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Ninety Four

"I dunno about you ladies but we had a hell of a day!" My dad announced as he and Mick walked in the door.

"Who won? That's something, right? You can win at golf?" I asked, crossing the living room and giving Michael a peck on the lips.

He laughed softly in response as he set his golf clubs aside. "Kinda? You want the lowest number of strokes. We weren't competing, though."

"That's cause I whooped you!" My dad cackled.

Michael laughed and retorted, "Mate, you're cheated like five times!"

Mom and I exchanged glances and chuckled. It was so good to see my dad and Michael getting along.

"Enough about us," Dad said, dismissing Mick's claims. "Was your day successful?"

"No, not yet. Found some good contenders though." I smiled as I looked over at my mom again, who was blotting the corner of her eye with a tissue with smiling softly.

"Again, mom?" I teased as my mom shooed her hand at me in response. Turning to my dad and Mick, I chuckled. "She cried at least three times at the store and once on the way home."

"Oh Charlotte, I can't help it. You were just so beautiful in those dresses!" Waving her tissue at Michael, she sniffled, "You are quite the lucky man, you know!"

Michael grinned in return. "Don't think I'll ever forget it, either. I'm lucky enough she came back here, let alone gave me a second shot."

My dad plopped himself down on the couch and sighed, "Speaking of which, think you two will ever make your way back to the states? Don't get me wrong, this place is great and all, but you kids are so far away."

It was brief, but I caught it. The momentary fear that flicked across Mick's face before he composed himself and smiled softly and clearing his throat. I knew he would never want to leave Australia for anywhere but Bali, and certainly not to move to America.

"I just came back here, dad. I'm sure we'll be there lots to visit, don't worry. Besides, you could always move here," I joked.

I knew they wouldn't really move; not with dad's job and my grandparents getting up there in age. Although he was close to retirement and as much as I hated to think about it my grandparents were getting older...

My dad snickered and rolled his eyes playfully.

"One can hope, right?" I laughed as I sat down next to him. "Anyway, I'm getting hungry. You guys wanna go out for dinner?"

***

"Honestly, how was your day with Dad?" I asked, as I slid into bed next to Michael.

With his hand tucked under his head, he looked over at me. "To be honest, I was a bit nervous to spend the day with him after everything with Alex, but yeah. It was heaps good. Cracking day!"

A smiled tugged at the corners of my mouth. "I told you there wasn't anything to worry about. My dad loves you. He was just as heartbroken as I was when we broke up back in the day."

"No luck finding a dress, aye?" He sighed after a moment.

"Nah, mom wants to go back out tomorrow. We're close though." I responded.

He pulled me down next to him and kissed my temple. "You could walk down the aisle in anything and still look absolutely breathtaking, you know."

I let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, you say that now but just you wait. When you see me in that dress..." I blew out air and smirked. "I want tears, Jenkinson. You'd better have some wet eyes when you see me walking down that aisle or I'm stopping the whole thing and starting over," I joked as I continued.

"I can't guarantee tears but I can promise you that no matter what you wear, no matter what you look like, you'll be absolutely breathtaking," he responded softly.

He wasn't much of a cryer, so I knew asking for tears was a big stretch. I was only joking, anyway. I wasn't walking down the aisle for his response; I just was excited to marry my dream man.

"I just can't wait to be your wife," I told him into the darkness after a while.

"Me either," he sighed as he kissed my head.