Never before have I been so sure
You're the someone I dreamed I would find
The Sandals resort in Barbados was the stuff of dreams as far as Molly was concerned, she'd never been anywhere which came even close to being so posh, her honeymoon with Ian had been the first time she'd ever been abroad and it had been really nice, a week in Spain that had been lovely, a nice hotel in a nice resort, with weather that had been hot and sunny, but it was nothing like as luxurious as Emerald Beach where they were going to get married.
They'd waited for the hurricane season to be over but the closer it got to the time they'd booked the more Molly started to get cold feet. She wanted to pinch herself to check whether it was really happening because it all seemed a bit out of her league, underneath she was still the same old Molly Dawes that she'd always been, the Molly whose own mother thought she wasn't good enough for a posh bloke like Charles, someone that Ian's mother had described as common and loud and she had a very nasty suspicion that Charles' parents would agree with every word.
Turquoise sea, white sand, obviously beautifully warm and the only sound the little waves breaking on the beach, then walking hand in hand until they were under this flowery arch thing and standing there next to him wearing a white chiffon dress with a white flower in her hair and carrying a small posy of them same flowers tied with white ribbons, both of them barefoot in the sand, with a couple of witnesses that they didn't know from Adam, it was all going to be perfect, she'd watched the DVD from the wedding planner over and over.
It wasn't until the time left before they were due to go was running out rapidly that the doubts really crept in, and she admitted to herself that it would all be perfect except for one thing, there would be no-one there to see them. She couldn't blame anyone, this had been her choice, she was the one who'd wanted to get married like this, just the two of them, dead romantic on a beautiful beach, and the man sitting across the room doing something on his laptop was going to be the most important person at the wedding as far as she was concerned, he was the most important person in her life, and she knew that he felt exactly the same way, but it was just that there was something missing.
She would miss seeing the expressions that would have been on the faces of her mum and her Nan, her sisters and maybe even her dad, when they saw how gorgeous and perfect it all was and how happy she was, well how happy they would both be. She hated that there was still a distance between her and the family over her marrying Charles, so that she hadn't even told them about what they were planning, the family had no clue that by the time she came home from their Caribbean holiday she wouldn't be Molly Dawes any more, she would be Molly James.
"Are you watching that Sandal's thing again?" He closed down whatever he was doing and moved over to sit next to her on the sofa "What's up?"
"Nothing" She did her best to smile "Just, you know, thinking about stuff"
"Have you changed your mind?"
"No, course not, I really, really want us to get married, I love you so much that I can't explain how much, I just can't find the right words"
"But? Come on, Molly, I know there's a 'but' in there somewhere" He lifted one eyebrow and smiled encouragingly "Oh and by the way those sound like perfect words to me"
"Well, yeah, maybe there is a little bit of a but, just a little bit, I mean, oh God, I'm sorry, it's not that I'm not happy, or that it's not all gonna be perfect or anything, it is, but I just wish that everyone could be there cos I feel like I want to show them that they was all wrong about you, about us. Anyhow, how did you know?"
"I can read you like a book, Dawsey"
"No you can't …. can you?"
"Look, I can't wait for everyone to know that you're Mrs. James, but we haven't got anything to prove, you do know that, don't you? He took a deep breath and cupped her face in his hand tilting it upwards so that her eyes were locked onto his "I don't give a shit where we get married, we don't have to go half way round the world to do it if you don't want to, if you've changed your mind. Guildford Registry Office do weddings, or so I've heard and they're just up the road. True, it might not be very warm and it probably hasn't got much of a beach" He snorted a laugh down his nose "But as long as you turn up it'll be perfect" He smiled at her.
"Do you mean that?"
"Of course I mean it" He nodded then started ticking items off on his fingers "Your mum can have a good cry and so can mine, Sam can grunt with your brothers, Nan can threaten to break my legs and Laura can flash her tits" he grinned "And then Jock can get pissed ….. perfect, what more do we want"
"Are you being sarcastic, trying to make me change me mind back?"
"No I'm not, I mean it"
"Don't care what anyone says, you're okay sometimes aren't you? " She dotted his face with kisses then gulped "I can't wait to see you show me off to bloody Eggy, he's obviously going to be well impressed, my biggest fan"
"Forget him, why you care what he thinks I can't imagine"
"I know and okay, I'll try" she smiled then her face crumpled again, this time with worry "But what about all the money? If we don't go it'll all be wasted, and I'll feel really bad cos we're still gonna have to pay for everything aren't we?"
"We'll go, we just won't get married out there, we'll get married before we go or after we come back, it'll be our honeymoon"
"Okay"
"Mind you, it's just as well we like cheap Supermarket baked beans, isn't it?" He laughed as he kissed her on the tip of her nose "By the time we've paid for two weddings we'll be living on the bloody things for at least the next two years"
-OG-
"Mum, there's something I need to talk to you about ….." Molly took a deep breath, her words of explanation all worked out in her head but her mother interrupted her before she could finish what she'd started to say.
