“That’s great,” Max said, laughing. “I’m starved.”
Matthew Ferguson watched as his son walked up the stairs. He still looked like a baby to him; however, he had to admit that his son looked happy.
“Hi, Dad,” he said, grinning at his father.
“Eric,” his father responded sourly.
“Dad, I want us to get along,” Eric pleaded, looking at him. “Do it for the baby’s sake.”
His father turned, picked up Eric’s bags, and dropped them outside the room.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he replied crisply.
“Do you think being in denial will change things?” Eric asked, picking up the bag. “It’s a girl, you know.”
“So?” his father said, trying to sound uninterested.
“You always wanted a girl, remember? You said that since you didn’t get any daughters, you hoped you’d have a granddaughter one day. Well, you got your wish.”
His father picked up some boxes and set them in the hallway. “I was talking about Janice and Nathan.”
“Well Janice and Nathan are not expecting; I am,” Eric pointed out.
“You’re just all happy about this, aren’t you?” his father spat. “You just wait. You’ll regret it soon enough, and then you’ll come running home for sure.”
Eric looked sad. “Dad, even if things get rough, that’s not going to change the fact that I am a father. I can’t run out on my baby. You taught me better than that. Remember the talk we had when I turned fifteen? You told me to be safe and if I lay down with a girl that I was taking a chance, and if something happened, I had to be a man and be responsible. Remember that talk?”
“I remember what I said,” his father said curtly. “You don’t even know for sure that it’s yours.”
Eric took a deep breath and exhaled. “I don’t know why you keep saying that. I know the baby is mine. Maybe it makes it less real for you to be in denial. Whatever floats your boat, Dad. When the baby comes, you will know. Are you coming to graduation?”
“I don’t know,” Matthew replied, crossing his arms.
“What? Why not, Dad? Don’t be like that,” Eric responded, clearly hurt.
He picked up the box and headed down the stairs. “No matter what you say, Dad, I’m your son, and I’ll always love you no matter what.”
Matthew Morgan Ferguson watched his son walk out the door and wondered if his life would ever be the same again.
CHAPTER 17
GRADUATION AND CONSUMMATION
Jeremy sat on the bleachers. It was a warm day, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. He looked down at his left hand at the gold band that was there. He was a married man now, having said his vows that morning before he and Aura went to the airport. He glanced over at Aura, who sat next him. He couldn’t believe that he’d been married for only four hours!
Reverend Davis had performed the ceremony on June 16, exactly three months prior to their scheduled wedding date. Not wanting her parents to be mad, Aura told them that they were getting married now but would have another ceremony as planned in September. Her mother had smiled and snickered knowingly. Her father had just raised an eyebrow. The two of them stood there and watched as witnesses as they took their vows. Jeremy felt that he was the luckiest man in the world.
They had to rush to the airport immediately after the ceremony in order to attend Eric’s graduation. Jeremy had promised his family that he would be there, and he was a man of his word. He prayed there would be a seat on the plane for Aura and was relieved when he had no problem getting a ticket. They decided they would stay the night and fly back the next day.
He rented a car after they landed and drove straight to the school. They made it to the graduation with an hour to spare. He looked around for his family even though they were early, but he didn’t see any of them there yet.
“Are you going to keep your ring on?” Aura asked. “Your family will see it and want to know.”
“I don’t care, Aura. I don’t want to take it off,” he said, grinning.
“I thought we weren’t going to tell anyone and just go through with the wedding in September.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “If they see it, they see it. I’m not taking it off. If they ask me, then I’m just telling them the truth.”
Aura didn’t argue with him. She opened her purse, took out the small box, and slipped the band on her finger with her engagement ring.
“So this is how we spend our honeymoon, huh?” she whispered. “At your cousin’s graduation.”
Jeremy kissed her. “We do have tonight, you know. As soon as this ends, we’ll get a nice room and then relax and enjoy each other.”
“I’d like that,” Aura said, squeezing his hand.
“Jeremy!”
Jeremy looked up and saw Jessica on the field running toward them.
“Hi, Aura! You guys are here early!” she said.
“We came here straight from the airport!” Jeremy said. “It’s not that early. The graduation is supposed to start in forty-five minutes.”
“I’m singing in the choir,” she said, pointing to a group of people across the field. “I just came out to see if I could find you.”
“Where’s Aaron?” Jeremy asked with a frown. “I’m sure he’s lurking around here somewhere.”
“He’s in the band. Be nice now, Jeremy!” she scolded. “Don’t be so negative!”
Jeremy grunted and didn’t reply. He still didn’t like his sister being with Aaron even though he knew there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
“Dad and Mom and Tara are here. I’ll let them know where you are sitting,” Jessica said. She waved and then turned and ran back across the field.
Aura watched as Jeremy began to interact with people who came and sat near them. It seemed that he knew most everyone, but he did not introduce her, and she didn’t say anything, wondering what he was planning.
“So who are you going to say I am?” she asked in a low voice once he’d finished talking to a family sitting close by.
“I’m hoping that I won’t have to say unless someone puts me on the spot,” he replied.
