Tc did not see Chris again until the rehearsal dinner.
She'd managed to avoid him thus far, choosing to spend a lot of time alternating between working on her family's farm and visiting her father at the flourmill…well at least that is what Victor had told him.
Chris had visited with Katherine to finalize the arrangements for the wedding, but only when Tc was busy at work.
And he was busy. The harvesting of a pine forest had kept the sawmill running at double pace for the last week or so.
Tc sat in daydreaming his office high above the factory floor. He missed Chris, more than he'd like to admit. He wondered if she was going to show up to the wedding, and if she'd say 'I do'. Victor had said that she would but Tc wondered why Chris hadn't spoken to him herself. He knew he'd hurt her, even though he hadn't meant to. It had just slipped out, a mistake that he was still kicking himself over. Was Chris going to continue to ignore him after the wedding as well?
The sawmill foreman came into Tc's office.
Russ Grainger may be considered a little young to be a foreman but he'd grown up in the timber industry and had joined the sawmill at an early age. After some breaking in, Russ had shown an interest in the managerial side of things too as Tc was eager to train him up.
'What's up Grainger?' Tc asked disinterestedly as he sat doodling on his chalkboard.
Russ put a stack of papers in front of his boss. 'Here's the production report you were after. Production is up even though the machines have had some downtime…are you okay?'
Tc looked up from his drawing. 'Yeah, I'm probably tired. With the mill running hot and all the wedding arrangements, I'm beat.'
'Can't wait till the honeymoon huh?' Russ said. He knew Tc needed a holiday. He worked long hours at the mill anyway but over the last week he'd hardly left…except to go to town on the odd occasion. 'Where are you two going?'
Tc shrugged. 'I'm not sure. Chris has simple tastes and she hasn't really said where she wants to go.'
Russ nodded. 'I took my wife, Monica to the mountains for our honeymoon. It's nice up there at this time of year.'
'Thanks Grainger. I'll keep it in mind.'
Grainger smiled and went back to the floor.
Tc stared at the papers in front of him but the numbers would not make sense.
He had to talk to her…if he could find her.
+++++
Chris stood up from behind a stack of boxes. 'Is he gone get?' She asked Victor.
She'd been having a casual chat with Victor when Tc rode into town. If Cory aka Corrine McNamara hadn't run into the hardware store to warn Chris she'd probably have been found out.
Cory had pretended that it was she that was talking with Victor and that's why Tc had heard a female voice in the hardware store. Chris was starting to like this woman.
Victor went back to the job he was interrupted from - sorting screws. 'You know, you're gonna have to talk to him sometime.'
'I know.' She said. Chris went over to help Victor with the screws. 'But I just don't want to face him right now.'
'The dinner is tonight, remember? You'll have to talk to him.'
Chris flicked a screw so it spun like a top on the counter. 'I remember. I've been dreading it all week.'
'It's not that bad. Besides, it's an arranged marriage, you aren't supposed to love the guy already.' Victor picked up Chris's screw and put it into a bag for sale.
'Maybe I could pretend to be sick. Then they'll have to postpone the whole wedding because we haven't done the rehearsal.'
Victor shook his head. 'Nah, then they'd just make you get married without knowing what you're supposed to be doing.'
'I don't see what the big deal is anyway. He likes me for my personality, not my perfect wifeeness.'
'He's from a family that marries nice women who are still virgins when they get married. They just presumed that you were the same because you're Joe Kelly's daughter.' Victor said. 'Boy were they wrong.' He muttered.
+++++
The Kelly carriage arrived at the Callaway's as the sun was setting. The setting sun peeking through the hills made for a nice backdrop.
Not that Chris was in a mood to admire the scenery. She was nauseous with anxiety. Her only reprieve was that both Victor and Cory were there…and both knew her predicament.
Over the last couple of weeks Chris had grown quite close to Cory. Unlike the stereotype of her family, Cory wasn't an evil, malicious bitch wanting to take over the world.
Chris's father helped her out of the carriage. She hitched her dress up so she didn't trip. Her dress was this big, blue, fluffy thing that Chris detested but her mother said it made her look like a mature lady but in truth made her look like a cream puff.
