The Cost Of Winning

ASHLEY'S POV :

"Dude, stop twitching, or your tie is liable to wind up as a blindfold!" Ryan informs me, when he takes over the job of fixing my tie, after I've botched it three times.

Leaning against the doorframe, Andy cocks an eyebrow at me and says, "Don't tell me you're starting to get cold feet about getting married, Ash."

"Fuck, no! I've been ready for this for months, guys! It's the other stuff I'm freaking about, 'yknow," I reply. "I mean, what if she gets too excited, or stressed, and something goes wrong?"

For a minute, nobody says anything, because they all know that this could possibly happen. Fi has been seeing the doctor every week since we brought the blood-pressure monitor home, because it's been sort of erratic, and it seems like she may end up with the same issue she had with Bren. Fortunately, since we're aware of it this time, we can take precautions, but they can't give her meds, because of the baby. We won't be going on our honeymoon trip, at least not now, because her obstetrician, Dr. Hildebrandt, has completely forbidden her to travel any significant distance, especially by plane. We've also had to put our move on hold, which isn't entirely a bad thing, as it gives us the opportunity to have some things done to the house that we wanted, without having to dodge around the construction. There's a possibility that she may eventually end up on bedrest, which is totally freaking me the fuck out, since I'm going to be out on the road for a good portion of the time.

CC looks at me for a second, and then, in an unusually calm tone of voice, at least for him, says, "It's gonna be fine, bro. All of the girls are in there with her, and they know the drill, so you know they'll do their best to keep her relaxed. And if anything does happen, you'll know about it right away."

"How far along is she now, anyway?" Jinxx inquires.

"Right around four months, and she had Bren at six. The doctor's say that we need to try to keep things from happening for as long as possible, but in the worst-case scenario, they'd like her to hopefully make it to seven, or seven and a half."

"Have you decided on a name yet, or are you gonna debate on it forever, like we did?" Ryan asks.

"Yeah, we just figured that out yesterday," I answer. "His name is Ian Caleb Purdy. I picked the first name, and she decided the middle."

There's a tap on the door, and Karla pops her head in and says, "I hope you guys are just about ready, because Ash needs to get out to the altar. Fianna is supposed to start up the aisle in fifteen minutes."

We start scrambling to finish getting ready, and I manage to find my way out of the dressing room to the large reception hall that Miki and her employees booked for the wedding, and have spent the last couple of days decking out with flowers and all sorts of poufy swag things hanging from the chairs and windows, everything hot pink and silver, which are the colors she picked.

I get to the altar that they've set up, and pretty soon I'm joined there by Web's friend Nevin, the justice of the piece who is officiating the wedding. Most of the guests are already in their seats, and I see practically everyone we know looking back at me. Most of my family is here, along with my friends Jazy, Markie, Kina, and Jeff, David and Leanna, the Cartwrights and the Frobishers, Web, Pauline, and the rest of Miki's family, and a few of Fi's former co-workers, plus most of our crew and other people we know in the industry. Even some of the guys families have come; Andy's folks, Jinxx's brother and mom, and CC's parents.

Music starts coming from the speakers, and the wedding party starts coming toward me. Bren and Ivy are at the front of the line, in little silver dresses tied with pink sashes, scattering petals, and Cody follows along with the ring pillow. Then the adults follow, and since I've technically known Ryan the longest, and Miki is the matron of honor, I made him my best man, and the two of them march down the aisle, followed by the rest of the group, in the order of who I've known the longest, so it's Andy and Juliet, Jinxx and Alice, Jake and Inna, CC and Anna, and Jeff and Karla.The girls are in bright-pink cold-shoulder sheath dresses, with silver shoes, and the guys are wearing black suits with white shirts and pink ties. I'm wearing a gray suit, along with a black shirt and a silvery-gray tie, with a pink flower pinned to my lapel.

