A May-September Wedding (24 page)

"I still don't
approve. He looks like a fool chasing after someone that
young."

"Well, I
approve. You should have seen his face when he walked into the
hospital. It was like his world was about to end."

"Well he
should find someone his own age. It's not right. What if they have
kids?"

Elaine's voice
hardened. "So that's really what this is about, then. You just want
Mom's money. Well, I hope he cuts you off. It would serve you right
after all the loans you've gotten over the years."

"It's not
about the money. He's just being an idiot. And Phyl's nowhere close
to being good enough for him."

"Well, David.
I hope you grow up soon. And I hope you realize how lucky you are
that Judy forgave you. Bye." Elaine hung up.

"So Cal's
finally going to propose to Phyl and the only person left to
complain to is Elaine, right?" Judy smirked. "Well get used to it.
I think he only left her bedside for a couple of hours a day the
whole time she was in the coma. Maybe the best wedding gift you can
give them is to forgive Phyl for whatever she did or didn't do that
made you so angry."

David drew
Judy into a gentle hug. "I'm still working on it with the
counsellor, honey. I guess it's the humiliating way she said no to
me every time I asked her out in front of her friends. I got teased
for years about it even after university. I mean, she went out with
almost every other guy in the school."

Judy gave
David a gentle kiss. "Let it go. We all get embarrassed from time
to time."

David sighed.
"I guess." He returned his wife's kiss. "It might take a
while."

"That's fine,
as long as you're actually working on it. You know I always admired
your persistence, but you have to pick the right things to be
persistent about. Like us."

David squeezed
his wife tighter, "Yes, like us."

Cal dropped
the girls off at the high school and continued to the Christian
elementary school to drop Tim off. "Tim, I was thinking about
asking your mother to marry me. What do you think about that?"

"It would be
okay, I suppose."

"Just
okay?"

"Yeah, just
okay." But there was a real smile on Tim's face as he said it. They
continued in silence for a while.

"Mr.
Richardson, what would I call you?" Tim asked.

"I don't know,
Tim. I'll have to ask your sister and your mum." Cal sounded like
he hadn't considered the question. "Felicity's been calling your
mother 'Mum' for years. Her mother was 'Mom'." Cal pronounced them
to rhyme with hum and Tom, respectively. "But Harry and I were both
Dad. I'll have to think about it. But I don't want 'Pops', I'm not
your grandfather."

Tim said,
sagely, "Actually he was Papa most of the time when we were at
home. He was teaching me Dutch. So Dad might work. And I know
you're old. Mum said you were touchy about that."

Cal looked
over at Tim's serious face and started to laugh. "I sure was. I
think I already said I was an idiot." Cal pulled into the drop off
area.

Tim grinned.
"Yeah, well, but we all knew that already. Hey, have a good
day."

Phyl's face
lit up as Cal came in with a small overnight bag. "Hair brush, some
lip gloss, fresh underwear, flannel nightgowns and a decent robe as
requested." He fished into the bag. "And a few hair elastics and
deodorant that Lydia insisted I bring. And one of your shirtwaist
dresses with a belt to go home in because you've lost some weight
and we didn't know what would fit. And this." He produced a small
handful of Lindt chocolates.

"I'll have
clear that with the nurse, but it's a sweet thought."

Cal gently
pried the hairbrush from Phyl's hand. "Let me."

Phyl twisted
around to put her back to him and sighed as she felt the gentle
strokes of the brush. "Oh, Cal, that feels so good. My mum used to
do that for me. I hinted a lot at Harry that he could brush my hair
any time, but he was pretty clueless about it."

Cal smiled to
himself as he continued with gentle strokes to untangle Phyl's long
ash blonde tresses. "I use to do this for Elaine and Felicity when
they were little and for Brenda when she had a bad day with the
kids. It relaxed both of us."

"And I'll bet
she showed her appreciation after the lights were out." Phyl
teased.

"I did make
that connection pretty quickly," Cal admitted as he gently worked
out another tangle. "But then I'd have to brush it out again in the
morning." Phyl made appreciative purring noises as he continued
brushing with long even strokes. "Do you trust me to put it into a
ponytail or a braid, or would you like to do that yourself?"

