Chapter 52 – Nevaeh de Montignac
The next wedding in the lengthening list of weddings was held on the private Schreave beach. It was a small wedding, with only friends and family, and Jesse and Neveah had been able to attend for two reasons: one, because Jesse wanted the tea to add to the Selection social media, and two, because Anastasia Pembroke and Timothy Parker had asked Nevaeh and her husband to come, as guests.
Half of the congregation was actually Ana's precinct from Whites, and her Maid of Honor was another woman from her precinct – actually the only other woman, Elena Ramirez – and Parker's Best Man was Silas. Nevaeh wasn't sure how protocol-ish it was to have the Crown Prince as your Best Man, but he didn't mind, and neither did the Queen.
It was the beginning of April – the 4th, to be precise – but it was already warm enough for the guests to be barefoot in the sand with sleeveless dresses or short-sleeve shirts. The dress code was much more casual than the royal weddings, and Nevaeh was just wearing a simple pastel pink puff-sleeve dress with a high-low skirt and some silver sandals. Her five-month bump bulged under the dress, and Jesse was always careful that she didn't have too much sun, that she had enough to drink, a seat nearby, or that she was comfortable.
Speaking of dresses, the bride was wearing a very simple white dress with a lace three-quarter sleeve top and a long flowing skirt, something that complimented Tim Parker's beige linen suit just right. They had eyes only for each other, and Nevaeh was glad that yet another love story had come out of this Selection, even if it wasn't Nathan. Who, by the way, was still in Europe with Henri. Oh, well.
"Do you, Timothy Parker, take Anastasia Camile Pembroke to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" the officiant asked.
"I do," Timothy said, a wide smile on his face and his eyes locked on Ana's.
"Do you, Anastasia Camile Pembroke," the man continued, "take Timothy Parker to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
"Yes, I do," Ana said. She mirrored Timothy with her smile and even before the officiant could finish his sentence and invite Tim to kiss his bride, he was already doing it, tipping her backward. The guests cheered, jumping to their feet, and then Tim and Ana ran down the aisle together where he lifted her and twirled her into the air as if she was just a feather.
The rest of the day was spent under large white tents, on the beach, with a cocktail buffet, music for dancing, tables and chairs to sit if people wanted to, until the sun went down and everyone gathered near the water for sunset photos. After that, someone built a giant fire on the beach and people just hung out together, beer was passed around, and Tim's brother-in-law – he only had sisters – had even brought his guitar and was singing songs.
"Jesse," Nevaeh said. She was holding her sandals in her hand when she came over to her husband who was sipping on a beer.
"Yeah, love?"
"I'm exhausted, my feet hurt, my back hurts, and I just want to curl up in my bed."
"Oh– uhm, you wanna go home, already?"
"Yes." She narrowed her eyes at him. "And give me the car keys, you're not sober enough to drive."
Jesse rolled his eyes and gave her the keys. "Fine. Did you at least eat enough? I'm not cooking tonight."
"Well, I'll be cooking for myself, then. Because I couldn't eat half of what was served." She paused as she started to make her way towards the newlyweds.
"Hey, I thought we were going to the car?" Jesse said, confused.
"Yes, but first we have to say goodbye." She looped her arm in Jesse's and pulled him towards the happy couple who was chatting with another couple, sipping on beers.
Ana and Tim turned towards them as they came closer.
"Are you leaving already?" Tim asked, an arm around his new wife's waist.
"Yes, this baby needs some rest," Nevaeh said, affectionately patting her belly. "And so do I." She laughed softly and added, "Congratulations to both of you, really."
"Thanks for coming," Ana said, briefly hugging Nevaeh and then Jesse. "And thanks for helping with the organization and all," she added. "We'll make it up to you, I promise!"
Nevaeh shook her head. "It was my pleasure to do that for you guys." She squeezed Ana's hand and then bid them goodbye before heading to the car, a somewhat staggering Jesse in tow.
"You know, you should have let them pay for your services," Jesse said. "If they had hired a wedding planner, they would have paid them."
"I know," Nevaeh said. "It's just– I feel it's wrong to make friends pay, you know? Think of it as our wedding gift for them."
"Your wedding gift," Jesse retorted. "I actually put money in the fancy box for their honeymoon participation."
"I know. Look, I wanted to do that, and that was probably the last big event I'm doing before the peanut comes." She pressed on the key to open their car. "And I love doing that, and you know it."
