I have no idea what is going on with this site lately, it's very frustrating. I apologise again for the shit formatting.
The very best part of their wedding day was seeing Adelaide's joy. It was a small wedding, just family and a few close friends. Quinn knew that Alfie wouldn't want a big wedding, she knew him well enough to know that without his parents, MiMi and without Adam it was going to be a rough day for him. He had struggled a little with putting Adam's death behind him and admitted to Quinn that he felt lost and he was scared that he didn't have someone to guide him anymore, someone to turn to and teach him how to be the man of his house. Dreaming of a big wedding when you are a little girl meant nothing to her now, marrying this man was her dream.
Adelaide was so excited and she wanted to be involved in everything and even on the day she couldn't decide whether to be with her Dad or with Quinn. She had loved all the build-up, the nails, the hair, trying on the dresses, the flowers, everything about it was exciting. Alfie convinced her in the end to stay with Quinn, he wanted to see his two beautiful girls together.
He didn't care that he cried when they both walked towards him, holding Joel's hand. He was grateful for them and how wonderful Quinn's parents had been towards him but more importantly Addy. They adored her, and she loved them. Like Gus and Rhiannon, they filled the grandparent role in her life. Every week she talked to them on the phone and was always sending them drawings and presents in the post.
Meg had literally started bawling when Addy called her Nanna Meg for the first time. They had gone to visit them for a weekend and Addy walked in like she owned the place. "Nanna Meg" she called out as she came through the door. "I am here." Meg had been stunned and Addy was worried that she had upset her when she started crying but she was quick with a hug and to tell her that she had made her very happy and that she was crying happy tears.
Both of them looked so beautiful. Addy broke away from Joel at the top of the aisle and Alfie dropped to his knees and opened his arms for his girl. "You look so beautiful Adelaide. Thank you for looking after Quinn today. I love you so much, you are my amazing djinda."
"I'm so happy Daddy."
What they were looking forward to the most was the fact that Addy's dreams were coming true and they couldn't wait to tell her. Just the small matter of their wedding vows first and they were short and sweet and the biggest cheer they got when they kissed was from Adelaide.
They enjoyed the night, again at the zoo where they had all gotten married. Each wedding was different though. Alfie had actually got married under the tree he planted, whereas Mae hadn't, she'd had a small ceremony at a registry office and a quiet dinner with their families at the zoo. Lola had gotten married in a church for Riley's Mom but they still came back to the zoo.
Gus was the MC for the night and he apparently had spent a lot of time on his speech. Rhiannon had teased him mercilessly about how much time and effort he was putting into it and that she couldn't imagine how bad he'd be when Viv and Charlie got married.
Gus had done his thing, he pulled Alfie away for a quiet moment the night before the wedding and gave him his great grandfather's ring to wear. It was a tradition now. His mother had worn it, Lola had and also Mae and although they didn't know Mae and George were getting married Adam had been sneaky and got the ring to her unbeknown to anyone. Gus saw it at the dinner that night and he was glad she had worn it. It meant the world to him; it was his thing.
"I think you know the deal by now. Whenever Alfie, wherever you are I am there for you." Alfie slipped it onto his right hand. He was also wearing his Dad's watch.
Gus was nervous as he got up to speak, public speaking wasn't his thing. "Now, I have a lot to live up too. My Dad used to do these rambling speeches that while Mom had edited them for him he would often go rouge. When Polly got married he had one day to prepare, and I use that term loosely. So we will see how we go.
Alfie, Alfred, aka The Termite. He got that nickname from an epically hysterical rant Polly gave to Sam, in between copious rounds of vomit about his 'termites' chewing through her cervix. While his poor mother spent nine months in bed, heaving her guts up he just chugged along and arrived like he'd done nothing wrong and chewed his way into everyone's heart. He was obsessed by trains, his baby sister, his cousin Charlie, animals like his Dad, was tortured by his older sisters who coerced him into doing things he shouldn't, he taught his cousin about penises and how to stand up and pee, which I might add was equally entertaining and disgusting, especially for the person who had to clean up after them. He stole his baby sister because the other two told him he couldn't. If you want Alfie to do something, tell him he can't.
