Love Is

Part 3

A moment later Joey re-entered the room laughing while carrying Annabelle in her arms.  “Of course we’ll make you sparkle a little.”  Joey said as Annabelle played with one of Joey’s gold and diamond dangly earrings.

“Yay!”  Annabelle called enthusiastically.

“But not as much as Audrey.”

“’Cuz she’s the princess today?”

“Yes she certainly is.”  Joey agreed with Annabelle as she placed her on the chair by the dresser.  “Now, what’s Annabelle going to do for Mommy now?”

“Sit like a good girl.”  Annabelle replied again with a toothy grin much like her mother's.  “Clay touched Daddy’s boat.”  Annabelle informed Joey matter-of-factly after a few moments as she started to play with the make-up brushes on the dresser. 

“Don’t touch that sweetie.”  Joey instructed her, giving her a stern look that caused Annabelle to retreat her hands quickly.  “Good girl.”  Joey told her receiving a big smile from her daughter.  “Was Clay told not to touch Daddy’s boat?”

Annabelle nodded her head.  “I told Clay he wasn’t to do it and he said ‘so!’ and I told him I was gonna tell and he said ‘so!' and I ran and told Daddy.”  She grins, showing her teeth again.  “I was a good girl.” 

“You certainly were Miss Annabelle.”  Jen added in.  “Did you tell Clay that Mommy would be cross?” 

She nodded her head again.  “I told Clay that Auntie Jen would take Clay’s cartoons away and I told Clay’s Daddy too and he got into trouble but I didn’t.”  She started to swing her legs, kicking her legs out so that her milky latte colored dress swayed in the air.  “I didn’t touch the boat.”

“I think that deserves a treat, don’t you?”  Jen asked Annabelle who nodded enthusiastically.  “I think we should see about a quick treat in the kitchen, but no chocolate because we don’t want to get it all over your dress, do we?”

“No!”  She shook her hand.

“I’ll take her to get it.”  Bessie offered.  “You stay and help Audrey and I’ll get Bodie to stay with Annabelle.”

Joey nodded before noting the look on Audrey’s face.  “Are you okay?” 

“I’m not sure.”  She replied trying to compose herself.  “Did Dawson ask you to pass something on to me?”

Joey shook her head and with a note of confusion in her voice asked, “Why would he?”

“I don’t know, I guess I just thought…”  Audrey shrugged as she trailed off.  “Maybe this was too good to be true…that he was calling all this off.”  She finished with her voice on the edge of cracking.

“Sweetie?”  Joey said her tone calm and soothing.  “You both love one another; there is absolutely no reason for you to think like that.”

Audrey smiled weakly.  “I guess you’re right.” 

“What’s with the somber mood in here?”  Bessie asked as she entered the room with Audrey’s dress.  “I thought it was a wedding we were going to, not a wake.”  She glanced from Audrey to Jen, before casting her eyes on Joey.  “What’d I miss?”

“Audrey’s just a little overwhelmed.”  Joey informed her.

“Well we should be doing something to take her mind off of feeling like that.”  Grams said as a baby started to cry down the hallway.  “I’ll take care of Krista, Jen.  You stay and help Audrey.”

“Thanks Grams.”

Joey looked at Jen and smiled.  “We should be talking about life and love and…”

“Why?”  Audrey offered, causing everyone to laugh. 

“Why would I be quoting a ‘Switchfoot’ song?”  Joey asked Audrey, who just shrugged in response.

Jen’s eyes lite up as she moved to help Audrey remove her t-shirt so as not to mess up her hair.  She had opted for wearing it wavy, with some of it pinned back.  “How about the moment we knew we were in love with the guys we ended up with.”

“Ended up with?  You say it like that and it sounds more like we’ve been forced to put up with complete losers.”  Joey laughed. 

“Hey, we all came close to having that happen too.”  Audrey added in and Joey, Jen and Bessie started to laugh as they remember the losers they’ve been with in the past.  “But thankfully we all outgrew that phase…some of us quicker than others.”

Joey and Jen both glared at her and said in unison.  “You meant me, right?”

Audrey, Jen, Bessie and Joey all laugh. 

“When did you know Jen?”  Bessie asked, trying to get the ball rolling on this.