Jesse mumbled something as he climbed into the passenger seat.
"What was that?"
"I just said you were too nice for your own good."
Nevaeh burst out laughing as she turned on the engine and reversed out of the parking lot. "That's the first time someone said that to me. I'll take it as a compliment."
Jesse chuckled and then rubbed his face. "That was a nice wedding, wasn't it?" he asked. "How many have we gone to this year?"
"Silas and Xi, ours, and now Tim and Ana. The next one is Val and Essie, in a little more than two months." She paused. "And then there's Nathan, but I don't even know if there will be one, and with who."
"He'll marry himself," Jesse said, and they both laughed.
It was already dark and past 9 o'clock when Nevaeh pulled into their parking spot. They took the elevator to their floor and Jesse took a shower while Nevaeh fixed herself something to eat. By 10:30 p.m., they were both fast asleep.
-o-0-o-
A few weeks passed before the whole extended family was invited to the Palace again. Well, it wasn't as if Nevaeh never went there without being invited, but this was a very special occasion, one that would gather the whole family around the Queen Mother.
"Happy Birthday, Marmee!" Nevaeh said as she stepped into the sitting room. She hugged her grandmother tightly and pressed a kiss on her cheek.
"How is your peanut doing?" Marmee asked, her hand light on her growing belly.
"Oh, it's doing great!" she said, sitting next to her. "Except when it's kicking or pressing on my bladder, but otherwise we're both very healthy!"
"I'm glad to hear that," Marmee said. "And do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"
Nevaeh kept the smile on her face, even though she wanted to cry, right now: Marmee asked the same question every time, and she didn't remember she had already asked it, or what the answer was.
"No, we don't know," Nevaeh said. "We still haven't found the right time to find out."
"Didn't you say you wanted to do a cake gender reveal?" Ximena asked. Her own belly was growing as well, and they had announced their pregnancy just a few weeks ago: she was already 14 weeks along, and it was still too early to find out, anyway.
"Yes, but with weddings and birthdays, we haven't been able to organize something," Nevaeh said. The two girls sat on a couch near Marmee.
"Why don't we do it together?" Ximena suggested. "Silas and I want to know as soon as we can, so we can have two cakes!" she giggled. "And between you and me, the more cake, the better, right?"
Nevaeh also laughed at that. "I agree. But we would have to be careful not to mix up the cakes!"
"Oh, yeah, that would be awkward," Xi said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Unless they're the same sex."
"Yes." Nevaeh paused a moment, thinking. "You know what? That would actually be really nice, to do that together."
"Then it's settled." The princess smiled at Nevaeh.
"What's settled?" Silas asked, joining his wife on the couch. Xi explained what they had just discussed and Silas didn't see why not. And according to Ximena's calculations, she had her next ultrasound at the end of May, so they could do the reveal party at the beginning of May. The girls started talking about decorations and food and people they wanted to be at their small event when Jesse also arrived.
"Do I hear decorations and party planning?" he asked. "I thought you said Tim and Ana's wedding was the last one you did before she arrived?" He put his hand on Nevaeh's belly.
"She?" Ximena and Silas said at the same time.
Nevaeh laughed. "He's been team girl since the start, and I'm team boy. So I guess we really need that gender reveal party, right?"
Ximena agreed.
"Oooh, the cake thing?" Jesse said. "I completely forgot about that!"
"I didn't," Nevaeh said. "And we're going to do it at the same time as the royal baby gender reveal, too."
"I see," he said. "And when's that?" he asked, taking out his phone to note down the date in his agenda.
"Monday, May 1st," Xi said with a grin. "I can't wait to know!"
"Me too," Silas said. "We keep calling it the nugget, but I want to know if we're having a prince or a princess." A small smile curled his lips, and Nevaeh found the new Silas-Daddy-To-Be to be the softest thing ever.
"Alright, everyone," the queen said, walking into the sitting room. "It's time for dinner. Please follow us outside."
Nevaeh's mother, Sybil the Montignac, had come back to Illéa for her mother's birthday, after going back to France after Jesse and Nevaeh's wedding. So the whole group of people followed the two sisters outside, where a magnificent table laid with all kinds of foods were waiting for them on the patio, under several huge parasols. They put Marmee in the middle of the table, with her daughters on either side and the rest of her family around the table. Everyone was here except for Nathan and Henri, and even Odessa had come all the way from the East Coast to spend the week with Val, who had a couple of weeks off for the Easter holidays.
