A/N: Sorry for the delay - real life has been CRAZY this week!
Chapter 44:
"They're here! They're here!" squealed Harriet as she carried a box into Mac's office.
"What's here?" asked Mac, looking up from her laptop.
"The invitations!" said Harriet. "Open the box, I wanna see them! I mean, please open the box, ma'am, I'd like to see them."
Mac laughed a little at Harriet's zealous enthusiasm, the pulled a pair of scissors from her desk drawer and cut through the packing tape across the top of the box. She pulled out a smaller box and lifted the lid off.
"Oh, I love them" said Mac, taking the top invitation from the small box and holding it in her hand. It was a 5 by 7 inch, solid navy blue colored card. The bright white lettering read as follows:
Two lives, two hearts,
Joined together in friendship,
United forever in love.
It is with joy that we,
Sarah Catherine Mackenzie
And
Harmon David Rabb, Jr.
Invite you to share in a celebration of love
As we exchange our marriage vows on
Saturday, the Thirty-First day of December
Two Thousand and Five
Six o'clock in the evening
Prairie Garden Church
Mount Union, Pennsylvania
Reception immediately following ceremony
At the home of the groom's grandmother,
331 West Rural Route 14
Belleville, Pennsylvania
"They came out perfect" said Harriet. "Should I go find Petty Officer Coates, ma'am? I know she'll want to see these."
"Yes" replied Mac, "and if you happen to see Commander Rabb, tell him I'd like to see him as well."
"Yes, ma'am" said Harriet as she hurried off to find Jen.
Mac looked at the piece of cardstock in her hand again, re-reading every word it contained and not believing it was actually real. The wedding plans were coming together amazingly well. Harriet and Jen had been indispensable, helping with anything and everything Mac tasked them with. It was Jen who found this particular invitation in one of Mac's catalogs and suggested it. The wedding colors were decided as navy blue, ice blue and silver, so a navy blue invitation was perfect. Mac searched endless websites before finding a verse for the invitation which she felt was "them", but once she found it, she knew it was the one.
"You wanted to see me, Mac?" asked Harm as he stepped into her office, snapping her out of her wedding fog.
"Oh, yeah" she said, handing him the card she held in her hand, "the invitations came today."
"Cool" said Harm, taking the card from her. He read over it, looked up and gave her a giant flyboy smile.
"They look fantastic, Mac" he said, "when do they go out?"
"Hopefully" said Mac, "by Friday. It depends, though, on how cooperative our daughter is tonight and tomorrow night and how fast we can get them addressed and stuffed and ready to go."
"Well" said Harm, "I'm sure between the two of us we can handle her and get these taken care of."
"Yeah, I think so, too" agreed Mac. Just then, Harriet arrived back in Mac's office with Jen.
"See?" said Harriet as she showed Jen an invitation, "aren't they gorgeous?"
"Oh, I just love them!" said Jen. "What do you think, sir?" she asked Harm as he stood laughing at how excited women can get over anything and everything "wedding".
"I think they're very nice, Petty Officer" said Harm. "I take it you had a hand in designing them?"
"Not really, sir" answered Jen, "I mean, I did find them in one of the catalogs the Colonel had, but she chose the wording herself."
"Well" said Harm, "I think all parties involved should be proud of themselves." The ladies all smiled at Harm's kind words.
"Well, I should get back to work" said Harriet, "sir, ma'am, I'm glad these turned out so well."
"Thank you, Harriet" said Mac, "so are we!"
"If you'll excuse me, ma'am, sir" said Jen, "I believe the General needs me."
"You're excused, Petty Officer" said Harm. Turning to Mac, "I've gotta get back, too babe."
"Busy morning?" she asked.
"Nah" he replied, "just one case, but I'm meeting with Sturgis in 15 minutes to try and keep it from going before the judge."
"OK" said Mac, "well, I'll be securing in 45 minutes and going to pick up Ainsley, so I guess we'll see you when you get home tonight."
"I'll be looking forward to it" said Harm with a bright smile. "Love you, babe."
"I love you, too" replied Mac.
…later that evening…
"Are you sure these things aren't multiplying on us?" asked Harm.
"Pretty sure" said Mac, "why?"
"Because" he said, "we've been sitting here for 2 hours, labeling and stuffing and stamping, and I swear that box doesn't look any emptier than when we started!"
Mac couldn't help but laugh. "We've only stuffed 44, we've still got 55 left, my dear."
"Oh" laughed Harm, "55, is that all?"
"Yeah" answered Mac, "it would've been 56, but of course I kept one for the album."
"Album?" asked Harm, putting a stamp on the next envelope.
"The wedding keepsake album" said Mac, "remember, the one Harriet gave us when we announced the engagement?"
"Oh, that one" said Harm, "yeah, I know what you're talking about now. Have you done anything with it yet?"
"A little bit" smiled Mac. "I'll show it to you after we get these finished."
"OK" said Harm. "She's doing good" he added, nodding towards Ainsley, who was sitting contently in her bouncy seat on the floor next to them.
"Thankfully" agreed Mac, "she's been going through a 'nurse-as-much-as-she-possibly-can' phase this past week, not sure why."
"Probably growing" said Harm.
"Probably" said Mac, "she weighed 11 pounds, 6 ounces at her two month check-up, and if she keeps eating like she has been lately, she'll weigh 20-something pounds by her next appointment!"
"She's growing fast" said Harm, "too fast for our liking really, but we can be thankful that she's healthy."
"Amen to that" said Mac, just as Ainsley began to fuss. "I guess she knew we were talking about her" laughed Mac as she picked the baby up from the bouncy seat. "I'm gonna go feed her."
"Sure, babe" said Harm. "I'll be right here, drowning in a sea of wedding invitations!"
"Goofball" replied Mac.
"But I'm your goofball and you love me" he said with a smile. Mac's only response was a smile to herself as she settled into the rocking chair.
"Oh hey" said Harm as they were getting ready for bed, "you were gonna show me the keepsake album, remember?"
"Almost forgot" said Mac, "but I've got it right over here." She picked the book up off the dresser and sat down on the bed. Harm finished brushing his teeth, then took a seat next to her.
"I haven't done a lot with it yet" she said as she opened the cover and handed the book to him, "but I'm happy with how it's turning out."
Harm looked through the book, stopping to read everything she had completed. She'd filled in their names and wedding date on the first page, and even though he'd spent the evening readying the invitations for mailing and he'd seen those same words over and over, it made his heart smile. The next pages were of their family trees, and she'd completed parts of each of them. A few pages later, something really caught his eye. It was a page titled "How Our Love Began".
"Oh boy" he thought to himself as he began reading, "this'll be good…" He proceeded to read every word Mac had written on that page:
Our love began in an instant. A single moment in time that neither of us could forget if we tried…but why would we ever want to? If ever there was such a thing as love at first sight, we define it more perfectly than anyone else ever could. It took us far too many years to admit it, but we'd had each other from 'hello'. What began in that Rose Garden almost a decade ago has blossomed into the most perfect love imaginable, and that love will stand the test of a million lifetimes.
Harm finished reading, and looked over at Mac with the sweetest smile on his face.
"What?" she asked him.
"Have I ever told you" he said, "that you have a way with words?"
"I believe you have" said Mac, "but exactly what 'way' is it that I have?"
"You have a way" he said, "of making me fall in love with you over and over again."
Mac leaned over and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips. When the kiss broke, their eyes were fixed, each to the other's.
"I love you" she whispered…
"Oh, Mac…" he replied softly as he let the album drop quietly to the floor.
A/N: OK everyone, dig out those formal duds, we've got a WEDDING to go to and you're all invited:)