Chapter 15 – Plans, Plans and More Plans

We didn't tell anyone for two days. It was like a delicious secret that only the two of us shared, and we made the most of it. There was a newfound closeness, a feeling of 'us against the world' that hadn't existed before. And holding each other in the morning when we got home from the saloon was our own special time that we didn't have to share with anyone else.

Finally, on the morning of the third day, I got us a buggy and we drove out to Uncle Ben's house. Ben and Pappy were having breakfast with Lily Mae, and they'd just gotten a letter from Bret that told them he was on his way back to Little Bend for a spell.

"Mr. B, Miss Doralice, sit down, I've got a fresh pot of coffee right here." Lily Mae was happy to see us and poured us both coffee before she stopped what she was doing and looked at me. "Mr. B, what's goin' on? Somethin's different, I can see it. What are . . . are you . . . oh my." And she sat down abruptly, and I saw a tear slide down her cheek. Trust Lily Mae to know there was something out of the ordinary about to happen.

Doralice turned to Lily Mae and wiped the tear away. "Don't cry, Lily, your little boy had to grow up sometime." And my soon-to-be-wife held my surrogate mother while Lily cried.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Pappy asked with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, it does," I answered, and he stood and gave me another of those bear hugs of his.

"Good move," he said to me, then turned to Doralice. "You sure, girl?"

"Beyond a doubt," was her reply. There was a woman who'd never be intimidated by Pappy.

"Congratulations," Uncle Ben gave me a more human version of Pappy's hug, followed by a kiss on Doralice's cheek.

"When?" Lily Mae finally stopped crying and asked.

"When's Bret gonna be home? What does his letter say?"

"Week after next," Pappy read out loud. "Says we can wire him in Denver if we need him sooner."

I checked with Doralice. "Can we be ready by the time he gets here?"

"You mean I get two weeks to get ready? Isn't that an awful lot of time?" I looked at Pappy and we both started laughing. "What's so funny?" Doralice asked.

"I only gave Isabelle a week," Pappy explained.

"Where are you gettin' married?' Lily Mae asked, and a silence fell over the room.

"I . . . I don't know. We haven't talked about it." The bride and the groom looked at each other, and we were both mystified.

"The saloon?" Pappy asked.

"The church," Lily Mae suggested.

"Here at the house," Ben put in his two-cents worth.

And then the answer hit me. It might be odd, but if Doralice had no objections, I knew the perfect spot. "Up on the hill, under the Desert Willow Tree. So Momma can be there." I looked at the woman I'd asked to marry me, and she nodded.

"Perfect."

"And we can hold the reception at the saloon, just the way Maude did. Alright with you?"

Doralice smiled. "That will make Maude happy."

"Will it make you happy?" I asked her.

She smiled that beautiful smile she had. "Very."

"What are you gonna do about a ring, boy?" Pappy asked.

There was another thing we hadn't thought about. "Do you want one?"

"Yes, sir. Don't you?"

The only one I'd worn with Caroline had been her father's. I still wore it as a pinky ring on my right hand. This one would be all mine. "Yeah, I do. Claytonville's got a store where they just sell jewelry – rings and such. Let's go over there on Saturday and see what we can find."

"Good. There's that dress shop over there – remember? I bet I can find the perfect dress to wear."

My turn to smile. "Honey, anything you wear would be perfect."

"You sure you don't want the church?" Lily Mae asked.

I hated to disappoint her, but . . . "Lily Mae, that hilltop is about the holiest place I know."

She bowed her head. She knew exactly what I meant.

XXXXXXXX

We drove back to town slowly. There was so much to think about; things I never had to think about before. "Now I'll move all my things to the house."

"Good idea. We'll get a couple extra bartenders to help Maude on Friday and we can come back out to the mansion and gather everything up."

"I don't have all that much, darlin'."

"We'll have to do somethin' about that. My husband has to be the best-dressed floor manager in all of Texas."

"Oh, God. You're gonna be as bad as Bret about stuff like that, ain't ya?"

"You better believe it."

By the time we got back to Little Bend, the shopping trip to Claytonville had turned into a major trip. Not that it mattered; all I cared about was that Doralice was happy. If a few new clothes and a couple rings made her that way, I was all for it.

Besides, there was something I wanted to look for myself. Pappy had given Momma a Bible on their wedding day, and I wanted to do the same thing. And if I bought one in Little Bend, Doralice would know five minutes later.

Randy was behind the bar at Maude's when we got there. "Randy, we'll be in Maude's office. No disturbances, alright?"

"Sure, Bart. No disturbances."

Maude looked up when we walked into her office but looked a little confused when I closed the door. Doralice sat down in front of her mother's desk, and I took the second chair.

"This looks ominous," Maude stated. "Do I need a drink?"

"You might, Mother. Are you in the mood for another wedding?"

"Another . . . oh my God. You are? When did this happen? And when is it gonna be?"

We took turns filling Maude in on the details, and with each and every answer her smile got bigger. She even nodded at the location of the nuptials. And she was thrilled beyond normal bounds when we asked if we could hold the reception in the saloon. "Of course you can. We'll throw the biggest party this town has ever seen. Even bigger than mine and Cristian's."

"We've got one more request, Maude, and we hope you can make Cristian understand," I started.

"And that is?"

"I don't want anyone to walk me to my groom," Doralice finished. "I want to walk to him all on my own. It has nothing to do with Cristian, or Beauregard, or anyone else. But it's important to me."

Maude nodded. "I understand. It's your weddin', and it should be the way you want it to be. Is Bret gonna be your best man?"

"Sounds like it. He's on his way back home right now. Course he doesn't know yet, but he'll find out soon enough."

"And we'll be gone on Saturday – we're goin' to Claytonville for some shopping."

"Oh?" Maude asked. "Anything special?"

"Lots and lots," Doralice answered.

"Rings," I offered.

"And a dress. And we'll see if there's anything Bart likes."

"As long as it's not a dress," I told the two of them, and waited for them to laugh. Neither one did. The women in my life have no sense of humor.