A/N: Thanks for your reviews! There are a few pieces of dialogue that I've recycled from a previous version of chapter 73 that I deleted before redoing chapter 72 to fix the plotline, so if the honeymoon conversation seems familiar it's because you read the old chapter. Sorry for any confusion.
Chapter 73 – Some Beach
"We could've been in Florida," Jim muttered as he and Johanna remained huddled under the covers in his bed that frigid Saturday morning.
"Florida would've been wonderful," Johanna sighed as she snuggled closer. "Go turn the heat up."
"That would require getting out of bed," he replied.
"If you love me, you'll do it anyway."
"I do love you…that's why I wanted to whisk you away to the warmth of Florida…but then Florida had to go and have a rare cold snap of its own."
"Damn Florida," she complained, her foot sliding against his leg, making him flinch.
"Get your cold feet off of me!" Jim exclaimed.
"Why; you had yours on me earlier!"
"I did not."
"You did too. Maybe if you went and turned the heat up, neither one of us would have cold feet to annoy each other with. Why is it so cold in your apartment lately?"
"Because the landlord doesn't want to replace the ageing heating system in the building," he replied. "You need to wear socks to bed."
"That's a sexy look," she said sarcastically.
"I promise to still find you sexy with socks."
"I don't like wearing socks to bed and I'm not going to," Johanna replied. "My feet are cold because you rub your cold feet against them all night."
"I do not."
"You do too."
"Believe me, sweetheart; out of all the things I could rub on you during the night, my feet are absolutely the last option," Jim remarked.
She smirked at him. "You had to go there, didn't you?"
He gave her a grin. "You'd think less of me if I didn't…besides; you wanted me all over you last night."
"I was under the impression that it was mutual."
"Oh it definitely was," he replied. "You can be all over me now if you want."
"Forget it," Johanna said; "I'm not taking my clothes off again; it's too damn cold in here. It was either warmer in here when we got home last night or I was too drunk to notice it was cold…because if I had, there's no way you would've gotten me out of my clothes last night."
"We were a little drunk."
"My headache suggests that it was more than a little," she remarked. "I told myself I wouldn't go over two glasses of champagne but I'm pretty sure I had more than that."
"You weren't the only one," Jim said as he wrapped his arm around her. "I could warm you up though and make you forget about the hangover."
"No. I can't even believe you're suggesting it…you who complained awhile ago that I was putting on my nightgown too loudly."
"I took a Tylenol when I went to the bathroom; my head feels some better," he stated.
"So happy for you," she mumbled.
He smiled a little. "It was a good party though, don't you think?"
"Yeah; it was fun," Johanna replied as she thought about the party that Maggie and Jeff had thrown the night before. Her friend hadn't wanted to give up the idea of giving her a small engagement party…and since Jim's plans for her birthday had been called on account of weather; a quick combination birthday/engagement party had been planned and had at one of their favorite clubs. There hadn't been much time for things such as engraved invitations like they were supposed to have for the party her aunt and mother was going to throw but she thought it was better that way. Jim had invited his brother Andrew...and his sister Madelyn since she had ran into her brothers having lunch the day before the party when they had been discussing the invite. She had invited Frankie and Valerie…and as a last minute decision because her sister had been hanging around her office at lunch time the last few days, she had invited Colleen as well. They had decided to leave parents, aunts, and grandparents out of the mix…which meant her siblings were sworn to secrecy. The last thing she needed was her mother finding out that she did have some semblance of an engagement party that the majority of the family hadn't been invited to. Just the thought of her finding out and the yelling and accusations that would ensue made her head throb even more.
She knew she could trust Frankie and Valerie; they wouldn't tell her mother. Colleen on the other hand caused her worry…especially considering that Colleen had been drunker than she was and wouldn't hesitate to share the tale of how she had ended up drunk. She couldn't help but smile though; Paul had been highly unamused at being called at one in the morning to come and collect his wife…he had been even more unamused when he arrived and his wife refused to leave until she and her sister had finished dancing to old favorite song of theirs from childhood, Elvis Presley's 'Little Sister'.
"Paul was so mad last night," she said with a quiet laugh.
"I know," Jim chuckled. "Especially when Colleen wouldn't quit dancing."
"He'll get over it…it's the first time in a long time I've had fun with my sister."
"You did look to be enjoying it. I'm partial to the time after she left though when I got to reclaim you," he replied.
The warmth of his tone spread through her as her fingers entwined with his; she was a bit partial to that timeframe too, the time they had spent on the dancefloor, swaying to Al Wilson's Show and Tell as the atmosphere crackled around them. The frigid air outside hadn't done anything to cool them off as they waited for a cab...and he had gotten her out of her coat before they made it to his door…she was sure she'd find everything she had been wearing on his living room floor once she felt up to crawling out of bed. "I liked that part best too," she murmured.
He pressed a kiss against her cheek. "What do you think; were we hotter than Florida last night?"
She laughed. "Most definitely…it's too bad it didn't keep this place from feeling like an iceberg this morning. That's what woke me up…I was cold…and I'm never cold when I'm wrapped around you but I was…I still am."
Jim sighed a little. "If I go turn the heat up, will you let me warm you up?"
"Really; you're going to trade heat for sex? What kind of morning after my birthday is that?"
"I was trying to continue the celebration," he told her. "Get your second day of being twenty-six off to a good start."
"Quit saying my age," she said, giving his should a shove.
"It's what you are, sweetheart…your late twenties have arrived."
"No they haven't!" she exclaimed. "It's mid twenties."
"Mid twenties is twenty-five, babe; you're done, it's late twenties now."
"The hell it is! That doesn't hit until twenty-eight."
"Who told you that?"
"It's the law."
"It is not," he laughed.
"Is too…see you'll be in the late twenties come July and you just want to push me in there with you and I'm not going yet."
"Okay; be that way," he teased; "But I know the truth."
"And when I have frostbite, I'm telling my mother it's because you wouldn't go turn the heat up and you'll lose all your brownie points with her," she quipped.
"Can't have that," Jim replied lightly. "I'll go turn the heat up."
"I'll thank you later when I'm not cold and hungover," Johanna said as she wrapped the blankets around her more snugly.
"Okay; I'm totally holding you to that some time before the weekend is over," he quipped.
"You have my word," she mumbled.
Jim made his way to the living room, stepping over the clothes they had left on the floor as he made his way to the thermostat. He fiddled with it, waiting to hear the sound of the heat coming on but the room remained quiet and no heat came from the vents. "Great," he muttered; the heat just had to go out during a cold snap. It wasn't the first time it had happened in the course of time that he had lived there but it was becoming more frequent…and while it was usually fixed the next day; he had noticed that his landlord was getting slower about repairs. Usually he didn't make a big deal out of it…but he had Johanna to think of. He couldn't have her staying there with no heat. He didn't want her getting sick like she had been the winter before. A cold apartment was no place for a man to have his fiancée…and it was no place to keep a wife either if he couldn't be guaranteed heat in the winter.
It was funny how you started to think about things like that once you put a ring on a woman's finger, Jim thought to himself as he headed for the bathroom. No one had told him that buying a ring would mean he'd suddenly start thinking about how to keep her warm in the winter and getting another key made for the car so she wouldn't have to walk when he wasn't available to drive her. But he did think of those things now…which was why he had placed a shiny new car key on her key ring the day before…and why he was concerned about how long the heat would be off. He moved to the sink, turning the water on, hoping to warm up his hands but he soon discovered that along with no heat, he had no hot water either. "We could've been in Florida," he muttered quietly.
He blew out a breath and turned off the water, drying his hands before heading back to the bedroom and discovering that his fiancée had rolled into his spot, burrowed beneath the covers and had fallen back to sleep. He climbed back into bed with her, pulling some of the covers away from her so he could burrow under them with her.
"Did you turn the heat up?" she mumbled sleepily as his arms wrapped around her.
"I tried to…but it looks like there isn't any heat," he answered.
"Again? Didn't that just happen a few weeks ago?"
"Yeah."
"We can't raise a baby here," she muttered, her eyes still closed and her tone still sleep tinged.
"Baby?" Jim repeated. "Are you pregnant? Because I thought you had a pill for that…but it's okay…or we'll make it okay but you probably shouldn't have been drinking last night."
"Not pregnant."
"Then what the hell are you talking about?"
"Just thinking ahead," Johanna said with a yawn as she pulled the covers tighter. "We can't have a baby here one day if we don't have reliable heat."
"We can't have a baby here anyway, we don't have enough room."
"It could work for a little while."
"No, it can't."
"Babies always stay in their parents room for the first several weeks," she replied.
"I think they should go to their own room."
"Well ours isn't."
Jim stared at some invisible point on the wall. "Why are we even discussing this?"
"Probably because I was dreaming and there was a baby in it and you woke me up," she muttered.
"What made you dream about a baby? We haven't even seen any babies."
"I don't know, Jim," Johanna said with a yawn. "I didn't mean to start anything. I don't even really know what the dream was about. There was a baby and that's what was sticking in my mind when I felt you get in bed; that's all."
"I know you weren't trying to start anything; I'm sorry," he said, pressing a kiss to her hair. "Was it a cute baby?"