Chris tiptoed along the path leading to the Callaway's front door. There were huge puddles to dodge and the ground was like quicksand from the day's rain. Not that she was afraid of getting a little dirty but she feared her mother's wrath if she dared to something to the big blue balloon that she wore.
Once at the front door a maid was there to clean off Chris's shoes. Chris just rolled her eyes and left the shoes at the door. It wasn't as if they'd walk off by themselves; she'd come back for them later.
She was immediately pounced on by Katherine Callaway. 'Big day tomorrow dear. Aren't you excited?'
Chris just smiled and nodded. 'Not as excited as you.' She muttered as she made her escape.
She grabbed Cory. 'Help! If I get cooed at one more time, I'll…I'll take a knife to this dress and then my mother will kill me.' Chris huffed. 'At least then I won't have to go through with this.'
'Relax Chris. Once you're married they'll all back off…until it's time for you to have a baby.' Cory said with a cheeky grin.
Chris groaned. The last thing she wanted was to have a baby.
'So are you going through with it?' Cory asked.
Chris shrugged. 'I'm here aren't I? Besides, it'll serve him right to get stuck with me for the way he acted. And besides, who else would want a wife that can't do anything.'
'Well, Victor could always be a back up.'
'For what?' Tc appeared standing behind Cory who'd started to blush.
The two women exchanged helpless looks.
'For a husband, you know, if you don't want me.' Chris explained.
'Why wouldn't I want you?' Tc said with the utmost seriousness.
Cory looked from Chris to Tc and back again. 'I might leave you two alone.' She said and hastily departed.
Tc moved closer to his fiancé. 'What did you mean Chris?'
Chris folded her arms and tried to look tough in her big blue fluffy dress. 'Well you haven't spoken to me since the picnic and you weren't very happy with me then. Can I help but feel that you don't want me?'
'Yes you can!' He said. 'I have been trying to talk to you yet you keep disappearing and it's either Corinne or Victor that have been covering for you. If I wasn't to know any better I'd say that you were hiding.'
Chris shrugged. 'So what if I was?'
'And,' he continued, 'I was very happy with you, hence what happened…'
'But now you've decided that you can't stand a wife that isn't perfect, right?' She said scornfully.
Tc shook his head. 'No, that's not right at all. I thought we went through this?'
'We did, well, the cooking and cleaning part.'
'So what's the problem?'
Chris pouted. 'You pulled away.'
Tc opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Kerry. 'They want to start the rehearsal now.'
'Can we talk about this later?' He said quietly to Chris.
'Whatever.' She muttered, holding up her hand to him as she stormed past him to get her shoes.
+++++
'Do you Wendell Terrance Callaway take Christine Marie to be your lawfully wedded wife?'
Chris stood at the 'alter' hardly breathing as they ran through the rehearsals. Even though this was only a practice she was nervous and shaking all over.
They were holding the rehearsal in one of the formal dining rooms at the Callaway's house so that everyone could have dinner there afterwards.
'I do.' Tc said. He had barely looked at her throughout the entire rehearsal. When he had it was only for a split second.
'And do you Christine Marie Kelly take Wendell Terrance to be your lawfully wedded husband?'
Chris hesitated. 'Um, yeah.'
A few people in the room snickered. Chris looked over at Victor who was also trying not to laugh. He just shook his head.
'I believe you're supposed to say, I do.' The priest said to Chris.
'Oh, yeah.' Chris said again.
The priest looked at Tc and continued. 'And by the power invested in me by the church, I now pronounce you husband and wife. And then you two kiss.'
Chris looked at Tc with a look of utter panic. They didn't expect her to kiss him now, did they?
Tc gave her a cool look before turning to the priest. 'Then the music starts up and we walk down the aisle together right?'
The priest nodded.
'Okay, let's eat.' Tc announced and headed for the dining room.
There were a few murmurs amongst the crowd as they followed him.
Chris stood there bemused. Cory wandered over to her. 'If I didn't know any better I'd say I was just left at the alter.'
