Blue Autumn in the Bayou (Gumbo Love) (34 page)

“Your son insists on telling tales.”

“I know,” Diane smiled and shook her head.

“What’s all the fuss about?” Alvin came up the basement steps. Travis and Autumn greeted him. “Okay, you two have some explaining to do.” Alvin didn’t waste time
and wasn’t the type to beat around the bush. While Travis and Autumn were married, he didn’t like the fact that it was such a big secret, especially from the family. He watched and waited for an explanation from his son and newest daughter-in-law.

CHAPTER 33

Travis opened his arms and Autumn went willingly into them. “Yes, we do.” He looked down at her before turning his attention to his family.

Alvin’s question
opened the door for Diane to ask Travis and Autumn why they didn’t wait to marry in church. They knew how important it was to their families, to have a valid marriage. “Travis, you and Autumn both know that your marriage is not recognized by the church.”

They expected
this moment to come. They’d discussed that very conversation the day before. Since they were practicing Catholics, they were expected to abide by the Catholic marital law. Their civic marriage would not be recognized until they received the appropriate dispensation from their bishop.

The first thing Travis did when he returned to New Orleans from New York was to call Bishop Landry and requested a convalidation. He
’d scheduled an appointment as soon as he knew Autumn was coming home early.

Bishop Landry was stern
with his reprimand but had known Travis and the Brooks family since he was born. He also knew Travis got around with the ladies, as the saying went. To marry this young woman said a lot about how he felt about her. The Bishop was impressed that they’d remained celibate prior to their civic wedding ceremony, which made his decision to consider their request easier. After the renewal of consent needed to bless their marriage, they would have to do confession and then receive Holy Communion.

“Mom, we wanted to be married. God recognizes the law of the land
, and by the law we are married, legally.”

“Don’t give me that, Travis Kane Brooks. God expects us to abide by the law. But marriage is not civic; it should be celebrated in a church.” She looked up at her eldest.

“Bishop Landry has already made provisions to see us on Tuesday. With his blessing, we will schedule a ceremony at the first open date.”

Diane regarded him for a minute before responding. Relief washed across her face. The fact that they’d already taken measures to validate their marriage made Diane’s heart soar. She taught her children well. They were successful in their careers, were good citizens and community advocates, but most importantly, true to their families, and while not perfect
, tried to do the right thing.

Diane liked Autumn a lot.
She believed that a blessed marriage built a happy and growing family. A thrill filled her spirit. “I’m happy to hear that son. We’ll make plans to celebrate. Will your parents be able to attend?” She looked at Autumn before embracing her and then Travis.

“I don’t know for sure. I haven’t spoken with them yet about the ceremony.”

“Well, I hope they will.” Alvin jumped in. He stood silently until then. He didn’t say much while Diane talked because he knew it was important for her to say what was in her heart. As far as he was concerned, though, Travis had done the right thing, and he respected him for that much. He was proud of his son, of all of his sons. “I look forward to meeting your folks. I know that they’re fine people.”

“Yes, sir.” Autumn looked up at Travis. She knew they still had a lot of things yet to talk about
, but they still had time.

Even as they discussed with Travis’s parents their
plans, Autumn realized the impact their sudden marriage had on Travis and the Brooks’ family business. For five years, he headed the Garden District Region of the thirty-year-old and still growing business. His father built it from scratch and the company is one of the leading import businesses in the city.

Travis was
solely responsible for the spike in the regional growth up until Trae joined the business after graduation a few years ago. After Trae joined him and Michael in the family business, the three worked directly to change their business strategy, which catapulted the company twenty years ahead of their competition.

His family considered Travis a tremendous asset to their continued viability and growth.
Even if he decided to move to New York, he would still spend a lot of his time commuting back and forth to New Orleans for day-to-day operations. Autumn calculated in her mind what that would mean in their life together.

The outlook was bleak when she
factored in her travel once the next season began, which was a traveling season for her dance troop. She pushed it out of her mind for the moment. She and Travis would plot out their plan before she headed back to New York. “We’ve been married five days and we still have a lot to talk about, don’t we?” Travis squeezed her hand slightly in agreement.

By early evening
, all the Brooks children were in the house. They ate their usual Sunday meal prepared by Diane. After dinner, the kids kicked Diane out of the kitchen and picked up the leftovers and cleaned the kitchen. Diane and Alvin retreated to the family room to watch a movie.

Everyone
except Autumn had to work the next day. So shortly after everything was put away, they all left and headed home. Travis spent an hour in his home office before he showered and joined Autumn in bed. He pulled her into his embrace and kissed her cheek. “Good night, sweetheart. We’ll talk tomorrow. I promise.”

Travis knew she wanted to talk. She
seemed distracted all evening. He didn’t give her a chance to discuss what was on her mind. He knew their conversation would need more time and attention than they would have tonight. He wanted to make sure they had plenty of time for a complete and thorough discussion about their future.

Autumn snuggled closely to Travis and drifted off to sleep. When she
awoke, she was no longer in the warm comforts of Travis’s arms. She sat up and looked around the semi-dark room.