Jen muses over the question for a moment.  “Part of me always hoped it would be one of those love at first sight deals, but it wasn’t.  She rolled her eyes.  “Major let down!” 

“I thought Drue had been your knight in shinning armor though?”  Audrey enquired having learnt most of the Jen and Drue story over the years.

“He was, but it was hardly love at first sight.  I’d used him before to get even with my father and then for a while we were banter buddies.  I knew he liked me, but nothing ever really came of it.  I mean, he was Drue.”

“Don’t you think it’s weird how everything happens?”  Joey asks as she removed the underskirt Audrey would be wearing below her wedding dress from the closet.  “We all ended up with guys we’d already been with at some point.”

They all think about it for a moment before Audrey replied.  “I had never really given it any thought before, but yeah.”

“So Jen,” Bessie interrupts.  “You were saying?”

“It was spring break of senior year; I had been to a party and had just gotten out of the cab practically on my front door step.  All of a sudden this guy comes out of nowhere, starts mumbling and harassing me and getting in my way.  Then this somewhat familiar voice tells the guy to back off and let the lady mosey on through.”

“Drue I take it?”

“Yep, the one and only.”  Jen replied as Audrey striped down to her underwear.  “He never even recognized me though because I had been at a fancy dress party and was dressed as a cat.  He walked me to my door, and waited to make sure the guy left.  He even said to me out front of the door ‘how do you know I’m not a mass murderer?’ I couldn’t help but laugh and reply ‘the Drue Valentine I knew was incapable of even hurting a fly and I’ve to buy you cold be a murderer, no chance’.”  She smiled tenderly at the memory. 

“He looked puzzled and probably thought I was weird because he just looked so cute and I couldn’t resist kissing him on the cheek.”  She laughed as she and Joey removed the straps from Audrey’s bra.  “The look on his face was priceless, he was looking at me like I was some sort of weirdo and I kept saying his name and told him that what we had shared should have been a lot more memorable and I couldn’t believe he’d forgotten me.  And still he looked puzzled, even as the doorman let me in the building and I said goodbye to Drue.  It was only when the doorman said ‘good morning Ms Lindley’ that the look on Drue’s face changed but by that point I was inside the building and the door had almost been closed completely.  I just waved at his as I stepped into the elevator.”

“But hadn’t you been in his backyard the whole time though?”  Bessie asked.

“Funnily enough, yeah.  He was also at NYU, it actually turned out we’d been in the same class a few times and we’d just never bumped into each other.  The next morning as I was leaving for class who was outside my door?  Who wanted to catch up and walk me to class?”

“We’re talking about the same guy right?”  Joey asked as Audrey finished putting on the strapless underskirt.  “He also sometimes goes by Satan, right?”

“I refrain from comment, can’t go ruining his rep you know.”  She winked at Joey.  “We just started to hang out and he didn’t appear to be as annoying as he used to be.  He asked me out, I actually think part of him expected me to say no but I never.  And the rest as they say is ancient history.”

“Awww.”  Audrey cooed.  “That’s so sweet, but you haven’t told us when it was you first knew you were in love with him.”  As Audrey finished, Grams came back into the room carrying a little girl.

“Look who is awake and wants to see Mommy?”  Grams said as she neared Jen. 

“Hey there, my precious Krista.” Jen said as she took a seat by the dresser and Grams handed her to Jen.  “Did you have a nice nap?”

The little one year old nodded her head and started to suck on her thumb.

“Such a life altering thing…having babies.”  Jen said with her eyes still on Krista.  “Makes you realize a lot.  That’s when I knew I was in love with him.”  She looked up at Joey, Audrey, Bessie and Grams who were all looking at her intently.  “We’d only been dating for five months when I missed a period.  I’d been there before and been relieved when it was negative but I sometimes wonder if people know what joy it can bring you when that pee strip turns blue.”  Jen brushed the hair away from Krista’s eyes before looking back towards everyone else.

“I would have expected to be scared or angry for allowing that to happen but I wasn’t.  I remember I just collapsed on the floor crying and smiling and then laughing.  I was carrying Drue Valentine’s baby and was happy about it and that’s when it more or less hit me that I was in love with him.”

