Authors: Delia Delaney
After the ceremony
, Jayden led me out back to the gardens where the reception would be taking place. Jack wasn’t kidding when he spoke of insanity. There wasn’t just one ice sculpture, there were three, and the orchestra was actually playing
next to a huge covered dance floor
when we stepped outside. There were dozens of tables scattered throughout the grass, all decked out and
adorned with outrageous center
pieces.
“At least there’s lots of food,” I observed. There were about four banquet tables set up
,
loaded with a grand assortment of things to eat.
Jayden tilted her head at me.
“Well, I don’t care about anything
but
the
food, so our wedding will have plenty of it.”
“Good.”
“Even if it’s served on paper plates and not real china,” she added, making a face at the white
china
stacked in fancy holders.
“Hey, I’m
fine
with paper plates.”
“Holy
cow
,” she mumbled. “Look at that cake.” I followed her gaze and spotted the enormous white wedding cake that took up an entire table. Every tier of it was covered in flowers.
We walked around the gardens for a little bit, and after meeting up with Jesse and Devin for a few minutes, we made our way back to the food when the line had shortened. I had no clue what some of the things were that I ate. There were so many options, Jayden and I got different things and shared them. When Devin and Jesse joined us, Jayden scooped something onto Jesse’s plate and said, “You gotta try this.”
He did and he gagged. “That’s disgusting! Why would you make me eat that?” He scooped a bunch of mints into his mouth from a dish on the table.
The rest of us were laughing as
he
was still
trying to get the taste out of his mouth
by drinking all of Jayden’s water
.
It was impossible to even talk to Jack or Megan, so none of us tr
ied. There were always people talking to them every second of the evening. And if there weren’t, they were being guided from one part of the r
eception to the next—
pictures, cake, and the wedding dance—and no room in between
for them
to even sit down.
I spent a lot of time with Jayden on the dance floor. She joked that she had never danced with one guy so many times at a wedding.
“This thing works wonders,” she said, holding up her engagement ring. “I’ll never go to another wedding without it.”
“There are a lot of guys here. You may have had a good time,” I teased her.
“You’re right. This would have be
en
a great wedding to get some dates out of. I’ve never been to a wedding with such a selection. Funny how things work out that way, huh?” she winked.
“So what’s the proper etiquet
te when a girl asks me to dance?
Should I say ‘no
thank you,’ or
accept and talk about
you
the whole time
?”
She smiled at me and asked,
“Is this something you’re planning ahead for?”
“Yes, Jesse’s on his way over here, and I know he’s going to ask you to dance.” She followed my eyes and saw him
approaching as I added,
“I’ll be left all alone.”
“And you’re that confident that
the vultures will come swarm you?”
With a laugh I said, “Maybe.” When she didn’t answer I said, “So? What’s the polite thing to do?”
Jesse got to us
by then
and asked if he could cut in. Jayden accepted and then turned to me and said, “Go sit by Devin and hold his hand. You’ll have nothing to worry about.”
“Gee
thanks, y
ou’re a lot of help.”
She laughed but blew me a kiss and began dancing with Jesse. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to
use
the bathroom, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about it. When I returned, Jayden was dancing with Jack. I spotted Megan dancing with someone else and I assumed Jack mus
t have grabbed Jayden to dance with at the same time
. When the song was over I was quick to take her back.
“Jeez, Huntington,” Jack teased me.
We actually got to talk to him for
almost
a minute, until he was dragged away by one of Megan’s cousins.
“So? How many did you turn down?” Jayden smiled at me.
“I took your advice and used Devin.”
“You did not,” she laughed.
“I did.”
“No, you did not because Devin danced with me right after Jesse did.”
“And then you moved on to Jack? Wow, you’ve been busy. I didn’t realize I was lost
that
long trying to find the bathroom.”
“Ooh, speaking of the bathroom,” she smiled. “Would you
care
to be my escort?”
After
my perfect
navigation
to the bathroom the second time,
we came back outside and
walked through the gardens again. I talked to
Jayden
about Matt and she was really glad the two of us were working together. I shared some of the things that we had talked about, particularly
the stories he
told me
a
bout her in high school
.
When the conversation came to a natural end, my thoughts settled on her music.
“So I just need to ask you flat out,” I told her. “Do you want a career in music?”
She was a little surprised but answered,
“No.”
