Chapter 19
Malibu, California
By the time Ben and Ella were dropped off at the airport in Little Rock for their flight back to California, Ella’s world had tipped over on its side once again.
She had woken up Saturday morning to the news that instead of Ben doing his internship in California as had been planned, Ben’s dad had arranged with the dean of Ben’s Poly Sci department to join his campaign staff and do the internship in Arkansas.
That meant that Ben would need to be in Little Rock in January.
That was something that Ella was not prepared for.
She and Ben had not even discussed a wedding date, but given this turn of events, Bennett and Poppy suggested Ben and Ella have a small wedding at their church in Searcy over the Christmas holidays.
Ben, his parents, and sisters were all so excited about these plans that Ella felt she had to go along with them—even though she was not sure she was totally onboard with them.
She felt like she was getting swept up in a tidal wave and carried along toward a future she had no control over.
Every time Ella started to raise a red flag and call a halt to all the events that were hurtling forward, she was forced to hold it in because Ben was so completely ecstatic.
She could not bring herself to poke a pin in his bubble of joy.
However, she felt her future was being planned for her—without her input.
She was not quite sure how she got here, but she had no clue how to slow down the runaway train her future seemed to be on.
Ella was sitting next to Ben in the gate area waiting to board their flight back to California when her phone lit up.
Looking down, she was shocked to see her mother’s name pop up.
She showed Ben the caller’s name. Not wanting to bother others around her, Ella stood and walked off to a quiet area before answering.
“Mom? Is everything okay?” asked Ella. Considering the radio silence from her parents since her bombshell announcement, she thought it must be something terrible for her mother to be calling her.
“Everything is fine, sweetheart. I just needed to hear your voice and talk to you. I have missed you so much. It has been a really hard holiday without you.”
Ella could hear the pain in her mother’s voice.
She hated that her mother was hurting, but she had been hurt as well.
Wanting to keep the call on a positive note, Ella said, “It is good to hear your voice too. I missed all of you. Ben and I have been in Arkansas for Thanksgiving. We are actually at the airport preparing to fly home.”
After a pause, her mother replied, “Ella, your home is here with your father and me. We have talked about it, and we would like for you to come home.”
Taking a deep breath, Ella took a moment and then said, “Mom, I am with Ben. We are going to be married and are having a baby. You and Poppa have to make peace with that.”
For a moment Ella’s mom did not say anything.
When she finally responded, she sounded very defeated.
“I thought you might say that. You are as stubborn as your father. You have always known your own mind. If you are determined to do this, please come home and be married in your home church. Let us all be a part of it. I have already missed a holiday without you. I have no intention of missing my oldest daughter’s wedding. ”
“Mom, I would love to do that, but what about Poppa? Have you talked to him about this? I refuse to come back only to have Ben treated like he was before. We are a package deal.”
Sighing deeply, her mom replied, “Your father and I have discussed this at length. I have made it abundantly clear to him that I refuse to lose you because he can be a stubborn mule. And honestly, he has missed you as much as I have. Thanksgiving was not the same without you. I am not going to lie. This is not the life either of us wanted for you. But we are not going to lose you and our first grandchild. Come home. I promise you both will be welcome. What do you say? Maybe a Christmas Eve wedding in the chapel? I know you have always loved Christmas.”
Ella thought for a minute, then said, “I have to talk to Ben about this, but honestly, it sounds perfect.” Ella could not hold back the tears that suddenly filled her eyes.
“I will talk to him and call tomorrow. And Mom, thank you so much. I have missed you so much. All of you. Even the boys.” At that moment, Ben began waving her over because their flight was boarding.
Ella said, “Mom. I love talking with you, but our flight is boarding. I need to go.”
For the first time during the call, Ella’s mom sounded lighter. “That’s fine. Talk to your Ben. If he is agreeable, we can work out the details. And Ella, I love you so much. Go catch your flight, and we will talk tomorrow.”
Ella hung up, feeling lighter and more hopeful than she had in weeks.