“Maybe this wasn’t the best idea.”  Bessie said as she choked back a tear before grabbing a tissue off of the dresser.  “That’s such a sweet story.”

“I think it meant a lot to him my saying ‘I love you’ first because he later told me that he’d been in love with me from our third date.”  Jen added as a cell phone started to ring.  “That’ll be mine.”  She said and Joey handed her the cell.

“Was it like that for you?”  Audrey asked Joey as Jen started to speak into her cell phone.  “Finding out you were pregnant?”

Joey thought about it for a moment.  “Yeah it was.  It’s like Jen says, everything just changes from that moment on.  It’s no longer just something involving two people and every decision once you know, it’s gonna be one that will affect one more person.”  As Joey finished she glanced towards Jen holding Krista, before she smoothed out the material of her milky latte colored chiffon and satin skirt.

“What about you Audrey?”  Grams asked.

“What about me?”

“Are you up for telling us about when you knew?”

“It took a bit longer than Jen.”  Audrey informed them as she helped Bessie undo the buttons on the back of her wedding gown.  “You remember spring break of our senior year?”  Her question aimed more towards Joey. 

“I think so, was that the one where we went to New York to visit Jen?”  Joey asked.

“Yeah.”  Jen chimed in as she ended her phone call.

“Well you know what I’m like with packing, everything is left to the last minute and I have a tendency to forget the bare essentials.  That trip was no different.”  She smiled and half shrugged.  “Why break the habit of a lifetime?”

“Why indeed.” 

“It didn’t matter that you guys would be there and New York had stores were I could buy what I needed, I guess I’m just picky like that.  Well we arrived, got to our room and I was in the process of unpacking when I realized I had done it again.”  Audrey fixed the blue garter belt in place (a gift from Jen and Joey).  “But then I noticed there was a little bag that had been squashed into my suitcase, so I took it out, opened it to find the things I normally forgot to pack, like toothpaste and aspirin. There was this little note inside that simply said, ‘just in case’”

“That’s so sweet.”  Jen commented. 

“It was in that one moment I realized I had fallen in love with him and I figured that maybe he had too or well…he at least cared enough to do something like that.”

“I love that story.”  Joey added as Audrey got a distant look in her eyes.

“Then Mom called my cell and said they were coming to New York for a few days and they wanted to see me.  Although I wasn’t overly thrilled about them interrupting our fun time, I had to pretend I was thrilled.  So I met them for dinner and Mom was going on about how she wasn’t really sure about my latest choice of boyfriend, they’d seemed to take a bit more interest in that after I ended up in rehab.”  Audrey rolled her eyes as she stepped into the ivory organza skirt (complete with train) of her wedding dress.  “She wanted to know that I wasn’t setting myself up for a fall and was he really going to be good for me, that kind of thing.  I’d just realised I was pretty sure I was in love.  But what if she was right?  What if it never worked out?”

“That’s why you guys broke up?  Because your Mom said it may not work out.”  Joey asked on hearing this news for the first time.

Audrey smiled weakly.  “I know it sounds dumb but I really thought it was better that way…at least I wouldn’t get hurt.”  She paused for a moment.  “I thought things over and decided that I had to see if it ever really could go anywhere.  I mean, what would the point be in always wondering?”

Jen and Joey nodded their heads in agreement, knowing full well what she meant and all three smiled at each other as they took a sip from the contents of their glass.

“So what happened?”  Jen enquired as she placed her glass back on the dresser so she could button the bodice part of Audrey’s dress.

“I was miserable.  It may be hard to believe but I really missed him even though I wasn’t taking his calls.  I just wanted to call him and tell him I’d been stupid and would he take me back.  I figured after dumping him over the phone and refusing to see him that some begging wouldn’t’ go amiss.”

“He didn’t make you!”  Jen interrupted.  “Tell me he didn’t or I’ll march right across that Creek now and…” 

“No.”  Audrey shook her head, laughing.  “He may be cocky and full of himself but he never did that.  I got this guy who lived down the hall from me to deliver a bouquet of red roses to him with a card attached saying “take me back, I’m an idiot.” I got the guy to get him to check the card before closing the door.”  Audrey smiled fondly at the memory.

