Catching Caitlin (17 page)

“Did you propose to me?
Like, was that real?”

He blushed, “It was to me.
Was your answer real?”

I nodded, suddenly
feeling embarrassed. “Yes, yes, yes it was.” My ears burned, I couldn’t believe
it. “I just — I’m really surprised...”

“Sorry it wasn’t more...
formal.”

“I don’t like it being
formal anyway... it doesn’t feel as organic, as right.”

“I knew as soon as I saw
you again, I had to marry you, Caitlin.” He stood up and looked at me,
seemingly pleased with himself. “You had to be my wife.”

“It doesn’t sound like I
get a lot of choice in the matter,” I teased him.

He shook his head, “It’s
always been your choice. You’ve completely changed my life in the last couple
months. A complete turn around.” He leaned down and picked up his suit jacket.
He started rummaging in the pockets.

I thought about it, and
realized he had really been the main focus of mine too, the main instigator
that shoved me forward. I ultimately took control, but he helped get me
started.

He was turned away from
me when he dropped his jacket back to the floor. “I was going to ask you at
dinner tonight, but since things don’t always work out, well... you have to be
flexible.”

He turned around and went
down on one knee. He was still naked, but he held a small box in his hand me.

“I want to keep that
energy and life going, I don’t want to spend another year away from you. Every
year I want to grow, to change, with you, Caitlin Winters.” He popped the box
open, revealing a triple-studded diamond ring. It was embarrassing, but I
couldn’t stop myself from gasping at how it glowed in the light. I was sprawled
on the bed, my legs out from under me.

He smiled. “Will you
marry me?”

I nodded, tears filling
my eyes without my permission. “Yes, Hugh, yes I will!” He turned the box and
took the ring out. I presented him with my hand, and he slipped the ring on. It
was a perfect fit.

My tears broke and ran
down my face, there was no stopping it. I looked at him and laughed with
happiness. He sat down next to me, clearly relieved at my answer.

“You’ll make me the
luckiest man in the world, Caitlin.” I teared up, too overcome.

“If there was anything
you could have right now, what would it be?” he asked me.

I didn’t even need to
think, I already knew the answer. “Room service would really tie this all
together, not to mention staying here tonight, with you.” He reached down to
grab his clothes, and I grabbed his wrist. “Naked.”

He grinned, and kissed
me, pushing me back against the sheets. My ring caught on the fabric, something
I was going to have to get used to.

The day couldn’t have
been more perfect.

I
woke up the next
morning feeling satisfied and full of excitement. For a brief moment, I forgot
that I was at the hotel, and seeing the empty food service cart reminded me of
one more thing.

My ring.

I had slept with it, as
it only seemed fitting to wear it through the night. It wasn’t too extravagant,
but just the right size that I always thought I might have. The light filtering
through the blinds made the three diamonds shine. Hugh was still asleep next to
me, but I couldn’t contain my excitement.

I grabbed my phone and
called Aaron. As the phone rang, I realized how early it was. Good thing it was
the excited-early in the morning, not the I’m-in-jail-early in the morning.

He picked up, his voice
sounding strained and edgy. “Hello?”

“Hey Aaron, It’s Cat.” I
bit my lip, in an attempt to keep my mouth shut for that much longer.

“What’s going on? You
know how early it is?”

“It’s only seven AM,
Aaron, let’s not be ridiculous. I called with good news.”

I felt Hugh stir next to
me. I guess I could have been a bit more quiet. I’m sure he wouldn’t protest to
me being excitable about last night. His hand moved and grazed me, trying to
touch me. His eyes were still shut.

“I got engaged last
night.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Aaron
started. His voice immediately lifted, and I heard him sit up. “To who?”

“Who else? Hugh.”

“He’s in town? You didn’t
even tell me!”

“I didn’t want to spoil
it.” I smiled a little, and looked at him. Hugh’s eyes were open now, and he
looked pleased with himself. I leaned over him and kissed his head.

“You knew he was going to
propose to you?” Aaron's voice was a bit excitable now, which made me feel
relieved. “No, of course not.” I touched Hugh’s hair.

“Wow, I’m just — amazed.”

“You should be, you’re
the first to know.”

“Caitlin...” Aaron's
voice trailed off, “that — means a lot.” He paused. “Not even your parents?”

“Not yet. I think we’ll
see them later today.”

