That's Amore (Weddings by Bella Book #4): A Novel

by Janice Thompson

  I stared into the eyes of my gorgeous baby girl, realizing how small she looked. Before long I’d hold two teensy-tiny babes in my arms and Rosie would look huge in comparison. Right now, though, she just looked like my baby doll.

  As I planted tiny kisses into those wisps of hair, I pondered D.J.’s suggestion that we move into his parents’ place. While a fitting suggestion, I couldn’t stop the troubling trail of thoughts. How would I keep up with my business in Galveston and live in Splendora? Sure, Sophia had offered to take over most of my clients at Club Wed, but could I really take my hands off long enough to actually move away from the island? The idea of living in the country was daunting, at the very least.

  On the other hand, with Jenna and Bubba making a home next door, I certainly wouldn’t be alone. And with the Splendora trio—Twila, Bonnie Sue, and Jolene—nearby, I’d probably be inundated with visitors. Still, I’d miss my family. Miss my work here. Miss . . . everything.

  From the next room I heard Tres’s voice as he and D.J. talked. Something about a pirate sword. Or a pirate ship. I couldn’t quite make it out. They didn’t have pirate ships in Splendora, did they?

  What would happen when school started? Tres was supposed to start kindergarten in a few weeks. We hadn’t even talked about that.

  Suddenly, the whole “let’s move to Splendora” thing seemed impossible. We couldn’t do it. No way, no how.

  On the other hand, I’d committed to opening the new facility. D.J. had already set a plan in motion. We couldn’t go backward, not with so many people counting on us.

  The pressure of this decision made me feel light-headed once again. Or maybe it was the pregnancy. I couldn’t be sure. Either way, I felt that “I can’t regulate my breathing” thing happening again and did my best to stay calm.

  Deep breath, Bella. Don’t panic.

  And yet, staring at Rosie’s precious little face, I couldn’t help but panic. My world was about to change, yes, but so was hers. And Tres’s. And D.J.’s. Were we ready for things to go spinning out of control?

  Only time would tell. In the meantime, I needed to pray. And pray. And pray some more.

  7

  Always on My Mind

  I take it not only a day at a time, but a moment at a time, and keep it at that pace. If you can be happy right now, then you’ll always be happy, because it’s always in the now.

  Willie Nelson

  If anyone had told me that I’d end up living—even for a short period of time—in a double-wide in Splendora, Texas, I would’ve said they were crazy. But that’s just where I found myself a couple weeks after we received the news about the twins.

  One week after sharing our news about the babies, D.J. and I moved our things into our new—er, old—home. We registered Tres for kindergarten at a small private school not far from Splendora. Classes would start at the beginning of September, not long after his fifth birthday.

  This whole thing still seemed a bit surreal, but I couldn’t deny the obvious: we would have an easier time getting this facility up and running if we lived nearby. After all, we’d only be here until Christmas. I hoped.

  I knew D.J. meant well with his suggestion to stay in his parents’ home, but settling in took some doing, especially with two small children accustomed to a completely different sort of environment. It wasn’t so much the size—the double-wide was moderately spacious. I’d even carved out a little office space in the corner of the living room. Perfect! D.J.—God bless him—put in a little desk, which he’d found at a secondhand store nearby.

  I had no objections to the idea of living in a manufactured home, really. Well, none except the obvious “what do we do if a tornado picks us up and hurls us across Peach Creek?” part. Other than that, I felt sure I could settle in nicely. If I could get past missing my real home. And my family. Still, I hated to complain, especially with so much work on my plate, so I coped to the best of my ability.

  The bigger problem, as I saw it? This double-wide wasn’t really my home. I mean, sure, it was mine for all practical purposes while I happened to be staying here. But nothing felt right. My comfort level was affected across the board. To make matters worse, Earline’s collectibles pretty much filled every square inch of the place. I’d struggled with this during past visits with the kids, but living in a place where we were surrounded on every side by breakable figurines changed the game plan entirely.