“Five minutes later, when I knew he’d be leaving for work, I was on his doorstep with a single red rose.”  She laughed.  “I was as nervous as hell I can tell you.  And you both know fine well, I don’t do nervous.”  This comment caused both Joey and Jen to laugh. 

“He just stood there looking at me expectantly and I was waiting on him telling me I was too late.  I’d been avoiding him for two weeks, maybe there was someone else.  I rambled on for a few minutes telling him how sorry I was and tried to explain it all and finished by telling him that I loved him and I’d just been scared because I’d never really felt that way before.  By that point I was crying because I’d just laid myself bare for him, but he just pulled me into a hug and then kissed me and told me he was pretty sure he was in love with me too.  And that was that.”  Audrey finishes as Annabelle reentered the room. 

“Mommy, Mommy.”  Annabelle called.  “Uncle Bodie gave me two cookies.”

“Did he give you something else?”  Joey inquired as she crouched down to help Audrey put on her shoes and fasten the buckles. 

“Some milk.”  She finished, grinning. 

“All that happened because of one small gesture?”  Jen asked.

“Sometimes that’s all it takes.”  Audrey replied.  “One small thing can change your life.”

“Just like a pee strip turning blue!”  Joey stated matter-of-factly, before adding, “At the end of the day it’s those little things that show how much someone loves you, I mean the big gestures are great but it’s the little things.”  She smiled warmly.

“I take it that’s a comment from experience?”  Grams asked.

Joey smiled affectionately.  “You could say that.”

“Care to share your story?”  Jen asks.

“I think you all pretty much know the story, I’ve worn the telling of my story out so many times.”

“Oh come on, you have to give us something!” 

“I guess it’s only fitting that our story should be uncomplicated given its history.  But try as I might I can’t pinpoint when exactly it was that I fell in love with him.”  She paused.  “I mean, you all know about the early years, you’ve all lived through some, if not all of it.”

“Your story is uncomplicated?”  Jen asked incredulously as she arched an eyebrow. 

“Not possible.”  Audrey added in.

“Oh shh you two.”  Grams reprimanded in a serious tone but she smiled.  “Go on Joey.”

“I’ve fallen in love with Dawson so many times, dated him, and been friends…estranged, but always loving him in some way.  I just can’t locate that one single moment were I felt differently about him again.”

“Well, was it before or after you guys started dating again?”  Audrey asks.

“Before!”  Jen and Bessie exclaimed in unison before they looked at each other, lightly chuckling. 

“How do you two know that?”  Joey asked inquisitively. 

“Trust me Joey.”  Bessie began.  “When you’ve been an observer of this saga for as long as we have you learn to read the signs.”

“Would that be the dreamy eyes?”  Audrey asked.

“And the constant cheerful disposition…”  Bessie started but Joey cut her off.

“What’s wrong with my being cheerful?”  Joey enquired. 

“Nothing.”  Bessie replied.  “Being cheerful really suits you.  It’s just that when you are studying for finals, are normally stressed, with a smile being the last thing you can muster, yet you are somehow full of the joys of spring…”  

“Was I that transparent?”

“Yes.”  Jen replies, nodding her head as she clipped Audrey’s platinum necklace with a small diamond in place.

“Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?” 

“Because sometimes it’s nice to just quietly observe someone in love.”  Bessie assured Joey.  “Besides, if someone had ever said anything you would have just gotten all defensive, denied it and tried to mask it.”

“And all that was going on before you guys dated.”  Jen finished.

“You really can’t recall when it was that you fell for him again?”

Joey shook her head as she clipped her diamond bracelet onto Audrey’s arm.  “I just remember being there and loving him.  We’d meet for a coffee and he’d more often than not be there before I was.  I’d barely have sat down and taken off my coat when someone would bring over my latte.  Or there was the odd time he’d be out shopping and he’d call me, telling me he remembered me mentioning I needed to buy something and had I bought it yet, like one time it was shampoo, another time it was an ingredient for dinner.”

Everyone smiled lovingly, knowing only too well that it was just the little things that show how much someone loves you. 

