New
Beginnings-chapter 1
By Sampast and Huggedlots
Copyright © 1999, All
rights reserved.
Heather woke up and stared
at the ceiling, wondering if Bob asking her to marry him was for real, or just
a dream. Smiling, she remembered in every detail the look on his face as he
knelt down to ask for her hand. She wondered what life was really going to be
like, married to this wonderful man, and knew that her life was just beginning.
Jumping out of bed, she
turned on the shower and started to sing. Maggie, hearing her mom singing in
the shower, smiled to herself, as she woke up and also remembered that wishes
do come true, and she was going to have a real daddy for the first time in her
life. She really loved Uncle Bob, umm Daddy. She hadn't asked him yet if she
could call him that, but thought practicing it in her mind was a really good
idea.
Over breakfast Heather
asked Maggie if she would like to help plan the wedding.
"Ohhh Mom, could I?
Really?" Maggie asked.
"Yes, hon, I would
like that very much. Your new daddy wants me to quit work too," Heather
announced.
"How come, Mom?"
"He wants me to go
back to college," Heather sighed. "Do you think that's silly?"
"Nope, Mom, I don't,"
Maggie told her. "Look, we can even study together."
Heather laughed.
"Maggs, have you thought about all of what this is going to mean, hon? A
new school, again, and new friends, moving."
"Mom, we have both
waited a lonnnng time for someone like him, and it's worth whatever we have to
do to make it work," Maggie said, a bit beyond her years.
Heather looked at her
daughter with tears in her eyes, unable to grasp her wisdom and maturity.
Reaching over to tousle her hair, she asked, "Soo, when did you become so
wise?"
"Ohhhh Mommmm!"
Maggie blushed with the compliment.
Heather continued,
"Well, I am giving them my letter of resignation today at work, and then
tonight when I get home, you and I are going to start making lists, lots of
them to help us get organized, okay?"
"Okay, Mom. Umm, do I
HAVE to go to the boys and girls club today? Can't Daddy, umm Uncle Bob pick me
up?" Maggie asked.
Heather smiled at Maggie's
confusion. "I don't know, let's call and ask him, okay?"
Bob picked up the phone on
the first ring. "Well, good morning, how are my girls?" he asked.
Heather answered, "We
are fine, sweetheart. Maggie wants to ask you something." Handing the
phone to Maggie, Heather went to fill her coffee cup.
Maggie bit her lip, then
said quietly, "Good morning umm, hi."
"Hi Magpie, what's
up?" Bob asked.
"Well, whatcha doing
today?" Maggie asked uncertainly.
Smiling, Bob told her,
"Gee, I don't know, just staring at a whole bunch of boxes. Why
sweetie?"
"Well, I was wondering
if you could pick me up after school, so I don't have to go to the Boys and
Girls Club. I really hate it there," Maggie added.
"Well, I think that
can be arranged Magpie," Bob said smoothly.
Maggie was relieved.
"Gee thanks, ummm..."
"Ummm what
sweetie?" Bob asked.
"I, umm, well I ahh,
ummm, here's Mommy." Blushing furiously, Maggie handed the phone to
Heather. Laughing Heather told Bob that Maggie didn't know what to call him
anymore.
Bob laughed and asked,
"Well what would she like to call me?"
Turning, Heather told
Maggie to come there and handed her back the phone. "Hi," Maggie
said.
"Magpie, what would
you like to call me, sweetie?" Bob asked.
"Well, I really WOULD
like to call you Daddy, and I know you will be, but is it okay if I start now?"
Maggie inquired.
"I would be very
honored, sweetheart," Bob admitted.
"You WOULD?"
asked Maggie incredulously.
"Yes Magpie, I already
think of you as my daughter, and I want very much to be a good dad to you. Sooo,
let's start today with you calling me that, okay?" Bob explained.
"Ohhh Daddy, that's
terrific! Thanks!" Maggie was beaming. "Hold on, here's Mommy
again," Maggie said as she handed the phone back to Heather.
"Oh Bob, you are soooo
wonderful with her," Heather told him.
"She makes it easy,
hon," Bob admitted.
"Well, you and I have
about a thousand decisions to make. How 'bout you stay for dinner, and we can
start making lists? Is that okay?" Heather asked.
"Sure babe. Anything I
can do this afternoon while Maggie and I wait for you to get off work?"
Bob wanted to know.
Laughing, Heather shrieked,
"I have no clue! I am not sure where to begin. I will call you on my lunch
break. Okay? I really have to run now to get Maggs to school and me to work. I
love you."
Bob smiled. "I love
you, too, sweetheart. Talk to you later."
