Second Chance Love, page 25
Gail had slipped away to enter as Elizabeth’s Maid of Honor. Now she walked down the aisle, turned left, took two steps and waited. Aside from the wind howling outside, and an occasional shutter banging, all was silent.
Elizabeth walked into this silence and took their breath away.
Her deep red gown contrasted against her fair skin and honey hair, which hung about her neck in soft, elegant curls. A few gasps broke the silence, then a sniffle. Before long, the Grand Hall sounded like a doctor's waiting room at the height of a cold epidemic.
There were no tears in Elizabeth’s eyes. She had waited too long to experience this through the blur of tears. She joined Steve, Gail and Maybelle in front of the alcove and waited.
A small woman stepped from behind the alcove. She had long dark hair and wore a colorful, flowing robe. “Welcome," she said, in a voice that carried naturally to the back row. "Please be seated.”
Steve looked a question at Elizabeth: who is this?
The woman held her arms out, encompassing the room. “Again, welcome. I am Cornelia Comstock, and I feel so blessed to be present for this moment. Is there anyone present who can’t feel the portents? The wind blows, and the trappings of our civilized life are blown away by the power and majesty of the world. This is a unique day, unlike any other, and I am so fortunate to share it with all of you, and especially you, Elizabeth and Steve.
"The most powerful force in the universe is love, and it is love that I feel in this room today. Steve, Elizabeth, your love is so powerful that it moved the world to bring the two of you together again. Through laughter and tragedy, hope and sorrow, your love has grown stronger and your lives more entwined. I am licensed by the state to marry you, but only the two of you, in the presence of so many loving friends and family, can truly make the commitment to bring your souls together. Do you have anything you would like to share with each other? Steve?”
Steve looked left and right. He had originally intended to write vows and promises, but had not found his muse while watching Maury Povich in the company of accused felons. He turned to Elizabeth and opened his heart.
“Elizabeth, I will never forget the day you laughed at me in the hall between classes in eighth grade. I got laughed at in the hall a lot, but when you did it, I knew it was because you got my jokes. I fell in love with you, just a little, right then. If I’d had any guts, I would have told you. I’ve made a lot of bad decisions in my life. I invested in IBM and passed on Microsoft…”
Knowing chuckles emanated from several parts of the audience.
“…I invested my entire fortune in an island resort in the Philippines during hurricane season…”
More nods and sympathetic “tsk, tsks,” around the room.
“…but the only decision I regret is the night I decided to leave you before telling you I love you. The moment I saw you again, I knew our paths would eventually lead us right here. I love you, Lizzie, with all my heart and soul.”
Maybelle stepped forward and handed him the ring. He slipped it on Elizabeth's finger and whispered, “I love you so, Lizzie.”
Cornelia beamed. “Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth had been so caught up in Steve's words that the prompt startled her a bit. “Oh! Yes.” She held out her hands and took Steve’s in hers. Everything but him faded away.
Her voice was quiet enough that the back rows had to strain their ears. “I told myself I was fine," she began. "That life was fine.” Now, tears rolled down her cheeks. “I wasn’t. Until I saw you again, I didn’t know that it was you that I was missing all my life. Then I knew. Now I will never let you go.”
Gail handed her a gold band matching the one already on her left ring finger. Elizabeth touched Steve’s face with her left hand, then slipped the ring on his finger. Then, without waiting for instructions, she wrapped her arms around Steve’s neck and kissed him. Then again, then once more.
Cornelia fanned herself with her notes. “And that, folks, is how you marry someone. It is my pleasure to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Steve and Elizabeth Larson.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Thirty minutes later, all well-wishers had been greeted, and everyone was scattered around the hall with platefuls of roast beef, mashed potatoes, lumpia, chicken adobo, and pancit. Gladys had marshaled some of the men to bring Margaret’s old stereo into the hall. With a little help from an enormous extension cord and a small generator in the garage, the rich sound of Nat King Cole singing The Christmas Song filled the room. Steve led Elizabeth out for their first dance as husband and wife.
