by Alison Mello
Katie comes back upstairs. “Chase said it is almost time to get ready.”
“He’s right,” Abbey tells her.
We start unzipping the fancy bags our dresses came in. We get Katie dressed first, then and Abbey gets in her dress while I put on mine. Just as Abbey zips the back of my dress there is a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” Katie yells, and Abbey and I both laugh.
“Lauren the photographer. I was hoping to get some pictures.”
I open the door to let her in.
“Theresa, you look beautiful!”
“Thanks!”
She has the three of us pose a few different ways and then takes a picture of me looking out the window, a few of me and Abbey, and she finishes with a few of me and Katie. She says that she’ll see us in a few because she needs to get a few pictures of the guys.
My mom comes up next and starts getting emotional. “My baby girl looks so beautiful.” She kisses my head. “Your daddy is so proud of you,” she says with the biggest smile.
“Oh, Mom, you’re going to make me cry.”
“Don’t go doing that. Your makeup is perfect, and I don’t want you ruining it. Your guests are going to start arriving soon, and you do not have the girl here to redo it.”
A short while later Katie comes back upstairs. “Chase said to tell you he’s taking his place, and it is time for you to come downstairs.” She looks proud that she has a job to do.
“Okay. Well, I guess we should head downstairs. I don’t want to keep my groom waiting.”
We walk downstairs to find my dad already outside waiting for me, sitting in a chair with two men ready to help him up. Abbey takes Katie outside and tells her that the music is going to start and that she will walk down first. Then when she’s almost there, Katie will start walking down, and then the music will change and Mommy will come down. I can see Katie nodding as I hide in one of the windows. Abbey starts heading down the aisle and like a good girl Katie waits until she’s three quarters of the way down before she follows her. My daughter is enjoying every minute of her time in the limelight.
I get into place and nod to the two guards standing near my dad, so they help him stand, the music changes, and he walks proudly down the aisle holding on to me and his cane. My eyes are welling at the pride I feel right now. My dad is an amazing man, putting aside all his pain and fears for me. We approach Chase.
“Remember your promise to me, son.”
Chase gives my dad a hug. “I’ll never forget it, Dad.”
My mom appears at my dad’s side as he hugs and kisses me proudly before she can help him back to his seat, which is right behind us. I walk up to Chase, we hold hands, and we listen to the reverend. About twenty minutes later, he’s introducing us as husband and wife, and then everyone erupts into cheers.
We walk around thanking everyone for coming, giving hugs, kisses, and handshakes. It doesn’t take long because we only have about thirty guests, but we take a few extra minutes with his parents since it’s our wedding day and I’m meeting them for the first time. Things are starting to settle and people are starting to take their seats, when all of a sudden there is commotion at the gate. That is when I hear, “I want my daughter, and you can’t stop me.”
I look at Chase. “Kyle.”
Chase looks at me as Seth and Sean appear, and I tell them what is going on. Sean runs over to Sylvia and grabs her to appear at my side as my lawyer. We head to the gate, and as we do, the caterer announces dinner is being served so the guests make their way to the food table.
I walk to the gate with my head held high. I have Chase, Seth, Sean, and Sylvia all by my side. The security team is holding Kyle so he can’t get near me.
“My husband owns a security firm. Did you think you were just going to walk up and take our daughter from my wedding?”
“You can’t stop me from seeing my daughter.”
“No, but I am her attorney, and I can tell you that you’re not taking your daughter today and if you do not leave this property immediately, I’ll drag you into court and inform them that you’re acting out of control. I’ll explain how there have been many weekends where you failed to show, proving you’re only here today because you’re bitter and jealous of Theresa’s relationship with her husband. You’ll be forced to take random drug tests and sobriety tests because I’ll inform them that I fear your erratic behavior is from drug and alcohol use. Am I making myself clear?” Sylvia says in a stern voice.
He calms right down. “You wouldn’t do that, and besides her attorney is some guy.”
