The Christmas Promise
Page 26
“The way the Christmas decorations are sparkling, we could use it as the backdrop for the ceremony,” Jennifer said, before glancing over at Simeon.
“Whatever you want, love,” he said with Mariah jumping on his lap. “I’ll be getting what I want, so I’ll leave the rest to you.” He gave her a generous smile.
“Renee, that’s a great idea. I was actually just thinking we’d get married at about ten o’clock in the morning and then we could come to the New Year’s Gala to celebrate.”
Renee exhaled. “Oh good, this way, I can participate in your wedding too. I would hate not being able to be here.”
“That’s not going to rush you?” Myra asked Renee.
“No, I don’t think so. Remember, I’ve got Cara and everything is already in place. We’ve just got to execute,” Renee said.
Jennifer hugged her sister. “Okay, then that’s settled.”
“What about a dress? I would love to have been able to design something for you,” Faith said.
“We’ll have to pick something from the rack at the shop,” Jennifer said.
Faith grabbed her bottom lip, looking up at the ceiling. “You know what, on second thought, let me talk to Margaret when I get home and between the two of us we can come up with something spectacular.”
“Dress, check,” Jennifer said. “What else do I need to do for this impromptu wedding?”
“I’d be happy to take the official wedding photo,” Michael offered.
“Who are you inviting?” Myra asked, pressing her pen on the page, ready to write.
“Can’t we call everyone who was here tonight? I know in our family, word travels fast,” Patrice said.
“Ours too,” Barbara added.
“I’m going to leave that up to you two, Mom,” Jennifer said. “I’ve given you what I want, so, I’m going to let you handle it from here.” Jennifer turned to Simeon. “Baby, do you have anything on a wedding wish list for them?”
Simeon leaned over and kissed her. “No. What I wished for has already come true.”
Epilogue
Christmas was filled with joy and laughter in the Baker household. True to his word, Simeon showered his children with lots of toys, gifts and most of all love. He and Jennifer sat on the couch together watching Micah roll around the den in his new Mercedes-Benz truck. Mariah was riding in style in her pink Barbie Cadillac Escalade.
Simeon had to convince Jennifer that it was okay for them to ride the battery-powered toys in the house just for Christmas. He had other important things he wanted to deal with like their wedding. Even though Jennifer didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, Simeon thought he should. She deserved that and more.
The next day, he got together with her mother and sisters at Myra’s house.
Simeon pulled out a folded piece of paper from his wallet and handed it to Myra. “Do you ladies think you could set up our wedding to look like this one?”
Myra looked at him. “What is this?”
“Jennifer and I witnessed a wedding like this while we were on vacation,” he said, smiling as he remembered how they’d crashed the wedding.
Faith smiled. “We could move the couch out of the family room since it’s a huge space. We could make rows on each side and get an aisle runner to go in between them. We can make it work.”
“The Christmas backdrop will add to the ambiance,” Renee added.
Simeon stood to his feet. “I see you’ve got a handle on this, then.”
Myra gave him the thumbs up.
Simeon patted his pockets on his slacks. He turned to Faith. “Now, you’re going to design her dress and the other things she wanted right, Faith?”
Faith nodded. “Yes. We’ll have one more fitting before your wedding. She’s very happy with the dress.”
Simeon smiled. “Okay, because if she isn’t give her whatever she wants, if it’s humanly possible in this short timeframe.”
“Not a problem, sir,” Faith said, giving him a salute.
“Have you been fitted for your tuxedo?”
“I’m going today.” He felt excited and happy to be planning his wedding. He hoped that Jennifer would be pleased when she saw the effort her family had put into helping them make their day special.
“Well, I’m going to let you ladies work your magic.” He picked up his coat and left the house.
Early New Year’s Eve morning, once again Jennifer and Simeon’s house had rental trucks and decorators lining the driveway. It was all to get ready for their nuptials, which were going to happen later in the morning. They planned to have the ceremony at noon, but Barbara told them about an old wives’ tale that said you should get married on the upswing of the clock. It supposedly meant that your life would keep going up. The couple agreed because the minister wasn’t available until then anyway.
The floral delivery had been made and the whole house had an aromatic fragrance from the lovely arrangements made up of sapphire-blue and yellow roses. Myra chose the sapphire blue since it was Jennifer’s favorite color and her birthstone was sapphire.
They were positioned on top of the white pillars at the front of the room, next to the floral-embellished altar that Faith and Renee designed with tulle draping and a huge Christmas tree looming in the background. There were six rows on each side of white chairs with blue pew bows on the ends and a white aisle runner had been laid through the middle. Everything was perfect.
Myra and Renee had gotten dressed and were downstairs early so they could greet the guests.
“Renee, are you sure you’re going to be okay being here? The gala is tonight,” Myra asked.
