*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much.
As I finish feeding Zachary I lift him up to burp him one more time. He lets out a really good burp and I say, "good boy! How about we go wake up Daddy." I get up from the rocking chair and take Zachary into our room. Dave fell back asleep after I left to get Zachary but I needed to go out and get my nails done and get my hair done for the wedding. Dave had to take care of Zachary and get him ready. Our wedding was scheduled for 2:00 in the afternoon and I still had so much work to do. I had to wake him up otherwise I would let him sleep. I took Zachary over to the bed and sat down. I let Zachary sit next to his dad and say "say wake up, Daddy! Wake him up Zachary." Zachary gives me a big smile and I say, "go ahead wake daddy up. Say wake up, Daddy." I help him out by shaking Dave a little bit. "Wake up, Daddy!" Zachary starts to hit Dave's back to wake him up. I know it doesn't hurt but Zachary is only 6 months old he doesn't know any better. I think it's the cutest thing.
"Daddy is up," says Dave as he turns to face us. "Good morning, Buddy." He runs his hand over Zachary's head and then kisses the top of his head. "All fed?"
"Yeah but he's going to want some cereal. I'm going to have to leave in a little bit. I have a nail appointment and a hair appointment," I say. "I have to get ready for our wedding."
"That's right today is our wedding day," he says with a smile. "Today is the day you become Mrs. David Batista. Are you excited?"
"I am," I say. "I can't wait."
"Me either," he says, "so what's Mr. Blue Eyes wearing today?"
"I have a pair of white and brown plaid shortalls and a white shirt picked out for him. I didn't know what else to get for him to wear but he will look cute in whatever he has on."
"Yeah he will," says Dave. "And we're definitely not calling our parents right?"
"Right. If my mom and dad find out I'm marrying you today they will do whatever they can to stop the wedding. I want to do this today. We are going to do this today."
"All right," he says. "I wish Max could have been here but it is what it is."
"So do I but if we're doing this we're doing it today."
"Definitely," he says. "So you want me to give Zachary his breakfast while you go do your thing?"
"Yes, Please, and I will see you at the wedding. I'm going to Amber's house to get ready for the wedding. And I think she's coming to be a witness also." Amber is one of my best friends from work. I met her on the first day and we've been friends ever since. When I told her Dave and me were getting married that day she wanted to come and watch. I couldn't deny her that she would be our second witness. She was also Zachary's godmother since Nattie decided she didn't want to be. She said it was too much controversy and she couldn't do it. I wasn't surprised to say the least. I had my new life up in New York and I made new friends. I didn't need someone that was only going to be a friend when they wanted to be. It wasn't how friendship worked. I was happy and that's all that mattered.
"That works for me," he says. "You're going to be the most beautiful bride ever."
"Thanks," I say. "I am going to take a shower and do my thing. Are you all right with him?"
"Yeah," he says, "I was going to go to the barber. I'll take him with me. It's all right."
"And don't put his outfit on till RIGHT before the wedding because he might spit up all over it or something."
"I know," he says, "did you pump him some milk because I can not produce milk for him."
"I can before I leave," I say. "And for lunch he can have peas and applesauce."
"All right," he says. "I think I got this under control."
"I know you do," I say. "Love you." I lean down and kiss his lips.
"Love you too," he says before I go to take my shower.
As soon as I am done with my shower I brush my hair up into a messy bun and throw on shorts and a t-shirt. I grab my white halter sundress from the closet and put it in a garment bag. I have to dig through my closet to find the perfect shoes to wear and I finally stumble across my white heeled sandles that tie. I put them in a box and go downstairs where Dave is feeding Zachary his breakfast. I prepare a few bottles for Zachary and get his lunch ready for him and then I head off to get my nails done and then to get my hair done. I have never been so nervous in my life other than when I was in labor with Zachary. I'm not sure why I was so nervous because I loved Dave I really did but I was really nervous about our wedding. I guess that's what usually happens when you're going to marry the love of your life. I literally had butterflies in my stomach the hours leading up to my wedding. All through getting my nails done my hands would not stop shaking. As much as I tried to get them to stay still I couldn't. I was too nervous. It didn't mess up my French manicure but I'm sure it made it tougher for the woman doing my nails. I thought I would relax a bit as I got my hair done but I didn't. My butterflies would not cease as I was getting my hair prepared. I guess that was better than being shaky through it all. My nerves finally calmed down as the woman doing my hair finished up. "Do you like it?" she asks me.
I look in the mirror to see that she has my hair half up and half down. She has it parted in the middle with my bangs going to the side and a bun on the top of my head. The hair hanging down is in big curls and there are small white flowers surrounding my bun. "I love it! It's beautiful. Thank-you," I say as I admire the wonderful job she did on my hair. It is absolutely beautiful.
"You're welcome," she says with a smile, "and congratulations."
"Thanks," I say getting up. I pay her and then I head to Amber's house to finish getting ready for my wedding. Amber helps me with my make up.
Once my make up is finished I put on my dress and shoes. I walk out to the living room so Amber can give me her opinion. "You look beautiful Dave isn't going to know how to act when he sees you."
"That's what I was going for," I say with a smile. "But I am so nervous. I don't know if I can do this."
"Tessa, you can do this. Trust me. You can do this. It's normal to be a little nervous but you can do this. I promise it will be all right."
"I don't know. I'm really scared."
"I was scared when I got married too but it turned out all right. You'll be fine. You love Dave and Dave loves you. There's nothing to be scared of."
"What if I'm making the wrong choice?"
"Do you love him?"
"Yes, I love him," I say. "I love him a lot."
"Then you're not making the wrong choice. You've gone through so much to get to this point. You deserve to be happy with Dave. Does he make you happy?"