Conversations were lively, around the table, and Nevaeh was happy to be able to surround her grandmother with so much family, old and new. Weddings, babies, and birthdays: those were happy occasions to gather together and make memories. Honestly, if she had known a year ago that she would have gone through so much in a year, she wouldn't have believed it one bit.
Nevaeh had her life in order, before the Selection: a routine, friends, and passions. Now? She was married, a wife, a mother-to-be, and the non-official event planner of the Illéan Royal family and their friends. It could be worse.
"Hey, why are you smiling like that?" Jesse whispered, leaning close to her.
She shrugged. "I was smiling?"
"Yes. Your resting bitch face was gone," he said slyly. "Is everything okay?"
"Jasper Benjamin Finley!" she hissed between her teeth. "I do not have a resting bitch face!"
"You do, honey, but that smile was absolutely adorable." He placed a quick kiss on her cheek. "So, what makes you smile like that?" he asked again, keeping his voice low.
"Jesse, you should know it's improper to whisper around the dinner table. I can tell you later."
But Jesse was not one to give up this easily. "You can just admit that you're happy, you know? It won't kill you."
Nevaeh snorted. "What if I am?" she said.
"If you're happy, then I'm happy." The broad smile on his face told her that he wasn't making fun of her. He was happy. She sighed. How far they'd come…
The rest of the afternoon was spent in the gardens eating ice cream, birthday cake, taking pictures, and giving presents to the queen mother. It was a happy family tableau, one that the public never got to see. But Nevaeh was glad about that: her husband might be the link between the Royal Family and the Illéan people when it came to updates, photos, and news – in his words, the tea – but he knew now when to keep it for themselves and enjoy the moment instead of always wanting more to show.
There was one more thing that Jesse was eager to share with the Illéan people on the Report, and that was the Royal Baby that was on the way. For now, Ximena had been able to hide it and had only told the family about it. But the moment Jesse could share that information, Nevaeh knew that he would bask in the Social Media attention and live off the Girl or Boy bets.
One thing was sure: he did not say anything until the Queen gave him the green light. And Jesse was anxiously waiting for it…
-o-0-o-
As planned, the Double Baby Gender Reveal party took place on May 1st, and friends and families had been invited to the private event. There was, of course, Ximena's mom, her best friend Laurel, and the Watanabe family. Tim and Ana were there as well since Tim was still Silas' bodyguard, and Ana had been hired to be Xi's bodyguard, though both Xi and Ana found that a bit weird. But oh, well: they'd both have to get used to it.
On Nevaeh and Jesse's side, there was his little brother Jonathan, though his parents excused themselves and didn't come. There was also Nevaeh's two friends from France – Manon and Adeline – as well as Yuna, and her mother and her brother, without Nathan who still refused to come back. Family and babies seemed to be a tad too much for him. But it had been five months! When would he finally decide to come back?
Nevaeh tried to put this behind her and focus on her special day. Because she was going to find out if she was having a boy or a girl! How exciting that was? But out of the two of them, Jesse was probably the most excited about the whole thing, and he had asked Sydney to come to take pictures, and Otis to also be there with them.
The two couples were surrounded by friends and family, and Nevaeh added that to her list of happy gatherings. But as the cynic she was, a shadow passed in her mind, wondering how many more there would be before it stopped? Or before something terrible happened? She shuddered despite the warmth of the late spring air.
"Here they come!" Valerian said, pointing at the two cooks who were coming with the cakes. One of them had a sugar crown on it – for the royal baby – and the other one had an N&J on it, so they wouldn't be mixed up.
Valerian was almost as excited as Jesse, and neither one of them could sit still. "Who goes first?" Val asked.
"The Royal baby, I guess," Nevaeh said.
"Oh, no!" Ximena cried out. "You two have been waiting for much longer. You go first. Please." She looked at Silas. "Right?"
"Yes, absolutely," he said.
Nevaeh knew how much that decision cost them because they had been talking about this day ever since they had announced it to their family.
Jesse and Nevaeh shared a glance, nodded, and walked towards their cake. Jesse gave the knife to Nevaeh. "No, we do it together," she said, and Jesse nodded.
"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath. Here we go!" The knife went down the height of the cake once, and then they cut a second time, creating a slice. Jesse pulled it out and lots of blue sprinkles and M&M's tumbled out from the blue ombré layered cake.
