Unforeseen, page 19
“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it,” I admitted.
“That’s why it’s fun. No thinking. Just tell me what two names you come up with first.”
“Hmmm,” I mumbled.
“Stop! I said no thinking,” he chuckled.
“OK, fine, Josie and Dominic.”
“Mine are Luke and Leia.”
I eyed him suspiciously before responding, “We are not naming our children after Star Wars characters.”
Shrugging, he laughed, “At least I didn’t suggest Anakin.”
We sat in silence for a few more minutes, waiting for the results. “Do you think it’s time yet?” Blake asked after three minutes had passed.
“Yeah, I think so. Do you want to look, or do you want me to look?” I asked, rising from the edge of the bed.
“It’s up to you,” he said, standing beside me.
“You do it. I don’t think I can look,” I said, sitting back down.
Blake walked back into the bathroom, and quickly returned with the stick. Judging by the look on his face, I knew the results of the test before he even spoke the words.
“Well, I really wasn’t expecting that,” I said, glancing at the ceiling. “I guess it really was just some indigestion.”
“One day it’ll be positive, Baby. You can bet on that,” he said, walking up to the bed and pulling my head into his chest. He stroked the back of my head for several minutes as I cried into his shirt for the child we’d lost, yet I’d never even carried.
Cassidy
Six weeks later
AFTER MEETING WITH clients for most of the afternoon and early evening, I’d been dreaming of coming home, slipping into my favorite yoga pants, and lounging on the couch while eating an entire carton of Ben and Jerry’s. With Blake’s parents coming to town for a visit, I wasn’t planning on seeing him after work. Instead we’d made plans for the following evening. Gathering my things, my phone suddenly rang in my purse. Digging through all my junk, I found it just before it went to voicemail.
“Hey,” I said, answering the call. “Did your parents get in?”
“Well, that’s actually why I’m calling,” he said. “Their flight out was canceled and they won’t be arriving until morning. Do you want to get dinner? I was thinking that new place we’ve been eyeing would be good. Brooke said she’d watch the kids for us.”
“But, I’ve been dreaming all day about yoga pants, the TV, and Ben and Jerry’s,” I pouted.
“You better be talking about the ice cream,” he deadpanned.
“Um, yeah, it’s delicious,” I said, fluttering my eyes and moaning.
“OK, so scratch dinner out then. How about I just bring the kids over and we can grab a pizza and eat ice cream? Especially if you’re going to moan like that while you’re eating it.”
“And you, Mitchell, really are the perfect man.”
“I know, but do me a favor and remember that the next time I fuck up,” he laughed.
“Mmmhmmm,” I agreed.
“Good enough for me. I’ll see you in twenty. Love you, Carpenter.”
“Love you, too,” I responded, ending the call.
As I lounged on the couch, watching Maddy and Ben play, waiting for Blake to bring me a big, heaping bowl of Ben and Jerry’s, Kaity ran out into the living room from the kitchen where she’d been helping scoop the ice cream.
“Mommy, can you be Maddy and Ben’s mommy, too?” she asked out of nowhere.
“Kaity, Baby, where did that idea come from,” I asked, looking over toward Blake who’d entered the room and taken sudden interest in the conversation. “Brendan has both a mommy and a daddy. I just wondered if Maddy and Ben could have you as their mommy so they’d have both a mommy and a daddy, too.”
I took a minute before I could answer my daughter. How was I about to explain death to her? I knew the day would come eventually, but I wasn’t at all prepared for it today. Truthfully, I had dreamed of Kaity calling Blake, Dad. She’d never had a daddy to read her a bedtime story, sit with her when she had a fever, or rock her to sleep after a nightmare. But, Maddy and Ben—they had a mother. A mother who loved them as a mother should. She had dreams and aspirations for them. I could never replace her. I knew I loved them as my own, but I’d already made the decision that I would always remain Cass.
