Seasons (40 page)

“Oh Lord!” Jaci mumbled under her breath.

While she battled to control her rampant emotions, she mentally pulled at the thread of memories, commanding the tapestry
of her past to unravel, but knowing that remnants would always be a part of her. As she stood at the altar, clutching Jason’s
hand, she silently thanked God for the memories, moments, mercies, and even manipulations that had brought her to this point,
and for the beginning of a new season.

“Brothers and sisters!” Her pastor’s voice resonated over the microphone. “We are joyfully gathered here this afternoon to
witness and share in the joining of two lives—two paths, as they merge into one. God has done a great and mighty thing in
bringing this couple together. And we praise Him for what He will do in and through their life together. Before we go any
further, let us pray.” The ceremony passed in a blur. Jaci couldn’t have told anyone what happened from that point on. She
was totally zoned out.

A
fter what seemed to be an endless round of picture taking, they ran out of the church and through a flurry of bubbles, applause,
and comments from the crowd gathered on both sides of the sidewalk. “God bless you!” “Beautiful! Just beautiful!” “Ya’ll better
show up at the reception!” “No detours!”

They reached the waiting limousine and sank gratefully into the seat. As the driver pulled away from the church, Jaci looked
back at the dispersing crowd with disbelief, then said nervously, “I can’t believe all those people showed up. The church
was packed.”

When he didn’t respond, she looked up at him questioningly.

Jason was looking down at her with “that look.” “Hello, wife,” he said softly.

Jaci relaxed into his embrace as she felt their love encompass them. She looked into his eyes and answered in a voice filled
with so much emotion it shook, “Hello, husband. I love you.”

He kissed her softly, then groaningly deepened the kiss. “I don’t want to go to no darn reception. I want to be alone with
my wife.”

Jaci giggled. “Sorry, honey. You know we have to. I think things went very well. I gotta tell you though, I was tripping really
bad until I got your note and this beautiful rose.” She still had the rose clutched in her hand along with her bridal bouquet.
“Sister Sadie was having a hard time trying to calm me down. I was so afraid something would go wrong. Thank You, Heavenly
Father, for causing everything to go well,” she said softly.

“Amen to that!” Jason said. “You look so beautiful, honey. I know I wasn’t supposed to but I had to come and walk with you.
I couldn’t help myself.”

“You almost made me lose it!” She punched him in the side. “I was already struggling to hold it together when I saw you crying.
Then when you did that, the only thing that kept me from boo-hooing right there in the middle of the aisle was the fact that
I know I don’t look good when I cry. And I didn’t want to scare all of our guests out of the church.”

“Baby, those people weren’t going anywhere. They were as captivated by you as I was.”

She threw her arms around him. “Don’t you dare get me started.” Her voice quivered with tears. “I still have to get through
this reception.”

The reception had been going on for a couple of hours and Jason was frustrated. He was ready to have his wife all to himself.
Jaci had somehow got her second wind and was enjoying herself. She kept expressing amazement that the grand ballroom of the
fashionable hotel was packed. They’d noticed that members from both their churches were in abundance. Jason’s employees and
surprisingly, quite a number of Jaci’s coworkers and citizens she had worked with, were mixed in with their large assortment
of family and friends.

After greeting people in the long reception line, then barely touching the lavish meal, they laughed at the numerous toasts
and savored their first dance as husband and wife. Afterward, they were constantly separated, dancing with others and accepting
endless congratulations and well wishes. Jaci moved about the room, laughing and talking to people and thanking them again
for attending. If Jason turned around to speak to someone, Jaci once again was drawn away from his side. He soon tired of
it and looked around for his brother and Walt.

“Ron. Go tell the limo driver we’re about ready to leave. Walt, find Sister Sadie and tell her we’ll be ready to leave in
about ten or fifteen minutes or as soon as I can get Jaci out of here. Heck, I don’t even know where she is right now. She
keeps wandering off.”

“There she is.” Ron pointed toward the opposite side of the room. “You sure you’re ready to leave? Looks like she’s having
a good time.”

