Something to Talk About (43 page)

“Mr. Cochran, I think you were a better father than you know. Look at your children; they’re all wonderful people. You were a good father,” she insisted. “You raised them to be strong, confident adults with beautiful families and they all love you dearly.”

“Not Adam. Adam doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, Alicia, and I can’t blame him. The fact that he was able to do this thing for John, that means a lot to me because he didn’t have to do it.”

“No, he didn’t. But he couldn’t turn his back on his brother and part of that came from you, Mr. Cochran. You and Adam will work through this, I know you will.” Martha and Leah returned with cups of hot tea for Alicia and Benny and one for Nina, which Alicia took over to her. Nina accepted it with her usual clipped thank-you, but Alicia wasn’t put off by her tone. “Do you need more sugar? I think
Mami
brought some extra back with her.”

“No, this is fine. You don’t have to be nice to me; I was pretty nasty to you-1 had no right to judge you and say the things I did.”

“Nina, please stop apologizing! In the first place, I’d have clowned worse than you if Adam had been ill. And in the second place ...” Alicia took a sip of tea and
looked sheepish. “I wasn’t exactl
y gent
eel myself. I curse quite fluentl
y in Spanish,” she mumbled into her cup.

The two women looked at each other and laughed quietly. It was enough that they’d turned a corner in their path to friendship, but the moment was made even more special by the presence of Adam’s and John’s surgeon.

“The proce
dure went brilliantl
y. There’s every reason to believe that they w
ill have a spectacular recovery,
”
Dr.
Cortopassi
assured the families.

Alicia’s eyes closed in a prayer of thanksgiving and she didn’t hear too much more of what
else
was said. She did hear the doctor say they could see John and Adam in post-op for just a minute before they went to the recovery room.
 
Alicia wiped her eyes as she and Nina were taken to the post-operative suite where John and Adam lay on gu
rn
eys waiting to be transported to the recovery room. Alicia stroked the side of Adam’s face and said his name softly. His eyelids
fluttered once, and then he opened them just enough to see her and smile before they closed again.

“Allie. I love you,
c
hic
a
.”

Nina stood next to John’s gurn
ey and searched his face with her eyes, not daring to
touch him or speak, unti
l his head suddenly turned. Her eyes widened in surprise as he mumbled something that sounded like “Miss Parker.” She touched his hand and was stunned when he returned the touch with a slight squeeze of his fingers. They had to leave the area and were told the patients would be in recovery for a couple of hours and would then be going to their rooms.
 
Alicia wanted to weep with joy, she wanted to dance and sing with happiness, and instead she did the next best thing and hugged Nina. After a moment of motionless shock, Nina hugged her back.

***

Adam looked up expectantly as Alicia entered his office. He was back at work for half days now, although he insisted he could handle a full day. Alicia prevailed, however, insisting that he follow the doctor’s orders to the letter. Now she looked as though she could use some time off work. She was gorgeous, as always, wearing a chic and sexy slim-fitting wrap dress in navy with a pair of navy shoes that made him want to lock the door and have his way with her. He was staring at the graceful shoes with the low-cut vamp and enticing ankle straps so intently he missed what she was saying.

“Are you listening to me, Adam? I said the wedding is off, I can’t do this,” she said with true panic in her voice.

Adam rose from his drawing table and locked his arms around her. “Allie, baby, what’s the matter? Have I done something I don’t know about?” he teased
her
.

“It’s my aunts, Adam. They’re driving me insane with this wedding. Dresses and menus and themes and venues and invitations, I’m losing my mind. I don’t want any of this, I really don’t.”

Her face was so unhappy Adam had to kiss her and nuzzle her neck until she felt more relaxed in his arms. He walked her over to the long sofa across from the bank of windows and sat down with her in his lap.

“Tell me about it, baby. Tell me what would make you happy,” he said, smoothing her eyebrow with a long finger.

“I guess I don’t mind the idea of a big wedding, but it’s going to take so long to plan.” She sighed. “I don’t want to wait that long to get married. Everything doesn’t have to be color-coo
rdinated and exquisitely formal.  T
hose are
Gigi’s
words, not mine
;
I just want it to be happy and fun and soon. I want to be your wife as soon as possible. Is that so wrong?”

Adam smiled down at her and kissed her temple, slowly drawing the tip of his tongue
gendy
down to her sensitive ear, lightl
y tracing its curves and making Alicia squirm with pleasure. “Adam, stop it,” she moaned. “You know that drives me crazy.”

He relented and tried to look deeply serious. “You know, I’m not opposed to a big wedding, I think it’ll be fun. But I’m also all in favor of us being together as soon as possible. So, I propose a compromise, something I think you’ll like very much,” he promised.

***

Alicia still couldn’t believe they were really going to do it She and Adam were in the Range Rover heading for
 
Idlewild
with Nina and John in the backseat and Roxy and Bryant following them in Roxy’s new Chrysler 300. The only people who knew about this were the aunts and they’d been sworn to secrecy. Adam’s idea had been a wonderfully simple one: they were going to elope. As he put it, they could have My Big Fat Cuban Wedding later. Right now they were going to have something quiet, intimate, and simple, just for them.

John and Nina had different reactions to
Idlewild
and Baldwin. John thought the towns were charming and picturesque, Nina thought they made Ann Arbor, which she considered a backwater, look like Manhattan.

“My God, there isn’t even a Blockbuster here!” she said in horror.

“Yes, but there’s Video
Schmideo
where you can get a really great pizza
and
use the computer to check your e-mail. You can’t do that at Blockbuster,” Adam pointed out. Nina gave him a look of disdain but held her tongue. They had a brief tour of the area with Adam taking them to the site where the house was being built.

