Finding a New Kind of Love

Preparing for the Big Day

    It was the next morning, Lanie called me at home, and had me come over to go over some other things for the wedding, we only had one week left and she wanted everything to be just right.

     I knocked on her door, she opened it, and there she stood looking so incredibly beautiful. She didn't have on any makeup and she still was in her pajamas. Darry loved when she looked all-natural. He always thought that Lanie looked beautiful without all those things. "Baby, I wanted to ask you how you wanted to decorate the picnic area for the wedding. My mom went and bought a bunch of wedding decorations and she even got some things to make gift bags for the guests. We have 50 people coming, so we need to start working on some things." she said worryingly. "Honey, don't worry we will get everything done in time, I promise you. It will all be perfect!" confirmed Darry.

     Lanie and I started looking through all the boxes of things that her mother had bought for us. There was a lot inside; white candles with red ribbons around them, there were some small circular mirrors and some bags of white stones. Also, a sign that read, "Mr. & Mrs." and a lot more odds and ins. It wasn't cheap stuff, it was really expensive beautiful stuff. In another box were some grab bag items that included some birdseed to throw as we walked by, some bubbles, and thank you letters that Lanie and I would individually write in. It was going to be a very busy day.

     Darry's mother was at work but afterward was going to head to the local Cosco, a large grocery store that carried items in bulk. The idea was to get all the food that they would need for the reception. Darry had a large deep freezer inside their basement where they could store the food until it was time to cook it. So now that the food was taken care of, they started working on grab bags.

     Lanie had started working on the thank you cards, as Darry started adding the birdseed and bubbles into the bags. "Thank you all for coming out to celebrate our wedding. Darry and I can't thank you enough for all of the love and support. Love Always, The Darnells." she wrote.

    The grab bags were all finished. Darry got up out of the floor where he was sitting and walked over to Lanie. He grabbed her hand and kissed it then kissed her forehead. "I know this is a lot. With trying to find the perfect dress, trying to make sure that all the decorations are set to go, and making sure all the food is taken care of. You have been so patient, and I am proud of you. I just needed to tell you that." emphasized Darry. Lanie kissed Darry so passionately and lay her head on his lap as she curled up on the couch. "I'm not going to lie. This is more stressful than I thought it would be. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I have the love of my life sitting here with me. I do wish one thing though. I wish that I wouldn't have had that miscarriage. We would have a beautiful baby girl/boy here with us to be at the wedding." she said as tears streamed down her face. "Honey, I know it hasn't been easy dealing with it, it's been hard on the both of us. I try not to think about it but I find myself doing just that. I know that you would be a great mom, and I know that I would be a great dad. But God has other plans for us right now, and it just isn't meant for us to be parents right now. That doesn't mean that we never will, it just not our time." sniffled Darry as he wiped the tears from her face.

     Lanie smiled at Darry. He always knew the right things to say to make her feel better. "You are right, when it's meant to be, it'll happen for us," she said. "Now, what do you think about writing out our vows for the wedding?" spoke Lanie. For a moment, Darry paused and bowed his head to the floor. "You know that I'm not good with words. But if that is what you want to do, then let's do it!" he said with a smile.

    "Great! Now the reception, I know we are having it at your house. So do you have any ideas on how to decorate it?" said Lanie. "Well, we could get some red and white balloons and place them around the pool on the fence. Mom says that she knows someone great with decorating, and she offered to come over and fix it all for us so that we wouldn't have to worry about it and could focus on other things." Lanie was so relieved. She honestly felt like we would have to do everything, and it scared her. I mean we were still young and didn't exactly know what we were doing. Thankfully we had the love and support from our parents, which helped tremendously.

     Darry had decided to head home for the night because it was starting to get late. Lanie's father calls, "Hey babydoll. How is the wedding planning going? I am on my way home from work and I thought that I would stop and pick up a pizza. Does that sound good for dinner tonight? "said. "Yeah dad, that's great. Mom just got home from Cindy's house. Cindy and Mom hired a decorator to come over and go over the decorations for the reception after the wedding. I love you, see you when you get here." she said.

     Lanie's dad used to be in the Marines. He had problems out of his legs for as long as she could remember. When Lanie was 12 years old, her dad was stationed overseas to protect a village and their people from some terrorists who were making threats to blow up their village and the village leader. The Sargent, Lanie's father, and another gentleman were supposed to be in the vehicle in front. But for some reason, they ended up getting switched. Lanie's father's best friend Rick ended up in the vehicle that was in front. Lanie was thankful that there was a mix-up. If the two vehicles wouldn't have gotten mixed up, her father wouldn't be here. The vehicle that was in front was blown up by a rocket from one of the terrorists. The vehicle that her dad was in caught fire and had flipped upside down. Luckily her dad survived, only to be paralyzed. The doctors told him that he would never be able to walk again. Fortunately, he had been going to therapy for years and years, and it was paying off. He could walk, little by little, just not for long periods.

     Lanie's father blames himself for what happened to Rick. He often says, "It should have been me in there." Rick had a wife and 4 children. Young children that needed their father. After the accident, Lanie's father received the purple heart for his bravery and dedication to the Marines. He was released honorably for what he did.

     After about twenty minutes, Lanie's father Cane knocks on the door. Lanie opened the door and he gives Lanie a huge hug, then hands her a gift bag. "For you my love." This is one of many wedding gifts that you will get." he smiled at me and then headed into the living room where Anita was sitting on the couch. They kiss. "How was your day dear?" she said as she helps him to the lift on the stairs. That's how Lanie's father got up and down the stairs comfortably since he couldn't walk. "I'm going to take a bath, and then we can eat. Please, Lanie, open your gift. I'll be down soon." he said. Lanie walked over to the couch and sat down. She tore all the wrapping from inside of the bag and at the bottom was a necklace with a note that read, "Here is your something new." love Dad. The necklace was a locket, and inside was a picture of him and her when she was just a baby. Inside read, "Daddy's little girl." Lanie started to cry.

It wasn't long before her dad and mother came back down the stairs. Lanie immediately ran up to her dad, sat in his lap, and threw her arms around his neck. "I love you, daddy, thank you for my gift. I love it," she said. "You're welcome, sweetheart. No matter what happens in this lifetime, you will always be my little girl, now let's eat!" he commanded.