Chapter 33

Casey

Alexander took my hand and helped me get my pregnant body into the limousine. The words “Just Married” were written in white window marker on the back window, and it was starting to hit me that this was all real life. I felt like a giant, fluffy marshmallow, tucked into my wedding dress with my bump inconveniently placed. We finally settled in, and the driver revved up the car. Like something out of a magazine or movie, all of our guests waved goodbye as we pulled away from the venue and drove off toward our happily ever after.

Ok, so we weren’t exactly going on our honeymoon. That would have to wait until after the baby came. But we’d decided that we still wanted to do something special for our wedding night, so Alexander had gotten us a suite at a nearby hotel and spa. He’d even surprised me earlier in the day by telling me he’d booked me a prenatal massage for the following morning.

For the first time since we’d said “I do”, I got a good look at Alexander. He was handsome and hunky in his black tuxedo, and he looked to be as smitten and happy as I was. “We did it,” I said to him, squeezing his thigh.

“Oh, yes we did, Mrs. Preston,” Alexander smiled.

This all still felt like a dream, one that I never wanted to wake up from. Although I’d never imagined getting married at nearly nine months pregnant, the wedding was everything I could have ever hoped for. It was intimate but exciting, low key but personal. The centerpieces I had put together with Liana looked better than we had expected, and had both admitted to one another at the reception how impressed we were with how’d they turned out.

The wedding was over. I didn’t know how all these brides who had planned for months and years did it. I had only been planning for a month, and it was still so hard to say goodbye to all of the tours and cake tastings and invitations and music samplings. We were onto our next adventure, the nearing arrival of our baby girl.

“What do you think of Aruba?” Alexander asked.

“Huh?” I said, without taking the time to come up with a better response.

Alexander cleared his through. “For our honeymoon.”

I honestly hadn’t given much thought to our honeymoon, as I knew it would be months before we’d even consider booking our trip. My reality was pretty amazing as it was, so a trip to somewhere far away wasn’t a priority. Nonetheless, I indulged Alexander. “Aruba might be nice,” I said.

“Oh, it’s gorgeous,” he replied. “The beaches are magical.”

“You’ve been there before?”

“Twice. Once with my family, and once with some buddies after graduation.” It felt somewhat silly to be discussing our honeymoon while I was in my wedding dress, but it was exciting to think about going somewhere tropical or adventure-ridden with the man I loved. I told him that, before we shot off more ideas, it had to be a place that neither of us had ever been to before.

That was easy for me, as I’d never been out of the country and hadn’t even seen the western half of the United States. Alexander, however, turned out to be quite the world traveler. “The things you learn about someone once you get married,” I joked. He told me that he had been to ten countries or islands outside of the United States, and I watched in amazement as he tried to name them all.

“Let’s see,” he said. “I already mentioned Aruba. Then there was my study abroad in England, my family trip to Turks and Caicos, and my cousin’s wedding in the Bahamas. That’s four. When I was in London, I also took trips to France, Ireland, and Scotland. That makes seven.”

“Yeah, yeah. I get the gist.” I grinned at him to make sure he knew I was joking. Back when my friends in high school and college had talked about all the places they had traveled and vacations they had taken, I had gotten extremely jealous. I’d be naïve to not have realized that they learned to tiptoe around me when they talked about anything exciting or expensive. It was hard to hear about things I worried I’d never experience, experiences I would never have with a nonexistent family. With Alexander, there wasn’t any envy. I felt at ease. I was excited at the prospect of learning about the world through the eyes of someone who had traveled so much of it.

“I’m determined to figure this out,” Alexander said. I pulled his head toward mine and planted a kiss on his lips as he thought. “Thanks for the kiss, wifey.” The emphasis he put on the word sent my heart fluttering.

“Have you been to Greece?” I asked, both because I was hoping to jog his memory, and because I’d always dreamt of going to Greece.

Alexander shook his head. “Not yet, but it’s on my bucket list.”

“Mine too,” I said with a smile. “It just seems like such a beautiful country.”

“Ah, I remember now,” Alexander exclaimed, raising his hand to signal victory. “My family took a cruise in South America when I was in college. We hit Brazil, Peru, and Chile.” I listened in amazement as I envisioned twenty-year-old Alexander parading around Lima with his teenaged siblings. “In hindsight, my parents wasted their money. All four of us kids were too focused on getting drunk and hitting the clubs.”

“I’ll remember not to make the same mistake with our little one,” I chuckled, cradling my belly.

“So, Greece?” Alexander said.

I grinned. “Greece.”

Alexander loosened his bowtie. “Any other bucket list destinations I should keep in mind?”

“So many!” I chirped.

“Lay them on me,” he said. “You know, for honeymoon and future anniversary possibilities.”

Thinking about years of anniversaries to come made my heart break into a tizzy. Alexander was perfect. Back to the question at hand, I thought long and hard. “Well, I’ve always wanted to see Venice. And Tahiti. In the country, I’ve always dreamt of visiting the Grand Canyon or going skiing in Lake Tahoe.”

“You ski?” Alexander asked, visibly surprised.

“Not in the slightest,” I giggled. “But I would in Lake Tahoe. It’s just one of those random things I’ve dreamt of doing. Oh! And I forgot Fiji! I’d like to get to Fiji someday.”

Alexander shifted in his seat to face me at a more direct angle. “On a scale of one to ten, how much do you trust me?”

Without missing a beat, I said, “Eleven.”

“Good,” Alexander said. “Because, when the time comes, I’m going to surprise you with our honeymoon destination.”

“That sounds perfect.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Preston,” the limousine driver started. “We’re here.”

Alexander stepped out of his side first, and came around to help me out of the limo. It was sweet to see him come to help me when he just as easily could have let the driver do his job. I couldn’t say I was surprised, though. Alexander was a true gentleman. I made a mental note to thank Lynn—for probably the fifth time—for raising such a wonderful man.

I’d heard about this hotel in magazines and through the occasional waiting room gossip at the clinic, but I didn’t have a clue what to expect beyond an “exquisite lobby area,” as one of the local magazines had put it. I let Alexander carry the suitcase as I followed behind with my toiletry bag in tow.

“Oh m-my,” I stuttered, dropping the bag on the linoleum floors beneath me.

“Casey,” Alexander exclaimed. “Is everything alright?”

I realized that my surprised reaction could easily have been mistaken for some sort of injury or pregnancy complication, so I quickly assured Alexander that I was fine. “I’ve just never seen anything quite so magical,” I said.

The open space around us was more than a lobby. It was a tropical oasis, complete with meticulously painted murals and real, functioning waterfalls and koi ponds. The few pictures I had seen didn’t even begin to do this hotel justice. I thought back to just a couple of months earlier, when I’d thought the Sheraton was the most beautiful hotel to exist. I had to chuckle when I compared it to this.

A grand staircase was the center focus of the large room, with elegant wooden steps and carved railings. I picked up my bag and slowly took it all in as Alexander checked us into our room. The etchings in the railings were even more exquisite up close. I traced my pointer finger along the bottom rail and tried to figure out what the designs were meant to be. Some were clearly just geometric patterns, while some looked more like symbols or hieroglyphics.

“I guess you like it here, huh?” Alexander asked, joining me by the staircase.

The only way I could think to respond was with a quote from one of my favorite movies. “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

Alexander laughed. “Welcome to your new life, Mrs. Preston.”