"You know, this is our first dance since the Senior Prom," she said with a laugh. "I hope you don't wait twenty years for the next one."
"You'll find I haven't gotten much better at it. But I'm dying to know. Who is Cornelia, and where did she come from?”
Elizabeth laughed. “She’s come in the bookstore for years. She’s a wonderful lady, if a little colorful. When Gail stopped by the store to recruit Mr. Bartleby this afternoon, she was there. Gail mentioned that they were having trouble locating an officiant, and just like that, we had a genuine Wiccan priestess lined up to conduct our wedding. She had the license, and wasn’t committed elsewhere.”
“And it's legal?"
"They're a registered church. Stop worrying."
"As long as we are really legally married in the morning, I couldn’t care less who married us. Just remember, I've never done this before, and don't know much about it.”
"Fortunately for you, everyone else does."
"Yeah, and they really put their hearts into it. I have a lot to think about. Speaking of that, do you have any idea what’s next? Are we staying here tonight? I still don’t have my car.”
“Our friends,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head in wonder. “They’ve taken care of everything. We both have a bag packed and in the trunk of your mother’s car.”
“Mother’s old Lincoln? She had just bought that when Dad died, so it must be twenty years old.”
Elizabeth nodded. “She says it hasn’t been driven outside the city limits in more than a decade. Gladys has been driving it to the store, just to make sure everything works.”
“That’s great, but what do we need a bag for? We’re not going anywhere, are we?”
“You would need to talk to Betty Spencer about that. In addition to all of this,” Elizabeth said, waving her arm around the hall, ”they also got together and paid for a honeymoon.”
Steve's face fell. “I’ll never be able to repay them.”
“They wouldn't accept it. You'd hurt their feelings. And you know good and well that they are repaying you. It’s nothing fancy, which is just how I wanted it. They’ve booked us into the Anchor Inn in Gull Cove down on the coast. It’s a little old place where we’ll have our own cabin, a little kitchen, and an easy walk to the beach. Can you think of anything better than that?”
“Great! When do we leave?”
Elizabeth gave him a look of reproof. “We leave when we have done justice to all the work that was donated by a lot of people who care about us, and who did all this to make our wedding special. We can not just run off to the beach like horny teenagers, now, can we?”
Steve put his lips against her ear. “Even if we feel like a couple of horny teenagers?” The touch of his lips sent a shiver down her spine.
“Even then. But we can start going around saying our thank yous, and by then, it'll be okay for us to go.”
Everyone was glad to have a few moments with them. Bayani in particular was delighted to present once again his wife and children. Steve greeted them all. "I understand Betty is taking care of you all?"
"She has been very kind," said Bayani. "She tells me that soon we will be moving into a house and starting work. We are looking forward to this a lot. It will be good to be working for you again, Mr. Larson."
"Please call me Steve. And you will be working with me, not just for me. I used to do construction work, long ago, but in some cases you may have to teach me some things."
"Maybe so," Bayani allowed, smiling. "You will not need to bring lunch to work."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Steve chuckled.
After eternal acknowledgements, handshakes, hugs, tears, well-wishes and smiles, Elizabeth pressed his hand. "Now, my husband, the proper behavior from us is to get out of here, so they can all have a great party with old friends and new."
"They deserve it."
Their last stop was at Gordon and Margaret's table. His mother looked exhausted but radiant. "You handled that very well, son. And I couldn't have asked for a lovelier daughter-in-law."
"Aww!" Elizabeth said. “Thank you for letting us use your beautiful house today. This was perfect.”
Margaret gave Elizabeth her hand. It was shaking. “Are you all right?" Steve asked. "Should we take you to the hospital?”