He talked about Alfie's life, how he desperately tried to care for his sisters and still does and about the trees he planted. Briefly he talked about Addy, which made her squeal a little, she loved hearing her name and how passionate he was about his job and how proud his Dad would be.
Now Rhiannon and I get to watch him be all that his parents wanted him to be, Quinn I know how lucky Alfie is that you even looked in his direction but Sweetheart, you are the luckiest girl in the world too. You've got one of the good ones, he will love you like no other, because that's what he was raised to do, by his parents and by my parents. He's always treated his sisters like princesses, now you are his Queen and damn girl, you are adored. Welcome to our family, you belong with us."
Alfie thanked his Uncle Bus with a hug. He whispered something in his ear, thanking him for making him the man he was, the one his Dad wanted him to be and meant the world to Gus.
'Meeting you, Quinn at my mother's ball feels right. Just right over there actually.' He pointed to the bar set up in the corner. Mae hadn't let his wedding slip by just because she had a baby. Max was a little over three months old and behaving himself in his Dad's arms for once. While Poppy, Sam and Billy had been hitting the dancefloor with Addy, if you could call what they did dancing. 'It's feels like they were there and said, you see that beautiful girl at the bar, waiting for someone to buy her a drink, that's her, that's the one. So I bought her a drink and thought I was being cute when I told her that if she wanted to see me again she had to come find me. My anxiety that night and for the next two days was off the charts…what was I thinking? What if she thought I was just too hard? Or just plain creepy and perhaps slightly up myself?''
Alfie talked about how Quinn first learnt about Addy and how Charlie had dropped him in it "….was just I hadn't told the gorgeous blond I was trying to charm about my 'babe'. Hey, I know we are just getting to know each other but here's the deal….I am well into my twenties, a slightly scarred orphan, I live with my 94year old grandfather, who is grumpy 90% of the time, my insane little sister called Bug, her very patient partner and my three year old daughter who I have only known about for six months….so how about it? What a catch, hey?
Darlin', you didn't run that day and you've never run. You've embraced my messy life, you fell in love with my daughter, probably before you fell in love with me to be honest, you immersed yourself in my family, and you were there for me when we lost our north star, you are still there for me. I never dreamed I'd have someone like you beside me and I know if I didn't have you I don't think I'd still be standing.
He thanked her parents for raising her, letting him love her and embracing his daughter and that Addy adored them. He winked at Meg and reminded her it was probably the kittens though.
He looked at Quinn. "I wish, with all my heart that my Mum and Dad were here today to see me marry you but I know they would love you. They did after all bring us together. My MiMi would have adored you and I know my Pops did. He'd say to me 'Alfie, don't let that one go, she gets you, she's good for you, she's what you need. I can die in peace knowing that all my mob are loved. He also reminded me constantly that you are way too beautiful for me and I can't argue with that. You are way too beautiful for me.'
'What I do have though is Lola, Mae and Iris. I love how they have embraced you and welcomed you into our Circus tent. When we get a little wild, you've got your people, Riley, George and Colton. That's also how I know you belong with us, with Adelaide and with me.'
Quinn, I promise to always hold your hand, hold your heart and love you like my Dad loved my Mum, he used to tell her that he felt content and Quinn I feel content and that feels like the perfect word for us because I was taught there was no greater love than that.'
Once he got through that and recovered his composure he asked Quinn and Addy to come up for a minute. "Now Adelaide, we have something for you." They handed her a box which she happily opened, presents and Addy loved presents. "What does it say?"
"Mum and Dad love you to the moon." She held up the envelope and Alfie explained to their guests.
"Those are the legally signed adoption papers." He looked back down to Addy. "Quinn is so happy to be your Mum, Adelaide."
"Really." She was so excited. "You are my Mum? I can call you Mum?" she looked up at Quinn who just nodded and crouched down to hug her daughter.
"I love you Addy, so much."
"So we can get a baby now?" she squealed excitedly.
"Maybe." Alfie laughed.
The small group thought it was beautiful but they weren't done with their surprises. "And here's something else." They handed her another box which she tore open. "What does this one say?"
She saw the picture and just squealed, pulling out a Koala and hugging it tightly. "What is it?" Alfie asked her again. They had put the ultrasound picture in the box, she had seen Mae's pictures and been fascinated by them. She knew exactly what it was.
