Chapter 14
DRAKE
Driving toward the justice of the peace, Drake called his brother from the car – almost in an apology. He hadn’t texted, hadn’t said anything else, but marrying Steffi this morning would be surprising to all of them.
Three brothers, three different relationships, and his poor mother hadn’t had a wedding to celebrate with any of them.
Tommy and Jamie had married in Las Vegas at an impromptu ceremony before moving to Detroit, where she worked.
Pete and Sunny had married in Yonder, tattooed each other’s names on their fingers as wedding rings, and now lived in Mississippi, where he was stationed with the Air Force. And he was in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Hearing the line pick up, he was greeted in the only way possible.
“Somebody better be dead because I’m still in bed, bro…”
“Hi, Sunny,” Drake chuckled. “Is Pete already at work?”
“You called his cell phone, so you know it’s practically attached to his hip…” Sunny grumbled, and you could hear Pete in the background almost immediately.
“Hey now…”
“Hush, Petey-the-Sweetie,” his sister-in-law crooned in the most nauseating way. “You like me being feisty in the morning, remember? Oh, and would you look at this – my hand is empty…”
Drake exchanged a look with Steffi, both of them smiling.
“Coffeeeee…” Sunny whined, “Could you please get me a cup of coffee - and then I’ll give you the phone.”
“Babe, give me the phone, and you know I don’t want you moving from the bed. I love seeing you snuggled with Hope – and Drake never calls this early.”
“Buttcrack of dawn – oh, I know it!”
Drake winced. It was eight in the morning and he hadn’t thought about how early it was because he was in such a hurry to get out the front door. He heard a bunch of rustling, a grunt, a high-pitched giggle that couldn’t be missed, before the baby made a cooing sound in the background.
“Drake?” Pete began in a deep voice that sounded so much like their father that he felt a pang in his chest. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he replied hoarsely and reached for Steffi’s left hand with his right one that was free for a moment as they sat at a traffic light.
“I wanted to call and tell you that I’m getting married this morning.
I was thinking, that maybe, you know – perhaps we could all surprise Mama and get everyone together at Christmastime? ”
“I love that idea – and appreciate the heads-up.”
“I know you have to put in for leave…”
“Yep, but it’s far enough out that I should be good, plus Hope will be a little older, and it might be easier to travel with her. Right now, we’re both kind of hanging around the house a lot.”
“I can imagine…”
“No, you can’t,” Pete taunted, laughing. “But give it time – you’ll have your own little hellions running around before long. Oh, and Steffi, if you’re in the car and listening…”
“Yes?” Steffi said beside him, shooting Drake a nervous look. He just shrugged. There was no telling what Pete was about to say.
“Drake is the shortest Walker. Not all of us are shrimps, so I hope your children get the dominant Walker genes - and not Drake’s recessive ones… hairline, short stature, weak chin…”
“Why did I even call you?” Drake moaned in horror, rolling his eyes as the light changed colors in the distance. “You know, you were the shortest for a while – and if I lop you off at the knees, then you will be again. And I do not have a receding hairline or a weak chin.”
“Oh, I can see what you mean about the hairline,” Steffi teased – causing him to look at her sharply in alarm as Pete laughed on the phone. “Kidding!”
“I love you, brother – and I’m happy for you both. Congratulations – and welcome to the family, Steffi. We can’t wait to meet you.”
“I can’t wait to meet everyone,” Steffi smiled tenderly at Drake as the call ended. “And your hairline is just fine. I was just playing around with you.”
“I know, but that’s how it is in my family, which is why you are perfect for me. I practically cut my teeth on verbal jabs and cheap shots lobbed at each other – now speaking of cheap shots, I need to call Tommy and my mother.”
“Call Tommy – and we can call your mom after the ceremony, so we have plenty of time to chat.”
“She’s gonna adore you.”
“Like her son?”
“Just like her son,” Drake admitted, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it briefly, before drawing in his breath and tossing Steffi a smile. “Now for round two – Tommy.”
As they pulled into the parking lot of the building, both of them were laughing so hard they were nearly crying.
Tommy was more than thrilled for them – and then proceeded to ignore Drake as he regaled Steffi of every little mortifying childhood moment that ever existed.
From breaking the glass jar full of seashells at a friend's house because he was climbing on the counters to get to the Pop Tarts – all the way to when he lost his shoe in the creek and he had to wear pink canvas shoes that were on clearance from K-Mart for two weeks until they had money enough to go get a new pair of sneakers.
