Lessons Learned Ch. 17

"Tonight!?! Why tonight?" I asked.

Shane put his hands on my face, looked into my eyes and replied,

"Baby, you know I love you. There is no one, I'd rather be with than you. But as you know, there are a lot of things going on right now that could do you more harm then good. I want to protect you from that. The only way I can do that is if we're married." Shane replied.

I brought my hand to Shane's cheek and replied, "Baby I know that what's going on with my family is huge. But a quickie wedding is not the answer. We will work through this." I replied.

"There's so much you don't understand Baby. So much....."

Shane removed his hand from my face, brought them over my hands and gently brought them down from his cheek. He got up from the side of my bed, went to the window and silently stared into the night.

I sat in confused silence.

Soon the silence between us was too much. I broke the tension by asking,

"Shane? What's going on baby?

Shane turned to me and went back to my bedside. He took my face into his hands, brought my lips to his and kissed me with an intensity that shook both our bodies to the core. My lips opened slightly. His tongue immediately attached itself to mine. His tongue immediately became the agressor of the two. I brought my hands to his cheeks; he wrapped his around my waist. As our kiss intensified; his arms would wrap tighter around my waist. I missed his embrace but the intensity of his embrace and pain I still felt from the surgery became too much for me. Tears began to run down my face. I stopped the kiss and smiled at him through my tears,

"We have to stop. My body is not quite ready for all of this excitement."

He smiled and wiped away my tears. "I'm sorry baby. Your kiss does it to me every time. "He replied

"I love you. You know that. We've only known each other for a short time but I feel like I know you better then anyone. So I know when something's up. Talk to me baby. What don't I know?"

Shane hesitated then replied, "Your parents think that you should recover at their house. I told them that you would be coming home with me. They threw the 'We're her parents and we know what's best for her' fact at me. Your siblings and I told them that we would let you decide. They threatened litigation, I countered.

"They can't do that; I can make my own damn decisions. I don't need them to talk for me." I replied indignantly.

Shane caressed my cheek and replied, "I know baby. But because you've gone through a trauma your decisions have to be made by others. And that will continue until the doctor gives you a clean bill of health.

Now, you know we belong together. You know that there is no one else for me but you. You and I were going to get married anyway and we still can. Baby, I will throw you the biggest wedding you've ever seen; but for right now, in order for you to have the chance to stay with me I will need Power of Attorney. The hospital will not allow me to take over your care unless I'm next of kin. And the only way I can do so is if we're married. So my darling, I ask you again; will you marry me tonight?"

I closed my eyes and silently thought about my family, Shane's proposal and Sherice. I knew what I was going to do;it was just the point of saying it out loud. Shane took my silence as feelings of doubt. He continued his plea,

"I know that this seems rushed and not thought out. But I've been thinking about it for awhile now. I knew I was going to be with you for the rest of my days that first day we were together in my classroom."

"You did?

"Oh most definitely. You were so full of passion that day. And say whatever you want, but there was one moment that day that I knew for sure that there was no one else for me but you"

"And when was that?" I asked.

Shane smiled lecherously and replied, "When you lifted those thick thighs up and let me slowly stroke that pussy deeper and deeper with this dick."

"Shane!! You are horrible!!!" I exclaimed with an embarrassed sigh.

Shane laughed and brought his forehead to mine. He kissed me lightly on the lips. I took his hand and brought it to my lips. Shane smiled and continued,

"Every since this craziness with Sherice started, I've felt this overwhelming need to sweep you away from all of it. If you're not ready, I can understand that and I will stand by you no matter what. I'll just have to sneak into your room at your parent's house or something. I will do whatever I need to do to make sure that you're happy and out of danger."

"You would do anything for me wouldn't you?"

With a determined expression, Shane replied, "Darling, I would give my life for you."

"Shane we're in a hospital, how can we get married in a hospital?"

"Baby, that's not the problem. I can go and get the hospital chaplain to marry us. I just need an answer from you."

As tears fell down my cheeks I couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

Shane smiled back at me as he began to wipe away my tears, "What?!?" he asked.

"It's just that, you've really thought about this. Haven't you." I replied.