"Yeah; it was cute."
"Was it ours?"
"I don't know."
"Was it with us or was it with someone else?"
"It was with me."
"Where was I?"
"I'm not sure," she answered; "But I was waiting on you."
"You were waiting on me with the baby?"
"I guess so; I kept telling her you'd be there soon."
"Her?"
"It must've been a girl; she had a pink blanket."
Jim smiled a little. "Did she look like you?"
"I don't know. It was just some dream, probably brought on by left over buzz from last night's champagne."
"Maybe so," he murmured; "But you're right, this isn't a good place for a baby when the heat isn't reliable."
"We're not having one right now anyway."
"I know…but it's not all that good of a place for a wife either."
Johanna turned over on her side and cracked an eye open to see him. "If you're breaking up with me the day after my birthday, you're not going to have to worry about having a wife in your cold apartment because you'll never have one."
"Don't go looking for a weapon, Sassy," he laughed; "Breaking up is nowhere near what was on my mind."
"It's a good damn thing," she breathed, her eyes closing once more.
"I was just thinking that this issue has been going on on and off the whole time I've lived here and it's getting worse…and I can't have my wife living here next winter getting sick because of lack of heat."
"So where are we going to live?" Johanna asked.
"I figure I'll live with you," he replied.
"I should hope so considering we'll be married," she remarked. "But where are we going to live? I guess it is something we should start thinking about."
"I'll move in with you," Jim stated.
"Are you sure you want that?" she asked. "I always figured you'd want me to move in here."
"We can't live here. I deal with this heating issue every winter and it's getting worse. I don't care so much when it's only me but I'm not going to have you living here in the cold."
"It's still your home though, I'm sure you're as attached to it as I am mine…and the issue could always be fixed before next winter."
Jim breathed deeply. "I'm attached to you; not this place. I already live with you most of the time anyway. Your place is even closer to work than mine so I think we should just stay there."
"It's not big enough for a baby either," she said with a yawn. "Maybe we should look for a bigger place."
"We don't need a bigger place right now. We're not having a baby right now."
"I know…but one day we will and we'll need more room."
"When we need more room we'll get another place. For now we'll live at your place…unless you have some problem with that."
"No, I don't have a problem living at my place, then I don't have to pack," Johanna said as she shifted a bit and made herself more comfortable. "We'll have to figure out whose stuff to keep though; we don't need two apartments worth of furniture."
"That's true," Jim replied. "I like your bed best so let's keep your bed."
"Okay. Your TV in here is new so let's keep it for our bedroom because the one in my bedroom right now is the one I had in my dorm room all through college so it's getting old."
"That's a good trade," he stated. "Do you think we can fit my dresser into your bedroom? Because us having only one dresser isn't going to work…I mean we make it work for you keeping some things here and for me having some things at your place but once we're living together full time; we're going to need more than one dresser."
Johanna eyed his dresser and thought about her bedroom. "I think it would set against the far wall on your side of the room. We'll make it work; because you're right, we're going to need it."
"Alright; my TV and dresser will go into the bedroom at your place. Other than that, we'll keep all of your bedroom furniture."
"What about the living room?" she asked.
"Your TV in the living room is newer than mine so we'll keep yours."
"I like your chair better than that blue one I have that my mother gave me when I moved in. It's not very comfortable so I think we should take yours."
"Okay; I'm in agreement with that," Jim replied; "But your couch is more comfortable than mine so let's keep your couch."
"Deal…and you have that small bookcase in the living room; we can probably get that in my living room next to mine if you want to keep it."
"Yeah; if you think we can get it in there."
"I'm sure we can. What about the coffee table and stands; do you want mine or yours?"
"I don't really care," Jim admitted. "I'm not attached to mine; they're hand me downs from Michael so I'm fine with keeping yours."
"Okay…no offense but I like mine better anyway."
"None taken; like I said, I have no attachment to them."
"What about stuff in the kitchen?" Johanna asked. "My table or yours?"
"Yours," he said; "Mine was in the apartment when I moved in so I'll leave it here."
"We already know I own more pots and pans than you do," she quipped.
"True," he laughed; "Should I get rid of the stuff I do have?"
"Not all of it; we'll take the best of what you have. We'll figure that out when it gets closer. We'll probably end up with some kitchen stuff as wedding gifts so who knows, we might end up throwing out stuff that both of us have in favor of the new."
"Nothing wrong with that," Jim said lightly; "Especially if we don't have to pay for it."
She laughed softly. "You've got a point there. We'll probably get things like towels and sheets and stuff too; if we do, then we'll go through what we both have and throw some things out to make room for the new. It might take a little bit of time to get things sorted but we'll get it done."
He cuddled her, nuzzling her hair as he did so. "We probably wouldn't even be thinking of this if we were in Florida."
"Mhmm…we'd probably still be asleep because we'd be warm…or we'd be out somewhere seeing the sights, enjoying the warm weather."
"Waiting on you to put on your bikini," he added.
Johanna smiled. "That too…but Florida had to go betray us."
"Bastards," he muttered.
She laughed. "It is cruel…it would've been so nice. Damn weather."
"I know. I was going to change it to L.A. for a few days but I made the mistake of mentioning it to my father and he had to start his harping about how to spend my time and money," Jim muttered.
"L.A. would've been fun," Johanna mused as she rolled over to face him. "What's your father harping at you about?"
"He's in one of his lecturing moods," he muttered. "He said it would be a waste of money when we'll be going on a honeymoon in August. He says we shouldn't be taking off this early in the year; that if I want to take you somewhere I should take you to the cabin because that's free."
"Wow," Johanna said; "I thought Robert liked me."
"Hell, I wasn't sure he liked me during that conversation. He seemed like he was all 'Team Lizzie' when I was talking to him. I swear it was her thoughts coming out of his mouth…with the exception of telling me to go to the cabin because it's free; she would've told us to go nowhere."
"Do you think she lured him over to the dark side?"
"I hope not…I figure she probably let him cross the center of the bed so now he has to be on her side for a few weeks," Jim replied.
She gave a soft short laugh. "Jim."
"Well, it's probably the truth. She is a bit of a prude, it probably doesn't happen often so when it does he has to show gratitude. I hope it's never that way between us."
Johanna caught his lips in a kiss. "Never…we have too much fun to give it up."
A smile slid across his lips. "That's true."
"How you spend your money is your business, not your father's…and when we're married, it's our business; not any of our parents business," she said softly.
"That's the truth. I should've never told him my plans."
"Why did you?" she asked; keeping her tone soft so he'd know that she didn't mean the question in a derogatory way.
"I had already gotten some money out of one of my accounts to make plans for us to go to Florida and then I saw about them having this cold snap like we are and that plan was shot so I looked into making plans for L.A. because I wanted to take you somewhere warm not just for your birthday but as a little engagement present for both of us. L.A. costs a little more but I didn't care so I went back to the bank to take the difference out of one of my savings accounts. Dad was there on the main floor when I went in and of course he asks what I'm doing and I stupidly tell him I'm planning this trip for us. That's when he started harping that it's a waste of money we don't need to go on a trip when we'll be going on a honeymoon later in the year, I shouldn't be blowing money when I have those kind of expenses coming up; that we shouldn't be taking time off from work this early in the year and on and on until finally I just left…without the money…and by then he was in my head so I didn't make the plans for L.A.; and I wish I had…I hate that I let him get in my head like that. A small trip for a few days wouldn't have interfered with paying for a honeymoon or anything else we need…we weren't going for a week; just a long weekend. But he just wouldn't stop, saying we were being wasteful and I didn't need to give you some big trip for your birthday when I just bought you an engagement ring. You know I love my father…but he was pissing me off."
"I don't blame you for getting angry with him," she soothed; "It's none of his business what we do. I don't expect extravagant things from you for any occasion; you know I'm not like that."
"I know you're not, Jo; but I like to give you nice things…and like I said it wasn't just going to be for your birthday; it was going to be for us for our engagement too. Then he starts saying that we've already wasted the whole month of January planning wise and how instead of planning some unnecessary birthday trip, I need to be planning and booking a honeymoon and you need to be planning a wedding; that we're just wasting time and money."
"Again, none of his business," Johanna stated; "When did this happen?"
"Late last week."
"That explains why you seemed a little off," she murmured. "I asked but you said you were just annoyed with work."
"I know…I should've just told you then but I was trying to salvage my plans for your birthday and nothing was working out. That's why I told Maggie to go ahead and throw you a party like she had mentioned wanting to before. I blew this one, sweetheart; I'm sorry. Next year I'll do better."
"You didn't blow anything," she told him. "I had a wonderful evening with you…I went to sleep with you, I woke up with you…we have cake in the kitchen…you bought me roses and I love my earrings you gave me; they match my engagement ring…."
He frowned. "I wish I had given you something more."
"Honey, I know those earrings weren't cheap; and even if they were, I wouldn't care because they're from you and I love you. You also didn't miss my hint for that new makeup bag I wanted at Macys," she said lightly.
Jim smiled a little. "Yeah; but that was just a little thing that you had hinted at."
"You got me some books too."
"We always give each other books."