She laughs. “She fired him a month ago and hired me because she was concerned over your behavior. For the record, I would do it in a heartbeat. So are you leaving, or do I have to call the police?”
“I’m leaving. My daughter’s a spoiled brat anyway,” he says as he storms down the driveway.
“If she’s such a spoiled brat, why don’t you just stay the hell away? She doesn’t need you anyway,” I yell, bitter that he tried to ruin my day.
He flips me off and gets into his car before driving away like a lunatic. We head back in and go straight to the food table to make our plates. My mom already has Katie set up at her table with food.
“Sweetie, is everything okay?”
“Thanks to my new lawyer, Sylvia, everything is great.” Sylvia and I start to giggle. “Didn’t you know I hired her a month ago?” I add as we are laughing.
My mom gives me a smile. “I am so glad you did.” She places a hand on Sylvia’s cheek and thanks her.
“It was my pleasure. Guys like him are the reason I became an attorney.”
We drop the subject and head to our sweetheart table with plates of food while our guests make their way to their respective tables.
Dinner has been cleared, and there’s some light music playing. Katie is now running around in the yard playing with Raegan and Grace, wearing regular clothes with her hair still up and her tiara on.
We are enjoying our time with our guests when my mom comes over. “I’m going to head home with Dad.”
We excuse ourselves so we can say bye to my mom and dad. Chase grabs Seth. “Help me get my father-in-law into the car?”
He kisses Abbey before he stands. “Sure, bro.”
I call Katie and we all head out to the car so we can have a private minute with my dad. I’m secretly worried because he doesn’t look good. He looks like today took a lot out of him, so I tell him to go home and rest.
“Bye, Grammy. Bye, Grampy,” Katie says as she hugs my mom and dad.
My dad looks at me. “I love you, baby girl.”
I smile, fighting back my tears. “I love you, too, Daddy. Thanks for being here.”
He smiles as Chase and Seth help lower him into the car. Chase folds his walker and puts it in the trunk for my mom. I hug and kiss her good-bye as does Chase, and she’s off to take care of my dad.
When we get into the backyard, a few more guests are leaving. As we finish saying good-bye to them, Chase’s family approaches.
“I know you’re all probably tired, but do you mind if we stick around for a little while with Audrey and Mason? We would like to talk and get to know you a little better.”
Chase smiles at his mom. “We would love it, Mom.”
Chase takes them over and introduces them to our clan. “Hey, everyone, this is my mom, Ella, and my dad, Ryan.”
His mom is really pretty. She has beautiful dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She’s tall, with most of her height in her gorgeous long legs. His dad also has brown hair, but his is a lighter brown and he has green eyes. He’s tall and very well built. He looks like he works out hard.
A few more people approach to say good-bye. All that’s left is Seth and Abbey, his parents, and Mason and his family. We move to the patio furniture so the caterer can finish cleaning up and take the tables and chairs. Chase heads inside to grab a few beers for the guys and grabs a bottle of wine for us.
“So, Theresa, wha
t do you do for work,” Ella asks.
“I work as a controller for Coastal Engineering. That’s how I met Abbey and the rest of the clan. Abbey is my accounts payable manager. The gentleman that was sitting at your table is my boss, Jack. He’s the vice president of finance.”
“Very nice. Your daughter is adorable by the way.” I smile and thank her.
Chase calls Katie over, and she comes running and sits on his lap. “Katie, this is my mom and dad, Elle and Ryan. Can you say hi?”
She shyly says, “Hi,” and I can tell she’s thinking. “Mommy, if your mommy and daddy are my grammy and grampy, does that mean Chase’s mommy and daddy are now my grammy and grampy?”
We all laugh at her thinking, and Elle pipes in, “You can absolutely call us Grammy and Grampy. How is that?”
She smiles. “Good! Raegan, we have the same Grammy and Grampy,” she says as she jumps off Chase’s lap and runs off to her cousins.
