My Sweet Canadian Girl Ch. 13

"We know that," my mom said smiling at Cassie.

"There's something else we need to discuss and we may as well do it now," my father said. "This is for you too. Both of you," he said passing me an envelope with Richard and Cassandra written on it in fancy handwriting.

"Open it," my mother said when I looked to her for a hint. Holding it made me nervous so I tore it open and emptied it on the table. The small piece of paper fluttered to the table and landed face down. I turned it over and my heart skipped a beat. Cassie gasped out loud and looked at me waiting for me to do what was right.

"Is this even real? We can't accept this from you," I said.

"Your sister said almost the exact same thing. It is real and you will accept it," dad said.

"You gave Susan and Brian the same amount?" I asked.

"Yes but not until I reminded her I still had all the information I needed to wire money directly to her bank account if she refused," he said.

"But how? Why?" I asked trying to understand how my father could hand us a check for $100,000 when we just finished arguing over the price of a two-week honeymoon in Australia.

"Let your father explain," mom said.

"A father is supposed to teach his children and I failed miserably," he started.

"Dad don't say that," I said.

"I'm not afraid of the truth no matter how much it hurts," he said. "Over the past few years my children have taught me more about what love is than I could have ever learned on my own. I hurt the people that mean the most to me to earn that money. I broke your mother's heart and I was more like a bank machine than a father when you were growing up. You asked me how. Well that money is part of what I was left with from selling the house after my last divorce," he said. I could hear the double meaning, last as in most recent and the last he'd ever go through. "We gave the same amount to Susan and the rest went into retirement savings."

"But why dad? This is your hard earned money," I said.

"Why? Because I wasted what should have been the best years of our lives as a family to amass my small fortune. Everyday I worked late, every year I gave up my vacation time, I convinced myself it was okay because I was doing it for my children. You and your sister turned out fine thanks to your mother and I was left with a pile of money and an even bigger pile of regrets. I know what you're like Rick, you're already crunching the numbers in your head figuring out how much faster you can have your new house paid off if you put that money down on the mortgage tomorrow," he said smiling at me. "If my money buys you one more Saturday afternoon to play catch with your own son someday or lets you take an extra week of vacation with your family from time to time, then my life won't feel like such a complete waste anymore. I know you'll always put your family first but hopefully this money will help make doing the right thing even easier."

"You were supposed to buy your own house with that money," I said.

"I like the one your mother has now just as much as I did the day we bought it," he said.

"The house we have," my mother corrected him. "You might not have lived there for long Gordon but you still helped pay for it."

"You're... I mean it's... what happens if..." I was trying to ask a thousand questions at once.

"I think he's wondering if this means you'll be getting married again," Cassie said.

"Lets worry about one Kellogg family wedding at a time," my mom said smiling at my father. I knew that they had already discussed it, that there had to be some understanding that their rekindled relationship wasn't a short-term thing. They weren't about to steal the focus away from our wedding though. Maybe they never would exchange vows again but I could tell my father was more committed to my mother than he ever had been before.

"Dad I don't know what to say. There aren't enough words..."

"Then don't say anything. Your mother and I came up with the idea when we decided to stay in her house. Our house I mean," he said correcting himself and giving my mother his warmest smile. "We're too old to be moving into a bigger house ourselves and not quite old enough to retire yet. I look at Susan and Brian, you and Cassie and I see what I once had. I suppose I could have just written it into my will but I have a lot of living to do yet and lost time to make up for. This way I get to see it make a difference in the lives of my children, to give you and your spouses a good head start," he said.

"Gordon you're too hard on yourself," my mother said, her eyes full of tears.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you," he said.

"Stop saying you're sorry for everything," mom said wiping her eyes.

"But I am sorry," he said helplessly.

"Well I am too," she said pausing when she remembered they had an audience. "We'll talk about it later," she said squeezing dad's hand. If Cassie and I weren't there she would have said more, a lot more. "We should eat before our food gets any colder. Australia sounds nice. Do you have any sightseeing planned yet?" she asked.

