Unexpected Wedding (16 page)

“That’s a great idea.”

“I know. But my dad only gave me twenty dollars the day before and I figured I’d have to get them to donate the leftover pumpkins once I told them what they were for.”

“But now you had five hundred dollars.”

“Yep. And it was crazy because he knew I had problems. Who gives a kid five hundred dollars when they could spend it on cigarettes or alcohol or worse? It defies explanation. Anyway, he looks straight at me in all seriousness and says, ‘I know you’re on restriction and we told you homecoming was out of the question, but it’s your senior year. You should go with your friends. Spend that money on a dress, shoes, whatever you need. You can use what’s left on pumpkins.’ I took the money and walked away.”

“And you kept going to the associate’s house.”

“Yes. And I kept dodging his advances. On the other hand, I had so many pumpkins in the back of my car it nearly dragged the ground. It was one of the most successful camp games in history.”

“But basically what your dad did was give you hush-money.”

“Yes, he did.”

“Please tell me that guy got what was coming to him.”

“It took a few years, but someone finally caught on. He’s not in ministry anymore.”

“And I take it you haven’t settled this with your dad.”

“No.”

“Now I see why you want to use your psychology degree to work with children.”

“It’s a terrible thing to be a child and need to say things and need people to hear you and you can’t speak clearly or they don’t listen and no one understands. I always listen to kids, Rocky. Even when I know they’re lying to my face. There’s a reason they’ve concocted that lie and the truth is in there somewhere. It’s usually connected to a hurt or a rejection. Someone needs to listen and find it before the kid becomes destructive.”

“You do have a gift with children. That was evident from the first day I met you.”

“Well, now you can see why I do not feel the need for anyone to ask for my hand in marriage. My father does not get the privilege of giving his blessing.”

“Gia, Gia, Gia... Once again, I am sorry so many men have let you down.”

“Don’t be sorry, Rocky. You are the last man who should say ‘I’m sorry’ to me.”

“I’m not helping anything. Here I am pressuring you to do something you clearly don’t want to do. I didn’t mean to be one of those guys who tries to talk you into something or take advantage of you.”

“Apples and oranges, Rocky. The situations do not compare.” She nuzzled in closer and put her hand on his chest. “Why is your heart beating so fast? It’s trying to thump out of there.”

“Anger. Frustration. I can’t believe what you’ve been through.”

“Don’t blow a valve on my account. I’m not worth—”

“No.” He pushed her away to the point she was forced to look at him. He placed two fingers against her lips before he had a chance to think it through. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.” His fingers slid away from her mouth. Suddenly he was holding her face in his hands, gazing into her velvet brown eyes—and fighting with everything not to kiss her and send her screaming for her car. “I cannot listen to you say one more time how you’re not worth it, or not worthy, or not deserving, or whatever other phrases you use to beat yourself up. You’ve had a bad run, it’s over now. And even if I was the only man on earth who knew how beautiful and remarkable you are, I still would not be alone. You are a child of God. Someone died for your sins. Don’t forget that.”

Now he’d done it. Huge puddles of water formed instantly in her eyes and trickled—no splashed—onto her cheeks.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“I’m not crying,” she said and propelled herself into his arms. “I mean, I am a little,” she said against his neck, “but I’m not usually a crybaby. I think it’s my hormones or something.”

“Um... Yeah.” He didn’t care what it was as long as she stayed there half on and half off his lap, clinging like a vine on Mrs. Konchesky’s trellis.

She scooted away from him and dabbed her eyes with the edge of her shirt. “Thank you, Rocky. For everything.”

Somehow saying you’re welcome didn’t sound right in his head. He’d been hoping for more, she’d given all she knew how to give. If the proposal had been the right thing, it was turning out very wrong. Her sudden, powerful embrace was obviously not the yes he wanted. It was the good-bye he dreaded.

“You should get some sleep,” he said. “It’s late.”

