“Let’s go then!” I held out my hand and hailed a cab, the rest of the guests following suit behind me.
The French restaurant in Greenwich Village was closed to the public, and it had taken some convincing for my mother and Greg to allow me to host the reception. They finally agreed, but insisted they wanted to keep it small, and didn’t want anything grand. Gabriella helped me find the place, and it was perfect with its intimate dining room and small terrace.
It had a small dance floor installed on the outdoor terrace and I’d hired a small jazz band to play live music. I had asked for the décor simple with white linens, candles, and vases of white and pale pink roses that matched my mother’s bouquet. When I walked in, it was better than I could have imagined.
My mother must have thought so too, because I found her in the center or the room, doing a slow spin with her mouth open. Gabriella and I strode toward her, as Nathan walked to the bar.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“This is amazing,” she said, shaking her head before swatting at me. “I told you nothing extravagant.”
“Mom,” I groaned. “This is bare bones. Trust me.”
“Chandler,” called out Greg, walking over with two generously poured champagne glasses. He handed one to my mother and turned to me. “This is a dream. Thank you,” he said softly ashe looked around the room that twinkled with candle lights and smelled of fresh flowers.
“You two deserve it.”
Nathan then walked over, balancing two glasses of champagne and another glass that housed something light and bubbly.
“Champagne,” he said, handing me a glass. “And the finest of sparkling cider for you,” he said, handing the bubbly drink to Gabriella, who giggled.
“A toast,” I said, holding up my glass. “To the newlyweds. This has been a long time coming. Forever looks good on you two.”
“Here, here,” said Nathan.
We clinked our glasses together as the rest of the guests arrived. Appetizers of cheese puffs and steak tartare began to go around and the jazz band began to play some livelier music, encouraging everyone to head to the dance floor.
“Shall we?” I asked, holding my hand out to Gabriella.
“Seriously?” she asked, raising a brow and patting her stomach as if to remind me of just how pregnant she was.
“Seriously,” I said firmly, leading her to the black and white checkered dance floor. I spun her around before pulling herclose, making her laugh out loud. That sound was better than the music. We swayed to the music as I held her close.
“This is ridiculous,” she said, looking up at me. “There’s practically a volleyball between us.”
I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “It’s perfect. You are perfect.”
I pulled away to see her cheeks turn a shade pinker. We continued to move across the dance floor and I couldn’t remember a time I had ever been happier. Here I was, dancing with the woman I loved, the mother of my child, at my own mother’s wedding. It was something I would never have imagined.
I suddenly had a vision of the two of us dancing at our own wedding one day. The thought had crossed my mind often, but this moment with her just made me want it all the more. We hadn’t talked about it yet, but it felt like the next step for us. Once our daughter was born, I was going to marry her.
Chapter 57
Gabriella
“Let me help you with those,” offered Juliet as she held out her hand, her fingers wiggling as if to say “gimme.” I handed her the several pink, blue, and floral bags I had accumulated on our morning of shopping for baby girl. She strung them up her arm like Christmas lights.
“Thanks,” I said, feeling the relief of not having the extra weight of clothes and toys. It felt like I had grown even bigger since last weekend at Sandy and Greg’s wedding. Everything felt heavy and uncomfortable, but it was all worth it. I rubbed my bump tenderly, reminding myself I was in the home stretch. Just a few more weeks until our daughter was born.
“You okay?” asked Juliet cautiously, stopping mid-stride and running her eyes over me like some sort of visual doctor’s checkup.
I waved her off and nodded. “I’m fine. I promise.”
I knew, since the emergency trip to the hospital, she worried about me. She had been there through the whole thing. It felt so long ago though, and I hadn’t felt the dizziness or weakness again. A lot had changed since then. I didn’t have my entire life to stress over. Everything had worked out, though that part was hard to believe. I had to convince myself that people had happy endings, instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Well, let’s head back to your place anyway,” suggested Juliet, looking both ways as we crossed the street toward Central Park. “I think you’ve bought out the whole city.”
I laughed. I had maybe gone a little overboard. I wasn’t the only one though. Chandler had been doing a bit of online shopping. It seemed like we had a delivery a day. I playfully accused him of shopping and not working while he was in the office, which he laughed off in denial.