"Yeah; because we like to read…I like that we always include books in our gifts to each other. You bought me the dress I wore last night too…you gave me plenty; more then you needed to. I would've been fine with the roses and the makeup bag. We also went out to dinner before going to the party. I love everything you gave me and everything you did for me. A trip would've been wonderful because I like having you all to myself…especially when we get to go away but I'm happy with the birthday you gave me, okay?"
"Okay," he breathed.
"Maybe you should think about changing banks though."
"I'm already considering that; at least for the accounts I use for vacations and gift buying."
"That's a good idea but don't go to your brother's bank; he'll just stick his nose into your business and rat you out."
"I really must be hungover because I was thinking of going to Michael's bank and the thought of him being a rat didn't cross my mind…which it should have since he is in fact a rat," Jim replied.
"It's not the hangover," she replied; "It's because we're cold. Did you call the landlord and ask when the heat would be back on?"
"No; I get sick of calling him. Let someone else call."
"I'm going to go take a hot shower and get warm."
"You can't," Jim stated, keeping his arm around her so she wouldn't move.
"Why not?"
"There's no hot water either."
Johanna sighed deeply. "We could've been in Florida."
"We could've been in L.A.," he added.
"Don't remind me."
"You want to go L.A. for our honeymoon?" he asked.
"No."
Jim brushed a kiss against her lips. "Come on, babe; let's get up and get the hell out of here before you freeze. We'll spend the weekend at your place."
"I'm still not sure how I feel about this usage of 'babe' as a term of endearment."
He smiled. "I like it; not as much as sweetheart but it gives you a nice variety."
"I always want it to be sweetheart…it's the first one you gave me."
"You're always going to be my sweetheart," he promised. "Like I said; I just like to give you a little variety."
"Alright but if the usage of my preferred nickname drops, you're going to hear about it," she said as she wiggled away from him and forced herself out from under the covers.
"You don't have to worry," Jim replied as he sat up on the edge of the bed, watching as she moved to the window to look outside.
"You do know that you're going to have to shovel the car out, right?" Johanna asked as she glanced down at the street.
"What!" he exclaimed. "It wasn't snowing when we came home."
"Well it snowed at some point; it looks like there's a few inches out there, honey."
Jim moved to her side and peered out the window at the snow blanketed city. "We could've been in Florida."
"We could've been in L.A.," she added.
He sighed. "What is it about your birthday that inspires snow to fall either on the very day or somewhere very close to it?"
Johanna shrugged. "I think it's one of those mysteries of life, babe."
Jim glanced at her with an amused smirk. "You're calling me that now?"
"I thought I'd give you variety," she quipped.
He grinned. "I kind of like it."
"You would," she said with a laugh as she moved to the dresser to get her clothes out of the drawer.
Jim moved around her to open the dresser to grab his own clothes, hating the thought of having to go out and shovel…but he would because she needed to be somewhere warm…and since he couldn't give her Florida or even California at the moment, he'd have to settle for shoveling out the car so he could he take her to her apartment…which by the end of summer would be his home too. He was looking forward to that; going home to her, waking up with her…having more of these weekend mornings where they laid in bed and discussed things that came to mind without a feeling of drama or interference from the outside world.
"Do you feel better?" Jim asked as Johanna moved through her living room later that morning.
"Much better," she said; "At least we have heat and hot water here."
"I agree…it was a little mean of you not to let me in the shower with you though," he quipped.
Johanna smirked at him. "I think you'll survive."
"Of course…but you know; I thought it might get you warmer faster."
"Maybe next time; but at least I allowed you to stay in the room so you could shave," she said with a grin as she headed to the kitchen.
"Oh good, you're going to make breakfast," Jim said as he got up from the couch and followed her.
"Who said that?" Johanna asked as she popped the lid off the container that held the remains of her birthday cake.
"You're not making breakfast?"
"No; I'm eating cake," she replied, opening the cupboard to take down two plates and then grabbing a knife and two forks from the drawer.
"For breakfast!"
"Yes," she said in amusement. "It's okay; our mothers aren't here."
"I don't think I've ever had cake for breakfast," he admitted, watching as she sliced into the cake.
"Then you've been deprived, honey. I always have cake for breakfast the morning after my birthday…well expect for last year when we were in Albany; but it's usually my tradition."
"How did you get started in that?"
"Oddly enough, I remember once when I was little that I wanted a piece of my birthday cake for breakfast and of course Mom was telling me no and I was refusing everything else. So my father went into the kitchen and cut me a piece of cake and gave it to me…mostly to shut me up…and probably because it gave him an excuse to slice himself a piece of pie for breakfast that he had been eyeing up. Mom wasn't happy but there wasn't much she could do about it, I had done shoved a bite in my mouth before she could grab it and Dad made her give it back. So after that, I usually got my way on it…sometimes I don't get the chance to have a piece for breakfast but when I do, I make sure to seize the opportunity."
"Well I'm all for tradition," he said as he accepted his plate. "Happy cake for breakfast day."
"Happy cake for breakfast day to you too," she replied, sinking her fork into her piece of cake and taking a bite. "Mmm; that's so good."
He smiled as he took a bite of his cake as well. "It is good," he added. "I guess cake for breakfast is a small compensation for not being on a beach somewhere in Florida."
"I wish we were on a beach somewhere," Johanna said as she sat her plate on the table and then moved back to the counter to pour them each a cup of coffee. "Sea air and a warm breeze would be nice…especially with as cold as it's been since Christmas."
Jim nodded as he accepted his cup of coffee and then sat down at the table. "I really did want to take you away for a few days."
"I know and I appreciate it. I'm sorry the weather had to spoil it…and that your dad got on your case about it," she replied as she sat down across from him.
"Seems to be our lot in life at the moment," he remarked after taking a long sip of his coffee.
"Yeah, I guess so. I don't know why he's concerned about the time it takes to plan the wedding…I mean that mainly falls on me and my mother; it's not like he has anything to do with it," Johanna replied.
He nodded. "That thought occurred to me too…what does he care how long it takes us and when things get done. It's not like he's a part of the planning. We'll get it done."
"That's right; we do things in our own way and in our own time. It'll get done."
Jim breathed deeply as he sank his fork into his cake. "Still, if we were on a beach somewhere; all of this wouldn't even be a topic of conversation. We'd probably be looking for seashells."
"Or just taking a nice long walk on the beach."
"Or having breakfast on the terrace of our hotel room," he replied.
"Oh, that sounds nice," she sighed. "That sounds perfect…we need to make sure we can do that on our honeymoon."
"Do you want to go to Florida for our honeymoon?" Jim asked.
"No; I want to go far away from New York for our honeymoon. I don't want to be anywhere on the east coast. We're related to too many people on this side of the country. I want to be far from our relatives and our friends."
"Good point…we need a lot of distance for that trip."
"And we agreed on somewhere tropical."
"Tropical and far away from New York," he stated.
Silence stretched out between them as they contemplated their requirements while they nibbled on their cake and sipped their coffee. "If you could be anywhere in the world right now, besides Florida," Jim said; "Where would it be?"
Johanna thought for a moment. "Hawaii."
"Why?"
"Because I've always wanted to go there. It looks so pretty on tv. It's warm there all the time…plenty of beaches and ocean views. It seems calm and relaxing and yet I've read there's a lot to see and do there too. It feels far away and yet it's not far enough to require a passport or a different language. I've always been intrigued by it I guess."
"Let's go to Hawaii," Jim stated.
"Now!?" she asked.
He laughed. "I wish we could but I meant, let's go to Hawaii for our honeymoon."
Her eyes lit up, a smile tugging at her lips. "I'd love that…but maybe there's some place you'd like better?"
Jim shook his head. "No; I wouldn't mind seeing Hawaii; I've never been there. It meets our requirements of being warm and far from New York and relatives…and I do like that it doesn't require passports, a different language and exchanging money. Besides, as long as you're there, I'm happy."
"You're really okay with it?"
"Yeah; I think it sounds perfect."
A bright smile touched her lips. "I'd really love to go there," she murmured. "Hawaii is everything we want…and neither one of us has ever been there."
He returned her smile, his fingers stretching toward hers and capturing them. "We're going to Hawaii, sweetheart; you do still have your bikini fund, right?"
She laughed. "Yes; I have my bikini fund…it's got enough in it to also provide me with other wardrobe options for our honeymoon."
His brow rose inquisitively. "Special occasion options?"
"Of course, honey; as special as I can find…it is our honeymoon after all; it requires the very best and finest things I can find."
Jim grinned. "Do you need me to go with you when you shop for these things, because I will."
"Oh, no," she said with a shake of her head. "You can't see them before hand…you'll have to wait until we're in Hawaii…and then we'll have plenty of special occasion moments."
"I can't wait to go on our honeymoon," he breathed.
"Me neither," she replied. "We just have to get through all the planning and the wedding…and by then, we'll probably run to the airport because a cab will be too slow."
He laughed, giving her fingers a soft squeeze before releasing them. "That could be true; but hey, our families think we haven't accomplished anything and yet just in this morning we've decided where to live, which furniture to keep and where we want to go on our honeymoon. We're getting things accomplished."
"That's right, we are," Johanna said, scooping up her last bite of cake. "And we needed no one's input but our own."
