I pulled the veil down over my face and grinned at my reflection in the mirror. "You look beautiful, Mim," Annie said.

I looked down at her. She was wearing a lavender dress with puffed up sleeves. "Thank you, honey," I said. "So do you."

I ran my hands down the front of my dress. I'd never felt more beautiful. "Hey, Abby," a soft voice said.

I turned around. "Hey Susan." I couldn't stop smiling.

"Annie, your grandma's waiting for you outside," Susan said. "Um, Abby, I think you should sit down."

My smile faltered as I watched Annie skip off to where my mother was waiting. "What's going on?" I asked, as I sat on the overstuffed love seat.

"Carter's gone," Susan said, sitting next to me. "Jack couldn't find him anywhere this morning."

I wrinkled my brow. "Gone?" I asked. "How can he be gone?"

Susan placed her hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Abby," she said. "Do you want me to tell everyone now or do you want to wait a little while?"

I looked at the clock on the wall. "Give me an hour," I said. "I think I know where he'll be."

*****************************

I opened the door to the roof and there he was, leaning over the edge. "I figured you'd find me," he said. He was wearing his tux, which I took as a good sign.

"What's up?" I said, trying to be as casual as I could, which was hard, considering I was still wearing my wedding dress.

He shrugged, keeping his back to me. "Last minute jitters, I guess."

"Everyone has those," I said, walking towards him.

He turned around. "God," he said. "You look incredible."

I smiled inspite of myself. "Thank you," I said.

"I'm sorry, Abby," he said, holding out his hand. I took it. "I just kept having second thoughts."

"About what?" I asked.

"About if I'm ready to settle down. If I . . .if I really love you." Carter averted my eyes.

"Oh," I said sadly. "Well that's serious."

"Yeah," Carter said, letting go of my hand. "I know."

"So . . ." I said, prompting Carter. "What do you want to do?"

"I dunno," Carter said. He took both my hands. "I look at you and I feel like I'm going to burst because I love you so much. But I see so many people who love each other and then everything falls apart. I don't want that to happen to us. I don't want to turn into my parents."

I sighed. "I know you want me to tell you that we won't fall apart, that we'll live happily ever after, but I can't tell you that. There's no guarantee that we won't fall apart and tear each other to shreds. All I can tell you is that I love you and will try as hard as I can to make this work."

"I love you too," Carter said. He pulled me into a hug. "I love you so much." He buried his face in my hair. "I just don't want to hurt you." He stepped back. "But what if I turn into my mother?"

I smiled. "Do you love your children more than you value your own life?"

"Of course," Carter said.

"Then you're not your mother," I told him. "The very fact that we're having this conversation proves that you aren't your mother. You care."

Carter nodded, accepting what I said. "In that case," he said, kissing me softly. "Let's go get married."

"Sounds good to me," I murmured against his neck. "And then we can spend the rest of our lives together."

"Nothing," Carter said, smiling broadly. "Nothing would make me happier."

Author's note - I'm having a really shitty time at the moment. Got into a fight with a friend and all my other friends are siding with her. It's all very sixth grade and I'm not pleased. Therefore, I'm not in the mood to respond to reviews. But keep them coming anyway.