Chapter 25
"5...4...3...2...1." The countdown was chanted by several drunk and tipsy people. "Happy New Year!"
Andy had let the children use the house for a New Year's Party as a sort-of wedding present to his step-daughter and her husband. Jake had gotten hold of a keg. Needless to say, a keg and high school students wasn't a good mix.
"Happy New Year," the sober Jesse de Silva whispered to his wife leaning in to reign in the new year with a kiss.
"Happy New Year," Suze whispered back once they pulled apart.
Above them, fireworks exploded in a beautiful mess of colour. Flashes of red, blue, green and gold followed sounds of the rockets soaring into the sky.
The couple stood on the decking as they watched the show, ignoring the party all around them.
"Happy New Year, Sweetheart." Suze's dad said to her, startling her out of Jesse's hold.
"Dad!" She exclaimed.
"I'll go," Jesse kissed his wife's cheek. "Let you to talk privately."
"Thank you," Suze mouthed back to him. All she got was Jesse's winning smile in response.
"He's a good lad, that one," her Dad told her. "Got a good head on his shoulders."
"So," Suze bit her bottom lip. "You approve?"
She was grateful that they were in a secluded part of the house. That way no one could see her talking to herself.
"I don't approve of you marrying so young, if that's what you mean," her Dad spoke sternly before softening his tone. "But I do approve of Jesse. I can see he's a good match for you, and that you're happy. That's all I want for you."
Tears welled in her eyes.
"You're not going to … move on, are you?"
Her Dad smiled at her gently.
"I'm here as long as you need me." He told her.
Suze wrapped her arms around her dad, wiping the tears away from her eyes as she pulled away.
"I love you, dad." She whispered.
"I love you too."
He smiled at her once more before disappearing.
He hadn't moved on though, she would have been able to tell if he had. No, Suze could still feel her Dad's presence lingering around, probably checking up on her mom.
"You okay?" Her husband's voice broke into her thoughts.
"Yeah," she smiled. "I'm good. Dad approves of you, you know?"
Jesse laughed, taking her hand in his as they joined the main bulk of the party.
"Yeah, I did." He admitted. "He and I had a talk on Christmas."
"What?!"
Jesse placed a kiss on top of her head.
"Don't worry, Mrs de Silva," he told her. "Just be glad he approves of me. Otherwise who knows what would have happened."
Suze nodded as she thought about it, agreeing with Jesse's statement. Her dad could be pretty scary when he wanted to be.
"Dude!" A voice called out to them which Jesse identified as belonging to one of his team mates in school. "I can't believe you're married. You're only, like, sixteen!"
Jesse shrugged as if to say, 'What you gonna do?' before talking to his friend.
"I love her," he said simply. "It felt right."
His friend laughed.
"Whatever, man," he boomed out. "I would so hate to be in your shoes. Look," he gestured to the party going on around them. "Look at all the girls you could be getting! Though I must say, you did pick a good one to spend the rest of your life with, I mean -"
"Okay!" Jesse cut him off whilst taking the beer he held in his hands away from him. "I think you've drank a bit too much."
Suze was trying her best not to laugh. She knew Jesse didn't regret his decision. He told her so every day and throughout his friend's speech he'd been clenching and unclenching his hand in her own. Jesse loved her, it was as simple as that.
"What?" The soccer player protested drunkenly, swaying a little on his feet. "That's only like my third one!"
"Three too many," Jesse muttered to Suze who finally let a little giggle escape.
"It's okay dude," Jesse told his friend. "Just, go home and sleep it off, alright?"
His friend nodded, dazed and stumbled off to look for something - probably more beer.
"I love you, you know that." Jesse told her whilst Suze nodded.
Yeah, she did know.
"Good." Jesse happily leaned in to kiss her.
"Well, isn't this just a touching moment?"
Jesse cursed Paul Slater with just about every swear word he knew. The boy was always messing things up for him.
"Yes," Jesse agreed. "It is. So, go away, and let us finish it."
"Oh, no way de Silva," Paul interrupted. "The way I see it, you made me go up to Shadowland. The least I can do is annoy the town's golden couple while they're still in the honeymoon period."
Paul shrugged.
"Who knows?" He said. "Maybe the blushing bride will realise that she made a mistake and get the marriage annulled, assuming that you two haven't consummated the marriage yet."
The newlyweds looked at each other, knowing that what Paul said was true. No, they hadn't consummated their marriage, they'd been in too much of a rush to get home and had been kept apart every night since.
"Not going to happen, Paul." Suze said sternly in a voice that imitated her father's when he was angry.
"Aww, come on Susie," Paul pouted, a lock of brown hair falling in front of his eyes. "You know that you don't really love this guy."
Suze placed a hand on Jesse's arm to stop him from starting another fight with Paul.
"Yes, I do love him." She told Paul. "Besides, don't you remember our last conversation. The one where we said that we'd tell everybody that you kidnapped me at the Christmas Dance?"
Paul's face paled.
"No one will believe you," he insisted. "Why didn't you tell everybody sooner?"
"You warned me not to," she shrugged. "And I was so scared I thought I had to do what you said. Not now though, I've realised that I was the victim in all of this."
"And you're family?" Paul carried on, obviously not convinced. "They know that you married Jesse. In fact, everybody does."
"He saved me from you and then we realised that we couldn't bare to be apart so we eloped." Suze said everything calmly. "No big."
Jesse wrapped an arm around his wife, smirking at Paul over her shoulder. He'd never been more proud.
"Fine," Paul relented. "You win."
Then he turned around to leave.
"Oh, hey, Paul!" Jesse called. "You forgot something."
Without another word, Jesse punched Paul in his still bruised ribs.
"I mean it, this time," he threatened. "Never come near me, or mine, again. Got me?"
Paul nodded.
"Aw, honey," Suze said a joking voice. "You beat up someone for me! You shouldn't have."
Jesse laughed.
"After you verbally beat him up the way you did," he reasoned. "I had to show some form of manliness."
"That you did."
They kissed again in the eerie silence that followed the spectacular fireworks display, before walking over to CeeCee and Adam - who were now officially dating - to enjoy the rest of the night.
It was going to be a good year.