"We've got this," he agreed with a nod.
"Yeah…for now," she replied; "Pretty soon we'll be hearing from the peanut galley constantly…and we'll be wishing we were in Florida all the time and counting down to when we can flee to Hawaii."
"I know," he replied; "But we'll claim today's small victories for now."
"I'm all for that," Johanna agreed with a smile. "Are we in agreement on just being lazy today? Because I don't want to go back out in the cold."
"We're in total agreement; let's just have a quiet day," Jim said; "Just you and me."
"Just you and me and no worries," she agreed.
The phone rang, breaking the comfortable silence that filled the air between them as they looked through the newspaper while the television played in the background later that morning. Jim began to reach for the phone but Johanna's voice stopped him. "Don't answer that!"
"Why not?" Jim asked.
"I'm getting an angry Mom vibe from that ring," she replied. "She was on my case all through lunch yesterday about going out to look for dresses and get the planning started this weekend and I said I might be busy…because I don't have my wedding party pinned down yet and I want that done first. I'm also worried that Colleen blabbed about the party."
"That wouldn't be good," he said as he pulled his hand away from the phone.
"No, it wouldn't be. Although I had nothing to do with this party being had. I didn't plan it; I didn't arrange it."
"And it was primarily a birthday party," Jim stated. "The engagement angle was thrown in in a light way…but it was your name on the cake; so that makes it completely a birthday party."
"Excellent point; that kind of evidence is hard to refute," Johanna stated.
"Especially when we ate most of the evidence."
"True…but even with sticking to the birthday party only story; if she finds out I invited Colleen and Frankie yesterday, I'll never hear the end of it…especially since I had lunch with her. She'll say I had the perfect opportunity to invite her and that I didn't and she'll start on that 'I don't include her in my life' thing again and I just don't want to do it."
The phone finally ceased ringing as Jim glanced at his fiancée. "The party was kind of a last minute thing…besides; it wasn't a place our parents would've liked. The majority of our families weren't there. We each invited siblings. Frankie and Valerie didn't even stay the whole time."
"That's because Valerie's parents didn't want to keep Greg over night."
"That's a shame; they seemed like they were having a good time."
"They were," she agreed. "Val said they hadn't been out in awhile."
"I don't think they'd rat you out to your mother."
"I don't either…Colleen's the one I worry about," she said as she sank back against the couch.
"Maybe you should get an answering machine so you can screen calls," he remarked.
"That's not a bad idea."
"You should definitely get one."
"How much do they cost?"
"I don't know; they're probably in the Sears catalog," Jim said; nodding at the one on her coffee table.
Johanna grabbed the catalog from the coffee table and began to flip through it. "Here they are," she said when she finally found them. "They cost a lot; the cheapest is eighty dollars and they go all the way to two hundred depending on which model you want."
"That is a bit pricey," Jim agreed. "Can we ask for one as a wedding gift?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure about wedding gift etiquette. I know people make gift registries but I just don't see myself going into a store making a list of things like towels and small appliances to give to people. If I'm going to do the shopping, I may as well do the buying."
"Good point," he remarked. "We've got towels."
"We'll probably have more once we're married. An answering machine would be nice though…but it might be too expensive to ask for."
The phone rang again and Jim glanced at her. "Do we answer or not?"
She pondered it for a moment and then nodded. "It's probably safe now; she would've thought I'm not home."
Jim picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Where's my daughter?" Naomi demanded to know. "I knew she was avoiding me."
"She's not avoiding you," he replied; glancing at Johanna, watching her expression change as she realized that it was her mother on the other end of the line.
"Then why didn't she answer the first time I called?" Naomi asked.
"She was in the shower," he lied.
"Then why didn't you answer?"
"I was shaving," he lied once more. "Jo doesn't like me to get shaving cream on the phone."
"She was in the shower and you were in the bathroom at the same time shaving?"
"Yeah," he replied; "We only have the one bathroom."
"Shouldn't you take turns in the name of privacy?" his mother-in-law asked.
"Why? She had the shower curtain closed…not that it matters, I know what she looks like and she knows I shave…so…you know; we don't really have any secrets at this point."
Naomi sighed deeply. "Put my daughter on the phone."
"I have a question first," he stated.
"What is it, dear?"
"Are we allowed to ask for an answering machine as a wedding gift?" Jim asked.
Johanna struggled not to laugh out loud as the question slipped across his lips.
"I don't think that's the sort of thing you ask for," Naomi remarked. "You're supposed to make a registry of things you need for your home; like dishes."
"We've got dishes," he replied. "We want an answering machine."
"You should have new dishes."
"Why? What's wrong with the dishes Johanna already has? They all match; unlike mine."
Naomi breathed deeply. "Because it's nice to start the marriage with new dishes, dear."
"Alright," he said; "But can't we get an answering machine too?"
"No! Household items!"
"I think it is a household item," he reasoned. "It'll be plugged into the phone and the phone is in the house."
"You only want one so you can make people talk on a machine before you answer; I wasn't born yesterday," Naomi stated. "I'd never get her on the phone."
"That's not true; we'd be screening calls from my mother," Jim stated. "We always answer your calls…as long as we're home and not in the shower."
"Jim, as much as I'm enjoying this little chat; put my daughter on the phone."
"Here," he said, holding the phone out to Johanna. "We have to buy our own answering machine and your mother doesn't like talking to me on the phone."
"That's her loss, honey," she replied with a teasing smile as she accepted the phone. "Hello, Mom."
"You were avoiding me."
"No, I wasn't; how would I even know it's you on the phone?" she asked.
"I know you," Naomi said; "Somehow you know. That's why I waited a few minutes and called back."
"I was in the shower when you called."
"And I'm supposed to believe that he was in the bathroom shaving while you were in the shower."
Her brow furrowed. "Why not? You and Dad have your own bathroom; are you saying he's never been in there shaving while you were in the shower?"
"No, he hasn't!" her mother exclaimed. "We respect each other's privacy."
"We respect each other's privacy; we're not always in there at the same time…but there are times when we're getting ready for work that I'll be in the shower and he's shaving because we have limited time. He always asks me first…I mean it's not a big deal."
"It's your business," her mother sighed. "I raised you to have more modesty but if you like having someone in the bathroom with you while you're showering; I guess that's your prerogative."
Johanna rolled her eyes. "You seem a bit moody today; what's wrong?"
"I heard you had an engagement party last night," her mother said; her tone cool and clipped.
"Well I don't know who told you that but I did not have an engagement party last night," Johanna remarked.
"That's not what I heard."
"Well tell me who you're hearing stories from and I'll tell you if they're a reliable source."
"I ran into Sharon a little while ago at the store," she replied.
Her blood boiled. "Well I can tell you with certainty that Sharon isn't a reliable source in this case. Jim and I had made plans to go away for the weekend but they fell through due to the weather. We went out to dinner and after dinner; we went to a club where our friends threw a birthday party for me."
"I hear it was a celebration of both birthday and engagement."
"It was a birthday party," she said firmly. "Sharon wasn't even there so she doesn't even know what she's talking about."
"So you knew nothing of this party when we had lunch yesterday?" Naomi asked.
Johanna heard the slight edge in her mother's tone and she knew better than to lie. "Yeah; I knew about it when we were having lunch. What of it?"
"I hear you invited your sister."
"Yeah; I did invite Colleen…she's kind of been hanging around my office during lunch time all week. I get the feeling she and Paul are on the outs so I figured she could come and have some fun while the weasel sat home."
"But you don't bother to invite your parents…or anyone else in your family."
"Mom; I didn't plan this party. I didn't arrange it. Yeah; Jim told me they were giving me a party so I'd know what we were doing after dinner last night. He also told our friends that he was the one who invited Colleen," she said, fabricating that part of the information. "Jim's family wasn't there either…there was no reason for them to be; it was my birthday party; nothing more, nothing less."
"I think it was more," Naomi stated. "I think you had an engagement party with your friends and you did it on your birthday so you'd have a nice cover for it. See what I mean when I say you don't include me in your life!"
"Oh my God, Mom!" she exclaimed. "That's not true! It wasn't an engagement party! It was a birthday party; my name was the only name on the cake. Jim; was it a birthday party or an engagement party?"
"It was a birthday party," he said loudly.
"You still could've invited us to celebrate with you," Naomi replied.
"Mom, I didn't arrange the party. I invited Colleen late in the day, I felt bad for her, she seemed down…we're not as close as we used to be so I thought maybe we could have some fun together and we did. You and Dad wouldn't have liked this place; it's one of my favorite clubs, the music is loud, there's a lot of dancing and a lot of drinking. You would've hated it."
"You still could've asked! You just don't like to include me; I probably won't even be invited to your wedding. You're probably going to plan it with your friends and leave me out completely."
"That's not true at all!" she exclaimed. "I'm going to plan the wedding with you; you are going to be there and I don't exclude you!"
"Yes, you do. You used to tell me everything; now you don't."