“There were a few times we went out to dinner as friends, to celebrate passing a midterm or I’d drag him away from a script he was working on or rather, trying to work on.  He had writers block and was just staring at the cursor flashing on the screen.”  She handed Audrey her diamond earrings.  “But no matter where we went to eat dinner he never seems to order what I would expect him too.  You know things that were his favorites?  I remember this one time I had ordered a chicken dish, but it turned out I never liked the sauce, I was just going to leave it when he said he’d swap with me.  I told him he didn’t have too and he told me that he ordered what he did for this kind of emergency.  He always ordered something he knew I would like just in case.”

“That’s such a sweet gesture.”  Grams said as she helped straighten out Audrey’s dress.

“I know.”  Joey smiled.  “He still does it to this day.  I think it was maybe in that one moment that I really knew I had already fallen for him again and that I couldn’t ever love anyone else.”

“Ya know Audrey,” Bessie began.  “You look absolutely breathtaking in that dress.” 

“Don’t I just!”  Audrey replied in agreement.  “I feel like a princess.”

“That’s because you ARE a princess Auntie Audrey.”  Annabelle replied.

“Aren’t you just the sweetest thing?”  Audrey asked Annabelle causing her to blush and hide behind her hands.  

“Knock knock.”  A woman’s voice said from the doorway of the room.  “Can we come in?”

“Mom!”  Audrey exclaimed looking at the clock radio on Joey’s bedside table.  “Is that the time already?  Are the photographers here yet?”

Audrey’s mother walked towards her wearing and elegant champagne colored off the shoulder knit dress.  “You look radiant Audrey!  Wait until your father sees you.”  Her mother finished lightly hugging her as she was afraid she would knock something out of place. 

“Where is Dad?”  Audrey asked.

“He’s talking with Bodie.”

“You remember everyone, don’t you Mom?” 

“Yes.”  She replied as she clapped eyes on Annabelle.  “Don’t you look pretty today?”

Annabelle just nodded her head before hiding behind Joey.

“Do you have everything?  I know you decided against the traditional veil, but have you got your something old, new, borrowed and blue?”  Audrey’s mother asked.

Yeah, Joey and Jen bought me the traditional blue garter belt.  My gorgeous wedding dress is my something new.  I have the necklace that Grandma gave you for your wedding day as my something old.”  Audrey laughed.  “Don’t roll your eyes at me, I’m just telling it how it is.  And my something borrowed is this diamond bracelet that belongs to Joey.”

“Ladies.”  Bodie said as he entered the room (wearing a black suit and cherry red colored tie to match that of Bessie’s dress).  “And cutie pie.”  He said addressing Annabelle causing her to giggle.  “I thought you would like to know that the photographer is here.”

“Thanks Bodie.”  Bessie said.  “Can you tell him we’ll be out in a few minutes?”

“Sure.”  He replied before exiting the room again, closely followed by Annabelle.

*****

Fifteen minutes later they were ready to leave for the Leery’s house.  The wedding was to take place near the Leery home, while the reception would be held in a marquee near it. 

The wedding cars arrived, Jen, Joey and Annabelle were in one, Grams, Krista, Bodie and Bessie were in another car and Audrey and her parents were leaving a few minutes later. 

The first two cars arrived at the Leery’s seven minutes later and as soon as Annabelle had her freedom from the car she ran to see Dawson.

“Daddy, Daddy, we’re here.”  She called as she ran towards him. 

Dawson turned to see her just as she reached him and smiled down at her.  “Doesn’t Daddy’s little princess look beautiful?”  Annabelle nodded in agreement.  “You looked very pretty this morning, but now wow!”

Annabelle giggled before she clapped eyes on her grandmother.  “Grandma!”  She called before running towards Gale.  “Mommy made me sparkle.”

“I can see that, my precious Annabelle.”  Gale replied as she sat in one of the seats set up for the guests so she could have a closer look at Annabelle.  “You look so pretty.”  Annabelle grinned and Gale added, “But you always look pretty don’t you?”

Annabelle nodded.  “Mummy looks pretty too, but she wasn’t sparkly.  Not like Aunt Audrey.  Aunt Audrey had on a pretty dress and was all sparkly and…”  She trailed off, leaning closer to Gale so she could whisper in her ear.  “I want Aunt Audrey’s dress.  It’s prettier than Mommy’s.”

“And you think Mom will be mad if she hears that you prefer Audrey’s dress?”

