Emily - thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked the last chapter.
C-Chan96 - Do you really think I would do something terrible to Alex and Adam right before the wedding. I just wanted to mess with people! By the way, I think you were still spacing when your wrote the last review. I enjoyed reading it anyway lol!Glad you enjoyed the last chapter.
Banksiesbabe99 - now don't you know telling people to shut up isn't polite (lol). Here's another chapter. Hope you enjoy.
Pyro44 - Thanks for the review. Hope this was quick enough for you.
Charlie's POV:
I stood in the front of the church next to Gordon. I couldn't believe this was actually happen. I had spent years wishing for this and now it was really happening. I saw Connie standing in the back of the church. Even from this distance she looked radiant. As Connie started walking down the aisle I glanced over at Gordon. Very shortly I wouldn't have to call him Coach. Instead I could call him Dad. Gordon glanced over at me and smiled. He looked as happy about this moment as I was.
As I looked back down the aisle Julie was now following Connie down the aisle. They seemed to be moving awfully slow. I found myself wishing they would just run down the aisle and get it over with. Forget the ceremony, just get on with the vows before something happened to put a stop to them. I glanced to my left, to see my two good friends standing next to me. Guy looked my way and we shared a look. I knew he was happy for me. Between us, Adam stood stiffly and kept his eyes on our friends making their way down the aisle. He was probably trying to forget the fact that he was standing in front of a whole bunch of people. I saw a smile come to his face and I didn't have to look to know that Alex had started coming down the aisle.
I stopped looking around and looked back to the back of the church. Sure enough, Alex, the older sister that I didn't know I even had till recently, had just started making her way down the aisle. Even though she was my sister, I have to admit that she did look quite pretty with the make- up on that she normally didn't wear and flowers adorning her short hair.
As the three girls walked up the steps to join us the organ player switched over to playing the wedding march and all the guests stood as my Mom started down the aisle. This wasn't the first time that I had seen my mother walk down the aisle in a wedding dress. I had watched her walk down the aisle when she was marrying Al. This was a different perspective though. I hadn't been standing up front at that wedding. I hadn't even wanted to be there but I had gone but I absolutely refused to be a part of it. This was different though. This time around I could honestly say that I was probably just as happy as my mother.
I could feel the huge smile on my face as my Mom took her place beside Gordon. I couldn't help but think that they were the perfect couple. It was almost as if I was dreaming.
"If there is anyone here today that feels that there is a reason that this man and woman should not be joined speak now or forever hold your peace," the minister said. It was part of the ceremony. No one ever spoke up during this time.
As expected, the church was quiet as everyone patiently waited out the moment of silence granted for someone to speak up. And then the silence was broken but not by the minister. Everyone looked toward the back of the church as they heard the door open. Charlie stared in horror. He couldn't believe who was standing in the doorway. He had definitely not been invited.
"I object to this union," Al Sarchenski, my former step-father, called out. He started walking up the aisle toward us. "Casey, you can't marry this guy. He isn't right for you. I'm the right guy for you," he started pleading. I wanted to knock the guy out but I couldn't move. It was like my feet were frozen to the carpet beneath them.
"I know we had our problems in the past," Al continued. He was now kneeling at my Mom's feet. From the looks of it, Gordon was in shock just like I was. "But things will be different this time. I promise. Come with me. We belong together. I feel it and I know you feel it too."
I waited for my mother to tell him to get loss. To my dismay she didn't. She handed her bouquet to Alex and actually took his hand. I could have screamed as I watched them start walking down the aisle together. No one moved except for them.
"No, Casey come back to me. I was your first love," another voice called out. I looked in the direction of the voice to see another man standing in the balcony. The guy's face was hidden in the shadows even though there was something strangely familiar about him. " I know I haven't been around for the last twelve years but I can make it up to you. We can finally all be together - you, Alex, Charlie and me. A family like we were always intended to be."
I looked at my mother. She was standing halfway down the aisle next to Al looking up at the balcony. She looked as if she was actually considering what he was saying. Finally, I found my voice.
"No," I yelled out . . .
I sat up in bed and looked around. The room was dark but as my eyes started to adjust to the darkness I started seeing the familiar surroundings of my dorm room. Draped over the desk chairs were Guy and mine's tuxedo's, exactly as we had left them before going to bed last night. We hadn't wanted to have to mess with trying to gather everything together when we got up in the morning.
"Is everything okay?" Guy asked sleepily from across the room.
