Book Two: Kim and the Wolf that Loved Her
Chapter 7: Jared- Cameron Family Vows
I missed her. We had only been apart for two hours but Ethan and I both missed our Kim. I was supposed to be getting ready, dressed for our wedding which was less than an hour away, but Ethan wasn't having it, throwing his little body about in baby tantrums, the likes of which I had never seen.
My father, Matty, Krys, and even Solace had tried to calm him but he was not stopping until he got what he wanted: Mommy. My father urged me out of the house with gusto, the sound of crying baby grating on his nerves so effectively he welcomed our exit.
Ethan was my responsibility until the ceremony, nd usually baby duty was not a duty at all but today was a stretch. I walked to Sue's house with a smile, hoping Ethan would understand that soon he would be in the loving embrace of Kim but he didn't let up.
I was accosted at the door, but after a few shrills screams from Ethan, we were allowed through and I passed him over, not to Kim directly but to Sue who was making sure I didn't see Kim before the ceremony.
"Kim, you can't breast feed in that dress, you're going to stain it," Rachel fussed, hopping around Kim. I stood on the other side of a Japanese folding wall, listening intently.
Ethan, the best baby in the world, was usually a trooper, sitting through long car rides, family dinners and even doctor's appointments without any sort of crying, fussing or whining but today he must have sensed the wild glee because he was as hyper and demanding as I'd ever seen him—and as a side note, I watch him A LOT!
I know everyone thinks their baby is special and cute but honestly Ethan kicks all of those babies' asses. I'm not being biased; Ethan was cuter, smarter, sweeter and more agreeable than any baby on the West Coast, possibly the world.
I mean looks alone he was like a baby model, all Kim nothing of me, which was lucky. He was perfectly lightly tanned like a miniature Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and had a full head of hair at birth, thick and shiny black. He was my pint sized ladies man, so adorable, unlike other babies that will remain nameless (cough—Mark and David Uley), who were bald and crinkly like old dudes. Nope, Ethan was smooth with a shaggy hair-do that needed no styling. If there was such a thing as a baby stylist, they would be at a loss for things to do, because my Ethan was just that cute.
Yup, I made a future ladies' man. Women around the world would swoon over his big maroon flecked eyes, his momma's eyelashes that kissed his cute cheeks and the topper, his plump little pink lips which he could already spread in a heart melting smile. So yeah, basically, the best baby in the world. I know that Emily and Sam must feel bad, seeing as they had two babies that didn't quite add up to my Ethan, but they put up a good front, I felt sorta bad for them. Because besides being the cutest baby on the planet, he was also the smartest. Even in the womb he was cool, a music critic who recognized his daddy right away, but on land he was like a baby Einstein.
I try not to talk about it too much, because really who wants to hear me rubbing in how great my kid is all day, but we have produced with the magical mix of DNA, the youngest member of MENSA.
"He's hungry and he's not taking the bottle," I said foolishly trying to look over the side of the room divider. Sue slapped me but not before I could see Kim rolling her eyes while Rachel twisted and pulled at her hair.
"The groom is not supposed to see the bride before the wedding," Rachel sang from the other side of the divide.
"And I'm not supposed to wear white unless I'm a virgin but, meh," Kim trailed off, coming around the divider to look at me. She was radiant; a little sweaty and disorganized but radiant.
"It's not white, it's off-white," Rachel corrected pulling Kim away from me.
Leaving the kitchen of Sue's house which had been set up as bride's central, I passed Charlie. He and Sue had been together for a while now, in fact she had secretly moved in with him about a month back, coming home just before dawn each day to cook Seth breakfast and pretend she had been there all night. Seth knew of course but they didn't discuss it.
"The minister guy is here," Charlie called and when he saw Kim breastfeeding he doubled back shouting apologies as he went. I followed him to the beach, heading to greet the elder who would be presiding over the ceremony.
My mother was putting the final touches on the seating area when I arrived, it was simple but the location made it much more eye popping. We had chosen the south edge of the beach near the rocks, where the sand was untouched by the tide. Rachel had done most of the planning with my mother as Kim and I just wanted to go to the courthouse and get the papers.
I was actually surprised at the things Rachel could produce with minimal supplies, she was quite impressive. Charlie had given her access to the Forks police stations resources and she came back with metal folding chairs and stacks of white sheets from the laundry service which she turned into rows of white covered seats tied down with big silver ribbons. After a trip to Walmart with my mother, she returned with eight bulbous fish tanks that she had filled with water and floating candles to light the aisle we would walk down. From her own garden she brought a bundle of wild flowers for Kim to carry as we went down the aisle and from local hardware store she purchased an garden arch that we would exchange our vows under.
