In Love With Ms. Manoban

Part 50

Third Person POV

A week had passed and there was no sign of Jonathan. Though a bit relieved, Lisa couldn't help but to have a lingering fear. Fear that he would come back very soon. He usually was a man of his word, especially when it came to threats. But Jeremiah did his best to take her mind off it. Besides, with the wedding to think of, there wasn't much room to think of anything else. Lisa wanted this to be perfect.

She had chosen her dress already, with the help of Jafhia. That day, the two had a long talk. Lisa explained her feelings about the entire situation and how prepared she was to do this. She told her friend how much she loves her future husband and how she about prolonging the inevitable. At the end of the day, Jeremiah was her choice. Jafhia understood and apologized about putting any doubt into her friend's mind as it wasn't her intention. She just wanted to make sure they were doing this for the right reasons.

 And so, the hunt for a wedding dress continued. They went to many different wedding stores, but ended up returning to the one they first went to as Lisa couldn't get her mind off on of the dress. When she was previously at the store, she couldn't see herself wearing it. It made her feel poofy. But now, with a bit of alterations, she thought it could work. So she bought that along with a pair of shoes that went perfectly with the dress.

That week was a bit of a strenuous one. She, along with Jeremiah had to meet up with the wedding planner about more wedding details. The wedding theme was burgundy and brass with a splash of earth neutrals, so the flower decorations consisted of ivory roses, brown tulips and burgundy chrysanthemums. Chrysanthemums have always been Lisa's favorite, though they were often overlooked by others. The cake flavors were already chosen as well, with the two settling on chocolate with a vanilla buttercream frosting for the larger cake and salted caramel for the small one. 

Now, they were just settling on the seating arrangements. Since Lisa had invited their new friends, Jada and Thomas, there were some moving around they had to do. And Lisa, who had sent an invitation to her mother and family, was still stuck on whether to place them towards the front in case they showed up, or to simply put their seats at the back, to avoid having to see their empty chairs if they decided to not come. When they left the meeting, Lisa hoped to never hear from her wedding planner again, the stress of planning a wedding taking a bit of a toll on her.

Lisa took her wedding dress to a tailor she knew the next day. The appointment consisted of lots of sitting and standing, sitting to give her feet some rest, and standing so that the dress could be altered to her body and liking. They had to leave it a tad bigger, though, in preparation for her growing belly over the next two weeks. When she got home, her feet were sore from being on them a lot over the past few days and Jeremiah was not around to give her a massage today. So she warmed some milk to drink, then headed to bed for a nap, sleep taking over immediately.

She awoke to her fiancé at the foot of her bed, one of her legs resting on his laps and her might her foot. The fan, which she did not turn on, was now blowing wind in her direction. She must have gotten hot during her nap and started sweating. It's happened often. Before pregnancy, she always felt cold, so turning on a fan was not a part of her routine. But Jeremiah had bought a standing fan for her since she was not a big fan of A/C. She tended to forget turning it on before going to bed, though, and that is when she sweats the most. She often woke up to it being on, thanks to her fiancé.

"Hey, Jerry," she said sleepily before letting out a yawn, stretching in the process. "When did you get back?"

"Hey, Lili. Had a good nap?" Jeremiah asked, pausing the massage to face her. Lisa nodded with a soft smile, which he returned. "I got in about ten minutes ago and you weren't downstairs, so I came up and found you passed out, dripping in sweat might I add." Lisa blushed in shame, already knowing where this was going. "What did we talk about, concerning the fan?" Jeremiah asked sternly.

"To turn it on before going to bed." She looked away with a slight pout. "But Jerry... I wasn't feeling hot when I got into bed, so I forgot about it," she whined, turning back to look at Jeremiah as he continued the massage, moving over to her next foot.

"One of these days, I'm gonna get an automatic air conditioner installed, whether you like it or not."

"A/C makes me feel cold," she protested.

"And you obviously need to feel cold. It automatically adjusts, Lili, so you don't have to worry about that. And it might still be useful after the babies are here. A lot of women still experience that pregnancy heat, although it might be a bit more bearable." Lisa didn't respond after this, knowing he was right, and let out a sigh at the movement of Jeremiah's hand. She couldn't tell the last time her feet felt this sore. 

"I brought food," Jeremiah announced. "Do you prefer to eat downstairs or for me to bring it up?" Just the thought of standing on her feet sent a shiver up Lisa's spine. 

"Bring it up, please." With that, Jeremiah left the room. Lisa turned off the fan beside her that was starting to get a bit too much. It was at that moment she felt the twins pressing down on her bladder. "Girls, can you please give Mommy a break?" She let out a sigh and slowly got out of the bed. With a slight wince, she limped to the bathroom. By the time she finished relieving herself, Jeremiah had already returned with a plate for her that was placed on a tray so that she can properly eat in bed. "Thank you, Jerry." She placed a soft kiss on her soon to be husband's lips, before immediately digging in.  

"No problem," he said, aiming to for her leg once again to continue giving the massage when Lisa pulled away her leg upon being touch. "What happened? Did your hurt it in the bathroom?" Jeremiah asked in concern.

"No. My foot just feels so sore. It's paining me a bit. With the wedding planning, I've just been on my foot a lot lately. Add that with my pregnancy feet and here we are."

"How do you feel about maybe taking a break and resting?"

"I feel like that is a great idea, but... there's still things I need to do."

"There are still things WE need to do," he emphasized. "We're in this together. I can help take on some of the things you're taking on, with your consultation of course, so you'll still be a part of it. That way, things won't slow down and you won't be under too much pressure."

"I guess you're right. Maybe I can start planning for the twins nursery too!"

"Okay, but don't do too much. The purpose of resting is to rest." Jeremiah leaned in and placed a kiss on the stew covered lips of Lisa.

Lisa's father flew in a week later and was staying at their place until the wedding. Jeremiah's mother was set to come as they had scheduled the wedding around the partial hospitalizing program she was apart of. As for Lisa's mother, she was still unsure. At that point she had given up on the idea of her coming, and decided to accept it for what it was. '

If only her heart could do the same. She felt a bit heavy, emotionally, that is, like she had disappointed her mother once again. She knew her mother was a bit of a crazy lady, but she couldn't help it. It was her mother, after all. The woman whose validation she sought all her life. If only her mother could be happy that she was happy.

With an invitation of fifty guests, forty had already responded positively to the invitation. Both of them came from small families, and that mixed with their introverted personalities which provided them with only a small close knit group of friends, there weren't many people to invite. Some people on this list were just people they happened to remember. They wanted a small wedding, but not too small.

Family members and friends from both sides flew in each day, using the occasion for a mini vacation. The couple met people from each other's side that they hadn't before. This included Lisa's childhood best friend, Marilyn, who Jafhia was immediately jealous of, and Jeremiah's uncle who had taken care of him in his mother's absence. He was also going to be his best man. The hustle and bustle of the wedding preparation continued, until the day finally arrived.