"Yeah, sorry to wake you," I replied slowly. It was starting to sink in that it had all been a dream. I looked at the alarm clock next to my bed. It read two twenty-three in the morning. I still had about five hours until I had to get up.
I laid back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. I heard Guy's breathing fall into a steady rhythm as he fell back asleep. I couldn't fall back asleep though. I couldn't help but wonder if the dream was a sign, some kind of bad omen, or simply nerves? The one thing I did know though - it was going to be a long night.
Casey's POV:
" I do," I said looking into Gordon's eyes. Looking into those eyes I couldn't help but feel as if this was finally the time that marriage was going to work. It just felt right.
"Do you, Gordon Bombay, take this woman to have and to hold, through sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer until death do you part," the minister was saying.
I waited expectantly for Gordon to reply. To echo the same words I had just said moments before. Those two words never came though.
'Say something Gordon' Casey thought to herself. Yet, when she heard the words he had to say she wished he hadn't said anything at all.
"I'm sorry I can't," Gordon said. "I was going to tell you earlier but I kept putting it off. I didn't know how to tell you. I got an opportunity to play hockey again. With a pro team. It's a chance of a lifetime. I'm sorry Casey but I can't pass it up."
No, this couldn't be happening. She couldn't be losing him like this again . . .
Casey opened her eyes. In the moonlight that was coming through the window, she saw her wedding dress hanging from the closet door. Right next to it was Gordon's tuxedo.
As she became more aware of where she was, she could feel Gordon's arms around her. She tried to clear her mind of the awful dream and just concentrate on the feeling of being in his arms. The arms of the man she loved and had loved since she had first met him.
"Is everything okay," she heard him whisper into her ear.
She wanted to believe that she had just had a bad dream. That it was just normal pre-wedding jitters. Still, it couldn't hurt to be safe.
"Gordon, are you happy where you are?" she asked him.
"Of course I am. What kind of question is that?" Gordon asked her more awake now.
"I don't know," she said shrugging slightly. "I guess I just wanted to make sure that I'm not holding you back. That you're not giving up an opportunity to be with me."
"Where is this coming from?"
Casey told him about the dream she had just had. It felt so right. She had never felt like she could be this open with someone before. This had to be right. This had to be the marriage that worked. Everything just felt so - right.
"Casey, believe me I'm not going anywhere. I'm not letting you go ever again. Playing hockey is one dream that I've finally accepted just wasn't meant to be. I'm happy at Eden Hall -being a teacher, coaching the Ducks, and being with you. This is where I belong. That is the one thing that I am sure of," he told me softly.
It was exactly what I wanted to hear. I laid my head back against his shoulder. I felt Gordon's arms tighten around me and before long drifted back off to sleep.
Julie's POV:
I looked across the small room in the church at Connie. She looked radiant. Perfect. Just like always. I glanced back at the mirror. I looked funny in the make-up I wasn't use to wearing. My hair looked like it might fall out of the pins at any time but try as I may I couldn't do anything to fix it.
"It's time," Casey's friend Morgan said sticking her head into the room.
I took a deep breath. Ready or not it was time. Casey, Alex, Connie and I left the room and gathered in the foyer of the church. Connie went first. I couldn't help but notice the looks she got from all the guys in the room. Next it was my turn. I took a deep breath and started down the aisle.
I took a tentative step down the aisle. I hated high heels. It felt like I was walking on a balancing beam and I never had been any good at those. How does Connie walk so gracefully in these things anyway?
I could hear whispering among the guests now. They were probably whispering about me and how funny I looked. I could feel my cheeks turning red. I just wanted to get down the aisle without doing anything more embarrassing. And then I heard the most awful sound. I heard the sound of fabric tearing. I had just stepped on the front of my dress. I heard laughter all around me.
It was just too much. I didn't even bother to see how bad the rip was. I kicked off the offending high heel shoes and ran back the way I had come- past Alexa and Mrs. Conway who were at least attempting to hide their laughter. Even Scooter was laughing at me. I just wanted out of the church . . .
I woke up with a start. This wasn't the first nightmare I've had about the wedding. I had been having them for the last couple of nights. They were all basically the same. They were all about my insecurities of being in Connie's shadow.
I couldn't help but wonder what had possessed me to say I would be in the window. This was probably the stupidest thing I had ever done. I wasn't the frilly type of girl. I liked my jeans and t-shirts or my hockey gear. I'm not even sure why Scooter was going out with me when he could easily have his pick from some of the more sophisticated girls on campus. The ones I heard whispering about him in the cafeteria, the hallways and in my classes.
I laid my head back on the pillow and waiting for sleep to claim me again.
