Remember When...? (3)

1.

February 11th, 2022

Ally

My mom and I are on our way to New York City to find me a wedding dress. We're going to be staying at a hotel in Manhattan for the weekend, that way we don't have to feel like we're rushing anything. We have the kids with us because Ben is away for some games, so we're going to see how this turns out. But I'm super excited to go to NYC. I've never been there long enough to explore.

I traveled here with the team when they played the Knicks and the Nets, but other than that, I have not gotten the full experience that comes with visiting New York City.

"This is exciting." I exclaim, smiling broadly as I dance in my seat. "Mommy and me on a road trip to find a wedding dress."

My mom chuckles at my exclamation and excitement.

"What makes it even more fun is you've never explored New York City." She says. "I think you'll like it. It's just as crowded as Philadelphia."

I laugh at that, following behind a Jeep that was in front of us.

"You think the traffic will be this bad?" I ask.

"Worse." She grinned.

I shake my head, grinning as well.

"I just think having the kids is going to be a little daunting." I say, turning on my right blinker. I wanted to move into the right lane. I'm going to take a shortcut.

"It might be." She shrugs. "But it can also be a little vacation for you and them. They want to be with their mama."

"No, they want to drive mama crazy." I joke, resting my head against my palm.

She laughs at my comment.

"It's still hard to believe that I'm getting married in four months." I purse my lips.

"Are you kidding? I'm still trying to register you having three kids." My mom exclaims.

I laugh. "You had four."

"I know." She said. "Speaking of which, have your brothers met Ben yet?"

I shake my head no to her question.

"Why is that?" She asks.

"Because I know all too well they're going to react just like dad did." I answer.

"You don't know that for sure." She said.

"I know my brothers ma." I say.

"I know them too." She exclaimed. "I don't think they'll be stupid enough to disrespect your relationship with Ben, regardless of if they like him or not. They don't have a choice at this point."

She makes a very valid point.

"We'll see." I say. "Since we're on the topic of the wedding, I figured I should ask for your advice on how to go about the last name situation. Should I just hyphen it? Because I think that's what I want to do."

"You have to think about how it sounds rolling off the tongue." She answered. "Ally James-Simmons. Ally Simmons. It's all about what sounds good to you."

"I mean, if it helps, I gave Ryder our last name as his middle name." I say.

"Yeah, but that's because it made sense at the time. Think of if you had given him Ryder blank James-Simmons, instead of Ryder James Simmons or just Ryder James. It's all about how it sounds to you rolling off your tongue." She said. "Add your middle name to it and see if you think it sounds goodgood."