Disclaimer: I own only Kimberly and Stephan
Chapter 13: John and Kimberly's Dream Come True
After John and Kimberly had left the holiday party, Linda and Hulk discreetly passed out invitations to a select few and Stephan had mailed invitations and made phone calls to those not in the WWE. People were on guard but had to wait until the last minute for the details. They all just hoped they'd have guests since it was over the holidays. The day after the party, Sunday, and a week before Christmas, John flew out for the Raw show the following day. Hulk, Mark and Torrie also had to fly out. Billy went back to their home in Florida and Linda and Sara stayed with Kimberly in Boston. Sara knew of John's plan to propose the previous night, but after everyone had left, Linda told Sara about her part in the big surprise and Sara needed a dress. They left for New York City Monday morning and took a limo so Linda could work on the final details during the ride. Sara met with Vera Wang to get her dress fitted and Linda tried hers on for a final fitting. Vera would be shipping the dresses to Linda's home in Florida on Friday and would meet with them again on Saturday for any last minute adjustments. Sara flew out Monday afternoon to go back to Florida. Early Tuesday afternoon Hulk and John flew back to Boston. Linda and Hulk left for Florida on Wednesday and reassured John things were going great. Linda and Stephan had already gotten a positive return on almost all of the invitations and things looked to be on track. John and Kimberly would be leaving for Florida Saturday morning. He was a bundle of nerves. Sure he was overseeing the entire project, but he started to wonder if this was too much for a man with no natural abilities for this type of venture. Luckily Kimberly was deep in her work for the week and didn't notice John's frail nerves. She did notice he seemed jumpy and a little on edge, but figured it was his fears about his parents coming for Christmas. Friday night they turned off their phones and John made Kimberly dinner. Afterwards they sat together quietly in the family room in front of the fire. Both of their minds swimming in thought. What if I'm rushing this? What if she doesn't think our relationship is 100? What if I'm making a huge mistake? John looked at Kimberly who had her head in his lap and her eyes closed. She's worth it, I know she is. I just hope I don't scare her away. 24 hours until I find out. She looked up at him their eyes locking. "I love you, John." He couldn't hear those words enough. It always made his heart leap when she said them.
"I love you too, baby girl." He paused looking at her. "Are you ready for all the houseguests?" Oh no, did he just blow it?
"I hardly consider your family as guests. They've been there before so relax." Kimberly kissed him and led him upstairs. They changed for bed and lay next to eachother, dreaming of the same thing, the dream that would come true tomorrow.
Saturday morning a limo arrived to take them to the airport. John made a few stealth phone calls to Stephan and Linda to make sure they were ready. Stephan would pick them up at the airport and Linda would be waiting at her house. Kimberly also called Stephan to make sure John's present had arrived. Naturally on the flight, Kimberly did a little work. He looked at her left hand and smiled. She was in for a huge surprise. She looked over at John who was smiling. "What? You're up to something I can tell." John just shook his head and thought to himself if you only knew. The flight was smooth and they landed 15 minutes early. Stephan met them outside and they drove for an hour to Kimberly's. When they were 10 minutes away Linda called and asked Kimberly to go to her house. She had to convince her to stop but Kimberly finally relented. When they pulled in they were greeted in the driveway by Linda, Torrie and Sara. She and John got out of the car and went inside. Mark, Billy and Hulk were waiting in the family room. Kimberly was a little leery because everyone kept smiling at her. "You people are freaking me out. Stop staring at me and tell me why I can't go to my house." John cleared his throat. This was it. No turning back now. He suddenly didn't know what to say or how to tell her what was going on. "Ok, this is weird. It's dinner time, I'm hungry and I'm going home."
"No!" The entire room said in unison causing her to jump. John took both her hands in his and he dropped to one knee. "Will you marry me? Tonight?" Kimberly started to laugh.
"You have lost your mind, John Cena. Where in the hell am I going to get a dress at the last minute?"
"Is that a yes?" John asked.
"That is a flat out you are crazy. It's Christmas Eve. There's no way this can be done." She looked around the room bewildered.
"I already did. Everything is ready, you just need to say yes, go upstairs, change and meet me at your house on the beach at 11:30." John said smiling. He couldn't contain himself.
"Are you people kidding me? You have all gone completely insane." Kimberly turned to leave and saw Vera Wang in the doorway holding a garment bag. "This so isn't happening." She turned back around and looked at everyone. John was still on bended knee. Tears filled her eyes. "When you asked me to marry you I said yes thinking you'd get over the crazy idea eventually. Do you seriously want to marry me?"
"Yes." John said simply. Kimberly looked at her watch and at the group. She looked at Linda who looked back reassuringly. She kissed John softly and walked away. She stopped and talked to Vera then left the room. Vera gave the group a thumbs-up and they all took off in different directions. The women went upstairs and the men went to Kimberly's house; soon to be John and Kimberly's house.
The next few hours were a whirlwind of excitement. Kimberly, Sara, Torrie and Linda were getting ready in Linda's bedroom. Kimberly had her hair and make-up done by her stylist. Her hair was pulled up in the front and left hanging loosely down her back. It was curled just enough to add a little something without being over done. When she was ready Vera presented five dresses, still in the garment bags, for her to choose.
"Mr. Cena came into my office six months ago and I showed him my designs for a lot of dresses. He chose these five. When I met you for your evening dress fitting and I saw your personality and how you like a dress to look, I knew he chose the right ones." Vera signaled her assistant who revealed the five dresses. "Try them on and see what you like best." Kimberly modeled all five dresses but knew which one she wanted from the moment she saw it, the one she wore last. Vera smiled. "This is John's favorite. He knew you'd pick this one." Her dress was a v-neck modified a-line gown with a criss-cross empire waistline and beaded detail. The three women walked over to her and they each held a box. Torrie handed Kimberly her box first. It was John's paternal grandparent's wedding bands. There was a note inside that Torrie read, it was from John's Dad. 'Thank you for sharing your life with my son. These words were said to my Grandmother by her father-in-law. My Grandfather said them to my Mother and my Father said them to my wife. Thank you for sharing your life with my son.' All four girls were teary and they giggled at how sweet that was. Sara handed Kimberly her box. It was wrapped in blue, giving away which gift she had. She opened it to find a tiny blue satchel. Kimberly kissed the wedding bands and placed them inside. Linda gave Kimberly two boxes. In the first she found a single strand of pearls.
"You are my best friend. You are a gift from God to everyone you meet. Terry gave these to me on the thirtieth anniversary of our first date; the day he and I became best friends. I want you to wear these so you know how valuable you are to John." Linda could barely speak and she hugged Kimberly tight. In the second box she found her most treasured possession and a note from John. Her eyes were brimming with tears and she couldn't read the note. She sat down and Linda handed her a handkerchief. The three girls sat down with her. Kimberly's breath was ragged and she was having trouble not breaking into sobs. She handed the note to Sara.
'My beautiful girl. I wanted you to know that your Dad is with you walking you down the aisle. Hold these in your right hand as you would hold his hand. When you meet me at the end of the aisle, you and I will hold these together. I love you and I'll see you soon.' Kimberly pulled her Dad's dog tags from the box. Her Father passed away when she was seven years old, the tags were all she had of her Dad. All four girls needed their make-up redone because they were all crying. As the girls were finishing, Kimberly quietly slipped out of the room. She went outside to the beach and looked to the heavens. She closed her eyes and pictured her Dad. She wanted his face to be in the front of her mind as she walked down the aisle. She whispered, "I love you, Daddy."
