Worth Waiting For

The next day, Joe, Lauren, Kevin and I were sitting around the Jonas’ kitchen table; Kevin and Lauren on one side, Joe and I on the other. We were all staring at each other. Denise and Kevin Sr. had taken Frankie out shopping and Nick was leaving us be, sitting upstairs in his room and talking with Lana. Joe and I had proposed the double wedding idea to Kevin and Lauren and Lauren agreed enthusiastically while Kevin nodded his head. Now… we just had to figure things out.

“So, first thing’s first.” Lauren said. “Our dresses.”

“A place to live.” I said at the same time. I gave her a did-you-really-just-say-that look. “Hi, pregnant over here.” I said, pointing to my stomach. I’d like to find a place to live first. Besides… finding a dress is going to be hell… especially once I start growing.”

“Mm, good point. Though I’m sure we can find you something. So… do you want an apartment or a house?” she asked.

“A house.” Joe answered before I could even open my mouth. I looked over at him and grinned. “What? I don’t want to raise our baby in an apartment. A house is what we need. A nice big yard… maybe we could get a dog!”

“Honey, let’s have the baby first.” I said slowly. “Then we can think about a dog… though of course I’d rather have a cat.”

“Whatever you want. I’m just excited.” He said, placing his hand on my stomach… again. I lost count after 5 times.

“So am I but we need to do this rationally. So… we need to house hunt.” I said.

“I have an idea…” Kevin said slowly, his eyebrows furrowed together in concentration.

“Shoot.” I said.

“What if… the four of us look for a house together? A nice big one. At least for a year… that way Lauren and I can help take care of the baby in case you and Joe ever want to go out or something. Besides I think it would be an easier transition to at least have some family with you to help out because I know it’s going to be hard. Especially with Joe as the father.”

“Hey!” Joe and I exclaimed at the same time, glaring at Kevin.

“Whoa, I’m kidding guys.” He said, putting his hands up defensively.

“Never kid a pregnant woman sweetie,” Lauren said, patting his stomach.

“I thought the hormones didn’t take over for awhile.”

“They don’t.” I said. “You insulted my… fiancé. Wow… but yeah… don’t do that Paul.” I said, still glaring at him.

“Sorry sis.” He said.

“I’m not your sister yet.”

“Soon enough.” He said, sitting back in his chair. “So… do you agree with my idea or what?”

“Oh yeah, I think it sounds like a great idea.” Joe said. “Not what I was picturing but yeah, I could deal with it for a year. I think it would be perfect for little Sid or Nancy.”

“Excuse me.” I said, turning to stare at him.

“Nick or Nora?” he said.

“We’re not naming our baby after your brother. And we’re not giving it a weird name.” I said, patting my stomach. I wasn’t showing yet but I just… knew the baby was in there and growing inside me.

“Well, I’ll just have to keep thinking.”

“I guess so.”

“Are you guys going to find out the sex when the time comes?” Lauren asked.

“Yes.” I said.

“No.” Joe said at the same time.

“What?” I asked looking at him.

“I want it to be a surprise.” He said.

“I want to be prepared.” I said.

“Okay, so you can know and keep it a secret from me. Just don’t tell Lauren.”

“Hey… if that’s a crack at my inability to keep secrets… then okay.” She said, shrugging her shoulders.

“So, you’re fine with not knowing Laur?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, it’s perfectly fine. What about you babe?” she asked Kevin.

“I think I’d like it to be a surprise too.” He said.

“Okay… so I’ll be the only one who knows. In that case, I suggest we find a house with like… a shed, or a spare room where I can hide stuff in once I start shopping. Oh well, the spare room I guess would be the baby’s room… after the first few weeks of course.”

“Right, and we’ll have the baby shower be gender neutral.” Lauren said.

“Oh, my God, we have so much to plan.” I said, putting my head in my hands.

“Hey, don’t worry Lyss. Kevin and I will help out. And you know our mothers will be way into it. The last thing we need is for you to stress over it because it won’t be good for you or the baby.” Joe said.

“Yeah don’t worry. My aunt will want to pitch in too.” Lauren said. “So right there, that’s seven people working on this.”

“It’s all going to work out fine.” Kevin said, smiling at me. I took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Okay, let’s go look for a house.” I said.