The best part of that was, if none of them were broken or damaged, she promised to return them and get the cash back.
"It's nice to meet you, Sir," I said stepping forward to shake his hand, he didn't take it, instead he did some weird bowing thing and I tried to mimic it but failed miserably.
"Good day to you, Son," he nodded.
"Jared, you need to get ready! People are going to start showing in half an hour," my mom warned, placing the candles unlit inside the fish tanks that looked like huge bubbles along the aisle.
"I need to get Ethan after Kim finishes feeding him."
"The girls got Ethan, so just go! You're dad's waiting," she screamed and I didn't argue heading back to my place where the guys were all sitting around in semi-formal attire looking miserable.
We weren't making a big show like Emily and Rachel had, no rows of bridesmaids or groomsmen, just me and Kim—but the guys weren't getting away without wearing dress shirts at least. Solace, who had no one girlfriend to nag monitor him, wore dark jeans with black button down, though his shoes were of the Converse variety.
"Looking good, Sol," I commented as I headed to my suit in the kitchen which hung in a plastic bag, pressed just the day before.
It belonged to Sam but I wasn't wearing the whole thing, the bow tie and cumberbund was where I drew the line. Kim and I settled on the dress pants and button up over dress shoes, jacket optional, an option I wasn't taking.
I combed my hair back and dressed but by the time I came out I was alone, only my father standing by the door monitoring the time. He was on the phone, with Matty from what I could gather—there was a problem with Ethan. I didn't stay to hear the rest, I just ran top speed to Sue's which was closest to the beach and therefore in the right direction anyways.
"WAHHHHHHHHHH!" Ethan's howling cry pierced my heart before I reached the front door pushing me harder.
"What's wrong?" I asked pulling him into my arms, Matty now an awkward and slightly effeminate teen put his hands on his hip as Kim often did when she was upset and pursed his lips at me in annoyance.
"Nothing's wrong drama queen. He's just being a fussy little brat. He won't let Kim finish getting dressed," Matty said waving his finger at Ethan. I turned my precious Ethan away from it, shielding him from matty's disapproval. He huffed and stormed away.
"You aren't a brat are you, my most precious angel?" I asked in my baby voice, something I had adopted from my mother.
"He just wanted to be with his daddy," Kim answered, floating in the room as if on air, I had never seen anything so perfect in my life.
Her dress was low cut and strapless, the kind of color you would get if you washed something light pink with something white. It was hugged her hips and stopped just below her knees. She refused my mother's offer to buy her a more traditional gown but it was beautiful, and so very Kim.
"Yeah, look, he's fine now," she said closing the distance between us and kissing him gently on the head.
"You look really…wow," I hummed kissing her forehead as she spread her little arms to hold us both.
"Let's go, Stunner," Rachel urged grabbing Kim's hand and leading her out the house, the second Kim was out of sight Ethan started to scream.
He had never done this before, he spent most of his time with us mumbling soft baby nonsense to himself or smiling as we talked to him, only once before had he cried so loudly and that was when he had an ear infection in his third month.
"Do you think we should go to the hospital?" I asked touching at his head, he always seemed a bit chilly to me because of my own body temperature.
"He's a perfect 98.9 degrees," Kim said pointing to the baby thermometer among her makeup and hair products.
"He's not wet," I confirmed, patting his behind.
"Just walk with us, he'll calm down by the time we get there," Rachel urged checking the cell phone in her clutch. "We've got 12 minutes, so let's go," she said sternly. I held Ethan's hand as Kim carried him the entire way and when it got time to walk down the aisle Kim didn't let him go. My mother and Sue both tried to pry him away but each time they try he let out howls of rage. So instead of making a scene, we walked down the aisle together, Kim holding him tightly between us. We exchanged our vows as a family under the dying sun.
She said her vows first, honest and funny. She promised to spend the rest of our lives making up for all the torment she put me through in our first few months, and my vows were just as simple. I had written them down a year ago, the words she made me promise to repeat after I first uttered them the night of Grandma Varn's funeral, with the addition of a heartfelt promise.
"Just when I think that I love you more than any one person can love anything or anyone, you just make me love you more. I will never leave your side."
There were a few "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowds as we spoke and exchanged rings but the loudest sign of approval came from Ethan. Just as I leaned in to kiss Kim for the first time as my wife, he laughed, a ringing bell-like giggled that spread through the crowd.
A/N: The last few chapters in this fic are all just snippets on their life after marriage. They skip several years until they are in the same year that my Quil and Claire fanfic starts.