Margaret drew as deep a breath as she was able and shook her head. “Just too much excitement, that’s all. Nothing wrong with me that a good night’s sleep won’t fix. Gord’s taking me back shortly.” Her aged blue eyes grew sharp and focused. “Steven, I am so proud of who you have become.”
She has never said that to me before. Ever.
“Thanks, Mom. You two enjoy your honeymoon too, now that your jailbird son has been sprung.”
Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law shared an eloquent look. "It's too late to return him, young lady. He will never grow out of that."
"I lost the receipt anyway," Elizabeth giggled.
Steve put a hand out to Gordon. “Thank you for taking such good care of her.”
“It’s all I ever wanted to do,” Gordon said, standing to shake his hand. He stood up and moved to help Margaret to her feet.
Mr. and Mrs. Steve and Elizabeth Larson looked around the room, waved one last time, and headed for the garage.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
The road off I-5 was dark and curvy, demanding Steve's full attention. The Lincoln drove like a dream, even in gusty winds. "If this got more than fifteen miles per gallon," he said, "I could learn to like it. Does this thing have any CDs?"
Elizabeth glanced at the console. "No, but it has a cassette deck."
“Now I remember. Mother wouldn’t let me put a CD player in. We’re lucky it’s not an 8-track.”
“Well, I just happen to have a cassette right here. Shall we listen to it?”
For a moment, there was only tape hiss, then the opening notes of The Pet Shop Boys’ Always on my Mind filled the car.
“Omigawd. That’s not—"
“It sure is. I’ve never had a chance to hear it, and I wasn’t even sure if it would play after all these years, but I thought this was the perfect time to finally listen to the mixtape you made me all those years ago.”
She slipped her shoes off, tucked her legs beneath her, and laid her head on Steve’s shoulder. The miles slipped under the wheels. The Pet Shop Boys faded out and It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday by Boys II Men came on.
Elizabeth giggled.
“What could possibly be funny about my epically good taste in music as a teenager?”
“I’m just wondering what ‘yesterday’ we really had to say goodbye to? We were so young, all our days were ahead of us.”
“They still are."
They arrived at the Anchor Inn well past midnight and found an envelope taped to the office door with their name on it. Inside was a key to their cabin. A note said, “Your stay is paid for. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do for you, besides leave you alone. Happy Honeymoon!”
Their headlights lit a semicircle of small cabins that looked like part of the landscape. “I can't wait to see this in daylight,” Elizabeth said.
Steve drove around the circle until he found the cabin in question, then parked and got out to unlock the door. They stepped into a small kitchen and living room that looked the set of a 1950s television show. A small oven and sink were in one corner of the room. In the other were an overstuffed loveseat and chair, next to a bookshelf full of Danielle Steel and Stephen King novels, and board games like Life and Chutes and Ladders.
“You’re in so much trouble tomorrow,” Steve said. “I am undefeated in my lifetime at Chutes and Ladders.” While Elizabeth explored the kitchen, Steve moved their luggage into the bedroom. A queen bed nearly filled the little room, along with a small dresser.
No television anywhere. This might truly be paradise.
They collapsed across the bed without getting undressed and were asleep in minutes. Their first night as a married couple passed as platonically as their teenage dates two decades before.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Steve awoke to bright sunlight creeping across his eyes. He turned his head to the right an inch and saw Elizabeth’s head resting on his right arm, still asleep.
Lizzie. My wife.
She stirred, opened her eyes, blinked, then smiled. “Good morning, Mr. Larson.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Larson.”
Had any newly married couple ever been able to resist trying the taste of those words on their tongues?
“I saw a coffee stand about two blocks away last night as we were pulling in," said Steve. "How about we go grab coffee and go walk on the beach? Look at the day.” He reached out and pulled the curtains wide open. Sunshine filled the bedroom, lighting everything with a mid-winter glow. As so often happens on the Northwest coast, the wind and storm had left behind a beautiful blue sky and a few wispy white clouds.
