Love Promises (Sully Point, Book 4) (23 page)

"I've heard you talk about everything but
one--who is standing up for these two?"

Maggie stared at Grant and then looked to Eric. He
shrugged. "We forgot about that."

After much discussion over how many attendants she
should have, Maggie said, "Look, if Beth can get here, she can be my maid
of honor. It's the role that is generally taken by a sister. Too bad Rose is on
duty and can't make it."

At which point, Maggie called Beth and had a
twenty-minute talk with her. The gist of it was that Beth was up for a part and
didn't feel she could leave. Maggie was disappointed, but she hadn't pushed
Beth because her sister had sounded down. She knew she was letting Maggie down
and that seemed to depress her further. But not enough to get her on a plane in
time.

Maggie and Eric talked and then they asked the
three couples to stand up for them. Cody, Sam, and Jason would be groomsmen and
Julia, Anna, and Holly would be bridesmaids. That solved, the question became
what everyone would wear. Calls were made so that in the end, Beatrice was
bringing three more gowns from Sophia's studio, and the men were getting tuxes
from a local clothing store.

"I'm famished," Maggie announced.
"Have you got any chocolate, Holly?"

They ended up having sandwiches and chips, much to
Maggie's regret.

* * * *

The rest of the week passed in a whirl of activity.
Eric had never been in a wedding before, and had no clue that so much was
involved. Between picking up tuxes, transporting parents from one place to the
other occupied him, until he bought a car from Joe to have his parents use. He
also got Maggie alone for an hour to go pick out a car.

"I'm not driving a Humvee, Eric," she
said, obviously exasperated. "You surely weren't serious."

"Sort of. Okay, okay. Check out these over
here."

They looked at a variety of sedans and SUVs, but
Maggie finally agreed with him that an SUV made sense in terms of space for
carrying anything. After telling her to stop looking at the price lists several
times, she picked the one she wanted. Thankfully, it was the Mercedes GL-550.
By the time he'd added every possible extra package to the automobile, it ended
up costing close to one hundred thousand dollars, which in his mind was a bargain.

"I feel like I've just run a marathon,"
Maggie said, as they drove away. The car would be delivered in the morning.

"Thanks for doing this now, even with
everything else going on. I'll feel better knowing you and the baby are in a
safe automobile."

"It's practically a tank."

"Yes," he said. "I know."

She laughed weakly, then asked him to pull over so
she could be sick on the side of the road.

"Maggie, is this normal?" He was getting
scared by how often she was getting sick.

"I don't know. How should I know? I never did
this before."

"I'm calling Doc Watson."

"Okay. You do that. Just get me home and in
bed first. I want to lie very, very still."

After making sure she was as comfortable as she
could be, he called the doctor who said he'd be right over. Eric waited in the
living room while the Doc talked to Maggie. He came out, closing the bedroom
door and handed Eric a prescription.

"Okay, two things. Get that filled and it
might help. Next, keep her in that bed for two full days. I know you've got the
wedding coming up in three days. She needs rest, lots of it. She's worn herself
out with all these plans. For food, give her whatever she wants and can
tolerate eating. She's lost a few pounds and she really can't stand to lose any
more. Can you handle this?"

"Yes, I'll make sure she stays in bed. And
I'll keep everyone away from her. Will she be okay?"

"With rest she should be fine," Doc
Watson said and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I told her I was sending
you for a prescription. I'll stay here until you get back."

Eric worried all the way to the pharmacy and back
again. When he arrived, the doctor was shaking his head and coming out of the
bedroom.

"What? What's happened?"

"She had her cell phone in there and people
were calling her asking her questions. You need to talk to that gang and lay
down the law."

"Yes, sir. I'll do that right away."

"Okay then. Call me if there's any
change."

Eric turned off Maggie's phone completely. Then he
set his to vibrate so that she wouldn't hear any ringing. Carrying a glass of
water in with her medication, he smiled at her as she lay propped up against
the pillows.

"Doc took my phone! Right out of my hand when
I was on it. Mom is going to kill me."