Renee was wearing a hip hugging, sapphire-blue tea-length lamour satin dress with cap sleeves. On her feet she wore silver sparkling peep-toe pumps.
“As soon as she says, ‘I do’, I’m outta here. I just didn’t want to miss this because they have been through so much,” Renee answered.
Myra pulled Renee to her side and hugged her. “Yes, today is going to be a wonderful day.”
The guests started filing into the house and soon, Renee and Myra realized they had a problem. They didn’t have enough chairs. They’d figured because it was the last minute most of the folks wouldn’t come. It looked like everyone who came to the Christmas Eve party had shown up.
Renee looked at her mom with panicked eyes. “Mom, what are we going to do?”
“Nothing, they’ll just have to stand.”
Renee frowned.
“Baby, they want to be here, so we’re not going to stop them.”
Renee hunched her shoulders. “I’m going to go check on the bride.”
Myra looked at her watch. “We should be starting in the next thirty minutes. It’s noon,” she announced.
Thirty minutes later, Charlie Baker proudly strode to the front in his black tuxedo to light the first set of candles on the gold candelabra to signify the start of the wedding ceremony. Because Myra was acting as coordinator for the day, Barbara was the only mother to walk down the aisle. She and Edward walked together and took their seats. She dabbed her eyes as she grabbed her husband’s hand and squeezed it.
The beautiful music of Luther Vandross’s “So Amazing” filled the room and Simeon, with his brother Charlie and his sister Samantha, who was dressed like the bridesmaids, walked single file down the aisle to take their places at the front. Patrice, Renee and Faith, each wearing the same blue satin dress, stood in line at the door to the family room ready to make their entrance.
Holding their bouquet of blue and yellow roses, they each stepped elegantly to the beat of the music. Faith was last in line because she would serve as the maid-of-honor and she needed to help Micah get down the aisle with his satin ring bearer pillow. It took a minute to convince him to walk with her, but once they started he passed all three ladies and went over to his father. All the guests lau
ghed, excited about what was going to happen next.
Mariah’s duties were two-fold as she served as the flower girl and the junior bride in her white lace dress Faith and Margaret made for this special event. The little frilly sleeveless dress had a jewel neckline, tiered lace and a blue satin sash with a train that swept the floor.
Everyone stood to their feet when they saw Jennifer holding on to Russell’s arm at the door of the family room. Jennifer looked so elegant in her lacy short white wedding gown. The dress had long sleeves, a corset top and a ball gown skirt, which stopped above her knees. She wore the same sparkling peep-toe pumps as the girls wore, but in white. Her hair had been pinned up and sparkled with the gold jeweled comb she placed on the side in the back.
She took her time making the short walk to the altar. She saw tears in Simeon’s eyes, which caused her heart to swell. She couldn’t believe how far they’d come in such a short amount of time. She was grateful that she’d met such a warm and loving man and now they were about to finally have their happily ever after.
And Jennifer truly believed that this was just the beginning for them.
About the Author
Sean Young has always been an avid reader. This Gary, Indiana native joined her first book club at the age of seven. A lover of the happily ever after, Sean uses her vivid imagination to craft heartwarming and passionate family love stories that deal with forgiveness, promise, romance and redemption. A certified wedding planner by trade, Sean continues to help brides plan the wedding of their dreams. She loves to hear from her readers, who can contact her at seanyoung0907@msn.com and facebook.com/seandyoungbooks.
Look for these titles by Sean D. Young
Now Available:
The McClendon Holiday Series
A McClendon Thanksgiving
The Christmas Promise
Coming Soon:
A Husband by New Year’s
Don’t Miss the other titles in Sean D. Young’s McClendon Holiday Series!
For a perfect fit, sometimes you have to make a few alterations.
The McClendon Holiday Series, Book 1
Faith McClendon put her promising fashion career on hold to support her investment banker husband’s climb to financial success—only to be dumped for another woman.
The thirty-year-old fashion designer has come home to Chicago to start over, this time on her own terms. Amid the lingering sting of betrayal, there’s one bright spot. A renewed friendship with childhood buddy Michael Montgomery.
For years, Michael pretended to be Faith’s husband to fend off unwanted attention, gave her a shoulder to cry on, and cheered the loudest when she left home for fashion school. Through it all, he never stopped loving her.
Time hasn’t dimmed the spark between them, but when another man hits on her, Michael realizes it’s time to stop hiding his true feelings. This thirty-one-year-old professional photographer is ready to pose for his own family portrait—with Faith as his wife.
Warning: Contains a photographer who’s through being pictured in a brother-ish light, and a fashionista who’s not sure her heart is quite mended enough to risk further alterations.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
The Christmas Promise
Copyright © 2015 by Sean D. Young
ISBN: 978-1-61923-130-6
Edited by Latoya Smith
Cover by Leah Kaye Suttle
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: November 2015
www.samhainpublishing.com