Chapter 43: The Wedding
Two months later...
Allie
I couldn't believe this day was finally here. I was marrying Nico. Unbeknownst to him, his adoption of Gracie would be finalized today as well. It was my wedding gift to him - one of them anyway.
Before the end of the day, my husband would find out that he had two kids. Well, he would have two in six and a half months, that is.
With all of the chaos in the weeks following the stabbing - the media attention, the album release and the publicity tour for it, selling my old house, plus planning the wedding - it took me far longer than it should have to realize that my period was late.
When I was cleaning out my purse four nights ago and came across the emergency tampon that I keep in the side pocket, it suddenly registered that I couldn't remember the last time I'd needed one of those.
I didn't think much of it - at first. After all, I take my birth control pills every day. I even have a daily alarm set on my phone just to make sure I don't forget. Plus, with Gracie, I'd had terrible morning sickness that felt like it had lasted from the moment of her conception until I was around the three-month mark, I hadbeen perpetually exhausted, and my boobs had seemingly grown overnight.
I didn't have any of that crap going on, thankfully, so there was no need to bother taking a pregnancy test, right? I had assumed it was just the stress of everything, and that my period would show up any day.
Then, I had awakened around 3:00 am, suddenly remembering the antibiotics I had been prescribed at the hospital because the doctor, thanks to Nathan the nurse, had been concerned about possible infection from the scratches and scrapes on my arm. I had dutifully taken the antibiotics for the full ten days. As I had lain there trying not to freak out, I'd acknowledged the fact that the antibiotics had most likely rendered my birth control less effective, lack of other symptoms be damned.
I had been instantly elated at the thought that I was actually carrying Nico's baby, closely followed by the thought that"Oh shit, I'm think I'm carrying Nico's baby!"
I wanted more kids, and so did he. He had made that more than clear on several occasions, so I knew he'd be happy. I was just nervous that it was too soon, that we should have had more time to adjust to being a family of three before we added a fourth to the mix.
I had listened to Nico's deep, even breathing as he slept curled up against my back, trying to fight the urge to get up and drive to an all-night pharmacy for a pregnancy test. Yeah, because that wouldn' t attract any attention, right?
I'd forced myself to wait patiently until after I had dropped Gracie off at preschool the next morning, before stopping to buya test. My sunglasses and baseball cap didn't provide much of a disguise, but the clerk hadn't even bother glancing at my face as she rung up my purchase.
I had rushed home, anxious to take the test while Nico was out doing a radio interview downtown. Ten minutes later, I was still just staring at the positive result with a huge smile on my face.
I had remembered the last time I'd taken a pregnancy test, with a pang in my heart. Alex had been standing next to me then, wrapping me in his arms as we waited for the stick to show us the plus sign we had hoped for.Gracie had been born 36 weeks later.
Since Nico was in the process of adopting her, I didn't want to upstage that with news of this pregnancy. I had managed, with Michael's help, to pull some strings to get the adoption finalized in time for our wedding day.
I was going to present him with the adoption papers atthe end of the ceremony, and had already worked out those details with the judge who was officiating the ceremony for us. I decided to wait to surprise him with thisother bit of news when we were alone on our wedding night.
I had taken a picture of the positive test result with my phone to print out later. I'd briefly considered keeping the test to show him, but had quickly discarded that idea because...ewww! I was not keeping a used pee-stick, even if I had carefully wiped it off before putting the cap back on.
I'd been nervous and distracted in the three days since then, but had blamed it on excitement over the wedding and stressfrom all of the little last-minute details when Nico had looked at me with concern and asked if I was all right.
Which brings me here, to this moment, as I gaze out the window of the honeymoon suite where Gracie and I are getting ready with help from my mom and Angela, Nonna, Becca, Hannah, Emma, and Min. I had elected not to have professional makeup and hair stylists, a decision supported whole-heartedly by Nico.
"This wedding is about us, Sunshine. The real us," he'd told me with a kiss to my forehead, "not some made-up photo-op for the world to see."
Aunt Ellen had popped her head in briefly to let me know she was here with the cake.She had made cakes for every special occasion I'd celebrated for the last several years, and today was no exception. She was thrilled that I'd asked her, and we had both cried when she said that she knew Alex was happy that I'd found love again.
Since we were having such a small, intimate ceremony, Nico and I had decided against having attendants. It would just be us, the judge who was officiating, and Gracie as a combination flower girl and ring bearer, with Matt and Hannah signing as witnesses.
The Alexander Vineyard was a gorgeous setting for a wedding, and we were so lucky that a last-minute opening had become available. The attached resort-style hotel provided the perfect space for our family and friends to gather for the weekend's festivities.We'd had our rehearsal dinner last night and a lovely brunch earlier today, which would be followed by our ceremony later this afternoon, and then a small reception this evening.
We'd been greeted yesterday afternoon by Blue Marian, and his husband Tristan, who owned the vineyard. They were a gorgeous couple, with adorable children and a sweet dog to round out their family. They didn't bat an eye at the sight of four rockstars, since Blue's brother was a famous country singer.
Nico's mother had been a little worried as we checked in that they would find Nonna's T-shirt offensive, since it wasn't exactly family-friendly. Nonna had insisted on being comfortable for the drive to the northern part of the state, and had worn her T-shirt from Tony's "coming out" photo op at The Grove.
Tristan busted out laughing when he caught sight of it, calling Blue over to see it.
"Love is Love. If you don't believe that, then fuck you!"Blue laughed as he read it aloud, before asking Nonna where she got it.
"I think I just found the perfect shirts for the next family reunion," he murmured to his husband, before telling Nonna that she reminded him of his Aunt Tilly.
