Further Down The Road
(Chapter Sixteen: Happily Ever After)
Olivia sat in a fancy white chair waiting for Maureen to come out of the dressing room. They had been to over a dozen different stores and she had tried on a hundred dresses and they still hadn't found anything she liked. Olivia hated to urge her to settle for second best, but it was now after noon and if she didn't pick something soon, she would be walking down the aisle in blue jeans and a tank top.
"Maureen, honey? Do you need any help?"
"No," she said as she walked out looking very unhappy.
"That is beautiful, sweetheart."
"The lines are all wrong and it isn't anything like what I had in mind."
"I know it isn't, honey. But it is a very beautiful dress. Look, I know that nothing will ever be as special as the dress you had picked out, but it is less than six hours before your wedding and you still need a dress."
"This is hopeless," she said as she dropped to sit on the step stool and the dress puffed up around her. "Maybe this is a sign," she sobbed. "A sign that I am not supposed to get married today."
"I don't think that is it at all. I think that bad things just happen sometimes and we have to keep going. You and Michael are meant to be husband and wife. You were made for each other, soul mates. And tonight at six o'clock there will be just over a hundred people sitting on the lawn at the country club waiting to stand witness as the two of you exchange vows and become husband and wife. This is all going to work out. We just have to take a deep breath and keep looking. Because I know that the perfect dress is out there somewhere and we are going to find it. In…." Olivia tipped her wrist to look at her watch, "five hours and forty five minutes."
Maureen laughed as she leaned forward to hug Olivia.
"Thanks Liv," she whispered.
"It is normal to be nervous and stressed out on your wedding day," Olivia said wiping away a tear. "What do you say you go back in there and get dressed and we will grab some lunch and head back to the house for a little break. After lunch we will head across town to this place I know."
"You know another bridal shop?"
"It isn't a bridal shop, but she has some really nice things in there. That is where I got my gown for the policeman's ball the last three years. I am sure she has at least two dozen white dresses we could look through."
"Okay," Maureen said as she stood up, "let's take a break."
After lunch Olivia pulled out a box of things from she and Elliot's wedding for the girls to look at. They all sat on the foot of the bed and looked through the pictures from so many years ago.
"Aww," Maureen cooed. "Look how cute Hannah was."
"That's me?" she asked leaning forward to look at the picture.
"Yes," Olivia said, "and there is Eli and Elizabeth on the end. You were all so young."
"I like this picture," Elizabeth said pointing to one of Elliot and Olivia together. "You guys kind of look like the people on the top of the cake. Daddy looks like a prince. And you are so pretty, Liv."
"Thank you, honey."
"Your dress is gorgeous Olivia," Maureen said as she looked closer at the detail of the gown. "Where did you buy yours?"
"I paid a lot of money for that gown and had it special made for me. Of course at that time I had only had one of my three babies and I was about your size. I doubt I could even fit into it now," she said staring at the picture.
"You were such a beautiful bride," Maureen said laying the picture on the bed in front of her. "You aren't much bigger now. I bet you could still fit into it."
Olivia laughed.
"You think so, huh?" Olivia replied walking to the closet and pulling out a garment bag.
She laid the bag across the bed and unzipped it, pulling out the dress inside and holding it up to her body.
"I don't know, I am pretty sure I would have to lose at least ten pounds to fit into this again."
"I love the beading," Maureen said running her fingertips over the iridescent beads. "It is so much prettier in person, the pictures don't do it justice."
Olivia raised her head and studied the look on Maureen's face as an idea creeped into her head.
"Would you like to try it on?" Olivia asked her.
She watched as a smile spread across the girl's face.
"Are you sure you don't mind?"
"Not at all. I bet it would look great on you."
Maureen smiled again as she carried the gown into the adjoining bathroom to put it on. Moments later she returned.
"Can you zip me up?" she asked Olivia as her sisters watched from the bed.
Olivia pulled the zipper of the gown slowly up and the dress fit like it had been made just for her.
"It fits," Maureen said a little in shock as Olivia twisted her long blonde hair up in a clip to get a better look at the dress.
She walked Maureen into her walk in closet and stood her in front of a floor length mirror so they could assess the gown. Olivia turned on the lights and the tiny little beads on the bodice shimmered in the light.
"I think I'm in love," Maureen whispered as she smoothed her hand over the skirt to brush out a few wrinkles.
