Arriving back at our villa, I tell Lalaina to give us fifteen minutes, before they start to serve us our wedding dinner.
After calling Jake to tell him to log on to Skype, we finally connect to not just Jake, but Elise, Anna, Beth, their husbands and kids as well. This brings tears to Rona’s eyes and I feel myself getting all choked up.
“Looking at your faces, does this mean congratulations are in order?” Jake asks, grinning with his arms wrapped around Elise.
“I’m now officially Mrs. Cade Matthews,” Rona announces, flashing her hand for all to see. Pulling her back into me, I steal a quick kiss, which has everyone cheering from home.
“Is everyone all right back there?” I ask.
“Everything is fine, Dad. Don’t worry about anything. We have it covered. Just enjoy your time with Rona.”
“Hiya, Rona. I’ve been telling Honey Bee about you getting married. She misses you,” says Gaby.
“I’ll be home in a week. Perhaps when I get back you’d like to go riding with me and your grandpa?”
“Yeah! Yes please.” Gaby dances around.
“Oh, by the way, ladies, I went shopping in Dubai. Lingerie! Do I need to say more?” Rona teases my daughters and Elise.
“Shit, it’s not like the,” Jake coughs, “dress, is it?”
“Jake, whatever do you mean?” We both laugh now. “There is even less material to what I’m bringing back for the three ladies. In fact, I refused to let your father in the shop with me. I thought it might be too much for him with me buying things for his daughters and daughter-in-law.”
“Oh my God, guys. You better stock up on condoms,” Jake whispers, so that the kids don’t overhear him.
“All right, we’re going to go and eat now, but we’ll see you all in a week.” I try to bring the conversation to an end.
“Hang on Dad. We have something to tell you,” Anna says.
“Go ahead.”
Is Jake blushing?
Anna takes a deep breath. “We realize that Rona is, um, younger than you and that she might want children.” At this my heart starts beating wildly. What the hell is coming next? I chance a glance at Rona, hoping that what my children say won’t upset her as she’s already pregnant.
Taking hold of Rona’s hand and linking our fingers together, I say, “Go ahead, Anna, it’s okay.” I try to keep my voice calm.
“Okay, well what we want to say is, well it’s like this . . .”
“Shit, Anna just spit it out will you?” Jake snaps, frustration clear on his face.
“What she’s trying to say Dad, is that, if Rona wants children, then that’s fine with us,” Jake tells us.
“We know you don’t need our permission, but remembering the ‘birds and the bees’ talk you gave us, we figured we’d get this out of the way and tell you first before you have something to tell us, sort of like a verbal wedding present,” Beth finishes.
I look at Rona and she mouths, ‘yes’ to me.
“Well that’s good, because that’s what’s going to be happening in about eight months’ time,” I announce, with a big grin on my face.
“How did that happen?” Beth asks.
“The usual way. Perhaps we need more practice to refresh your memory,” Mack tells his wife, to everyone’s amusement.
Rona
After the Skype call with the Matthews’ clan back in Jackson Hole, we have a lovely meal prepared for us in our villa, followed by coffee and the dessert I’d ordered instead of a wedding cake. The dessert is made up of chocolate dipped meringues, layered with strawberries and cream. It’s delicious and melts in my mouth.
I’ve just showered and I’m now waiting for Cade to join me for our wedding night, while I admire my perfect rings.