  The kids didn’t seem to notice my concerns, though Tres did ask on at least three occasions where his toy box was. I’d have to remember to have D.J. bring it from home. Soon. I wished he could bring our bed too. Then I would relax. Maybe.

  There was one bright light in the middle of all of this, one I couldn’t help but celebrate. My best friend, Jenna, had just moved into a rental house right down the street, where she and Bubba would remain for at least a year while they got his new barbecue joint open. I’d never seen her so excited. Now if only some of that excitement would spill over on me, that would be just dandy.

  I finally settled into a routine in our new home away from home. Rosie stopped waking up every hour on the hour in the middle of the night, and Tres finally stopped stabbing everything in sight with his pirate sword. D.J. and I had dinner with Bubba and Jenna almost every evening, which made me feel more like myself again. If only we could eat some of Uncle Laz’s pizza, then I’d really feel settled. For now, local cuisine—which included a lot of deer meat—ruled the day. If I could just stay busy enough, focused on the wedding facility, maybe the time would fly by. And perhaps I’d make a few friends along the way, friends who would last a lifetime.

  Okay, so working with the Rigas twins wasn’t a piece of cake. But after taking the time to get to know them, I had to admit to being partial to one of them—Jasmine. She always seemed to be positive. Upbeat. I could count on her to sweep Rosie into her arms and to share a fun story about a customer. Her highs were, well, pretty high. And I felt just as certain that I could count on Lily to bring me down. I felt sure she didn’t mean to do it, but the girl always seemed to be rather . . . depressed. Her lows were, well, pretty low.

  I understood depression—mostly when D.J. was gone from the double-wide, on a run back to Galveston, or at the hardware supercenter. Being alone in his parents’ home almost did me in. Psychologically, anyway. I just couldn’t make their home my own, though I gave it a valiant effort.

  On the final Friday in August, I walked from the master bedroom down the narrow hall—if one could call it that—to the kitchen. Now, I’d spent a lot of time in kitchens in my life, but the ones I’d grown accustomed to weren’t decked out in country blue décor. And the ducks? Didn’t ducks go out of style in the nineties? I swallowed hard and opened a cabinet. Approximately twenty-five plastic cups advertising the local livestock show and rodeo fell out on my head. Earline Neeley had a tendency to collect more than breakables, obviously. I’d never paid that much attention before, but now that the kitchen was mine—well, sort of—for a few months, it was becoming glaringly apparent.

  Still, we had a facility to renovate and a wedding vow renewal ceremony to plan. And I had to train Lily and Jasmine to run the facility for me once we opened. Okay, so I hadn’t actually told them about my own twins yet. And I hadn’t exactly mentioned that I would be taking a giant step back from this project once the babies were born. But that’s exactly what I planned, as long as I could get the quarrelsome sisters to cooperate for a change.

  I arranged for a meeting with the twins at their home in the afternoon but promised to meet my husband at the new facility first so that he could bring me up to speed on the progress. God bless Jenna. She agreed to watch the kids for me so I could accomplish all of this. I took her up on that offer at once and headed to the wedding facility. Once there, I marveled at the demo work D.J. and his crew had done. Wow. They were really coming along nicely. Walls were coming down, making the whole place seem more open. The paneling was gone and stark white Sheetrock now made the rooms appear larger.
/>   These guys really knew what they were doing. I could breathe easy. Even now there was something to be said for the way they all laughed and talked as they worked. The sound of their voices as they worked together brought me great comfort, and it felt so good to hear my husband’s ever-present voice in the center of it all. I listened in as he gave assignments to the various workers, treating them with such care and respect even when giving instructions. They admired him—this I could tell from both their tone of voice and the way they carried out their work. And why wouldn’t they? He genuinely cared about them. No one could doubt that.

  I gave the place another look, then pulled D.J. aside. “I’m amazed. I really am.”

  “Good amazed, you mean?”

  I nodded. “Yes, this is going faster than expected.”

  “Ah. Well, the demo part doesn’t take long.”

  “I’m just mesmerized by the fact that so much has changed in just a few weeks’ time.” Maybe there was some hope for this old building after all. I could almost see it through his eyes now.