****

The four of us were sprawled out on the living room floor of the Jonas’ house. Newspaper ads distributed between us and a laptop in the center. We were searching for houses in the area that would be having open houses soon. This is the position we were in when Kevin Sr., Denise, and Frankie returned. Kevin Sr. and Denise went into the kitchen to start working on lunch and Frankie sat on the floor in front of us.

“Guys… talk to me. I’m confused. Mom and Dad wouldn’t tell me. They said I should talk to you.” He said, giving us a serious look.

“Well, Tank, Kevin and I are getting married.” Lauren said, smiling at him. “So, I’m going to be your sister.”

“Yeah, and Joe and I are getting married too so… you’re going to have two sisters.” I said.

“And… the four of us are getting married on the same day.” said Kevin. “So it makes it even more special for all of us.”

“And Lyss and I are going to be parents so that means that you’re going to be an uncle.” Joe said, ruffling Frankie’s hair.

“So… basically, your ring is pointless now?” He said, pointing to Joe’s hand.

“Well… yeah, I guess.” Joe said, shrugging his shoulders.

“So why don’t you take it off?”

“Because then the media will start taking pictures and asking questions. And none of them will be nice so… it’s saving our sanity.”

“But… once they see you walking around with Mel with her big baby belly… they’re going to be asking questions anyway right?” he asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.

“Oh… wow… I don’t think any of us thought of that.”

“Yeah… what do we say?” I asked.

“I… don’t know…” Joe said… “Dad!”

“Yes?” Kevin Sr. asked coming in.

“Frankie brought up a valid point here. What happens when the press starts asking me questions when they see me and Lyss walking around with her pregnant self?” Joe asked.

“We’ll make something up. We’ll say that… you two eloped one night but now you want to do a full blown wedding and the baby is a honeymoon baby. That way… you won’t have broken your promise.” He said.

“So we eloped?” I asked. “So spontaneous. I didn’t think you had it in you, honey.” I said, elbowing Joe in the side.

“Yeah yeah… before we go out though… I need to get you a ring. Any preferences?” he asked.

“Something pretty!” I said, smiling.

“Okay… will do.”

****

Kevin and Joe decided to go ring shopping right away. Lauren and I went back to the apartment. We were in the process of making dinner for the four of us when the phone rang. Lauren was busy chopping onions so I answered.

“Hello?”

“Mel? Good, it’s Kevin.”

“Oh, hey Kev.” I said, loud enough for Lauren to hear. She stopped what she was doing and perked up.

“Look, so Joe and I are out ring shopping.”

“Ring shopping? Yes, very interesting.” I said and Lauren gasped and sat down on the couch next to me.

“Now, I’ve narrowed it down to three different rings but I want to get her something she’s really going to like, not something she tells me she likes, but she really hates.” He said. “You know her taste in jewelry better than I do. So, I thought maybe you could give me some advice.”

“Okay well anything with the word ’foxy’ on it is a big crowd-pleaser.” I joked and Lauren hit my arm.

“Oh, maybe for our first anniversary.” Kevin said sarcastically.

“Okay, I’m listening.” I said, seriously now.

“Okay. The first ring has a gold band… and sort of a square diamond. It’s simple, but very classic.” He explained.

“Gold band, square diamond, simple… classic.” I said. Lauren shook her head no. “I’m not sure that’s really her.”

“Okay. The next one is sort of an engagement band… with small diamonds all around it, white gold… and there’s a wedding band that sort of fits into it, like a set.”

“White gold engagement band, small diamonds around it… with wedding band that fits into it.” I said. Lauren did a wishy-washy thing with her hands. “That’s a possibility. What’s the third one?”

“The third one,” he said, sighing, “Is from the 20’s.”

“From the 20’s?” I asked looking at Lauren… she loves that kind of stuff. She suddenly became extremely interested.

“Large diamond in the middle.” He said.

“Large diamond in the middle…”

“Diamond clusters on the sides,” he explained.

“Diamond clusters on the sides,” I said, looking at Lauren excitedly. She was holding her hands up like paws and sticking her tongue out and panting like a dog.

“And it’s a little deco.” He finished.

“A little deco…” I said, trying not to laugh. Lauren let out a full out… bark or squeal or something. I tried to shut her up so Kevin wouldn’t hear. “That sounds great. Good going. She’s going to be ecstatic.”

“She’s right there with you, isn’t she?” he asked.

“What? No.”

“I thought I heard her bark.”

“No, that’s just a… wild jackal that hangs out here sometimes.”