"A braid would
be easiest, I think. You'll have to do it until the IV comes
out."

Cal gathered
her now silky hair in his hands and began to gently braid his
lovely woman's hair. "Loose enough?" Phyl nodded and Cal fastened
the elastic. "When will the IV come out?"

"They took
some more blood this morning, but the doctor likes how fast my
colour has returned. Unless the tests show something serious, the
IV comes out the day after tomorrow and I go home the day after
that." Phyl shifted to put her back against the raised
mattress.

After a couple
of minutes just watching each other, Phyl said, "You are allowed to
kiss me, you know. I'm pretty sure that I'm not allergic to
you."

Cal leaned
forward and gave her a brief kiss. "Phyl, I have a serious question
I want to ask you, but I need to know where you want me to ask
it."

Phyl raised
her head to examine Cal's face, her eyes filled with hope. "If you
think I need some sort of romantic setting to be convinced to say
'yes' you'd be very wrong."

"Okay." Cal
swallowed. "What's your full name? I know that Phyllida's your
middle name and your first initial is H, for Heddy."

"Why do you
want to know, John Calvin Bliss Richardson?" Phyl's eyes were
sparking with mischief.

"How?" Cal
stammered.

"I saw your
passport when we drove the girls to the pair of U-16 games in
Boston." She smiled impishly and waited until he was about to say
something. Then she sighed. "Okay, my full name, which only really
really close family know and you'll only hear it this one time from
me, is Hedwig Phyllida Bente Erickssen Schuyler. That's why I was
Heddy Erickssen when I was at Brookfield."

Cal blinked.
"Really?"

"Would I make
up a name like that?"

"No, I suppose
not." Cal pulled a small blue box from his pocket. "So, Mrs. Hedwig
Phyllida Bente Erickssen Schuyler, will you, despite my obvious
failings and shortcomings, make me the happiest man in the world
and marry me?"

"Considering
that you've somehow convinced all of the nursing staff that I'm the
luckiest woman in the world to have such a kind and considerate
fiancee, even if you are older than dirt, I suppose I should make
it official." She paused long enough to see him start to squirm.
Then she looked at him tenderly and said, "Yes, Cal. I will marry
you."

He opened the
Birks box and asked, "Is this ring okay? I can buy you a different
one if you don't like it."

Phyl took a
look at the sapphire and diamond ring and her eyes began to
glisten. She pulled Cal into a hug and murmured into his ear, "It's
beautiful".

"So are you,
dearest, so are you." After a moment, Cal sat up. "May I put it on
you?"

"It fits
perfectly," she said in wonder. "You can't have gotten the size
from my old rings, they were a bit small."

Cal said,
embarrassed, "I measured your finger the day I got back from San
Diego, while you were still in the coma. I knew by then that I was
a complete idiot for not recognizing how important you were to me.
You were right, you know. Just because I'm twenty-one years older
than you doesn't mean that you're going to be at my funeral. I was
almost at yours and that scared me."

Phyl took
Cal's hand. "Well, things seem to have turned out right in the
end." She paused. "You know that I'm going to want more
children."

"We can afford
them. I will admit that it isn't a very comfortable thought for me
because I might not have enough energy to keep up with them and I
might not live to see them marry, but if it's what you want, then
we'll certainly try."

Phyl drew Cal
into a kiss. "That sounds like fun."

"What
does?"

"The trying
part, mister lucky number two."

Cal blushed
and said, "If I'm number two, I guess I'll have to try harder."

Phyl rolled
her eyes then gave her for-real fiancee another long passionate
kiss aware that there was no heart monitor to summon the nurse this
time.

Cal was
checking in with the nurse at the station when he heard a pair of
excited squeals coming from Phyl's room. Noticing the stern look on
the nurse's face, Cal quickly reassured her. "I finally got around
to giving Phyl her engagement ring this morning. I don't think our
daughters really believed we were engaged."

The nurse lost
a bit of her crustiness. "Well, I suppose it's okay. But tell them
to try to keep it down."