"It's a boy!" Jonathan Finley said, pumping his fist in the air. "I'm gonna have a nephew!" He turned to Valerian proudly. "You own me thirty bucks." And yes, these two, for some reason, had become friends.
Jesse wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her, her belly squished between them. Then he broke the kiss and Nevaeh grinned: she took out the little blue sock from her pocket. "I won," she said.
"No, we both won," he retorted. "That baby boy is ours, both of us."
"Yes, he is." She kissed him again and then Jonathan just wrapped them both in a hug.
"I'm so happy for you guys!" He held them like this for a few seconds, then everyone congratulated them, hugging Nevaeh and patting Jesse's back.
"Your turn, now," Nevaeh said to Ximena and Silas who were standing in front of their uncut cake, waiting. They shared a knowing look and cut a slice of the cake. Ximena squealed with happiness as pink sprinkles and M&M's tumbled out of the pink ombré cake.
"A girl!" Val said. "Oh, my God!" he wrapped his brother in a hug while Odessa hugged Ximena. Then, Valerian laughed. "I'm just imagining Silas with a baby girl in his arms, and I just– aaaah! So soft!"
Silas rolled his eyes, but he was grinning like a happy idiot, and Nevaeh couldn't wait to see his cousin with a baby in his arms. Val was right: it would be the softest thing ever.
Marmee walked up to the two cakes and held the two mothers-to-be close with her arms around their shoulders. "A boy and a girl," she said softly. "I'm so glad to know that my great-grandchildren will grow up together: children need cousins, and that's just what they'll have." She looked at the two women in turn. "Congratulations. I know they will both grow up with loving parents and families."
Nevaeh hugged her grandmother from the side. "I can't wait for you to meet our babies," she said softly.
"Me too, Nevaeh dear. Me too."
Unbeknownst to them, Sydney took that picture of the three women embracing: it was the softest and most pure picture of the day, and Nevaeh would cherish that picture for years to come.
-o-0-o-
A month later, June was already there with its hot and humid Angeles weather. Nevaeh hoped she could go back to the south of France for the summer, where it was dry and warm, which was much nicer. She and Jesse had to sleep with the windows open, otherwise, they would overheat in their sleep – she was honestly dreading the summer in LA – especially since her six-month pregnancy was messing up with her hormones and she was always hot. Always sweating and puffing, and she just wanted to have this baby boy out of her!
Okay, no, she still loved her baby, but could he please hurry up and give her back her body and regular hormones that wouldn't make her be too hot? Was that too much to ask?
Unable to go back to sleep after waking up around five with the sky becoming lighter – thank you open windows – and a wildly kicking baby, Nevaeh decided to get up. She decided to let Jesse sleep so she could have some alone time, which was a rare thing, these days.
She tiptoed out of the bedroom and went to the balcony facing east to watch the sunrise. She sat on the swing seat, gently swinging herself with one foot on the cold floor, the other one tucked under her. She watched the horizon from their penthouse floor, gently caressing her belly.
"Hey, there, baby boy," she said softly. "I love you, but could you please stop kicking so much when I'm trying to sleep?" As if on cue, the baby kicked hard, making her utter a small oof. "Hey, what did I just say, Peanut!" She pressed on her belly where the foot – or was that an elbow? – had kicked. "You really need to calm down, you know?"
The funny thing was that she wouldn't mind if he kicked during the day. But as it was, he was most active during the night, when she slept and was peacefully asleep during the day, while she was going about. Couldn't he just sync his schedule with hers for once?
She continued to swing softly until the sun rose above the horizon and she closed her eyes, leaning her head against the backrest. It wasn't as warm outside as it was inside, but the warm sun rays on her face and skin did wonders to her morning mood. She honestly had no idea how long she stayed there like that, and she probably dozed off, but when she opened her eyes again, something – or someone – was blocking the sun.
She opened her eyes. "Jesse? What are you doing? You're blocking the sun."
"Did you put sunscreen on?" he asked, handing her a cup of coffee. "And it's decaf."
"Ugh. Why?" she whined. "You know I can have two cups of coffee per day when I'm pregnant."
"I know, but I don't want our son to be hyper-caffeinated or hyperactive." He paused. "Maybe that's why he kicks at night," he added as he sat next to her on the swing seat. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned against his bed-warm bare chest.
"I'm the one who's supposed to be practical. Not you," she said, fake-pouting.
"Yes, well… I have to take care of you and our baby, and that's what I'm doing, hon'."