C-Chan96 - Do you really think I would do something terrible to Alex and Adam right before the wedding. I just wanted to mess with people! By the way, I think you were still spacing when your wrote the last review. I enjoyed reading it anyway lol!Glad you enjoyed the last chapter.
Banksiesbabe99 - now don't you know telling people to shut up isn't polite (lol). Here's another chapter. Hope you enjoy.
Pyro44 - Thanks for the review. Hope this was quick enough for you.
Charlie's POV:
I stood in the front of the church next to Gordon. I couldn't believe this was actually happen. I had spent years wishing for this and now it was really happening. I saw Connie standing in the back of the church. Even from this distance she looked radiant. As Connie started walking down the aisle I glanced over at Gordon. Very shortly I wouldn't have to call him Coach. Instead I could call him Dad. Gordon glanced over at me and smiled. He looked as happy about this moment as I was.
As I looked back down the aisle Julie was now following Connie down the aisle. They seemed to be moving awfully slow. I found myself wishing they would just run down the aisle and get it over with. Forget the ceremony, just get on with the vows before something happened to put a stop to them. I glanced to my left, to see my two good friends standing next to me. Guy looked my way and we shared a look. I knew he was happy for me. Between us, Adam stood stiffly and kept his eyes on our friends making their way down the aisle. He was probably trying to forget the fact that he was standing in front of a whole bunch of people. I saw a smile come to his face and I didn't have to look to know that Alex had started coming down the aisle.
I stopped looking around and looked back to the back of the church. Sure enough, Alex, the older sister that I didn't know I even had till recently, had just started making her way down the aisle. Even though she was my sister, I have to admit that she did look quite pretty with the make- up on that she normally didn't wear and flowers adorning her short hair.
As the three girls walked up the steps to join us the organ player switched over to playing the wedding march and all the guests stood as my Mom started down the aisle. This wasn't the first time that I had seen my mother walk down the aisle in a wedding dress. I had watched her walk down the aisle when she was marrying Al. This was a different perspective though. I hadn't been standing up front at that wedding. I hadn't even wanted to be there but I had gone but I absolutely refused to be a part of it. This was different though. This time around I could honestly say that I was probably just as happy as my mother.
I could feel the huge smile on my face as my Mom took her place beside Gordon. I couldn't help but think that they were the perfect couple. It was almost as if I was dreaming.
"If there is anyone here today that feels that there is a reason that this man and woman should not be joined speak now or forever hold your peace," the minister said. It was part of the ceremony. No one ever spoke up during this time.
As expected, the church was quiet as everyone patiently waited out the moment of silence granted for someone to speak up. And then the silence was broken but not by the minister. Everyone looked toward the back of the church as they heard the door open. Charlie stared in horror. He couldn't believe who was standing in the doorway. He had definitely not been invited.
"I object to this union," Al Sarchenski, my former step-father, called out. He started walking up the aisle toward us. "Casey, you can't marry this guy. He isn't right for you. I'm the right guy for you," he started pleading. I wanted to knock the guy out but I couldn't move. It was like my feet were frozen to the carpet beneath them.
"I know we had our problems in the past," Al continued. He was now kneeling at my Mom's feet. From the looks of it, Gordon was in shock just like I was. "But things will be different this time. I promise. Come with me. We belong together. I feel it and I know you feel it too."
I waited for my mother to tell him to get loss. To my dismay she didn't. She handed her bouquet to Alex and actually took his hand. I could have screamed as I watched them start walking down the aisle together. No one moved except for them.
"No, Casey come back to me. I was your first love," another voice called out. I looked in the direction of the voice to see another man standing in the balcony. The guy's face was hidden in the shadows even though there was something strangely familiar about him. " I know I haven't been around for the last twelve years but I can make it up to you. We can finally all be together - you, Alex, Charlie and me. A family like we were always intended to be."
I looked at my mother. She was standing halfway down the aisle next to Al looking up at the balcony. She looked as if she was actually considering what he was saying. Finally, I found my voice.
"No," I yelled out . . .
I sat up in bed and looked around. The room was dark but as my eyes started to adjust to the darkness I started seeing the familiar surroundings of my dorm room. Draped over the desk chairs were Guy and mine's tuxedo's, exactly as we had left them before going to bed last night. We hadn't wanted to have to mess with trying to gather everything together when we got up in the morning.
"Is everything okay?" Guy asked sleepily from across the room.
"Yeah, sorry to wake you," I replied slowly. It was starting to sink in that it had all been a dream. I looked at the alarm clock next to my bed. It read two twenty-three in the morning. I still had about five hours until I had to get up.
