Bridgette - Chapter Twenty: The Love of My Life - Part Two

I woke up at six in the morning and had to rush to the bathroom. I never got sick and here I was on the morning of my wedding getting sick. The last time I had gotten sick was the night we had gone out to the Patrick’s club and I had too much to drink. 

As I got back in bed I started wondering what could possibly make me feel this way. Maybe there was something wrong with the food we all ate last night. That had me worried; if all of us had been exposed to food poisoning then the wedding might be in trouble. I laid there for several minutes and my stomach seemed to feel a little better.  I wondered if it could also be nerves. Like Mom had said last night, there was a lot of build up to this day and I was really excited that it was finally here.

I heard my phone buzz and I got up to see a text from Carson.

Morning Beautiful!

I hope you slept well. I just wanted to tell you I love you and I can’t wait to see you walking down the aisle! Missed seeing your beautiful face this morning! T-minus six hours till we're husband and wife!

Love you!

I smiled and sent him a text back.

Good Morning Handsome!

I hope you slept well too! I miss seeing you too! After today though, that won’t be an issue. ; ) 

I love you so much!

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep so I put on a robe and headed downstairs. Mom and Dad were both up which didn’t surprise me since they normally woke up before now to start working on the ranch.

“There’s the beautiful bride!” Dad gushed. He stopped and looked at me and got concerned. “Are you feeling okay Bridge?”

“Yeah, are both of you feeling okay? My stomach is a little upset this morning and I’m hoping it’s nerves and not that we all ate something that was bad.”

“I feel fine; how about you sweetheart?” Dad asked Mom.

“I’m feeling great. I bet it’s just nerves Bridge.  We were getting ready to order some breakfast maybe eating will make you feel better.” At the thought of eating something my stomach started to hurt again. I placed a hand on my stomach and Mom got the picture. “Perhaps if you just had some plain toast? You have to eat something Bridge or you’ll never make it through the rest of the day.” The thought of eating toast didn’t sound so bad. We ordered room service and I slowly ate my toast. I waited to see if anything would happen and the toast seemed to make me feel better.

“See there, nerves were probably making your stomach hurt and you just needed to fill it up with some food.” I felt relieved that neither I nor anyone else seemed to have food poisoning.

At around 8:30, Kate showed up at our door and let Mom and I know that the other girls were waiting to go to the salon so we could all go get our hair done.  While the girls were away, the guys were going to catch a movie at the resort’s theater. I took a photo of how I wanted my hair to look for the wedding and was thrilled that the stylist did my hair exactly like the picture I had given her.

We all returned to the resort and Mom suggested that I make sure I had everything packed away in my bags.

“You know where he’s taking me, don’t you?”

“Yes, someone had to make sure you had everything together.” She smiled.

“Where is it? Is it here at the resort?” The suspense was killing me.

“Bridgette Hobble, I’m not saying a word; except to say you need to make sure you have everything.”

I pretended to pout and made sure everything I had brought was ready. “How are you feeling?” Mom asked.

“My stomach is better but this waiting around is killing me. I just want to be married already.”

“Take time and enjoy it, Bridge. It will be over before you know it and it will feel like a blur. I think that’s one thing most people don’t realize when they get married. Unless it’s a long ceremony it ends quickly and you’re left wondering if it really happened. That would be my only piece of advice today. Take it all in. You’ve both waited a long time for this so enjoy it.” She hugged me and left the room.

I sat down on the couch and thought about what Mom had said. She was right, I was so anxious to get married that I wasn’t taking time to enjoy it. I felt my phone buzz and saw another text message from Carson.
 

Did you have fun at the salon?

I texted back.

                                                           Yes. Did you boys have fun?

Of course we did! We even went to the pool and had a cannonball competition.

                                                           Who won?

I did of course. =D We both better get moving! We’re supposed to be there around 11. Love you!

                                                           Love you too!

I looked at the time on my phone; it was 10:30. I walked downstairs and Mom and Dad were almost ready to go. Half of us were leaving ten minutes before the other half to go to the island where the wedding ceremony was taking place. I was going with the first half so I could get there before Carson. Mom, Dad, Kate, Charlie, Charles, Scarlett, Jeff, Rosamund and I were going on the first boat while Carson, his parents, brothers and their wives, Trent and Julie were riding in the second boat.

As we were boarding the boat I started wondering about my bags. “What about my bags?”

“It’s all been taken care of. Just get in the boat.” Mom nudged me.

It was a short ride to the small island and I smiled as everyone voiced their approval as it came into sight. I leaned over to Rosamund. “I just wanted to thank you for suggesting this place to us. I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t.”

