Taken (8 page)

“This is crazy, right?”

“No! It’s romantic and sweet!” Ashley answers over the phone.

I look across the hall towards Brandon and he looks up and our eyes connect. He smiles and my heart flutters just like it did the first time I ever saw him. He points at his mom’s room and I hold up a finger to indicate I’ll be there in a minute.

“There’s just one problem,” I say, turning my attention back to the phone call.

“What? Let me guess, it has something to do with that Kira woman.”

“No, no! I was going to say, the only problem is that my best friend is a thousand miles away and I kind of need her here with me if I’m getting hitched.”

“Well obviously! I’d beat you up if you got married without me.”

I burst out laughing. “I know. That’s why I booked you a flight. Can you leave tonight?”

“That depends,” she answers.

“On?”

“Is it a first class ticket?”

I roll my eyes. “Someone is getting mighty spoiled.”

She laughs. “I’m teasing. I would fly in a cardboard box if that’s what it took.”

“How would that even work?” I wrinkle my brow, my mind flooded with weird images of cardboard boxes with wings.

I need more sleep. That much is certain.

Brandon comes back out and gestures for me to hurry.

“Hey, I gotta go. Brandon needs me. I’ll text you the flight stuff. Hurry up and pack!”

“Yes ma’am! See you tonight.”

“Bye.”

I click off the call and scurry across the hall. “Is she okay?”

“Ask her yourself,” Brandon answers, ushering me into the room.

“Charity!” Sandy exclaims from the bed. She’s sitting up and beaming at me, and I’m so completely overwhelmed with joy that I start crying all over again as I round the bed to hug her.

Rick, Steve, and Marky are all standing on the other side of the bed, and it’s a night and day difference in the mood of the room. The relief is palpable.

“I’m so happy you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“I’m right as rain 1arling’,” she says.

I laugh through my tears and hold onto her a little tighter.

I let her go and nestle into Brandon’s side, wiping at the tears that just don’t seem to end. Rick tells us what the doctor relayed, that there was a reaction from two of her medications which caused a sudden blood pressure drop and knocked her out. The doctors want to keep her for a couple of days to make sure everything is back on track, but she is expected to be just fine.

“All I can say is they better get me patched up in time for your wedding!” Sandy says, when Rick finishes.

“Well you’re in luck Mom. You’re going to get a front row seat, right here, tomorrow afternoon.”

What I wouldn’t give for a picture of their faces as they all snap their attention to Brandon.

“What do you mean?” Sandy asks.

“Charity and I are going to get married here at the chapel tomorrow afternoon.”

“Wait, I’m confused,” Rick says. “What about the TV show?”

“It’s a long story Dad.”

“In a nutshell…it’s been a nightmare,” I summarize.

Brandon laughs. “Yes. We were talking about it today and we want something small, family only—”

“And Ashley,” I interject.

“Yes, and Ashley. And today when we went to the chapel, it just felt right.”

“So, tomorrow afternoon?” Sandy asks.

“Do you think you’ll be up for it Mom?”

Sandy nods in confirmation. “I would have done this a long time ago if I had known that was all it would take to get you two married!”

Everyone laughs, but a part of what she says sticks with me. I think back to the day I saw Brandon at the park when he had just learned of his mom’s diagnosis. That was really the tipping point that started us on the journey back to each other. And now, being here with her, has led us to making one of the most important decisions of our lives, together. It’s almost like in some way, she’s been a guardian angel over us the whole time.

I lean forward and whisper “thank you” in her ear before giving her another hug.

She smiles and winks at me, not even having to ask what for.

The next eight hours blaze by in a crazy flurry of activity. Our secret wedding plans have nothing on Kira’s PowerPoint and spreadsheet circus, but there are still a lot of things to be done. Fortunately, everyone takes a divide-and-conquer approach and between us all, everything gets done with time to spare.

At the end of the night, Brandon—driving Steve’s car—drops me off at my parents’ house before he goes back to his parents’ house for the night. We decided to be a little bit traditional and spend the last night before the wedding apart from each other.

We linger in the car, not wanting to say goodnight just yet.

“You ready for all this?” he asks.

“Beyond ready. I’ve been waiting for this day for…let’s see……going on four years here.”

He laughs. “You ever think you’re going to let that go?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m pretty sure we’ll be ninety and I’ll gather all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren around so I can tell them about the time their Grandpa Brandon abandoned me before our wedding only to come back three years later to beg me to take him back.”

