Nuptials

Chapter 7

"So Owen is nice," Carolyn instigated as she and Amelia sat on the back porch in awkward silence, each holding a glass of water, "Big family guy, clearly."

"Yeah, he's okay I guess," Amelia joked, eyeing her mother to see her reaction.

Carolyn rolled her eyes and laughed. "He seems okay." She took a sip from her glass before asking, "Why didn't you tell me about Rosie?"

The younger Shepherd sighed, looking out at the pond they had in the backyard. "I don't know...I guess I know how it looks, me and Owen. We look like we're rushing." She took the words out of her mother's mouth. "I guess I thought that you would judge me too."

"There will never be anything worse than when you told me you married Ryan," she disclosed with a soft chuckle, "I didn't even know who he was. At least I've met Owen before."

"You know him?"

"I briefly met him a few years back when I visited Derek," Carolyn recalled, "He was probably with someone else at that time."

"Owen had an entirely different life before we met," Amelia said, voicing her concerns, "Me too. It's just kinda scary to think about."

"The past is the past for a reason," her mother advised, "Don't bring it into the present."

They sat again in more silence, and then Amelia said, "Derek's not coming to the wedding."

Carolyn's eyes opened wide as she looked at her. "Why not?"

Amelia's eyes began to water as she spoke, "He's stuck in DC until Sunday morning." The tears fell as she added, "He walked everyone else down the aisle, I just thought it would be the same for me too..."

Wrapping an arm around her daughter, Carolyn pulled Amelia into her chest and assured her, "I'm sure he'll figure something out. Or maybe I can walk you down the aisle?"

"It won't be the same," she lightly moaned.

"Okay, hurtful," the Shepherd complained. Amelia giggled softly while Carolyn winked at her. "But I do like Owen, he seems good for you."

"I think so too," she agreed, "Although he can be too optimistic sometimes..."

"Oh, don't be a nitpicker!" she playfully scolded her daughter, "Nobody's perfect." Amelia laughed, lifting her head from her mom's shoulder to sit properly again. "What else are you worried about?" Carolyn wisely asked, noticing the look on her face.

Amelia shrugged looking out at the scenery. "That something terrible is going to happen." Carolyn sighed. Long ago, her daughter had developed a complex associating happy moments with traumatic events, expecting one to follow the other, without fail. If she had to guess when it started, it would probably be the day her father died.

"What is the worst thing that could happen?"

"I don't know," Amelia groaned, squeezing her eyes shut in irritation, "I just know it's going to happen."

"Then tell me what you think is going to happen," Carolyn insisted, resting a comforting hand on her thigh, "And be specific, since you're so sure."

Amelia rolled her eyes as she thought of what she wanted to say, "Uh...I don't know. A car crashes. A car literally hits me on my way into the chapel. Or something happens to Owen, he has a stroke. Or Ryan gets sick and I take him to the hospital but it's too late. Or-"

"Or Owen chokes on a piece of your wedding cake and suffocates to death?" Carolyn finished for her. Amelia stared with a straight face, before dissolving into a fit of laughter in front of her mother.