  “My guys are fast,” he said. “And thorough. We found a lot of electrical problems and some issues with structural things, which took us off task for a couple of days. Had a scare with what looked to be black mold, but it turned out not to be that. I’m grateful for all our sakes.”

  “Still, I can’t believe how much they’ve done. Doesn’t even look like the same building.”

  “I told you, Cecil’s my best worker.” He gestured up to the scaffolding, and I noticed a handsome fellow, probably in his late twenties, working on the beams above. His sandy-colored hair was messy—partly the style, and partly, no doubt, from his work. Drops of moisture clung to his damp forehead, a sure sign he’d been working hard, but he didn’t seem to mind the work. His blue eyes twinkled as he glanced down at me.

  I’d just started to offer a hearty “Hello!” when a familiar voice sounded from the front room.

  “Yoo-hoo! Is anyone home?”

  My heart jumped for joy when I heard the familiar voice. Practically sprinting to the front room, I clapped eyes on Twila, Bonnie Sue, and Jolene, three over-the-top friends with personalities to match their physiques.

  “Bella-bambina!” Twila opened her arms and I rushed her way for a hug. Seconds later I was enveloped on every side by plus-sized divas, all giggles and smiles. Once we got past the greetings, the women turned their attention to the wedding facility.

  “Oh my stars, this building!” Jolene pointed at the missing Sheetrock and exposed wires. “It’s a wreck!”

  Twila nudged her. “Jolene, put a lid on it. You don’t want to discourage Bella.”

  “Oh, I’m not discouraged. It looks so much better than it did just a few weeks ago. D.J.’s done a serious amount of work.”

  “Well, my guys have.” D.J. entered the room, and the ladies greeted him with enough hugs to make him blush. He excused himself to get back to work and then scurried away. I didn’t blame him.

  Leading the women from room to room, I did my best to remain positive and upbeat, but Twila must’ve picked up on some hesitation. She put her hand on my arm and whispered, “So how are you settling in, Bella? Really?”

  “Yes, how is it going?” Bonnie Sue asked. “I’ve been praying for you. I know you must miss your family.”

  Twila slapped her on the arm. “Did you have to go and say that?”

  “Sorry.” Bonnie Sue shrugged.

  “I’ve missed Mama, for sure. And Aunt Rosa.” The sting of tears caught me off guard. “But I’m doing my best to bide my time while I’m here.” I bit my lip to keep from saying more. After all, these ladies hailed from Splendora. I didn’t want to disappoint them by saying something negative about the town they loved.

  Bonnie Sue gave me a sympathetic look. “Oh, honey, you’ve got to do more than bide your time. You’ve got to look at this whole experience from the opposite point of view. Don’t consider your time in Splendora a curse.”

  “Well, I hadn’t really thought of it like that.”

  “Maybe not, but it’s obvious you’re not looking forward to it. Beyond the part where you get the new facility up and running, I mean. Right?”

  “Well . . .” I pursed my lips and thought about it. Splendora was a nice place to visit and a lovely place for a wedding facility, but . . . to live here? Didn’t sound all that appealing.

  “You’ve got to look at it as a blessing,” Bonnie Sue added. “God is giving you a respite.”

  “A respite? But we’re building a new facility. And I’ve still got work at home.”

  “True, but you’re in the piney woods of east Texas now. You can take a deep breath. Relax. Grab a mason jar and fill it with sweet tea.”

  Hmm. If I took that suggestion, I might just end up with more weight than I knew what to do with before the twins arrived.

  Bonnie Sue patted my arm. “Point is, you have to look at this as an opportunity to get away. To refresh. God will meet you here. Take a stroll in the trees and you’ll see what I mean.”

  If I took a stroll in the trees, they would end up having to send a search party after me. I’d never seen such thick foliage before.

  “You’re in the family way, sweetie. You need to take care of yourself.”

  “Well, speaking of being in the family way, there’s something I should tell you.” I leaned against a sawhorse, wishing I had a place to actually sit for a while. “I’d rather you hear it from me than someone else.”