She'd managed to avoid him thus far, choosing to spend a lot of time alternating between working on her family's farm and visiting her father at the flourmill…well at least that is what Victor had told him.
Chris had visited with Katherine to finalize the arrangements for the wedding, but only when Tc was busy at work.
And he was busy. The harvesting of a pine forest had kept the sawmill running at double pace for the last week or so.
Tc sat in daydreaming his office high above the factory floor. He missed Chris, more than he'd like to admit. He wondered if she was going to show up to the wedding, and if she'd say 'I do'. Victor had said that she would but Tc wondered why Chris hadn't spoken to him herself. He knew he'd hurt her, even though he hadn't meant to. It had just slipped out, a mistake that he was still kicking himself over. Was Chris going to continue to ignore him after the wedding as well?
The sawmill foreman came into Tc's office.
Russ Grainger may be considered a little young to be a foreman but he'd grown up in the timber industry and had joined the sawmill at an early age. After some breaking in, Russ had shown an interest in the managerial side of things too as Tc was eager to train him up.
'What's up Grainger?' Tc asked disinterestedly as he sat doodling on his chalkboard.
Russ put a stack of papers in front of his boss. 'Here's the production report you were after. Production is up even though the machines have had some downtime…are you okay?'
Tc looked up from his drawing. 'Yeah, I'm probably tired. With the mill running hot and all the wedding arrangements, I'm beat.'
'Can't wait till the honeymoon huh?' Russ said. He knew Tc needed a holiday. He worked long hours at the mill anyway but over the last week he'd hardly left…except to go to town on the odd occasion. 'Where are you two going?'
Tc shrugged. 'I'm not sure. Chris has simple tastes and she hasn't really said where she wants to go.'
Russ nodded. 'I took my wife, Monica to the mountains for our honeymoon. It's nice up there at this time of year.'
'Thanks Grainger. I'll keep it in mind.'
Grainger smiled and went back to the floor.
Tc stared at the papers in front of him but the numbers would not make sense.
He had to talk to her…if he could find her.
+++++
Chris stood up from behind a stack of boxes. 'Is he gone get?' She asked Victor.
She'd been having a casual chat with Victor when Tc rode into town. If Cory aka Corrine McNamara hadn't run into the hardware store to warn Chris she'd probably have been found out.
Cory had pretended that it was she that was talking with Victor and that's why Tc had heard a female voice in the hardware store. Chris was starting to like this woman.
Victor went back to the job he was interrupted from - sorting screws. 'You know, you're gonna have to talk to him sometime.'
'I know.' She said. Chris went over to help Victor with the screws. 'But I just don't want to face him right now.'
'The dinner is tonight, remember? You'll have to talk to him.'
Chris flicked a screw so it spun like a top on the counter. 'I remember. I've been dreading it all week.'
'It's not that bad. Besides, it's an arranged marriage, you aren't supposed to love the guy already.' Victor picked up Chris's screw and put it into a bag for sale.
'Maybe I could pretend to be sick. Then they'll have to postpone the whole wedding because we haven't done the rehearsal.'
Victor shook his head. 'Nah, then they'd just make you get married without knowing what you're supposed to be doing.'
'I don't see what the big deal is anyway. He likes me for my personality, not my perfect wifeeness.'
'He's from a family that marries nice women who are still virgins when they get married. They just presumed that you were the same because you're Joe Kelly's daughter.' Victor said. 'Boy were they wrong.' He muttered.
+++++
The Kelly carriage arrived at the Callaway's as the sun was setting. The setting sun peeking through the hills made for a nice backdrop.
Not that Chris was in a mood to admire the scenery. She was nauseous with anxiety. Her only reprieve was that both Victor and Cory were there…and both knew her predicament.
Over the last couple of weeks Chris had grown quite close to Cory. Unlike the stereotype of her family, Cory wasn't an evil, malicious bitch wanting to take over the world.
Chris's father helped her out of the carriage. She hitched her dress up so she didn't trip. Her dress was this big, blue, fluffy thing that Chris detested but her mother said it made her look like a mature lady but in truth made her look like a cream puff.
