The town was abuzz about the upcoming Hunt-Webber wedding. It was so romantic, the ladies thought, that Mrs. Hunt and Dr. Webber could find love in their golden years. Mrs. Hunt's husband. Joseph, had died, a couple of years ago and Dr. Webber's wife, Adele, unfortunately had early onset Alzheimer's and sadly died in a nursing home in Brewster. He had been severely depressed, when she died. It was good that the doctor, who had taken care of them for so many years, was finding a bit of happiness, even though Susannah Hunt was quite a handful.
The weekend before the wedding, Owen took his mother and Cristina to Des Moines to go shopping for their wedding attire. Owen was going to get a new suit. He was going to give his mother away, so he had to look good. Mrs. Hunt had declared that she was no spring chicken and she would not be wearing any white dress. Cristina just hoped to get a nice enough dress to camouflage her baby bump, a bit. She didn't want to look obviously pregnant at the wedding.
While Owen went to the men's suit shop, Cristina and Mrs. Hunt ended up at one of the finer department stores. They had considered the bridal store but Susannah nixed that idea. She said, "They only have those dresses for those young brides. We will go there, Cristina, when you and Owen are ready to get married."
Cristina blinked once. She blinked twice. Mrs. Hunt sure knew how to turn on the pressure. She hadn't even made up her mind about moving in with Owen, let alone marrying him. She had been thinking hard about that. There were lots of benefits of moving to the farm, including that she would be the mistress of her house and could do things the way she wanted, instead of having to worry about what Mrs. Hunt thought. Plus Owen and she could have sex, as loudly as they wanted. Then, he would also be right there, when it was time to go to the hospital. Still, she would miss her late night chats with Meredith, where they would eat ice cream and laugh about their days. Meredith was a good friend. They had been friends and roommates since college. But most of all, she valued her independence, doing things for herself and not worrying about other people's input.
As Mrs. Hunt looked through the racks for a dressy suit, Cristina looked for a nice, flowing dress. A young woman came up to her, "Can I help you?"
"Sure," Cristina said. "I am looking for a dress to attend a wedding. I am 14 weeks pregnant and I really need to get something that would help me camouflage this bump. I don't want to look so pregnant that everyone will say, 'hey, look at the pregnant girl'."
"I understand, even though I must say it is not that big of a bump," the woman said. "I am Tuesday, by the way."
"You could also help the bride choose a suit, too," Cristina said, pointing out Mrs. Hunt. "Maybe you should help her first. She is the priority." The young woman went to Mrs. Hunt and helped her choose five dressy suits for the occasion.
At the men's store, Owen looked at the suits, unable to decide which to choose. An older gentleman came up to him, "So how can I can help you, young man? Getting married, soon?"
Owen laughed. "I wish it was me, but no, my mom is getting married. I am going to give her away."
"Ah, I see," the older gentleman said. "Let me show you the appropriate suits for the occasion." Owen tried on several suits, including one that he thought he would like for his own wedding. He decided to tell Alastair – that was the older gentleman's name – to take special note of it for him.
"Alastair, I love this one. I was wondering whether you could note the style and designer for me," he said.
"You don't want to this one, now? It is a very handsome suit," Alastair asked. "The charcoal grey suit looks very well on you."
"No, not this one, now," he said. "I want it for when I get married."
"Will that be in the near future, sir?" Alastair asked. He could see that he could have another sale on his hands.
"I very much hope so," Owen said, admiring himself in the mirror. "For now, I will take the navy suit."
He was pleased with his choice. He took a final look at the grey suit. He hoped he would be able to come back for it as soon as he could.
He picked up Cristina and his mother at the store. They were also successful in their choices. Cristina finally chose a pale yellow, flowing dress while Mrs. Hunt settled on an ivory brocade suit, with matching hat. He looked at his watch.
"I guess it is time that we pick up Charlotte at the airport, Mom," Owen said. Cristina looked at him in surprise. She didn't know Owen's sister was coming in, today. She looked at herself in the side view mirror. She hoped she was not looking fat and frumpy. She pulled out her lipstick. Maybe that would improve things, she thought.
When they got to the airport, Charlotte was already waiting for them. She was also blonde and blue-eyed like Owen. Tall, with impossibly long legs in her skinny jeans, Charlotte looked tan and terrific.
"Mom," she screamed. She ran forward and hugged her mother, tightly.
"It has been so long since I have seen you, Charlotte," Susannah said. "Let me look at you. You've gotten thin."
"Oh, Mom," Charlotte said. "You're going to try to fatten me up, while I am out here. Sometimes, there aren't any good food places, when you are out in the bush." She turned to Owen and gave him a close squeeze. "Hey, big brother, you look good. Happy," she said, noting the glint in his eyes.
"I am, sis, very happy," he whispered into her ear. "Let me show you the reason why." He pulled back from her and guided Cristina forward. She had been standing back so the Hunts could have their family reunion.
"Charlotte, I would like you to meet Cristina," Owen said, happily. Charlotte enveloped her in a huge hug. "Gosh you are so tiny," Charlotte said. "And your hair is so awesome." She felt the baby bump press against her. Charlotte's face broke out into a huge smile.
"Oh, my God, is that what I think it is," Charlotte screamed. "A baby Hunt!" She looked at her brother, "No wonder you are so happy. Congratulations, Owen and you, too, Cristina." Owen was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Well, let's head home, we have so much to talk about," Susannah said. Charlotte threw her arm around her mother and they started walking off to the parking lot. Owen took's Cristina hand, as they followed them. It was a long drive back and Cristina fell asleep in the front passenger seat. She was still asleep when they arrived at the cottage.
"Wake up, baby, you're home," Owen said, gently shaking her. Cristina opened her eyes. She was a little disoriented.