Shane laughed nervously,

"Yea, I guess I have. I just love you and I don't want you to hurt anymore. I won't lie and say that things will be smooth sailing from here. We're going to have our ups and downs; I'm sure of it. But know this, anything that you want and need I wil give it to you. You will never want for anything my love. Believe that."

I reached for him and he held him close.

"All I want is you. So my answer is yes. Yes, I will marry you tonight." I whispered in Shane's ear.

Shane held me tight to him. This time I didn't mind the pain his hug brought me.

Shane kissed every part of my face. I laughed in response. He said I love you with each kiss. When he finally got to my mouth, he swept me away with another passionate kiss. His hand rested on my cheek. My arms circled his neck. My lips parted and his tongue entered my mouth. Our tongues instantly connected to each other. As our lips delved deeper into each other; our passion for each other heightened. It felt like it had been ages since we were together. I wanted to feel his hands caress every part of my body, but I knew that wasn't a possibility at this time. This time Shane stopped our kiss. Our foreheads still touched.

"I want to feel your body under mine. I want to reclaim your body over and over and over again." He said huskily.

A tingle of anticipation flowed through my body as he spoke those words,

"What's stopping you?" I asked.

He smiled and replied, "Well, you did just go through major surgery my love."

"I'll be gentle." I replied. Shane chuckled lightly. "You'll be gentle huh? I'm sure you will. But there is also the fact that I need to take care of a few things before we get married."

"So not even a little bit?" I asked with a mischievous smile.

Shane laughed, took my face into his hands, gave me a quick kiss on the lips and replied,

"You and I both know that 'just a little bit' wouldn't suffice us. Especially considering how long its been. "Shane replied.

I kissed the palm of his hand and nodded in agreement.

"I love you. You know that right?" I asked.

"That's something I never doubted." Shane replied wholeheartedly.

I smiled."Ok then, let's do this."

Shane smiled, kissed me on the cheek and left the hospital to make the necessary arrangements for our nuptials.

I turned to the phone and called my sister. I sat on the telephone and let it ring until the voicemail came on. I left a message saying,

"Hey Margie this is Angela. There is so much to talk about. But the most important thing is this, you're my sister and I love you. I'm not going to let you go. Also, I'm getting married tonight. I was hoping you'd be here to see it. But I know you're upset and your not in the mood to see anyone. So we'll talk later ok? Bye for now."

I hung up the phone and called my best friend Francessca. Her phone went straight to voicemail. I left her a message as well,

"Hey Chessa, Just giving you a call. I know you've been worried sick and I promise I will explain everything when we talk. The most important thing you need to know right now is that I'm getting married tonight. I really wanted you to be here. I understand that you're busy; I just really need my best friend right now. But I can't be selfish. Even though I really want to be!!!" I laugh into the phone and then continue " I hope you're ok and we'll talk later. Bye for now."

I hung up the phone and allowed a few tears to run down my face. I quickly wiped my face and said to myself,

"No, we're not going to do this. This is your wedding day. Even if it does seem like everything is lost... Today is your special day. " I nodded, closed my eyes and continued to repeat"Today is your day" to myself. Those few words became my personal mantra.

I was so deep in thought that I almost didn't hear the knock at my door. I quickly glanced at the clock and realized that an hour and half had passed me by.

"Baby....?" Shane replied.

"Come in Babe!" I replied.

He came in and I gasped in awe at what I saw. There stood Shane in a black three piece suit with a purple button-down shirt. He came to the foot of my bed and laid a white strapless, a-line gown with a purple cardigan on my bed. The gown was a mix of taffeta and silk. The top was layered and had embroidered diamonds across the top. The skirt and top was connected by a belt that had a a lily shaped swarovsk pendant in the middle. The skirt flowed freely over a small cremlin skirt. The dress was perfect.

I looked to the side of Shane and saw a nurse holding some flat peep toe shoes, purple accessories and a small bouquet of lilies.

"Baby, I thought we'd do this right. I know that you're favorite color is purple; so I thought we'd incorporate it in our wedding. I wasn't sure if you'd agree, but just in case I wanted to be prepared.

