Series: Snapshots of the Past
Story: A Wedding Diary
Chapter 8
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: Abbey's friends were concerned about her illness, not realizing she was suffering from morning sickness
Summary: Abbey contemplates having a baby. Jed waits nervously at the church.
With her friends waiting outside her bedroom, Abbey began getting dressed. She pulled her blouse up halfway, then paused as she passed a mirror, turning sideways to see any physical changes in her body. If she looked really, really closely, there was perhaps a slight bulge in her tummy that only she could notice. But realistically, her only clue was her symptoms coupled with women's intuition, which only nurtured her suspicions.
Part of her prayed it wasn't true. The mere thought of raising a baby sent chills up her spine. In a few hours, she and Jed would be married. In four days, they would be leaving for a honeymoon in Italy and in two weeks, they'd be living in London. How could she have a baby now? Jed wasn't ready to be a father and she certainly wasn't ready to be a mother.
And if it did turn out that she was pregnant, she wondered what Jed would think. Would he be happy or angry? A baby would cause them to at least alter some of their plans and for someone with as many aspirations as Jed, it wasn't going to be easy. She knew he would never neglect his responsibility, but she did have doubts about his reaction, and more significantly, about what their future would hold.
Still, another part of her reveled in the thought of raising a child she and Jed had created together. Their love for one another so deeply engraved in their souls that they were actually responsible for bringing another human being into the world. How could she, Jed, or anyone else for that matter, think it was anything less than a gift from God?
After several minutes and still no Abbey, Millie slowly opened the door, poking her head through the crack. "Abbey?"
Abbey turned abruptly, slipping her blouse on and quickly buttoning it up. "I'm coming!"
"Joni's starting the car." Millie walked inside and took Abbey's hand, sitting her down on the bed. "What's going on?"
"Nothing."
"Abbey, this is me. What's the matter? Are you having doubts?"
Abbey looked down. "No."
"Then what?"
Silence filled the room as Abbey thought about telling her. She wanted to talk it over with someone. She wanted someone to reassure her. But she wasn't ready. She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.
"It's nothing. Joni's waiting. Let's go."
Millie wasn't convinced, but the friendship that had developed between the two over the past 10 years taught her one very important lesson about Abbey - she'd always open up in the end, but she wouldn't be bullied into sharing her feelings. Just as she had done in the past, Millie lowered her head and silently followed Abbey out of the room.
July 22, 1967 1:00 p.m.
Jed was dressed and ready to go, waiting eagerly in the church. When Leo walked in to the room, Jed practically knocked him down with his excitement.
"Is she here? Have you seen her?" he asked, approaching his friend.
"I haven't seen her," Leo replied. "But how are you? Do you need anything?"
"Just Abbey."
Leo patted his shoulder in a friendly gesture. "Relax. We've still got an hour to go."
Jed paced back and forth. "If she's here and ready, I say we do this now."
"All the guests aren't here yet."
"Then we'll do it again later for them."
Leo smiled and, once again, put his hands on Jed's shoulders. "Calm down, Jed."
Jed took a few deep breaths and continued pacing around the room. "Have you met Rick?"
The question seemed to come out of the blue, but Leo humored him. "Yeah. He's a really nice guy."
"I don't know if Abbey thinks so. The two didn't have a very good first meeting."
"I'm sure it'll be fine."
"What if it's not? What if she hates him? What if he hates her? What if..."
"What if everyone likes each other and you and Abbey live happily ever after?"
Jed shook his head. "That'll never happen."
"Why are you so determined to see the glass as half-empty when it comes to this wedding? You've got a great girl who's crazy about you. It's your wedding day and everything's going to be perfect."
Jed looked down at his watch as if he could telepathically will the time to go by faster. He wished he hadn't gotten dressed so early. He wished there was something more for him to do. The waiting was the most excruciating part of the day.
The next fifteen minutes were filled with pacing and sitting and more pacing as Leo tried to calm him. "You're going to burn a hole in your shoes, you know."
"What if she's having second thoughts? What if she doesn't show up?"
"Jed, if you don't cool it with the doomsday scenarios, you're going to force me to do something I don't want to do." Leo turned Jed's body towards him and stared into his eyes to get through to him. "She loves you. She isn't going to abandon you."
Steve tapped lightly on the door before coming in. "Jed?"
"What's going on?"
"Hi, Leo. Look, Millie just called. There's a bit of a snag, but everything's okay."
Jed leapt to his feet. "Abbey? Where's Abbey?"
"She's on her way. They showed up late to the hair dresser's and it took them longer than expected, then they got held up in traffic, and Joni forgot to bring her bridesmaid dress, so they had to turn back around."
"When will they be here?"
"They'll be here in plenty of time for the ceremony. Relax."
"Good luck with that one," Leo snickered as Jed shot him an evil look.
"They were supposed to be here a while ago."
"They'll be here," Steve assured him.
Jed looked out the window while whispering a silent prayer. He wanted the day to be so flawless, and yet, he couldn't fight this feeling that something else was on the horizon. He didn't know if it was just cold feet, or anxiety, or something more. The one thing he did know was that he loved Abbey and he was determined to make this day a day filled with memories to last them a lifetime.
TBC