“They do have a mommy, Baby. They have a mommy in heaven who loves them very much,” I said, biting the inside of my cheek and doing my best not to cry.
Kaity looked over in Blake’s direction and then back at me before responding. I could almost see the little wheels working overtime in her head. “OK, well if they already have a mommy . . . can Blake be my daddy? I don’t have a daddy here or in heaven,” she reminded me.
“Kaity, I don’t think . . .”
Blake stopped me mid-sentence as he slid on the couch, sandwiching Kaity between the two of us.
“Kaity, I would be honored if you called me, Daddy,” he told her, running his fingers through her fine blond hair.
“And, you, Cassidy, I would be even more honored if you allowed my children to call you ‘Mommy.’ It’s true, they will always have a mother watching over them from heaven, but they need a mother here on earth, too.”
I shook my head. Not because I wanted to tell him no, but because I was in disbelief. From the moment I met Blake Mitchell, I knew he was different, but even after all this time, he still somehow managed to keep surprising me.
“I don’t know what to say,” I said, taking a deep breath.
“Just say ‘yes,’” he said, reaching into his pocket.
“What?” I asked. Noticing the big smile that had appeared on my daughter’s face.
“Cassidy Leigh Carpenter, will you be my wife?” he asked, sliding down onto one knee.
“Did you two set me up?” I asked Kaity.
She shrugged her tiny shoulders before responding. “Say yes, Mommy. Say yes!” she squealed, as all of the kids began clapping their tiny hands together.
Before I had too much time to think, I blurted out my answer. “Yes, yes, I’ll marry you!” I nearly shouted, falling into his arms and bringing Kaity down with me. The smile on his face and the gleam in his eyes assured me that I’d made the right decision.
“I still can’t believe you put her up to this,” I said, unable to wipe the huge grin from my face.
“Well it didn’t exactly happen that way,” he began to explain. “I was planning on asking you to marry me at dinner tonight, but then Kaity came to me with her questions earlier today while you were at work. I told her they were things she should probably discuss with you. I decided then that this should be a family affair, and that I wanted to ask you to be my wife now, instead of waiting until we were alone.”
“May I be excused?” Kaity asked, wiggling out of our embrace.
I chuckled, realizing I’d forgotten Kaity was still sandwiched between us.
“Sorry, Baby. You can go,” I said, sitting back.
Before she ran off, Blake grabbed her arm. “Actually, Kaity, before you go, I have something for you, too.”
Surprising us both, Blake reached into his other pocket, and pulled out a charming necklace and pendant–something fit for a princess.
“I wanted to make sure this was OK with you too, Kaity. Is it OK if I marry your mommy? Can I be your Daddy?” he said, looking at her as if she were the only person in the room. The tears I’d been able to hold back when he asked me to marry him were now streaming down my cheeks.
She looked at me first as if asking for my permission to give Blake her answer.
“Go ahead,” I mouthed, nodding my head.
“Yes, it’s OK if you marry my mommy, Daddy,” she said, smiling up at him.
Sitting back on the couch, Blake pulled me toward him, searing my lips with a kiss. “Just so you know, I intend on making this official. I want to legally adopt Kaity. As long as you agree, of course,” he said, in an extremely serious tone.
“Of course it’s fine with me. I can’t think of a better man than you to help me raise my daughter.”
“I’m glad you agree. And, I’d also like you to adopt my children. I know that life can change in the blink of an eye, and I just want to know that if something ever happens to me that they’ll have a mother who’ll love them and care for them unconditionally. I know you’re that woman, Cass.”
“Truthfully, in my heart, they’re already my children. I’d be honored to make it official,” I said, leaning into him.
“This night turned out pretty damn perfect,” he said, peppering kisses on my neck.
“I can only think of one thing that would make it better,” I responded.
“When the kids go to bed,” he whispered, his trail of kisses extending down to my collarbone.
“Mmmhmm, but I was actually referring to the Ben & Jerry’s,” I quipped.