He puts his hands on his chest. “Ouch, right there in the heart.”

I laugh and playfully shove him.

“You’re going to have them all chasing after me, beating me up for hurting their most beloved Grandma Charity.”

“Good!”

He laughs along.

When our laughter dies down, the mood shifts and he takes my face in his hands, suddenly very serious.

“I love you Charity. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Hey, save something for your vows,” I say, trying to chase away the tears that instantly form in my eyes at his words.

“I could talk about how much I love you all day and still not run out of things to say,” he replies.

I can’t speak, so I lean forward in my seat and press my lips to his, hoping that my kiss can silently tell him that I feel the exact same way.

It’s a kiss I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

“There you are!” Ashley exclaims as soon as I walk in the door of my parents’ house. “You have some very important visitors.”

I crunch my brow at her but all she does is smile. She gestures for me to follow her into the living room. I gasp when I see Valerie sitting on the sofa with little Lola Joy cradled in her arms.

“Val!” I whisper, not wanting to wake the baby.

“Meet your niece, Lola Joy,” she says as I gently sit down on the couch next to her.

“She’s gorgeous.”

Valerie smiles at me and for the first time in a long time, I feel connected to her again.

Maybe those pregnancy hormones have finally dissipated.

“Do you want to hold her?”

I nod and suck in my breath, as Valerie eases her into my arms.

Time seems to stand still for the second time that night, as I stare down at my little niece’s sweet face. I don’t know how much time passes before she opens her eyes and looks up at me, and I lose it all over again.

“I didn’t think I had any more tears left,” I say.

Everyone laughs softly.

“Thanks for being here,” I say, looking back at Valerie. “This means a lot to me.”

“Of course. Listen, Charity, I know things haven’t been smooth between us for a while now. And for that, I want to apologize. I was very judgmental of you and Brandon and I shouldn’t have been.”

Woah. Talk about coming out of left field.

“I think it came from a place of wanting to protect you, but I took it too far. Do you think you can forgive me? I don’t want to fight with you anymore.”

“Of course,” I say instantly. “Can I ask what changed your mind?”

She looks down, almost embarrassed. “To tell you the truth, I watched your show when it was on the other night. Seeing you guys tell your side of the story helped me realize that this is all for real and that you are really happy together.”

What do you know? That miserable show wasn’t completely pointless.

Lola starts to fuss and my mom swoops in to take her from me. Once my arms are free I lean over and hug Valerie. “Thank you.”

By the time I say goodnight to everyone I am completely spent and have no trouble drifting off to sleep.

***

This is it. This is the moment my soul has been waiting for, for so long.

The chapel doors open and I’m on my father’s arm, walking down the aisle, towards Brandon.

There aren’t ten thousand roses or a world-famous orchestra or doves to release at the first kiss. But it wouldn’t matter, because even if there were, I wouldn’t be able to see any of it anyway. The only thing I can see is the smile on Brandon’s face and the tears in his eyes, as I step beside him at the altar.

“Hi,” I whisper.

“Hi.” He takes my hand. “You look beautiful.”

Since my designer gown wasn’t a possibility, I had Ashley bring me one of my dresses from the house in LA to wear for the ceremony. It’s a pale pink dress made out of a silky fabric. I don’t have a bouquet, but Ashley bought me a single pink rose from the hospital gift shop that she pinned back behind my ear right before I made my entrance.

The preacher begins to speak, but Brandon and I aren’t paying attention at all, completely consumed by each other.

“Brandon, would you like to recite the vows you wrote for Charity?”

Brandon lets go of my hands only long enough to retrieve a small piece of paper from his jacket pocket.

“Charity, last night I told you that I could talk about how much I love you all day and still not run out of things to say. Well, I guess now is my chance to prove that,” he begins.

Everyone laughs softly and I smile at the memory of his words.

“I also told you that you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I got to thinking about that statement and decided it’s not really accurate.”

What? I pinch the back of my hand, testing to make sure this isn’t just another one of my wedding nightmares.

“What I mean, is that you’re not an event. You didn’t ‘happen
’’
’
to me. It’s deeper than that. You’re a part of me, a piece of my heart and soul. And without you, I can’t function, I can’t be anything. My world only makes sense when you’re in it.

“I wish that I could promise you perfection, because that is what you truly deserve. I can’t give you perfection, but what I can promise is that I will never stop loving you and that I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you the happiest woman on earth, because you have made me the happiest man on earth.”

