyone would already be in the room together and no one would already be expecting it,” she stated. “If we’d asked everyone over for dinner or had Mom schedule something, you’d all know why, this way it was a surprise.”
“And it is a very welcome one,” Ford said.
“I agree,” Dwight stated. “Might not want to admit that I’m going to be a grandpa already, but I couldn’t be happier for you honey.”
“And I’ll be the first one to show him or her how to play pool,” Arthur said before laughing.
“What’s so funny Dad?” Tate asked.
“Well if Mel’s at three months now, that’ll make her about six for the tournament. Looks like I might win the title back finally.”
Mel couldn’t stop the laughter that flowed through her and when the tournament rolled around Arthur conceded with a smile as she once again won despite her burgeoning bump.
Her birthday was great, and she smiled brightly when the pizza arrived while the waitress looked on with surprise at their order.
“Nothing wacky this year, Mel?” Joan asked.
“No, we’re going to play it safe,” she said patting her stomach for effect. “We can’t have this one making too early of an appearance because the pizza scared it.”
“It?” Tate said once she’d left. “You’re seriously not telling me, your best friend, the person you tell everything to, whether you’re having a boy or girl? How am I supposed to buy the best present ever if I don’t know?”
“We want it to be a surprise. All of the current grandbabies are boys so if it’s a boy we don’t want them to go ‘oh yay a boy.’ If it’s a girl, we don’t want the ‘YAY, finally a girl.’ This way no matter what it is everyone will instantly fall in love with him or her because of who they are not what they’re going to be,” she told him.
“Okay, I get it.” He sighed shooting her a wink as Jordan hugged her to him a little too thrilled that she was the one who wanted to keep the initial pregnancy news and their baby’s gender between just them rather than share it with Tate the instant it happened.
He knew he was her always choice, but he loved that this part of their life she wanted to be theirs for as long as possible despite her love for Tate.
They were getting ready to go when she heard someone call out to her. She turned her head and stifled a laugh when she saw the owner of it.
“Mel, wow it’s great to see you,” Brent said coming over. “You look…”
“Pregnant,” she filled in as his eyes drifted lower to her stomach and stopped.
“Congratulations, I heard you’d gotten married. I’ve got to say I was surprised.”
“Why’s that?” she asked as Jordan tensed.
“You were known around school as the impossible one to get.”
“You never did tell me what the bet was,” she said and Tate looked amused.
“No bet.”
“Really? So you seriously just out of the blue came up to me in the library that day to ask me out all on your own?”
“Well…”
“What does it matter now? Jordan won it after all,” she added.
“Guess he did, alright the bet was a pool, everyone who wanted a shot had to chip in a twenty and the winner got the pot and the keys to Peter Arnold’s dad’s place up at the lake.”
“And how was the winner supposed to be decided? A date, a kiss, more?”
“Somewhere between a kiss and more, that’s where the lake house was supposed to come in; we were stupid guys.”
“I’d say,” Tate stated.
“Whatever happened with the pool?” she asked trying to cool Tate and Jordan’s ire.
“You know, I have no clue, but I’ll look into it and if it’s still around how about we make a donation with it for your baby?” Brent said well aware that she didn’t need the money.
“I think that’d be nice, don’t you Jordan?”
“I agree,” he admitted. “Here’s the number to the office; our assistant Joelle or our office manager Ricki will be happy to help you if you all manage it.”
“Will do, it was good seeing you Mel, Jordan, congratulations on the baby and for getting Mel. Tate, see you all around maybe.”
“Maybe,” she replied laughing as they headed out towards the car.
“Say it,” Tate told her.
“I told you so,” she teased.
“What?” Jordan asked.
“Brent started a campaign to get Mel to go out with him. He wasn’t the first guy to try something with her, but he was the most persistent,” Tate explained.
“And I maintained there was a bet, but he denied it and Tate told me I was crazy, but I was right,” she said with a happy singsong voice at the end.
“You always were the smartest girl in the world,” Jordan said pulling her towards him with a kiss. “The most gorgeous too.”
“Even like this?” she asked, loving the way she looked and felt carrying this piece of them.
“Especially like this, baby.”
“Okay, I’ll see you all later,” Tate said hurrying towards his waiting bike.
She sighed watching him drive off and Jordan held her to his side.
“Missing your motorcycle rides with your best friend?” he asked as they reached the car.
“A bit, but I’m good, content, even if I am ready to meet this little one.”
“I am too but it won’t be too much longer now, the seventh’s just around the corner.”
“Who says it’ll be the seventh? I’m due on the sixth.”
“But we met on October seventeenth, I fell in love with you when you were seventeen. We got married on the seventeenth, and now we’re having a baby during the seventh year of our marriage.”
“We’ll see,” she said and a few weeks later, he was the one saying ‘I told you so.’
“Are you up for some visitors?” Nicole asked peeking into the room.
“We are,” she answered with a smile. She laughed when she saw just how many visitors there were, but she knew they were all anxious to hear the news. Jordan stood up and brought the baby over to her kissing her as he did.
“A white cap?” Tate said edging closer. “Really? Still keeping us in suspense?”
“Can everyone see or at least hear?” she asked with a laugh.
“We’d like you all to meet the newest Turner,” Jordan said. “Our daughter…”
He stopped at the commotion and let Mel finish once they’d quieted a bit, “Jodi Nicole Turner.”
Tate burst out laughing and Arthur added his own as the others stared in confusion. “I am so going to get you for this Mel.”
“What?” Nicole asked coming over to kiss her cheek. “You named her after me?”
“Of course, we named her after her godparents,” she said sending a look at her then towards Tate.
“Wait, J. Tatum…your name’s really…oh hell,” Grant laughed.
“Well Tate’s is with a Y whereas our little Jodi’s is with an I,” she offered.
“For once I don’t care Mel-Mel,” he told her as he kissed her cheek and then looked down at the baby. “She definitely got her looks from you though,” he said when she opened her eyes and he saw the green tinted blue of them.
“Gorgeous just like the most wonderful woman on the planet,” Jordan agreed.
Mel leaned her head against his chest knowing she’d always have a part of her Jordan and her Tate in her daughter, and nothing could be better than that.