Cassie and I told them about our plans for our two weeks in Australia. We had already booked a suite at a Sydney hotel for our trip. My sweet Canadian girl reminded me as we made our plans that this was our honeymoon and we were going to do things both of us wanted to do. Cassie wanted to see the world famous Sydney Opera House so we ordered tickets to a concert by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and made reservations at a swanky restaurant for a late dinner after the show. There were a few excellent art galleries that she wanted to visit that we'd go see on a rainy day. I was sure there was more she wanted to do but she wouldn't mention anything more until I picked something.

The first thing on my list, though not something we'd reveal to my parents, was sex and lots of it. Cassie giggled and assured me there would be as much love making as I wanted but that was something for both of us not just me. I told her I wanted to spend a day at the Taronga Zoo, which made her smile and nod because she knew it was something I'd truly love doing. The next thing I mentioned was touring some of the Olympic facilities from the summer games they hosted in the year 2000 and maybe catching a sporting event there if we could. Finally, I told her that we had to visit the beaches while we were there and should try some surfing. Her face lit up asking me if I had ever done it. I hadn't but I imagined it was like snowboarding on water. It was her favorite idea yet, even better than the things she came up with, so it was definitely added to the list.

Before dropping Cassie off at her brother's house we took my parents on a brief tour of the city. We wanted to give them plenty of ideas to keep themselves entertained during the day until our wedding arrived. Ideally we would have had the week off to play host to them and our other out of town visitors but we were lucky to have enough vacation time left for our honeymoon after the trip to see Susan's baby in April. Both my parents had us writing down directions to get back to some of the places we showed them. Certainly they wanted to spend at least one day taking their granddaughter around Vancouver, which would give Susan and Brian a day to themselves in a beautiful new city too.

I got out of the car and walked Cassie to the door at her brother's house. It was later than I thought and all the lights inside were out though the porch light had been left on for her. She worried that we were holding my parents up as we traded kisses in the shadows but I convinced her they didn't mind waiting. My cock grew hard as we made out squeezing in some practice dancing that would be far too risque for a wedding reception. She let me rub my cock against her and even grabbed hold of it for a moment before pulling her hand back as if it seared her skin. I don't know how close she was to dragging me inside to fuck her as she stammered her way through a quick goodbye and stepped inside locking the door behind her, partly to keep me out and just as importantly to put a barrier between her at the temptations of my cock.

Wednesday and Thursday evening were reserved for wedding rehearsals, including dinner at a nice restaurant for the whole bridal party and some other select guests. To be honest I thought the idea of a wedding rehearsal was a little silly. I'd been to a number of weddings over the years and they all looked pretty much the same to me. It was important to Cassie though so I paid close attention and kept Greg in line when he tried to joke around. Getting to practice our ceremony in the church let everyone get a feel for the dimensions at least. We went through the whole ceremony twice on Wednesday and once more on Thursday night to make sure everyone knew their part.

Father Roberts who was marrying us was a Godsend pardon the pun. He was an older priest, well past the age when most people retired, but he often told his parishioners that he'd retire the day the lord called him home. Cassie and I first met with him to start planning the wedding months ago. We confided to him that we were already married since last August but none of our friends and family knew about it. Cassie was crying as she told him why we wed in secrecy and how much it hurt to hide the truth from our loved ones. Hiding something as important as a marriage was a sin, but getting married instead of living together out of wedlock had at least prevented us from committing another sin. Before we could get too excited he explained that sins didn't cancel each other out so we would need to ask God for forgiveness. He wasn't permitted to divulge anything we confessed to him, which meant our secret was safe with him. Even the ceremony would look like any other wedding because it was our first in a church.