Johanna breathed deeply. "Alright, Mom; let me tell you all about yesterday and today. Yesterday I got up and went to work; there was a client who only wanted a woman lawyer. He had done been bounced to three other women in the firm and quickly dropped and then Roche sent him my way…and ten minutes into meeting him and discussing his case, he informs me that he likes to take his legal counsel for a test drive in a hotel room before committing to using them for his case. I called my boss to come down to my office, which he did, and I told him what happened and that I was not working with that low life. Roche than informed the scum that he runs a law firm, not an escort service and told him to take his business elsewhere. After that, I did some paperwork, told my fiancé what happened during a coffee break and then went to a preliminary hearing for another case. After that I had lunch with you and Colleen. I went back to my office, did more work, called Colleen, knocked off a half hour early so I could come home and get ready for my night out. Jim arrived a little before six; gave me a dozen roses and a pair of beautiful diamond earrings and a makeup bag I wanted one day when we were at Macy's. We then went to dinner at Lugi's; it's one of our favorite restaurants. We had chicken parmesan and salad and breadsticks and a glass of wine. After that we went to the club for the party. We ate cake, we danced, we laughed, we got drunk and took a cab to Jim's apartment sometime in the middle of the night and then there was sex. This morning we woke up and discovered that the heat and hot water was out at his place so we re-located to mine where we had cake for breakfast, Tylenol for the hangover and I took my birth control pill. Then there were showers and he shaved and now we're on the couch; he's reading the paper, I'm looking at a catalogue and talking to you. Do you feel caught up on the events of my life now?" she asked.
"I could've done without some of the details," Naomi remarked. "You only bring up your love life to annoy me."
"You wanted to be included," Johanna replied; "Now you know how I've been spending the last thirty-six hours."
"Not that included," her mother retorted; "And I still don't like the idea of those damn birth control pills."
"Well I don't like the idea of being pregnant at my wedding so I'm taking them."
"There's a way to avoid being pregnant at your wedding besides taking those pills."
"Condoms sometimes fail, Mom."
"That's not what I meant!" Naomi exclaimed. "I meant sleeping alone until you're married."
"I don't like sleeping alone."
"Neither do I," Jim quipped.
"There, it's unanimous," Johanna said; "We don't like sleeping alone so we try to do that as little as possible…that's one of the reasons we're getting married."
"Are you still drunk?" her mother asked.
"No, I'm not still drunk. My headache has eased up and I kept the cake down so I think I'm good in the hangover scheme of things. Anything else you want to know?"
Naomi sighed. "When are we going to start planning this wedding? It's now February fifth and if you intend to get married this August you need to get moving! What are you waiting on?"
"I'm trying to get my wedding party finalized before diving into the other stuff," Johanna admitted. "Perhaps if you nudged Colleen to give me an answer, I would be able to move along more quickly."
"Fine, I will," Naomi stated. "I'll make sure you have an answer from her by the end of the weekend."
"I would appreciate that. I was going to ask her last night but I didn't want to ruin things since she was having a good time."
"I'll get an answer," her mother replied; "And I'll expect you to have answers for me by the end of the weekend."
"Answers about what?"
"About when you're going to get serious about this wedding," Naomi stated. "You'd think it would be of the utmost importance to you but you act like you could care less. This is the most important day of your life and you just don't seem care."
"That's not true! I do care!" Johanna exclaimed. "I just don't want to be one of those crazed brides who go insane about every little detail and make everyone around them miserable."
"No one said you had to be crazed; but my goodness, Johanna; you're not acting like a bride at all. I can only imagine what Jim thinks of your lack of interest in getting this wedding planned."
The comment irritated her as she glanced at her fiancé. "Jim; my mother wants to know how you feel about my so called disinterest in our wedding planning."
"I wasn't aware that you weren't interested," he replied. "I've seen you buying bridal magazines and we've been discussing the wedding party and we've talked about what we want for a honeymoon…we've picked a date…just this morning we decided where we're going to live so…I'm not seeing a problem."
"Thank you," Johanna said before giving her attention back to the phone. "Did you get all of that?" she asked her mother. "My fiancé has no concerns at this time."
"Perhaps he's disinterested too."
She smiled at Jim, deciding to use his newest term of endearment for him again just as an extra irritation toward her mother since she was stoking her ire. "Good news, babe; my mother thinks you're disinterested too."
"Well then that just goes to prove that we're meant for each other, beautiful," he said with a grin. "Maybe when you're finished on the phone we can discuss that thank you that you owe me from this morning," he added, giving her a wink so she'd play along.
"I'm a woman of my word," she told him, her tone conveying an amorous lilt. "I intend to show you my gratitude."
"I don't want to hear this!" Naomi exclaimed on the phone.
"Sorry," Johanna said, although she wasn't the least bit apologetic; "You know how it is."
"Yeah; I know how it is when you want to change the subject."
"Next weekend, Mom," she sighed. "Next weekend we'll start the planning."
"Why not tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is Sunday; we're not going to be able to do much tomorrow. Besides, I'm making dinner for Jim tomorrow because I didn't get to on Wednesday; I had a dinner meeting with a client. I also want to have my wedding party settled before we dig in; I'm going to demand answers and I'll be ready next weekend, okay?"
"Fine," Naomi said; "But if you aren't here by eleven next Saturday morning, I will come looking for you and you won't be happy when I find you…because believe me, I will find you, Johanna Elizabeth."
"I'll be there," she said firmly. "You make sure I have an answer from my sister this weekend."
"I will," Naomi promised. "I'm still hurt though that you don't think enough of us to invite us to your birthday party."
"Mom," she sighed.
"Well I can't lie about it," her mother remarked. "It's very hurtful."
"I'm sorry that my friends threw me a birthday party, Mom," Johanna replied. "I am deeply, deeply sorry that they took it upon themselves to do that. I'm sorry that it was a last minute thing and that I didn't get to view the guest list prior to the occasion. It was a small party of close friends; not a ballroom sized one and I doubt you would've liked it but I'm very, very sorry. Don't worry, it won't happen again. Believe me, all the drama I've been through because of parties these past few weeks makes me never want to have a party again."
"Does that mean you're not going to have a bridal shower?" Naomi asked.
"I don't know! Besides, isn't that my maid of honor's job if I do decide to have one?"
"Now a days that's the trend but it's not a rule; after all Colleen didn't have you throw her bridal shower."
"Yes, I know; it was a slap in the face," she replied; "And don't even think of asking me to have her throw mine because I'm not. She didn't want me to give her one when I offered to and I'm not asking her to give me one. It's the maid of honor's job; if I decide to have one, Maggie will plan it."
"I could plan it," Naomi stated.
"You've got enough to plan," Johanna told her. "Maggie will have that job."
"I'm supposed to do nothing for the bridal shower?"
"You're supposed to show up," she replied; "If you want, you can even bring a gift…I hear answering machines are nice. I've got one at work; it's wonderful…home ones are nice too."
"I'm not buying you an answering machine," Naomi remarked; "So just forget it and you'll register for proper wedding gifts, not frivolous expensive things like an answering machine that you and Jim can afford to buy yourselves."
"Pick an answering machine out of the catalog, Jim," Johanna said; "We're buying ourselves an early wedding gift."
"I'm on it," he replied, snatching the catalog from her lap.
"Well, Mom," she said; "I've enjoyed our chat but Jim and I have an answering machine to pick out and I'll have to call Sears and place the order and then we'll probably decide what we're going to do for dinner later so I'm going to go and I'll talk to you later."
"You don't need an answering machine," Naomi stated; "But have a nice day, dear; I hope you enjoyed your party last night."
"I did…I thought you enjoyed our usual birthday lunch together but apparently you didn't and you feel cheated so now I wish I hadn't had the party since you've made me feel guilty for having friends who wanted to do something nice for me since I've been a part of some party throwing for them at times."
"Of course I enjoyed our lunch," her mother sighed; "I don't want you to feel guilty for having a party…unless it really was an engagement party."
"It wasn't!"
"Alright, dear; it wasn't…I'm sorry. Don't feel guilty for having a nice time…or for inviting your sister. I think she is having a difficult time in her marriage this week. I'm glad the two of you had some time together. I won't say anything else about your party…you're right, I probably wouldn't have liked it. I'll hear from you soon?"
"Yes, Mama; I'll call you tomorrow. I love you."
"I love you too, Bambina."
They said goodbye and ended their call, Johanna sighing as she handed the phone to Jim to hang up for her. "God I wish we were in Florida," she muttered.
"Me too," he replied; "It was probably our last chance to get away now that you're being locked down for wedding planning."
"Aren't you supposed to make me feel better instead of worse?"
"Sorry," Jim said, reaching out and patting her ankle. "Your guilt trip at the end of the phone call was excellent though."
"Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Are we really ordering an answering machine?" he asked.
"God yes," she sighed.
"I say we go for the one that's a hundred; it's a step up from the cheapest and yet still a good bit cheaper than the most expensive ones. You order it and put it on my credit card."
"Okay; I'll give you my half of the cost when I go to the bank to cash my check," Johanna replied.
"You don't have to give me half of the money."
"It's a gift to ourselves; we should split the cost…don't argue or I won't thank you later."
Jim laughed and leaned toward her, catching her lips in a kiss. "Alright, no argument."