She smiled at me. “You’re welcome. I just knew how much Jefferson and I enjoyed it and I figured you all might like it too. It’s a beautiful place. Jefferson and I are going to stay a little longer after the wedding at my parents’ vacation home so it’s also nice for us since we get to return to where we had our honeymoon.”

“Mom and Dad are even staying  longer for a second honeymoon while Charlie, Kate, Charles and Scarlett head home. I’m glad we’ve given them an excuse to have a second honeymoon.”

We pulled up to the island and Kate, Mom, and I headed into the building to change clothes. I came out of the changing room and Kate and Mom gasped.

“You look so beautiful Bridge!” Kate exclaimed.

Mom started crying. “Oh Mom! Don’t start doing that! You’ll ruin your makeup and you’ll make me cry.”

“I know, I can’t help it.” I looked over at Kate and she shrugged her shoulders.

“I told you, everyone will be crying by the time the ceremony is over.” I knew she was probably right but the last thing I needed was to start crying before the ceremony started.

“I know, but please Mom, try to hold off until the ceremony.” She nodded.

“I’ll go outside and see if the others are here yet and I’ll send your dad in.” She took one last look at me before she left and almost started crying again.

“I’ve seen Mom at two other weddings and I know I’m going to hear her sobbing once it starts.” I stated.

“You can’t blame her.”

“Oh I don’t. I’m just trying to prepare myself.” I heard the door open and saw Dad walk in.

“Carson’s here and everyone is. . .” He stopped when he saw me and I saw tears in his eyes.

“Oh no! Not you too. I can take Mom but I can’t take you. If you start I’ll be boohooing down the aisle. I just want to make it down the aisle and then I’ll start crying.”

He smiled at me and looked down. “You look beautiful Bridgers. When did my little girl become such a beautiful woman?” He came over and hugged me. “I better go out there and check on your mom. I’ll be back in a couple minutes.”

****Carson****

I saw Chuck walk out of the building and I noticed him wipe a tear from his eye. He saw me and walked over to where I was standing. “Is everything okay?” I asked him.

“Yes, one day maybe you’ll have a daughter and you’ll understand.” He patted me on the back. “So is everything set for the honeymoon?”

I nodded. “Someone should be delivering our bags during the wedding so all we have to do is show up.”

He smiled. “I overheard Bridge complaining to Amanda about not knowing where you two were going.”

I chuckled. “She never likes secrets. I thought she was going to go crazy when I was getting ready to propose and she knew something was going on.”

“I better go check on Amanda, Bridge mentioned that she was getting a little emotional.” He walked off and I watched as he comforted Amanda. Both Bridge’s and my parents had been married for over twenty years and both couples still loved each other. I was sure that Bridge and I would still be that happy in twenty years.

“Hey there, bro! You ready to do this?” I heard Charlie ask from behind me.

“Yup.” I said and turned around. We stood there smiling at each other for a minute.

“You know, I think I kind of know how Bridge felt the day Kate and I got married. She and Kate kept going on and on about how after that day they were going to be sisters, and at the time, I didn’t quite get it. But being on the other side, I think I do. We’ve been best friends for a long time now and even though you’ve seemed like a brother to me, today it actually becomes real. Of course that means you won’t be able to escape from any of us after today.”

I chuckled. “I think if I was going to do that, it would have happened a while ago.” I joked back. “Seriously, though, I know what you’re saying. I’ve felt like a part of your family for years now and today it becomes official.” We hugged and my Dad came over to us.

“You guys need to get into place. It’s about time for the ceremony to start.” Charlie and I patted each other on the back and I headed to the front of the aisle while Charlie headed to the changing building where Bridge, Kate and Chuck were. Since we were having a small wedding we had decided that we would each pick only one person to stand up with us. It was a no brainer for us; I of course had to pick Charlie and she picked Kate.

I walked up the aisle and was stopped by my two brothers who hugged me and of course teased me a little. I had held it together until I saw Mom. She stood up and hugged me and before she pulled away I could tell she was starting to cry.

“I can’t believe my youngest is getting married today. I’m so proud of you son and I know you and Bridge are going to happy together.”

“Thanks Mom.” I said and hugged her again.

I turned around to walk to my spot when I felt a hand on my elbow. I turned around and Amanda was standing there already crying. “I just wanted to say that we all love you Carson and I can’t tell you how much joy you give Chuck and I by seeing you treat our daughter with the care and love you do.” These two mothers were making it almost impossible for me to keep it together. I hadn’t even seen Bridge yet and I was on the verge of crying.