“About the proposal, I appreciate it, but—”

“Don’t mention it. It was wrong to pressure you. In fact, proposal withdrawn. No worries. Forget it.”

“I know you were trying to help.”

“OK, you need to stop talking, Gia, because you’re making it sound like the offer was some sort of rescue mission based on pity or something. You need to understand my proposal was completely sincere, completely serious, and I was completely committed to it and you.”

“I know.”

“No, I don’t think you do, because there are other factors we didn’t get to discuss because you were so determined to not seriously consider it.”

A slight breeze caught nearby branches and caused dappled light to dance across her face. “What factors,” she asked so softly he almost didn’t hear.

“My injury. You don’t know the facts. There are complete and incomplete spinal cord injuries. Mine is complete. That means no sensation below the point of damage to my spine. This is where most people don’t understand the details. Due to medical advances there are ways for me to still father a child of my own. But it is highly unlikely. I was taking all things into consideration when I suggested marriage. I have strong feelings about family and about you. So while that baby was not the only reason for my proposal, it would certainly have been an honor and a blessing to raise that child as my own.”

“I—”

“And while we’re on the subject, if you would have seriously discussed things with me, I would have also assured you that intimacy was not off the table either. Just so you know.”

“Well...I...I assumed as much,” she stammered. “I didn’t know any specifics but I guessed there’s more than one way to...”

Her voice trailed off, her blush so bright she nearly glowed in the dark, and he couldn’t ever remember being so annoyed or exasperated.

He reached for his chair. “Enough said. Go to bed.”

“Can we sit here for little while longer, please?”

Her gentle request amidst the clamor of the awkward moment surprised him further. He raked his fingers through his hair.
Why, Lord, why does this not end?

“Sure,” he said.

They sat there together staring off into the night.

It hurt him all over—inside and out.

****

Gia’s eyes came open in a wide-awake stare from what she thought was a deep sleep. She glanced at the time on her phone. One-thirty AM. Had she even really been asleep?

She kicked off the quilt. Rocky didn’t keep the house that cool at night. Either that or the intense heat during the day made it hard for his A/C unit to keep up. Maybe it was the internal heat-lamp that resided in her body and fanned to flame each time her heightened emotions began to stir. It could simply be the effect Rocky had on her. All his warm hugs and kind words kept a perpetual red tint on her face. Everything he did made her feel good. She trusted him.

She turned on her side and punched her pillow into position. She needed to get out of his house.

Or she needed to marry him.

“No, no, no,” she whispered and flopped to her other side. “It wouldn’t be fair. Lord, please help me with this. It’s too hard.”

This time she flopped on her back and started an exercise she used at camp when she couldn’t quiet her mind. She lay perfectly still and focused on the Bible. First she’d recite all the books in alphabetical order. If she was still awake, she’d recite them in the order they appeared. If that didn’t work, well...

“
A.
Acts, Amos. No
B’s
.
C.
First and Second Chronicles, Colossians, First and Second Corinthians.
D
. Daniel, Deuteronomy.
E.
Ecclesiastes, Ephesians...”

Gia’s eyes once again came open in a wide-awake stare from what she once again thought a deep sleep. Her heart beat wildly as if trying to escape from her chest. She flipped on the bedside lamp and grabbed her phone. Two-thirty AM. In a cold sweat, she clawed at the quilt and used it to cover her body and soak up tears from her cheeks. Crying again? Why? She pulled a box of tissues to her side and wiped her nose. Fragmented scenes passed through her mind. She felt the professor’s hand on her leg as though it just happened. A second later, the side of her head felt sore. She rubbed the spot and remembered her hair being tugged. No, not tugged, yanked. She’d sensed that pain before. Now she was more awake, feeling things, experiencing things and wishing it would stop. She hugged her knees to her chest and rocked like a frightened child.
Lord, please let it stop, please let it stop, please let it stop... I want to feel better. I want to feel safe.

