I kissed her temple as she met me to walk back down the aisle, and felt my heart beat faster when she leaned into me, taking the comfort I was offering. She could be stubborn about a lot of things, but taking the love I offered her was never one of them.
Our duties in the wedding were over with the ceremony and I was very much looking forward to spending some time with my wife; she’d been noticeably absent the last couple of days, making sure everything with Megan’s wedding was on track. Both Poppy and Dahlia were closed today so that all the girls could be here to celebrate, and that was a big deal in and of itself. The only time a store was closed in the past was just shortly after the shooting at Poppy. Megan was moved when Ella told her the stores would both be closed.
“You look beautiful,” I whispered into Ella’s ear as we danced. My hand was on the small of her back, pulling her close to me.
“Thank you. I paid someone a lot of money to make me look this way,” she said with a laugh.
“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”
She smiled at me, her blue eyes sparkling. “Thank you.” Her voice was soft and light. We swayed back and forth to the music and we both had to laugh when a big thump was felt against my stomach, coming from hers. “Baby wants to dance too,” she said as her hand came to the spot she’d just been kicked in.
“I still can’t believe the two of you won’t find out what you’re having,” Megan said as her and Patrick danced up next to us. We, all four, stopped dancing while Megan laid her hand on Ella’s stomach, hoping to feel the baby move.
“We know what we’re having, Megan—a baby.”
“You know what I mean,” Megan responded with a sigh.
“I’m really looking forward to the surprise,” I said as I took my wife back into my arms, wanting her belly and baby kicks to be saved for me alone.
Megan looked over at her new groom. “Don’t get any ideas. When we get pregnant, we’re finding out if it’s a boy or a girl.”
Patrick held his hands up in surrender. “I wouldn’t even dare to suggest otherwise.”
Megan gave him a dreamy smile. “You’re so perfect for me.”
The two of them floated away on their newlywed cloud and I returned my attention to my wife. “Are you still ok with not knowing if it’s a boy or girl?”
She shrugged. “I like not knowing.” That was enough for me. If Ella was happy, I was happy.
The reception continued and we watched Robert give a heartfelt speech, singing Megan’s praises and warning Patrick about what would happen to him if he ever hurt her. The cake was cut, the garter removed, and Megan tossed her bouquet. Kalli caught Megan’s bouquet, but for some reason didn’t look too happy about it. When I gave Ella a questioning look, worried about her friend, Ella waved it away and had her own sad look on her face. Something was going on there and later I would try to remember to ask her about it. For now, though, I wanted to spend some more time with my wife’s belly pressed up against me as we danced.
“Honey,” Ella said softly, her cheek resting gently against my shoulder. “Your pocket’s vibrating.”
“Huh?”
“Your phone in your pocket is vibrating,” she laughed. I stepped away from her and reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I didn’t recognize the number, but that wasn’t really out of the ordinary—a lot of people called me for quotes on work and to make consultation appointments. I went to put it away but Ella stopped me. “Just answer it. You’ll be thinking about it all night if you don’t.”
“Nope,” I said, dropping the phone in my pocket. “They’ll leave a message. It’s a Saturday. I’ll call them back on Monday.” She rolled her eyes at me sweetly, trying to look annoyed but really not pulling it off.
We danced for a little while longer, but eventually I could tell Ella was losing steam.
“I think it’s time we head home. These shoes were a big mistake.” We both looked down at her feet and I couldn’t believe how swollen they were.
“It’s a good thing I have power tools. We’ll need something heavy duty to cut you out of those shoes. Come on,” I said as I placed a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s tell everyone goodbye and head home.”
After what seemed like an hour of goodbyes, we finally made it out to Ella’s Toyota. She handed me the keys and I was glad we were in agreement over who should drive. Her feet were in no condition to be operating a vehicle.
“That was a really great wedding. Megan did a fantastic job,” Ella said as she dug through her purse, pulling out her phone. “Huh. That’s weird.”
“What?”
“I got a phone call from a number I don’t recognize.” She stared at her phone, as if it would announce who had called her, answering all her questions. I pulled out my phone and pulled up my missed call log. I turned the screen towards her.
“Is this the same number as the one that called you?” She looked at my screen and then back to hers.
“Yeah. Weird. I wonder who it is.”