“Yes,” I said, a bit breathless.
“Good.” He gave me a quick wink before pulling Maddie on his lap. She’d only learned a few words so far, so he assisted by helping her sound out the rest. I just watched, loving the perfect picture the two of them made. I would have never guessed, walking into that emergency room several months ago when Maddie had fallen and given herself a concussion, that I would wind up here. Logan not only healed Maddie that day, he’s been healing all of us ever since.
About thirty minutes later the announcement came that our flight was boarding, so we packed up Maddie’s things and headed for the gate to check in. With Maddie bouncing up and down in his arms, Logan ran his free hand down my cheek, his eyes suddenly filled with emotion.
“Ready to go get married?” he asked.
“Absolutely.”
Smiling, he grabbed my hand and we walked towards our future.
~Logan~
So many emotions hit me all at once when we boarded that plane to St. Thomas. The child in my arms was about to become my daughter. The woman I loved was about to become my wife.
A family. My family, finally.
It was something I’d always wanted, and here it was, all because I opened the right exam room door and found my future on the other side.
After a quick changeover in Charlotte, we were flying over water and headed for St. Thomas. Clare and Maddie had fallen asleep, both leaning their heads against my chest as I tried to read. I puffed out a small laugh and gave up, my awkward attempts at holding my e-reader with the two of them wedged against me proved fruitless. I tucked it in the front pocket of the seat in front of me, and rested my head against the seat, looking down at my two red-headed angels.
Maddie looked like a cherub plucked right out of heaven. Her strawberry blonde curls cascaded down her back in a fiery display, mimicking her mother’s. Clare’s red hair was deeper, more intense; closer to auburn but it still having that crimson glow to it that matched her personality. Sweet with just a touch of fire— that was my Clare. I never knew what I was going to get from one moment to the next, and that’s what I loved about her. She kept me on my toes, loved me for who I was, and never let me be anything but myself.
I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew I was being poked in the head by Maddie. What did she have against my head?
“You’re awake!” she said brightly.
“Well, I am now, Princess!” I gave her side a pinch which caused her to giggle.
“Shhh! You’ll wake up Mommy,” I said, running my hand through Clare’s hair as she rested against me. She really had been running around like mad the last week, so much so that I’d barely seen her. I knew planning the wedding start-to-finish inside one week had put a lot of pressure on her, so I tried not to take it personally. I just hoped that’s all it was.
“So, Princess…what is the first thing you want to do when we get there?”
Figuring she’d say she wanted to go to the beach or swim in one of the many pools, her actual answer totally threw me for a loop.
“Ice cream. I want ice cream.”
I silently laughed, being mindful of Clare.
“We fly all the way to St. Thomas and you want ice cream?” Kids. Gotta love ‘em.
“Well, I’ve never been any other place but America. And ice cream is my favorite food. Is it different in different places?”
“Hmm…good point. I think we should check immediately, just to be sure.”
She nodded, and I gave her a wink. She asked if she could watch a movie on the individual TV screens we had, and I said sure, letting her navigate the channels and pick her own movie. With one hand free now, I picked up my e-reader and started reading again, happy to have Clare warm and safe in my arms.
An entire kid’s movie later, we were making our descent, and Maddie was plastered to the window looking out at the scenery below. It was quite the sight. Brilliant blue water contrasted with the deep green landscape. All I saw was my future. In a few days, on that island, I would marry Clare. I looked down at her as she began to stir and felt whole. Cancer or no…my life was perfect.
Chapter Two
~Clare~
“Where is it?” I asked again, as we watched the endless luggage go around the noisy carousel in baggage claim. Maddie was doing circles around Logan’s legs which he did an excellent job of ignoring. He was settling into his Dad role nicely, I laughed silently to myself.
“I’m sure it’s coming,” he answered, although I could see even he was starting to doubt his words.
All of our bags had come through the carousel…all but one. My garment bag. The one the stupid perky blonde lady at the counter had made me check. The garment bag she had assured me would be fine. Where the hell was it? How could I get married without a dress?
Just when I had created the ultimate list of ways in which I was going to let the customer service reps have it, my garment bag appeared, like a beacon from heaven.
“There it is! Oh thank God!” I squealed, running to the carousel like a manic child, only to be immediately halted when I saw the huge gash in the side. My once mint condition ivory dress was now spilling out of the hole in the side and ripped to shreds.
I heard Logan curse right before the tears started to sting my eyes. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Taking charge, Logan grabbed the garment bag off the carousel before it made another long journey around the airport, and held it up for inspection. Yep, it was a total loss unless we wanted to change things up and have a themed wedding; if I wanted to go as the Bride of Chuckie, I was golden.
“Do you think it’s fixable?” he asked gently.
“No,” I moaned, before covering my face with my hands.
“Oh no Mommy, your pretty dress is all messed up!”
Logan patted her on the head and said it was okay to give Mommy a hug. She happily came to my side, offering her sympathy in the form of child-sized hugs. They helped for about five seconds until I saw that humongous gash again, and then the misery came rushing back.
Stupid airline. Stupid dress.
“I don’t have a dress! What am I supposed to do without a dress? Do you think it’s a sign? Maybe we aren’t supposed to get married this week. Maybe this is one giant ivory colored sign that we are supposed to wait…go home, and get married later.”
“Whoa…babe, you’re babbling. Like, a lot.” He gripped my shoulder and pulled me close. He smelled like aftershave and mint. Familiar and safe.
“Calm down. This is a wardrobe malfunction, not a cosmic sign from the universe, okay?”