"Yeah," I say. I know I'm making the right decision to marry him I'm just a little nervous about it. I don't want my nervousness to stop me from marrying him though.
"Then do what makes you happy and marry Dave," she says to me. She's right. I have to do what makes me happy and marrying Dave is what is going to make me happy.
"All right," I say with a smile, "we have a wedding to go to."
"Good," she says. "Let's go to Central Park."
We were on our way to Central Park and as soon as we arrive we head to the location Dave picked out for the wedding. On my way I see Dave and Zack standing with the minister. Zack is holding Zachary as Dave is talking to the minister. Dave looks so handsome in his black tux and his new haircut. He doesn't see me but I see him. I see Zack tap him on the shoulder and point to my direction. Dave looks over at me as I approach him. He grows a smile on his face that gets bigger the closer I get. Since it's not a traditional wedding there won't be a wedding march. It's going to be very cut and dry. I arrive in front of Dave and he smiles at me. "You look beautiful, Tess."
"Thank-you," I say trying not to cry. It's funny how my nervousness can turn bittersweet in a matter of moments. This was it. This was our big moment the one we had been waiting for. It was the moment I thought I would never experience in my life. A moment I never wanted but as I stand next to Dave I want it more than anything in life. "You look handsome," I say as we take hands.
"Thank-you," he says.
"Are you two ready?" asks the minister as he looks at us.
Dave and I exchange a glance and Dave says, "yes. We're ready."
"Okay," he says as he begins our ceremony. The words he's saying sound jumbled in my head. It's all surreal. I can't believe I'm standing in the middle of Central Park as spectators began to surround us to watch this joyous event with the love of my life. The minister expresses quotes from the Bible and then comes the exchanging of vows. "David Michael Batista, do you take Tessa Lynn Montgomery to be your lawful wedded wife to love and to cherish, for better or worse, for richer or poorer in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," says Dave as he looks as if he could cry.
"And Tessa Lynn Montgomery, do you take David Michael Batista to be your lawful wedded husband to love and to cherish, for better or worse, for richer or poorer in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," I say as I feel the tears forming in my eyes. The image of Dave goes blurry as they fill my eyes and I have that lump in my throat. I feel as if I could cry at any moment. That lump hurts so badly but I know it's all happiness rather than sadness. Even though we don't have rings we still go through the ring exchange explaining to each other how our tattoo rings are a sacred gift to one another and a symbol of our love for one another from this day forward. I could barely make it through those words and I choked on my own words but I was happy. Dave couldn't make it through the words either. I could tell he was trying not to cry but he couldn't help but to choke on his own words. Dave is a sensitive man so I had no doubts that he would cry during our ceremony.
After we finish with our "ring" exchange the minister prays over us and then says the words we have been waiting to hear for the last 18 months. "By the power invested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride." That was it. It was a done deal now. We are married and I am now Mrs. Tessa Montgomery-Batista. Through my tears I can see Dave smiling at me as he leans into kiss my lips. We share the most passionate kiss probably one of the most passionate kisses we have shared in the last 18 months and then it is all over. Dave hugs Zack as I hug Amber. They both congratulate us on our marriage and then I hug Zack while Dave hugs Amber. August 20th is a day I will never forget. It is the day my life changes forever. It is the day I get to live my life with the man I love and the father of my child.
Since we decided to get married at the last minute we had no reception planned so we were spending the day in Central Park as a family. We thanked Amber and Zack for being witnesses and then we went on our way to spend the day together. Our wedding meal is simple and it was a dirty water hot dog with a diet coke. Probably not your average wedding meal but we aren't your average couple. As we sit eating at a table Dave says, "so how does it feel?"
"It feels good," I say. "I'm really glad we got married."
"Me too," he says, "and I think Zachary does too. Don't you, Buddy?" Zachary gives him a big smile as he plays with his toy. "So I got us reservations for two days in the Hamptons for our honeymoon."
"Sounds great but what about my job?" I ask. I didn't want to take too much time off.
"Don't worry. Amber talked to your boss and everything is a go. We leave tomorrow morning."
"And what about Zachary?"
"Zack is going to keep him for a couple days. It's going to be all right."
"Wow. You really did plan this out," I say.
"Yeah," he says. "I just think that we should have a honeymoon even if it's only two days."
"I'm not complaining. We haven't gotten to the Hamptons all summer. This is the perfect opportunity to go. I can't wait."
"Me either. We're going to have a lot of fun," he says with a sly smile.
"I bet we are," I say with a smile. I know exactly what kind of fun he's talking about. I am really looking forward to our time alone in the Hamptons. We haven't had any alone time since Zachary was born. As much as I love Zachary I really want to spend some time with my new husband in the Hamptons baby free.
We finish our day out in Central Park taking a carriage ride through the park while eating ice cream. I could not have asked for a better wedding day. It was absolutely perfect. I would not change it for the world. I am happy to be married to Dave and happy to be a mother. Everything was beautiful as we rode through the park and Zachary enjoyed his first carriage ride and he had his first taste of ice cream as Dave shared it with him. "Tess, do you remember when I said your life was vanilla?"
"Yeah," I say. "I do remember."
"I think your life is more like a twist now," he says.
"I think I agree," I say with a smile. "We just never know what's going to happen."
"Exactly," he says as he softly kisses my lips. "I love you Tessa Montgomery-Batista."
"I love you too," I say with a smile as I kiss his lips one more time. "And I'm ready for our honeymoon."
He let's out a laugh and says, "me too. It's going to be a great one."
"I bet," I say as we continue to enjoy our ride through Central Park.
*A/N: So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for taking the time to read. I have decided to continue this story at least for one more week before it ends. I will also be doing a sequel to this story so I hope some of you were paying attention because some stuff plays a part in the sequel. I am still coming up with a name as soon as I come up with one I will let you know.