"Excuse me?" Cristina repeated. She really could not believe that Charlotte could be speaking to her in that manner, especially since they barely knew each other.
"It's time you grow up, Cristina. It's time to you start making decisions that take other people into consideration. I know you're only 25 and lots of girls your age are probably partying and taking in the nightlife but your circumstances are different. You are having a baby and that baby takes priority. Your baby needs both a mother and a father. My brother is more than willing to step up to the plate. But from what I have heard, you haven't been exactly giving him any encouragement," Charlotte said.
"If you're talking about me moving to the farm, I already told Owen that I would give him a decision on your mother's wedding day," Cristina said, wondering why Charlotte was sticking her nose into her business.
"Yeah, I heard about that. But my brother has been more than patient with you, since you got pregnant. He has been devastated by the decisions that you have taken since the pregnancy began," Charlotte said. Cristina gave her a questioning look. Charlotte continued, "Yes, I know everything about what took place."
Cristina was furious. How dare Owen share this? Especially the part about her attempt to get an abortion, Cristina thought. This was her private business. No one knew about that except Meredith, Owen and Dr. Webber. Not even Mrs. Hunt knew, unless Owen had blabbed to her, too. Cristina was getting angrier by the minute.
Still, she spoke in a calm tone. "Whatever decisions I took were ones that I thought would be best for me," Cristina said. "I am a single woman and I was pregnant for a man, who I had only known for seven weeks. I was not sure at the time whether he would want a child with a woman he barely knew."
"You don't have to be single, Cristina. My brother wants to be with you, more than anything in the world. He loves you and this baby. He would marry you today, if you let him," Charlotte's tone had softened. But it was too late. The damage had been done. Cristina was completely up in arms and her attitude had become defensive.
"Thank you, Charlotte for all of your input into my private life,' she said, sarcastically. Then, she changed her tone to emphatically state, "As it stands, I will let Owen know of my decision, regarding moving in with him at the farm. I have a lot of work to do and I hope that this conversation is over." Charlotte knew when she was being dismissed.
"Alright, Cristina. I am going," Charlotte said. "But please think about what I said."
"Good bye, Charlotte," Cristina said. She felt like crying but she wasn't going to give Charlotte the satisfaction of seeing her break down. Charlotte left and quietly closed the door. It was only when she heard Charlotte's footsteps walking away that she finally let the dams break and let the tears flow. She was so angry at Charlotte and also at Owen. How dare he discuss her private life with his sister, who didn't know her at all? She cried for about 10 minutes, before she composed herself to get on with her work.
It was closer to lunchtime when she got a call from Owen. She saw the farm's number pop up on her phone. She groaned. She really was not in the mood to have any chat with Owen. If he was going to say that he was going to pick her up for lunch, she was going to decline. She could not deal with any more Hunts, today. She knew she had to answer because he would keep calling if she did not.
She took a deep breath in before she answered. "Hello, Owen," she said, calmly.
"Hey there, baby," Owen said. He sounded happy.
"What's up?" she asked, continuing in an even tone.
"Just wanted to let you know that I probably wouldn't be able to see you this week," he said. "We have all these preparations to do before the wedding on Sunday. So I just want to let you know that I am not neglecting you."
"No, it is perfectly alright," she said. "I totally understand." This was working out fine for her. She didn't have to see Owen for the week.
"I am sorry about this, baby but I am swamped here with the wedding preparations and running the farm," he said. "Today, I have to talk to someone about putting up a tent for the wedding. It has been non-stop."
"Well, you just take care of everything. You don't have to worry about me," Cristina said.
"You can still call me, whenever you want," he said. "I still want to hear your voice."
"Okay," she said but she knew the chances of her calling him were slim to none. "If I need you, I will call." She was certainly not going to need him this week, she thought.
"So the next time I will see you will probably be on the wedding day," Owen said. "You don't mind, do you?"
"No, no," she said. "You just do what you have to do."
"Well, okay then. Bye, baby," Owen said. "I love you."
