Chapter 27

Another month or so passed, I was at work, I got a call from Jennifer. It had been months since I had heard from her.

“Hey Jeff, how are you?” she asked.

“I’m doing well Jen, and you?” I replied.

“I am ok too, thanks.” she answered.

“So I hear you’re going out with Beth. Your mother-in-law talked to my Mom yesterday. Told her you two had been dating for a while now.” she said.

“Yes, we have Jennifer, going on two months maybe.” I answered.

“Anything serious?” she asked.

“I sure hope so, I really like Beth a lot.” I answered quickly.

“Oh.” she said, quietly.

We talked for a while and I sensed from her conversation, perhaps she was struggling in her relationship with Tiffany. She told me she thought she had made a huge mistake in a round about way. I think she was expecting me to perhaps ask for more details, but I had no intention of doing so. We talked for a while, then she told me she had to run.

“If you ever need a date on Friday night, call me.” Jen said softly.

“I sure will sweetie, thank you.” I replied.

The next six months moved along quickly, Beth and I were extremely happy, we spent as much time together as possible. My in-laws had accepted the situation, although I know her mother was still a bit uneasy. Her Dad seemed overjoyed we were together, I had not seem him this happy in quite some time. Most people that knew us both, were aware of our relationship and most seemed genuinely happy for us. Apparently it had taken quite a while for the news to reach Lance, he called Beth one evening when I was with her at her house. He started right in, no formalities, no pleasantries.

“So Beth, I hear you’re fucking Jeff now. You’re own brother-in-law, how sick is that?” he laughed.

“Well first Lance, you have no room to criticize anyone. You cheated on me throughout our entire marriage.” she replied, “But to be honest, I could care less about what you think. I stopped caring years ago.”

She continued her verbal assault before he could reply.

“I will tell you this Lance. Jeff makes me feel special, every minute of everyday. My feelings, my happiness are first in his mind. He makes me very happy and I am deeply in love with him. Never, even for one day in our marriage, did I feel as much of a woman, or as secure as I do now.” she ended.

“I bet you were fucking him when we were still together huh?” Jeff said.

“No, I was completely faithful to you as far as sex went for our entire marriage.” Beth replied.

“Well I hope you two weirdos are happy with each other.” he responding, slamming the phone down.

Beth recounted the conversation to me quickly, not seeming upset a bit at the confrontation. I told her to forget it, it meant nothing.

Beth had decided to give her Mom and Dad a surprise party for their Fifty Year Wedding Anniversary. She went all out with a local band, a huge hall, catering, photographer, the works. I helped her as best I could trying to keep all the details under wraps which proved every hard to do. But it seemed to all come together and we were only a week or so from the big event. I found out that Beth had arranged for a minister to be there, giving my in-laws the chance to renew their vows. That night lying in bed, I had an idea, it would be perfect. I decided that right after my in-laws renewed their vows, I would ask Beth to marry me, right then. Truthfully Beth and I had never really had a discussion about marriage, we were just taking things day to day. But I loved her with all of my heart, I wanted her to be my wife.

The next day, I went to the local jeweller that I dealt with to see if I could have a ring designed on short notice. The owner told me things were relatively slow, he thought he could pull it off. I reached into my pocket and pulled out Susan’s wedding ring. It had been made from her grandmother’s wedding ring years ago and since it was Beth’s Grandmother as well, I wanted to incorporate the diamond into Beth’s ring. He showed me settings, we chose one that seemed perfect, we then added more diamonds to it, and finalized the price. The price took my breath away for a second, but Beth was worth every penny.

I was nervous all week, praying that the ring would be finished on time, sure enough two days before the party, he called to say the ring would be ready the next day. I was so relieved, now I could proceed with my final plans.

I stopped at the jeweller’s to pick up the ring the next day, the party was that night. When he showed me the ring, I was blown away. He had taken Susan’s Grandmother’s diamond which was four carats and made it the center piece. He then surrounded it with a dozen smaller diamonds placing them all on the woven rope gold band. It was the prettiest ring I have ever seen. I thanked him for rushing the ring through and hurried out. I hid the ring in the trunk of my car making sure Beth had no chance of stumbling on it.