Annabelle started to play with Gale’s pearl bracelet.  “Mhmm.”

Gale smiled down at her and then looked up to see Dawson approaching them.  “You know your daughter is the most adorable thing I have ever seen.”

“Even more so than Lily?”  Dawson asked as he sat beside his mother.

“I think I am going to have to refrain from answering that one.”  She replied causing Dawson to chuckle lightly.

“Where is Lily anyway?”  Dawson enquired as he glanced around at the crowd of people who were mingling and starting to assemble in their seats. 

“She heard the cars arriving and wanted to go get a glimpse of the dresses again and dragged Alex with her.”  Gale informed him as she fixed Annabelle’s hair.

“Poor Alex.”  Dawson laughed as Jack approached them.

“Hey Dawson, where is he?”  Jack asked as he lightly pinched Annabelle’s cheek causing her to grin. 

“I think he’s still up in my room, reciting his wedding vows.” 

“How’s he holding up?” 

“He’s doing fine.  Why, did you expect him to not go through with it?”  Dawson asked curiously.

Jack laughed and shook his head.  “No, just wondered if he was nervous, although I think that’d be a first time for him.”

“Yeah.”  Dawson agreed as Annabelle came over to him and started hugging his leg.

“Daddy?”  She said trying to get his attention. 

“Hey princess.” 

“Daddy.”  She said again as she lifted her arms so that Dawson would pick her up.

Dawson picked her up and slipped her shoes off, so as not to get any dirt on his suit before asking “What’s up?”  As he kissed her nose. 

“Can I have a dress like Aunt Audrey’s?”  She whispered into his ear as she started to play with his latté colored tie.  “It’s very pretty.”

“What’s wrong with Annabelle’s dress?”  He asked.  “Don’t you think it’s pretty?”

She slowly started to nod her head before whispering.  “But it’s not as pretty.”

“Awwww, aren’t you so cute.”  Jack cooed.  “I’m sure you’ll get a dress just like Audrey’s when you are older.  Who knows, maybe you’ll look prettier than her.”

“Yeah.”  Annabelle agreed getting a little excited and her eyes went all big at the prospect. 

“Will I get a big party like Audrey?”  She asked and Gale smiled at Dawson as she rose from her chair.

“I think she’s already broken your heart Dawson.”  Gale said as she gave Dawson a kiss on the cheek.  “Looks like she won’t be Daddy’s little girl forever.”  Gale said before she kissed Annabelle on the cheek.  “I’m going to check everything is ready Dawson.”

“Thanks Mom.”  He said before turning back to Annabelle.  “Do you need to have a party like Audrey?”

Annabelle thought about the question for a second and looked behind her at the big tent like structure before she nodded her head.  “Today Audrey is a princess.”

“Then I guess Princess Annabelle will have a party just like Audrey.”  Dawson replied.  “How does that sound?”

“Yayyyyyyy.”  She cheered clapping her hands together. 

Dawson caught sight of Joey talking animatedly with Jen as they waited on Audrey arriving.  She caught sight of him looking at her and smiled, waving and Dawson said to Annabelle.  “Look, there’s Mom.”  And Annabelle waved at Joey too.

“Will the party start soon?”  Annabelle asked as Dawson started to carry her across the grass, towards Joey. 

“Yep, as soon as the bride is here.”  Dawson replied as he smiled at some of the guests.  “Do you remember what your job is?” 

“Mhmm.”  Annabelle said. 

“Want to tell Daddy?” 

She shook her head smiling, they’d done this before.  She didn’t want to tell and Dawson would start to tell her her job and Annabelle would take over.

“Well, once Aunt Audrey arrives everything will begin.”  Dawson began and Annabelle nodded her head in agreement.  “The music will start to play, oh, what is it they play again?”  He said pretending he was trying to remember.

“Silly Daddy.”  Annabelle said.  “They play ‘here comes the bride’.”

“Are you sure?”  He asked and he was certain she had rolled her eyes at him.  Must have learned that from Joey.

“Yep.”

“Okay, they play that.  And then Clay starts to walk down the aisle…”  Dawson trailed off and Annabelle started.

“…carrying the white cushion with the rings on it.”

“But that’s not as important as Annabelle’s job, is it?”  He asked her.