"You look so beautiful. Maureen, how would you like to wear my dress to get married in?"
"Really?" Maureen asked turning to look at Olivia.
"It's okay to say no, if you don't want to. I wont mind."
"No! I mean yes! I would love to. If that's alright with you?"
Olivia smiled and hugged her.
"It is alright with me," she whispered as she kissed Maureen's cheek. "Now let's get dad to take this and have it dry cleaned while and see if we can still make out hair appointments."
Maureen smiled.
"Dad!" she shouted as she ran down the hall in the gown.
"What?" Elliot asked muting the game to focus on her screams of excitement.
"Olivia is going to let me wear her dress! I have a wedding gown!"
"That is great, baby."
"But I need you to take it to the cleaners for me. And please make sure they don't damage it!"
"I will. If anything happens to that dress I will personally shoot all of those responsible."
Maureen stared at him.
"I'll make sure nothing happens to it. Even if I have to stand there and wait for it to get cleaned. Now go get changed so I'll have time to get it cleaned."
"Okay," she said with a smile as she ran back down the hall.
A few minutes later Olivia appeared as she sent Kathleen with the other girls to get in the car.
"You saved the day. That was a really amazing thing you did for her."
"I want this day to be everything she has dreamed of. She deserves that. I couldn't let our daughter be a naked bride. And in her choosing this dress, we didn't have to cancel our hair appointments. We are right back on schedule."
Elliot wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her tenderly.
"You are an amazing mother."
"I try to be. All I want is for them to be safe and happy, all of them."
"Well, you managed to make her tears disappear. I owe you big time for that one."
"Hmm," Olivia said with a smile as she kissed him. "I might just have to collect on that later," she laughed.
"Here dad. Thank you both so much for this. And please tell them to be careful."
"I will make sure they are," he said kissing her forehead. "You ladies go, get your hair done and try to relax a little bit before the ceremony. I love you."
"Love you too daddy," Maureen said as she kissed his cheek.
"And I love you," he said kissing Olivia.
"I love you too," she said slipping her purse strap over her shoulder and grabbing her car keys. "I'll see you later."
A few hours later Elliot walked down the hall at the country club where the ceremony was being held. The cake and flowers had arrived and the band and reception room was set up and ready to go. Place settings for one hundred and thirty people lined five long rows of tables. The centerpieces of fresh cut peach colored roses and floating candles looked beautiful and each guest's name appeared neatly printed on a name card at their assigned place.
"Perfect," Elliot said picking up a card to see Jack Crawford's name on it.
Elliot looked around the room for a moment, finding the table where all of their friends from work were to be seated. He picked up another card from that table and sat Jack's down in it's place.
"There we go," he said with a smile placing the other card in Jack's old place.
He looked over the cards once more and smiled, nodding his head as he thought about Jack being seated next to Casey. Now things were just the way his wife wanted them. Elliot took a deep breath and walked over to check the bar.
"Is everything in order?" he asked the bartender.
"Yes, Mr. Stabler. I do need you to sign the credit card receipt for the bill before the evening is over, though."
"Can I do that now?"
"Sure, sir."
He watched as the man pulled a clipboard with some paperwork from under the bar.
"There you go," Elliot said scribbling his signature. "I have also arranged for a nice tip for you and each of the catering crew tonight. I want you to keep the wine flowing and the food coming. Not an empty glass in the house."
"Yes, sir."
"This is a celebration. I want everyone to be as happy as I am proud."
"I'm sure they will be, sir. They did a lovely job decorating. I have worked several wedding receptions, but this one is really elegant."
"Thank you. I want it to be exactly what she wanted. My daughter's happiness is all that matters to me today," Elliot said as he turned to walk away.
He closed the doors behind him and made his way to the room where the Olivia and the girls were all getting ready. He knocked and stood there for a moment as Hannah opened the door to peek out at him.
"Hi daddy," she said with a big smile.
"Hi, sweetheart. How is everything going in there?"
"It is good. We got our hair done at the salon. Now mommy is helping Maureen put her dress on."
"She is? Is everyone else dressed?"
"Yes."
"Are Landon and Abby dressed?"
"Yes. Mommy told Abby to play in the floor with Landon and his toys and don't get dirty. Look daddy, I got new shows to go with my dress."
"Those are nice, honey. Can you go ask mommy if I can come in?"
"Okay," she said running off into the back room and leaving the door open just a bit.
