Ch. 12: A Wedding (Cal's POV)
As soon as Cal and Abby announced their engagement their two families were overjoyed hearing the news! Cal and Abigail quickly began their wedding plans, but had to deal with a lot of drama between the two families.
William Dawson and Nathan Hockley were thrilled at the engagement of their children. But it led to some drama of what would happen after the marriage took place. Once Cal was married, Nathan would be stepping down at Hockley Steel and Cal would be taking over the company. Cal would be required to stay in Pittsburg to monitor the day-to-day operations, and continue to conduct business with the shareholders in Philadelphia.
Cal and Abigail decided that they would live in Pittsburg, but they would not live in the Hockley Mansion. They would use the Philadelphia mansion as a secondary residence whenever Cal needed to conduct business there. Cal felt this was the best course of action, since he wanted to be free from his father's influence and Abby was not entirely comfortable with the thought of living under the same roof as her in-laws.
Of course, Nathan was outraged when he heard that Cal and his new fiancé planned on buying their own home. He wanted Cal to continue to live in the family mansion, so he could still have a say in the company. It led to a huge argument between the father and son, but Cal managed to convince his father in the end. His mother and Abby were proud that Cal won the argument… Elizabeth couldn't have been prouder of her son for standing up to his controlling father, while Abby was happy that her and her fiancé would be able to live their lives free from her domineering father-in-law.
Since Cal and Abby got engaged in the fall of 1914, they worked on setting a wedding date in either the spring or summer of 1915. Cal did not want to get married in May, since that was when he was supposed to marry Rose. Abby seriously thought about setting the wedding in April, but she remembered that Titanic's anniversary was in that month. April and May were not ideal since it would remind Cal about Rose, so the couple decided to marry in June. They set the date for June 30, 1915.
While Abby worked on wedding plans, Cal concentrated on finding a home for Abby and him. After searching for several months, he managed to find a lovely home that was not too far from his business and had some distance from his father. It was a smaller mansion than his family home, but it was large enough for social obligations and for their future family. It had a lovely garden, which he knew Abby would love.
When Cal showed Abby the home, he wasn't sure if she would like it. Abby fell in love with the home at once; especially with the garden. The garden reminded them of the one at his parents' home, and they couldn't wait to turn the house into their home.
After the engagement was announced, Abby moved into the Hockley Mansion. She moved into the guest room that she normally stayed in during her visits, and tried to make it her own. She was grateful for Elizabeth's kindness, and the Hockley matriarch was a huge help with the wedding plans. Elizabeth also prepared Abby for her future role as a Hockley wife.
Even though Abby was now living in Pittsburg with Cal's family, she made the effort to keep her family in the loop with the wedding plans. Her mother, Francine Dawson, ended up making monthly visits to Pittsburg to help with the wedding. During those visits Francine quickly became friends with Elizabeth, which made Abby very happy.
Cal was excited, but very nervous about his upcoming wedding. Every step of the wedding plans reminded him of his engagement to Rose, and he had to keep reminding himself that this time things were different. This time he had a fiancé that loved him; a fiancé that would not rebel against him.
Even though Rose had been gone for two years, it was still painful for Cal every time he thought about her. A piece of Cal was still desperately in love with Rose, and it still hurt that Rose never loved him. It was still a huge bruise to his ego that Rose had fallen for a poor artist. His regrets over what happened on Titanic still haunted him every day. He was grateful that Abby loved him, and he was falling in love with her. It was a different kind of love… different from the love he had for Rose. Abby made him a better man; she softened his rough edges and she had turned into his best friend.
Cal sincerely hoped he could be a good husband to Abby, and eventually a good father to their future children. Abby deserved nothing but the best, and he was determined to make their marriage work. He failed Rose, and he was determined not to fail Abby.
The upcoming wedding was turning into one of the biggest events of the year. All of Pittsburg and Philadelphia society was talking about it… it overwhelmed Abby sometimes. It made her realize that she was indeed marrying into a powerful family that was only going to get stronger due to her family's influence.
Abby also had her own insecurities as a woman; part of her still wondered if Cal loved her. Cal had done his best to reassure her, but it didn't help that she knew that a piece of Cal was probably always going to love Rose. She had found pictures of Rose, and indeed Rose was as beautiful as Cal described. But she saw the unhappiness in Rose's eyes in the photos… Abby wondered how a girl who appeared to have everything was so unhappy. She wished she had known Rose; maybe she could understand why the poor girl agreed to a loveless engagement. But Abby wasn't going to let her own insecurities get her down; she was marrying the man she loved, and was determined to make her marriage work.