"Where am I?" she said.
"You're home," he said. "Or do you want to go to the farm?"
"No, it's okay, just going to take a rest," she said. She picked up her shopping bag with her dress in it. Owen got out on the other side and helped her out of the vehicle. He waited until she got into the cottage. Cristina was really tired. Pregnancy was taking a lot out of her. She crashed on to her bed and promptly fell asleep.
As they drove off, Charlotte said, "Why doesn't she live at the farm with you? She's having your baby." Owen sighed.
"That is a sore point," Susannah said. "We have invited her to live on the farm, since I will be moving into Richard's house in town. I want her to move in to be with Owen out on the farm."
"She's still thinking about it, Mom. She told me that she would tell me on the day of the wedding," Owen said.
"For your sake, I hope the answer is in the affirmative," Susannah said. "You know, Charlotte, for a while there, Cristina and Owen were on the outs with each other. She wouldn't give him the time of day." Owen groaned. "Mom, please!"
"Okay, I will shut up, now but your brother was in a world of hurt, when that happened," Susannah said. Charlotte looked at him, sympathetically.
Later that day, after dinner, Owen and Bruno, his dog, were sitting out on the porch. Charlotte came out and joined him on the porch swing.
"I had forgotten how beautiful it is out here," Charlotte said.
"I am sure you have seen some beautiful sights in your travel, Charlotte," he said.
"I have, but I have also seen lots of darkness and despair, too," she said. "It's good to be home. Home, sweet home."
"You know, I resented it at first, when Mom called me, when I was living in New York to come back to the farm, when dad got ill," he said. "Here I was, living the good life in the city – the restaurants, the plays, the nightlife, the museums. And here I was, having to go back to this small town in Iowa. But when I came back, I realized that there were so many things that I missed. Like the wide open spaces, the panoramic view of the stars at night, the quiet solitude. You don't get those things in New York."
"So you're going to be a daddy!" Charlotte gave him a cheeky look. "I never thought the day would come. Thank you for doing this. It will help keep Mom off my back for a while. Where did you meet Cristina? She clearly does not seem like an Iowa girl."
"No, she's not. She is from LA. She and her friend, Meredith had come to the Karev-Stevens wedding and their rental car had broken down and I picked them up," he said. "And the rest is history, really."
"Nasty stuff that went down on the wedding. Does Sheriff Shepherd have a suspect?" she asked.
"Yes, but he is keeping it close to his chest. He wants irrefutable evidence before he makes an arrest," Owen said. "Apparently, it is very sensitive."
"Ah, well, can't blame him. Only murder case he has ever had," Charlotte said. She wanted to talk about Cristina some more.
"So why doesn't Cristina want to move in?" Charlotte asked. "I would have thought that she would have loved to be with the father of her child."
"We've had a pretty rough go of it, since we have been together," Owen said. "We've only been back together about two weeks, now. I mean it may be rather soon after our break to have her want to move in with me. There was about a month that we weren't together. To me, we were still together but not to her. It was perhaps the worst time of my life."
"You really love this girl?" Charlotte said.
Owen nodded. "More than life itself."
"Maybe she is a little immature," Charlotte said. "I can tell she is rather young. In her twenties, right?"
"Yeah, she is 25," Owen said. "It is not so much that as the fact that she is stubborn and wants things her own way. Moving in with me means she is going to give up some of that. She will no longer just have to think about herself. So, she is difficult but I love her, anyway. And I know she loves me."
"Hmmm," Charlotte said. "Why don't you tell me everything that happened?" Owen sighed. He really wanted to talk to somebody about it. It was hard to talk to his mother. His sister had always been a good listener. So Owen started, "When Cristina found out that she was pregnant,…." Their talk went on late into the night.
The next day, Charlotte found herself in Huntsville and made a beeline to the Mercantile. She saw a handsome young man at the cash register. Good grief, she thought, was that little Jackson Avery all grown up? The last time, she saw Jackson he was about 14 years old and she was 20 years old. Now, he had to be about 24 and what a fine-looking specimen he turned out to be. She went to the cash register.
"Jackson?" she said.
"Yes, may I help you?" he said, giving her one of his patented killer smiles.
"It's me, Charlotte Hunt. My word, you have grown up," she said.
"Oh, Owen Hunt's sister. We haven't seen you in Huntsville in about 10 years," Jackson said.
"The last time I was here, you were still a teenager," she said.
"Well, we do grow up, Miss Hunt," Jackson said.
"Oh, pshaw, call me Charlotte, now. Remember, we are all grown up, now. You can stop calling me Miss Hunt. Oh, by the way, are you and your granddad coming to my mom's wedding?" Charlotte said.
"Yes, we are. I think the whole town is invited," Jackson said.
"Oh, great," Charlotte said, smiling. "Well, I see you then. Can you direct me to Cristina Yang's office?"
"The offices are on the far left end of the store. Her office is the second one down," Jackson said.
"Thank you," Charlotte said, taking a final look at Jackson. Things were certainly looking up around here, she thought.
She knocked on the door. She heard Cristina's voice say, "Come in." She entered. "Hello, Cristina," Charlotte said.
"Oh, hello Charlotte," Cristina said. "Is there anything I can help you with? Is there something you would like to have specially ordered?"
"No, I am not here on store business. I am here on personal business," Charlotte said.
"Oh," Cristina said, bracing herself. These Hunt women were a force to be reckoned with.
"Yes, I was wondering when you were going to get your act together and stop acting like a spoilt child. Time for you to grow up, Cristina, and realize that it is not just you alone, anymore. There are two other people you have to think about, now."
Cristina was taken aback. "Excuse me?" Her hackles were starting to raise.
A/N: Please leave your comments. They do spur me on to want to continue. Thanks.