After I talked to the doctor about your care; I made a call to my mother and sister to do some shopping. They went to my house and they got both of our necessary measurements to buy our ensembles. I had to get my suit tailored a little; I hope your dress fits. They also got you shoes, flats for right now, since you just got injured, a pearl and emerald necklace with matching earrings, pearl bracelets and matching wedding sets."

Shane asked the nurse to come forward. She came to my bedside and laid all of the accessories, the shoes and the matching wedding set at my side. I picked up the wedding set first and examined it. The band was plattinum with an emerald and diamond setting. The diamond at the top was surrounded with purple emaralds. Shane's band was platinum as well with diamonds in the middle with purple emeralds at each end. It was the most unique yet beautiful set I had ever seen. Tears of joy ran down my face. Shane frowned and replied,

"You don't like it? Is it too much. Is this too much for you? Baby please tell me what's wrong. I promise."

I turned to the nurse and replied, "Thank you so much for everything. If you don't mind, could you leave us alone for a just a few minutes. And once he's gone, I'd really appreciate it, if you could come back and help me into my wedding dress."

The nurse smiled, nodded and left out the door. I turned to a smiling Shane and returned his smile. I held out my hands, he came to me and took my hands into his. I looked into his eyes and told him,

"How could I not love everything that you've done for me today? You planned everything, with only a few hours at your disposal and everything is absolutely perfect."

I brought Shane into my arms and held him close.

"I love you, more than you could ever know. You have made, what could have been a terrible day, into what may be the best and most important day of my life. I look forward to our life together. Thank you, for everything. "

I kissed Shane on the lips a number of times as thanks for all of his hard work. At the last kiss,our lips simultaenously opened and our tongues united and held to each other. His arms circled my waist and our bodies crushed together as one. We stayed in each other's arms for a few moments. After awhile, Shane removed his hands from around my waist and brought them to my cheeks. He looked into my eyes and said,

"I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that you love me, but this is a very big step. I've had a long time to think about this. You've only had maybe an hour to think about it. So Baby, you need to be absolutely sure that this is what you want to do. And I'm going to tell you this now, I don't just marry anyone. So if you are absolutely sure; and we do this. You're it for me baby girl. I'm not letting you go without a fight. So are you sure about this? "

I brought my hands to his cheeks and replied, "There is no one in this world I'd rather be with than you. You're not getting rid of me Shane Thomison, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. So you need to go outside and let your future wife get ready for her wedding."

He smiled and kissed my foreheard, "Ok, I'm going to go outside and let you get dressed. And I promise that when you get better, we will have the wedding of your dreams..."

"Baby, you're the man of my dreams. I couldn't be happier. So get out. I need to change." Shane laughed, got off the bed, kissed my forehead and walked toward the door. Before he left out, he turned to me and replied,

"I'll go get the nurse and we'll get this show on the road. And I forgot to tell you, I have a few surprises for you, when you're ready." I blew a kiss at him, smiled and replied,

"I can't wait. And Babe...."

"Yea?"

"I knew a long time ago that you were the one. I was just waiting for you." I replied with a smile

He smiled and left out the room. The nurse came back into the room. She smiled at me and replied, "Well it looks as though, we have a wedding to get ready for. So what can I do?"

"Well if you don't mind, could you help me into the bathroom? I'd like to freshen up a little bit."

"Of course. Here's something that might help you with that."

The nurse then went into her pocket and brought out a small cylinder in the shape of a lily.

"Oh my goodness!! That's my favorite perfume." I replied in disbelief.

"Yes, Shane mentioned that. So come, let's get you ready to get married; You have a wonderful man waiting for you with some wonderful people."

I nodded ok. The nurse removed the blanket. Took my arm around her neck and helped me to the bathroom. She helped me disrobe and wash my body. She made sure that the sponge didn't touch my stiches. She allowed me to wash my private regions without help. She handed me a small toiletry bag that had a travel size deoderant, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash makeup and lotion.

I turned to the nurse and replied,

"Thank you for all of your help. I can take it from here. I'll call if I need help to the bed." "Are you sure?" She asked. I nodded in reply.

"Alright then. Everything is set on the bed waiting for you."