"Good; after we order it, you call your sister-in-law and find out if the kids are allowed to be in the wedding or not because I need answers this weekend; no excuses. It's either yes or no," she stated. "I'm going to do the same thing to Sharon. This needs to be done."
"Okay," he said with a nod. "Let me go get my credit card for you and then after you're finished with the phone, I'll see if I can get a hold of her."
"I need to know today, Natalie," Jim said, a hint of exasperation in his tone as he repeated the statement to his sister-in-law for what he was sure was the third time.
"Why do you need an answer today?" Natalie asked. "It isn't like you're getting married next week. I haven't even thought anymore about the situation."
"I need to know because Johanna and her mother want to start planning this wedding next weekend and they'd like to know who's going to be in it; now are you going to let the kids be in the wedding or not? It's really not that difficult of a question."
Natalie sighed. "Can't we discuss it tomorrow? I haven't even talked to the kids about it."
"Well go talk to them!" he exclaimed. "All you have you to do is ask the girls if they want to be flower girls and ask Danny if he wants to be a ring bearer and ask Mikey if he wants to escort his sisters down the aisle. It's not hard, Natalie."
"Jim, this thing of having two ring bearers really isn't done," his sister-in-law stated. "No one does that."
"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it hasn't been done," he replied. "It's our wedding, why should it matter to you if it's been done or not?"
"Because it's my son who will look foolish," she stated. "Having two ring bearers is stupid; the rings are carried on one pillow by one child; now if you want Danny to do it, that's fine but he should be the only one. Johanna's nephew is too young for the job anyway; isn't he the same age as Alicia?"
"He's a few months older than Alicia."
"Well then you see, he's too young. Danny is the appropriate age for being a ring bearer so he's the better choice."
"If you think I'm telling Johanna to drop her nephew as our ring bearer, you're crazy," he replied. "Greg will be taught what he needs to do and I'm sure he'll do it just fine. He's staying in the role she wants him in, his parents already approved."
"He's too little; it should be Danny."
"We're asking Danny!" he exclaimed. "Greg can carry her ring, Danny can carry mine."
"It's not done that way; if you really want Danny in this, you'll explain to her that he's the proper age and that it'll be better and less stressful to have Danny do it."
"I'm not going to do that," Jim stated. "Johanna loves her nephew with every ounce of her heart and she wants him in our wedding; it's very important to her that we include our nieces and nephews."
"People don't have two ring bearers," Natalie retorted. "Since you already have one, you have no need of Danny so he's not doing it."
"Fine; you explain to him why he was excluded," he remarked. "What about the other three kids?"
"Alicia's too little to be a flower girl."
"She is not!" he yelled.
"Yes, she is; she'll only be two and a half by the time your wedding gets here; that's too little."
Jim breathed deeply. "She'd be with Angie the whole time; we're only asking them to throw some flower petals, not mix drinks at the bar or drive the limo. We want Alicia and Angie to be our flower girls."
"Angie is the appropriate age for the job," Natalie stated. "As for Alicia, she's not and I'm not going to have it on my head if she'd suddenly misbehave when she's walking down the aisle. So no, Alicia isn't going to be in it."
Anger licked his veins. "So is Angie allowed to be a flower girl or is there some stupid rule you're going to think up to take her out too?"
"Angie is the right age for a flower girl…but I'll have to talk to her to see if she wants to do it. As for Mikey, I highly doubt he'd want to walk down the aisle with his sister with nothing to do. You're just trying to shove him in because you thought everyone would be in it; well I don't like the idea of having him walk down the aisle just for the sake of doing so. I think he'd feel silly and it's not something that's done at weddings."
"So what you're saying is that neither one of my nephews can be in my wedding because the placement doesn't suit you. My youngest niece can't be in the wedding because you think she's too little to throw flowers. My brother isn't going to be in my wedding because he's afraid of our mother and you're not going to be in our wedding because you're afraid of her too. So the only person I might stand a chance of having in my wedding is Angie."
"We're not afraid of Elizabeth," Natalie stated; "But we don't want to deal with her dramatics for the next six months leading up to your wedding if we had chosen to be in our wedding party. We don't want to put up with it and like we said, we also don't have the time that those roles require. I'll talk to Angie and see if she wants to be a flower girl. Call back tomorrow and I'll give you an answer."
"Forget it," Jim said; his tone quiet. "I don't need your kids in my wedding. I don't even need any of you to show up…in fact, don't; I don't want to take up your precious time and I wouldn't want you to have to hear anyone's dramatics about accepting the invitation. So don't worry, Natalie; we'll find someone else to be the flower girl."
"Jim; I said I'll talk to Angie. You don't need to overreact about it; you must get that from Elizabeth."
"Don't bother, Natalie. I don't need your kids…I don't need you and Michael either. So how about this; I don't need the kids in the wedding and none of you need to come; and in return for that, you can quit inviting me to birthday parties and don't even think of calling us to babysit because we're busy…and even if we're not busy we're not going to babysit because Mom might not like it; after all, she doesn't like you either. So there, everything is taken care of; I'll see you at a future holiday gathering…maybe; I might decide to go to my in-laws. Have a nice day," he said before hanging up without even allowing her a chance to respond.
Jim blew out a breath, wondering why his brother and sister-in-law had suddenly turned against him. They had previously claimed to like Johanna; he thought he had their support for their relationship. So why were they suddenly turning on him now that he was getting married? Why couldn't he have his nieces and nephews in his wedding? So what if they didn't go strictly by the book so they could include everyone; what did it hurt? He sighed deeply and rose from the side of the bed where he had been sitting. He had chosen to make his call in the bedroom so Johanna could hear the movie she was watching on TV. Now he'd have to tell her that the kids were out and they'd have to get another flower girl. He loved Angie to pieces and would love to have her as flower girl but not at the expense of her siblings feelings. They'd feel she was favored over the rest of them and he didn't want that. "Could've been in Florida," he muttered. "Could have been on a beach somewhere, hundreds of miles away."
Jim opened the bedroom door and made his way back to the living room where Johanna was curled up beneath a blanket on the couch. "How did it go?" she asked as she met his gaze.
"Not good," he replied, setting down on the couch with her. "Natalie won't let Danny be a ring bearer because she says there's not supposed to be two…so we either pick Danny to do it or he's not in it. I told her he wouldn't be in it then because we're not dropping Greg."
"Oh my God; she actually said that!" Johanna exclaimed.
"Yes."
"Wow; what is with everyone? People seem to think it's their wedding instead of ours! I can't believe she said to drop Greg."
"She claims he's too young."
"He'll be a couple weeks short of three; I'm sure he'll be fine. Valerie's going to teach him what to do; he'll be practicing before the wedding gets here. How dare her say that my baby shouldn't be in my wedding!"
Jim smiled. "Greg's going to be there, sweetheart; I told her in no uncertain terms that we weren't kicking Greg out of the wedding party. Since we're not doing it her suggested way, we don't get Danny. We also don't get Mikey because she thinks our idea from his is stupid. We also don't get Alicia because she says she's too little to be a flower girl."
"She is not! She'd only be throwing flower petals; it's not difficult!"
"Yeah; well, that's what I thought but apparently there are secret age rules we know nothing about," he replied. "So Danny and Alicia are out and so is Mikey because having him escort the flower girl is stupid in his mother's opinion and we'll make him feel silly."
"How long did it take her to think up this bullshit?" Johanna asked.
"She seemed to be doing it on the fly. She said she'd ask Angie if she wants to be a flower girl and I can call back tomorrow for an answer. I told her not to bother; I don't need her kids in my wedding…so I'm afraid we're out two flower girls, sweetheart."
"It's alright; we knew it was a possibility," she replied as she reached for her wedding planning notebook that was lying on the coffee table. She had transcribed the plans for combining their households on a page in the back and had marked a page for their honeymoon plans. Now she turned to the page where they had drafted their wedding party list. She uncapped her pen and crossed off the names of the Beckett children. "I guess we really don't need a flower girl," she stated. "It's not majorly important."
"I thought you had a little cousin that could do it?"
"I do…but I know how much you wanted it to be Angie and Alicia…so maybe it's best to not have one if it can't be who you wanted."
"I did want them to be the flower girls…I just didn't count on Michael and Natalie being so disagreeable about everything. Weddings always have flower girls and we should have at least one. Call your cousin and see if she'll let her little girl do it."
"Are you sure?" she asked. "What if Michael and Natalie change their minds?"
"They won't."
She gave him a sad smile. "If they would, we can just have three flower girls."
"I don't think we'll have to worry about it. Go ahead and call your cousin."
Her heart ached a little as she reached for the phone and dialed her cousin Morgan. When Morgan answered, she asked if four year old Jacqueline would like to be their flower girl. The little girl's squeals of happiness in the background as she was asked made her smile a little despite her sadness that Angie and Alicia wouldn't have that joy. Morgan gave her consent to Jacqueline being in the wedding and told Johanna to let her know when to bring her into the city to look for a dress. She promised to let her know soon and then she hung up and wrote the little girl's name on her list.
"Jackie is thrilled to be a flower girl," she said, glancing at Jim.
He gave her a smile. "Good; I'm glad that one went easily."
"Me too…but I'm going to hope that maybe something will change and we can add Angie and Alicia back to our list."