Blake
Six months later
LOOKING IN THE mirror, I readjusted my tie for what seemed like the billionth time. I’d been here before, but this time seemed just a little different. Maybe it was because we’d already overcome so many obstacles that eventually led us to this day, or maybe it’s because I now know that I can’t take anything in life for granted.
Hearing a light rap on the door, I yelled, “Come in,” assuming it was Rich.
“Hey, Man. Are you doing OK?” he asked, handing me a wrapped package. “Your bride asked me to give this to you.”
“Yeah, I’m feeling all right. Just the few expected jitters,” I admitted.
“Do you want me to drive the getaway car? It’s still not too late, you know?”
“You better not hope I tell Cass you said that. I think she and your wife would kill you,” I chortled.
“Cass might, but I think Brooke needs me too much with all these kids running around,” he laughed. “Besides, you know I love Cass like a sister. Just don’t go telling her I said that shit.”
“Your secret is safe with me, Hot. And, stop your whining about the kids, Cass and I have just as many running around,” I said, patting him on the back.
“Not for much longer,” he grumbled.
“Wait? What are you saying? Is Brooke pregnant again?” I asked.
“Yeah, we were going to wait to tell you two because today is about you, but I seriously need to tell someone. We found out yesterday that she’s indeed pregnant again. Thankfully, although I love my twins to death, there was only one heartbeat this time,” he said.
“You know you can wrap that shit, right?” I joked. “The girls are what, like four-months-old?”
“Yeah, well, Brooke’s doctor didn’t think that even with the healthy pregnancy that she’d be able to conceive again with her history of endometriosis so we didn’t really worry about it. Once we were given the all-clear after six weeks, well I just went for it,” he said. “We tried for years and now it’s like I simply look at her and bam–pregnant.”
“Well, I didn’t see that one coming at all. Congrats, Hot,” I said. “You two are going to be the fucking Waltons before you know it.”
Shaking his head, he said, “I have a feeling she’s going to make me get my junk snipped before we’re raising our own fucking baseball team.”
“Shit. Sorry, Dude. I’d rather not even think about scissors near my family jewels,” I said, reaching down to adjust my junk.
“Yeah, well, enough about me and my super sperm. Let’s go get you married,” he laughed, patting me on the back.
“Right, but first I think I’d like to open this gift in private–in case Cass decided to give me some nude pictures or something.”
“She didn’t, I already looked,” he said, a shit-eating-grin appearing on his face.
“You’re such a fucker,” I joked, as Rich exited the room.
Tearing off the letter attached to the box, I opened it first.
Mitchell,
I can’t believe this day has come. Thank you for believing in us and believing in me. Thank you for continuing to fight when I’d forgotten how. And, thank you for allowing me to see that fairy tales really do exist.
I usually tell my brides to create a scrapbook as a gift to their groom with all the memories they’ve shared together. So, I thought I’d take my own advice and make one for you–for us. I love you, Blake Thomas Mitchell.
Always,
Carpenter–Soon-to-be-Mitchell
Opening the scrapbook, I flipped through the pages of pictures of us with the kids–a selfie of us sledding on your first “play date,” a picture of the girls with Olaf their snowman, as well as the plane ticket stubs from her trip to New York. She’d kept it all.
Nearing the end of the book, I stopped, not recognizing the copied certificates that she’d placed there. Reading the words, I realized we’d received official documentation of both my adoption of Kaitlyn and Cass’s adoption of Maddy and Ben. In the eyes of the law, I was officially Kaitlyn’s father, and Cass was Maddy’s and Ben’s mother. And, as once as we said, “I do,” we’d all officially become a family.
Cassidy
I’d given the same pep talk to hundreds of my brides trying to calm their nerves as they prepared to make their descent down the aisle. For some reason, it always seemed better when I wasn’t the one on the receiving end. “He loves you, Cass, and more importantly, you love him. Keep your eyes on the prize,” I whispered to myself, as I stood in front of a whirling fan trying not to overheat.
