Andi's Dream-A Wedding to Plan

Still watching his Christmas presents bobbling on the treadmill next to him Paul said, "Christmas isn't about money or Christmas decorations," Paul couldn't really understand what she was getting at.

She looked at Paul with a quizzical frown. "Paul Jarecki, of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest. When you showed up with the tractor to rescue the girls and me, you were God's gift to me, the greatest Christmas gift I had ever received but I didn't know it at the time. But every day since then it's been Christmas, Christmas, Christmas over and over - the decorations, the pine boughs, the candles, the ribbons, the tree, the movies, the music, they're just decorations, it is about the love... Oh My God, the love! And now I understand completely what Christmas means and what the song means thanks to you."

"It's a waltz, can you waltz?"

"I think so," and with that the cool down ended he scooped her up in his arms and they were off to the steam room to get all steamed up again, but the score remained tied 7 - 7 when they got back out.

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"What's the matter?" Paul asked. He had been up in the twin's room and had just wrestled the twins into day clothes and brought them downstairs to get on their snow pants, boots, mittens and caps on for the ride in the country. They came into the kitchen to find Andi at the kitchen table apparently in shock, slowly putting her cell phone down.

"I just got off the phone with Dr. Armond, head of the Pulmonary unit at University Hospital. He just told me that HR was going to take all my unused vacation days, it's what they do if you don't use them up in the prescribed time. But he spoke with them and they will let me keep them if I use them all up right now."

"How many do you have accrued?"

"Not counting the ten I've scheduled for after this seminar? Ninety-three."

"So, you're on vacation until April?" Paul dressed a squirming Madeline in a mis-matched snowsuit. "That's awesome, did he say anything else?"

"He said that for a wedding present... if I find a practice in New York he would write a glowing reference and personally help transfer my license to practice from Colorado to New York ... if I want."

"And you said...?"

Andi looked at the mis-matched twins. Both had one green boot, one red boot, Sandy had green snow pants, and Madeline had red snow pants. Sandy had a red jacket on, Madeline had a green jacket on. Both were wearing one green mitten, one red mitten, Sandy had a green snow cap, Madeline had a red snow cap. They both had a white scarf with holly leaves at the ends. It was so bizarre, so jumbled, but so perfect. It was so Paul. Andi took a deep shuddering breath full of peace and contentment. "I said yes."

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The plan of the day was simple, go to The Cabin, check on the chickens, take eggs to Gerry and Irene Hirsh and exchange for milk. Take milk to Brad and Dianna Clemmons and exchange some for pork chops. Go back to the cabin, pick up Andi's rental, go to Cheektowaga, drop off Andi's rental and meet with Lucy Kocsis. Andi and her best friend would then go dress shopping for the wedding and maybe take the twins. Paul would return to "Madeline's House" (Madeline had claimed the Springville Victorian as her own) and prepare the porkchops for dinner. If he had the twins, he would decorate the house some more for Christmas; if he didn't, he would decorate the house for Christmas a lot more. It goes just a lot quicker without their "help."

The drive to the cabin really isn't very far from "Madeline's House," maybe 10 miles, and as expected, Trevette Road wasn't plowed yet, but the path Paul plowed was still wide enough for the Ranger. "Why did you plow the entire road in front of the cabin?" Andi asked.

"So the county can't block up my driveway. OUR driveway," he corrected himself. "When the county plow comes along, if there's no snow in the street in front of our driveway, there's nothing to plow into our driveway." They got out of the Ranger and the twins made a beeline for the barn.

"Chook, chook, chook!" they began calling out and they smiled at each other in delight when the chickens squawked as they entered the barn. "Chook, chook, chook!"

"Ok girls, let's do this fast so we can get in the snowmobile!"

They went from cage to cage as quickly as possible, Paul collected the eggs, pulled out the nastiest straw and replaced it with clean straw from a bale, he then refilled the feeder and the water bottle for each cage. Sandy held the big basket with the eggs and Madeline held the water bottle. They were soon done, collecting well over a dozen eggs and they headed down the big staircase to the lower level, Andi nervously at the ready to catch any falling twins. In a few moments, the Snowcoach was connected to the Yamaha.

