Anne arrived at the hospital to see Mrs. Bourbon, Elisabeth, Louis, and Reese were already there, along with a grinning Charlie.
"I have a new cousin!" Reese announced.
"You do? Wow, that's exciting, isn't it?" Anne replied.
"He was born at 6:20 this morning," Louis told her. "His name is Louis Anthony."
"Oh, so he was named for you!" said Anne.
"Not for me," Louis replied. "For our father. They're gonna call him Anthony, anyway. Want to go up and see him?"
"Sure!" said Anne. "How's Terri?"
"She's fine."
"Can I go, too?" asked Reese.
"Sorry, sweetheart," her father told her. "You have to stay on the ground floor with Granny and Aunt Elisabeth."
"But I wanna see him!" Reese folded her arms and stamped her foot.
Louis chuckled. "You'll see him soon enough." He and Anne rode the elevator up to the maternity floor and walked to the nursery.
"There he is." Louis nodded toward the crib labeled 'Anthony Bourbon.' Anne gazed at little Anthony wrapped in his light blue blanket, sound asleep, one tiny thumb in his mouth.
"He's adorable!" she breathed.
"He is," Louis agreed.
With a sigh of longing, Anne turned away from the window and walked with Louis to Terri's room. She was sitting up in bed, looking pale and tired.
"Congratulations," Anne greeted her. "He's beautiful."
"Thank you." Terri gave a weak smile.
"How are you?" asked Anne.
"These stitches are killing me, but other than that, I'm all right," Terri replied.
Anne wondered what it would be like to give birth. She'd seen it on television and in movies numerous times, and read about it as well, but she knew it was the kind of thing you'd have to experience yourself to fully understand.
She and Louis visited with Terri for a few minutes, then went back downstairs.
"Thank you for coming," Louis said to Anne.
"It was a pleasure," she replied with a smile. "After all, your family will soon be mine."
"That's right." He smiled back. "It will."
As she drove home, Anne's mind was on her miscarriage. She wondered what her own baby would have looked like, lying there wrapped in a blanket. By now, she'd be the mother of an active toddler.
As soon as she was inside her apartment, she sat on the sofa, feeling the tears run down her face.
Anne smiled as she walked down the aisle on George's arm. Thomas Boleyn had refused to give his daughter away in her second wedding, so George had volunteered to take his place.
Thomas wasn't even in attendance, but Liz sat with Mary and William, smiling proudly as her daughter walked down the aisle in her lacy white dress.
Anne looked into Louis's dark eyes and saw how they were shining with love for her, and with every step forward, her heart seemed to hammer louder and louder, until at last she was standing beside him, and the ceremony began.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony," the minister began. "If anyone has just cause why these persons should not be joined, let him speak now or forever hold his peace."
Deafening silence followed as, in her mind's eye, Anne saw her father bursting into the sanctuary with one word on his lips. "No!"
The scene she dreaded never came to pass and, to Anne's relief, the ceremony proceeded.
"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the minister asked Louis.
"Yes, um, I mean, I do," Louis stammered.
"Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the minister asked Anne.
"I do," Anne replied without a moment's hesitation.
"May I please have the ring?" asked the minister.
The ring bearer held up the pillow on which the ring rested, and the minister took it and handed it to Louis.
"Repeat after me," he instructed. "With this ring, I thee wed."
"With this ring, I thee wed." Anne was proud to notice how steady Louis's voice was as he slipped the ring onto her finger.
"By the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife," said the minister. "You may kiss the bride."
He's really mine, Anne thought dreamily as she felt Louis's lips meet her own. All mine!
At the reception, they cut the cake together and fed each other a slice, while Reese, adorable in her light blue dress, danced around happily.
"You were such a lovely flower girl!" Anne told her. "You too, Katie," she added to her niece. She and Louis had decided to have two flower girls so Katie wouldn't feel left out.
"Thank you," both little girls replied in unison.
"They're so cute together, aren't they?" asked Mary.
For their honeymoon, Louis and Anne decided to visit Pensacola, Florida, where Anne had spent her infancy and toddler years.
"I haven't been here in quite some time," she told her new husband. "It will be interesting to see how it's changed."
"I'm sure Hurricane Ivan really changed it, just like Katrina changed New Orleans," Louis replied.
"After all these years, I'm sure it's recovered," said Anne.
By the time they exited the interstate on Hayne Street, it was still light out and too early for dinner, so they decided to drive around and see some of the sights. Louis stayed on Cervantes Street until it became Scenic Highway, stopping at the Apple Market to look around and eat gelato on the porch. Then they drove past some other interesting restaurants and shops, all the way to Langley Avenue. Louis turned onto Ninth Avenue, driving past Pensacola State College and Sacred Heart hospital to Cordova Mall. He parked in front, near the Red Lobster restaurant at which they planned to eat dinner. After exiting the car, they entered Ross Dress For Less.