"You're pregnant aren't you? Oh Molls, I bloody knew it, I warned you, didn't I? Your Nan warned you, so where is he now? Pushed off already, has he?" Belinda shook her head and reached out towards her daughter, ready to hug her and reassure her that it didn't mean the end of the world and that they would manage.
"No mum I'm not pregnant, why would you even think that? And he hasn't pushed off, well he wouldn't anyhow, and why are you being so horrible about him? " She paused and took a deep breath "What I wanted to tell you was that Charles and I are getting married next Friday" She shrugged her shoulders, then continued "Guildford Registry Office?" Her mother looked at her and then looked across at her Nan with shock and dismay written all over her face.
"You're getting married next Friday?" She shook her head "And you're not pregnant? So what's your rush? Why are you in such a bleeding hurry?"
"Yeah, I mean no, I'm not pregnant" Molly shrugged and smiled, then spoke ingratiatingly "Just be happy for me, please? It's not a rush, we've had it planned for quite a while, we were going to do it on the beach while we was on holiday, you know, in the Caribbean cos that's what lots of people do"
"You're getting married? On Friday? Belinda repeated what she'd said and seemed to ignore everything else Molly said, then suddenly woke up and took it in, and reacted "You was going to do it all on your own, without any of us out there with you? How come, Molls? Or was his family gonna be there?"
"No, mum, they weren't gonna be there either, it was just gonna be Charles and me and I didn't really think you'd want to be there, you told me not to marry him, remember? That you and Nan thought he was way out of my league, far too posh for me" Her voice broke slightly as she remembered how hurt she'd been at their words "But you was talking complete bollocks, he loves me and I love him and we want to get married, and we want you lot to be there" She paused and shrugged her shoulders "So we changed it"
"Was it proper, you know, legal 'n that?"
"Course it was, loads of people do it, but we're not gonna do that anymore, we've changed it"
"No-one we know has done it"
"Mum! It don't matter now does it?"
"I was just saying" Her mother was beginning to sound huffy.
"Was it his idea, this hero of yours?"
These were the first few words her grandmother had said since her conversation with Belinda had begun, up to that moment Nan had been standing, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen with her arms folded and her head on one side listening but without saying a word.
"No, Nan, it was what we both wanted, but it's not gonna happen like that, okay? Anyway Charles would have done anything, I could have had any sort of wedding that I wanted"
"So does this mean that you can leave now, once you're married?"
"Nah, it'll be another few months before they'll let me leave, so it's a bit shit, but there's nothing either of us can do about that" Molly carefully didn't mention the 'getting pregnant' option in her explanation "I'd really like it if you lot could be happy for me, for us, and I'm really, really sorry that I never told you what we was going to do, but I want you to come to the Register Office and maybe to the pub after, we ain't decided about that yet, but I don't wanna hear everyone keep telling me that it's a bad idea, that he's too posh for me" She shrugged as she looked at her mother and grandmother.
-OG-
"But Charles, it's not as though we're snobs or anything" Charles raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes as he listened to his mother who hadn't taken the news of his impending marriage with any degree of delight "It's just that, well" she paused "you know we think she's a really lovely girl and we love her to bits" she paused again for even longer "it's just that….." His mother paused for a third time and shrugged as she tried to find the words that her son would find the least offensive, then wrapped up what she wanted to say by including his dad, who raised his eyebrows in disbelief exactly the way Charles did sometimes "Your dad and I are a bit worried about how well she'll fit in, with your career and everything"
"Mum, what do you mean you're not being a snob? That's the most snobbish thing you've ever said about anyone and you know you're talking absolute rubbish, don't you?" Charles was trying very hard not to let his intense irritation with her show "Molly and I are very happy together, we love each other and we're getting married. It was going to be out in the Caribbean, but now it's going to be here and it's completely up to you whether you come or not, but Sam will be there and Molly's family will be there and it would be good if you came as well, but as I said it's up to you" Charles put every ounce of his Major Stern into his voice, so that his mother was left in no doubt what he felt or that the wedding would go ahead with or without them.
-OG-
Mail to: mdawsey hotmail
From: cjames BTinternet
Subject: Sorry
Mum will be here when you get back - tried to put her off but she wants to help and you know she can be difficult. Will make it up to you xxx
To: cjames BTinternet
From: mdawsey hotmail
Subject: Your Mum
It's gonna cost you xxx
To: mdawsey hotmail
From: cjames BTinternet
Subject:
Thanks, you can wipe the smirk off your face now, it's not funny xxx
To: cjames BTinternet
From: mdawsey hotmail
Subject:
Yes it is xxx
To: mdawsey hotmail
From: cjames BTinternet
Subject:
Love you too xxx
-OG-
Seven days in the Caribbean sun on a deserted beach fringed with palm trees and a turquoise sea and staying in a so-called "cottage" which, with its four poster bed and floaty gauze curtains for privacy was nothing like any cottage that Molly had ever seen, even in posh magazines. They'd eaten all their meals on the shaded terrace during the day and in the light of hundreds of tiny candles at night, with their own butler waiting on them, a butler who seemed to know instinctively when it was time to wheel the dinner trolley away and leave them alone with the remains of their bottle of wine and each other.