“Thank you Amanda. She’s easy to love and she became the wonderful woman she is by having great parents like you and Chuck.” She kissed my cheek and sat back down. I got up to the front and looked at everyone sitting there staring at me. It started to hit me at that moment what was about to happen. I was about to marry my best friend and spend the rest of my life with her.

 As I stood there, I thought back to times in the past eight years: the first time I saw her in homeroom and couldn’t take my eyes off her, all the times we made fun of our biology teacher our freshman year, the time we went to fall festival and competed in the bobbing for apples competition and she beat me, going to prom and then our first kiss, our first date; they all came flooding back to me at that moment, moments before becoming husband and wife.

****Bridge****

After Mom left to go sit down, we were informed that it was time to make our way to the aisle. Kate and Charlie went first and I watched as my very pregnant best friend and my brother walked in front of Dad and me. Dad was trying his hardest not to get emotional and I was trying my hardest to keep my emotions under control. I felt him squeeze my hand and I looked at him. He smiled and patted my hand. 

As we reached our starting point, I started thinking about how much I loved the man I was about to join at the end of the aisle. I thought back to the times in high school when I was so scared of our friendship changing, scared to give into my own feelings that I had tried for years to convince myself weren’t there. How naïve and silly I had been. For years I had been scared of change but if there was one thing that Carson had helped me learn it was that change can bring wonderful things. Even when change seemed bad, it could lead to good things down the road. 

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the music start playing. I looked around and thought to myself how we couldn’t have picked a better location. The water surrounding us was gorgeous and the views of the rest of the islands were amazing. As Charlie and Kate reached the front of the aisle I looked up and met Carson’s eyes.

****Carson****

There were many times in the past that looking at Bridge had taken my breath away, including the first time I saw her; but nothing was even close to what happened when I saw her standing at the other end of the aisle with her dad. She looked up and our eyes met and I literally thanked God at that moment that I was getting to marry this woman.  Everyone else stood up and looked at her and Chuck. That’s when all the crying started. Both of our moms were crying and it seemed like all the other girls were crying. I even thought I heard Charlie sniffle behind me.

We never stopped looking at each other the whole time she and Chuck walked down the aisle. As much as I wanted the ceremony to be over so we could finally be married, I also wanted to take in every moment so that when my time on earth was over, I could still recall every second of this moment in time.

****Bridge****

As Dad and I walked down the aisle I could hear people sniffling and crying but all I could look at was Carson.  This moment was exactly how I had dreamt it the night before.  Carson and I smiled at each other as Dad and I continued to walk down the aisle. I had the urge to run down the aisle so I could get to him faster but I remembered what Mom had told me earlier about enjoying it.

As Dad and I reached the front, I felt Dad give my hand another squeeze right before he removed my hand from his arm.  I briefly looked over at Dad and smiled at him and then turned my attention back to Carson. Now that I was up close, I could see that he was trying to hold back tears.  That was when I started losing control over my emotions. I was trying my best to not completely lose it when the minster started the ceremony. He spoke for several minutes before asking “Should there be anyone who objects to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace.” Carson and I had debated about putting that line in the ceremony but thought the audience would appreciate the irony of it. Carson peered over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. Everyone started to chuckle and I even heard one of Carson’s brothers say ‘For heaven’s sake, no! We’ve been waiting a long time for this!’

After asking who was giving the bride away, Dad responded, gave me a kiss on the cheek and sat down next to Mom. I handed Kate my flowers and tried not to look at her because I knew she was crying. I turned to look at Carson and he held my hands.

****Carson****

It was time for me to say my vows and I didn’t think I was going to be able to get through them. I honestly just wanted to stand there holding her hands and looking at her. When the minister announced it was time for our vows I knew I couldn’t hold out any longer. I looked in her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I woke up the first day of high school and was excited about what the day would hold. Little did I know that I would see the most gorgeous girl walk into homeroom.  At that moment, it was as if time stood still. That was the day that I met you, the love of my life. There has not been a day since that I have not thought about you. You make my ordinary world, extraordinary. You make the most mundane activities interesting. You make each day worth living. You make an incomplete me, complete.” I finished the last line and tears started streaming down my face.

****Bridge****

I reached up and brushed his tears away before I started my vows. He grabbed my hands while I looked in his eyes and started.