Annabelle shook her head.  “And once Clay is nearer Daddy, I start to walk slowly.”  She emphasized the word by saying it slowly.  “And I throw the rose petals from my basket on the floor.”  

“And what else is Annabelle to do?”

“Smile.”

“Why is that?”

“’Cuz Annabelle is Daddy’s little ray of sunshine and my smile makes Daddy smile.”  She said grinning up at Dawson, causing him to grin back at her.

“Like now.”  He said and Annabelle nodded.  “And after Annabelle gets to the front?”

“Stand with Clay and take his hand.”

“And…”

“Uncle Drue says after I walk down the aisle nothing else matters.” 

“Did he now?”  Dawson asked and Annabelle nodded again as Audrey’s car approached.  “Was he right?”  Annabelle shook her head for no.  “What else is important?”  Dawson asks.

“Daddy hopes Mommy will smile too.”  At that, they arrived at Joey who was smiling, having watched the two of them the whole time.

“Why does Daddy hope Mommy will smile?”  Joey asks, curious to know what they were talking about.

Annabelle puts her hands out so Joey can take her and Dawson hands Joey Annabelle’s shoes.  “Because Mommy is Daddy’s golden goddess.”  Annabelle beamed at her mother.

Joey blushed and opened her mouth to speak a few times and Dawson looked surprised that Annabelle even knew he called Joey that.  “Am I now?”  Joey asks glancing at Dawson, wondering when Dawson said that and what else was heard by her poor innocent daughter.

Just then Jen came over to them.  “Hey, Audrey’s just getting a picture taken, want me to fix Annabelle?  Audrey wants a picture with her.”

“Sure.”  Joey replied and Jen took Annabelle and her shoes from Joey.

“What have you been saying in front of our daughter?”  Joey asked half shocked and half smiling.

“I never said anything inappropriate.  I was asked if anything was different between us the night we got married…”  Dawson began.  “And I responded saying that you were the golden goddess you always were and possibly more.”  Off of Joey’s look he added, “What, we’ve been married too long for me to remember.  I never gave any specifics.”

“I was a golden goddess that night?”  Joey asked him, with that trademark grin.

“And every night in between.”  He replied.

“You weren’t too bad yourself.”  Joey replied as she leaned in and gave him a kiss that was soft and tender and filled with love.

“Shesh, you’d think after all these years you two wouldn’t have to be kissing all the time.”  Audrey said, interrupting them.

“Hey Audrey.”  Dawson said as he gave her a quick look up and down.  “Wow, you look stunning, absolutely…wow.”

“I know already, but you can keep saying it.”  Audrey replied as Dawson gave her a quick hug.

“Almost as good as Joey did when we got married.”

Audrey winked at him.  “We both know you are just saying that cuz the misses is standing here, we know the truth.” 

“Yeah!”  Dawson agreed with her. 

“Listen.”  Audrey began as she moved a little closer to Dawson and Joey.  "I tried to keep Mum about this and ya know, maybe I was intruding on something totally private that I had no right seeing. But what was with your serious face earlier?"  She asked Dawson and Joey. 

“Serious faces?”  Dawson asked, looking from Audrey, to Joey and back to Audrey.  “When?” 

“Back at Bessie’s, when you dropped Annabelle off.” 

Dawson and Joey looked at each other, neither one of them wanting to take how special Audrey's day was from her.  Not wanting to steal any of her limelight.

"Audrey, this is your day.  We can talk about this tomorrow."  Joey replied.

"No!”  Audrey said sternly.  “I almost had a heart attack wondering if my wedding was being called off.  But well, that hasn't happened so all I can think of is that maybe there's something seriously wrong and for my best friends to be keeping that from me..."

Joey takes a step towards Dawson.  "Okay then, but we're not saying anything to anyone else.  This is still your day and we don't want to detract from that but..."  She trailed off as she put an arm around Dawson.

"We're pregnant again."  Dawson informed Audrey in a low enough voice so no one else could hear and he wrapped an arm around Joey, placing one hand protectively over her stomach.

“Really?”  Audrey almost squealed. 

“Yes.”  Joey confirmed.

