Chapter 18: Chapter 18: The Wedding

EVA

The weeks have flown by. Last night, I went to bed as a Romano and today will become a Maxwell. I cannot wait till the reception because behind the scenes of getting the wedding put together, I have a surprise for Caden.

Frankie and Rita have been the biggest help, running me everywhere. We almost got caught when we were out, but we were sneaky.

Caden snuck out this morning because he didn’t want to see me before the wedding. As I slowly stir, I see Nate sitting up, excited to get our day started.

“Morning, sweetie. Are you ready for today?”

“Oh, Mama, I’m so excited!”

“So am I, baby! We will have to get our day started quickly as the wedding is at one this afternoon.”

Nate quickly jumps off the bed and runs toward the door. He flings it open and runs out as five women come running in. They pull me up and shove me toward the bathroom.

They apparently each have a job to get me ready because I see a robe, makeup, hair curlers, the dress, and all the accessories. I love these women and cannot imagine being anywhere else.

I see them all with huge smiles as I quickly hurry into the shower to shave and get cleaned up.

When I come out, there’s Rita with the robe and bra and underwear. I quickly get dressed and go sit down while everyone starts running around getting stuff done.

I watch in the mirror as my mother walks in and starts crying. I quickly get up and run over to her, pulling her in for a huge hug. I know she wasn’t there when I grew up, but it wasn’t her fault.

I look at Mary and she understands without me saying anything. I walk with Gracie back over to where I was sitting, and Mary hands her the curling iron so she takes my hair and curls it.

It’s a moment she never got to have when I was a kid, but at least she can now. Once my hair is in place, Mary hands the makeup over to Gracie so she can help me with my makeup also.

The time goes by, then I hear a knock and in comes my little man in his little suit, looking so grown up. He walks in and hands me a gift saying it’s from Daddy. I open it to see a letter and a box.

~To my Queen.~

~Months ago, I was in such a dark place and had no idea where I was going. Getting through life, just trying to survive, hoping to wake up the next day. ~

~When I sat on Jack’s porch and saw you for the first time with Nate… I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t even believe I had found such a goddess or that one even existed.~

~When you texted me to come get you and my son, my heart skipped just thinking about both of you. Not a day goes by that I don’t thank God for showing me the light and allowing me the privilege and honor to call you mine. ~

~My goddess and my son. After today, you will be mine forever, and Nate will forever be my son. I will take care of you, Nate, and our daughter till my last breath. I love you more than anything in the world.~

~With all my heart,~

~Your King~

~P.S. please wear this today.~

By the end, everyone is crying and I’m trying not to ruin the makeup that’s already done. I slowly open the box and see a gorgeous diamond necklace in the shape of a crown.

I show everyone, which makes it even worse. Makeup is now officially ruined, but at least we can redo it.

I pull Nate in and give him a kiss and tell him to go give it to his dad. He gets a huge grin and goes running out, shutting the door behind him.

We quickly turn around, dabbing all our eyes and finish redoing the makeup. Then we start adding all the accessories, including the necklace.

We double-check to make sure everything is ready when it’s time to put on the wedding dress. I found a gorgeous white, mermaid-style dress with a sweetheart neckline and rhinestones everywhere.

It fits the baby bump perfectly without being too tight. My girls start getting ready. We’ve decided on the colors of black, white, and red. So they are in simple red dresses with black accessories.

Just as we finish up, we hear a knock and my dad slowly walks in. He closes the door behind him, and as he turns around, I see the tears threaten to spill. He walks over and pulls me into a hug as his tears finally start falling.

“Eva, my baby, you look absolutely breathtaking! Gracie, can you believe it! Never did we ever think we would see this day, let alone ever find you.”

“Dad, it has been quite a roller coaster, and I know I never said anything. I have just assumed that you would walk me down the aisle.”

“It would be my honor to walk our queen to her king.”

I pull him in for a huge hug as he takes items for us and helps us get everything to head to the church. I quickly grab the large envelope out of the drawer and hand it to my mom for later at the reception.

We lift everything for the dress up and slowly head down the stairs to get loaded up into the limo. Everyone gets in then we pull off to head out.

I see Fernando on the phone and as he hangs up, he smiles at me and I can see the love in his eyes. I smile back and we ride the rest of the way in silence.

When we pull up and park we all carefully unload and get everyone inside. I look up at the church and it’s absolutely stunning. Very Gothic architecture with the look to go with it. I’m just standing in awe when my mom comes up to me.

“Your father and I got married here, and Caden wanted it here. That was his only request.”

“I love it, and it’s very fitting.”

We smile at each other as we all walk up into the entrance area. We see the groomsmen all standing around, ready to walk with the girls down the aisle. We stand in line as Frankie and Rita’s little girl, Molly, gets ready to head down.

We hear the music start up as the double doors swing open. Nate and Molly walk down first, and then Frankie and Rita and so on. The last ones are Jesus and Maria, and I take a deep breath because now it’s my turn.

I hear them switch the music to the traditional wedding march and know it’s time. I look at my dad and smile as we start to walk forward.