“Thanks for waking me up.
I don’t know how I’m supposed to go to back to sleep now,” he chided me. “Do
you know when the date will be?”

“No idea,” I looked at
Hugh, who heard his question. He shrugged.

“So no shotgunning it
huh?”

“Well,” I ruffled his
hair, and he chuckled a little. “I can’t make any promises.” I was just full of
smiles, and running on giddiness.

Aaron laughed, “I guess
I’ll find out. Congratulations, and tell Hugh I’m happy he finally caught you.”

“I think I caught him
really. Have a good day Aaron, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Cool, bye-bye.” Aaron
hung up. I turned to Hugh, and let the phone slip out of my hand to the sheets.

He growled, reaching
around me and pulling me close to him. I mock-gasped at him, and we kissed. We
were still naked, and I thought about one way we could spend the morning.

“It’s still pretty early
to be going to your parents’ house,” he said. “I just think maybe we should let
them sleep in a little.”

“You’re right,” I agreed.
“But that doesn’t mean we have to sleep, do we?”

I traced my finger around
his chest, circling his pectorals. He growled at me, pawing at my legs and
making me more excited.

“We might as well get
clean while we’re at it,” I said. He nodded, and started to climb out of bed. I
followed him into the bathroom, where the tile was familiar to me, and the
steam wouldn’t be the only thing getting hot that morning.

“We can pick up my dad so
he can finally meet your parents.”

“Sounds good,” I nodded
excitedly. “But not for a few hours...”

He shot me a mischievous
glance. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

***

A
bout a half hour later,
we pulled into my parents’ house with Sam in tow. Hugh’s dad was almost jumping
off the walls of the car he was so excited.

“Come on, let’s get
going!” He pushed open the car door and hopped out. Hugh and I raced to keep up
with him as he reached the front door.

He gave it two hard
knocks. Hugh and I looked at each other and tried to keep straight faces.

My mom answered the door,
smiling as soon as she recognized us.

“Hello! Caitlin? Don’t
you have a key?”

I blushed, “I forgot it
in the excitement.”

“The excitement?” She
invited us in, and led us to the living room.

Hugh introduced his dad
to my parents, who seemed very pleased to finally meet him. When we were all
settled on the couch, I held up my left hand.

“Hugh and I are engaged!”

My dad laughed loudly,
and he ended up coughing and wheezing to catch his breath. “I had a feeling
something was up. That’s amazing! When did this happen?”

“Last night. It was
completely spontaneous.”

“I’m speechless, Cat!” my
mom said. She was already crying with joy, and I really wasn’t ready to break
down again. My mom and dad hugged me, holding me tight.

“When is the wedding
going to be?”

“We haven’t decided yet.”

Hugh finally lent his
opinion. “What about this summer?”

I blinked. “This summer?
Like, next month?!”

“Yeah! What about July?”

I faced him, “July would
be beautiful...” I admired the ring. “July 22?”

He clapped his hands
together. “Done.”

“I can’t believe my
daughter is getting married,” my mom said, her sobs cracking her voice. I
hugged her tight.

“Mom, you’re going to
make me cry,” I said, my own voice cracking. “You’re contagious!”

“Why don’t you boys go
distract yourselves, I wanna talk to my daughter alone,” my mom said, still
leaning over my shoulder. My dad asked Sam and Hugh if they were into
woodworking, and led them out to the garage.

“You know what?” my mom
said after they left, regaining her composure. “I bet you’d fit in my wedding
gown. I still have it you know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, follow me,” she
said, leading me into her room.

When the bedroom door was
closed, she pulled out the white gown from the closet. It was wrapped in
plastic, and I was already stunned by how much it seemed to glow. It almost had
a pearlescent look to it. She took the plastic off and held it out to me.

“It’s... gorgeous,” I
said. I took it in my hands, feeling the fabric.

“Let’s see if it fits.”

I stripped down to my
underwear and pulled the dress onto my body. It was strapless, with fringed
decorations on the sleeves and bottom. A lacy texture covered it all over, and
the neck and back were deeply cut. As I popped it over my hips, it hugged me like
a glove.

My mom beamed. “It’s
perfect.”

I started to cry, and I
looked at her.

“I can’t believe you
still have this.” I looked in the mirror, admiring how snug it fit against my
body.