"Good bye, Owen," she said. Then she hung up. He noticed that she had not said that she loved him back. That was strange. Since they had got back together, they had fallen back into their old habit of saying "I love you" before they hung up. He dismissed the thought from his mind, since he had so many things to do.
It was blissfully quiet for the rest of the week as she did not deal with any more Hunts. She did not call Owen but he did call her and every time, she was on the phone with him, she was achingly polite. He started to sense something was wrong because Cristina seemed guarded in their conversations. Still, she denied that anything was wrong.
She had briefly considered not going to the wedding but she decided she had to go because everyone in town was going to the wedding. Since everyone knew she was pregnant with a Hunt baby, it would look strange that she was not going to the wedding of the baby's grandmother. And then all of the gossip would start - a situation she did not want.
The day of the wedding dawned bright and clear. Owen looked out of his window. The tent was up, ready for the reception. The wedding ceremony was actually going to be held in the church in Huntsville. Reverend Johnson was going to conduct the ceremony. He also remembered he had to pick up Cristina for the wedding, which was going to be at 4 p.m. in the afternoon, followed by the reception at the farm. Still, there were still a few minor niggling details to take care of. It was going to be a busy day.
At 3 p.m., he was headed into town. His mom and Charlotte had stayed in Huntsville at the local hotel, so that they would be closer to the church. He called Cristina that he was coming for her. "Hey, Cristina, I am heading into town, now for the wedding. I am going to be there in a bit, so I hope you're ready."
"Oh," she said. "I thought you were going to be too busy for that, so I made other arrangements. They are coming for me in a bit," she said.
"Who's coming for you?" he asked.
"Mr. Avery and Jackson. They asked on Friday how I was getting to the wedding and they said they would come and pick me up," she replied.
"Oh," he said. "That was nice of them."
"So you go ahead and do what you have to do," she said. "I will be fine."
"Okay," he said. "I will see you at the church."
"Yes," she said. "I will be there. Bye, Owen."
"Bye, Cristina, I love you," he said. He heard her hang up the phone.
Cristina, Jackson and his grandfather, Harper arrived at the church at 3.45 p.m. A lot of people had arrived before them and they were lucky to find a pew nearer the back of the church. Harper was surprised that Cristina was going to join them in their pew.
"Aren't you going to join the Hunts at the front?" Harper asked. He found it strange that she was not going to do so.
She looked at him, directly in the eyes and said, "My baby may be a Hunt but I am not a Hunt. I sit where I want."
Harper raised his eyebrows at her response. "Well, okay, then. You are welcome to sit with Jackson and me," he said.
"Thank you, sir," Cristina said. She sat in between Mr. Avery and Jackson. She looked around the church. There was a low chatter in the church, as everyone seemed really excited to be at the wedding. Meredith and Sheriff Shepherd were already there. The sheriff did not look too happy. Meredith seemed animated enough for the both of them. Owen was nowhere in sight. He probably was busy with his mom. It was just as well, she thought.
The murmurings in the church were finally hushed when the organ music started. Owen and his mom appeared at the entrance and went down the aisle. Mrs. Hunt was wearing the ivory brocade suit and matching hat that she had bought in Des Moines. Owen was dressed in the navy suit. He did look very handsome, Cristina had to admit.
At the top of the aisle, he handed over his mother to Dr. Webber and went to sit next to his sister. He was surprised to see that Charlotte was alone, sitting in the pew, reserved for the bride's family.
"Where is Cristina?" he asked Charlotte. She looked at him and said, "I don't know. I haven't seen her."
"She is supposed to be sitting up here with us," Owen said. Instead of paying attention to the proceedings, he looked around the church. He saw Meredith with the sheriff but Cristina was not sitting with them. It was then he saw the flash of ebony curls. He knew her hair, anywhere because there was no one else in Huntsville with those curls. She was sitting between Jackson and his grandfather. He could not see her properly because there was a woman with a large hat in the pew in front of her.
