Ella could not help herself as she let out a bark of laughter.“Did my very Catholic mother just tell me that she hopes I end up divorced?That sounds even worse than being knocked up and not married.”
Shaking her head and unable to stop her own small laugh, her mother replied, “Ha.Ha.You think you are so funny.That is not what I am saying.I just want you to know you have options, and no matter what happens, I am here for you.And never, ever let me hear you refer to yourself as knocked up again.So crass.”
Ella leaned over to engulf her mother in a hug.“I love you, Mom.It will all work out.You’ll see.Ben is amazing, and I can’t wait to be his wife.”Then shooing her mother off her bed with a large yawn, she added, “Now go to bed.This baby is demanding his mom get some rest.I love you and will see you in the morning.”
The next day was a blur.The wedding was at 11:00 in the morning at John Paul II Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel.Because only family was invited, the small space worked well.All of Ella’s life, she had assumed that she would have a full mass when she married.But given the circumstances and how quickly the wedding came together, it made more sense to do a simple wedding ceremony.
After the wedding, everyone went to the diner for a wedding feast.All of Ella’s aunts, uncles, and cousins served so her immediate family could enjoy the celebration.Due to the contentious feelings her father still seemed to harbor toward Ben, it was decided that no one would make any toast or speeches.That plan went down the drain once the wine got flowing.
In the end, it all worked out.Her father had thawed enough where Ben was concerned that after a few glasses of wine, he was able to relax and enjoy the reception.A little after 4:00, Ben and Ella left to spend their wedding night at the Auberge du Soleil wedding suite.Ella had been by the hotel many times, but she had never been inside.She had to keep pinching herself that she was not only there, but she was now Mrs.Benjamin Carrington.It all felt surreal.
After Ben and Ella left, Ella’s parents invited Ben’s parents to attend Christmas Eve Mass with them.The next morning, they all met at Ella’s parent’s home for a Christmas brunch.It was crazy given that she was already pregnant, but it felt strange walking back into her childhood home with everyone knowing exactly what she and Ben had been doing for the bulk of the past twelve hours.Silly, she knew but some things just were what they were.The two families spent all day opening presents, eating way too much food, and playing games.Around 6:00, Ben and Ella left to go back to their hotel.
The next morning, they flew to New York for a short honeymoon.Ben took Ella to all his childhood haunts and showed her the sights.It was way too cold for Ella, a California girl inside and out, but otherwise she loved it.The best parts were being with Ben and learning about his childhood growing up in the city.The highlight of the week was their trip to the Emerson Children’s Art Gallery where forty paintings that Ben’s mom had done of him as a child were on display, entitledGrowing Up New York.Ella could not hold back the tears as she watched Ben transform from a newborn to a young man of twelve where the series ended.Knowing the backstory of why his mom recorded his childhood on canvas was heartbreaking.Considering all that had happened to Ben, it was truly amazing that he had turned out so normal.
They spent New Year’s Eve ringing in the new year at the swankiest restaurant Ella had ever been to, and given the places Ben had taken her to the past few months, that was saying something.They spent New Year’s Day watching football bowl games at a large, very crowded sports bar.Ella could have skipped the games, but she wanted to be a good sport so she did her best to feign interest.Given the Southeastern Conference dominance, it felt like every game was even more important than the one before it.Ella was happy when Ben announced they should return to their hotel room because they had an early flight back to California the next day.
Late the next night, they arrived back in Malibu, and Ella was so tired she thought she was going to drop.They had three days to pack up the apartment and get themselves to Little Rock.They worked like dogs getting everything loaded into the moving truck.Once the final piece was on the truck bound for Little Rock, they boarded a plane, ready to start their married life in Arkansas.
Chapter 21
Little Rock, Arkansas
Ben and Ella spent the first week in Arkansas with Ben’s parents in Searcy.The plan had been for them to take a few days and find a place of their own in Little Rock.That plan went up in smoke almost from the moment Ben stepped off the plane.He got caught up in the whirlwind swirling around his dad’s campaign, which left him too busy to carve out any time to go apartment hunting.He promised Ella that he would go several days in a row, only to have his day hijacked by one major meeting after another.Because Ella did not know the city, she was uncomfortable going by herself.
