Thank you all so much! Enjoy!
Chapter 18
Today was Rebecca's birthday. She would have been 45 today, John mused to himself. He and Luke went to the store to pick out cupcakes and flowers. Every year since Rebecca's passing, John and Luke would take cupcakes and flowers to her grave. Luke would place them on her stone and then the two of them would sit next to it, sing Happy Birthday, and eat the cupcakes.
This year felt different. John held the cupcakes in his hands and followed behind Luke, who was running ahead of him. He asked Anna if she'd like to join along, but unsurprisingly, she said this should just be for the two of them. And John did agree. Briefly he wondered if Anna did anything special for Wyatt's birthday.
That evening they would go to Judy's for dinner and celebrate in their own special way. Anna was coming to that dinner. She had tried to back out, but Judy insisted she come along too. Anna had not been able to tell her no.
"Hi, Mum!" Luke joyfully said, placing the purple flowers he had chosen next to the stone. "Happy birthday! Dad says you would be 45 today." Luke hopped down to sit on his bottom and John slowly joined him, needing his cane to help him down.
"Happy birthday," John lovingly said. He reached his hand out to touch the stone and ran his fingers over the letters that spelled her name.
John pulled the cupcakes out of the box. He handed one to Luke and kept one in his lap. Then the two sang the birthday song, before each taking a big bite of their cake. Luke chatted to Rebecca, but John remained quiet. He knew he was making the right choice in marrying Anna. He loved her and she loved both him and Luke. But he wished he knew that he had Rebecca's blessing.
As though he had conjured it, a leaf fell from the tree above them and fell right in his lap. Luke sat up and grabbed the leaf from John's knee and lifted it up.
"Look! It's shaped like a heart!" Luke exclaimed. John smiled. He reached for the leaf and it was in the shape of a heart.
"It is," he agreed. "It really is."
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Anna's hands clasped together in front of her and she stood anxiously in front of Judy's door. A little earlier, Judy had messaged her, asking if she would come by an hour earlier than John and Luke. While Anna and Judy had become close, she had never been around Judy on her own. And today was Rebecca's birthday. Anna didn't know why Judy insisted she needed to be here today. She felt as though she was stepping on time that wasn't meant for her. But she came, because she respected Judy and if she wanted her there, it must be for a good reason.
"Anna!" Judy warmly said, opening the front door. "Come in, come in. Thank you for coming by earlier. Let's go and sit down. I have some biscuits and tea, if you'd like."
"Sure," Anna replied. She followed Judy into the living room and sat down on the sofa. On the coffee table, there was a plate of biscuits and cups with a teapot next to them. Anna made herself a cup of tea and sat back, slowly sipping the cup. She tried to appear calm and not show the uneasiness that was flowing through her.
"I have something for you," Judy informed Anna, pulling out a small box from behind one of the pillows on the couch. Anna twisted her lips, but reached out and took the box. She held it carefully, as though whatever was inside of it could burn her hands.
"You didn't have to give me a gift," Anna said.
"Just open it," Judy insisted. Anna inhaled and exhaled, before giving Judy a small smile. Then she lifted the top of the box to find a beautiful tennis bracelet inside of the box. Anna's fingers ran over the beautiful stones and her lower lip dropped.
"You….this is too much," Anna finally got out. "I can't take this," she said with a shake of her head.
"It's not too much," Judy countered. "It was mine. My mother gave it to me when I turned sixteen."
At that, Anna blinked harshly and shook her head again.
"Judy, I can't take this. This….why are you giving this to me?" Anna asked, overwhelmed by it all.
"Because, I wanted to pass it on," Judy explained.
"Wouldn't you rather keep it for Luke? Perhaps, he would have someone to give it to one day?"
Judy reached her hands across the two of them and placed them on top of Anna's.
"You're my family now, Anna," she sincerely told her. "I want you to have it. If you decide to pass it on to Luke in the future, that is your choice."
Anna suddenly felt like crying. This woman, who wasn't her mother and was the mother of her fiancée's dead wife, was more of a motherly figure to her than her own mother had ever been.
"You are so kind to me, Judy," Anna finally got out.
"Anna, did you know that my parents died soon after I turned 18?" Anna's head shook. "Then I got married and had Rebecca. Her father wasn't cut out to be a husband or a father. One day, I woke up and he was gone. It was just Rebecca and me for many years. Then she met John and later had Luke. When I lost Rebecca, I thought my life was over. She had been my entire world. But then I realized, my life wasn't over. I still had John and Luke. John has always remained close with me and made sure that Luke and I had a strong relationship. I wasn't sure he would ever find love again, but I knew that if he did, he wouldn't take it lightly. He cares what I think and he would make sure it was what was best for Luke. I had two options here Anna: I could hate you and be miserable or I could accept you with open arms. The choice was easy, especially once I met you. Rebecca wouldn't want me to be a cranky old lady. She would want me to be happy; she would want John and Luke to be happy too. You make us happy and we are so very grateful for you."
It was then that Anna could no longer contain her tears.
"I'm grateful for you all," Anna replied, before Judy pulled her into her arms for a hug. "Thank you."
"No, thank you, my dear."
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"Anna! You look beautiful!" Mary exclaimed, as Anna stepped out of the small changing area. She gave a shy smile and then turned to face the mirror.
"You do," Amy agreed. Her sister walked up to her and helped her pin back a stray hair that had fallen in her face.