"We are getting a baby." She shrieked and then buried her face in the koala and burst into tears. "I'm getting a baby."
"Oh Adelaide." Alfie scooped her up and she was crushed between her Mum and Dad and smothered with kisses.
Addy had forgotten about everyone else in the room. As far as she was concerned it was just her and her parents. "Is my baby a girl?"
"We don't know yet. It's a surprise. Are you happy?"
"Is it two babies?"
"No, it's just one." Quinn laughed, thankfully a recent scan showed one healthy baby.
One person was just as excited as Addy was and that was Meg. They had managed to keep it a secret from most people. His sister's knew, that had been impossible, it was like they could smell it and somehow they had managed to convince everyone that Quinn wanted to have a girl's weekend at a health retreat for her Hen's night. When the bubbles did come out she might take a sip and then Lola or Iris would switch it out for non-alcoholic bubbles. Mae wasn't drinking because she was feeding Max so there was enough drinks around to swap them out. Iris got a little trashed though, she seemed to end up with most of Quinn's discarded drinks.
Joel held her back for as long as he could. She had been waiting for this. "Wow, two grandchildren and a son-in-law on one day. Best day of my life." Meg hugged all three of them. "This is so wonderful."
"I thought you'd be happy Mom."
"Are you okay?"
"Well I am now, it was a little rough in the start. Very tired and queasy but the past week or so have been better. We are a touch under fourteen weeks. Fortunately I've only got the tiniest of bumps so far, I was worried about that. We really wanted Addy to know and it seemed like such a nice thing to do for her today."
"And I'm glad the adoption is all sorted too." Meg knew that they had applied for Quinn to adopt Addy. Because she was born in Australia and with Adelaide being part Indigenous there were a couple of extra hoops to jump through but it was a formality and they had known for about a month. When that came through, and the pregnancy they hatched a plan. Seeing the look on Addy's face was worth it, she was still hanging onto her Daddy and telling everyone who would listen that she was having a baby.
"So are we. It was such a relief for both of us."
"Oh Sweetheart, I am so happy for you."
Alfie and Quinn had a couple of nights away at the Beach House before they were taking Addy back to Australia for the first time. She was excited to show Quinn where she came from, although a little bit scared about the plane trip. Now she was worried that the baby won't like it. It was going to be a long six months for her, for Alfie too but at least he understood time had far more patience than a five year old.
They had decided to stop using contraception not long after he proposed and it had taken a couple of months to fall pregnant. They weren't really worried about it too much, they thought giving Quinn's body time to adjust, she started taking pre-natal vitamins and they just were going to wait and see what happened.
Alfie had been surprised when she told him that she was a week late and that she'd bought a home pregnancy test. They took it more for shits and giggles than anything and were a bit stunned it was positive. "Wow." Alfie looked at the stick. "Well, you're pregnant according to this." He held it up. "Wow."
"Oh dear." Quinn just stared at him.
"Oh dear? This is good right?"
"Yep."
"You look pale, are you going to vomit?"
"Probably." Quinn smiled a little painfully. "Are you happy?"
"Absolutely. Completely freaked out, slightly nauseous myself but over the moon."
"Me too."
And they were excited. A trip to the Doctors confirmed that Quinn was indeed pregnant and that's when they decided to surprise Addy at the wedding. It turned out that she would be a little close to fourteen weeks when the wedding happened and they wanted to wait that long just to get past the critical period.
They made it to ten weeks when Lola worked it out when Quinn turned green one night a dinner. It was only Lola and Iris at dinner. Mae was at home with Max because Addy had a bit of a cold and they didn't want Max to catch anything. Colton was just oblivious and Riley was at work.
She left the dinner table suddenly and a quick glance at Alfie and his worried look told her everything she needed to know. "I'll go." She put her hand on Alfie's arm when he went to follow her.
Quinn was outside, sucking in some deep breaths. "Congratulations."
"Ha, I knew you'd work it out."
"Where are we at?"
"Ten weeks. We are trying to keep it a surprise until the wedding."
"Good Luck. Firstly, you okay?"
"Yeah, just every now and then, although the past few weeks were pretty rough." Quinn sipped on some water that Lola had bought out with her. "It's all good though."
They hatched a plan on the back deck and Iris figured it out just by looking at Lola when they came back in. She shook her head lightly and she knew to keep it quiet.