Soon they were sailing across Tommy Steinbach's property, weaving between patches of young aspen and pine. Like Paul, Tommy and his cousin Jeff Schaffer bought the property and were letting the cleared fields reforest naturally. Paul kept the speed below 25 MPH as required by Andi, but the twins demanded "Faster! Faster!" Shortly they were on the field that was normally Gerry's corn field and it was a straight shot to the farmhouse.

When they arrived there, Gerry and Irma came out each carrying two glass half-gallon jugs of milk, Paul stowed the milk in the Snowcoach and handed the Hirsh's some empty glass jugs to be refilled, Meanwhile Andi gave Irma one dozen eggs, that Irma put in her own basket.

"The chickens pooped on the eggs!" said Sandy angrily.

"Chook, Chook, Chook!" added Madeline.

"Wellp, farm animals' poop on everything. Be thankful it wasn't a cow," said Gerry. The twins gave him confused looks and Gerry said, "You'll find out soon enough."

They headed back east toward The Cabin following the tracks they laid and they only stopped at the cabin long enough to put the remaining eggs and two half gallons of milk in the Ranger, then they headed across Paul's property weaving in and out of new trees, a few remaining old growth that must have served some purpose on the farm that was originally there.

Finally, they crossed through a gap in the barb wire fence that is the dividing line between Paul and Brad's property. The family sailed smoothly across virgin meadow, the big forest on their right, Trevette road with its 3 to 6 foot covering of snow on their left. Occasionally Paul would make a smooth sweeping turn left or right just to entertain the twins.

Soon enough they reached Dianna and Brad's farmhouse. Dianna and Brad stepped out and immediately Dianna started gushing over the twins. "So precious!" she coo'ed and took pictures of them wrapped up and strapped in to the Snowcoach.

"What's that smell?" Madeline wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Eeewwww," agreed Sandy who covered her nose with a mitten.

"That's what hogs smell like," said Brad, "It's the smell of money! They smell a site better when you cook 'em up, and your daddy is a great cook."

The twins were not impressed and held mittens over their noses until they were far from the farm.

Just before they left the farmyard, Paul pulled to a stop and asked Andi if she wanted to drive. "Oh God yes!" she gushed. Paul stood on the side rail allowing Andi to slide forward, then he sat down behind her. He showed her the brakes, the throttle, advised her how to lean into the turns and they were off.

Seeing that their mother was driving the Twins started shouting "Faster Mommy! Faster!" but it was no use, she stayed on her self-imposed 25 MPH speed limit... most of the time.

Over the growl of the engine, Andi yelled to Paul to hold her tighter, so he increased the pressure of his arms. She asked him to hold her tighter again, and he did. She asked a third time to hold her tighter and he did, afraid he was going to crack one of her ribs. "Now never let me go!" she cried out and opened the throttle.

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They drove directly to the airport from The Cabin, Paul driving the rental and Andi in the Ranger. After turning in the rental at the Enterprise rental turn-in lane, they drove to a Your Host diner on Union drive and Lucy Kocis was there waiting for them. Lucy is another pulmonologist from University hospital but has moved on to the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) here in Buffalo and has been tight friends with Andi for years.

"Aunt Lucy! Aunt Lucy!" cried the twins jumping up and down at her feet.

"Madeline! My favorite 3-year-old!" said Lucy as she swept Sandy up into her arms.

"I'm Sandy and I'm five" said Sandy with her best attempt at a snarl.

"You're Maddie."

"Don't call me Maddie!" shouted Madeline from the floor. She stomped her foot in anger.

"I didn't call you Maddie, I called Sandy Maddie."

Lucy is five foot six with light brown hair, an incredibly slim yet athletic build, and a very plain face. So plain that it is unique. She's a runner, an Olympic caliber bicyclist, and a Jill-of-all-trades winter athlete. She can ski alpine and Nordic in all disciplines. Paul wondered if she could skate, because other than riding a toboggan down a hill, his only winter skill was skating. True, he likes to cross country ski, but that's just an amateur moving about on his own property, not an athlete with visions of gold driving them on. Other than hiking, his only other summer sports skill was swimming, slowly, on his back watching the clouds go by. Actually, he's a pretty good swimmer, he just likes to watch the clouds.

They went inside the Your Host, a chain of diners across Western New York, and ordered coffee and hot chocolate for the girls. "Shopping won't take long," said Andi, "I can't afford much."