As everyone takes their places in front of the altar, the "Wedding March" kicks in, and I see Ben start through the door, with Fi on his arm, and my heart actually skips a beat. Fianna is absolutely stunning, and Ben is trying so hard to look grown-up, dressed like the rest of the guys, with his hair actually tamed down to something resembling neat. Her dress is a floaty-looking champagne-colored silk thing, with a halter-style neck and a handkerchief hem, sort of skimming her "bump", without drawing a lot of attention to it. Her hair is pinned up, with just a couple of curls hanging down one side, and she's wearing a pair of screaming-pink shoes, which go with her flowers, and some of her jewelry.

They reach the altar, and Ben kisses Fi's cheek, then walks her up to me, and I give his arm a squeeze, then clasp her hand. Nevin starts the ceremony, and Ben seems to be so proud to say "I do", when Nevin asks who gave her in marriage. He goes to sit with his folks, and we continue on. We had flirted with the idea of writing our own vows, but decided to just keep it simple and stick with the traditional words and exchange rings, which are gold bands with our names engraved on them, one on each side of a small diamond.

We recite our vows, and everyone whistles, yells, and applauds when Nevin finally says, "I now pronounce you man and wife." I wrap my arms around her and kiss her, until Bren tugs on my pantleg and asks, "Do it means that us all matches now, Daddy?"

I sweep her up and kiss her cheeks, replying, "It sure does, cutie, we're all Purdy's now!", as we all step down from the altar together, walking back down the aisle to lead everyone to the banquet room where the reception is taking place. When we see it, I have to give props to Miki and her team, because they did a fantastic job.There's a bar set up for the ones who want it, and two separate buffet lines, one standard, and one strictly vegan and organic stuff, so everybody is covered. They even came up with some vegan desserts, to supplement the absolutely fantastic coconut flavored wedding cake that Edith Frobisher insisted on making, as part of our wedding gift.

The other part, which we find out when we open gifts, is a gorgeous king-sized quilt for our bed, which they inform us that Norman actually put together, while she did the quilting. It's done in black, gray, and pink, pieced together in sort of an undulating pattern, which she says is called "bargello", and it almost looks like one of those optical-illusion mirror type pictures. We get a lot of stuff for the new house, a certificate for a meal-delivery service from Jazy and the other girls, for when Fi can't get up and cook, or when Ian shows up, and a letter from the band and their ladies, promising tickets and reservations at a resort in California after she's recovered, where we can either take the kids with, or have babysitting service from them while Fi and I enjoy ourselves.

After several hours of eating, talking, music, and a bit of dancing, we all leave the building, so the cleanup crew can get started, and start splitting off to go to our homes, or hotel rooms, as the case may be. Norman and Edith were nice enough to let Hank and Lillian stay with them, and it seems that they may wind up being friends, and Ben, David, Leanna, and my Aunt Carol and Uncle Bill are staying with us. It's a bit snug, but just for a couple of days, because Ben and his folks are leaving Monday, since he still has a couple of weeks of school before Christmas break. My aunt and uncle went ahead and brought their stuff with them, and they're moving into the guest room now, instead of having to go home, and then come right back in a couple of weeks.

When we get home, I take Bren to get ready for bed while Fi changes her clothes and does her check, and Leanna and my aunt go to work getting everyone's sleeping arrangements worked out. I've moved some stuff around in the music room, so they set up an air mattress in there for Leanna and David, and Ben sets himself up on the living-room couch, with Yoda to keep him company.

As I finally climb into bed with Fi, she curls herself up next to me, laying her head on my chest, with an arm around my waist. I tip her face up so I can kiss her, and say, "I love you, Mrs. Purdy."

"I love you more," she replies. "And I love hearing you say that, I don't think I'll ever get tired of it."

"I hope not, because I plan to say it quite frequently."

She's quiet for a couple of minutes, then I hear, "Hey, Ash, you still awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she says, and then I feel her fingers start sliding down my stomach. "And I'll be even better if we can find a way to 'celebrate' our wedding night without waking up the rest of the house."

Giving her a grin, I roll over so she's on top of me, and whisper, "Oh, that'll definitely be a challenge, but I think I'm up for it."

And as her hand moves lower, she giggles, and whispers, "You know something? I think you're right."

Notes