“Mhm… put Cujo on the phone, please.” He said.

“One sec. Here boy.” I said, handing Lauren the phone.

“Oh hello, Kevin. What a pleasant surprise.” She said nonchalantly. I smiled to myself as they talked about it… all the time wondering what Joe had for me.

****

An hour and a half later the doorbell rang. It should be Kevin and Joe coming over for this fabulous dinner that Lauren and I had prepared. I answered the door to find only Kevin standing there.

“Hey, come in,” I said, moving to the side so he could come in. I stuck my head out into the hallway but I didn’t see Joe. “Hey Kev… where’s Joe?”

“Go outside.” Kevin said.

“What? Why?” I asked.

“Just… go outside.” He said, smiling at me.

“Okay…” I said, shrugging my shoulders. I closed the door behind me and walked downstairs and outside waiting for me was a nice big black limo.

“Miss Douglas?” the driver asked.

“Yes…” I said. He opened the door for me and I slowly climbed inside, expecting Joe to be in the limo but I was alone. “What is this boy up to?” I whispered as the driver closed the door. I heard him climb into the drivers’ seat and we started moving. I lowered the divider so I could speak to him. “I’m sorry but, could you tell me where we’re going?”

“I’m sorry Miss, but Mr. Jonas asked me to keep it a secret and to keep the divider up.” He said.

“Oh… alright then. Thank you.” I said, rolling the divider back up. I sat back in my seat and crossed my arms over my chest. The windows were so tinted that I couldn’t even see out of them. I had no idea where we were going.

After about twenty minutes we came to a stop and the driver opened my door for me. I stepped out and thanked him and looked around. We were at the beach. I still didn’t see Joe. Instead, I saw a man with a pedi-cab. You know… one of those guys who drives a bicycle with like… a kart on the back for people to ride in.

“Miss Douglas?” he asked. I nodded my head and walked to him. “My name’s Kirk, I’m here to take you to your final destination.”

“This isn’t going to be like the movie is it?” I asked, climbing into the pedi-cab.

“Sorry?”

“You know… the movie… ’Final Destination’…” I said. He still looked at me confused. “Never mind, let’s go.”

He… drove… me around the pier. It was a nice time of day… families were leaving the beach to go home and have dinner, all the shops and food stands were pretty crowded and it made me smile. Then… we passed a large section of shops along the pier and it came to an opened view of the beach. There… oh, there stood Joe; surrounded by a ring of vases filled with red and pink roses. And behind him, were two white horses. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. Kirk, the pedi-cab guy, pulled over and turned to smile at me.

“We have reached your destination.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. I climbed out and walked over to Joe. He reached down and pulled a rose out of one of the vases and handed it to me when I was close to him.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“What is this?” I asked. He bent down to one knee and my breath caught in my throat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.

“Melissa, I promised to love you forever and ever and a day. I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you, not even my family. Melissa Anne Douglas, will you marry me?” he asked, opening the box and exposing the beautiful ring inside.

“Yes,” I whispered, a few silent tears making their way down my face. He took the ring out of the box and placed it on my finger, then stood up and wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. I heard a bunch of clapping and turned around to see the Jonas family, my parents, and Lauren’s aunt and uncle. I saw a few flashes… paparazzi.

“Good, I’m glad they got that.” Joe whispered in my ear.

“Me too.” I said. Then I saw a few flashes pointed in Lauren and Kevin’s direction. “They must have seen her ring.”

“See? Everything’s falling into place.” He said.

“Yeah, the only thing left is when you boys have your next interview, you have to explain we eloped but you don’t need to tell them about the pregnancy until they start asking about it.” I said.

“Right.” he said. Then he turned my body so I was facing him and he looked into my eyes. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Are you happy?” he asked, his breath was warm on my face.

“Beyond happy… so happy that I don’t think there’s a word to explain it,” I said, laughing.

“Good, me too.” He said, giving me a quick kiss. “Now come on, let’s ride some horses.”

“Okay, but only for a little. You’re not really supposed to ride when you’re pregnant.” I said.

“Oh I know.”

“You know?” I asked as we walked towards the horses.

“While shopping, I bought some parenting books.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. I turned to him and placed my hands on his chest.

“You know… you’re going to be a great dad.” I said, smiling at him.

“And you’re going to be a great mom. You’ll have quite the competition against my mother.” He said.

“Oh no, that’s not possible. No one can beat Denise.” I said laughing.