“She is having a good time. But I know she’s about to collapse from exhaustion, even though she might not look like it,” Jason
replied. “We’re leaving, so go get the limo. We’re going to the house to change clothes, and then we’re hitting the road.
I’m planning to be gone by the time this thing is over. I’m holding you guys responsible for getting the people out of our
houses tomorrow. I’ll be in touch sometime next week.”

More than thirty minutes passed before they were finally in the limousine and on their way home. They rushed into the house
and upstairs to the master bedroom. “This bed looks so inviting, I wish I could just fall into it and stay there,” Jaci told
him, looking longingly at the bed. “Will you unzip me? I think I’ll take a quick shower. We have time, don’t we?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” He walked over to her and unzipped her dress, which immediately fell from her shoulders to the floor.
She bent to pick it up, not realizing the impact her scantily attired body was having on his senses. She went to the walk-in
closet to hang up the dress, came back a few minutes later wearing nothing but a long robe, and walked into the bathroom.
Jason hadn’t moved. He still stood in the middle of the floor, fighting a battle he knew was already lost. The sound of running
water broke his immobility and he quickly moved into action, shedding his clothes on the way to the bathroom.

Jaci let out a little scream when the door to the glass-enclosed shower stall opened and he stepped in with her. “Now, I know
you don’t expect me to miss an opportunity for us to take our first shower together, do you?” A second later, her look of
surprise turned to one of mischievousness, and she grinningly said, “I don’t think this is a good idea. We may never make
it to Galveston. Ohhh! Watch it! I don’t want to get my hair wet! Get out, Jason!” His lips captured hers, effectively stopped
her words, and they were both soon groaning. A few minutes later, the shower door opened and he picked her up and headed to
the bed. “Sweetheart, you’re so beautiful and I love you so much.” He spoke softly to her as he laid her on the bed and began
to kiss her in a way that told her their time of restraint was at an end.

A long while later, Jaci, who was fighting to keep from drifting off to sleep, roused herself, pulled out of his arms, and
crawled out of the bed. “Jason, if we don’t get up we’re going to go to sleep and people are going to be coming in from the
reception finding us in bed. If we hurry we may still be able to get out of here before they get here.” As she spoke, she
walked into the large closet, pulled the door partly closed, and started pulling on some freshly starched jeans and a comfortable
top.

Jason lay there with his hands behind his head and a lazy smile on his face. “Why did you close the door? I was enjoying the
view. And what would be wrong with them finding us in bed?” he asked. “If we want to stay here the rest of the night in our
home and in our bed, there’s nothing anyone can say about it. We’re married, remember?”

J
aci made a frustrated sound. “Baby, please, get up!” she yelled at him. “I don’t want everybody knowing we detoured from our
plan. It’s embarrassing.”

Totally unconcerned about his nakedness, he stood, walked over to her, and pulled her into his arms. “Sweetheart, you may
as well get over being embarrassed. Everybody knows what we’ll be doing tonight, and every chance I get from now on. In fact,
why don’t we lock the door, get back in bed, and forget them. They’ll get the message.”

Jaci looked at him in agitation. “No. Jason, please hurry and get dressed so we can go. Please!”

“All right, all right! But I don’t know why you’re carrying on like this.” He started putting clothes on just as they heard
a car pull into the driveway and doors slam.

“Oh no!” Jaci groaned, looking as though she wanted to hide under the bed.

By the time they made it downstairs, several people, accompanied by Patrick who had let them in, were sitting around the family
room with shoes kicked off, making themselves comfortable.

“What are ya’ll doing still here? We figured ya’ll would be in Galveston by now,” one of Jason’s cousins blurted out before
thinking. “Oh. I guess ya’ll must have gotten delayed or something.”

Everybody started laughing, while an embarrassed Jaci walked into the kitchen. “Anybody want something to drink?” she asked.

“Yeah.” She got several responses. “Hey everybody, why don’t we order some pizza and play some cards?” another relative asked.

The suggestion met with enthusiastic approval and the guests ran upstairs to get into comfortable clothes. Jaci picked up
the phone to place the order for pizzas, but Jason stopped her before she could dial.