"That would be nice but I wouldn't get too hopeful."
She patted his hand in comfort. "We'll see…we still have a long road ahead of us."
"Yeah; I know."
Johanna smiled a little. "But we could've been in Florida avoiding it for a few more days."
Jim laughed. "Yeah; or L.A. if I hadn't ran into my father."
"It's just not our weekend, honey. There are bad vibes out there robbing us of weekend getaways and flower girls."
"Don't forget the heat and hot water issue at my apartment."
"That too," she said with a nod. "Tomorrow we're staying in bed until I have to get up to make dinner."
"I hope it's fried chicken."
Johanna leaned toward him and pressed a kiss against his lips. "It'll be fried chicken."
"At least that's some compensation for not being on a beach somewhere."
"Small compensation," she said; "Maybe we can run away for the weekend in the spring."
"That's so far away," he breathed.
"I know," she said in commiseration. "But we don't have much choice."
Jim and Johanna were settled at the kitchen table later that day with the pizza they had ordered when the phone rang. "I swear, it's like Grand Central Station here today," she remarked as she got up from her chair.
"It does seem like we've had a sudden increase in popularity today," Jim quipped.
"I can't wait until we get our answering machine," she replied as she headed to the living room to answer the phone.
"That is going to be a blessing," Jim called after her.
"Hello," she said as she snatched up the receiver.
"Not so loud," Colleen murmured. "Have some respect for the dying."
She gave a soft laugh. "Your hangover must be worse than mine."
"I feel like I was hit by a bus," her sister remarked; "And Mom calling here yelling in my ear didn't help. Why the hell did you sic her on me?"
"I didn't tell her to call you today…I did try to get her off my phone though because she was yelling at me."
"I think someone must've blabbed about your party, Sissy; she knew I was there. I swear it wasn't me but she knew I was there. I didn't say much about it though; just that it was your birthday party. I left out the small hint of engagement party vibe but I swear I'm not the person who told in the first place."
"I know it wasn't you; she told me she ran into Sharon at the store this morning. Sharon's the one who ran her mouth."
"Bitch," Colleen mumbled.
"She does have her moments."
Colleen sighed. "God my head hurts; the Tylenol isn't even touching it."
"I'm sorry…but at least you had a good time," Johanna quipped. "I'm sorry Mom apparently hung up from me and called you."
"It's okay…about the bridesmaid thing…"
"Yeah?" she asked, her stomach clenching a little a she waited for her sister's verdict.
"I'm in," Colleen said.
"Really?" Johanna asked.
"Yeah."
"What changed your mind?"
"You're my sister," Colleen said. "I had you long before I had Paul."
She smiled a little. "Is it going to cause trouble for you?"
"No; not if I don't let it…and I'm not going to let it. It's none of his damn business. You're my sister and I'm going to be there. I know things didn't go well between us for my wedding…because of me…so maybe we can do better for yours."
"I'm glad you're going to be there," Johanna said softly. "It wouldn't seem right without you."
"I'll be there, Sissy. I'm going to go now though because even though you're talking quietly, my head feels like you're screaming so I'll talk to you tomorrow or something, okay?"
"Yeah," she said lightly. "I understand. I'm just glad you're going to be my bridesmaid, thank you."
"You're welcome. I love you."
"I love you too, Bug. Go take some more Tylenol; I'll talk to you later."
They said goodbye and Johanna hung up the phone. She grabbed her notebook from the coffee table and took it back to the kitchen with her.
"Who was it?" Jim asked.
"My sister; she's agreed to be a bridesmaid," she said with a smile as she retook her seat.
"Hey, at least that's some good news for today," Jim replied as he watched her put a checkmark by her sister's name on the list.
"Finally," she replied. "I'm just glad she decided to be in it…it wouldn't have felt right without Colleen."
"I know," he replied; knowing how much it meant to her to have her sister there even if they did have their troubles at times. "What made her change her mind?"
"I don't really know…all she said was she had me before she had Paul…so I guess she's claiming family loyalty, I don't know. As long as she's in it though, I guess the reason doesn't really matter."
"I guess that is true. I'm glad it worked out for you, sweetheart. I guess your mother is making her rounds today."
"It definitely seems that way…I wonder who's next on her list."
Jim gave a laugh. "Hopefully it's not back to you."
"From your lips to God's ear," she remarked as she picked up her slice of pizza to take a bite. "I really can't wait for that answering machine to get here."
"It's too bad we can't hide in Florida while we wait on it."
"Isn't that the truth," Johanna muttered. "So here's where we stand on the wedding party angle; you have Jeff, Andrew, Frankie and Zach. I have Maggie, Valerie and Colleen…still waiting on Sharon's verdict. We have Greg as ring bearer and Jacqueline as flower girl."
Jim nodded. "So we're almost finished with that."
"Almost. I just have to get an answer out of Sharon."
"When are you going to do that?"
She sighed a little. "I'll try to call again after we're done eating. I tried earlier but no one answered. I told her I wanted to know by the end of January and no we're at the beginning of February and she still wants to side step answering. Well I can't keep playing that game with her."
"I think she has her nerve to expect to be maid of honor after the way she treated you during her own wedding."
"I know but she doesn't seem to grasp that concept; but it doesn't matter because Maggie has the job and she's keeping it."
"You're just going to have to put your foot down and demand the answer this time, Jo. It might not be the one you want but at least you'll know and you'll be able to settle this thing before your mother hunts you down and beats you with something."
"That's a pleasant dinner time thought," she quipped.
"Could've been worse; I could've waited until we were in bed."
"That's true; thanks for your restraint."
"Anything for you, sweetheart," Jim said with a laugh. "But don't worry; either way Sharon goes, it'll be fine. We get this settled, you can get the planning under way, we get married and run away to Hawaii for two weeks."
"Hawaii," she breathed; "Ocean air, beautiful beaches…far, far away from everyone we've ever met. Now I know why they call it paradise."
"I tried to get us to a substitute paradise."
"I know…but the universe was against us. We'll just have to wait for Hawaii."
"I thought we were running away in the spring!?" he exclaimed.
"You're right, we are…but you might have to make it look like you whisked me away without me knowing until I was in the car…you know…to avoid mother issues."
"I'll start thinking up our story this week," Jim replied with a grin. "So much plotting to do, so little time…at least that's what we're told."
"Oh well," Johanna said; "We'll just do the best with what we've got in the timeframe we have. We'll be fine…just make sure Hawaii is planned."
"I'll start looking into it this week, I promise," he remarked. "I'll go to a travel agent and get us some information and we'll get it all settled."
"I'll put that on our honeymoon page," she said, grabbing her pen and flipping through her notebook. "That's one more thing accomplished."
As they were moving into the living room after they finished eating, Jim noticed the corner of a pink envelope being pushed under the door.
"What's that?" Johanna asked as she too noticed the.
"I don't know but we'll find out," Jim said as he moved to the door and released the lock, swinging it open to find Sharon on the other side. She flinched and threw her hand out for balance before she quickly got to her feet beneath Jim's assessing gaze. "Sharon, what the hell are you doing?" he asked.
"I was dropping off Johanna's birthday card," she replied, nodding to the envelope.
"Why didn't you just knock on the door? Johanna asked as she appeared in the doorway.
"I didn't think you'd be home."
"I've been here all day," Johanna told her. "Come on in, I've been trying to get a hold of you. I want talk to you."
"Phil's waiting for me in the car," Sharon remarked.
"It won't take long."
"It's cold out," Sharon protested.
"I'm sure Phil has heat in that brand new Cadillac," Jim said as he moved to the couch and sat down.
"It'll only take a few minutes, Sharon," Johanna said. "I'm sure Phil will come look for you if he thinks you're taking too long."
"Alright but make it fast," her friend replied as she picked up the card and handed it to her. "Here's your card that I forgot to give to you yesterday."
"Thank you," Johanna said as she accepted the envelope. "Thank you for also telling my mother that I had an engagement party when that's not really the truth."
Sharon shrugged. "You did have an engagement party."
"No, it was a birthday party and you know it."
"It was stated that the party was also for your engagement."
"It was primarily a birthday party," she stated. "There was a toast to our engagement, a few moments conversation about it and that was the extent of it. If you had been there you'd know that but you weren't so you shouldn't tell stories when you don't have the right facts. You also heard me telling my sister not to mention the party to my mother."
"It slipped out," Sharon replied.
"Why weren't you at the party, Sharon?" Jim asked.
"Why wasn't Johanna at my bridal shower?" Sharon retorted.
"You know why I wasn't at your bridal shower," Johanna stated, her gaze locked on Sharon.
"And you know why I wasn't at your birthday/engagement party last night."
She rolled her eyes. "Are we even now?"
"I guess so," her friend replied.
"Now that we have that out of the way, I need an answer about you being a bridesmaid. Are you in or out?"
"I don't know," Sharon said as she shifted on her feet. "I haven't made up my mind."
"Well you better make it up fast," Johanna replied; "Because I need an answer. Mom wants to start planning this week and I told her I'd have my wedding party done this weekend. It's a yes or no question."