After dropping Maggie at
school, Heather drove to work, wondering how she was EVER going to get
everything done. Taking a deep breath, she knew the first thing was her letter
of resignation. Walking into her boss' office, she told her she had to talk to
her, and gave her the news of her wedding.
"I know I have only
been here for four months, but it has been great, Susan, and I don't want to
leave you in the lurch," Heather expressed sadly.
Susan spoke, "I
appreciate that, but tell you what, I can call a temp agency and get someone
here by next Monday, and that way you can have the week before your wedding to
move and get settled. How is that?"
"Ohh, you are the
best, Susan," Heather said, hugging her boss.
"Well, I sure expect
to be invited to this event now," Susan said chuckling.
At lunchtime, Heather
called Bob to give him the latest good news and to see how he was doing.
"Well, I am making
progress here, and if I go for another two hours, then pick up Maggie, I should
be in good shape. Now, I don't want you worrying about dinner either, Maggie
and I will have it ready when you get home at 6, okay?" Bob queried.
"Sure Sir, whatever
you say," Heather smiled into the phone. Her next call was to Leonard's of
Great Neck, a large catering facility that had both large and small banquet
halls to accommodate weddings and bar mitzvahs. Knowing that the wedding was
only two weeks away, she didn't think they would have anything, but thought she
would try anyway. Finally getting the catering department, she timidly asked
about the date.
"Well, hmm, for how
many people?" the catering manager asked.
Heather thought a minute.
Then said, "I think about 30, for lunch."
"Well now, you sure
are in luck. I had a cancellation for a small hall. Can you come in tonight and
put down a deposit?" the man asked.
"Ohhhh yes, I sure
can. Thanks," Heather responded. She couldn't believe how easy that was.
All excited, she couldn't wait to call Bob and tell him, but decided to wait
and surprise him and Maggie tonight. Suddenly, she remembered, she hadn't
called her mother yet with the news.
Her mood turned sober as
she contemplated all that her mom would probably say to her. Taking a deep
breath, she used her calling card, and dialed her mom. Hearing her during the
day, her mom immediately thought something was wrong.
"No Mom, everything is
fine, actually, better than fine. Do you remember Bob Clemente? Charlie's
brother? I told you about him. Well, he asked me to marry him, and I said
yes," Heather rushed that last part.
"YOU WHAT? Well, you
barely know the man, and for goodness sake, I haven't even met him. Are you out
of your mind!" Her mother was yelling into the phone.
"Mom, please, listen
to me," Heather pleaded.
"No! You listen to me,
young lady. You are an impetuous fool, and I think you are making a huge
mistake," Heather's mom said.
"Mom, I have found the
man of my dreams, he adores Maggie, and she him, and he is going to make a good
life for us," Heather said protectively.
"Well, sniff, what
does he do, this perfect man of yours?" she asked.
"He is a professor,
Mom, at Long Island University," Heather stated proudly.
"Really? What does he
want with an uneducated woman like you, then?" her mom asked nastily.
"Oh Mom, do you even
know how cruel you are being?" Heather cried.
"Me? No, I am
certainly NOT. I am being realistic," her mother reasoned.
Heather sighed. "Mom,
Bob wants me to quit work, which I did this morning, and in January after the
wedding, he wants me to start taking classes and get my college degree."
Heather tried to make it all sound so good. But her mother twisted it around;
something she had always done.
"Ohh, so you aren't
good enough the way you are? Well, what else does he want to do over?" she
snapped.
"Mom, just for once,
can you just be happy for me, please?" Heather was crying, and begging
into the phone.
"Hphmmmm. Well, we
shall just have to see, won't we. When is this wedding, you haven't said,"
her mother declared.
"It's in two weeks,
Mom," said Heather.
"Oh my god. Are you
pregnant? Is that what this is about? Did you go and do that AGAIN?"
"Oh Mom, no, I am NOT
pregnant. We just want to be together. Mom, I want you to be part of my life,
and part of Maggie's, but I can't handle all your negativity. If you want to
come and be happy for me, then fine. If you can't then don't come! It's your
decision. I will call you later," Heather said and hung up, totally worn
out and distraught.
Heather looked around the
office. She was glad everyone else had gone out for lunch, and she was alone.
She repaired her makeup, and made it though the rest of the afternoon, but a
cloud had been put on her happiness.
Coming in the door at 6:00,
Heather was greeted with wonderful smells of spaghetti sauce. "Smells
wonderful, you guys," she commented.
Maggie was wrapped in one
of her aprons, which went to the floor on her, and she still managed to have
sauce all over her. Laughing, Heather scooped her up to give her a big hug,
then turned and walked into Bob's arms. Sensing something, Bob gave her a
chance to relax in his arms, and then pulled away and gave her a quizzical
look.
He said, "What's up
babe?"