After all the planning and drama, the wedding day quickly arrived. In the church, Cal nervously awaited his bride. He quietly looked up at the ceiling, thinking of Rose and what might have been. He hoped that Rose's soul was at peace, and that she had forgiven him. He silently started to think that maybe Rose sent him Abby to heal his broken heart, and to make him a better man. He smiled and sincerely liked that thought… he hoped that if he made it to heaven he would thank Rose for teaching him how important love was.
Abby was a lovely vision in her wedding dress; it took Cal's breath away to see how beautiful she looked. Cal saw all the love and hope in Abby's eyes; it made him happy and reassured him that this marriage was going to work.
Abby smiled as she saw a look of happiness and softness in Cal's eyes when he saw her walk down the aisle. It made her feel happy, and for the first time Abby felt that Cal did truly love her.
Cal couldn't keep his eyes off Abby throughout the ceremony. The priest said a lovely homily about love that really made Cal think. After all his mistakes with Rose, Cal found a true love with Abby. On the day of his wedding, Cal realized that he truly was in love with the woman he was marrying.
The happy couple held hands as they faced each other to say their vows. Cal smiled as he repeated after the priest, "I, Caledon, take you, Abigail, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish all the days of my life, until death do us part. "
Abby repeated her own vow after the priest, "I, Abigail, take you, Caledon, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish all the days of my life, until death do us part."
The priest smiled at the couple, and said, "By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Cal happily kissed his bride, and the newlyweds made their way down the aisle to exit the church.
The wedding reception was held in one of the finest banquet halls in the city. It was so extravagant; fit in honor of the union of two of the wealthiest families on the Eastern Seaboard. It was fit for royalty… Cal shuddered at the thought as he remembered referring to Rose and himself as royalty that night on Titanic. He quickly pushed those thoughts out of his head… he didn't need those thoughts darkening the happiest day of his life. He decided to concentrate on the happiness of the day and on his beautiful wife.
Abby was happy... she did feel that the wedding reception was a little too extravagant, but most high society weddings were. Abby was just grateful that it wasn't as over the top as other weddings she had attended. What mattered to her is that she was finally married to the man she loved.
The guests complimented the whole wedding, but most of the guests were touched seeing that the newlywed couple looked to be so very much in love. It was a rarity to see such love in a high society couple, that it impressed the guests to see that. Nathan was thrilled that his son was finally married, and Elizabeth was so happy that her son looked to be so in love with his new wife. Elizabeth hadn't seen that look in Cal's eyes since Rose, and it made her feel easy that her son would have a loving and happy marriage. William and Francine Dawson were so grateful seeing their daughter so happy; they feared that this day would never come for their unique and beautiful daughter.
Cal and Abby danced their first dance as husband and wife. As the music played, Cal was lost in thought as he held his wife. Abby looked up and teasingly asked, "What's on your mind, my darling husband?" Cal gave a sly smile hearing that and said, "Well, my darling wife, I was just thinking how wonderful this day has been. I can't believe we're married now." Abby smiled and said, "I know… it feels like such a beautiful dream. I'm just so happy…the happiest I've been in my life." Cal said, "Me too… Abby, I love you. I really do; I want our marriage to be a long and happy one." Abby said, "Cal, I love you too. I can't wait to see what life has in store for us next."
Cal agreed with his new wife's sentiment… he wanted a lifetime of happiness with this wonderful woman, even though sometimes he felt that he didn't deserve it after he had been such a bastard before he met Abby. Cal smiled at how far he had come since Titanic; he was no longer the selfish and arrogant man he once was. Love had truly changed him; it had to take the loss of Rose to change him, but he was more than grateful to her. Thinking of Rose, Cal knew a part of him would always love her, but now he could finally move on with his life. He finally let go of his grief and anger; he realized that there were cracks in his relationship with Rose before Titanic, and could now take some responsibility for it without entirely blaming Jack for everything. He felt a huge burden had been lifted, and that the happy future he wanted was truly possible.
I finally got this chapter finished! It took me a while, due to a busy work schedule. Writer's block has also been a pain, but I am slowly breaking through it and trying to add more to the story. I wanted this to be a hopeful and happy chapter for Cal, since he's about to head into difficult times (I'm keeping true to canon that Cal loses his fortune in 1929). I plan for Cal to be happy for a while, but things will get difficult when he loses his fortune. I'm taking this story chapter by chapter, so please be patient with me. I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter... next one will be a Rose chapter!