Friday we spent with our respective families. My mother and sister spend most of the day preparing food at our house to host a gathering for the groom's party and most of my out of town guests. While we were celebrating in our new home, Cassie was part of a similar event at her brother's house. We weren't supposed to see each other or even talk with just a few hours until the wedding but I managed to sneak away to use my laptop and spoke to her for a few minutes over the internet. I knew she was probably crying but my words comforted her and by the end she was making jokes full of sexual innuendo that left me gripping my hands in frustration. The last thing I said before going back to the party was that I loved her and that she should wear anything under her wedding dress that wasn't easy to remove.

Before going to bed that night I took a sleeping pill to help me fall asleep. I was so excited I wouldn't have gotten any rest without it. My father asked me if I was nervous before I headed upstairs and I smiled without saying anything. Most men were probably wrestling with uncertainties the night before their weddings but I didn't feel any of that. Cassie and I were already married so that was part of it. Even if she wasn't my wife already I would have been almost as relaxed. I loved her so much that the prospect of spending the rest of my life with her wasn't nerve wracking; it was a dream come true. Both of us had been anxiously anticipating the day of our wedding so we could stop hiding the fact that we were husband and wife. Starting tomorrow we could begin living our life the way we wanted.

I woke up on June 25th, 2005 and looked at the clock. It was early yet but Cassie's flowers should be arriving at her brother's house soon. No doubt she was already up and worrying about everything at once as she got ready to marry me in front a church full of our loved ones. I could picture Cassie in her beautiful dress and realized it was a huge advantage I had over most grooms who didn't get to see their brides in their dresses until they walked down the aisle. Cassie always looked beautiful but in her wedding dress she was absolutely heart stopping. A bride is supposed to be the most beautiful woman at her own wedding and Cassie could be that if she rolled out of bed minutes before the ceremony started.

The first thing I did was shave carefully to avoid any cuts or razor burn. I didn't shower yet waiting until closer to the time I needed to get dressed. Drifting downstairs I made a cup of coffee and sat out on the patio let the sun shine on my face. It was easy to imagine eating breakfast with Cassie there on our days off. No one else was up yet so I had time to think and used it to review the wedding in my mind. I was trying to think of something that could go wrong so I could fix it beforehand. When nothing came to mind I found myself reflecting on the incredibly happy life I'd been living since the day I met my sweet Canadian girl riding her snowboard with a pair of honey blonde braids streaming behind her.

My sister was the next one up; well third if you count baby Rebecca who woke her mommy up to fed her. She came downstairs after feeding and changing her daughter to talk to her little brother. I started cooking breakfast as she held her daughter on her lap and gave me advice on how to be a good husband. The tone of her pep talk for me was of the don't you dare fuck this up nature. Susan knew Cassie was the best thing that ever happened to me but she was worrying needlessly. I was going to spend my life showering Cassie with love and doing everything in my power to make her happy. The last thing Susan said before our parents came down to join us was that she never imagined I'd marry a woman she'd be so proud to call her sister in law.

Mom and dad came downstairs followed soon after by Brian. My mother took over cooking duties from me and told me to sit down to enjoy my last few hours of freedom. I made her smile by saying if freedom was nights without Cassie then I'd be happy to lose mine today. Being the day of my wedding I was expecting some sage like advice from my father but all he did was remind me to learn from his mistakes and make sure Cassie and our children always came first. I promised to quit my job if it interfered with my ability to be a good husband and father, which made him relax visibly. Mom was the only one who showed full confidence in me. It made perfect sense because she was the first person to believe that the love between Cassie and I was meant to be without the slightest hint of skepticism. She had always wanted the best for her son and Cassie was just that.

The morning went by incredibly fast and before I knew it I was in my car with Susan, Brian, and the baby driving to the church. Dad followed closely behind and could call Susan's cell phone to get relayed direction from me if we lost him. Not surprisingly we were the first people at the church arriving a full hour and half before the ceremony was supposed to start. I though waiting near the front entrance to greet our guests would have been a good idea but mom told me I had to wait inside so Cassie could make her entrance unseen. Not long after we got there the organist arrived and began warming up. It made me tingle with joy to think about how close we were now.