"Use this," he said as he placed a metal credit card on the table in front of her. "It'll cover whatever you get," said Paul as he sipped his coffee. He waited for a reaction from Andi. She merely stared at him for a long time then suddenly realized he was not kidding her.

"Then we may be out there for a while," grinned Andi nervously.

"Fine, get something pretty." Her face was a mask of surprise as she leaned in for a kiss. She missed Lucy's scowl, but Paul didn't. When Andi left to go to the bathroom, Paul leaned over and said softly to Lucy, "Is there a problem here?"

"No problem," said Lucy into her coffee cup, "but my best friend isn't a gold digger and she's not for sale."

"Look, I understand that you don't trust me, sometimes I don't understand this whole thing myself, but I'm not trying to buy Andi. And to be honest, she doesn't know what my assets are, so if she's a gold digger she's either clueless about how the game is played or I am going to have to fire my accountant." He leaned over and spoke softly to Lucy, "I know gold diggers, I've had a few try to worm their way into my wallet, and you're right, she isn't one. If I had any idea that she was, kids or not, the moment the storm was over I would have dropped them off at the corner of US 219 and US 39." Lucy glared at Paul and he leaned back and sighed, then he shrugged. "We fell in love, what can I say?

"Say you'll never EVER break my best friend's heart," Lucy glared at Paul and her expression only changed a bit when Andi returned from the Ladies room.

After a discussion over coffee concerning where they're going to go next, the twins were divided. Sandy wanted to go look at dresses with her mommy, Madeline wanted to go home and get supper ready with her new daddy. "Fine, let's do it that way then," said Lucy and they headed out to the parking lot. Paul transferred Sandy's child seat (the one on the right) to Lucy's car, but as it came time for the girls to separate, they stood between the cars whimpering and holding each other's hand.

Paul crouched down and whispered to Madeline, "if you want to go help Mommy pick out a dress, that's ok. If I need help with dinner, I'll call Aunt Macy."

"You sure poppa?"

"I'm extra sure Love Bug."

"Bug bug."

And she kissed him on the cheek. "You can call me Maddy if you want." She whispered loudly. Lucy and Andi looked at each other in shock and Paul put Madeline's child seat in Lucy's car. Madeline absolutely hated being called Maddy, but she made this exception for her new daddy.

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Andi and Lucy were sipping mimosa from champagne flutes while Sandy and Madeline were sipping Sunny D from Paw Patrol sippy cups at one of the nicest wedding shops in Orchard Park. "I don't think she's getting it," said Andi as she looked at herself in a series of mirrors. She was a vision of white lace and satin.

"Looks nice to me." said Lucy signaling for more finger sandwiches.

"What part of "I don't want to wear white" do you think they're missing?

"You can wear any color you want, and white is a combination of all colors. At least on the spectrum it is."

"It is not, it's a lack of colors, and I can't wear white," Andi pointed to Sandy and Madeline who were making short work of the finger sandwiches. "The secret's out."

"Oh stop, you look beautiful."

"I look like a snowdrift. And besides, all of these dresses have to be made, altered, fitted, refitted, and re-altered. With a week and a half left I need to buy off the rack. But you did give me an idea," she gestured for more finger sandwiches and mimosa. When more snacks arrived, Andi asked the salesgirl "Do you have a white shawl?"

"Shawl?" the salesgirl was a bit confused until Andi explained what she was now planning. The salesgirl just grinned. "Hold on to your eyeballs, because we're going to knock them out!" and in a matter of moments she wheeled a rack of shawls, capes, and cloaks for Andi to inspect.

After they finished the drinks and sandwiches, they strolled out to Lucy's car with a box containing a white satin cape bespeckled with hundreds of rhinestones. Then they went to an upscale apparel store and found a dress that was exactly what Andi was looking to wear in her wedding, and two matching dresses for her tiny bridesmaids. Then they argued over what color of a dress Lucy should wear. Andi insisted on red or green to match the season and Lucy said that she refuses to wear a dress. Lucy has always been a 'tomboy' and her femininity has always been rough and ready, playing sports preferring to beat the boys at their own games. She tried to get Andi more interested in women's sports, but Andi decided that she played all the softball she wanted in her youth. The only outdoor sport she still played was archery.