“Do you want to keep doing shows with Shawn, though?”
“Maybe. If they’re local.”
“What abo
ut working with other musicians
?”
“Only if it feels right.”
“So…you don’t want to get mixed up in touring all over the place and being away from home?”
“Right.”
“Then why would you do that so I could play baseball?”
She paused. “That’s different.”
“How?”
“Well…you would be the one with the traveling career. I’ll be your wife and come s
upport you when I can, and I’ll bring our kids when it works out well enough
.”
“Why can’t we do that if you had a career in music?”
“Because I don’t want a career in music.”
“Why? Jayden, I know we’ve talked about this, but I want to make sure you have everything you want. I don’t want you to give up
anything
. Please be completely honest with me so we can make decisions
together
.
And
h
ow come you didn’t tell me about Rod’s offer?
”
She raised her eyebrows at me, and
then they slightly creased.
“Because it wasn’t something I was going to even consider. I didn’t want to throw it in the mix when it wasn’t necessary.
I just want a normal life. I love music. I’ll always have
it
. But recording albums and doing shows everywhere… It’s not my thing. I hope that works out for Shawn because it’s what he really wants. But he already knows he’ll have to find another guitarist because I will not tour with him. I’ll do whatever I can to help him with
his songwriting or compositions, but I don’t
want the life he wants. Ty,” she said sof
tly, putting her arms around me.
“I want to be a wife. I know that probably sounds so…old-fashioned…but I don’t care. I want a family with you more than anything.
I’d really love to be a stay-at-
home mom. Financially we’
ll be just fine;
we
’ve
already discussed that.
And whether you work for Lou, or have your own shop someday, or play baseball… It doesn’t matter to me
as long as
you’re happy. You’ll always be number one in my life.” She kissed me and added, “I promise I’ll let you know if I want to be pregnant on stage.”
I chuckled and said, “Okay. But I’d like to see how you maneuver a guitar around a pregnant stomach.”
She smiled and we were
quiet for a moment. Then she surprised me with, “How come you didn’t tell me you’ve been turning down baseball offers for the past two years?”
I opened my mouth, maybe to deny it, but she raised her eyebrows at me again, letting me know she was waiting for a sincere answer. I sighed, not really wanting
her to delve into this particular subject
. I wasn’t sure where the conversation was going to end up.
“Well, two years ago I wanted to continue with school. I wanted to take the scholarship offer from Tucker and complete my education.”
She nodded; apparently she understood that much of it. “A
nd this year? Tucker says you
completely
backed
away from any meetings or any talk about advancing to a professional team. Ty,
you
be completely honest with
me
and tell me exactly why you feel
it
‘isn’t the right time.’
”
I sighed again, and then briefly looked away to the busyness of the party. I knew it wasn’t going to change the subject, so I returned my eyes to hers and said, “It’s very simp
le, Jay.” I put my hand against her face and softly touched her cheek with my thumb. “I want a normal life, just like you. I can’t wait to marry you, and I can’t wait to get you knocked up.” With that she laughed, and playfully swatted my chest. “And I look forward to seeing you every day for the rest of my life, even when you’re mad at me and lock me out of the house.”
She smiled and shook her head in disagreement, but then her expression changed. “So you’ve completely changed your course since meeting
me
.”
“No.
Since meeting you I
know
my decision was right. Before I met you, I
felt that baseball
wasn’t
right at the time.
Sometimes I just
feel a certain way about things
and I can’t explain why. I just try to go with my instinct
s
, I guess.” That was absolutely true, and her expression seemed to agree.
“Yeah, I can under
stand that,” she said.
“
I feel the same way
sometimes.” She took a deep breath and leaned against me so I could hold her. “I love you, Ty. You are the most amazing person I know.”
“How strange. You’re
the most amazing person I know
as well
.”
She put her arms around my neck and kissed me. Everything about her seemed to fit my life so perfectly.
She made me laugh all the time; she was thoughtful and considerate; she was
sassy
, yet sometimes just downright
feisty
; she was intelligent and wit
ty; she was sweet and sincere. S
he was my best friend. I couldn’t wait to marry her, to have a family with her. Just the idea of seeing her every night and every morning sent a thrill through me, and marrying her was like the final piece to the puzzle.
I didn’t know what direction my life would go career-wise, but I did know that Jayden belonged with me, and I was so thankful to have her in my life.