She took her journal from the bag beside the bed and recited verses God had reminded her throughout her ordeal.

“Philippians 4:6-8.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things
.”

Slowly she was comforted, overwhelmed by God’s steadying hand. He was healing her. Fear left her body and sleep beckoned.

For the third time, Gia’s eyes came open in a wide-awake stare from what she thought was a deep sleep. Three-thirty AM. Her journal lay open in the light from the lamp she hadn’t turned off before she fell asleep. Proverbs 20:6 leaped off the page.
Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?
A bubble of joy bounced around in her heart. “What are you saying, Lord?”

Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?

She jumped out of bed, wrapped the quilt around her body, and went straight to knock on Rocky’s door.

“Gia? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said with her hand on the knob.

“Give me a minute, and I’ll be out.”

“No. Stay put. This won’t take long, and I’m a mess. Can you hear me all right?”

“Yes. Do you need something?”

She pressed her forehead against the cool wood. “Let’s do it.”

There was a long moment of silence in which she nearly chewed off her entire thumbnail.

“Uh... I knew you wanted me Gia, but I’m not really that kind of guy. However, if you’ll give me a minute to freshen up...”

She smacked the door with her open palm. “You know what I mean, Rocky. I’m accepting your proposal.”

“I withdrew my proposal.”

Oh. Right.

“OK, then. Rocky, will you marry me?”

More silence. And this time she knew he was only doing it to irritate her.

“Do you have some sort of token to seal the deal? It’s customary.”

“You didn’t have a token.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You had a token?”

“You’re getting off track.”

A narrow swatch of light appeared under the door. “Don’t get any ideas about coming out here, Rocky. You stay on the other side of that door. I mean it.”

It swung open anyway with a whoosh of air. He was sitting there in the dim light with no shirt and sleep-ravaged hair.

And all those muscles.

“Really, Gia? You thought I would stay on the other side of the door for this?”

She pulled the quilt tighter around her body. “The better question is why are you sleeping in red and green flannel pajama bottoms? It’s a hundred degrees in here. Were you expecting Santa?”

“You’re wearing a quilt. Were you expecting someone Amish?”

“I don’t have a robe. Can we get this settled?”

“Sure. I don’t sleep in these bottoms. Pajamas are too much of a hassle for someone like me. Makes it hard to turn over in the bed. All that fabric sliding around and getting tangled. Too much trouble. I keep these close in case I need to get up in a hurry. Like tonight. Or if there’s a tornado or something.”

“Thanks for explaining, but what I meant was can we settle the other thing.”

“I know what you meant, but you asked a question so I answered it. In other news, yes, we’re getting married. We’ll get the license tomorrow. We have to wait seventy-two hours to get hitched. We can drive out to Max’s great-uncle’s ranch on Sunday. He’s a retired judge and a Christian, so he can do a faith-based deal rather than a basic civil ceremony. It’ll take five minutes. I’ll call him tomorrow. Or make that later today. That will give your parents time to get here if you want that.”

“No, I don’t want that. At this point I’d rather let them know everything after the fact. Plus I need more information about the baby and I need those test results... But I completely understand if you want to tell your parents.”

“No. If we’re going to exclude some family, we’re going to exclude all family. That’s the kind of thing that could cause hard feelings later on. If neither comes or has advance knowledge, one can’t hold it against the other.”

“You’re a wise man, Rocky.”

“It’s like I said on our first date. Once in a while you should listen to me. Sometimes I know what I’m doing.”

“I realize that and I appreciate it, but don’t get too caught up in your own greatness yet. We have a long road ahead of us.”

“There’s something else.”

She leaned against the door frame. “What?”

“I know you want to keep things between us, but everyone is going to know about everything soon.” He nodded toward her stomach. “It will become obvious. We need people in our corner who know the real story and have our backs. I want Max to stand up with me when we get married. I can’t ask him to do that without giving him the truth.”

“I understand. I know we have to get out and about. I need to meet your friends, your family.”