“Thank you,” I say kindly to Emma.
“Oh, sweetie, there’s no need. We let too much time pass without spending time with our son, and we need that to change. Do you have family besides your mom and dad? They are very sweet by the way.”
“I have a sister, but we do not talk. I have tried to fix things between us, but I have not been very successful so far. We even invited her to the wedding, but she chose not to come,” I say sadly.
“I’m sorry,” she says sympathetically.
“It’s okay. I have hit it off well with my new sister-in-law, so it is fine.” I smile at Audrey, who winks back at me.
It’s getting late, so we clean up the beer bottles and wine bottles as we’re saying our good-byes. We promise to have dinner every other Sunday evening at either our house or Mason and Audrey’s house so everyone can get together more often. I’m so happy because Chase really looks pleased that things between him and his parents seem to be on the mend.
Chapter 19
I yawn and stretch as I see the clock in my office hit ten. It was an amazing weekend between getting married on Saturday and spending Sunday with Katie and Chase trying to recover. We all slept in pretty late yesterday, and then Chase and I made a big brunch for the three of us. We were all so full when we were done that we decided to lounge on the couch and watch a movie. We actually fell asleep. When we woke up we made some snacks to hold us until dinner and played some games with her. Our entire day was based around lazy fun, and it felt so good after the stress of my dad’s illness and the wedding. We also sat and looked through some of our sneak-peek pictures from the wedding, and they’re beautiful so I can’t wait to see the rest.
“Hey, Theresa, are you ready for our Monday-morning meeting with me and Sandra?”
I look up to find both Sandra and Abbey standing in my doorway. I smile as they have broken me from my daydreaming. “Yeah, sure. Come on in and shut the door, please.”
“Are you okay?” Abbey asks, a little concerned.
“Yeah, sorry, I’m just a bit tired. We tried to recover yesterday but I didn’t sleep well last night. My mom called me yesterday and told me my dad spent most of the day in bed really tired.” I am praying he has a better day today. My mom promised to text me with an update no later than this afternoon.
“Anyway, so, Sandra, what do you have for me this week?”
She shows me a report of clients that owe us money and there are highlights on the report. “Green is money coming in, yellow is money due next week, and pink are the people I have to call because they are past due. I have put the totals at the bottom for you,” she says proudly.
“Thanks, Sandra. This is great!”
Abbey says, “We sat down and talked about our reports together, and I did the same thing with mine. Green is what is due this week, yellow is due next week, and pink are past due because of issues. As you will see she has way more coming in both weeks than we will need for AP.”
I smile at my girls proudly. “You two have made my life so easy. I love you both.”
They start laughing at my affection for them.
“We do make a good team,” Abbey says as there’s knock on the door.
“Come in,” I shout and Jack opens the door. “Hey, Jack. Let me brag about how great my new dynamic duo is.”
He laughs. “Brag away.”
“Look at these reports,” I say as I hand him the AP and AR reports that have matching colors.
“Well done, ladies. These look great.”
They both thank Jack and ask if I need them any longer. Once I tell them no, they both head out to get back to work.
“Ladies, do not forget we have second-round interviews this afternoon. We need to make a decision about the new AR person quickly,” Jack says before they leave.
They both agree and head out.
“So, Mrs. Roberts, how does it feel to be married?”
I laugh. “Good but exhausting. I am so tired from Saturday still, and it didn’t help that I couldn’t sleep last night.”
“Why? What’s up?”
“My mom called me yesterday to tell me that she’s a little worried about my dad because he was in bed most of the day yesterday. She’s supposed to be updating me any time now.”
“He was probably just really tired from the long day on Saturday,” he says, trying to calm my fears.
“Do you want to sit in on the second interview with us this afternoon?” he asks me. “That’s why I really came in here to let you know who we are interviewing and see if you want to sit in.”
“Sure, I’ll sit in. What time are you doing the interviews?” I ask so I can add it to my calendar.
“First is at two, and the second is at three.”