It’s official. I’m ugly-crying. Tears are streaming down my cheeks faster than I can swipe them away.

Brandon slips the paper back into his jacket and reaches out and gently takes my face in his hands. Using his thumbs, he wipes away my tears and I kiss the palm of his hand.

We linger in this moment before the preacher interrupts to ask me to recite my vows.

“That’s a tough act to follow,” I say and everyone laughs again.

Before I speak, I take a moment to look around me, at each of the faces gathered around us—my parents, Ashley, Valerie and her husband Tom and baby Lola Joy, Brandon’s parents, Steve, and Marky. I smile at them all before turning back to Brandon again.

“One of the things I’ve learned recently is that love isn’t always like it is in the movies. I think there was a time when I wanted that picture-perfect romance, but we’ve found something so much deeper by going through the good and the bad together. The love we have found along the way is not something I would trade for any fairy tale. So today, I can stand here and honestly say that I know I can make it through anything, as long as I have you standing by my side.”

“And that’s exactly where I will be,” Brandon adds.

“With that said, Brandon, you may kiss your bride.”

“With pleasure,” he says, quietly enough that I’m the only one who can hear him. He takes me in his arms and gently dips me back before going in for the kiss. It’s sweet and slow and absolutely takes my breath away.

He kisses me again, as the small crowd cheers us on. When I finally catch my breath, I exhale in a sigh of complete bliss.

Reality…or rather the reality show…comes crashing down hard three days later when we begrudgingly return to LA. After the wedding, we stayed in Seattle at a very fancy hotel enjoying our first days as newlyweds in peace and quiet. No cameras, no production crew, and most importantly, no Kira.

However, it was a short-lived freedom, and this morning we are meeting with Brandon’s agent, Roger for what I can only imagine will be a scolding for getting married. So far, Brandon has only told Roger about the elopement, and while Brandon says he took the news well over the phone, I’m sure it will be a different story in person. When we walk into his office, we are both stunned to see Kira and Taylor already seated across from the desk.

It takes a whole lot of willpower—and a slight shove from Brandon—to keep walking into the room and to not turn and bolt at the sight of them.

We all exchange pleasantries. Brandon updates them on his mom’s condition, and then a long awkward pause takes over.

After a few beats, Roger clears his throat.

Here it comes.

“Brandon, Charity, I’m sure you can guess why I called this meeting together.”

“I’m assuming it has something to do with us getting married off the clock,” Brandon answers. 

Kira looks completely confused, so Brandon continues. “Charity and I got married last week at the hospital where my mom was staying.”

“What do you mean? You’re already married?”

Oh boy…this is going to get ugly.

“How could you do this?” she hisses. “This will completely ruin the show!” Kira booms.

“I’m sorry, but I disagree. The show is still going to happen as planned. We will still go through with the wedding as if it’s real,” I interrupt.

“But it won’t
be
real
! You’ve compromised the authenticity and the integrity of it,” she argues.

I let out a hollow laugh. “Authenticity? Really? Kira, everything about this show has been fake. Fake meetings, fake planning, fake conversations about planning, fake, fake, fake. The
only
thing that is real is Brandon and me and our love. This is our life; it goes beyond some six-week miniseries, and we had to do the right thing for us, for our forever.”

Brandon gives me a reassuring squeeze, before adding his piece. “Contractually, we are holding up our end of the deal. I’ve had my legal team review the documents. There is nothing in the paperwork that says we have to get legally married on camera. It states that we have a wedding on camera. And we are still willing to do that, at this point.”

“But what if everyone finds out?” Kira asks.

“First of all, they won’t. No one who was in attendance is going to rat us out to the media. And secondly, even if they do, so what? Everyone knows reality TV is a sham anyway,” Brandon answers.

Kira looks like she’s about to cry. I feel a little prick of guilt in the back of my mind, but I don’t hold back. “Listen, we’re done talking about this. Take it or leave it.”

“Fine,” she huffs. “But no one outside of this room is to hear a word of this. As far as the crew knows, everything is still on track.”

We agree and wrap the meeting up before heading back home, without the crew, to get settled back in together.

***

One week later, right on schedule, Brandon and I stand before a very different crowd of people and recite our wedding vows all over again. This time around, there are ten thousand roses, a live orchestra playing, and doves released at our first kiss. I’m decked out in my designer wedding gown with twelve bridesmaids at my side.

It’s a big, crazy, extravagant circus.

And you know what? It’s beautiful.