Beth was a nervous wreck the day of the party trying to finalize all the details. I went to meet the caterers at the hall, showed the band where to set up. We had less than two hours to prepare. Things moved along well, so I left for home to shower and change. Beth had set up a ruse for her parents, telling them it was a retirement party for a friend of my Father-in-Law’s, who was in on the ruse as well. I met Beth at my house, she had already showered and was getting dressed. She left before me, she was picking up her parents and driving them there. I left straight for the hall about thirty minutes later, arriving before Beth. I am guessing there were close to one hundred and fifty people there when I arrived. I moved around the room greeting the people that I knew, most of them long time friends of my in-laws. Seated at one of the tables, I saw Jennifer, her mother, father and sister. I knew this was going to be awkward but I had no choice. I walked over and said my hellos. Jen got up, hugged me softly, kissing my cheek. She whispered softly in my ear.

“It’s ok, I told them, they know.” she stated.

Her mother got up as well, gave me a hug and a kiss. I shook her Dad’s hand as well. They seemed at ease, I hoped that they were supportive of Jen’s decision. I promised I would be back to chat later but I knew from the time, Beth would be arriving any minute.

I made one final pass around the hall and everything appeared to be ready. Several minutes later they arrived. Beth led them into the hall and the entire crowd erupted in a deafening “SURPRISE”, that made them almost jump from their shoes. As they scanned the room at the people, the decorations and the food, it took a few seconds for them to realize this party was for their anniversary.

My mother-in-law began crying and hugged my father-in-law tightly. She then turned and hugged her beautiful daughter, who had made all of this possible. They slowly moved through the crowd, greeting everyone, thanking them for coming. I waited until they were done, then made my way over to them.

“Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad, I hope you were surprised.” I said.

“Oh My God, Jeff, I was speechless. Beth told me she couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you so much sweetheart.” she replied, kissing me.

“Thanks Jeff.” my father-in-law said, extending his hand, “This means a lot to us.”

“You’re both very welcome, but that beautiful little girl over there is responsible for all of this. I didn’t do much.” I responded, pointing to Beth.

She was indeed beautiful as always. She was wearing a red, tight fitting, mid thigh dress, with black high heels. Her hair was just off the shoulders and looked amazing. I moved over to her, getting through the crowd.

“Hi baby, you did it, they were surprised.” I said, grabbing her and hugging her tight.

“I know. Thank you so much for all the help.” she replied with a gleam in her eye, “Everything is perfect.”

I turned and noticed several people looking at us somewhat strangely. It suddenly dawned on me that a lot of these people had no idea about Beth and I. Well before they left, I was sure they would get all of the details. I smiled and moved back into the crowd, mingling with the guests.

The party moved along really well, the band was excellent, playing a really wide range of songs that appealed to everyone. A lot of people were dancing, eating, really having a great time. I decided to set my plan in action. I scanned the crowd and saw my father-in-law talking with a group of men in the corner. I walked over to them, he introduced me as his son-in-law, which he always did.

“Dad, can I speak with you for a moment?” I asked, “It won’t take long.”

“Sure Jeff.” he replied, “I will be right back guys.”

We moved away to a secluded area right near the entrance to the hall.

“Dad, I want to ask you something.” I said.

“Sure, Jeff. What is it?” he asked.

“I would like your permission to ask Beth to marry me, Dad. I love her with all of my heart. I know this hasn’t been easy on you, but we are very happy together.” I finished.

He looked down for a second, like he was searching for the right words. An awkward silence passed between us, then he looked back up at me, extending his hand.

“Jeff, you asked me this once many years ago. I was hesitant then, but I agreed thinking you were a good man. Now all these years later, I have no hesitation at all, you have my permission.” he said.

“Thank you Dad. But you sure you don’t want to run it by Mom first though?” I asked.

“Jeff, trust me, it’s still a bit unorthodox to your mother-in-law, but she knows you both love each other. Beth has never been happier, that I know. She loves you to death, she will be fine.” he finished.

“Ok then, I need one more thing from you.” I asked.

I reached in my pocket and pulled out the ring box, and a note. I opened the box, showing him the engagement ring.

“Damn Jeff, that’s gorgeous, your mother-in-law is going to be jealous as hell.” he laughed.

“Thanks Dad.” I replied, “After you and Mom have your dance out on the floor alone. Will you read this note for me to everyone? After you’re done, I will ask Beth if she will marry me.”

“Sure son, I would be happy to.” He said, grabbing the note.

He read it carefully, a smile crossing his face as he did. He finished, folded it, putting it in his top coat pocket.

“This is very good Jeff. And a bit tricky on your part. I think it will work out perfect.” He replied.

