Countdown to the Wedding

"It's almost here, darling! Another 3 nights and 2 days, you will be all mine and we will get out of here for almost a month," Oliver said, while holding his distraught fiancé in his arms. They sat on their porch swing while Sharon, Shane's mother fussed around inside the house. "I just can't take another minute of my mother trying to "fix" everything. Can you please take her away with you, since you can't take me with you?" He smiled. "No, she's here for you not me. You'll be fine. Just relax and try to enjoy it." "I will enjoy it once I'm in your arms forever and you won't leave me every night to fend for myself." Oliver stifled a laugh. Shane was not normally dramatic but these last few days had ramped up her nerves so much that she was now prone to wildly exaggerate everything. "Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea how much I'm looking forward to that, too." Shane had her head resting on his shoulder. He was slowly calming her down by holding her tightly in his arms and gently rubbing her forearm that was resting across his middle. "Anyway, it's your girls' night tomorrow, isn't it? Why don't you take the whole day off?" Excited, Shane lifted her head, "Oh, Oliver, that'd be great. May I?" "Oh, sweetheart, of course you may. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. In fact, take Friday off as well." "Oh, no no no no no!" Shane said, panicking again. "What's the problem?" Oliver asked, trying to sound as calm and relaxed as he could, so he could impart some of that to her. "Does that mean I will only see you Saturday at the ceremony? I can't spend two whole days without seeing you, Oliver. That will definitely throw me over the edge once and for all." "Yes, you're right, we can't have that. How about we spend Friday evening together, hopefully just the two of us? How about you throw your mother and your girlfriends off your scent and then you come to my house and hide there with me for awhile." She lifted her head again, very excited this time. "Ohhh, I like the sound of that!" He smiled and gently pushed her head onto his shoulder again and kissed the top of it. There was nothing that pleased him more than to make her happy.

Thursday, Shane and her mother went to pick up Becky at the Denver airport at 3pm. From there, the 3 of them went straight to the USPS main branch to pick up Rita and Hazel. Shane made a beeline for Oliver the moment she entered the DLO doorway. She couldn't care less if this public show of affection was going to throw Oliver or not. She needed him. While there was a commotion of hugs and greetings on the other side of the office, she kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "Hi, my darling, I think I need to hide with you a bit tonight as well. May I come a little later and see you when my handlers go to bed?" He smiled warmly at her and whispered back. "I like being called darling… by you, my darling." He winked at her. "See you later." He added, "I'm going out with dad, Norman, Ramon and Bill later on. How about I call you when I get home?" She kissed him on the cheek again, winking at him. Then, all the ladies left, dragging Shane with them.

They laughed the whole afternoon, had pizza and a few glasses of wine for dinner. Shane actually pretended to drink as she wanted to drive to Oliver's later on. They played board games, which Rita won and Hazel lost every single round. It was really good fun and Shane opened the gifts her friends brought her. Some items were really over the top! They all laughed heartily and made very girly comments about how Oliver was going to thoroughly enjoy his honeymoon. At around 10pm, she started checking her cell phone every few minutes. Her mother noticed it. "Are you expecting a text message Shane?" "No!" She said, truthfully since Oliver didn't text. Rita and Hazel left soon after that. Shane said she was very tired and wanted to go to bed. Both Becky and Sharon had no choice but to go to bed too. Shane didn't change out of her clothes; instead she just sat on the edge of her bed and waited. Within 15 minutes Oliver called her and told her he was home. She tiptoed out of the house and closed the door behind her like a teenager breaking curfew to see her boyfriend.

When Oliver opened the door for her, she literally jumped into his arms. He caught her. He reached out, pushed the door closed and pushed her against it, kissing her passionately. He pressed his whole body against her. They were both desperate for each other. She clung to him as they stood pressed against the door. Their mouths wanted more and more. He picked her up, walked to the couch, laid her there gently and laid on top of her. She hugged him tightly as his mouth was busily roaming her face, kissing her mouth, her eyes, her ears, her chin, her neck, and back to her mouth again.

"Oliver?"

"Ummm?"

"We shouldn't…"

"We won't!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" He said, without stopping their kisses. "I missed you so much today, my Shane. If you hadn't come to me I'd have come for you and stolen you away." He said against her mouth. She laughed with him still kissing her.

