Planning Your Future

Dance With You (Part 1)

July 24, 1992

Veronica's POV

All of the girls wake up and go eat breakfast. We all have trouble sitting still. We're ready to get going. Zoe goes ahead and does my makeup when we get back. "So this might sound silly, but do you not like me?" I ask her while she applies the makeup. "No, I do like you. It's just a little weird hanging out with my boyfriend's ex. It's nothing against you, I just feel weird." She admits. "I get it. Trust me, I didn't think I'd be spending this much time with JD after what happened." I definitely didn't think I'd be writing music with him.

When she finishes, I thank her and leave. I go to the park to make sure everything is all good with the set up. I even help them. The arch is beautiful. Jill did a good job with picking it. Once the park looks right, I hurry back to the house so I can get ready as well as help Jill get ready.

JD's POV

I put my bowtie on. I'm fixing it when Hank comes up behind me. "Can I talk to you for a second?" I turn around to listen to what he has to say. "Since I'm about to be your stepfather, I wanted to make something clear. I hope you know that I will never try to replace your father and pretend to be your father. But I will treat you like my son. I love your mom and want to be a part of the family." He tells me. That's actually really sweet of him. There's only one problem. "You're right, you're nothing like my father. But I wouldn't want you to be. My father was an abusive dick. I had to suffer seventeen years of his abuse, my mom suffered even longer. You're not like my father, because you actually care about us. You're better than him in every way. I wish you were my dad from the start." He hugs me. "That means a lot, Jason." He says.

The photographer comes over to take a few pictures of us. Then he leaves to take some of the girls. We start packing up, so we're ready to go. With all the planning that Veronica put into this, it'll be great. She worked herself to exhaustion. If it went badly, she'd probably lose her mind.

Veronica's POV

Jill comes out in her dress. She looks gorgeous. "Oh my God, Jill! You look amazing!" Jane squeals. "You look amazing!" Heather smiles. "Thank you!" Jill is so giddy. Zoe walks out of the bathroom with Jill's makeup, "I'll keep this with me in case we need to retouch it later." The photographer shows up so we take pictures for a little. When he leaves, it's time to head to the park. We all get into Karla's car since it's the biggest.

I get out first to make sure the guys aren't here. "Are the guys here yet?" I ask Mr. Price, the minister for the wedding. "No, not yet." Perfect. We all go into the small tent for us to wait in. We wait until we hear the music start. I go out after Heather. Everyone in the chairs watch with smiles on their faces. I take my spot. The ring barer and flower girl, Hank's other niece and nephew, come down. Finally the music for Jill's entrance starts. She comes through the curtains at the end of the aisle. I look over at Hank. He has a huge smile on his face. Once she makes it down to the end, she takes Hank's hands. Mr. Price welcomes everyone. I search the crowd. I spot Alyssa and try not to make a face. She notices me looking at her. She doesn't do anything so she doesn't attract any attention to herself.

Next, Mr. Price talks about Jill and Hank's story. I guess they told him quite a bit. Even I didn't know some of the details. Then he talks about what they will have to do as husband and wife. Jill doesn't drop her smile once. I didn't think she would but I think that's really sweet.

Now, it's time to do vows. Hank goes first. "Jill, I hadn't expected to find someone else after my wife died. For a while, I was content with being alone for the rest of my life. That was before I met you. When you were introduced to me, I thought you were such a kind and beautiful woman. But I didn't think we would go anywhere further than friends. Then the more I got to know you, the more I wanted us to be to each other. I fell in love with you very quickly. I wanted to spend all my time with you. Sometimes I wanted to skip work to be with you. Because when we were together, I was happier than I've been in a long time. Then I was afraid that when I proposed, we were going too fast. But you said yes. After that, I got to continue falling in love with you. I also got to get closer to your son. I want you both to be a part of my family. I want the four of us to be one family. I'm ready to have that for the rest of my life. I love you, Jill. I'm excited for the years to come with you by my side." I try not to tear up. That was beautiful. I look over and Heather is fighting tears. Hearing her dad say this must be so great. Seeing him happy like this. I hope my dad can have this one day.