Chris tiptoed along the path leading to the Callaway's front door. There were huge puddles to dodge and the ground was like quicksand from the day's rain. Not that she was afraid of getting a little dirty but she feared her mother's wrath if she dared to something to the big blue balloon that she wore.
Once at the front door a maid was there to clean off Chris's shoes. Chris just rolled her eyes and left the shoes at the door. It wasn't as if they'd walk off by themselves; she'd come back for them later.
She was immediately pounced on by Katherine Callaway. 'Big day tomorrow dear. Aren't you excited?'
Chris just smiled and nodded. 'Not as excited as you.' She muttered as she made her escape.
She grabbed Cory. 'Help! If I get cooed at one more time, I'll…I'll take a knife to this dress and then my mother will kill me.' Chris huffed. 'At least then I won't have to go through with this.'
'Relax Chris. Once you're married they'll all back off…until it's time for you to have a baby.' Cory said with a cheeky grin.
Chris groaned. The last thing she wanted was to have a baby.
'So are you going through with it?' Cory asked.
Chris shrugged. 'I'm here aren't I? Besides, it'll serve him right to get stuck with me for the way he acted. And besides, who else would want a wife that can't do anything.'
'Well, Victor could always be a back up.'
'For what?' Tc appeared standing behind Cory who'd started to blush.
The two women exchanged helpless looks.
'For a husband, you know, if you don't want me.' Chris explained.
'Why wouldn't I want you?' Tc said with the utmost seriousness.
Cory looked from Chris to Tc and back again. 'I might leave you two alone.' She said and hastily departed.
Tc moved closer to his fiancé. 'What did you mean Chris?'
Chris folded her arms and tried to look tough in her big blue fluffy dress. 'Well you haven't spoken to me since the picnic and you weren't very happy with me then. Can I help but feel that you don't want me?'
'Yes you can!' He said. 'I have been trying to talk to you yet you keep disappearing and it's either Corinne or Victor that have been covering for you. If I wasn't to know any better I'd say that you were hiding.'
Chris shrugged. 'So what if I was?'
'And,' he continued, 'I was very happy with you, hence what happened…'
'But now you've decided that you can't stand a wife that isn't perfect, right?' She said scornfully.
Tc shook his head. 'No, that's not right at all. I thought we went through this?'
'We did, well, the cooking and cleaning part.'
'So what's the problem?'
Chris pouted. 'You pulled away.'
Tc opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Kerry. 'They want to start the rehearsal now.'
'Can we talk about this later?' He said quietly to Chris.
'Whatever.' She muttered, holding up her hand to him as she stormed past him to get her shoes.
+++++
'Do you Wendell Terrance Callaway take Christine Marie to be your lawfully wedded wife?'
Chris stood at the 'alter' hardly breathing as they ran through the rehearsals. Even though this was only a practice she was nervous and shaking all over.
They were holding the rehearsal in one of the formal dining rooms at the Callaway's house so that everyone could have dinner there afterwards.
'I do.' Tc said. He had barely looked at her throughout the entire rehearsal. When he had it was only for a split second.
'And do you Christine Marie Kelly take Wendell Terrance to be your lawfully wedded husband?'
Chris hesitated. 'Um, yeah.'
A few people in the room snickered. Chris looked over at Victor who was also trying not to laugh. He just shook his head.
'I believe you're supposed to say, I do.' The priest said to Chris.
'Oh, yeah.' Chris said again.
The priest looked at Tc and continued. 'And by the power invested in me by the church, I now pronounce you husband and wife. And then you two kiss.'
Chris looked at Tc with a look of utter panic. They didn't expect her to kiss him now, did they?
Tc gave her a cool look before turning to the priest. 'Then the music starts up and we walk down the aisle together right?'
The priest nodded.
'Okay, let's eat.' Tc announced and headed for the dining room.
There were a few murmurs amongst the crowd as they followed him.
Chris stood there bemused. Cory wandered over to her. 'If I didn't know any better I'd say I was just left at the alter.'