"I see," she said. She looked at him and ran her hand on his beard. "When was the last time you fully shaved? I don't think I remember what your face looks like."
Jesse chuckled. "No idea. But I'm not shaving anytime soon."
"Good." She planted a kiss on his lips. "Because I like you like that, with the beard."
"Me too," he said, kissing her. With the coffee cups in their laps, they had to be careful not to spill and burn themselves, but they were used to it.
"Wait," she said, breaking off their kiss. "Is that the phone ringing?"
"Let it ring," he said. "It's early. We can pretend we're still sleeping in." He grinned slyly and kissed her again.
She kissed him back but then frowned. "What if it's important? People don't call that early if it's not important, right?" in the kitchen, the phone stopped ringing.
"They'll call again later." He tucked a blond strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "Let's just enjoy our little coffee with the rising sun, first. Because without coffee, there is no day."
Nevaeh reluctantly agreed, but when her phone rang again not three minutes later, she stood and went to answer the phone.
"Hello?"
"Nev? It's Val," came the reply on the other end. But it lacked its usual happy and easy-going tone.
"Val?" she said, going back to sit next to Jesse, her coffee still in her other hand. "What's wrong?" she asked. "I'm putting you on speaker, Jesse's with me."
"Okay," he said. "Hi, Jesse." He took a deep breath as if he was ready to drop something big.
"Val, what's wrong?" Jesse asked, too.
"It's Marmee," he squeaked out, on the verge of crying.
Jesse took Nevaeh's coffee and put the two cups on the side table before something happened to them. Then he grabbed Nevaeh's hand in his. "What happened?" Nevaeh asked. "Did she fall? Did something happen to her? Val, please say something!"
Val sniffled once and let out his breath. "She went to sleep last night, but when Victoria Coleman went to help her get ready this morning, she– oh, God, Nev! She didn't wake up," he said between sobs. "I'm so sorry, Nev, she's gone. Marmee's gone, Nev… I–"
Nevaeh put a hand on her mouth, smothering any sound that might have come out and she closed her eyes tightly shut. When Jesse saw that she wasn't going to say anything, he took on the call.
"Thank you, Val, for telling us." He paused. "We'll be on our way as soon as possible."
"Okay," Val said, clearly trying not to break down. He ended the call without saying anything and Jesse put the phone on the table, next to the two coffee cups. He wrapped both arms around his wife and mumbled soothing words in her hair as she cried against his chest, making her salty tears stream down his chest. Jesse rested his chin on her head and swung them gently with his foot. Outside, the birds were chirping, as if nothing was wrong.
"She didn't even get to meet him," Nevaeh sobbed, hugging her belly. "Nor Silas' baby girl!" She cried harder, muffling her sobs into his chest, and Jesse held her tighter. They stayed like this for a long moment, until Nevaeh's sorrow subsided enough for her to walk and get dressed.
After which, they headed to the Palace, Jesse driving their car because Nevaeh was still crying. Nevaeh was able to see her grandmother one last time before the doctors took her away to get her ready for the funeral in a couple of days.
But the palace was silent, mourning, and so was the country once they announced it on the Report, the next day. Everyone was dressed in black, and Jesse made sure that the Queen Mother was the highlight of the Report, going over her life and the magnificent things she had done during her rule with her husband.
"And now, Ladies, gentlemen, boys, and girls," Jesse said slowly, "May we all keep Queen Beatrice Schreave in our hearts, and keep the Royal Family in our thoughts and prayers in these coming weeks. Losing a mother, a grandmother, a sister, or an aunt is hard, and they'll need to stay strong in these trying times." He paused, looking at the giant photo of the late queen on the screen behind him. Nevaeh saw him smile. "She was an inspiration to us all, full of wisdom and of love for her family. I am proud to say that she was also my grandmother for a few months." He turned back to the audience. "In a way, she was our grandmother to us all." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, holding his emotions at bay for now. "Illéa, may we all remember her in our hearts."
Ooof, what a rollercoaster of emotions... I hope you enjoyed the fluff and cuteness of the chapter, before the last sad scene.
Don't forget to check out the Timotasia Wedding aesthetic on IG ;)
also, only 2 chapters left! the ending is so close! And for those who are submitting to Sisters and haven't sent in their forms yet, you still have 13 days (2 weeks)! ;) can't wait to get back to writing Sisters with all your OCs!
See you on Wednesday ;) byeeee~