"I spotted her," Owen told Charlotte. "She is sitting with the Averys. Doesn't she know that she is supposed to sit up here with us?" Charlotte shrugged her shoulders. Since that day in Cristina's office, she had not seen Owen's girlfriend. The girl had not come over to the house for the entire week. All she had wanted to do was to give the girl a jolt of reality so that she would come to her senses and to take her brother's feelings into consideration. Charlotte hadn't expected the girl to pull back like this. She looked at her brother. He seemed agitated and unhappy. She sighed. What a mess she had made.
After the wedding ceremony, everyone headed to the farm for the reception. Cristina went with the Averys and sat at their table. After the speeches and toasts were over, Owen went looking for Cristina. She was supposed to be sitting at the Hunts' table. There was an empty place with her name at the front of it. His eyes searched the entire tent, until he spotted her at the Averys' table. What did she think she was doing? He went to her and softly whispered, "There is a place for you at my family's table. I would like you to come and sit there."
She turned and looked at him. "I am fine, here. Jackson will be bringing my food, soon. He is standing in the buffet line," Cristina said, pointing to her friend who had two plates in his hand.
"But you are supposed to be at my family's table," he said. "We set aside a place for you. Why didn't you sit in our pew for the wedding?"
"Why?" she asked. "I am not a Hunt." It was like if she stabbed him in the heart.
"You may not be a Hunt but you are still my family. What is wrong with you?" he asked. "Why are you behaving like this? Are you mad that I have not been able to see you all week? I explained that I was busy with the wedding preparations and the farm operations. If you are mad at that, I am sorry but it could not be helped. I now have the time to pay more attention to you. Now, come sit at my table."
"No, I am not mad at that," she said. "But I am mad at something else."
"What? What have I done?' he asked. He sat down in Jackson's chair next to her. He was totally puzzled.
"If you want to find out why I am mad, ask your sister," she said.
"Charlotte? What did she do?" Owen asked. "Did she say something?"
"Just ask your sister," Cristina said. "In the meantime, can you offer your mother and Dr. Webber my congratulations? Thanks. Oh, here is Jackson. You'll have to get up." Owen reluctantly got up and vacated Jackson's seat. Jackson quickly put the two plates down.
"I will be back, Cristina," Owen said. She nodded in acknowledgement.
He went back to his table and grabbed Charlotte's arm. "I need to see you, now."
"What?" Charlotte said.
"Don't tell me what. I need to speak to you, right now. Let's go outside and talk about this," he said, gesturing his hand over Cristina's empty chair.
"Oh," Charlotte said. She followed him out of the tent. "You've talked to her, I guess," Charlotte said.
"Yes, what did you say to her? She's totally withdrawn from me. She says I should talk to you," Owen said.
"Okay, I guess it is my fault. I went to see her, earlier in the week. I told her to get her act together and to start thinking about other people. That it was time for her to grow up and to stop acting like an independent unit," she said. "I wanted her to take your feelings into consideration. I wanted her to make that step and commit to you. I know you desperately want to be with her. I know you want her here with you on the farm."
Owen sighed. "Charlotte, I know you mean well but there is something you have to understand about Cristina. She is very stubborn. The more you push her, the more she pulls away. She needs to make her own decisions. Nobody can push her to make them."
"There's more," Charlotte confessed. "I told her that I knew everything."
Owen groaned. "No wonder she shut down on me. She hates when people talk about her private life. She must be so mad at me."
"I am sorry, Owen. I made things worse for you," Charlotte admitted. "If you want, I will apologize to her, if it will make things better."
"Maybe that would help. I have to apologize, too, because I discussed our private life with you. She seems very upset with me," he said. "She clearly stated that with her actions – not sitting in our pew or at our table. She told me that she is not a Hunt and therefore, there was no need for her to sit or eat with us."
"Okay, I will apologize," Charlotte said. "Let's go find her." They went back into the tent and looked across at the Averys' table. Mr. Avery was there but not Cristina. She was gone.
A/N Please leave your comments. Thank you for your reviews. I do appreciate reading all of them.