“I know these people are not hungry, not after watching them eat like they were starved just a little while ago. If they want
something else, they’ll have to order it themselves.” He laid the phone down and hugged her tightly. “You just can’t help
it, can you? You just have to try to take care of everybody’s needs. Well this week, the only one you have to worry about
is me. And with all these people in here, I’m ready to go so I can have you to myself.” He kissed her lightly, then again,
deepening the kiss and pulling her closer.

“Man, unhand that woman! What’s wrong with you?”

They jumped apart and looked around to see a new group arriving, led by Ron. He was followed by C.J., Anita, Gina, and Lena.
Walt and the other groomsmen brought up the rear.

“We’re about to get the real party started,” Ron announced. “Ya’ll may as well stick around at this point, cause I know ya’ll
ain’t been packing all this time. What happened to your hair, Sis? It wasn’t looking like that when you left the reception.”

Jaci walked over to Ron and hit him in the chest. “If you don’t want me to tell these beautiful women all about your dirty,
low-down ways, I suggest you shut up. I know you’re trying real hard to impress them.”

“Ron, man, you better back off!” Walt told him. “The last time this woman told you off in this room, it wasn’t nothing nice!
Remember?”

Ron laughed. “Oh yeah. I do remember.” He held his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, Sis. You know I was just kidding.”

Jaci walked into the family room where the others had gathered, sat down, and began to talk about the wedding. As they rehashed
everything, the guys came in and put their two cents in. Jason squeezed into the recliner with Jaci. As the conversation continued,
he hugged her close and whispered, “You were right. We should have gotten out of here while we had the chance.”

“It was a nice wedding, guys,” Walt told them. Then he spoiled it and made everybody laugh when he continued, “It almost—not
quite—but almost, made me want to think about getting married. That didn’t last long though. My sanity returned real quick!”

Jason awoke early the next morning to the sound of waves crashing against the seawall. He smiled as he remembered. Yesterday.
The wedding. The reception. The impromptu party. Last night. Last night! It had definitely been the best day—and night—of
his life.

They arrived at the beautiful beach house in Galveston much later than planned, tired and unbelievably hungry. Jaci slept
all the way there. After they unpacked the car, then made sandwiches from the well-stocked refrigerator, they sat on the deck
outside the lavishly furnished bedroom to watch the moon’s reflection on waters that seemed never ending. Rubbing his thumb
over the back of her hand, he said, “Sweetheart, as vast as those waters out there are, I want you to know that my love for
you is larger. I know the battles you’ve had to fight to bring you to this moment. As much as it’s in my power, you will never
regret becoming my wife. I love you with all my heart, and in honor of this our wedding day and as a pledge to our love and
our life together, I have a gift for you.”

Jaci gasped. “Oh my God! Jason, I . . . wish you hadn’t done that. I don’t have anything for you.”

“You have yourself to give to me. That’s enough,” he answered as he went inside and came back a few minutes later with a large
envelope. He pulled a large stack of papers out and handed them to Jaci.

It was dark, so there was no way she could read what it was. “What is this?” she asked. When he didn’t respond, she stood,
went into the bedroom, turned on the lights, and sat down on the bed to read the papers. Before she got very far, she looked
up at him in alarm before looking back down at the papers.

“Jason, I don’t believe this! You actually remembered!” Her voice quivered and she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold back
the tears threatening to overflow. “You bought this . . . for me?”

“Yep, it’s yours. Lock, stock, and barrel. The only condition that comes with it is that you will always treat it as our special
place. I don’t mean you can’t invite other people down here to visit. I just mean that this is our place to come whenever
we need to get away and spend some uninterrupted time together. I’ve never forgotten what you said about watching the sunset
and the sunrise with your husband, and being in harmony with God, nature, and each other. I want this to be our place to come
when we need to get back in harmony with God and each other.”

Jaci cried, “Sweetheart, this is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for me.” Jason told her he’d rented the beach
house for the week. She stood and walked over to where he stood by the balcony doors. “You know, I would have been happy to
spend our honeymoon right here. We’re so tired, I’m afraid we won’t reap the full benefits of the cruise.” They had reservations
for a five-day cruise from Monday through Friday and planned to come back to enjoy the beach house until Sunday night or Monday
morning.