Moving to the edge of the bed
, she padded off to the connecting bathroom. Heat and steam filled the room as Travis moved around in the stone shower stall. Just as he turned, he caught a glimpse of her and beckoned her into the shower.

Autumn moved toward the shower door
, but made no attempt to shed her clothes or step in when Travis opened the door. “No, babe. You know the first thing Bishop Landry is going to ask when we see him tomorrow.” She focused on his handsome face because she knew if she looked beyond that, she would end up in the shower stall with her husband.

Travis frowned. Water dripped down his body. He
was instantly aroused when he saw Autumn. Just thinking about being in her made him hard. He wanted to dismiss the promise to not make love to her again for a few days. And even though he’d promised Leo Crochet a meeting first thing that morning, he would gladly renege for a morning interlude with his beautiful and irresistible wife. “Since when do we care what Bishop Landry says or thinks, darling? We are husband and wife.” Even though Travis knew they needed the bishop’s approval, he still felt strongly about the vows they made in their civic ceremony.

“I know.” She reached in and touched his wet face. “But let’s just
stick with the plan until we’re remarried in the church, okay?” She couldn’t believe her own ears. Every ounce of her being wanted to step into that shower. Autumn watched the disapproval in his face, but held her ground. “I want this to be right, okay?”

Travis thought twice about pulling her in
, and damning what happened afterward. However, he decided to not make things more difficult than they were. After all, he did it last night when she wanted so desperately to talk about their future. “Okay, for now. But you are still my wife, Autumn. I don’t want my mother or anyone else to be confused about that fact. I took those vows to heart, seriously. And I meant them.”

“I know. I did too. The only thing that matters to me is you, Travis. I do want to respect your mother’s wishes, but not if it means being at odds with you.”

“You don’t need to worry about that, not ever; now out so I can finish my shower without looking at you because you know what you do to me.”

Autumn smiled and backed away without another word. All the things she worried about last night she decided to toss aside. If she knew one thing
, and one thing only about Travis, she was sure he would do whatever it took to make things work. It was a part of his DNA. For now all she needed to do was be his wife. She used the bathroom down the hall and then went to start breakfast for her husband.

Travis smelled the strong aroma of chicory coffee
and the sweet fragrance of beignets. He was no stranger to cooking; still he could really get used to someone else cooking for him. “Darling, something smells delicious in here.”

Autumn handed him a strong cup of coffee. “Good morning. I hope you have a minute for something to eat.”

“You’re kidding, right?” He kissed her strongly on the mouth. “I always have time to eat. I just don’t have a lot of time to linger over eating, even though I would like to this morning.” He sat at the bar and Autumn placed a plate of hot beignets and fresh fruit in front of him.

* * * *

Travis hugged her for a long moment before he walked through the door leading to the garage. As he pushed the garage door opener to release the door, he said, “I’ll be home early. We can talk then.”

“I’ll be here. I love you. Have a good day.”

“Thank you, beautiful. I’ll call you a little later.”

“Okay.” Autumn waited until he pulled out of the garage and the door began to move down before she
moved back into the house.

Travis came home to
a home-cooked meal. He and Autumn talked about their plans for the first three months. “We don’t have to try and figure out everything right now, baby.” He held her hand. “We have time to figure out what to do, and where we will live. For now, I’ll travel to New York if that will make things easier.”

“I don’t want what’s easy for me, Travis. We’re in this together
,” she countered.

Travis liked committing a plan to paper
, so he sketched on paper while they talked. Seeing him in this mode, made Autumn realize how keen of a businessman he was, and understood why he was so successful. He included her input because they were in this together.

CHAPTER 34

The following morning
, they left the house together to meet Bishop Landry at his church office. Travis placed his hand at the small of her back as they climbed the stairs to the Bishop’s office. They’d both talked to the priest on separate occasions, prior to this appointment. And needless to say the padre’s stern reprimand led them to believe he planned to bless their marriage, but not until they’d suffered his long lecture on the Catholic martial law.

They also knew he would demand they attend mass every week.
Both he and Autumn attended mass regularly, which worked favorably in their request for convalidation. Nonetheless, they expected the Bishop to be hard on them because they were practicing the faith.

Travis moved ahead of Autumn and opened the door. He followed her through the small reception area
, where they met Monica. “He’s waiting for you.” She waved them to his office door.

“Thank you.” Travis nodded and followed Autumn to the door. He lightly tapped on the large oak frame before pushing it open
, and entering the room walled with tall oak bookshelves and cabinets. “Bless you, Bishop.” They both greeted him with their heads slightly bowed.

“Please, come in.” The Bishop waved them towards two opened chairs. “Travis, Autumn, please take a seat.”

Travis held the chair for Autumn and waited until she was settled before he took his own chair next to her. Two hours later, Bishop Landry continued his lesson on the Code of Canon Law. They sat through the discussion, nodded, and said the appropriate things. They knew the law well; and they also knew they had to sit through this lesson and pretend they were as interested in the proclamation of the law. And like good students, they gave the Bishop their undivided attention.