Shortly thereafter vital members of the wedding party began to arrive. Lei dropped off Tim, Greg, and Miguel along with Anita who looked relieved to find so many familiar faces waiting in the church. Moments later Marc and Jay arrived giving me a full compliment of groomsmen. They took turns standing in the entrance greeting our guests as they arrived. I made sure they knew to watch out for the sick kids and seat them and their families in a place where Cassie was sure to see them. The bride's side of the church was filling up so quickly that they stopped asking and began seating people on my side to even things out. The first few rows were reserved for close family with the best seats in the church set aside for both sets of parents.

I wasn't allowed to leave the main part of the church because everyone thought Cassie's dress was going to be a complete surprise. Visions of her in the dress filled my mind constantly but I was sure I would be surprised by how badly my memories paled in comparison to the real thing. I asked my mother to help me inspect the flower arrangements to pass the time and what seemed like moments later I turned around to see that the church was full. Mom made her way to her seat and Marc who had been greeting guests hurried to the altar to tell me his sister had arrived.

One by one the bridesmaids made their way slowly down the aisle to stand opposite their assigned groomsman. We had taken some liberties with the traditional order pairing Marc and Julie with each other and Tim with Lei when the match ups should have been reversed. Then the music changed and so did my life forever. The familiar dummm dummm dum-dum, dummm dummm dum-dum of Here Comes the Bride made my knees shake as I realized we were minutes away from the life we wanted so badly. I strained my neck for a glimpse of her knowing it would be impossible to tear my eyes from her once them found her.

In Canada there's a menswear store that runs this great ad campaign. It reminds grooms that on their wedding day when everyone else is staring at your bride, she'll be the only one looking at you. The message to look your best for the woman you're about to marry stuck with me and was the last thing that ran through my mind before Cassie's radiant beauty filled it. Without taking my eyes off of her for a even a fraction of a second I knew the commercial was right, that everyone was watching the same beautiful woman I was. Her eyes were for me alone though. She didn't even blink as camera flashes flickered throughout the church and her calm, steady footsteps never altered even though I could tell a part of her wanted to run to my side.

Not until she and her father reached the altar did I even notice him. I did a double take when I saw tears welling in his eyes. Cassie noticed them too and hugged her father whispering something softly that made him smile broadly. She lifted her arm from her father's and placed in on mine as we turned in unison to face Father Roberts who was ready to marry us. The priest said an opening prayer and asked if anyone had a reason we shouldn't be married that they come forward now or forever hold their peace. I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder at Cassie's father who smiled at me before tilting his head to tell me that I should be paying attention.

My mother was called to the pulpit for the first reading from scripture. Until she started to speak in a firm clear voice I was a little worried that she could potentially break down in tears and be unable to continue. She made it through though and told me after it was her refusal to let Cassie and I down that helped her keep her composure. Cassie's mother would be reciting the second reading but in between Father Roberts led us in the singing of a hymn. For an old man he had a powerful voice that filled the church. I shared a hymn sheet with Cassie and sang along with her. Hers was the only other voice I could distinguish aside from the priest's.

Cassie's mother did a wonderful job with the second reading though she did take a moment to compose herself before she began. When she was finished she took and deep breath and made her way back to her husband's side to enjoy the remainder of the ceremony. Father Roberts read the gospel verse and then asked everyone to be seated again as he offered his sermon. He began by saying that if there had been more women that looked like Cassie in his day he wouldn't have pledged his life to the priesthood quite so quickly. After accepting our laughter with a warm smile he spoke to everyone gathered, though his words seemed meant for Cassie and I. His message was pure and simple. A marriage was a promise between two people to face whatever life threw at them side by side. When your life as husband and wife neared an end on this earth there should be no doubt in your mind that you and your spouse helped each other reach that end and enriched every moment of the journey in between.