Chapter 27

            “Hey” AJ said as he held his front door open, looking at Kevin.  The cool breeze blew past him into his house.  “What’s up?” He asked letting Kevin in wondering when he’d start the wedding talk.

“Kristin and Chels left to go do wedding stuff and Mom took Mason out so figured I’d come over.” Kevin said as he closed the door behind him. “Do you have everything?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah Ma took everything to the restaurant already and is setting up the private room now.” AJ told him as he sat down on his couch.

“So I hear Chelsea found her dress.” Kevin said and AJ looked at him, waiting.

“That’s what she told me.” AJ replied back.

“Is she going to let you see it?” He asked.

“Nope.” AJ replied with a slight frown and Kevin smiled.

“I talked to Tim last night.” Kevin said and AJ didn’t say anything as he continued to look at Kevin.  “He wants to know why California.”

“As if it’s any of his business.” AJ replied sharply.

“Alex.” Kevin sighed.  “I told him I wasn’t sure why.”

“Cause we want it to be small, private, and we have special memories in Kentucky and Florida so we wanted to start some here.” He told his friend.  “We’re not rushing this.”

“You got engaged in October.” Kevin replied.

“And it’s a small, fifteen person wedding right there by my fence.” AJ said pointing out his window.  “What is there to plan?”

“She’s still dealing with a lot AJ.” Kevin said.

“And I’m not?” AJ told him.  “I’m the one she talks too, I’m the one that is around her, and I’m the one she shares the empty hole with.  I know what she’s dealing with and this wedding is something that we both want.  We just can’t sit around and wait for her to remember because right now we don’t have anything to go on.”

“But what happens when the wedding is over and all she has is waiting?” Kevin asked him.  “I’m not trying to come at you like my Brothers dude but you have to seriously think what is she going to do when this planning is over, when the wedding is done?”

“If you’re not trying be like you’re Brothers than stop acting like the only way she can be in this world is with some kind of damn career.” AJ shouted at him.  “She wasn’t chained to the wall in some room somewhere thinking, ‘oh geez I’ll never be this or I’ll never be that’, no she thought about not being able to get married, to have children, to just live, to be able to go out to dinner, to leave her fucking room.”

“What’s going on?” Chelsea asked as her and Kristin stood at the door.

“Thanks.” AJ sighed looking at Kevin before heading into the kitchen.  He opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water as he heard Chelsea go off on Kevin.

“What did you say?” She demanded.

“I was just talking; I’m just a little worried Chels.” Kevin told her.

“Worried about what?” She asked then she grunted and rolled her eyes.

“That this wedding is a distraction.” Kevin replied.

“Here we go.” AJ whispered to himself as he listened.

“A distraction?” Chelsea replied angry and stunned.  “A distraction from what, from the fact I have a daughter out there some where?”

“Chels.” Kevin said hoping she would calm down.

“A daughter that may not even be alive.” She ignored him and continued.  “Is that what I’m distracting myself from Kevin, the thought of her every day, what she looks like, is she happy, what her dreams are, does she even know about me or Alex or does she think the people she’s with now are her real parents, the thought of walking into her life and ripping all of it away from her? Is that what I’m distracting myself from?” Chelsea yelled as she stomped her foot.  “Because I can tell you Kevin there is nothing that can distract me from that!”  She looked at him, seething, and angry.

AJ got up from his stool and walked out of the kitchen.  He walked down the hallway into the living room and for the first time seeing how mad Chelsea was.  “You should go man.” AJ told Kevin when he walked in.

“No” Chelsea snapped quickly.  “I’m not done.” She then looked back at Kevin.  “What do you think I should do? Sit around the house? Play with the dogs? Go back to school? Find this oh so wonderful career that I wanted. Umm, hello? I didn’t have career picked out, I was focused on Gymnastics, that was my life Kevin and it’s not like I can just jump back into it.”

“I just thought…”

“Exactly everyone keeps thinking for me, like I can’t do it on my own.” She said as she threw her hands up.  “I’ve had a long time to deal with myself, thirteen years to think about me, I think I can pretty much figure out what I want and who I am in that time.  I don’t need no damn school to tell me that, I don’t need you and I sure as hell don’t need Tim or Jerald to do it.” She took a deep breath and then sighed.  “Now you can go.” She told him pointing to the door.

When the door closed and Kevin and Kristin left the house Chelsea looked at AJ.  “What did I walk in on?” She asked.

