West Coast Winter

The Epilogue: Big Bear

I am now Mrs. Jaclyn Barber and I gotta tell you, I love my new name. I love my husband even more. We got married on October 29th at the Ace Hotel and Theater. We were really kind of over the top even for having just a few guests. Our theme was Old Hollywood Glamour. I wore a dress of pearl white satin that was draped and ruched in all the right places to accentuate my curves and fluttered to the ground like a dream. An Art Deco veil adorned my head. My hair fell in waves over my bare shoulders. Charlie didn't want to fuss too much with picking out his suit, so I helped him pick it out and it was pretty easy once I found my dress. I wanted to accentuate his broad shoulders and chest, so of course we went with a silvery gray vest and tie under a vintage black suit.
Now we're on our way to Big Bear Lake for Christmas with the kids. Charlie made me promise not to tell Nina about the adoption yet. She's been his daughter officially for about a month now, but she doesn't know it yet. She has been calling him dad ever since the wedding anyway.
I also had to promise not to announce the engagement until he came home for Easter. That was hard to do. I had to hide the ring inside the box. When I went to pick him up at the airport, I put the ring back on. I was afraid I was going to lose it as much as I hid it over and over until Easter dinner when we announced it to my family.

"You're getting married?!", Nina exploded with excitement. She stepped up onto her chair at the dinner table we had set up outside and threw herself into Charlie's arms.
Mom asked, "When did this happen? Today?"

Charlie and I grimaced and I said, "Uhhh...on my birthday?"
I shrank as my mom exploded. "You've been hiding that from me for weeks?! How were you able to that? You suck at keeping secrets!"
The entire table busted up laughing at my mom's choice of words and the fact that what she said was so true.
"In her defense, I wanted the both of us to tell the whole family in person", Charlie intervenes.
I just pointed at him with my eyes wide at my mother. Nina stayed locked around Charlie's neck. He set her down and Henry said, "You're gonna be my sister!"
"I'm always gonna have someone to play video games with!" Nina exclaims. She looks up at Charlie and says, "I'm gonna have a dad." Her face gets that look when I know she's gonna cry. Her face gets red and splotchy around the eyes.
Charlie's lips tremble as he smiles down at Nina. She hugs him around his waist. Her face is buried in his tummy. He kneels to get down to her level. "I love you, Nina. I can't wait to be your dad."
"I love you too, Charlie. I'm so happy we're gonna be a family."
"We're already family, little princess." Charlie wipes his eyes and so does Nina. "Alright. Go on and play."
Nina skips off to join Henry inside to play video games.

Everyone in my family immediately started planning my wedding while Charlie and I sat there a little overwhelmed and shaking our heads. Everything they suggested was totally opposite what we wanted. Finally when all the chatter died down, we were asked by my sister Kristin, "What do you think?"

"Guys... we haven't even set a date yet. I just got here. I mean Jaclyn and I have kicked around some ideas and we're hoping to get married toward the end of October, but...", Charlie is interrupted by Robert.
"You're not gonna get married on my birthday are you? Or be one of those weirdos that gets married on Satan's holiday?"
In my head I was thinking Bitch, I might.
"We were thinking the 29th, but nothing is official yet. I've got a buddy that organizes events for the Ace Hotel and Theater. We thought we'd ask if we could get married there." Charlie looks around and my mom nods proudly at him. She likes the same thing in Charlie that I like. He takes initiative and doesn't let himself get bullied.
I bought my own dress and Charlie took care of the rest. Mom wanted us to be more frugal with the reception. If it was up to her, we'd be having a barbecue in the backyard afterward. Charlie assured mom he could handle a few thousand dollars for a really nice small reception. No more than 100 guests. Charlie's best man was Linus. My maid of honor was Adiola. We kept the wedding party small. Henry was the ring bearer and Nina was the flower girl. The reception was held at the Theater Hall in the Ace Hotel. The gilded walls have an opulence appropriate for our Old Hollywood theme.
We honeymooned in Kauai. We wanted to go somewhere that we would be on an actual vacation. No worries, no work. Nothing to do but enjoy each other. We stayed at a resort on the beach with complete with secluded villas and pools. I took great pains to slather Charlie in sunblock every day before we went out which resulted in his body getting beautiful color by midway through our vacation. We spent a ton of time in the water, taking naps on the beach, and taking long walks on the trails. We would feast every night on different cuisines. We indulged in tropical fruits in the evenings usually before, during, and after making love. We were quite hedonistic.