"No, she's not. I'll call her and explain.
You've got to rest, it's that simple."

"Yeah, I know. He told me. It just sucks so
close to the wedding."

"We have all these helpers. They can get
everything done without either of us. I think they'd prefer it that way."

She laughed. "Okay. I'll rest. Can you move
the TV in here?"

"Absolutely. And the Doc said eat whatever
you want whenever you want. So just tell me whatever you think you can
eat."

"Nothing at the moment. Do we have any ginger
ale?"

"Yes. I'll get it."

He got the TV set up, and ginger ale delivered, and
then went into the kitchen to make some phone calls. It didn't matter who they
were, he did lay down the law and explained that nobody was to try and see or
call Maggie until the day of the wedding. Of course, everyone wanted to come
over to help or see how she was doing. He told them all firmly to leave her
alone, and then turned off his phone. He felt the need for a few minutes peace.

It scared him that she had lost weight. She was
such a tiny thing to begin with. He made one more call and ordered some
groceries to be delivered from the local store, basic stuff that he could have
on hand to cook for her.

When he went back into the bedroom, Maggie was sound
asleep. He turned off the TV but left the light on by the bed so she wouldn't
wake up in the dark. Then he laid down beside her on top of the covers and fell
asleep in the middle of worrying.

* * * *

Maggie woke up and tried to decide how she felt.
Still tired, but no longer nauseous. Eric was beside her on the bed. When she
started to get up, he stirred, and then sat upright.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To the bathroom. That's allowed, isn't
it?"

"Yeah, okay," he said, a bit sheepishly.
"But then back into bed with you."

"Yes, yes," she said, feeling a bit
peeved. She wasn't an invalid after all. On the other hand, she wanted the baby
to be safe, so she would follow orders.

When she got back, Eric was bringing her a fresh
glass of ginger ale. "Do you feel like eating?"

"Yeah, what have you got?"

"Potatoes, rice, pancakes, eggs,
sandwiches," he started on the list.

"That all sounds pretty boring, but safe.
Let's do pancakes. Only I'm not eating them in bed. That's a syrup accident
waiting to happen. It'll be okay if I eat at the table, won't it?"

"I guess. As long as you come back here
after."

When he left the room she looked around for her
phone but couldn't find it. She did find the remote, however, and decided to
see what was on. The surprising thing, she discovered, was that over a hundred
channels provided nothing at all good to watch.

They had delicious pancakes, and she didn't get
sick. Eric brought out a stack of movies, all of which were oldies that he
liked. They watched
Notorious
with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. She
loved it.

The next thing she knew, it was morning.

"How long did I sleep?" she asked Eric,
after her trip to the bathroom.

"Ten hours. You must have needed it."

"Wow. Guess so. I feel much better today, not
so drained."

"What's the word on food?"

"The word is, bring it on. I'm
starving."

They had an omelet with veggies, and home fries on
the side. Then they spent the day playing Scrabble, Monopoly, and watching more
movies, in between Maggie's naps. By the following day she had more energy and
stayed awake more. She knew Eric was holding off her mother and his mother from
coming over, and she was grateful for that. She'd needed this time to calm down
and just relax. She could do that with Eric, more than with any other person
she'd ever met. He could be exciting and stimulating to be around, but he could
also give her a peaceful environment, especially when he sang to her.

The morning of the wedding day arrived. Eric made
biscuits and eggs with cheese. She didn't have any nausea and they were both
happy about that. There was a knock on the door just as she ate her last bite
of eggs.

"I'll get it," Eric said. "Guess we
can't hold them off any longer."

She laughed and followed him into the living area.
Her mother and his mother came barreling through the doorway. Sophia was
carrying a long garment bag.

"The dress!" she announced.

Louise said, "Eric you need to leave. You
can't see her in the dress yet. Bad enough you saw her at all today before the
wedding. Go spend time with your father. Maggie can call you when we're done
here."

The wedding was to be in late afternoon at four
o'clock. She assumed this morning fitting was about making any last-minute
changes to the dress. Another knock at the door and Beatrice walked in carrying
a sewing basket.