It was a little bittersweet for Iris but she was delighted for her brother. He deserved to be happy and this would make him happy. He missed so much with Addy and everyone knew that bothered him, this would be perfect and she pushed aside her own disappointment.
Quinn had told Mae a few days later and she was ecstatic and she couldn't wait to see Addy with her baby. She was obsessed with Max and always wanted to visit him and talk to him and Mae about what he was doing.
It had worked perfectly; Addy couldn't stop talking about it. She had literally gone from table to table to tell everyone. They were glad they waited to tell her and they also loved that Lola had made sure that someone captured that moment on camera.
They spent the night at a hotel before dropping in to see her on their way up to the beach house. She was staying with Quinn's parents in the house and had apparently talked about the baby the moment she opened her eyes. She had wanted to call her 'mum' and ask her if the baby had a good night. Meg loved hearing her excitement and loved the way Addy was calling Quinn her Mum.
"Hey Addy, come up here a minute." Alfie called her upstairs. Not that Quinn had much of a bump but they wanted Addy to see it anyway. Quinn lifted her shirt and Alfie held her hands on Quinn's belly. "Just a little bit of a bump, but that's our baby."
"I wish I could see it."
"Well, here you go." Alfie showed her the video on his phone of their baby. He had lost count of how many times he had watched it. "That's our baby and it's waving at you." It was cute watching Addy wave at the baby and then kiss the screen. Alfie would be lucky to get his phone back, she took it and ran downstairs to show Nanna Meg.
"Well that was cute."
"Wonder where she gets that from?." Quinn rubbed her lower stomach, she was feeling a bit achy this morning. "I think our little koala is annoyed with you after last night…" Every day she felt like things were stretching and by the end of the day she would have a slightly protruding belly. It was gone in the morning and they couldn't wait for the day when it didn't go away. Alfie was adamant they had to consummate their marriage just so she couldn't change her mind so they had a busy night and morning.
He loved watching her in the morning, she would always do some stretching and a few yoga poses, even before she was pregnant. Often Addy would join her and her sun salutations were all legs and giggles. This morning he just lay on the bed and watched his wife, thanking his lucky stars he now got to spend his life with this woman.
"It's about to get a real shock then, that was nothin'." He winked. He was looking forward to the next couple of days, just to put their feet up and relax. Alfie was conscious that Quinn had been on her feet quite a bit the last few days, it had been busy and as much as Mae took control and had Lola and Iris running around like her minions there were some things that Quinn had to do and yesterday had been a long day and she spent the whole night talking to everyone, dancing and laughing. Now he wanted her to rest and relax. Having Addy meant that they rarely got time alone to just be still, Addy was never still.
Once they got on that plane to Australia they would be hitting the ground running and knowing Addy, when she was excited she was a hurricane. She was so looking forward to showing Quinn all her favourite animals and the zoo. 'I was borned there, at the zoo.'
"You were not born at the Zoo, Adelaide." Alfie reminded her for the umpteenth time; he had no idea where she suddenly got this idea from.
"I was, in Australia."
"The whole of Australia is not a zoo." Alfie shook his head. "You were born in Australia, in a hospital." She just huffed totally unimpressed with her Dad's response. The look on her face was priceless.
'Oh Alfred, you've got no idea…' she muttered as she turned on her heel.
They did love how excited she was though. Alfie was keen to take her home, now that they had decided that, for now Chicago was the best place for them and their growing family. He wanted Quinn to see Australia too because he had loved his time there.
Addy wasn't happy that they were leaving again, although staying with Nanna Meg and Pappy Joel had its advantages. She also insisted that the koala stayed with her. "Ed will look after him." She promised. Addy even convinced Nanna Meg to take her shopping for things for the baby, not that Meg needed much encouragement she was just as excited as her granddaughter.
Quinn slept most of the way to the Beach House and Alfie didn't mind. Her ring caught the light on a few occasions and it made him feel good. He knew how lucky he was, it had been an amazing few months. Quinn had adopted Addy, without hesitation, they were married and expecting their first baby together. Nine months ago he was at the depths of despair, he'd lost Adam, his last tangible link to his parents. He felt lost and confused by those feelings because when he opened his eyes he still had Addy, he had Quinn and he had his family, Lola, Mae and Iris all their attachments. He still had Gus and Rhiannon.