"Come on, trust me you'll love it, I promise"
"Nah I won't, I'll bloody drown"
"I'm not going to let you drown"
"Then what you laughing at?" She took the hand he held out for her and gingerly followed him into the water "You'd better not, I'm telling you now"
The sea was flat calm and warm and was so inviting that Charles had decided to try and use all his powers of persuasion to get Molly in for a swimming lesson, he loved swimming and had been appalled when she'd admitted that not only couldn't she swim but that she actually didn't care that she'd never learned. After what felt like hours of patiently walking up and down beside her in waist deep water one arm supporting her body, he'd finally managed to surreptitiously let go so that she'd mastered a couple of strokes of a kind of doggy paddle before she realised that he wasn't holding her up anymore and panicked. Eventually she achieved a short 'swim' on her own but never actually confessed that she'd had the toes of one foot on the sand the whole time and he'd grinned, kissed the tip of her nose and let her get away with it.
-OG-
A cold grey December afternoon at Heathrow and Molly was shivering as she struggled to get in Charles' Discovery which she hated with a passion.
"Why can't we have a car what I can get in and out of without showing me knickers to everyone in the sodding car park?"
"Grumpy"
"No, I'm not"
"Molly, I'm six foot four, I'd have a hell of a problem getting in and out of a mini, wouldn't I? and I'd look bloody stupid driving one, so, where to first your Majesty?"
"Home, James" She giggled as he pulled a face "I wish I didn't have to go back, I really want to stay with you"
"I know, believe me I want you to stay as well, but it won't be for long"
"Stop trying to make me feel better, cos it's not gonna work"
-OG-
The platoon Christmas party was being held at the same Chinese Restaurant as the previous year, a milestone because it was the first time in their history that they'd been allowed back anywhere and texts had been exchanged between Molly and Brains to say that she would definitely be back from her leave in time to be there and to please add her name to the list. Charles had been in contact with Kinders to say that he was going to join them as he'd never actually had a farewell drink with the lads when he'd been deployed and then posted. Neither of them breathed a word about Guildford.
As they sat in the dark looking around the car park at the back of the Chinese, Molly had taken a deep breath and asked what he remembered about the party the previous year and speculated on whether or not it was going to snow, and what did he think, as she'd peeked at him from under her eyelashes and smirked waiting for him to answer.
"Nope, not going to snow, don't think so anyway, it might be a bit too cold" He gave her a sideways glance "What's so special about it snowing?"
"Are you being a knob? Or do you really not remember?"
"Of course I remember how could I not?" He laughed "God, you're so easy to wind up, Mrs James"
"Oi" He called after her as she exited the car and walked off towards the front of the restaurant "Did I tell you that you look bloody gorgeous tonight?"
Molly turned and stuck her tongue out at him then smirked and kept on walking until she disappeared from sight.
-OG-
"Molls, Molls, over here" A group of the lads were calling across the room and waving their arms at her as she walked in, Charles had stayed outside in the car for a few minutes because they didn't want to give the game away immediately by going in together "You're not as brown as I expected, I thought you'd get more of a suntan in the bloody Caribbean this time of year"
"Nah, sun's bad for you, didn't you know it gives you skin cancer?" Molly smiled to herself; she could hardly say that there hadn't been time to get much of a suntan when she'd spent most of the week rolling about in a four poster bed with her incredibly fit husband.
"Look, there's the boss, what the bloody hell is he doing back here?"
Despite the fact that there was a new Captain of the platoon, it would appear that there was only ever one who was called 'boss' as they all crowded round him in a noisy welcome telling him how good it was to see him and how well he looked and taking the piss out of him a bit for being a Major, as Eggy caught sight of Molly on the fringe of the group and half nodded in a straight-faced acknowledgment that she was there, before turning back to Charles to carry on congratulating him on his promotion, an exchange that annoyed Charles intensely. The noisy clamour continued until the manager called them over to their table and Kinders fussed around making sure that the seat next to him was kept free so that Charles would sit with him towards the centre of the long table.
"Here Boss" Kinders sat down and pulled out the chair for Charles but Charles waited until all of them, except Molly, were sitting before he replied.
"Actually, thanks, but" He put out his hand out for Molly as she hovered nearby "I'd really rather sit with my beautiful wife" He smiled and looked round at the initially puzzled then shocked faces of his audience who were speechless and motionless at the table, eyes riveted on him, as he held onto her hand, then turned to look straight at Kinders "You all know Mrs James, don't you?"
-OG-
Author's Notes: Thank you for the lovely comments and the feedback on whether to continue this. I shall carry on, and will probably start with their wedding, which I have some ideas about but it will take me a while to put it together because I need to plan where the story goes next. I don't want to spoil the (hopefully) happy ever after feeling of this chapter or turn it into one long slop-fest either!