She knew he wasn’t ashamed of her, but she was confused. “And the reason for that is?”
“Aura, I don’t want to tell them you’re my wife when I haven’t even told my parents! That’s disrespectful. They see us together and assume we’re still engaged. Believe me, Conway is a small town, and word gets around. They know who you are.”
Still, it bothered Aura a little bit because they had only smiled at her or nodded their heads. Some appeared to be uncomfortable with her being with Jeremy.
Jeremy continued to scan the crowd for his parents as the people filled the bleachers. Finally, he started waving furiously, and Aura figured he must have spotted them. She followed his gaze and saw his mother and Tara. They came over and sat down beside them. Charlotte Ferguson leaned over and kissed her son on the cheek and touched Aura on the shoulder, giving her a friendly smile.
“Where’s Pop?” Jeremy asked, looking around.
“He stopped off to talk to someone on the way over here.” She looked back over her shoulder. “There he is now. I’m glad you could come too, Aura. This is a pleasant surprise,” Charlotte said. “Jeremy led us to believe that he’d be coming alone.”
“Last-minute change of plans,” Jeremy responded, grinning.
Jeremy saw his father wading through the people, heading their way. He waved furiously, trying to get his father’s attention. Daniel waved back and walked over to where they were sitting.
“Hey, guys!” Reverend Ferguson said, sitting down beside his wife. “Man, I thought I’d never get over here! People kept stopping me.”
Jeremy looked at his watch as he saw the graduates in blue robes come on the field and sit in their assigned seats.
His mother had her camera. “You’re going to have to help me take pictures, Jeremy,” she said.
“Hey, guys!” someone yelled from behind them.
Jeremy looked up and saw his Aunt Rachel sitting higher up on the bleachers. He waved back at her.
He put his arm around Aura as the program began, and his father smirked at the two of them.
The program was well under way when Jeremy noticed his Uncle Matthew looking for a seat. He was glad that he had decided to come see his son. Matthew Ferguson spotted his wife and went up to the bleachers and sat with her.
“Let me try to get a picture of Jess,” Jeremy said, reaching for the camera in Tara’s hand. The choir walked across the field to the podium and started to sing.
Jeremy held the camera up, trying to get a good shot.
Tara looked at him and immediately noticed the ring on his finger.
“Jeremy, why do you have your ring on already?” she asked.
Immediately, Charlotte followed her daughter’s gaze and looked at her son and then back at her husband.
Jeremy took the shot and handed the camera back to Tara. He grabbed Aura’s hand and looked at his parents, who were now staring at the two of them.
“We got married this morning,” he whispered to his parents.
“What!” his mother snapped. “Why on earth would you do such a thing? What about September? Everyone is planning to come up to New York for your wedding!”
“We’re still having the wedding in September,” Aura said. “We just decided to get married now.”
“This doesn’t make any sense!” his mother said. “Why on earth would you get married now and still have a ceremony later?”
As soon as she said it, Reverend Ferguson burst out laughing. “Couldn’t wait a minute longer, could you?”
Jeremy’s face turned red, and he wouldn’t look at his father, which only made him laugh harder.
“Stop it, Daniel,” his wife said. “You’re embarrassing them.”
“I’m a happy man. Let them be embarrassed!” he quipped, slapping his son on the back.
Jeremy looked at his parents and grinned. His father winked at him.
“What’s so funny?” Tara asked, looking back and forth.
“Nothing,” her mother said.
“Oh, it must be about sex,” Tara replied and turned back to the ceremony.
It was Jeremy’s turn to burst out laughing at his parents’ stunned faces.
Jeremy took pictures of Eric receiving his diploma as well as Nadine receiving hers after his mother had pointed her out. She was obviously pregnant even with her graduation robe on.
“I understand she’s due in about eight weeks,” Charlotte pointed out. “Perhaps Rachel and I can get together and plan a baby shower.”
When the ceremony was over, they waited until Eric came over to them, holding Nadine’s hand. He was grinning broadly, holding up his diploma.
“Hey there, Uncle David, Jeremy!” he said, his graduation cap crooked.
Tara began snapping more pictures of the two of them, and Jeremy and Aura followed her off the bleachers to meet them on the field. His parents followed close behind.
“Congratulations!” Jeremy said, shaking Eric’s hand.
Introductions were made all around, and Eric then scanned the bleachers for his parents. “Did they come?” he asked, turning to Jeremy and Aura.
“Yes, here they are now,” Charlotte said, waving to her sister, who was slowly descending the bleachers.
Jeremy’s uncle was following reluctantly behind his wife. Rachel turned and said something to her husband as they reached the bottom.
“Are your parents here, Nadine?” Charlotte asked. Nadine shook her head and looked as if she was about to cry.
“Max is here,” Eric said, putting his arm around Nadine. “We saw Max earlier talking to some of her old high school buddies. Honey, don’t get upset. You know what the doctor said,” Eric said, looking at Nadine. She was still crying because her parents hadn’t shown up.
“Is everything all right?” Charlotte asked, looking at Rachel and then Eric.
“Mom, Dad, we’ve got more news this morning,” Eric said, looking to his parents. “We might as well tell all of you now.”