"What's your name ma'am?" I asked

"Justine."

I took her hand in mine and replied,

"Ms Justine, you've been very helpful. I thank you for it." I replied as fresh tears fell down my face.

She smiled an almost matronly smile and replied, "You remind me a lot of my daughter. Your strong and you hate to show fear and vulnerability. I don't know you're whole life story, but what I do know, is that its ok to lean on someone. To allow them to love you. You have a man out there that will give you the world, so let him. " I smiled, squeezed her hand and replied,

"Yes ma'am."

I let go of her hand and she left out of the bathroom

I turned to the mirror and looked at myself. My eyes looked tired. I looked as though I had aged almost ten years in just two months. My lips were chapped and somewhat swollen. I looked and felt defeated.

As I stood there looking at my reflection; I thought about my family and the hell we continuously put ourselves through. I thought about Sherise. Whilst I hated the Bitch (may she rest in peace); I never wanted her dead. And if I did; I sure as hell didn't want one of my family members to have be the one to kill her. This whole situation was a mess.

But then I thought about Shane. I loved him the first time I saw him. In a short while, he became the most important person in my life. The thought that I would get to spend the rest of my life loving him, talking with him, fighting with him, feeling him deep inside me bought and smile to my face and a shiver up my spine. I was in love with the man and I wasn't going to keep him waiting any longer.

Because of my injury, it took longer than usual to finish freshening up and put my makeup on. After I was finished with my makeup; I put on my bra, underwear and all of my accessories on. All I needed to do now was get into my dress.

I left the bathroom and slowly went to the side of the bed. Justine must have noticed that I'd finally emerged from the bathroom; because she came in running to my aid.She brought my arm around her neck amd helped me into the bed. She chastised me like only a mother could,

"What are you doing? You know you're not quite ready to walk this type of distance by yourself yet. You should have called for me."

"I thought I could do it myself. I guess I was wrong." I replied

"See, this is exactly what I was saying before. You have to learn how to lean on people my dear." I smiled, "You're right Ms Justine." I replied. We got to the side of the bed. I turned to her and she smiled.

"My dear you look wonderful." She replied

"Thank you. For everything." I replied.

"Well, I kind of had no choice." Justine replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked

"Well Angela I have a little confession to make.Shane wanted to introduce me, but I told him I'd do it myself in my own way."

"I don't understand. Your name is not Justine?" I asked.

"Oh yes darling my name is Justine. It's actually Dr. Justine Thomison- Blane. I'm the Chief of Nurses here at Sacrament but most importantly, I'm Shane and Olivia's mother and your future mother-in-law."

I stood in shocked silence.

"I don't know what to say. You must think we're crazy for doing this so soon. And I know that Shane has told you about my family and everything we've done. You must hate me."

Justine shook her head, smiled and caressed my cheek. "Darling I don't hate you."

"You don't?"

"I wouldn't be doing all of this if I hated you. Actually, from what I've heard from Shane, I rather think that you and I are going to get along fine. But the most important thing that sold me about you was the way my son lights up when he talks of you. You make my son happy. And when he's happy, I'm happy.

Angela, He has never gone through so much for someone; so you must be special. Now yes, I do know some of the details behind your injury. And I'm sure that there's much more to it than what I've already heard. But we're not going to worry about that today. Today is truly about you and my son..."

She opened her arms to me and I fell into them. All of the tension of the last few months slowly eased from my body. She held me close and continuosly assured me that everything would be alright. She kissed my forehead and helped me to stand up. Dr Blane helped me slide the dress over my head. It flowed down my body like a dream and stopped right below my knees. She then helped my arms into the sweater. I put the purple pendant on the sweater.

Dr Blane picked up my veil. The veil was gorgeous. The pin that held the veil was a Swarovski pendant in the shape of a lily with small lace veil attached to it. Dr Blane put the clip into my hair and brought the veil over my face. She looked at me and smiled.

"You are absolutely beautiful."She replied.

"Thank you Ms Justine." I replied.

"Now Angela, I'm about to be your Mother-in-law. You can call me Justine, Momma, or Momma Justine. No formalities. Ok?"