“I still remember my
wedding day with your father. He looked so sharp in his tuxedo. He insisted he
buy it, and I thought it was stupid. Of course, he looked way better than
anyone I’ve ever seen in a tuxedo. We had a little ceremony outside, with
blossoming cherry trees and a gentle breeze coming off the ocean. I think only
your grandparents and our closest friends were there.”

“That sounds... like the
kind of wedding I want to have.”

“A smaller ceremony is a
lot more... manageable.” She grinned. “I can’t believe... this is all
happening.” Her voice shook.

“Mom...” I started to
take the dress off, and my mom stopped me.

She wiped her tears away.
“Let’s just admire it for a little bit, it really takes me back.” I put my arm
around her as we looked in the mirror. My mom and I were cute together.

“I love you, Mom,” I
said. I couldn’t remember the last time I said those words to her.

She bit her lip, fighting
back tears again. “I love you too, Caitlin.”

It was good to have a mom
again, and to really feel like a daughter after so long.

W
e booked the date: July
22. It was a perfect day, and the venue
we picked was a little cheery orchard by the sea. They said they always had
fantastic July weddings.

Hugh flew back over to
Nevada at the end of June to get some of his staff members to start taking over
the reins of the solar project. He hadn’t yet finalized the entire design, but
everyone was really nervous about something going wrong and the entire project
putting the company under.

“I’m not worried about
it,” he told me. “These things have a way of working themselves out. Someone
has to be on the forefront of technology, and it should be us.”

After he got back, we
were eating breakfast at a little local restaurant. It was quiet and intimate,
which was a bit of an oddity for a place that closed at two in the afternoon and
was only known for its breakfast. Mainly the eggs benedict.

“We can’t stay in your
hotel if we’re going to be married and living together, Hugh.”

He scratched his face. He
had let a little stubble grow in, so it sounded like sandpaper. “I know, I’ve
been thinking about that too. We should start looking for some place to buy.”

“Oh man. I’ve always
wanted a fixer-upper to tinker with. My parents’ house used to need some work.”
I sipped my water.

He nodded. “I’ve thought
that too. My dad always was improving things. It’d give me something to do when
I’m not busy with the company.”

I nodded, “And it should
be kind of close to the university. Should we really buy something?”

“You mean we should rent
huh? I think I can figure something out. Don’t worry about it too much.” He
thought for a moment, “I still can’t believe your mom wouldn’t let me put the
deposit down on that orchard for the wedding. She’s certainly stubborn.” He
grinned at me.

“Well, she’s not the only
one. You guys fought about it for almost an entire day after all.”

He chuckled, shrugging
his shoulders. “Have you thought about our honeymoon?” he asked.

“Honeymoon...? A little
bit...”

“What were you thinking?
Just remember, we can go anywhere for however long we want.”

“I don’t really know if I
like the idea of a honeymoon really.” I took another bite of my food, milking
the moment. I could feel his eyes on me.

“What do you mean?”

“Why can’t our life after
getting married be our honeymoon? That’s how I feel. We should strive for that
kind of tenderness and love that the honeymoon is supposed to give you, but for
the rest of our lives.” I looked up at him, and his blue eyes dug into me. I
felt a bit weak from looking at him. He had this aura, a power over me.

“That’s beautiful. I like
that,” he whispered. “I think we can do that. I can do that. But we’re still
going somewhere too.”

I sighed, a laugh on my
breath. “Okay, fine. Let’s go to...” I looked around the room. “Venice.”

“Done.”

I reached over the table
and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. “No matter where we go though, it’s
like you told me when you proposed: I want to grow with you, not just grow old
with you.”

He squeezed my hand back,
and I felt a lump in my throat.

We got our check, and
left to go hunt some houses. We figured we’d try to focus on a thirty minute
drive from the university, that would give us a ton of room and a nice sized
house.

I imagined a place tucked
near the cliffs by the sea, with the cool breeze wafting the scent of fresh
ocean through the windows. The laundry all line-drying and smelling clean and a
little salty. That was my dream.

After driving around for
a couple of hours, we came upon a little two story house at the edge of Bangor,
near the cliffside coast.

It was square and blue,
colonial-style architecture. Dark purple shutters lined each of the white
windows. An impressive yard and garden stretched the hundred yards to the
cliffside, and a small light house was a couple of miles down the coast.

We made a call to the
banker that was selling it, and we got a showing that day.