“I honestly think the Book of Job in the Bible should be renamed the Book of Carson; I can’t imagine a more patient man than you.” There were several chuckles from our family and friends. "You are the most encouraging, supportive, patient, loving and funny person. You have always loved me for who I am even though that can be a very hard thing to do. You are the calm to my storm, the tranquility to my chaos, and the carefree to my worry. You tell everyone that I am the love of your life, but let me say now that you too are the love of my life, my soul mate, my one true love.” All of us were a mess after I finished. Carson squeezed my hands and we took a moment before we continued with the rest of the ceremony. Once we had somewhat gained our composure the minister asked us to repeat after him.

“I, Carson Alexander Davila, take you, Bridgette Rose Hobble, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do us part.”

“I, Bridgette Rose Hobble, take you, Carson Alexander Davila, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do us part.”

We exchanged rings and then waited anxiously for the minister to pronounce us husband and wife.

“I don’t think I have ever been so happy to say these words. . .” He looked at Carson “You can now kiss your bride.”

In what seemed like a millisecond Carson was kissing me and everyone was cheering. Our mothers were crying loudly and both our dads were wiping tears from their eyes. It had finally happened, we were finally married.

****Carson****

I looked at Bridge and stroked her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” she smiled up at me. I grabbed her hand and we walked back down the aisle and were quickly taken into the changing building where we were able to spend a moment alone. The second the door closed behind us I started holding her.

“I know I’ve told you this before, but you are gorgeous. Seeing you walk down the aisle literally took my breath away.” I pulled back to look at her and then kissed her.

There was a knock on the door. “Mr. and Mrs. Davila, it’s time for us to take some photos.”

“We’ll be out in a moment.” I looked at Bridge and she was smiling like a Cheshire cat. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“It’s the first time someone has called me Mrs. Davila.” She said and kissed me.

“Can we go away by ourselves now?” I complained.

“No, we need to at least pose for pictures and I think our family and friends would be very disappointed if we didn’t spend some time with them.” She joked. 

 We held hands as we walked out to pose for pictures. In between poses everyone was congratulating us and having a fun time talking with each other. 

****Bridge****

After taking pictures, we all walked over to where the food had been laid out and sat down to eat. As I looked at the food, my stomach started hurting again. I chose the blandest food but didn’t feel like eating much. 

“Bridge, what’s wrong? You’ve barely eaten anything?” Carson whispered to me.

“I woke up this morning and my stomach didn’t feel good. Looking at this food made it start hurting again.” He got a worried look. “I’m fine. I’m sure it’s just nerves from being so excited.” I patted his leg trying to reassure him.

“Are you sure?”

“This is why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Let me know if you feel worse and we’ll leave.” There was no way I was going to leave. I ate some bread and soon I was feeling better again.

We were soon cutting the cake and I took one bite and then passed on the rest. As everyone else ate their cake, I looked around and felt grateful that we were able to share our day with all the people we cared about. “What are you thinking about?” Carson whispered in my ear.  I smiled and looked at him.

“I’m just watching everyone and thinking about how fortunate we are to have such wonderful family and friends.”

As everyone was finishing their cake, Carson and I went back to the changing house and changed our clothes.  We were getting ready to leave and go to the place Carson had chosen for our honeymoon and I couldn’t take the suspense anymore. “So where are we going?”

“I’m not going to tell you. Can’t you wait another half an hour or so?” I looked at him and squinted my eyes at him. “Well, it doesn’t matter if you want to wait or not, I’m not ruining the surprise.”

I walked over to him and looked at him seductively. He chuckled. “That isn’t going to help you find out; it’s just going to make me do this.” Before I could respond he pulled me against him and kissed me passionately. When he stopped I protested.

“Carson Davila!”

“You’re the one who started it.” He said as he smiled. “We better get going since you’re in such a hurry to find out where we’re going. I know I’d like to get there as soon as possible.” He said with a mischievous grin.

I laughed. “You are horrible.”

We walked out the door and saw our family and friends waiting for us. Mom came over and gave me a hug. “I’m so happy for you Bridge! We’ll see you in a week when you get back to Appaloosa.” I hugged her back and went up to Dad. “My Bridgers is all grown up. Take care of yourself and relax while you’re here. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard.”

“I will; thanks Dad.” I gave him a hug. Carson and I said goodbye to everyone and got in a boat that was taking us to where we were staying. We waved at our parents as the boat pulled away and we started our adventure as husband and wife.

Credits:
Bridge's Dress: BEO Creations': Wedding Dress 17

Poses:

Traelia's - Wedding Pose Pack

Delight 33's  -12 Poses at a Table

Studio K2's - Casual Male

Cloudwalker Sims' - Family Photos Pose Pack

Monolith's - Inseperable

Kiddos Dreams' -Wedding Part One, Wedding Part Two

F& L Club's - My Weakness