Over the next four weeks, Ben finished up his classwork. Thankfully, Ella’s morning sickness had eased. Even though Ben was busy studying for his finals, they still found time to be together.
Ella was busy planning a small wedding by phone—with her mom doing most of the legwork.
Ben and Ella agreed to having only one attendant each and two flower girls.
Of course, Sophie would be her maid of honor.
Ben asked his dad to be his best man. If Lizzy and Lola had not been in the wedding, Ella was pretty sure none of them would ever hear the end of it, so they were included.
Luckily, none of Ella’s other siblings had any interest in being in the wedding, a fact that she was very happy about.
The first week of December, Ben flew Ella to Napa to pick out her dress and celebrate her birthday.
They had an old-fashioned birthday party for her on December 7th.
It was really great to spend time with her parents, brothers and sisters, cousins and grandparents.
Very little was said about Ben. Ella felt bad about that.
It was as if her family was pretending he did not exist. The only time they acknowledged him was to ask if everything was okay after she called to let him know she had arrived safely.
On Saturday, Ella, her mom, Julia, and her sisters spent the entire day trying on wedding dresses.
She found the perfect dress, a simple A-line with sleeves and a V-neck.
She had a moment of trepidation about wearing white, but Julia reminded her that almost every bride in the world wore white, regardless of their virginal status.
Although that might be true, it still felt disingenuous to be pregnant and wearing white.
However, Ella loved the dress so much, she made peace with it pretty quickly.
She needed a few alterations, and the store promised to rush them.
After the quick weekend visit, Ella was back in Malibu by Sunday.
She was surprised how hard it had been to leave Napa.
Being back with her mother and sister was so wonderful, and she cried when they dropped her off at the airport.
She laughed and blamed it on pregnancy hormones, but in her heart she knew it was so much more.
She knew the life she had known for almost twenty years was over, and she wasn’t sure exactly what her future held.
She loved Ben and wanted to build a life with him, but she was still unsure if the future she was moving toward was the one she wanted.
For all Ella’s fears, she had to admit that seeing Ben’s smiling face when she got to baggage claim filled her with joy.
She had only been gone two nights, but he grabbed her and kissed her like it had been months.
At that moment, Ella told herself that as long as they had each other, they would be okay. She hoped and prayed she was right.
The next weekend, Ella and Ben drove down to San Luis for her graduation.
She did not tell her parents she was walking.
With her wedding in two weeks and then Christmas, they could ill afford to miss the income that Saturday would bring.
Ben was the only one in the audience to cheer for Ella as she walked across the stage to receive her diploma. But that was enough.
That night, they dined at their favorite spot, The Moonstone Bar and Grill.
This time, Ella enjoyed every bite. Because they had not been able to celebrate her birthday together, Ben had a cake brought out ablaze with twenty candles.
After Ben and the waitstaff sang “Happy Birthday,” Ben surprised Ella with one more gift.
With the torches burning and the waves rolling ashore, he got down on one knee.
With tears in his eyes, Ben opened the blue velvet box that held a two-carat diamond ring up for Ella’s inspection as he said, “Isabella Maria Santiago, I love you more than life itself. You have brought more beauty and joy into my life in just a few months than in my whole life. I love everything about you. You are gorgeous inside and out. I adore your sweet spirit, your incredible intelligence, and the way you love me. You make me a better man. Will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Ella, who had been momentarily shocked into silence when Ben had first dropped down on one knee in front of her, began nodding her head yes, before her voice found the words tears kept her from saying.
Reaching over to throw her arms around his shoulders, Ella managed to eke out a hoarse yes.
Ben engulfed Ella and gave her a full-on snog before pulling back long enough to place the ring on her finger.
Later that night as Ella lay in Ben’s arms, she called herself every kind of blessed to have Ben.
She could not imagine how her life could get any better.
They loved each other so strongly, and in that moment, she was positive their love would conquer any problem they would ever face.
What Ella did not yet know was that while life might not get any better, it can always get worse and that love alone cannot hold up a marriage.
In the coming months, those were lessons Ella would learn the hard way.