It needed a lot of love,
some parts of the inside were breaking apart, and some of the wiring needed to
be redone. The plumbing was in good order though, and the hardwood floors were
in amazing condition. They just needed to be mopped up a little.

The kitchen window
overlooked the ocean, and you’d be able to watch the sun rise most of the year.
The banker told us that the yellow-blue light filters into the kitchen and
bounces off the tile, spreading all throughout the house.

The stairs were wooden
and old, but were serviceable. Nothing was completely irreparable.

Upstairs, across from the
master bedroom, were two smaller bedrooms. The decoration and wallpaper showed
that they used to be kids’ rooms, and I felt a twinge in my heart when I saw
them. The outline from a crib was still imprinted on the floor in one of the
rooms.

I squeezed Hugh’s arm,
and he smiled. I dug my head into him, hiding my tears.

I fell in love
immediately, and Hugh offered to buy the house. The banker couldn’t believe it,
saying that they had been trying to sell the house for the last decade, but no
one wanted it.

***

W
e met later at the bank.
The agent told us it would take a couple of weeks to finalize everything, but
he would personally delivery the keys to us when it was ready to be taken over.

“How many weeks exactly?”
Hugh asked him.

“When were you wanting to
move in might be a better question.”

“Well,” he slipped his
arm around me, “we plan on getting married near the end of July, so would it be
ready by then?”

The banker thought for a
moment, and nodded. “Just give me an address to drop the keys off, and I’ll see
what I can do. The biggest hurdle is making sure everything goes through with
the current owner, and so on. I’m sure you understand.”

Hugh nodded, and we
thanked the man and left. We headed back to his hotel and started talking about
the life we were going to build together. Just a couple of weeks and we would
be there.

***

A
aron, Vicky and I were
having coffee one afternoon, chatting about random stuff, when Vicky asked me
if I was excited. Thankfully, Vicky and Aaron got along really well, which was
nice. I was worried that Vicky would be too much to Aaron.

“Excited for what?”

“Your wedding!” She
looked astonished. “You know it’s only two weeks away.”

I panicked, feeling
caught unaware. “What? What the hell?”

“Yeah, are you ready at
all?”

I looked around the
coffee shop and my mind raced, trying to tally up all the things we still had
to do to make sure everything was ready. I spoke out loud during the process,
just so the two of them would know what I was thinking.

“Well, we got the venue
already booked, the floral arrangements set up, which was easy because of my
job. I have a dress, Hugh already owns a tuxedo... can you believe that?” I
counted on my fingers, lingering on each one as I checked the list off
mentally. “We already sent the invitations out...” I stared at the ceiling and
tried to think of anything else. “That’s pretty much it. It’s a small wedding.”

“Good, I’m just... I was
worried you know?” Vicky seemed a little disappointed. Aaron slipped his arm
around hers, and patted her hand.

“Worried? You don’t have
to be! I should be if anything.”

Aaron sipped his coffee.
“You’re not? What about cold feet? Doubts?”

“Nope, nope. I’m
extremely confident in everything. These last couple months has been a
turnaround you know?”

Aaron thought for a
moment, looking into his coffee. “You’re right. I’ve never seen you so happy,
so full of life. To be honest, Cat, I’m glad you got help. I was starting to
think I’d have to stage a one-man intervention.”

“I have to admit, I’m a
little jealous,” Vicky said. “I’m way older than both of you, and I’m still not
married.”

“I’m not either,” Aaron
said. “Besides, I don’t know if I want to be anyway.”

“Why?” Vicky wasn’t a big
fan of coffee, so she was drinking some chai tea. “I think it’s romantic.”

“Sure, but there isn’t a
reason to just want it outright I think,” Aaron said. “You have to have the
right person, at the right time in your life. Wanting to get married without
someone in mind is like...” he thought for a moment, “wanting a business
without an idea. It’s just the thought of being an owner that counts, or in
this case, being married, not that lifestyle.”

Vicky nodded a little,
relenting. “Maybe you’re right. Still, I don’t think that means we can’t be
happy or maybe a little jealous of the slice of happiness Caitlin has earned
for herself.”

They both nodded and
mumbled in agreement. “Does Hugh have a best man?” Vicky asked.

“I think he’s bringing
his old boss, Scott. I’ve met him briefly.”

“His boss? Are they
actually friends?” Aaron blurted out.