In the end, one of Bennett’s assistants made a call and found them a brand new, three-bedroom luxury condo.It was gorgeous with views of downtown and an outdoor patio.The kitchen was outfitted with all new stainless steel appliances.It had hardwood floors and incredible crown molding throughout.The closet space was more than triple any Ella had ever seen.It came with parking and an in-unit washer and dryer, and the complex boasted a gym, pool, party room, and outdoor space.It was nicer than any place Ella had previously lived—even Ben’s old apartment in Malibu.
On moving day, Ben declared they needed all new furnishings because the sofa and chairs he had brought back from California were too worn out and shabby for such an elegant new space.Instead of moving it in, he paid the movers to donate it.Ella was shocked.She could not believe he had paid to have it transported across the country only to give it away.Such a waste of money bothered her.Honestly, the furniture was in better shape than most of what Ella’s parents had back home.But Ella did not say any of that.It was Ben’s money.They had only been married a couple of weeks.They were still in the honeymoon phase, and she wanted to keep it that way.If Ben wanted new furniture and could afford it, what did she care?
That thought would come back to bite her on the butt when she realized Ben expected her to take on the task of replacing the old furniture with new, along with decorating the apartment.Truth was, she had never outfitted a home before and had no idea where to start.In her world, families came together to set up the homes of young couples.She had never known anyone who just went out and bought all new things.She had never felt more intimidated than the first time she walked into the high end designer furniture store the assistant suggested she use.She felt like Vivian, the Julia Roberts character fromPretty Woman.She had money, she needed to spend it, but no one would help her.Or at least that was what she told herself when she came home with absolutely nothing after an exhausting day of furniture shopping.
Ella could tell that Ben was frustrated with her lack of progress on outfitting the condo, but he tried not to show it.Being Ben, he promised that the next Saturday, they would go shopping and get everything they needed.Of course, as with all best laid plans, they went astray.Ben and his dad were invited to play golf at one of the exclusive golf courses in Little Rock.He had been dying to play it for years, so when the invite came, he had to take it.
Ella nodded and said it was fine, so while Ben had a ball playing golf, she put on her big girl panties and took herself shopping.Again.Refusing to come home empty-handed this time, Ella managed to find a few pillows, a picture frame, and a throw—but no furniture.There were too many choices, and the more choices Ella was offered, the less she knew what she wanted.What Ella really wanted was for someone else to choose for her.In the end, that was what happened.And in the end, Ella learned a valuable lesson: Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.
The next week, a load of new furniture was delivered, along with a few well-chosen art pieces.Realizing that Ella was never going to pick anything out on her own and being tired of having nowhere to sit, Ben asked the assistant who scored the unit to furnish it.He was trying to be helpful.And he was.Mostly.Ella had to admit she was glad they now had a place to sit and the chore of decorating it had been taken off her.At the same time, she was irritated that no one had bothered to ask her if she even liked any of it before it was delivered.
Ella should not have been surprised.No one spent a lot of time asking her opinion about anything these days.She had been sliding down that slippery slope since the past Thanksgiving when no one asked her if she was okay with moving to Arkansas for Ben to do his Poli Sci grad internship.Or if she was okay with moving 2,000 miles away from her family.Or if she minded having to find a new doctor to deliver her baby.Or if she was okay living in downtown Little Rock in a high-rise condo and driving the new Lexus SUV that was so large and boxy that she was afraid to drive it, much less park it.Nope.No one asked her opinion about anything.Ella was not stupid or ungrateful.She realized that the life she was living would be considered incredible by most people.But she was not most people.
The two times Ella grumbled to Julia and Sophie about all this, they teased her about how sad it was she was being treated like a princess.But that was part of the problem.She never asked to be treated like a princess.She simply wanted to be treated like an equal and allowed to weigh in on the decisions that concerned her life—not be treated like a child or worse an accessory.However, Ella was quickly learning that her role was to say thank you and be grateful that someone was doing all of these things for her because if she was doing them for herself, it would take much longer and require someone to help her, and no one, Ben included, seemed to have that kind of time.Instead, she was supposed to just go along with everything and try not to add any complication.So that was what she did.But with every new decision that was made for Ella, she felt her life spinning more and more out of her control.
While Ella’s life was being taken over by others, Ben’s was consumed by the campaign, fundraisers, and strategy meetings.The election was just nine months away.Time was of the essence.For Ben’s dad to win, it needed to be all hands on deck.Ella would have been happy to help, but all anyone wanted from her was to show up at events and be Ben’s lovely, silent wife.She was expected to dress up, smile, and say as little as possible.