They had pushed their wedding into winter, so that Amy and her family would be able to come for the ceremony. In some ways, the wedding had become larger than Anna had wanted. But all the people they loved and cared about were here. That was the most important part to both her and John.
She wore a simple wedding dress, but it was perfect. Anna twisted the engagement ring around her finger and smiled. John had given her the ring three weeks after he proposed. He offered to let her choose the ring, but she told him it was his job. She wanted a ring that was from him. Anna brought her hand up to look at the ring. It was a nice simple band with a diamond in the middle. It was exactly what she had wanted. Nothing flashy, just a sign that she had found her new love.
Both Mary and Amy had begun chatting about the right next steps, but Anna wasn't listening. Her eyes had fallen on her niece who was sitting in the corner of the room playing on her phone. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and was typing away on the screen. Anna chuckled to herself, it must be nice to be young.
"It's time," Sybil said, poking her head into the room. Upon seeing Anna, she brightly smiled. "You look lovely."
"Thank you," Anna sincerely replied.
They walked out and Anna stood waiting her turn. Amy would be walking her down the aisle. Amy brought her arm up for Anna to place hers on top and the two chuckled.
"I'm so glad we're close again," Anna murmured.
"Me too."
Suddenly the music for Anna to walk down the aisle began. She and Amy made their way down the short aisle right to John. Anna didn't even know who all was there, because her eyes remained on John's the entire time. Once she made it to him, their hands clasped together and they smiled at one another.
The ceremony was short, but sweet. Soon, they were told to kiss as husband and wife. As they turned to walk back down the aisle, they both took Luke's hand and brought him back with them. Anna hadn't only married John. She now had a family.
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"Mrs. Bates," John's voice came up behind her. Anna smiled and turned around to face her husband. Husband. She had a husband now. John was her husband.
"Hi," Anna breathed, she leaned forward and perched up on her toes to give John a kiss. "Mr. Bates."
The two were staying a nice hotel in a city over. They had two nights before they would go back to their lives. In the spring, they had their official honeymoon planned. The two wanted to travel and wanted to do so when the weather was warmer.
"I can't believe we're married," Anna happily said.
"Me either," John agreed.
"I'm so very happy."
"Me too, my darling, me too."
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When Anna moved into John and Luke's house, the two decided they would begin a deep clean out of the house. John had a bit of a hoarding problem and Anna suggested they go through and only keep what he absolutely needed. Anna hadn't touched on Rebecca's things. However, she had been surprised to see that they had all been boxed and removed from the closet and bedroom before she moved in. John casually informed Anna that he had donated some and placed some of the special items downstairs for Luke one day in the future.
Today, they were working in a closet in the finished basement. Anna pulled out a box and found a slew of old yearbooks inside. Her lips curled into a smile and she lifted several of the books out.
"Oh no," John said, upon seeing what she had found. "You don't need to look at those."
At his insistence of her not looking at the books, Anna felt the need to glance through them even more. With a laugh, Anna began to sift through the pages of the book on top.
"John- this year has meant everything- Love, Vera," Anna read one of the inscriptions on the front page. John sighed and tried to take the book away from Anna, but she only brought it closer to her chest and chuckled.
"Who's Vera? Should I be worried?" She teased.
"Just a girl I dated my final year of secondary school. She and I were the king and queen at the prom," John explained. At that, Anna giggled and began to search for the photo of the two of them. When she found it, she laughed.
"You were very handsome," Anna said.
"Thank you," John curtly replied, reaching for the book again. Once more, Anna moved it away so he couldn't grab it.
"I thought your only girlfriend had been Rebecca," Anna said, her brow inching up and her lips in a crazy grin.
"No, I just said Rebecca was my first love and my first everything…I did date Vera. I didn't love her. Rebecca and I were friends that year. She didn't like Vera."
"Probably because she had a crush on you," Anna playfully said.
"Perhaps," John agreed. "But she may have been right about Vera. I heard a few years later than she had landed herself in prison for stealing from the company she worked for. Sometimes I wonder where I would have ended up if I had continued to date her. Do you have anyone like that?"
"Like what?"
"Someone you almost ended up with instead of Wyatt?" At that, Anna paused to consider and she nodded her head.
"Yes, a guy named Alex Green. He went to uni with me. We got along fairly well. But then I met Wyatt and the rest was history. No idea what happened with him. I'm sure it worked out for the best."
"Yes," John agreed. "Me too." He said with a wink. The two kissed and John quickly snatched the book out of Anna's hands. Then he held it up over his head and Anna jumped, trying to get the book back.
"Not fair, you're taller than me."
"Oh my darling, all is fair in love and war," he teased. Anna pursed her lips together and then began to tickle in the small area on John's side where he was ticklish. His hands fell to protect himself and Anna grabbed the book again, before running away from him.
"Not fair! I have a bum knee."
"All's fair in love and war," Anna playfully repeated. She slowed down and John carefully tackled her, so they both landed back on the couch. The two began to heartily laugh.
"I'm not sure we're being very productive today, Mr. Bates," Anna said, as John bent forward to catch her lips within her own.
"I'm okay with that," John replied, kissing her again.
"Me too."
To be continued...
No worries, that is all you'll 'see' of Vera and Green. I just thought it would be interesting to throw them in as part of their pasts and how we know how their lives would have been different with those two, thankfully they aren't in their lives in this story. Pretty fluffy chapter. Hope it was alright. I write angst easier, so be prepared for a little angst mixed in with fluff over the next few chapters. Thank you again!