Chapter 1: The wedding.
It was a bright, warm, sunny day out. It had been a year since Johnny proposed to Elizabeth. Also, a few months since all the wedding planning was done. Today was the special day for the couple.
Johnny was in his dressing room pacing back and forth, nervous he was going to mess up. He also kept looking at the clock; there was an hour left before he had to go out and wait for Elizabeth to walk down the aisle.
"How are you doing, buddy?" Roy asked walking into the dressing room.
"Oh, hey Roy… great," Johnny replied back.
"I see that. That's also why you're pacing back and forth," Roy said with a smile, remembering how he felt the same way at his wedding.
"Oh shush. You already did this, so there's no pressure for you," Johnny said walking towards the mirror to start putting his tie on.
"Yeah well, you know I was the same way then." Roy saw Johnny having trouble with his tie; he walked over and helped him with it.
"So, are the other groomsmen here yet?" John asked letting Roy help him.
"Yeah, Chet, Mike, and Marco are getting changed down the hall," Roy said finishing Johnny's tie. "There you go."
Johnny looked at himself in the mirror. "Thanks, Roy."
Roy just smiled at his partner. At that time, the groomsmen came in wearing their dress uniforms. They then sat with Johnny with his leg bouncing up and down and constantly standing up to start pacing again, until it was time to go out to the ceremony.
Elizabeth had her hair and nails done. Her hair was up in a tight bun with a white wedding vail. Her nails were painted a light pink color. She then started to get into her dress with Joanne and her mother's help.
"Thank you again, Joanne for being my matron of honor."
"No problem; I'm thrilled to be," Joanne said with a big smile. "Thank you for letting Sally be the flower girl."
"I had to; she's like my niece." Elizabeth smiled back at Joanne.
The bridesmaids came in with their gowns on and their hair all done up. They were girls that Elizabeth worked with at the daycare. Each bridesmaid had a different colored dress. Joanne had on a light pink dress, while the other two had a light blue dress, and a light purple dress. They each had their nails painted according to their dress color. They all were wearing their hair half up, and the rest down. The flowers also matched each girl's dress.
Elizabeth had butterflies and Joanne could tell. She gave Elizabeth a pep talk and got her to be a little bit less nervous. "I know what you are feeling," Joanne started. "I was afraid of becoming a young widow. Hell, I'm still afraid of becoming a widow, but everything will be okay. I know we each had a few scares with our men, but they are strong. You know you have all the other wives to support you, too. Like one time Roy got injured pretty badly. I was waiting in the waiting area when some of the other wives came and helped me through it. This was when Roy and I first got married, also," Joanne said to help Elizabeth.
I'm scared of that. I mean, I almost lost Johnny, what about a year ago?" She sighed.
"Yeah, but he is a stubborn one." Joanne smiled.
Elizabeth smiled back. "Yeah that is true."
"Come on, it's almost time for you to get married," Joanne replied while Elizabeth's mom completed the finishing touches.
Joanne dabbed at Elizabeth's nervous tears with a tissue just as the music began to play. "That's our cue. Are you ready?"
Elizabeth smiled, squeezing Joanne's hand. She still felt a little anxious, but in her heart, she knew she was ready. This was what she wanted more than anything else in the world.
Joanne followed the bridesmaids into the foyer, walking a few paces ahead of Elizabeth. She entered the sanctuary, smiling as she walked past each pew adorned with a small bouquet of spring flowers in multiple shades of pastels to match the bridesmaids' dresses, and secured with a white satin ribbon. Her eyes moved ahead to the alter, decorated with white paper angels, wedding bells, and gold paper wedding rings. She gave Roy a quick wink as she took her place at the front, turning to await the first chords of the bridal march, and the grand entrance of the woman who had stolen the heart of John Gage.
Elizabeth's mom was sitting in the front row waiting for her husband and daughter to make that bittersweet journey down the aisle. On the other side, John's aunt and uncle were also sitting in the front. Johnny didn't have many people from his family he could invite, but he was glad he had a few who were able to make the trip to support the young couple.
Johnny was standing up front waiting for his wife-to-be to walk on down to him. Johnny had his award winning crooked grin on his face when he saw the love of his life walking towards him.
After the ceremony there was a reception. Everyone ate and made toasts to the happy couple. A lot of people were dancing. Chet was doing a lot of dancing with people he didn't know. That happened when Chet had a little too much to drink. Of course, he fell down a few times, doing the hustle, but he just laughed it off.
Johnny and Elizabeth had their first slow dance as a married couple. They danced to "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," by Stevie Wonder. They both had agreed to that song being their song. They both were looking each other in the eyes, and smiling at each other. During the song Elizabeth put her head on Johnny's shoulder.
Johnny whispered to her, "I'm really happy to be with you. I love you." He then kissed her passionately on the lips.
Elizabeth smiled and replied, "I'm happy, too. I love you more."
People were taking pictures and after a couple minutes other couples joined them.
When the reception was over, Johnny and Elizabeth left to go on their honeymoon. Of course, the phantom couldn't resist the temptation of pulling a prank on his buddy on his wedding day. When Johnny got in the car a water bomb went off right in his face.
"Chet, you wait until I get back. I'll have something planned for you."
"Can't wait!" Chet shouted after him.
Chet and the rest of the A shift decorated Johnny's Rover with streamers and, of course, cans tied to the car, so when they drove off they would made clanking sounds. After all the planning and everything, they were both happy to get away for as much time as they could get and relax, and just be together. This was the best day of both their lives.
Four months later.
It had been four months since Johnny and Elizabeth's wedding. They were both excited to start their new life with one another. Now Elizabeth had missed her period. She and Johnny made an appointment to get a test drawn up. Johnny took Elizabeth to get her test done.
"I know it may be a little soon after getting married, but I do hope we are going to have a baby," Elizabeth said, taking Johnny's hand in hers.
"I feel the same way," Johnny replied and kissed her hand.
Once Elizabeth took the test, the doctor told her that was going to be a while; that she would call them with another time to come in and get the results.
Elizabeth couldn't stop looking towards the phone. she really wanted to know if she was pregnant again. If she was, she couldn't wait to start a family with the love of her life. She was picturing watching Johnny sitting on the couch with their baby boy or girl, and bottle feeding him or her. She could see him rocking them, playing with them.
Then the phone rang, Elizabeth jumped a little,being pulled away from her thoughts.
"Mrs. Gage?" The voice on the other end asked.
"Yes, this is." Elizabeth replied back.
"Would you be able to come in to get your results at noon tomorrow?" The nurse had asked.
"Yes, that will work, thank you." With that they both hung up at the same time.
The next day Johnny left work for the appointment. Captain Stanley had arranged for another guy to come in for an hour or two while Johnny was at the appointment. They had to wait for about twenty minutes before they were called to the doctor's office.
"Mr. and Mrs. Gage." Doctor Reid came walking into the room.
"Yes, that's us," They said in unison.
"I just wanted to give you your test results in person instead of over the phone," Doctor Reid said handing them the test results.
They both took a look at the paper. They both looked up, and looked each other in the eyes, not believing this was really happening.