Elliot stood there for a moment as the door pulled open just a bit more.
"Hi daddy," a tiny voice said as little Abby appeared all dressed in white.
"Hi angel, where is mommy?"
Abby shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him.
"I got a new slip," she said with a smile as she flipped up the skirt of her dress showing him the ruffled layers of tulle.
"Abby," Elliot said dropping to his knees to push her skirt back down as he laughed and looked to make sure no one else noticed. "You are not supposed to show that to anyone."
Just then Landon pushed the door open further to wave at his father.
"Hey buddy," Elliot said scooping up his son in his arms. "Maureen was right, you look adorable little man."
He kissed his son and took Abby by the hand as he made his way into the waiting area and closed the door behind him.
"Liv?"
"Hey," she said as she stepped out of the other room in a slip.
"I asked Hannah to go get you."
"She just came in and asked for a drink. I gave her a bottle of water from the diaper bag."
Elliot laughed.
"She must have gotten distracted. I just wanted to make sure everyone was decent and it was alright for me to come in."
"Yeah. I'm helping Maureen with her dress, then I have to get dressed and we should be ready to go. They're not getting dirty are they?"
"No," Elliot said looking at Landon in his arms. "They came to see me at the door."
"They did, huh?"
"Yeah. Then Abby flipped up her skirt to show me her new slip."
Olivia laughed.
"We are not encouraging this."
"Elliot, she is four. She just thinks it is pretty."
"It is pretty. But it isn't something a hundred wedding guests need to see."
"Did you check on things for the reception dinner?"
"I did and the room looks beautiful. I also made that little adjustment you and I talked about."
"Good," she said with a smile. "I think it will be for good reason. I hope so anyway."
"Are you sure you should be meddling in other people's love lives like this?"
"I'm not meddling. Well, maybe just a little. But Casey is a single successful woman and she is always talking about how she would like to meet a good man. Jack is an amazing man who really needs to find a good woman. It is too obvious to ignore. Besides, I think they would make a cute couple."
"It isn't going to bother you if your best friend begins dating your ex-fiancé?"
"You are my best friend," she said straightening his bow tie. "And yes, if you start dating Jack it would bother me….it would bother me a lot. They both deserve someone nice. They are both very dear friends of ours and I love them both. It isn't like I am pushing them to get married. I simply arranged things so that they would sit beside each other. Anything beyond that is up to the two of them. I am just giving them a little boost in the right direction."
"I guess you know what you are doing," he said kissing her gently.
"Careful, I don't want to smudge my lipstick. Are the guys ready?"
"We are ready to go. We have ten minutes until go time."
"I'd better get in here and get the bride dressed then."
"You might want to think about putting on your dress as well."
Olivia smiled.
"Can you keep an eye on them? We will only be a minute. I need to step into my dress and help her with her veil. Oh, and tell Hannah I said she and Abby need to come in here and use the bathroom. I don't want any accidents or distractions during the ceremony. Can you check Landon and make sure he is dry?"
"I'm on it," Elliot replied as Olivia turned and made her way back into the room to get dressed.
Elliot Changed Landon's diaper and sent the little girls in to their mother. He had just stood his son back up and straightened his little clip on tie when he heard his oldest daughter's voice behind him.
"What do you think, dad?"
Elliot turned around to see, not the little girl he had raised all of these years, but one of the most beautiful young women he had ever laid his eyes on.
"You look beautiful," he said softly choking up a bit.
"Oh, you can't cry dad because I will cry too. Then my mascara will run."
Elliot hugged her.
"You have got to be the prettiest bride I have ever seen. I am so proud of you, sweetheart."
"Thank you daddy," she said softly as he placed a gift box in her hand.
"What is this?"
"Just a little something I wanted you to have for your special day."
Maureen smiled as she untied the ribbon and took the lid off the box. Inside was a silver chain with a little heart charm.
"It is pretty."
"It was your mother's. I bought it for her the day I proposed."
"You bought her a necklace?" she asked. "Aren't you supposed to get a girl a ring when you propose?"
"We were broke and I didn't have the money for a ring just yet. But I wanted her to have something. So I got this and put the ring in layaway."
"You proposed to my mother with a necklace?"
"I did."
"Aww, that is the sweetest thing I have ever heard. And she accepted?"
"She did. And five months later we were married. Two months later, to the day, you were born."