  “Oh dear.” Twila reached into her purse and came out with a church bulletin, which she used to fan herself. “This isn’t bad news, is it? Do we need to sit down?” She looked around at the messy room. “Not that there’s a place to sit, of course.”

  “Everything’s fine,” I said. “It fact, it’s more than fine. Take fine and multiply it times two.”

  “Multiply fine?” Bonnie Sue pursed her lips. “I don’t get it.”

  “Times two?” Twila gave me a knowing look. “Bella, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  “Well, I can’t read your mind, but if you’re thinking that we’re having twins, then yes.”

  “Twins?” Jolene lifted her hands in praise and then started doing what I called the “charismatic shuffle” across the room. I’d seen this dance before, first at D.J.’s home church and next at an impromptu prayer meeting in the ladies’ room at Club Wed. Still, D.J.’s workers seemed a bit surprised at the Holy Ghost revival going on below. Well, all but one older fella, who hollered a rowdy “Praise the Lord!” Not that he knew why we were praising the Lord, but still.

  When I nodded and said, “Yep, twins!” Twila and Bonnie Sue joined Jolene in the dance. Before long they’d pulled me into the mix. Just as quickly Twila released her hold on my hand and cried out, “I’m sorry, honey! You don’t need to be dancing. You should be in bed. Resting.”

  “No, the doctor said I could go about my business as usual unless I had any complications. So far, so good.”

  “Oh, but twins? You’ll be as big as a house before this is over!” Jolene covered her mouth with her hand. “Oops. Didn’t mean that. You’re such a tiny little thing, Bella. You could never be as big as a house. Just because my neighbor’s daughter-in-law gained seventy pounds with her twins doesn’t mean that you—”

  “Jolene, would you clamp your lips?” Twila slapped herself on the forehead. “I swear, you’re like a leaky faucet. Just can’t keep anything inside.”

  “Well, I never!” Jolene looked offended.

  “That’s right. You never keep a thought to yourself.” Twila looked at me and sighed. “Honey, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Your girlish figure is the least of your concerns right now. You just take good care of yourself and those babies.”

  “Speaking of babies . . .” Jolene grabbed my hands and squeezed them. “We need to throw you a shower.”

  “Oh, that’s sweet, but I don’t think people have showers for every baby, right?” I said. “Just their first.”


  “Right, but this is an exception to the rule! You’re having twins! You’ll need duplicates of everything. Baby beds. Car seats. Clothes.” She lit into quite a lengthy list of all the things I’d need, and I started to feel overwhelmed. After a few minutes she stopped and then gave me a winsome look. “Sorry, honey. I do tend to ramble on.”

  “It’s true,” Bonnie Sue added. “Her train of thought has no caboose.”

  “You’re a fine one to talk.” Jolene attempted to cross her arms across her ample chest as she glared at Bonnie Sue. “With you around, I rarely get a word in edgewise.”

  “Oh, really?” Bonnie Sue lit in and Jolene countered. Soon the two were going at it like two hens establishing pecking order. From up above them Cecil cleared his throat.

  “I can take a hint.” Bonnie Sue glared up at him. “But just for the record, I’m right and she’s wrong.”

  Jolene walked from one side of the room to the other. “Let’s cut to the chase, ladies. Bella, what can we do to help around here? I don’t want you taking on too much.”

  “Well, funny you should ask. I’ve put the twins to work co-managing the facility with me.”

  “So we heard.” Bonnie Sue looked concerned. “I sure hope that doesn’t come back to bite you.”

  “Yes, those two are a bit, well . . .” Twila continued to fan herself. “I hate to say it, since they’re my nieces and all, but they tend to be a bit competitive. I’ve prayed for them for years now, but they just don’t seem to be able to resolve their differences. They work overtime to outdo each other.”

  “Maybe that will be to our benefit.” Jolene grinned. “I mean your benefit, Bella, of course. This isn’t our facility. It’s yours.”

  “That’s my point,” I said. “Exactly my point, in fact. It’s our wedding facility. It belongs to all of us. We’re connected now. I need you ladies more than ever.”