The Free Pass

Chapter 21

Shawn

As I stood on the patio sipping champagne and watching Mallory mingle with some family members, I felt surprisingly good about everything.

My wife looked stunning. If someone had asked me a year ago if a pregnant woman could get my motor revving, I probably would have laughed. But as I watched her, all I could think about was getting her alone. I was so glad we had that part of our relationship going for us. We also got along well. Really well.

When the pastor had said the vows, I did give pause before saying "I do." It struck me that the reason Mal had wanted to talk before the ceremony was that she realized the gravity of what we were doing. It didn't hit me until I heard those vows. I was going to do my best to live up to what I'd promised in front of Mallory, the pastor, and our family and friends.

The wedding reception was incredibly nice, especially considering how little time there'd been to plan it. The ceremony was at 1:00 so no meal was served at the reception, just tons of hot and cold appetizers. There was plenty of wine and beer to drink, though no one drank much.

It was classy, but not the big celebratory party I'd envisioned my wedding being. I'd always assumed I'd write and perform a romantic ballad for my new bride under a tent lined with thousands of tiny lights. Maybe it's weird that I even thought about that stuff. The wedding was fine the way it was, though.

I made my way over to Mallory and placed my hand on the small of her back. She turned and smiled up at me. I gave her a kiss.

She then introduced me to the people standing there. We talked a bit before they excused themselves to get some food.

"Have you eaten?" I asked her.

"Not really. I've been trying to talk to each guest. Each conversation is the same, though. Everyone wants to know when I'm due and what our plans are."

"I've gotten those questions a lot, too. I've also gotten a lot of strange looks after I'm asked if I'm moving to Charlottesville until you graduate, and I tell them no."

"Yeah, me, too. It doesn't exactly scream out that we're excited to start our lives together if for the first five weeks of marriage we're living in separate countries," she said wryly.

"Do you want me to move in with you?" I asked her. I had some commitments coming up, but I could try to be with her as much as possible.

She waved her hand dismissively. "We aren't changing our plans just for appearances. We just need to tell people you have too many obligations. They'll understand."

"I'll be with you for the doctor visits, so we'll see each other a lot," I said.

"And in a little more than a month we'll be seeing each other constantly. You might be glad you had a break from me while you did!"

It was going to be an adjustment having her live with me. I'd gotten used to being on my own. We'd make it work. We had to.

After the reception broke up and we said our goodbyes to our families, Mallory and I went to the bed and breakfast we'd booked for the night. We were the only guests there since Easter weekend wasn't a popular one for that type of place. The couple who owned the beautiful pre-Civil War house led us to our bedroom suite and congratulated us before saying goodnight. We'd eaten dinner at the Everett's before leaving, which consisted of leftover wedding food. They'd overbought and would be eating that stuff for days. I guess that meant I'd be eating more of it again tomorrow with Easter dinner, since we were spending the day there before I flew back to Toronto.