I stared at him and set
my coffee down. It was just grounds at that point. “His old boss. They’ve known
each other for a long time. I’d say Scott is kind of like a mentor to Hugh
anyway. Closer to friends than coworkers that is.”

Aaron leaned back and
picked up his biscotti and took a bite.

Vicky brightened up,
“Let’s get out of here and do something. Shouldn’t we be throwing Cat a
bachelorette party anyway?” She prodded Aaron out of his dejected mood. Aaron
sat up in his chair and nodded.

“Oh shit I almost
forgot,” he said. “I don’t really know if I can be involved in that whole thing
anyway.”

I shook my head, “I
really don’t need one, it’s okay.”

“No, I won’t take no for
an answer. You can’t get married and not have a bachelorette party, I think
even Aaron agrees with that,” Vicky said. He shrugged.

I relented, raising my
hands to say I gave up. “Alright, alright. Just remember, no alcohol.”

***

I
woke up on the morning
of July 22 with blurry eyes. The night before,
Hugh and I made an agreement to not see each other until the ceremony, so I
stayed at my parents’ and he stayed at the hotel.

It was weird waking up
for my wedding day in a bed I slept in during high school. I had plenty of time
to get ready and down to the venue, my mom and dad were carpooling me there. So
I was kind of dependent on their readiness.

My mom knocked on my door
and stepped in. She was already completely dressed.

“What are you doing still
in bed? Don’t you know what day it is?” She rushed over to me and started to
yank the covers off me.

“I know what day it is! I
don’t see what the rush is, it isn’t until three anyway. I barely slept last
night you know,” I snapped back. I stretched and tried to wake myself up a bit
more. I didn’t have to do much though, just saying the time of the wedding was
enough to get my heart racing. I was going to be Mrs. Evans. I couldn’t believe
it.

I beamed. My mom must’ve
known what I was thinking, because it got to her. “I can’t believe you’re
getting married!” she cried, sitting down on the bed and hugging me.

I patted her and squeezed
her back. “I know, me neither mom. Now I really
do
have to get ready
though.” I threw my sheets off and made my way to the bathroom. A power shower
was in order.

***

A
fter getting cleaned and
freshened up, my mom came in to help me do my hair. We decided on a braided
style. We curled it in long strands, then loosely braided it into three big
braids. Then we braided that one last time to let it hang down the middle of my
back. My bangs were clipped up, and a purple flower was set into my hair. We
put on the wedding dress, which still fit like a glove. We put on a bit of
purple eye shadow as a final touch to accent the flower.

“Hopefully he doesn’t
have a heart attack at the altar when he sees you,” my mom teased. I rolled my
eyes.

“He’s not seventy,” I
said. “But he will be one day, huh?” I thought about middle-aged Hugh, and even
if he turned from a muscled businessman to a wrinkled, sweet, old man, I’d
still love him. My eyes misted over

“This is why they
invented waterproof makeup,” my mom said. “Just for weddings.”

***

I
changed back into
casual clothes, but left my hair done up. As we were getting ready to leave,
the doorbell rang.

“I hope that isn’t Hugh,”
my mom muttered. My dad answered the door while I hid behind the stairs. The
realtor from the bank was there, gasping for breath. He held a key in his hand.

“Hello? Can I help you?”
my dad said.

“I’m from the bank,” he
said, gasping. “I have the key for the property on Seaside Crescent, for Mr.
And Mrs. Evans.” He held the key out, and my dad took it. I came out from my
hiding place, and the realtor recognized me.

“Oh! I’m glad you’re
here. I just got the paperwork finalized this morning.” He paused when he saw
my dress hanging on the stairway. “Oh my god, is today your wedding day?”

I nodded, “Yes it is.”

“I couldn’t have made
better time then. I hope you enjoy it.” He waved goodbye and left. My dad
handed the key to me, and I clutched it tight, unbelieving that it was the key
to my house.

“Hell of a way to start
your wedding day isn’t it?” my dad said.

***

B
ecause the ceremony was
just a small gathering of people, it wasn’t desperately urgent we get there
exactly on time. Which was good, because we ran a couple of minutes late.

My mom rushed me into the
dressing room. The venue actually had a honeymoon suite too, but thanks to the
key I had hidden away, we wouldn’t have to use it. I slipped back into my
dress, and my mom helped fix up my hair. Vicky and Aaron were there, both on
the verge of tears.