“I’m gonna be an…”

“Audrey, remember we haven’t told anyone else yet.”  Dawson cuts in as he saw Jen approaching with the flowers and Annabelle and Clay in tow.

“Okay, I won’t say anything.”  She assures them.  “You know, this is like an additional wedding present.” Audrey quipped.  “But I won’t say anything.”  She said as she taped her nose.

“Okay, I think I have my cue to take up the best man duties again.”  Dawson told them as he gave Joey a quick kiss on the lips.  He then turned to Audrey and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before she hugged him and whispered.  “Congrats gorgeous.  I have so much to thank you for.”

As Dawson made his way down the aisle Joey started to check that Audrey’s dress was sitting perfect as Audrey started to talk to Clay who is kicking a small stone. 

“I heard you touched Uncle Dawson’s row boat earlier.”  Clay’s big blue eyes went big because he thought his mother didn’t know yet and he shot a quick look at Jen.

“Yes I know.”  Jen said and he looked scared.

“You know if you had fallen in the creek you wouldn’t have been able to walk down the aisle, right.”

He slowly nodded his head.

“And you could have caught a cold.”  He nodded his head again.  “Didn’t Mom tell you not to touch the boat?”

“Yes.”  He said in a small voice, gulping as he looked at Jen.  “I’m sorry Mom.”  He replied as he moved to hug Jen. 

“I’m sure you are.  We’ll talk about that later, okay?”  Jen replied as she fixed her sons hair.

He nodded his head.

“Ah, my work here is done.”  Audrey said as Joey handed her the bouquet of flowers.  “You know Joey, when Pacey and I broke up way back in college I never thought I’d ever see the day that Dawson would be best man at my wedding.”  She lightly shrugged her shoulders.  “Not that I was thinking of marrying Pacey, well except that one time I was really bored in class…”  She shook her head.  “Not important.  I just never expected it to happen.”

“I can assure you it is.”

“I really have a lot to thank Dawson for though.”  Audrey said.

“Better watch Joey.”  Jen laughed.  “She’s gonna start gushing soon.”

Audrey threw Jen a warning look before laughing.  “Yeah, I am.  It’s just that if it hadn’t been for Dawson I wouldn’t be getting married today.”

“How so?”

“He introduced us silly.”  Audrey said.  “And I can’t imagine what my life would be like if he hadn’t done that.  I can’t imagine what my life would be like without him in it.  I don’t even want to imagine what it’d be like.”

The music starts to play and Clay starts to walk down the aisle. 

“I just feel so lucky.”  She finished before turning to Annabelle.  “You look beautiful Miss Annabelle.  Knock em dead tiger, won’t you?” 

Annabelle giggled, “That’s what Uncle Todd says.”

“He’s a smart man sometimes, but don’t tell him I said that, okay?”

Annabelle nodded her head as Joey lightly pinched her cheek.  “Remember to smile sweetie.”

Annabelle nodded before she started to walk down the aisle, throwing rose petals at her feet.

“Are you sure you’re ready?”  Jen asked and Audrey gave her a quick hug. 

“Oh yeah.”  She beams.  “Now go, Mrs. Valentine.  Ew, I’m gonna sound old like you two, aren’t I?”

“Yep, Mrs. Carr.”  Jen replied before she walked away.

“Ew.”  Audrey said scrunching her nose.  “It’s too late to back out now, isn’t it?”  She asked Joey who was laughing. 

“Audrey Carr.”  Joey voiced.  “It has a nice ring to it.”

“Yeah, Mr and Mrs. Todd Carr.  Hi, I’m Mrs. Audrey Carr.”  She scrunched her nose again.  “I don’t like the Mrs. part though.”  Audrey finished and hugged Joey.  “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Introducing me to Dawson, starting the whole chain.”

“You’re welcome.” Joey replied as she turned to walk down the aisle and mumbled.  “We have all the corny you need for a wedding.”

“I heard that.”  Audrey replied so Joey would hear her as her father walked towards her.

“Don’t you look a treat?”  He said kissing her hand.

“I’m told I do.”  She said as she linked her arm through his. 

“So are you ready?”  He father asked her as she took a step forward ready to walk down the aisle, seeing Todd standing in front of everyone grinning at her.

“Yeah.”  She replied her eyes still on Todd’s.  “I am.”

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