“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked. “Is it the baby?”
“Well… yes,” Nadine said. “It seems that there’s more than one. I found out this morning with my ultrasound that I’m carrying twins.”
“Twins?” Rachel shrieked. “Are you sure?”
“Very sure,” Eric said. “Plus her blood pressure is elevated. The doctor is talking about putting her on bed rest. Nadine won’t be able to work for a while.”
“Not so much of a picnic now, huh?” his father said nastily, looking at the two of them.
Nadine burst out crying harder, and Eric glared at his father.
“Now look what you’ve done, Dad!” Eric snapped. “Why do you have to be so mean?”
Eric tried to comfort Nadine, but she only cried harder.
Aura watched the scene, not knowing what to do. Jeremy and his father tried to reason with Eric’s father, but Matthew would have none of it. He kept scolding Eric, telling him what a fool he was and kept yelling at him to get a DNA test, which only made Nadine cry harder. People were gawking at them, which only made matters worse.
“Let’s get out of here,” Charlotte snapped. “Daniel, let’s go.”
Rachel glanced at Nadine, who was now breathing erratically while Eric and his father were still arguing.
“Child, sit down,” she instructed, and Nadine looked at her gratefully as she led her to the bleachers.
Nadine took off her cap and gown and sat down, but Rachel could see that something was wrong.
“Come on, Nadine,” Rachel said. “You need to get out of this heat.”
Nadine started to stand, and then she cried out, “Oh my god… oh my god!”
Water ran down her leg, and she held her stomach. “No, no, it’s too soon!”
“Eric!” his mother yelled. “Get over here!”
Eric stopped talking to his father and turned around and saw Nadine.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” he asked, trying to stay calm.
“Her water broke,” his mother said. “We’ve got to get her to the hospital.”
There was an ambulance on standby at the graduation, and the paramedics came rushing over after Jeremy had alerted them.
A crowd had gathered around Nadine, and she was helped into the ambulance and was then rushed to the hospital.
Jeremy told Aura that he was following the ambulance to the hospital, and she nodded her head. This was not the way she had planned on spending her honeymoon, sitting in the emergency room. They sat in the waiting room for hours waiting for word on Nadine and the babies.
Aura dozed off and then opened her eyes and looked around the waiting room. Jeremy was talking to his Aunt Rachel. She was upset because his uncle had chosen to go home instead of coming with them to the hospital, and Jeremy and his mother were trying to comfort her.
A few minutes later, Rachel had a headache and remembered that in the midst of all the excitement that she hadn’t taken her blood pressure meds. She asked Max to please take her home.
It was almost midnight when they finally saw Eric, and they rushed over to him for news of Nadine and his babies.
“They’re identical twins,” he said, his voice tired. “They are premature and weigh only a couple of pounds each. They are going to need a lot of care.”
His eyes were red, and he looked exhausted, and Jeremy could tell that he’d been crying.
“Well congratulations, Eric,” Jeremy said. “How’s Nadine?”
“She’s not good. There won’t be any more babies. Her uterus ruptured. She lost a lot of blood
. She’s going to make it though.” He sat down, unable to remain composed any longer, and broke down. “She almost died, and her parents wouldn’t even listen to me when I tried to call them and tell them what was going on. What’s wrong with people?”
Jeremy watched as he put his head in his hands. He sat down beside him to comfort his cousin. He knew that his uncle could be stubborn as a mule sometimes, but his youngest needed him and should be there at the hospital.
“I don’t know how I’m going to take care of three people, Jeremy. I’m scared to death,” Eric said.
“Man, you still have your family. Don’t worry about Uncle Matt. I’m sure he’ll come around,” Jeremy said, patting Eric on the back and looking at his mother. “Don’t you think so, Ma?”
“Of course,” Charlotte agreed.
“I don’t think so,” Eric said, sounding miserable. “If I ever needed my dad, I need him now, and he’s turned his back on me. He wouldn’t even bring Ma back to the hospital or come himself when I called him.”
“You have all of us. It’ll work out,” Jeremy said. “Once he sees those babies, he’ll come around; I guarantee it. Then there’s Nathan and Janice. You have my parents. Your family will rally around you and Nadine. Her parents will come around too. Just wait and see!”
“You think so?” Eric asked, sounding hopeful.
“I know so,” Jeremy replied.
“Your father is just being stubborn,” Charlotte insisted. “He loves you, Eric. I’m sure that once he calms down, he’ll come around just as your uncle did with Jeremy.”
Eric nodded, and Jeremy could tell that he was feeling better already.
“Come on. I’ll take you to see my daughters,” he said proudly.
The babies were beautiful. They were extremely tiny. Each had a full head of black curls, and their skin was thin and extremely pale. Eric walked into the NICU and dressed in the paper gown and mask and held the babies up for his family to see through the window.
“They look like white babies,” Charlotte said, sounding startled.
Aura raised an eyebrow and then stared back at the babies, who were hooked up to a multitude of tubes.
“What are their names, Eric?” she asked after he came back out to them.
The Preacher’s Son Page 16
