Cassie P.O.V
I never thought my brother would get married before me. I always thought as soon as he moved out, Jake and I would get married within the year, and Cole would walk me down the aisle. Not Jake sitting in the audience, Cole at the alter and me walking an eight month pregnant Sophie down the aisle.
Now I was helping Sophie into the dress I’d made her (with Simone’s help, of course) and reassuring her that everything was going according to plan. The dress still fit, the sky was clear and Cole was definitely waiting for her at the alter.
“Cassie,” she said when we were alone “I want to thank you.”
I looked up from where I was tying a silver ribbon around her bouquet (lily of the valley) that matched the one around her waist and in her hair. She looked so beautiful in her long white dress and her hair out and curled, the front pieces tied back with a sliver ribbon. The ring sparkling on her finger, where it looked so right.
“What for?” I asked, finishing the bow.
“Everything,” she whispered, tears glisten in her eyes and I hugged her.
“You’re so brave honey, and I’m so proud of you.” I stroked her hair and wiped away her tears.
She shook her head “You and Cole are so wonderful…I wouldn’t be able to get through this without you two.” She wiped her eyes “You’ve been more of a mother to me than my own, and I can never thank you enough for that, Cassie, never.”
Cole P.O.V
I watched Cassie lead Sophie down the aisle, and my heart quickened. I was getting married. To Sophie. I was marrying the mother of my child, the only woman I had ever loved. The only woman I ever will love.
Cassie kissed my cheek, and then gave me Sophie’s hand. Her dress was long, and her hair was out. She looked beautiful, absolutely radiant. I swore she was glowing.
Eric was my best man, and he squeezed my shoulder as the minister started the ceremony.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to…” I wasn’t really listening to the rest, it was almost impossible to take my eyes off Sophie.
“Colton Kieran St. Clair, do you take Sophia Addison Phillips as your lawfully wedded wife?”
I smiled at Sophie “I do.”
He turned to Sophie “Sophia Addison Phillips, do you take Colton Kieran St. Clair as your lawfully wedded husband?”
She smiled at me, tears running down her face “I do,”
Everyone in the church (it wasn’t that many, maybe fifty people) stood up and cheered. I took Sophie in my arms and kissed her long and sweet. Jake had his arms wrapped around Cassie, and she was crying. Her last words to me before the ceremony ran through my head.
I’m so proud of you, Cole. Mom and Dad would be, too.
I just kissed Sophie and wished with all my heart that they could be here to see me, to see Sophie. See the birth of their first grandchild. I wished with all my heart, even though I knew it wouldn’t come true.
A cold wind rattled the windows as I held Sophie in our bed, trying to fall back asleep. I’d dreamt she was in labour, and the baby had been born with the cord around its little neck. I was trying to distract myself with names. Dozens of them ran through my head, and I knew it was going to drive me crazy.
“Cole?” Sophie whispered in the darkness.
“Yeah?” I felt the baby kick against my hand, where it rested every night, all night.
“Are you thinking of names?”
“How’d you guess?”
“I am, too.”
“Oh,”
She turned around, so she was facing me “Do you like the name Lyle?”
“No, sounds old.”
“Christian?”
“No, how about Daniel?”
“That’s my cousins name. Jeremy?”
“Nah, Samuel?”
“Nuh-uh, Vincent?”
“That’s my grandfathers name, remember? How about Dominick?”
“I like it, maybe?”
“Maybe then,” we fell silent. I had a list of my own, but I didn’t know if I wanted to share it.
“Cole?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m counting on you not to name our daughter –if we have a daughter- something weird, like…Zenobia.”
“Zenobia?” I laughed quietly.
She swatted my chest “Don’t laugh! I mean it though, no weird names.”
I smiled at her through the darkness “Okay, I promise.”
Cassie P.O.V
“Don’t argue with me, Cole. You’re going to school, you don’t have a choice.”
“But Cassie!”
“Are you nearly nine months pregnant?”
“Well, no but-”
“Are you?”
“No,” he sighed. Cole and I had had the same argument every morning for a week, ever since the doctor told Sophie it was too much stress to go to school, saying she had to relax. That was nearly impossible since Sophie had endless energy until she suddenly wore out and slept for about three hours straight. Then it started all over again.
“Why haven’t you left yet?” I asked, crossing my arms and leaning against the counter.
He sighed “Alright, alright. I’m going. Bye Sophie,” he kissed Sophie, then her bulging stomach and rushed down the stairs.
I turned to Sophie “He’s so stubborn, that husband of yours.” Sophie’s eyes shone when I said husband. “Loves you way to much, I think.”
“You do?” she looked really tired-most likely since she had been up all night, reading horror novels and watching NCIS.
“Yeah, I do.” Handing her a cup of mint tea, I pushed Horton off her belly and grabbed a pair of scissor “I’m going to the basement for a while, take a nap or something, okay?”
She nodded “What for?”
“I’m pretty sure we have a baby’s car seat down there somewhere, and a lot more clothes and stuff.”
“We have a lot of clothes, Cassie.”
“You don’t have nearly enough; babies grow fast, Sophie. I remember when Cole was born, he had baskets of clothes-I was a very jealous ten year old.” She laughed, and I headed down to the dusty old basement, where boxes were piled high in dangerous proportions. The basement was divided into two parts; one full of books, the other full of my parents stuff. And they had a lot of stuff.
I looked through them, until I finally found a box labelled ‘baby stuff: toys, clothes, blankets etc’ and eventually found a basinet that we could put either on the second floor, or maybe in the store where I could keep an eye on the baby while working. I also found one of those baby slings that go around your shoulders, a car seat and a stroller. They were all very dusty.
I dusted it all so if my niece of nephew decided to come early, we’d be ready. The basinet may need reupholstering, but everything else was ready to go. Less than two weeks, and we’d be using all this stuff.
“Hey, Sophie, look at all the stuff I found in the basement!” I came to the top of the stairs to see Sophie kneeled on the floor, clutching her stomach.
I dropped all the stuff at my feet “Sophie? Sophie, honey, what’s wrong?” she looked up at me, tears running down her cheeks and her jaw clenched in pain.
“Call Cole, I think-I think the baby’s coming.”