“Just Kevin running his mouth about how we should wait, that you’re using this as a distraction from Nadia and what would happen when the wedding is over.” AJ sighed as he sat down on the couch putting his bottle on the table.

“What did you tell him?” She asked.

“How much of my yelling did you hear?” He asked back.

“No much.”

“I just told him there was no point in waiting cause we just don’t have much to go on right now and he started in the Jerald and Tim shit about how you should think about your life and what you want to do, that’s basically where you came in.” He told her as she sat down beside him.

“I get that they care but seriously it’s getting old.” Chelsea sighed.  “I already have two of them not coming to my wedding because of this I don’t want him to be a third.”

“Well I think you scared him enough that he’ll shut up now.” AJ told her as he put his arm across her shoulder.  She looked at him and lightly smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Chelsea fixed the silver baby doll, empire waist dress she was wearing as she waited for AJ to hand the keys to the valet.  He took her hand and they walked into the restaurant together.  When they got to the host AJ told them his name and the man began to walk them into the dining area. He looked over at from the corner of his eye wondering what she was thinking.  AJ had told her they were going to dinner but he didn’t tell her everyone would be waiting for them.

“Right in here” The man said with a smile as he pointed to the back room with the large purple curtain hanging across it.  When AJ walked her inside everyone who was there shouted surprise at her and she froze in her spot.

“What’s going on?” She asked looking at AJ.

“Just a little surprise.” He replied with a smile.

“I thought you went home?” She said looking at Anne and Denise.

“No, we hid in the airport and took a different flight.” They told her smiling.  She rolled her eyes and looked at AJ.

“What?” He replied with a light laugh.

The couple said hello to everyone.  Howie, his wife Leigh, Brian and his wife Leigh-Anne, Denise, Anne, Nick and even Kevin and Kristin but Chelsea wasn’t really talking to him.  Soon after the couple arrived the food started to hit the table and the room was filled with talking and laughter.  When the food was gone the presents came out and when they were gone the cake came out.

It was almost one o’clock in the morning by the time Chelsea and AJ left the restaurant and headed for home.  The sky black but giving off tints of blue as it blended with the stars. The streets were silent beside just a few cars that would past them here and there.  With no traffic on the streets their time home arrived quicker.  They both got out of the car and met each other at the front, AJ wrapping his arm through hers and walked her to the door.  With the dogs at a ‘sitter’ for the night the couple got inside the door trip and stumble free.  AJ helped her take of her jacket and then hung it up for her as he hung up his. 

“I’m going to go changed.” Chelsea said as they walked down the hall.

“I’ll meet ya up there, going to check messages.” He told her before giving her a quick kiss.

AJ walked into his office and over to his desk, he skimmed through his emails, and listened to the messages on the phone, nothing major.  He then leaned over in his chair and reached down to the lower drawer in his desk.  Pulling it open half way he reached in and pulled out a white box about the size of a book, wrapped in soft purple paper with a soft purple ribbon crisscrossing over it.  Closing the drawer he smiled as he stood up and headed out of the office.  AJ walked right up stairs and into his room.  Chelsea was sitting on the bed rubbing her feet.

“I hate heels.” She sighed.  “Maybe I shouldn’t wear them for the wedding.” She looked up at him as he walked over to her.  “What are you hiding?”

As he sat down beside her he pulled the box from behind his back and handed it to her. “Your last present.” He told her.  “I wanted to give this one too you in private.”

She put the box on her lap and looked at it for a moment.  Slowly she started to open it and when she removed the paper it revealed a white box.  Pulling gently on the lid she lifted it off and pulled out the light purple leather covered book.

“It’s a journal.” He told her.  “You can write to Nadia and then maybe if we find her you can give it too her.”

Her hand drifted across the cover and then looked at him.  “Thank you.” She said with a light teary eyed smile.  Wrapping her arms around his neck she hugged him and he slipped his arms around her.

“Did you have a good time?” He asked as they sat embraced in each others arms.

“Yeah” She replied as she pulled away.  “It was fun and nice to see everyone together.”

“You barely said two words to Kevin.” AJ said with a light frown.  “I know you’re mad at him but this was your first birthday back with us.”

“I know” She sighed.  “I feel bad but when I saw him…I just got so mad again.”

He placed his hand over hers as it sat on the purple journal. “Maybe call him tomorrow?” 

“I will.” She replied with a light nod.