“Sounds good. I added it to my schedule so let me know when the first one arrives, and I’ll meet you in the conference room.”
He nods and stands to leave. “I’ll let you get back to work, and I’ll see you a little later for the interview.”
“Great. See you soon.”
He shuts my office door and I check my phone to make sure my volume is turned up and I haven’t missed a text or anything from my mom. It is now after eleven, and I am a bit concerned I haven’t heard from her, but I bury myself in my payroll reports to distract myself. I manage to get halfway through the payroll report before lunch. I should have been able to finish the entire thing, but I’m distracted by the fact I haven’t heard from my mom. I even sent her a text and got nothing back. I head into the kitchen to grab my lunch, and Abbey is in there getting her lunch as well.
“Hey, Theresa, how’s it going?”
I shake my head. “Not good. I haven’t heard from my mom all day. I sent her a text, and when I try to call her, I’m sent straight to her voice mail.” I’m starting to get worried that something is wrong.
“Well, unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do about it right now, so as hard as it is, I would try to put it out of your mind until you hear something.”
I nod. “I know you’re right, but it doesn’t make it any easier.” I grab my lunch and head back to my office.
I check my phone one more time and still nothing. I decide to text Chase.
I know I am probably panicking but haven’t heard from my mom all day.
Try to relax. If we haven’t heard soon I’ll go by the house and check on them.
Okay I am eating lunch now and then I have two back to back interviews starting at 2:00.
Let me know if you hear anything.
Will do. Love you.
Love you, too.
I eat my lunch and check my e-mail before I get back to work on this payroll report so I can try to finish it before my interviews start in a little while.
It’s now almost time for my interview, and my gut is telling me it’s not good that I have not heard from my mom all day long. I pull out the two resumes Jack gave me and quickly review them so I’m prepared for the two meetings. I have not met either of these girls yet, but based on Sandra and Abbey’s new system they need to be big team players be
cause this team is now running like a well-oiled machine, and I don’t want some know-it-all clerk coming in and disrupting it.
I’m heading out of the office to fill my water bottle before I’m called into the meeting, and my phone rings. I jump six feet in the air because it scares the shit out of me. I look and see it is my mom, and my heart is beating eighty miles an hour and feels like it is going to pop out of my chest. “Hey, Mom. I have been so worried. What is going on?”
“Theresa, you need to get to the hospital. It’s not good. I haven’t been able to call you because I have been with nurses and the doctor trying to figure out what’s wrong with Dad. Please come quick. He’s asking for you.”
I’m now trying to fight the tears but it’s no good. One escapes as I grab my stuff and run to Jack’s office. “Jack, it is my dad. I have to go. He’s in the hospital, and Mom says it isn’t good.”
“Go. Call me later.” He chases after me as I run out of his office and yells, “Drive careful, Theresa!” I run straight past Abbey, knowing Jack will fill her in. I don’t have time to stop. I have to call Chase and have him get Katie to Sam. As soon as I’m in the car, I dial his number. “Chase, Dad is in the hospital, and Mom says it isn’t good. Can you see if Sam can meet Katie at the house and call the school to get her on the bus?”
“Sweetheart, do not worry about Katie. I’ll take care of her. You get to the hospital, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
My throat hurts from holding back the tears I can’t let escape. If I start crying, I won’t be able to stop, and I need to focus on driving and get to the hospital safely. I knew that I should have left work. I need to call my sister, so I speed dial her number, and my call goes to voice mail.
“Chelsea, it is Theresa. I know you’re mad at me but call me back. Daddy is in the hospital, and Mom says it doesn’t look good. I left work and am on my way there now.” I hang up, angry she’s so petty that she didn’t answer my call.
I pull into the valet parking area and toss him my key as he hands me a ticket. I run into the hospital and realize my mom did not give me a room number so I have to stop at the receptionist and give her my dad’s name. She tells me he’s in room 404 and gives me directions as I am running away from her.