In the end Andi and Lucy compromised, Lucy agreed to wear "sort of" a dress and her idea gave Andi what she wanted Paul and his best man to wear. Lucy doesn't mind wearing skirts, she finds them comfortable, but what Andi had selected for herself and Macy didn't fit Lucy's body image.

When they finally got home, they found another car in the driveway and they couldn't get into the garage. Andi parked near the back door and they carried their bags, boxes, and treasures into "Madeline's House" where they found Paul, John and Macy waiting in the kitchen sipping egg nog and laughing over tales of Christmases long gone by.

After giving Andi a kiss and each giggling twin a hoist in the air and a kiss, Paul did the introductions. "Lucy, this is my brother John, pastor at the Springville Congregational Church, and this raving beauty sitting next to him is his professor, the Reverend Marie-Claude Solange Dagenais, did I get the faux Quebecois accent right this time Macy?"

"Spoken like a true east side Buffalo pollock," she said with an amazing west side Buffalo accent as she rose and gave him a faux slap in the head. Relaxing to her normal, beautiful Quebecois accent she introduced herself "I am the former Reverend Marie-Claude Solange Dagenais, now I am just Macy Jarecki, sister-in-law to this galoot. Did I say that right dear husband?"

"It's pronounced jamoke dear, as in Hi, eyeyam John, dis here jamoke's kid brudder," as he shook hands with Lucy.

Lucy, for her part, was surprised that she was being accepted with such warmth. Didn't they know that she was here to protect Andi, and to do that she would probably have to stop this wedding.

After introductions the adults retired to the formal dining room, while the twins retired to the breakfast nook with their Happy Meals, crayons, and their Barbie Wedding coloring books that Macy had discovered and believed would help the twins understand what was going on with their momma and poppa. The formal dining room was awash in holly garland, pine boughs, red ribbons, and candlelight. A fire burned in the dining room fireplace and a small nativity scene was centered on the mantel. The doorway to the parlor framed the beautiful blue spruce which stood guard over the front window.

After a prayer of grace, the adults tucked into a treat that Andi had never heard of - stuffed pork chops. They were served with roast fingerling potatoes and white asparagus. By earlier agreement, John, Paul, and Macy (mostly Macy) kept the conversation light during dinner; they spoke of the weather, and the local characters that make Springville such an interesting town to live in, but also they spoke of the Buffalo Bills and their hopes for a Superbowl season next year. This is a conversation that has been held around dinner tables in Western New York since 1969.

Finally, after dessert, when coffee was served, it came time to talk about the herd of blue elephants in the room: Melony and Frank. "Look, ask my counselor, Melony has been out of my life for over 10 years, I'm good now," insisted Paul. "Her ghost isn't going to screw up this relationship."

"What about Donita?" asked Paul's counselor, Macy.

Paul bristled at the name. "Donita was a mistake; I was seeing her too soon after Hurricane Melony. I was lonely and tried to fill my life with someone I thought I could talk to." When Andi shot him a questioning look, he blurted out, "Ok, how was I to know she barely spoke English? Besides, if it weren't for her there would be no Wonka. I got him just because he understood me better than she could."

"Macy's just hacking on you Paul," said John as he patted Lucy on the shoulder. "Donita was a fiery Mexican senorita, and she was quite a handful for Paul. But she could cook, and she taught Paul some really awesome Mexican dishes."

Paul turned to Andi. "It wasn't a sexual relationship either."

At first Andi was relieved to hear that, but then the thought of a woman turning down Paul's advances... there had to be something wrong with a woman that didn't what to have sex with someone as wonderful as her fiancé. "Why not?" she asked.

"I don't hablas espanol. I didn't know how to ask her," Paul said with a shrug.

Andi gave him a withering look then raised her left hand, made a loose fist, then with her right hand extended her index finger and shoved it into the fist of her left hand. "Oh sure, NOW someone tells me," groaned Paul to the laughter around the table. He continued, "I've been completely relationship free for at least five years now, I should have all the toxins out of my system."

"And what about you?" John asked Andi. They really hadn't started pre-marriage counseling sessions yet so he was interested in how she felt about her ex.

"I've been over Frank since the day after we got married," she groaned. "I feel like I was railroaded into marrying this guy by my mother, and he turned out to be a real zero. It's a nice night and I don't want to ruin it by talking about him, sorry, but that's how it is."