“
Mrs. Riley everything looks delicious”
Abby said once they were all seated at the table.
“
Abby Sweetheart, call me Rebecca
everyone does, Mrs. Riley is so formal.” Rebecca stated.
“
Or Ms. Rebecca as she is known in
social circles.” Jimmy teased his mother.
“
Jimmy hush. Don’t scare the poor girl,
Rebecca is just fine.” His mother retorted.
“
No it’s more polite and respectful to
call you Ms Rebecca, so that’s what I’ll do, please pass the
cornbread Ms Rebecca.” Abby smiled at her.
Ms. Rebecca looked at her son with approving
eyes. “This one is a keeper Jimmy I am sure of that this time,
don’t you think so Paul?”
“
Absolutely right” Jimmy’s father or
Mr. Paul responded.
That was the second time a reference to a
former girlfriend was brought up. Abby didn’t ask any questions,
she had her past she didn’t want brought up, who was she to
question his? Abby and Jimmy were given separate bedrooms, it
wasn’t proper for a young man and woman to share a bed before
wedlock. Abby was already expecting this, not really anything
different than the rules at her house. They spent the few days
there sightseeing and visiting friends Jimmy hadn’t really seen
since moving to LA five years ago. Their last night, they had a
huge barbeque in Jimmy’s parents backyard inviting everyone they
knew, family and friends. Abby met so many people she couldn’t keep
them all straight. The one thing they all had in common had been,
they all wanted to know how she and Jimmy had met. She had told the
story so many times that evening, she felt as though she should
have written it down and past it out as she was introduced. No one
was rude or impolite but it did get daunting repeating the same
thing over and over.
As the crowd thinned out and people we
leaving, Abby felt relief and sadness. She was glad this part was
over but also sad that she had to go home and leave all the
southern hospitality. She promised them all an invite to the
wedding but not sure exactly how many of them would actually show
up. Abby was trying to think of a venue that could hold all of his
Mississippi friends and family as well as his LA friends and pseudo
family. Mr. Paul and Ms. Rebecca were sitting in a porch swing out
on the back veranda, sipping sweet tea as Abby came out to say good
night.
“
Miss Abby, it sure has been a pleasure
to meet you, I look forward to meeting your parents at the wedding.
By the way, when is the wedding?” Mr. Paul asked Jimmy
curiously.
“
I don’t know Pop, Abby and I haven’t
discussed it.” Jimmy replied to his father looking at
Abby.
“
Well I bet Maine is just beautiful in
the fall with all the foliage turning colors.” Ms. Rebecca pointed
out.
“
Oh it is” replied Abby, “it is
actually my favorite time of the year. The trees with all their
vibrant reds, oranges and yellows, the crisp air, apple picking, it
is an amazing time of the year.”
“
Well, sounds to me like a perfect time
of the year to have a wedding, don’t you agree Mother?” Mr. Paul
said with a smile to his wife but directed at Jimmy and
Abby.
Ms. Rebecca took a sip of her tea but gave
another approving look to her son.
“
Ok then, we have to be up early in the
morning to get to the airport. Good night Momma” Jimmy bent down to
kiss his mother goodnight on the cheek. “Pop” and he leaned in to
hug his father.
“
Love you baby” his mother replied,
“I’ll fix ya’ll breakfast in the morning before you go.”
Abby looked forward to another southern
breakfast. She grew fond of grits and biscuits.
After they had eaten their full and they
bother felt like they were going to explode, they packed the car
and headed back to Jackson.
“
See, now that wasn’t so bad was it, I
told you they would love you.” Jimmy kissed the back of her hand he
was holding.
“
No, not bad at all.” Abby thought,
which again, brought up the fear she had initially. She looked at
Jimmy and smiled, she leaned over to kiss him on the
cheek.
“
What was that for?”
“
For being right” Abby told him. She
leaned back in the seat and started to picture in her mind a fall
wedding.