"Oliver?"

"Ummm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, my Shane. One more day and you'll truly be mine!" Tears started rolling down her face and Oliver started wiping them with his thumbs. "Don't cry my love."

"I can't help it." She said, with more tears rolling towards her ears. Oliver got up, grabbed his handkerchief from his inner jacket pocket, went back to her and lay back on top of her again. She opened her arms and hugged him tightly again. He started mopping her tears ever so gently. As inappropriate as this position was, they both seemed completely at ease knowing their respective feelings and limits. Neither of them felt compelled to go any further. All they wanted was to be together, loving each other without compromising their faith and their relationship.

"God is so good to us, Oliver."

"Yes, he is indeed!"

"He brought us both back to the land of the living in more ways than one."

"That he did!" Agreed Oliver.

"For each other." She said sounding like Norman.

"I have no doubt you were made for me and I for you."

"You do?"

"I most certainly do. Even when I was married to someone else, it felt weird. I know now why. She was not my soulmate. You are!"

"That makes sense as I certainly have never loved anybody the way I love you. You complete me!" He kissed her again, gentle and tender this time, as though she was the most precious thing, which he knew she was.

Oliver sat up and helped her sit up. She tucked herself under his arm and nestled into his chest. It was her favourite place on earth.

"So, what did you do today?" He asked.

"Well, mom helped me pack a lot of my stuff your dad will bring here when we're away. In the morning we went to the charity shop and donated a lot of stuff we won't need. Considering we both have fully furnished houses, I had to make some tough decisions on what to keep and what to give away. I think I'm happy with my final result." He nodded.

"Once we arrive back home from our honeymoon, we can do the same here. If there's anything you wish to donate, it should be ok." He cleared his throat and continued, "Just so you know, there's nothing left in this house that is remotely connected to… well, you know who. Including and most importantly our bed!" She smiled at him, appreciating this information.

"Our bed! How I just love the sound of that!" He smiled happily with the idea of what it represented. "I've recently changed the entire bedroom set. Everything is new… for you!"

"Oh, Oliver, don't make me cry again. You know, you make me so happy." He lifted her face to place a gentle kiss on her lips. They looked at each other with so much trust. They indeed completed each other.

"So, what did you ladies do this afternoon after you picked up Rita and Hazel?" "Oh, nothing extraordinary. We had pizza and played board games. Then they gave me presents… for you."

"Presents for me?" He said, baffled.

"Oh yes, you're going to enjoy those presents very much indeed!" She said, provocatively rubbing her hand seductively inside his shirt over his well toned chest muscles. He smiled and grabbed her hand, stopping it from doing more than it should.

"Shane, just you wait babe, you're in for it!" She dropped her jaw in mock horror. "Oliver O'Toole, did you just call me babe?"

"Hum hum, yes babe, I did." She laughed. "Who are you again? Have we met?" He laughed and said, "Oh dear Shane, you're in for a bit of a surprise. You always wanted me to let my hair down. Oh well, are you ready?"

"Oliver, bring it on. There is nothing I love more than surprises."

"Hot and steamy surprises?"

"Oh yes, the hotter and the steamier the better." They laughed, enjoying their sexy banter. All it did was increase the anticipation.

It was almost midnight when Shane left. They agreed to meet again the following night. These almost clandestine meetings were so exciting, it felt naughty… it would be their last chance to see each other before their big day.

Friday morning, Shane, Sharon, Rita and Becky travelled to the church to check on the last minute preparations. The church was being decorated according to Shane's instructions when they arrived there. They helped a bit, but they were not really needed. They checked on the bridal and groom rooms. Once satisfied everything was being done meticulously, they left to check on the preparations at the reception venue. The ladies were impressed at how beautiful both venues were. Shane and Oliver had chosen extremely well. The tables were already set. They went around placing the centre piece on each table. The centre pieces were a delicately arranged oasis with an array of yellow roses and other delicate flowers, put together lovingly by Ellie and Bobby Richards. All they had to do now was place the name cards at each seating. Shane and Oliver had spent a whole evening organising the seating plan for their guests and they were happy with the final result. The bridal table had 3 centre pieces since it was a long rectangular table elevated on a platform so all would see them easily regardless of where one sat. One on the bridesmaid side, one on the groomsmen side and one in front of the bride and groom. That one was the biggest and most elaborate of them all. The room already looked magnificent but it wasn't even half finished. Once the bride was happy and confident that all her instructions were being carried out perfectly, they left to find a place to have lunch.