Drake remembered those moments, weirdly enough, with fondness, because they’d been so broke growing up…
but he had such a vibrant childhood - full of love, energy, and a sense of family.
His dad might have passed away when they were young, but each of them took up the mantle, trying to fill in where they could.
Their mother was the glue that held them all together – and even now, he loved spoiling her because she deserved it for handling the three of them with grace and dignity.
He bought her a longarm quilting rack, had paid off the house, and provided her with a new car last year.
Anytime she wanted to fly out for a game, he arranged everything…
and would do it for any of his brothers.
Family was everything to him, and as he looked at Steffi, he realized that she was a part of that fold, that family, which is why he wanted to provide.
It wasn’t just a deep-seated love for her, but a driven need to give back to those who meant the world to him.
He would spend decades showering this woman beside him with laughter, love, so many smiles…
and fill her arms full of mischievous children who would thrive under her radiant personality.
“I love you,” he said hoarsely, wiping the laughter from his eyes as recognition slammed into him.
“I’m not just fond of you – but I love you and everything you are…
everything you will be,” he said emotionally.
“I see you. I need you. You are my friend, my partner, my everything… and I can’t wait to make you my wife. ”
Steffi’s eyes were shining as her lip trembled – and he let out a nervous laugh, glancing up at the building before looking back at her.
“If I’m gonna make a freakin’ fool out of myself bawling when we exchange our vows, I thought I’d go ahead and get the sappy stuff out of the way since it’s private. ”
She nodded, wiped her eyes.
“I can’t wait to harass you about the lawn, to cheer for you at the games, to hold you close when we say our good nights… and then jab you in the ribs when you snore – and just FYI – I could hear you sawing logs from the couch with that schnoz of yours…”
“Dang, tell me how you really feel,” he laughed, grinning wildly as his heart thrummed in awareness. “Gimme everything you’ve got, wild woman.”
“I cannot wait to dress our children in tiny little baseball caps,” she whispered hoarsely, looking at him with a love that was brighter than the sun. “And you know I’m going to be one of those weird band moms who's a control freak…”
“Band? Nuh-uh… baseball.”
“You have an off-season.”
“So?”
“So – our kids will be in baseball, track, scouts, and whatever else they want to be in… and we’ll be the obnoxious parents in the stands, screaming and cheering for them.”
“You know it,” she whispered. “So are you gonna marry me or what?”
“Depends on what the ‘or what’ option is…” he teased – and pretended to duck as she hissed his name. “Dang woman, haven’t you come up with something loving or sweet yet? Darling Weirdo, Demanding Winner…”
“Hmm,” Steffi hesitated and smirked. “I guess I should think of something – shouldn’t I?”
“We’re about to get married, so yes,” he chuckled and glanced at his watch. “Shoot – we’ve got five minutes. Let’s go.”
They both got out of the car, clasped hands, and began jogging toward the front of the building. Drake was almost immediately recognized by a man in the area who shouted his name – and knew it wouldn’t be long now.
“Let’s go,” he urged quickly, seeing people turning and looking. “I know how this goes only too well – and we’ll have to stop out front after our appointment.”
“Gotta feed the fans?” she teased, darting under his arm as he held open the door for her.
“Pays the bills,” he shot back, grinning.
Time seemed to stop as everything went by in a blur of happiness.
Drake never imagined himself getting married, even though he’d hoped and yearned for someone special to love him.
Maybe he was emotional, maybe he was just overwhelmed, but when it came to their vows – even though he was repeating the phrases that they offered… he wept.
Drake wept and didn’t care that people in the courtroom where they were exchanging their vows in front of a magistrate were taking photos or recording them.
Steffi was smiling at him, her eyes glistening and full of love as she proudly recited her vows to him, knowing how he was falling apart.
He might be providing, but this woman held his heart in her hands.
“I do,” Steffi said to him. “My Darling World…”
“Oh craaap,” he whispered tearfully, melting as she chuckled tenderly, moving to hug him. “Did you have to say that now? I mean, woman, I need some iota of dignity – don’t I?”
“I kind of like this side to you, my Devoted Warrior…” she whispered to him as the magistrate pronounced them husband and wife.
Drake didn’t wait to kiss the bride.
He was already there.