“Next summer, John, we’ll all be able to come here for vacations. Actually, the house will be done in time for Thanksgiving; maybe we can all come up here then. What do you think, Allie?”

“I think
yes,"
she said happily. “And I think we’d better get ready.”

They went back to the Morton Inn, the venerable motel that had served generations of
Idlewilders
. Nina and Roxy insisted that Adam go to John’s room to get dressed because they needed
th
e privacy for Alicia. He agreed good-naturedly and in an hour or so he was ready to concede they were completely correct
.
The
feeling of anticipation was wonderful; it was exciting and humbling all at once. He didn’t see Alicia when he walked into the Baldwin Church of Christ although he looked for her. The women had left the motel before the men and were helping Alicia get dressed at the church. They were going to leave by the back door and come around to the front of the church for her grand entrance.

Adam, John, and Bryant went to take their places at the front of the small church. Roxy and Nina, each wearing a beautiful outfit that didn’t match anything but looked perfect on them, walked in next, Nina leading the way and Ro
xy
following.
Finally, it was time for Alicia to enter the church. She didn’t mind one bit that she wasn’t walking down the aisle on her father’s
arm, because they would do that later. She did mind that her family wouldn’t be there, other than the aunts who were already seated. But all she really cared about was becoming one with Adam, right then, right there.

She was looking down at her bouquet when she entered or she wouldn’t have been so surprised when she felt a hand on her elbow. She looked up into the face of her father, Jose, who was holding his arm out for her to take.

“You didn’t think we were going to miss giving our baby girl in marriage, do you?”

Her tear-filled eyes also saw her mother, Leah, Martha and Benny, Marielle, and the rest of the Cochran brothers with their wives and children. Raphael and Carlos were missing, but this was a Saturday in August and the Tigers were playing. Her aunts were there, though, all lo
oking fabulous. She was so startl
ed to see everyone she could feel the tears starting, but the deep, sonorous voice of Brother Sims calmed her down.

“There should be no tears on this day of joy. Come forward, daughter, and claim your husband.”

Brother Sims was the handsome, articulate, and totally eloquent Minister Emeritus of the Baldwin Church of Christ and a very good friend of the aunts who’d asked him to officiate.

As Jose escorted Alicia down the aisle to meet Adam, a small commotion at the back of the church made everyone turn around. “We object!”

It was Raphael and Carlos, accompanied by a very large Michigan State Trooper.

“The game was rained out and we may or may not have been speeding, it’s a matter of interpretation,” Carlos said hurriedly as he attempted to put on his sport coat. Raphael agreed.

“I’m pretty sure we were somewhat within the speed limit but we had to see Patti get married.”

Brother Sims laughed out loud at the spectacle. “I’m sure we can this all straightened out afterwards. If not, I’m sure we can make bail for you. Now, let’s get these young people married.”

He performed the ceremony with tender humor and deep faith. It was a sweet, memorable joining of two people who loved each other completely. As the Church of Christ did not use musical instruments, all the singing was a cappella, which made for lovely, spirited to Sunday services. To everyone’s surprise, however, there was a soloist at the wedding. Nina sang “The Lord’s Prayer” in a contralto so clear and sweet it was like the singing of angels. If Adam had been facing the audience while she was singing he’d have exploded with laughter; everyone was turned toward Nina with the same look of total shock on their faces.

The only thing Adam was looking at, however, was Alicia, the woman he would love the rest of his life, the woman who knew him better than he knew himself, the woman who made him
complete. When she appeared at the back of the church, Adam felt an inexplicable burning sensation in his eyes, something suspiciously like tears. She looked beautiful. Totally sweet, feminine, and almost innocent in the ivory blouse and matching lace skirt he’d bought for her on their first shopping spree. Her hair was soft and sleekly arranged off her face and there was an ivory rosebud tucked behind one ear with a spray of baby’s breath. She carried a bouquet of gardenias and white roses and she looked composed, but he could feel her trembling with emotion. She handed her bouquet to Roxy, and Adam took both her hands. His profound joy was obvious. He loved the sound of the vows that united them for eternity.

“Do you, Alicia Evangeline Guadalupe Fuentes, take Adam to be your lawful wedded husband?”

Alicia said, “I do,” in a clear, sure voice, even though Adam was mouthing “
Guadalupe
?” with raised eyebrows.

“Do you, Adam Brantley Cochran, take Alicia to be your lawful wedded wife?”

“Yes, I do,” Adam said ferventl
y.

As Brother Sims drew the ceremo
ny to a close with some poignantl
y memorable remarks, Adam and Alicia looked at each other with pure delight
.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you back,” she whispered with her heart in her eyes. “I’m going to make you happy for the rest of our lives, Adam.”

“You already do, baby.”

When Brother Sims pronounced them man and wife, he didn’t mind a bit that they took an unusually long time to seal their vows with a kiss, and, judging from the soft
ahhhs
from their assorted relatives, no one else minded, either.

“I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Adam Brantley Cochran. What God has joined together, let no man put
asunder.
”

Adam and Alicia smiled at the loved ones gathered to celebrate with them and at each other, then walked down the aisle to start their life together.

Epilogue

The brilliant coral of the setting sun spread its radiance over the ocean as Adam and Alicia lounged on the lanai of their honeymoon retreat. Alicia was looking at the brilliant sunset with a very private smile on her face. Adam was enjoying the sight of his bride’s reverie but he felt compelled to discover the source of her joy. They were seated on a big double chaise and he reached for her, pulling her into his embrace and his asked her why she was smiling.