The late afternoon was spent lazily, shopping for outfits Shane could take with her on her honeymoon. "I have no idea where I'm going, so how can I shop accordingly?"

"I know!" Sharon blurted out. They all turned to her. She put her hands up in mock surrender. "Don't even think about it! Oliver would kill me if I breathed a word of it to Shane."

"You can tell me!" Both Becky and Rita said in unison. They all laughed. "No! I'm not telling anybody."

"So why did Oliver tell you?" Shane asked. "To help you pack which I already have."

"When?" Shane looked at her, confused. Sharon looked unfazed. "Oliver's already got your special luggage."

"Mom! Did you rummage through my wardrobe?"

"No! Absolutely not! Trust me; you have everything you'll need for where you're going." Shane looked annoyed but she had no other choice but to agree. If she hated everything her mother had packed, she'd just spend Oliver's money and go shopping. That made her laugh and her mood improved immediately.

They finished their window shopping and drove back to Shane's house. They picked up Chinese takeout on their way home. They had an early night as Rita wanted to get home a little earlier. About 8pm, Shane announced she wanted to be alone for a bit and go out for a bit of a drive. Both Becky and Sharon looked at each other and hid a smile. "Shane McInerney, we know you sneaked out last night to see Oliver." Sharon said. "Oh, I wasn't sneaking." Shane responded, taken a bit off guard knowing she had been caught and there was no point in denying it. Both ladies laughed and Becky blurted out, "Go on, get out of here. Don't do anything you might have to deny…remember tomorrow's almost here!" Shane blushed. "Oh, you two!" she said and walked out laughing.

Oliver opened the door for Shane and again she flew into his arms. He grabbed her by the waist and twirled her around in a happy dance. When he set her down on her feet, they found each other's mouths and clung together. He loved when she wore low heeled shoes! He lifted her up by her waist to his height and kissed her. When they finally separated he said, "Oh sweetheart, today was the longest day of my life. The seconds and minutes simply refused to tick by fast enough. I don't think I've ever been more useless at my job than I was today. All was made worse, of course, by the simple fact you were not there." Shane nodded, "It was pretty hard for me as well, but I think mine may have been a bit easier, as we were busy with the last decoration details for both the church and the reception room."

"Oh yes! How did that go?"

"Everything is perfect, Oliver." They walked to the couch and sat, Shane taking her favourite position of tucking herself into his side under his arm. She had no idea how this sitting arrangement pleased him as he felt like her protector. "What is your schedule for tomorrow?" He asked, playing with her engagement ring on the hand resting on his leg.

"I will be at the church by 11. My hair and makeup will be done over there. As long as I'm ready by 1:30, it will give me half an hour or so to relax and get myself ready… psychologically… for you." He smiled, and kissed the top of her head. "Are you nervous?" He asked, tentatively. "Absolutely not! I'd have married you two years ago, if you had asked me then." He smiled again but he didn't say anything. Shane continued. "I've been drooling over you long enough…" He gasped! "You used to drool over me?"

"I still do, my darling. I don't think you realise what a gorgeous man you are, Oliver." He grabbed her and, lifting her, sat her on his lap and pulled her to him to the point she was almost laying on her side on top of him. He started kissing her, allowing the kiss to get as deep as they dared. The sheer effort it took to only go so far and then put the brakes on took a toll on both of them, but especially him. He buried his face in her neck and took a deep breath of her scent. He looked at her and said, "If you think you're the only one who struggled, you couldn't be more mistaken. Shane, you are a stunning woman and only God knows how hard it was, is to keep focused on my work in the DLO with you sashaying right in front of me all day long. I was convinced you were doing it on purpose. Were you?" She just shook her head.

"You, little imp, drive me insane. But come tomorrow night, I fully intend to satisfy every fantasy I've ever had about you."

She laughed. "Every fantasy? Ohhhh, should I be worried?" He laughed and said, trying to sound dangerous "Oh yes! Very much so!"

"Oh goodie!" They both laughed heartily.