Quinn and Addy pulled him out of that hole and now he was a husband, a Dad and expectant father. His life was good. It was time to stop thinking about everything he didn't have and embrace everything he did.
The first thing that Quinn did when they got to the beach house was pull out the letter that Gus had given her. Alfie didn't want it at the wedding because they wanted it to be about Quinn and Addy. It was her day as much as it was Quinn's and Alfie didn't want it bogged down by his past.
"Read it to me?"
"Are you sure? I'll cry."
"Then I won't be alone."
'Alfred,
My little me, your mother always told me that, that when she looked at you she saw me. I guess that's a good thing because she loved you like her life depended on it. For a while she only existed to keep you alive.
I think you know how rough your road was, from the moment we knew a new human was joining us it was a struggle. Every day we battled to make sure you stayed safe and grew into our perfect little boy. Your mother was incredible, her iron will and love for you was an incredible thing to witness. For the first time we found out what we were having before you arrived and finding out it was you was amazing. We stopped on the way home and bought our first little blue hat, so that your mother, who spewed in the store could hold it when she was at her lowest and remember why we were doing this, for you, for our son.
Knowing we were having our little boy made those days that felt like they never ended worthwhile. Every time I carried your mother into hospital because she was desperately unwell we thought of you. We wanted you so desperately.
There was not one day of your life we didn't love. We loved watching your sisters fall in love with you, protect you and teach you. I loved showing you how to be a man, how to love your mother and your sisters.
My most precious memories of you were when Iris was born, I never saw a face light up like yours did whenever you saw your Bug. I hope you still have that look on your face when you see your Bug, I hope that Lola and Mae still look out for their little brother. I know one thing, you will look after them for me.
I wish I could see you now, I hope I taught you well, I hope I showed you how to love someone with your whole being because that's how much I loved your mother. I wanted to be there with you today and stand with your mother and say 'that's my boy.' If she's still there know that I am there with her, because I will always be with her and with you.
My little termite, you gnawed your way into our lives, into our heart and you made us content. Raising you was so different from your sisters but equally as amazing. I remember Adam telling me his Pops once told him that as a father all you want is for your son to be more successful than you, that proved that you've done a good job, I hope you are ruling your world, whatever that world is.
You are the man of your own house now, I know you will be amazing because you are our Alfie and there was no son better than you. I hope today you are happy with your one in a million and I wish, with all my heart they make you as happy as your mother made me and as happy as you made us.
I love you Alfred,
My son.
Love you forever, Dad.'
Quinn was always going to cry, she had hormones oozing from every pore but seeing her husband sobbing was incredibly beautiful and crushing. She knew about these letters but had never heard them. Lola and Mae never revealed what was in them, they were personal and reading it to her husband was an incredibly intimate and intense moment.
"That was amazing. I don't know what to say."
Alfie didn't even look at her. "You don't have to say anything."
"How did he know?"
Alfie shook his head. "He didn't, it was something he did after reading it somewhere. There were a few different letters. If he wasn't here, if they both weren't. Gus has them all and he knows when to give them to us. Mae refused to get married for quite a while because she didn't want hers."
"And you?"
Now he looked at her, at his wife. "I couldn't wait to meet you because I wanted to hear my Dad's voice again."
"Oh…"
"And it was everything I wanted it to be." He still had tears streaming down his face. "I miss them. I wish they were here, I wish they'd met you because I know they'd love you. I wish he said those words to me."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry Quinn, Darlin' it was perfect listening to you read it because I love you like he loved her. I wouldn't want anyone else here with me right now." She knelt down in front of him and let Alfie rest his head on her shoulder as Quinn ran her hands through his hair.
"You are so precious. You have taught me so much, I can't believe I found you. Your Dad would be so proud of you. I know your Pops was." Quinn placed the letter in his hands. "Your most precious possession."
"No, you are. You and Addy and our new baby." Alfie held her hands in his. "Is that okay?"
"Yes." Quinn knew he wasn't physically possessing her. Alfie wasn't like that, he didn't control her but he did own her heart. "You and me and…"
"Our heartbeats, our humans. That's what Dad always called us."
