CHAPTER 5

Four months later, Mum was tucking me into bed on a Sunday night. "I have something to show you, Jason," she said, holding out her left hand. On her ring finger was a yellow-gold ring with a large square diamond on it.

"Oh, Mummy, that's pretty," I said. "What does it mean?"

"It means that in just two months, Steve and I will be married, and he'll be your new daddy," she answered.

I sat up and started bouncing up and down on the bed. "Really? Really? Really?" I cried.

"Aye, he will be your stepfather," Mum answered.

I gave Mum a hug, then pulled away, because I'd thought of something. "Will that mean Bebe's my stepsister?" I asked. Even though Bebe was barely a year and a half old, I'd grown to love her like she was my real sister.

Mum nodded. "That's right, because she already has a mummy."

"Oh, I get it."

"We'll talk more about it tomorrow, all right? Right now, it's time to go to sleep."

"All right, Mummy. I love you."

"I love you, too." She gave me a kiss, and as was our routine, left the room, leaving the door ajar as she walked out of the room. As I fell asleep, I knew I'd love having Steve and Bebe in our family.

Two months later, on the night before the wedding, after Mum and I came home from the rehearsal dinner, I changed into my pajamas, then Mum and I sat on the couch and talked about my duties as the ring bearer. "So, I assume you remember what to do, yes?" Mum asked.

I nodded. "I carry the rings on the pillow, come down the aisle ahead of you, then I stand still and wait until the priest asks me for the rings," I said.

"Very good," Mum said. At that moment, the doorbell rang. "I'll be right back."

A minute later, I heard Mum's voice saying, "Mum! Hi!"

"Hello, darling," I heard Granny's voice say. I jumped off the couch, ran to her, and threw my arms around her waist. It was great to see her again!

"Oh, Granny, I've missed you so much!" I exclaimed.

"I've missed you, too, Jason," she said.

"Have you been to see Amy, Aaron, and Alexandra yet?" Mum asked.

"I actually got in last night, and spent the night there," Granny said. "Little Alexandra's growing like a weed."

"I'm so glad you've made it," Mum said.

"You didn't think I was going to miss your wedding, did you?" Granny asked. "Steve seems like a great man, and I'm sure your father's happy for you, too. I even know that David would want you to be happy."

"Thanks, Mum," Mum said.

Tomorrow is going to be the most beautiful day in the world.

The next day was the wedding. We pulled into the parking lot behind St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was on Fifth Avenue.

"It's going to be all right, Diann," Granny was saying as we got out of the car. "You've been through this before, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Thanks, Mum. You know something? I sure hope Steve doesn't decide to go sky-diving today."

I smiled, because I remembered the Full House episode that aired during the show's fourth season. "Darling," I said in a high-pitched, whimpering voice, "(SNIFF) I just hope you're all right (SNIFF), and if you are..." Then, in a threatening voice, I added, "I'll kill you."

We all got a good laugh as we headed up the steps and into the church, where we were met by Uncle Joe and Aunt Sarah, who were in the wedding party, and their boys. Granny gave Mum a kiss, then took my cousins to one of the pews, and I followed Uncle Joe to where the men were getting ready. After that, I went to the back of the church, and waited.

Soon, it was my turn to come down the aisle. I remembered everything that Mum and I had talked about the night before, except when to stop. I was so awestruck by how the church looked that I walked right past Steve and toward the piano, which got more than a few laughs from some of the guests. I'm just glad I didn't walk headfirst into the piano and have to listen to some wise guy saying something about sending that to America's Funniest Home Videos.

But just the same, Steve grabbed my arm and pulled me back to where I was supposed to be. "Now stay here," he whispered.

The next thing I knew, Mum was coming down the aisle. She was wearing a white wedding dress with long sleeves and no train. When I saw her, my jaw was on the floor. I also couldn't help noticing tears streaming down Granny's face. I could tell that she thought Mum looked beautiful, too.

Well, the ceremony finally began, and as boring as I thought it all was, I stood perfectly still and waited for the priest to ask me for the rings. When he finally did, I held the pillow up like I was supposed to, but Mum's ring slid off and started rolling down the aisle. Even though the doors of the church were locked, I couldn't just stand there. I had to do something.

"Here, hold this," I whispered to Steve, handing him the pillow. Then I took off down the aisle, even though I know you're not supposed to run in church, and dove for the ring. I slapped my palm down over it almost as soon as I hit the floor. There was a gasp from the guests. Clearly, they weren't expecting someone to do something like that, not even a five-year-old boy.

"Yes!" I whispered. Wow, what a catch! I picked up the ring, ran back to my place, handed it to Steve, took back the pillow, and the rest of the ceremony continued uneventfully.

Well, sort of.

When Mum and Steve kissed—and a pretty big smooch, mind you—I heard some of the little kids, maybe in my age group or a little older—saying, "Ewwww!", not to mention a few teenagers shouting, "PDA! PDA! PDA!" I had no idea what "PDA" meant at the time, but my five-year-old mind figured it meant something really gross.

The reception was a blast. Everyone I talked to told me either how handsome I looked in my suit, or what a great job I did. One elderly gentleman—who I later found out was Steve's Great-Uncle Vito—even told me that when I caught the ring, I looked like a pint-sized James Bond.

A little while later, I was talking to a group of girls when Steve came over to me. "Hi, kiddo," he said. "Having a good time?"

"Aye. It's the most fun I've ever had."

"I'll say. Looks like you won't have any trouble getting a dance today, huh?"

I couldn't help giggling, which, not surprisingly, set the girls off, too.

"Say, can I talk to you for a minute?" Steve asked as soon as we'd calmed down.

"Sure, Steve," I agreed as I got up and followed him to the head table. "What's up?"

"Your mother and I have something for you, Jason," he said, handing me a white box with a black bow on it. "Just to say welcome to the family."

When I opened it, my face just lit up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. It was a music box/snowglobe of the Manhattan skyline. There was a crank on the bottom, and when I wound it, it played "Memory" from Cats, one of Mum's favorite songs. She once told me that the summer she was twenty, she and her family took a trip to London, and they saw that show.

By the way, I still have it, and it's on my bookshelf.

I was so happy, I broke down and bawled my eyes out, then threw my arms around Steve as he scooped me up on his lap. "Thank you so much," I choked.

"You're more than welcome, son," he said, and he was crying, too. I was a little surprised, because that was the first time I'd ever seen a grown man cry.

"Jason," he sniffled as we finished our hug, "your mother and I had a long talk about what's going to happen to our family now that she's taken my last name, and we were wondering if you'd like to do that, too."

For a moment, I didn't say a word, then it started to sink in. I wasn't going to be a Crowe anymore. I was going to be an Everett, just like Mum, Steve, and Bebe.

I wiped my eyes and nodded. On that day, my life changed forever.