The flight had been fine, no turbulence,
there was actually a tailwind that was pushing them and they were
going to land about 30 minutes early. Abby had mixed feeling about
this. She wanted to be home to see her parents and Holly, let them
all know they were right and Jimmy’s parents were great, but this
also meant Jimmy had to head back out to LA and she couldn’t see
him every day. She was getting teary eyed when Jimmy spoke up.
“
You know, I was thinking about
something. Something my father said.”
Abby quickly wiped a tear away and turned to
look at him.
“
A fall wedding would be nice.” He
admitted to her.
“
I think so too.” Abby
concurred.
“
So it’s settled then, we will get
married this fall.” Jimmy sat back and smiled.
“
This fall?! I wasn’t thinking this
fall.” Abby shrieked. “I can’t plan a wedding in five months. Not
one to fit your southern and LA families, Oh my God Jimmy,
really?”
“
We can get anything done in six
months. I have a staff of people just waiting for me to give them
something to do. Holly is a terrific planner and will be a huge
asset. Your mom I am sure can get the ball rolling on this too.
Think of it Abby, only six months and we can be together every day.
You will be with me in LA and I can come home to you every night.
We never have to be apart again.” Jimmy was convincing. This also
meant if she were in LA then she would have to leave her family and
Holly behind. She would only get to see them on vacations and
holidays. Her head was spinning when they landed in Owls Head.
Before they got up to leave the plane Jimmy knelt in front of Abby
while she was still seated
“
Abby, if I could rush you off to Vegas
and marry you today I would, but I know that would not go over well
with anyone and you deserve a princess wedding, but I think I can
compromise and wait till fall, this fall. What do you say? I know
we can do it.”
She couldn’t refuse him anything. “Ok Jimmy,
we can get married this fall.”
“
Really?” Jimmy yelled and grabbed her
to hug her. “This is great Abby you’ll see, everything will work
out. Let’s go tell your parents.”
Abby’s parents took the news about as well as
she thought they would. Shock and disbelief. Her mother had the
same argument Abby did. How will they get it all done in the small
timeframe? Abby’s dad had other concerns.
“
What’s wrong Daddy?” Abby asked as her
father sat silently while Jimmy convinced her mom that they can
pull off a dream wedding in six months.
“
It’s just hard to believe that I have
to give away my baby in a very short time.” Everyone stopped
talking and looked at Tom Moore.
Jimmy had thought about how much it would
benefit he and Abby to get married as soon as possible but didn’t
take the time to consider how her parents would feel.
“
Mr. Moore,” Jimmy started
apologetically, “I am so sorry, I clearly didn’t take your feelings
into consideration when asking Abby to do this so suddenly.
Although I would love to marry Abby as soon as I could, if you need
more time, I totally understand.
Abby reached for Jimmy’s hand while still
holding onto her father’s.
“
No, it’s fine. It’s my own selfish
reasons to want to wait as long as I can, but I know it’s time, I
need to let my baby girl grow into a young woman.” He tried to hide
wiping a tear away but Abby saw it and hugged her Dad.
“
I love you Daddy.” she whispered into
her father’s ear while hugging him tight around the neck. Abby’s
mother had also started to tear up.
“
Ok enough of my blubbering, where will
we be having this shin ding? Who do I need to write out the check
too?”
“
Well, I took the liberties to make
some inquiries when Abby agreed to be my wife.” Jimmy interjected.
“I had my assistant Karma make some calls. The castle inn,
Norembega in Camden is an option but it will only hold about 30
people inside and 100 outside. The ski lodge, The Snow Bowl also in
Camden is also a possibility, but still I don’t think it will hold
the capacity of people that will be invited. The Samoset is
available and I think with what they can arrange it will
accommodate the number of people that are potentially coming. Plus,
since I have agreed to rent out the west wing for the summer they
are being very accommodating.”
”
You rented out a wing for the summer,
why?” Abby asked in shock.
“
Well, I figured since we have to plan
a wedding in a very short period of time it would be better to be
available to them 24/7 to answer any questions or concerns they may
have. You can have your own room and my staff can have room to work
as well.”
“
Where will you be?” Abby asked still
trying to absorb everything.