"Did you ever wish you and mom hadn't gotten married because you got pregnant?"
"Maureen, honey, your mother and I didn't get married because she was pregnant."
"You didn't?"
"No, baby. She got pregnant, because we planned to get married. It sounds kind of strange. But we had already discussed marriage and decided that was what we wanted. Then being young and in love, we got a little careless and got pregnant before the wedding. I would have married your mother even if she hadn't gotten pregnant with you. You just would have come along a little later."
"Really?"
"Yeah, like when I had a house and a good job and could better afford to take care of a baby. We were young and neither of us ever regretted having you. But sometimes I do wish that we had waited a little while so that we could have given you more."
Maureen slipped her hands into his.
"You have given me everything I have ever needed and much more," she said with a smile as she kissed him on the cheek, careful not to leave lipstick. "Can you help me put it on?"
"I would be honored," Elliot said unclipping the clasp on the necklace as she turned around and held her hair up. "There," he said as she let her hair down and turned around to look at him. "You look so much like her. Young and beautiful. So much like she did on the day we married. I really wish that she could have been here with you today. I know how hard it is for you to do this without her. But I know she is looking down on you today and I know she is just as proud as I am."
Maureen smiled fighting back tears.
"Daddy, don't make me cry," she said fanning her face with her fingers as she sniffled.
"Are you ready, baby?"
"I'm ready, dad."
Elliot stood up and straightened his tuxedo as Maureen slipped her arm in his. Olivia lined the children up in order to walk as the music started and the doors opened to the courtyard outside where all of the guests were seated. They watched as each of the children walked down the strip of red carpet that had been laid out just for this ceremony. Then it was time. Olivia nodded to them as the best man took her by the arm and lead her to the front to stand with the rest of the wedding party.
Moments later the music began to play and everyone stood to watch as Elliot walked Maureen out. She turned and kissed his cheek as a single tear slid down his face.
"I love you daddy," she whispered softly against his ear. "And I will always be your little girl."
Elliot smiled proudly as he took her hand and placed it in Michael's.
The ceremony was beautiful and everything went perfectly. After a wonderful dinner the DJ called Elliot and Maureen up for their father daughter dance, half way through the song, Michael cut in for the first dance with his new bride.
Elliot watched the two of them as she kissed him tenderly and seemed to fit perfectly in his arms. He couldn't have picked a better man for his daughter himself, he thought as he watched the two of them together.
"Hey handsome, would you like to dance?" Olivia asked from behind him.
"I thought you would never ask," he said with a smile as he pulled her close to him. "I thought the Maid of Honor had to dance with the best man."
"The best man is twenty five years old, Elliot."
Elliot laughed.
"It was beautiful and everything went off without a hitch. This is the happiest day of her life. Look at the two of them," he said nodding in the direction of the newlyweds, "do they remind you of anyone we know?"
Olivia smiled.
"Now that you mention it, they do remind you a lot of you and me. Way back when we were first married."
"I was thinking more like way back last week when Landon was up crying all night cutting teeth. The only thing that seemed to comfort him was when you held him and danced around the room."
"And you danced with me in the kitchen with our son cradled between us until he finally fell asleep around four o'clock in the morning. We make a pretty great team."
"And we raise pretty great kids."
"We do," she said slipping her arms around his neck and kissing him. "We are also pretty great at match making."
Elliot looked confused for a moment.
"Look over there," she whispered against his ear as they slow danced.
Olivia turned them so that Elliot could get a glimpse at Jack and Casey dancing and talking across the room.
"Do you think it will work out between them?"
"I don't know. I hope so. They are both really great people and deserve the best."
"They do. But what makes you think they are not just being friendly?"
"Casey came up to me during dinner. She said that Jack asked her out, but she wanted to make sure it was alright with me before she accepted. I told her that I fully supported it and she seemed excited."
"That is great."
"Yeah, one more happy couple at this beautiful wedding."
"Speaking of happy couples, what do you say we put the kids to bed a bit early tonight so that mommy and daddy can enjoy a little couple time?"
"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," she whispered as she kissed him tenderly.
Elliot pulled her in against him and Olivia laid her head against his shoulder as they slow danced. He closed his eyes to think about all of the wonderful moments they had shared together as she closed hers and thought of all of the happy times yet to come. They had never been more in love than they were right here in this moment and Olivia knew that the love they shared only grew stronger as each day passed.
THE END