The moment I walk in, my breath hitches as there are hundreds of people, and if this doesn’t look like a Mafia wedding, I don’t know what does.

I look forward and lock eyes with Caden up on the stage and can see his face flush as tears slowly fall. Frankie pats his back and talks in his ear.

CADEN

I wake up early this morning so I can sneak out because I don’t need to jinx shit today. I sneak downstairs for coffee where I meet with the guys. All of our stuff has been moved into the conference room so we can get ready quickly.

I go grab my suit and head into a spare room to shower and shave. I get dressed, looking in the mirror and thinking in just a few hours I will be a married man. I will have my queen and be her king.

Frankie comes in, telling me the jeweler is here, and I cannot seem to get to the entry fast enough. I quickly get the gift and head to my office to write a note to go with it.

I take twenty minutes writing the perfect note, and after a few crumpled mistakes, it’s done. I tuck it into the gift and go around to try and find Nate.

“Nate, there you are. I need you to go give this to your mom and wait till she has read it and opened the gift.”

“Okay, Dad!”

He goes running off, and I hang around waiting for the rest of the guys to get ready and dressed. After about ten minutes, Nate comes running back up to me and as I pick him up, he gives me a kiss on my cheek.

“That’s from Mommy.”

I smile at him, giving him a hug while the rest of the guys come walking out. We have everything that we need, so we start heading out to the church. We want to be there just in case we start having people show up.

When we get into the car and slowly drive off, I still can’t believe it’s happening. We ride in silence as it’s starting to hit us that we are heading to a wedding. Of all things, it’s my wedding.

We pull up and park and as we get out I’m so glad we got the reservation at the church. When I found out it was where Fernando and Gracie got married, it was my only request.

We quickly head in when we see people have started to show up already, and I start making my rounds with my son, shaking hands and thanking them for coming. I introduce him to everyone as we go, and greet others as they file in.

After what seems like hours, I see that it’s getting close to one o’clock. Frankie gets my attention and motions for me to head up front. He grabs Nate and heads toward the back to go meet everyone.

I walk up front, smiling at everyone as I go and stand in front of the officiant. I stand there for a few minutes then I hear music start to play.

I see the doors open and Nate and Molly slowly walk down together. My best man, Frankie, and his wife, Rita, are next. I see the others file in, and last are Jesus and Maria. Then I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

I hear the music change to the traditional wedding march and know it’s her time to walk in. I take another deep breath and open my eyes and what I see takes my breath away.

I feel my face flush and tears start to fall as she looks around smiling then locks eyes with me. I try my hardest to not make a noise but Frankie sees the tears and pats my back. He leans over and whispers quietly.

“That’s your queen and you deserve her. We are happy for our king!”

I nod as I continue to watch her walk down with her dad. I cannot believe what a lucky man I am to deserve such a goddess. She walks up and I go to meet her at the altar.

Her father pulls me in for a big hug and then kisses her forehead. I take her hand and we slowly walk to stand in front of the officiant.

The wedding goes on without a hitch and we get to the best fucking part. I get to kiss my goddess. I wrap my arms around her waist and dip her back while giving it everything I’ve got!

I make sure that in that moment every ounce of love I have for her is shown to her. I stand her back up and we turn to make our way out of the church off to a side room to finalize our paperwork.

I stand there, holding Eva in my arms with my head buried in her neck, just taking this moment in. She is now my wife, and I couldn’t be any happier at this moment.

It takes a few minutes, but we wait and watch my boys with their wives and kids all file in with her parents and the officiant. He sets out the papers for signatures from us and the witnesses.

Just as we get done, Eva announces she has one more piece of paper for me to sign.

I give her a questioning look, trying to figure out what is going on. I watch her as she gets a large envelope from Gracie and turns around, handing it over to me.

I slowly reach up and take the envelope, looking around at everyone. Apparently, they all know what’s going on. I slowly open it and pull out the paperwork. I look at Eva and back at the paperwork as I read the top.

~Petition for Adoption~

I look at Nate and Eva and back at the paperwork.

“Is this what I think it is?”

“All it needs is your signature, and he will officially be yours. I went ahead and changed his name a little. I hope it’s okay?”

I look back at the paper and quickly scan for what will be his new name. When I spot it, I set the paperwork down and lean back in the chair, crying into my hands. I take a moment to absorb this new information.

I pause to wipe my tears and slowly look back to make sure I read it right. I just sit and stare.

~New Name: Nathaniel Caden Maxwell~

I quickly flip through, searching for where it needs my signature and can’t sign that shit fast enough.

Once it’s done, I stand up with tears falling and grab Eva in a hug, crashing my lips on hers. I release her and look down to pick up my son and hug him tight.

“Nate, do you understand what this paperwork is?

“No, Mommy didn’t tell me.”

“This says your new name will be Nathaniel Caden Maxwell. You will officially be my son and no one else’s.”

As it slowly sinks in, he starts crying and throws his arms around my neck saying, “I love you, Daddy. ~My~ daddy!”

“I love you, son. ~My~ son!”

I’m his dad. He is my son and now, officially, a Maxwell.