The party continued, people were still arriving slowly. I would say there were slightly over two hundred people in the hall by now. I moved around trying to find Beth again, hoping to sneak a dance. As I moved towards the band, Jennifer’s mother, Miss Margie grabbed me by the arm.

“Jeff, can I talk to you for a second?” she asked.

“Yes, ‘Mam. What I can do for you?” I replied.

“Jeff, I was devastated when you and Jennifer stopped seeing each other. I just couldn’t figure out what happened. You two appeared to be so happy.” She started.

“Yes Mam, I was too. I really like Jen.” I responded.

“A few weeks ago, she came to me and explained what happened. I was shocked, hurt and terribly upset. I have been struggling with this for a while now. I am so sorry, I misjudged you.” she apologized.

“It’s ok Miss Margie, I just want Jen to be happy.” I replied.

“It took me a while to come to that same realization Jeff. As long as she is happy, that is all that’s important to me.” she said.

She went on to tell me she had met Tiffany and she seemed like a very nice girl. She told me it would still take some time to get used to it, but she would work through it. She thanked me and moved back to her family. I continued towards the band area, just as they announced they were taking a break. There were two lead singers, one male, one female, who alternated singing, depending on the original artist of the song, both were extremely talented. I caught them before they left the stage area and mentioned what I had in mind. They both immediately jumped at the idea. They discussed the songs that they could do for the moment, but the female singer threw out an idea, one song she thought was perfect. I told her I would trust her selection and that the song was to be played right after my father-in-law read the note.

I moved back to the crowd and found Beth. She was talking with a couple of her Aunts when I walked up. They greeted me warmly, it had been some time since I had seen either of them. I am not sure if Beth mentioned anything about us being together, so I played it very casual. We talked for quite a while, then the band took the stage once again. The singer announced that this next song was only for my mother and father-in-law. They both stepped out on to the dance floor and the music began. The band chose the song “Still” by Lionel Richie, which I thought was a great choice. We all watched as the happy couple danced around the floor, talking and whispering to each other. It was a really happy moment for everyone, to see a couple reach fifty years of marriage, still this much in love.

The song ended, everyone gave the happy couple a huge round of applause. They waved their thanks to the crowd, my mother-in-law walking off the floor, my father-in-law instead moved to the stage. Mom turned to him with a strange look on her face, he motioned with a wave of his hand it was ok. He stepped to the microphone shyly, reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out the note. He leaned into the microphone and spoke very slowly.

“First I want to thank everyone for this very wonderful surprise. We will never forget this day, it will always be special to us. To my beautiful daughter Beth, we love you, thank you so much.” he started.

Everyone applauded, he held up his hands for quiet. He once again leaned forward.

“I was here maybe for an hour, when I decided to write down a few of my thoughts, if you will indulge me for a moment, I would like to read them. Please understand, I wrote this on the spur of the moment, so be kind.” he said, opening the note.

“As I get older, it seems life gets more confusing to me. The only thing certain about life is you only get one and you never seem to have enough time with the ones you most love in life. I have been blessed by God to be loved by several women in my life. I lost one of them many years ago, probably the reason why I cherish the others so much. I know my Susan is up there, looking down on me with that beautiful smile of hers, the one that could light up a room, on a dark night.” he continued.

I looked around at the crowd, every gaze was focused on him. I looked over at my mother-in-law and Beth, standing side by side, holding hands. They were both crying, wiping their cheeks as they listened to the words. I slowly, but surely worked my way around until unknown to either Beth or my mother-in-law, I was a few feet behind them. I reached my hand into my pocket, placing it on the ring. My father-in-law continued reading.

“We lost her at way too young an age but she taught us a valuable lesson. Never take loved ones for granted, for life has promised you too few days to spend with them. For that I will be forever grateful to her. That is why, now after all these years, I want to tell the one person in this room, just what she means to me.”

He looked up at my mother-in-law and Beth standing side by side. He noticed that I had moved behind them, he knew he could continue. Both women were openly moved, tears running down their cheeks.

“It has taken me years to really understand, how I have reached this spot in my life. At times, I am still not sure how or why I am here. But this much, I do know for sure. I love you with all of my heart, for without you, I cannot be me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, for without you I have no life, it would be meaningless. You are the most beautiful, intelligent and vibrant woman I know, I promise for the rest of my days, I will do my best, each and every one of them to make you feel that way.” he ended.

He looked up at my mother-in-law, the crowd was applauding loudly, especially the women in the room. He looked down and paused, a serious look on his face. He looked up again slowly, again directly at the two women in his life.