Thank goodness Poppy had talked Ella into getting those outfits over Thanksgiving.She could not imagine what she would have worn if she had not.To the best of her ability, Ella tried to stay out of everyone’s way and go along with whatever they asked—until one day things went too far.Suddenly, Ella found herself drawing a hard line in the sand of her life.
In late January, Ben’s new assistant, formerly his dad’s assistant who had gotten the condo and arranged for the furnishing, sent Ella a message saying she had made her a prenatal appointment with a leading obstetrician, who happened to be male.Ella had not asked her to do that.In fact, Ella had already found her own doctor—a female obstetrician because she felt more comfortable with a woman.But no one knew that because no one bothered to ask.If they had, she would have told them.When Ella had gotten the message, she called and canceled the appointment.She had planned on telling Ben about the change, but it slipped her mind.He did not get home until late that night and every single night that week.
That Saturday night, Ben asked her to accompany him to Searcy for the yearly gala.His parents could not attend, and his dad asked them to represent the family.Ella was hopeful they would have time to talk on the drive about her new doctor and update him on her next appointment in case he wanted to go with her.Ben had promised to be home early.At the last minute, Ben called Ella and told her that George, another member of the campaign team, needed to hitch a ride with them.He asked Ella to meet him downstairs in twenty minutes with his tux.She had already packed an overnight bag so they could spend the night at his parent’s house.Not wanting to get ready there, she quickly threw on her dress for the evening when Ben picked her up.She had hoped Ben would see her and comment on how nice she looked.With nothing else to do all day, she had made an effort with her hair and makeup.However, when she got into the car, Ben and George were so engrossed in their conversation, Ben barely acknowledged her, other than reaching over to give her a quick kiss.Needless to say, Ella did not bring up her new doctor with someone else in the car.She hoped they would be able to discuss it later in the evening.The two men talked the whole hour to Searcy.Ella had never felt so invisible, at least not until later that night at the gala.
Ella and Ben were seated at a table with about ten of Ben’s friends from school.Most, like him, had gone off to university, then returned to Central Arkansas to begin their careers.Almost all of them were either finishing their education in law, medical, or dental school or were like Ben in the final semester of graduate school.None of them were married, though some did have long-term girlfriends.None of Ben’s friends she had met from school in California were there, so Ella knew no one.
Everyone was drinking and dancing and having the best time—except for Ella.She felt lost and out of place.Even if she had not been pregnant, she still could not have drank because she was under age.All in all, she felt like she looked exactly like what she was, a little girl playing dress-up.
As bad as the night was, it would have been bearable if Ella could have at least gotten to spend some time with Ben.Dance with him.Talk with him.Eat with him.But no.Ben spent the entire time talking to others.Ella knew he was “working,” but it was annoying.At first, he tried introducing her to people, but she quickly got tired of trying not to look stupid, just standing beside him, having nothing to add to the conversations.After about an hour of following Ben around the club like a lost puppy, she returned to their table, exhausted and hungry.
One positive of the night was that the food was actually really good.Ella enjoyed the prime rib dinner and the three-tier chocolate cake for dessert.Because Ben never came back to the table to eat, Ella ate his dessert too.She comforted herself with the thought that she was going to get fat, so might as well enjoy it.She knew that it would not be good for the baby or for her to eat sugar like that all the time, but the night had been so bad, she felt she deserved a second piece.She only felt a little bad when Ben finally came back to the table just before the event was over and asked if he could take his cake home.Luckily, the kitchen offered to pack the golden son a leftover piece.It was while they were waiting for that piece of cake to be wrapped that Ella ran into her most awkward moment of the night.
A young man came up and shook Ben’s hand.“Jordan, dude, so good to see you.I heard you were back.How are your mom and dad?”Ben asked, with the air of confidence of having known someone a long time.Turning to Ella, Ben said, “Ella, this is Dr.Jordan Stream, the doctor I asked Margie to set you up for your prenatal visits.”Without waiting for Ella to respond, Ben turned back to the doctor and added, “I don’t know if you have heard, but Ella and I are expecting.Rumor has it you are the new ‘it’ doctor in Little Rock.Margie said you got Ella in quickly.I really appreciate that.Moving here at the last minute, we are a little behind in all of that.”