An hour later, showered, refreshed, and coffeed, they drove to the public beach access area. The sun was shining, but a cold breeze made them zip their heavy winter coats. They walked down the path to the shoreline, then turned north and walked alongside the rolling Pacific Ocean.
“What’s next, Pancho?”
Steve laughed. “You haven’t called me that in—"
“Twenty years. Quit stalling. What’s next for us, do you think?”
“Well, let me think. For the next week, I see a lot of walks on the beach, marathon games of Chutes and Ladders and if I’m lucky, a little canoodling.”
Elizabeth winced. “Don’t you dare tell anyone that we spent the first night of our honeymoon fully dressed and passed out on the bed.”
“No problem. I'll make up a story that features sex swings, whips and chains, and…”
“Never mind, I like the other way better," she sighed. "But seriously. After this week, what’s next for the Larsons?”
“I think Mr. Larson is going to work with Bayani to get that house in flipped condition. This one shouldn't take very long, which is really important because the revenue stream doesn't begin until we start selling properties. What’s next with you, Mrs. Larson?”
“I believe I owe an office cleaning to a certain young attorney, then I plan on spending my days with my books at The Prints and the Pauper. The rest of my time, I intend to find ways to make my husband happy.”
Steve gave her a sly look. “I have a suggestion.”
Elizabeth looked at him. Her eyes twinkled. “That's a very good place to start. We can walk on the beach later. Let’s go back to the cabin and be honeymooners.”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Detectives Fitzgerald and Anderson pulled their unmarked car up the driveway in front of Chelsea Stanton’s mansion.
“Nice house,” Anderson said.
“Mmm-hmm. Dark, though. Looks like nobody’s home,” Fitzgerald said.
“Maybe she likes it dark. I hear she's a cheapskate. Maybe she’s saving on her electric bill.”
Fitzgerald looked at the home, which resembled a miniature White House, then at the elegant landscaping. “Spending it all on gardeners, maybe. All right, let’s give it a try.”
Both detectives walked to the massive double front doors. Anderson measured with his arms. “What do you need a front door this big for? Is this the horse barn?"
Fitzgerald shrugged, then pushed the doorbell. Deep-throated chimes resonated in muffled form. Thirty seconds passed. The detectives were just turning to walk away when the oversized door opened wide.
Chelsea Stanton appeared at the door with her hair wild, her bruised face turning a terrible rainbow of colors, and with a cast on her left wrist. “You two have a lot of nerve showing up here after you let him out of jail!”
Detective Anderson smiled. “Ms. Stanton, we need you to come downtown with us. We have a few questions for you pertaining to filing a false report with a police officer.”
Author’s Note
I hope you enjoyed Second Chance Love. Before I tell you the unusual story of how this book came to be, I’d like to make you an offer. If you will sign up for my New Release Alert List, I will send you another of my books, for free. I only send out an email when I have a new book out (so, only a few times per year) and I always offer my books at a steep discount to people on my New Release list. Also, I value your privacy. I would never sell your email address to anyone. You can sign up for your free book here: http://bit.ly/1cU1iS0
Second Chance Love started in an unusual fashion. In November of 2013, I realized I wasn’t going to have my next book, Rock ‘n Roll Heaven, ready for a Christmas release. I didn’t want to let the holiday go by without a new story, so I went to my Facebook page (http://facebook.com/shawninmonwriter) and asked my readers what type of story I could write as a gift to them.
They gave me some basic ideas: they asked for a story of second chance love, a scene on a Christmas tree lot, etc. I incorporated their ideas into a story I called Second Chance Christmas. That story covered the events in December of 2013, when Steve and Elizabeth first met after twenty years apart. Initially, I thought that was the end of the story.
Soon after, though, I found that I couldn’t get Steve and Lizzie out of my head. I wondered what happened to the two of them after that first romantic night together. So, in January, 2014, I wrote a second story that connected to the first. Eventually, I wrote five entries in the series. This book represents all five of those stories combined into a single volume.