“Do you need anything? It’s about that time,” Brooke said, coming up behind me.
“No, I’m good–perfect actually,” I said, a smile forming on my lips. “Let’s do this.”
Keeping our ceremony relatively small, we’d only invited our immediate family and closest friends. My life was so consumed with planning everyone else’s extravagant wedding that I just wanted my own to remain small and intimate.
Standing at the altar in a fitted, cream satin gown with my handsome groom standing across from me, I smiled as the pastor called our children up to join us for a special surprise that I knew they’d love. As they approached us, they were each handed a small jar filled with a different color of sand.
“Cassidy and Blake, today you’re making a commitment to share the rest of your lives with each other as a family. Your relationship is symbolized through the pouring of these individual containers of sand, one representing Cassidy, one representing Blake, and the other three representing your children,” the pastor said, reciting from a script. “By blending this sand together, you’re unifying yourselves and your children as one family.”
“Do you agree to make this commitment to each other and your children?” the pastor asked.
Smiling at each other, we spoke in unison. “We do.”
Each of us poured our sand into the larger vase before the kids dumped theirs into it as well.
“In time, I hope that you choose to add additional layers of sand by making the decision to grow your beautiful family,” the pastor continued, as I looked over at Blake, placing a hand on my stomach.
After repeating our vows, and exchanging rings, the pastor officially united us as man and wife, and made the announcement we’d been waiting the entire ceremony to hear.
“Blake, you may kiss your bride,” he said.
Blake tipped me back in dramatic fashion, and placed a lingering kiss on my lips. Before lifting me, he whispered in my ear. “Were you trying to tell me something earlier when the pastor mentioned us growing our family?”
“Yeah, I took a test earlier this morning–it had two pink lines this time.” I said slyly.
“You’re pregnant?” he asked, so only I could hear.
“I’m pregnant,” I confirmed, a wide smile on my lips.
“I don’t know how you did it, but you made an already perfect day even more perfect,” he said, kissing me again. “I love you, Carpenter-now-Mitchell.”
“And, I love you, too, Mitchell.”
Kaity
Twelve years later
“MOM! MADDY WON’T get out of the bathroom, and I need to finish getting ready!” I shouted, pounding on the bathroom door that I shared with my younger sister. “Maddy, get out, please! Dylan is going to be here soon, and I still haven’t done my hair!” I’d been dating Dylan Christensen, the star quarterback of the varsity football team, for the last three months, and tonight, I hoped, he was going to officially ask me to go steady.
“You were already in here for forty minutes,” Maddy protested. “Dad is taking Ben and me to the movies once he gets home. I’m supposed to meet Brendan there!” she yelled through the door.
“Ugh! I don’t even know how you can stand that kid. He’s such a pest. If you ask me, you can do so much better, Maddy,” I shot back.
“Well, good thing I didn’t ask you then, isn’t it,” she said, poking her head around the door. “I still want to marry him someday,” she sighed, dreamily.
Using the small gap to my advantage, I pushed myself through the doorway, right past her.
“Hey, thanks, Sis,” I said, yanking the already hot curling iron from her hand. “And, you better not let Dad hear you say that–ever.”
“You’re such an asshole,” she sassed, rolling her eyes.
“Mom! Maddy called me an asshole,” I yelled, smirking over my shoulder at her.
“Seriously, do you two ever stop? And, Maddy, don’t call your sister an asshole–even if she’s being one,” Mom said, as she carried a load of laundry from the baby’s room. “Oh, and Maddy, Dad called and said he and the boys are running late–something about soccer practice going longer than expected,” Mom added, as my six-month-old sister, Josie, began crying in her crib.
Even though Mom would never admit it, I knew Josie was a big “oops.” Mom and Dad were both in their early forties and were looking forward to the days when all of us would finally be off to college and out of the house when along came an unexpected surprise. The younger kids didn’t know, but I knew Mom made Dad go and have a little “procedure” after she was born.