"Good Lord, you didn't tell me about the
stairs, Sophia. Hello, Maggie."

Maggie rushed over to embrace the woman who'd been
at her mother's side all these years. Bea was an old friend. "Thanks so
much for doing this, Bea."

"And who else would you have? Now tell your
man here to leave so we can get this wedding happening."

Eric left, tossing her the cell phone she hadn't
been able to find for two days. "Call me later, darling."

He left and Bea said, "That is some fine
specimen of a man."

"He did turn out well," his mother said.

The dress was almost a perfect fit. The few pounds
she'd lost meant it had to be taken in at a couple of places, which Bea did
very quickly. When Maggie looked in the mirror she gasped. It was an
enchanting, fairy tale kind of dress. Long sleeves were covered in beads and
lace sewn to a material of semi-lustrous satin sheen which was the background
for the entire dress. The sleeves came to a point across her wrists onto her
hands. The neckline was a sweetheart shape cut low enough to allow the tops of
her breasts to show. The bodice was fitted tight to her body, encrusted with
beading over lace. Then the skirt flared out into a full drape around her body.
When they put the tiara, with the veil attached, on her head, she looked like a
pale fairy princess.

"It's amazing. Mom, you outdid yourself. I
love it!"

Her mother stood behind her and looked at the
mirror critically. Then she smiled. "Thank you, dear. I do believe it
works exactly how I planned. You will be a lovely bride."

"I'll need some make-up, but yes I think
you're right. And I can wear the new earrings Eric gave me for Christmas."

"I've got an old deep purple velvet cape that
Bea shortened for you to wear when you leave the building," Sophia said.

"And you can borrow a lace handkerchief from
me," Louise said. "I'll bring it to the church."

"Holly said she'd be providing a blue garter so
I think that covers all the bases," her mother said and gave her shoulders
a squeeze. "I think we're going to pull this wedding off."

Maggie got tears in her eyes as she looked at her
reflection and then at the three women surrounding her. She couldn't believe
how much everyone had done for her, and she was filled with love for all of
them.

"Oops, no time for tears," Louise said,
spotting the shiny eyes. "Let's pack this up and take it to the church.
They have a room there where you'll get changed. Just put your make-up on here,
and don't forget to wear the earrings.

"But you haven't told me anything. Did the
invitations go out? Are people coming?"

"Well, yes, they are, but mostly because
Maelynne told everyone about it."

"Maelynne..."

"She doesn't seem to be holding a grudge, is
what I've heard," her mother said.

"You guys know about that?"

"Yes, we've gotten all caught up on Sully
Point news," Louise said with a smirk. "Good for you for giving it to
the old biddy."

"What about the flowers?"

"Being installed at the church as we speak
under Holly's supervision," Sophia said. "And the food is all
arranged by Frank and Betsy, with some help from Cody. Anna is putting the
final touches on the cake this morning. Jason is overseeing the arrangement of
the buffet tables and other furniture necessities at his house in that enormous
room. Sam and Ed and Grant are making sure all the men are dressed
appropriately and on time. Julia is bringing the bridesmaid dresses to the
church."

"I haven't even seen them. What color are
they?"

"Violet, of course."

"Now you just rest up for a while, have a bit
of lunch later on, maybe take a nap. The limo will be here to pick you up at
three. Don't forget to let Eric know we've left," Louise said.

In moments the apartment was empty, and the
three women were gone.

"Wow," Maggie said aloud to the empty
space. "They're like generals commanding an army. A wedding army."

She plucked a chocolate out of a dish on the
coffee table, and then called Eric. He arrived home with his tux in a garment
bag over his shoulder.

"You survived them, I see," he said.

"Yes. They're terrific. I can't wait for you
to see the dress. It's a masterpiece."

"Well, I can't wait for you to see the
rings."

"Rings? Oh no, we forgot about wedding
rings!"

"Never fear. My father asked me about them
and I panicked. Then I calmed down and called Lucretia. She opened up her shop
and we found some bands in white gold. See what you think."