I laid back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. I heard Guy's breathing fall into a steady rhythm as he fell back asleep. I couldn't fall back asleep though. I couldn't help but wonder if the dream was a sign, some kind of bad omen, or simply nerves? The one thing I did know though - it was going to be a long night.
Casey's POV:
" I do," I said looking into Gordon's eyes. Looking into those eyes I couldn't help but feel as if this was finally the time that marriage was going to work. It just felt right.
"Do you, Gordon Bombay, take this woman to have and to hold, through sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer until death do you part," the minister was saying.
I waited expectantly for Gordon to reply. To echo the same words I had just said moments before. Those two words never came though.
'Say something Gordon' Casey thought to herself. Yet, when she heard the words he had to say she wished he hadn't said anything at all.
"I'm sorry I can't," Gordon said. "I was going to tell you earlier but I kept putting it off. I didn't know how to tell you. I got an opportunity to play hockey again. With a pro team. It's a chance of a lifetime. I'm sorry Casey but I can't pass it up."
No, this couldn't be happening. She couldn't be losing him like this again . . .
Casey opened her eyes. In the moonlight that was coming through the window, she saw her wedding dress hanging from the closet door. Right next to it was Gordon's tuxedo.
As she became more aware of where she was, she could feel Gordon's arms around her. She tried to clear her mind of the awful dream and just concentrate on the feeling of being in his arms. The arms of the man she loved and had loved since she had first met him.
"Is everything okay," she heard him whisper into her ear.
She wanted to believe that she had just had a bad dream. That it was just normal pre-wedding jitters. Still, it couldn't hurt to be safe.
"Gordon, are you happy where you are?" she asked him.
"Of course I am. What kind of question is that?" Gordon asked her more awake now.
"I don't know," she said shrugging slightly. "I guess I just wanted to make sure that I'm not holding you back. That you're not giving up an opportunity to be with me."
"Where is this coming from?"
Casey told him about the dream she had just had. It felt so right. She had never felt like she could be this open with someone before. This had to be right. This had to be the marriage that worked. Everything just felt so - right.
"Casey, believe me I'm not going anywhere. I'm not letting you go ever again. Playing hockey is one dream that I've finally accepted just wasn't meant to be. I'm happy at Eden Hall -being a teacher, coaching the Ducks, and being with you. This is where I belong. That is the one thing that I am sure of," he told me softly.
It was exactly what I wanted to hear. I laid my head back against his shoulder. I felt Gordon's arms tighten around me and before long drifted back off to sleep.
Julie's POV:
I looked across the small room in the church at Connie. She looked radiant. Perfect. Just like always. I glanced back at the mirror. I looked funny in the make-up I wasn't use to wearing. My hair looked like it might fall out of the pins at any time but try as I may I couldn't do anything to fix it.
"It's time," Casey's friend Morgan said sticking her head into the room.
I took a deep breath. Ready or not it was time. Casey, Alex, Connie and I left the room and gathered in the foyer of the church. Connie went first. I couldn't help but notice the looks she got from all the guys in the room. Next it was my turn. I took a deep breath and started down the aisle.
I took a tentative step down the aisle. I hated high heels. It felt like I was walking on a balancing beam and I never had been any good at those. How does Connie walk so gracefully in these things anyway?
I could hear whispering among the guests now. They were probably whispering about me and how funny I looked. I could feel my cheeks turning red. I just wanted to get down the aisle without doing anything more embarrassing. And then I heard the most awful sound. I heard the sound of fabric tearing. I had just stepped on the front of my dress. I heard laughter all around me.
It was just too much. I didn't even bother to see how bad the rip was. I kicked off the offending high heel shoes and ran back the way I had come- past Alexa and Mrs. Conway who were at least attempting to hide their laughter. Even Scooter was laughing at me. I just wanted out of the church . . .
I woke up with a start. This wasn't the first nightmare I've had about the wedding. I had been having them for the last couple of nights. They were all basically the same. They were all about my insecurities of being in Connie's shadow.
I couldn't help but wonder what had possessed me to say I would be in the window. This was probably the stupidest thing I had ever done. I wasn't the frilly type of girl. I liked my jeans and t-shirts or my hockey gear. I'm not even sure why Scooter was going out with me when he could easily have his pick from some of the more sophisticated girls on campus. The ones I heard whispering about him in the cafeteria, the hallways and in my classes.
I laid my head back on the pillow and waiting for sleep to claim me again.