Cal entered to
an interesting tableau. Felicity must have suspected something was
up and called people because Aunt Rosalind, Elaine and Judy had all
dropped by for a visit. All six women were looking at him
indulgently as he entered. Aunt Ros spoke first. "Well, dear boy, I
see you finally came to your senses. I was afraid she was going to
have to do something drastic."

Phyl stifled a
smirk. "Well, the coma was pretty effective."

"I know, dear
heart, but I would have tried something less personally damaging
first."

Elaine got up
to give her father a hug. "Congratulations, Dad. When's the
wedding?"

"I'm going to
leave that up to Phyl because I'm just as happy to get married at
city hall the day they release her from the hospital."

Phyl spoke.
"No you don't Mr. Richardson. We are going to have a quiet but
proper church ceremony. Only family and anyone from the
congregation who wants to come. And no real presents and just a
family meal at a good restaurant. We have two houses full of stuff
we'll have to sort through. And I want to have a new house ready to
move into after we're married. But that's negotiable, sort of. So
I'm thinking the second Saturday in December will be the earliest
I'll be ready." Phyl looked her man in the eye. "And don't look so
disappointed. You can wait."

The girls were
a bit puzzled, but the older women all snickered. Cal faked a hang
dog look and said, "Yes, ma'am."

Elaine raised
an eyebrow and said, "I can look after the kids for a few days
after the wedding. You won't want a long honeymoon with Christmas
just around the corner."

"That would be
a wonderful gift, Elaine." Phyl smiled sunnily from her bed. "Now,
my dear man, you owe me several weeks worth of kisses."

Cal blushed
under the knowing gaze of his widowed aunt. "Probably a years'
worth or more if you expect punitive damages," he whispered.

Phyl
whispered, "Keep that up and I'll damage you, old man."

"I thought you
wanted children," he whispered back before he kissed her in a
suitably restrained way.

"I was
thinking that if I broke your leg you wouldn't be able to run away
again." She smoothed the hair away from his forehead and said, so
the others could hear, "I love you Cal Richardson."

"And I love
you Phyllida Erickssen Schuyler." Tim rolled his eyes as all the
women sighed in unison.

"I'm sorry to
interrupt the house hunting but David and I would like to meet with
you and Phyl. It's pretty urgent." Judy sounded worried.

Cal looked
across the kitchen to Phyl who was sitting at the table finishing
her morning coffee while rechecking her list of house requirements
against the listings the agent had printed off. "Phyl, sweetheart?
Judy and David want to meet with us as soon as possible."

Phyl looked
curious. "Any particular reason?"

Cal mouthed
"I'll ask" as he took his hand off the microphone. "What's up,
Judy?"

"It's about
Erica. David and I need some help sorting things out."

"I hope it's
nothing too serious. Where do you want to meet?"

"Well, you
were looking at houses in the west end, right?"

"We were
hoping to get something closer to either Redeemer or OCS so we
could cut down on the commuting."

"How about we
meet at the Rose Bowl on Carling for lunch? We can get a booth so
we can talk."

Phyl was
standing next to Cal. "Okay, the Rose Bowl for lunch. Eleven-thirty
okay?"

"Fine, we'll
see you there."

Phyl snuggled
into Cal and asked, "What was that about?"

"I'm not
really sure. Something's come up with Erica and they want our help
sorting it out. But that's all she said."

"I hope
David's not after more money."

"I don't think
that's it this time. Judy wouldn't have called. She was pretty
adamant that the next time David asks me for money she walks."

"Oh. I didn't
know that." Phyl reached up to get a kiss. "How's the counselling
going?"

"David's still
pretty change resistant, but he is keeping up with the sessions.
It's a double edged gift but he got a full measure of stubbornness
from both Brenda and I. It means he finishes what he starts every
time, but it also means he holds grudges forever." Cal dropped a
kiss on Phyl's forehead. "As we both know very well."

"Well, I guess
this means we don't have time to look more than one house this
morning, so I should call the agent."

David and Judy
were already sitting in a booth with coffee in front of them when
Phyl and Cal arrived at the restaurant. After some polite
greetings, including a wary smile from David to Phyl, Judy got to
the point.