"It's not that simple…it's a hard decision to make," her friend complained. "Especially when Phil wasn't asked to be a groomsman. I think he was a bit surprised not to be included."
"This has nothing to do with Phil," Johanna remarked. "It has to do with you. I asked you and now I need an answer; you've had weeks to think about it."
"If I would've been maid of honor the decision would be easy."
"The position is bridesmaid…that's more than you offered me after you booted me out of the maid of honor position in your wedding for a teenager."
Sharon shrugged a little. "I don't know…you always said I'd be maid of honor…bridesmaid feels a little like a slap in the face."
"No, a slap in the face would be me not asking you to be a part of it all. As for always saying you'd be my maid of honor…you always told me the same thing but then I wasn't…so why should I be held to a pact we made as teenagers when you didn't hold up your end, Sharon?" she asked.
"I could overlook it if you passed me over for your sister…even your sister-in-law," Sharon stated; "But Maggie!?"
"What's wrong with Maggie?" Jim asked.
Sharon huffed a little as she glanced at him. "Stay out of it, Jim."
"No," he replied; "It's my wedding too and I like Maggie. I think she'll do a good job for Johanna."
"And I wouldn't?!" Sharon exclaimed.
He shrugged. "I don't know…you seem to think this is about you and it's supposed to be about Johanna."
"I've known her longer than Maggie has!" the secretary exclaimed.
"Well I knew you longer than you knew Peggy!" Johanna shot back.
"I had to do that for family unity!"
"Well, if it'll help," Jim said; "I can claim that Maggie is my long lost half sister from an illicit affair my father had at a banking convention and that Johanna had to pick her in the name of family unity."
Johanna burst into laughter as she turned to face him. "Your mother would just love hearing you say that."
"Just trying to help you out, sweetheart," he laughed.
Sharon shook her head. "It's not funny."
"I thought it was hilarious," Johanna replied.
"You think everything he does is wonderful."
"Well I am quite a catch," Jim stated.
"He is," Johanna said with a nod.
"Don't stroke his ego too much, Jo; the honeymoon ends eventually," Sharon stated.
"Speak for yourself," Jim remarked.
"Does he have to be here while we do this?" Sharon asked Johanna.
"Yeah," she replied; "This is his home as much as it is mine. I'm not going to ask him to leave the room. He already knows what went down with your wedding; he knows what's going on with my planning. Now I need an answer; are you going to be a bridesmaid or are you just going to be a guest? Make a decision."
"I don't know; I need more time."
"Time's up, Sharon," Johanna stated. "Yes or no?"
"I told you, I'm not sure."
"Fine, I'll make the decision for you. You're out."
Sharon's jaw dropped. "I'm out?!"
"Yeah; I'll get someone else. If the answer was yes you wouldn't hesitate to give it to me; so clearly the answer is no…you're out."
"I don't want to be out!" Sharon exclaimed.
Johanna sighed deeply. "I could've been in Florida," she muttered.
"What?" her friend asked.
"Nothing. I gave you a chance to accept being a bridesmaid, Sharon. You wouldn't give me an answer. I don't like that you're not going to be in the wedding party, it won't feel entirely the same without you but that's how you want it so that's how it'll be."
"No," Sharon stated. "I don't want out…I just hate that Maggie's maid of honor."
"What do you have against Maggie all of a sudden?" she asked.
"Nothing…but it was supposed to be my job."
"Yeah; it was supposed to my job for you too but you gave it to Phil's sister at the last possible moment. That hurt me, Sharon…and if it hurts you that I chose a friend who has been there for me more than you have been the last several months…well then you know how I felt when you pulled the rug out from under me. Now I'm giving you one last chance; are you a bridesmaid or not? If you say you don't know, I swear to God, you're done and that will be the end of it," she said seriously. "I'm getting married in six months; I don't have time to play games with you. Now are you going to be a bridesmaid or not? Yes or no?"
Sharon breathed deeply. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Don't overwhelm me with enthusiasm," Johanna replied. "I mean I've gotten better reactions than that from clients that I've lost cases for."
"This is as good as it gets right now," her secretary stated.
Johanna shifted on her feet, her hands settling on her hips. "Look, if you don't want to do it, just say so. I'm not going to be mad, I just need a straight answer…because I don't want you waiting a few weeks and then bailing on me. So if you really don't want to do it, just say so and it'll be fine. I'm not going to quit speaking to you. I'm not going to fire you. Just tell me."
Sharon met her eye. "I'll be a bridesmaid…it's not maid of honor but I'll take what I can get."
"You're sure?" she asked.
"Yeah. I'll do it…I won't bail, I promise."
"Okay," Johanna said, a small smile touching her lips as she moved forward and embraced her friend. "I'm glad you're onboard."
Sharon returned her hug. "Yeah, well, that's usually how it is when it comes to us. I better get going before Phil comes up here in a snit about me taking so long. I'll talk to you later."
"Alright," she said, following her to the door so she could lock it behind her. Once Sharon was gone, Johanna leaned back against the door. "Well that was like pulling teeth," she stated.
"You did it very well though," Jim replied. "You only mentioned wishing to be in Florida once."
"Like you weren't sitting there thinking the same thing," she said as she moved to the couch and plopped down next to him.
"You're right, I was. I was even thinking about how we'd be in L.A. if my father hadn't gotten into my head."
"People," Johanna sighed. "They just can't cooperate."
"I know…I'm related to half of those people," Jim remarked.
"I'm related to the other half."
"That's why we need that answering machine."
"It should be here late next week," Johanna replied. "Bring your camera over, we're going to take a picture of it when it gets here; it's going right into our wedding album."
Jim laughed. "Really?"
"Yes; the first wedding gift…purchased by the bride and groom so they could hold on to a shred of sanity."
"If that doesn't say happily ever after I don't know what does," he quipped.
"This has been a long day," Johanna sighed as she picked up the remote and flipped channels. "A very long day."
"I bet it wouldn't have been long in Florida," Jim quipped.
She laughed as she shifted to curl up in the circle of his arm. "We're going to go there one day…we're going to claim our Florida dream."
"I'm all for that," he replied as he brushed a kiss against her head. He was all for claiming anything with her.
"You know, for a day we intended to be lazy and worry free; I'm tired," Jim said as he wrapped his arm around Johanna as she settled against his chest that night.
"Me too," she replied, pulling the covers up further. "But at least people can't say we didn't accomplish anything."
"That's true," he said with a nod. "We've got our honeymoon destination."
"And we know where we're going to live after the honeymoon."
"Right; and we've decided on the furniture."
"We've ordered an answering machine," Johanna stated.
"And we finally nailed down the wedding party."
"Finally," she sighed. "Now it begins."
"What begins?"
"The end of no planning bliss," she replied. "My mother is going to be on me from next weekend up until I zip up the dress and walk down the aisle. This is the last week of my sanity, honey. Enjoy it."
He laughed softly. "Then I probably should've brought up the matter of that thank you that you owe me."
She smiled as she glanced up at time. "We'll discuss it tomorrow…I'm too tired tonight."
He rubbed her back. "Me too…we didn't leave the apartment and yet we're tired."
"Well we were out pretty late last night…then we've dealt with wedding stuff today, that's exhausting when you factor in the people we have to deal with," Johanna said, her hand curling around his hip.
"I'm glad tomorrow is Sunday so we have a day to recover before going back to work."
"Me too."
"I can't wait to go on our honeymoon and be far away from here for awhile," Jim remarked.
"Yeah; that's going to be magical in more ways than one."
"You better believe it, sweetheart," he said lightly.
She smiled, her ear resting against his heartbeat. "I'm looking forward to it…I'm also looking forward to the answering machine."
Jim laughed. "Your mother hates the idea of the answering machine."
"Oh I know; I don't know what she hates more, the birth control pills or the answering machine."
"It's probably a close race."
Johanna breathed deeply. "That's probably true. I apologize in advance if she overwhelms me next weekend and I come home cranky."
"Don't worry about it," he replied. "I'll understand. What do you think will be first on the agenda?"
"I don't know…probably getting the church…but I don't think that will be a problem. After that I don't know what she'll want to dive into first. I have a feeling she'll drag me to a dress shop or two…and she'll claim it's just to start getting an idea…but I know the dress isn't going to be easy."
"You'll find something," he assured.
"Eventually. Then Maggie and I will have to figure out bridesmaids dresses and I'll have to pick out a flower girl dress for Jackie. There's a lot to be done…and we've got six months and a few weeks to do it all in. It's completely doable…but I know I'm going to be crazy by the end of it."
"I'll try not to let you get too crazy," Jim replied. "I'll find a way to pull you back."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
She shifted, lifting her head to smile at him and then to steal a quick kiss. "No matter what, our end goal is to be married and flee to Hawaii…just keep reminding me of that."
He laughed. "Hell, you might have to remind me."
"We'll remind each other."
"Deal."
"I love you," she murmured.
"I love you too," Jim answered. "Don't worry, it'll all work out one way or another…and there will be a beautiful hotel room with a view of a beach and the ocean waiting on us at the end."
Johanna closed her eyes, envisioning the scene. It sounded perfect and it was a much happier thought to go to sleep to than thinking about dresses, venues and rehearsal dinners.