“
I will be there when I can. I have
studio time, personal appearances and some meetings I can’t miss
but I can schedule to be there with you as much as I can. You’ll
have my staff at your disposal, you won’t be doing this all alone.”
Jimmy promised.
“
Um, Mom what do you think?” Abby
asked.
“
I think they Samoset is perfect Honey.
Your Dad and I have put money away for your wedding and we can put
a down payment to hold the date.” Her mother reassured
her.
“
It would be my honor to pay for the
venue, Mr. and Mrs. Moore. Since I took the liberty of finding the
place I couldn’t expect you to pay for it.” Jimmy
stated.
“
We have saved her entire life to give
her a dream wedding, money isn’t a concern.” Mr. Moore said
defensively to Jimmy.
“
No Sir, I wasn’t implying anything, I
just didn’t want you to feel it was your obligation. I‘m sorry if I
insulted you, that was not my intent.” Jimmy was clearly
embarrassed.
“
It’s fine son, no harm done. I
understand your motives and I appreciate it, but this is a gift her
mother and I have waited a lifetime to give to her.” He reached to
pat his wife’s hand.
“
I respect your wishes, but please if
there is anything I can do, financially or not, please do not
hesitate to ask. Since we are talking finances of sort," Jimmy
started sheepishly, not knowing how to broach the subject, “I can
promise you that Abby will never want for anything. She will be
fully taken care of. Everything I own Abby can have. I am not going
to ask for a prenup.”
“
Ok hold up.” Abby interrupted holding
her hands up. “You are not going to have me sign a prenup? Are you
crazy? I think you should rethink that idea.”
“
No I have thought long and hard about
it. If I do something to make you want to leave then you deserve
whatever you can get.”
“
Jimmy, be reasonable.” Abby pleaded
“It may be me that makes you want to leave, please talk to your
lawyer and get something in writing.”
Abby looked at her parents nervously. They
reciprocated her concerns and shot Abby the same look she shot to
them. What if her past came up and Jimmy wanted to get out of the
marriage and didn’t want to, in fear of losing most of what he had
earned before he even knew her? Abby knew if he ever wanted to
leave for that reason, she wouldn’t ask for anything but airfare
home. Jimmy refused to discuss the topic any longer and excused
himself to make some phone calls. Her parents didn’t agree with his
decision but told Abby not to pressure him on it, Jimmy would come
to a reasonable solution on his own. Fighting about money was the
easiest way to ruin a relationship even when the fight is for a
good cause. Jimmy came back into the room and announced he needed
to get back to LA to resolve some issues he had with the record
label. Abby knew he wouldn’t be able to stay long once they were
home from Mississippi but was still sad none the less.
“
See,” he told her as he was getting
ready to board the plane, “this is why we need to get married as
soon as we can. There are too many good-byes. And too many good-bye
tears.” he added wiping one away from her cheek.
They had one last passionate kiss and he was
gone. He had talked about coming back for her high school
graduation but again, had to check was he was scheduled for. Abby
had told him that she needed to focus on finals and graduation
before she could make wedding plans. He assured her, he would get
Karma on what he could arrange in the meantime, his invitation
list, groomsmen etc. Abby still had reservations it could all be
pulled off in a short period of time but kept it to herself, she
didn’t want to sound negative all the time. She did, however, vent
to Holly, who also told her it was going to be no problem getting
it all done.
Finals weren’t bad, she was able to get
though most of them without incident. As graduation was fast
approaching, Abby couldn’t help but be morose. Most of her friends
we planning on going away to college, joining the military or going
out into the work force. She was sure she was the only senior
planning a wedding and moving to LA, away from everything they
knew. She did imagine some were jealous of her but in a way, she
was also jealous of them. She made it though the days of marching
practice, keeping in step with the Pomp and Circumstance. Jimmy had
told her during one of their nightly conversations that he would
not be able to make it to her graduation. He was extremely
apologetic and promised to make it up to her. She told him that he
had obligations long before he met her and she didn’t expect him to
have to break them.