"How did you
know?" Heather whispered.
Bob smiled and told her,
"I love you, and therefore am in tune with you, so don't think you can
hide anything, young lady."
"I won't, I promise, I
was just gonna wait till after dinner," said Heather.
Bob looked at Maggie and
told her he thought she should go clean up. She said okay and skipped out of
the room. Taking Heather into his arms, he said, "Well, I don't want all
this effort wasted, so spill."
Sighing, and leaning on his
shoulder, she recounted the conversation with her mom.
"Ohh, sweets, I am
sooo sorry. I called my parents and they are thrilled," Bob told her.
Heather sighed. "Well,
at least they have met me. My mom feels as if I am rushing into something that
will be a mistake."
Bob asked, "Do you
feel that way, hon?"
Heather shook her head.
"No, of course not. Nothing could be a mistake that feels this
right."
"Okay then. I will
handle your mom," he reassured her.
"You will? How?"
she asked.
"Don't worry about it,
okay?" Bob told her.
Heather looked up at him. "But?"
Maggie skipped back into
the room. "I'm all clean, Daddy," she said.
"Yes, I see that. Good
girl. How about setting the table?" To Heather, he whispered, "No
buts, young lady, unless it is yours you want to discuss."
"No sir," she
replied, laughing.
"Okay, then, let's
eat," Bob announced.
As they sat down, Heather
cried, "Ohh, guess what you two, I have a surprise."
Maggie looked up from her
spaghetti. "Really Mom, what?"
Heather smiled. "Well,
I found a place for the wedding, sooo as soon as we finish eating, we can go
look at it, and if we all agree we can book it. How's that?"
"COOOOL Mom, said
Maggie.
"That was quick. Good
work, hon," said Bob.
"All right, let's eat
up," Heather said.
Soon they were on their way
to see the place, and they all fell in love with it. It took an hour to work
out all the details, and Bob wrote out a check for the deposit. Everything was
done, including flowers, and they had someone who could even conduct the
ceremony.
Bob was a sephardic Jew,
and Heather had really been raised without much of a religion, and had no
problem embracing his. Neither was religious, but felt that the household
should be one religion, and not a mixture. Heather wanted to be married under
the Chupah, to make it official, and Bob, laughing agreed.
Maggie got pretty quiet in
the car going home, and Heather asked her if she was tired. "No mom, I'm
not tired," she admitted.
"Then you are awfully
quiet, hon. What's on your mind?" Heather asked, concerned.
"Well, I am too old to
be a flower girl, and I don't know what I am going to BE at the wedding,"
Maggie cried.
"Well hon, I have been
thinking of that, and I was going to ask Lisa to be my Matron of Honor, and I
was wondering if you would like to be the Junior Maid of honor?" Heather
asked.
Maggie beamed. "You
would, Mom?"
"Yes, and the twins
can be bridesmaids. And, I am pretty sure Bob wants Uncle Charlie to be the
best man, right dear?"
"You are right, I have
already asked him," Bob said.
Maggie thought about it.
"Cool, so that should make everyone happy. Who is going to give you away,
Mom?"
"Well, remember Uncle
George? Grandma's brother? I was going to ask him, since I don't have a
dad," Heather explained.
"Can't Uncle Charlie
give you away, Mom?" Maggie asked.
"Well, he can't do
both roles, I don't think, so let me ask Uncle George first, and then we will
see," Heather said.
Back at home, Bob and
Heather made up the guest list, and decided that it was too late for
invitations. So each would call their own list and invite them, sending out the
direction cards that Leonard's had given them with the date written to everyone
who could attend.
Seeing Maggie drooping at
the table, Bob asked who she wanted to put her to bed. "Both of you,
please?" "Sure sweetie. Come on!" Bob said.
Bob picked her up, and
carried her into her bedroom. Heather helped her off with her clothes, and Bob
dropped a nightgown over her head.
"Okay, go brush your
teeth and use the bathroom, hon," Heather told her daughter.
"I'm too tired, Mommy.
I don't wanna," Maggie whined.
"Young Lady," Bob
warned.
"Ohhh KKKK, Yes
sir," Maggie said. She went in with no further problems and did as she was
asked. Heather told him ordinarily that would have been a ten minute argument.
"Well, no more,"
Bob replied. "Those days of her pushing you around are over. It isn't good
for either of you."
A sleepy little girl was
tucked in tight, and kissed and she was almost asleep as soon as her head hit
the pillow. It had been a pretty big day for her.
Back in the living room,
Bob told Heather to put away the lists, and sit with him on the couch.
Snuggling in, they talked and planned their honeymoon, and talked of the years
ahead as only young lovers can. Dreaming of the perfect future they would have
together.