Juilliard or Else (52 page)

"I think this is yours." Tucker placed my now repaired snowflake necklace in my palm. Tears streaked down my face. He clasped it around my neck where it belonged. "Marry me, Gabs. Right now, no more running. You're mine and only mine."

I couldn't stop my head from nodding; I didn't even want a night to sleep on it. I wanted to marry him and make him my husband more than anything, and no one could stop me, not Carol, not Alex – nobody.

Tucker grabbed my hand as we ran to the moving taxi going down the street, and when we climbed in, Tucker said, "New York courthouse, please." I was all smiles as the cab drove us to the courthouse. I called Jade and told her our plans; she and Jett were going to meet us there to stand as our witnesses. Jett even said he had a surprise for us.

Tucker and I couldn't stop kissing each other, giving the cab driver a show all the way to the courthouse. His hand never left my belly, either. He rubbed it over and over while sighing in my mouth. And when he leaned more into my side and put some pressure down on my elbow, I winced and pulled back.

Tucker took a look at my elbow and shoulder as I told him everything that happened at the airport. I tried to bend in a way so I could see my elbow, but I couldn't see the gash, so he described to me.

"I don't think it's broken, but we'll get it looked at, I promise," he said as he kissed my forehead. I really didn't care if we got it looked at. I just wanted to get married.

We pulled up outside the courthouse and I spotted Jade and Jett at the top of the stairs. They both embraced us in hugs.

"It's about time you pulled your head outta your ass," Jade said in my ear and then whisked me off to the bathroom.

Jade had a white garment bag over her arm, which she handed to me while she unzipped it; inside laid a beautiful little white summer dress, which I knew well, and knew who it belonged to before. It was Rachel's dress.

"Rachel would have wanted you to wear it," she told me, brushing out my hair. Yes, she would have and she would be here getting me all ready with a cake load of makeup and pulling the crap out of my hair. I stifled a giggle at the memories I made with the mad redheaded girl.

Jade left my hair loose and I slipped in the white gown with matching white pumps. My heels clicked on the marble flooring as we approached a courthouse clerk who told us where to find the boys and the judge. The courthouse was all stone marble with deep dark wood for all the doors. Walking up to a metal detector, I went through it just fine, but Jade had trouble with her belt. A security guard helped us and then led the way to another door to another guard.

He nodded at us, "Miss Abigail, I presume?"

Breathlessly, I managed to get out a very quiet, "Yes," while death gripping Jade's hand.

"Right in here, ma'am." He opened the door with a big smile. The first person I saw was Tucker; he was dressed in an all-black suit and his wild long hair was slicked back, hands laced together in front of him. Anxiety raced through my body as I wanted to skip down to him. A judge stood up from behind his desk, dressed all in black with a white collar; I spotted Jett to Tucker's right and Jade held my hand as I walked the short distance to my knight, who I would always love and adore. Tucker's hand reached out for me and I took it as he pulled me tightly to his side, wrapping an arm around my back. My eyes couldn't leave Tucker's as the judge told us to repeat the vows, and he mouthed to me
,
"You're beautiful and I love you," through the entire process.

"Do you have rings, young man?" We both looked at the judge and we laughed. We didn't even think about the
rings.

"No," we both said in unison, still laughing.

"Yes, you do," Jett announced from the side. Jade took my hand and pressed a cold circle in my palm, while Jett did the same thing to Tucker.

"Abigail." I looked at the judge. "Repeat after me, my dear," I nodded and looked back into Tucker's blue sapphire eyes and I repeated the judge's words:

"I, Abigail McCall, take thee, Kyle Tucker, to be my partner in life. I will cherish you and love you today, tomorrow and for always. From this day on, I choose you to be my husband," I said and slid the cool silver band onto Tucker's ring finger.

I heard a little sniffle from Jade and looked over at them. She was leaning up against Jett, her head on his shoulder, holding a tissue to her chest. I hadn't seen her this happy since Rachel died. I looked back to Tucker, who had the biggest smile on his face.

"Very good. Kyle." He looked at the judge. "Repeat after me."

"I, Kyle Tucker, take thee, Abigail McCall, to be my partner in life. I will cherish you and love you today, tomorrow and for always. From this day on, I choose you to be my wife." We both looked down to watch Tucker slide the little matching silver band on to my finger; it was perfect. Tucker cupped my cheeks, meeting his eyes that were glossed over with unshed tears of happiness. "Abigail, I promise to love you for always. To love our baby, to always be there for you, never to leave you, to take care of you, no matter what. I'll always be here, baby girl."

The judge cleared his throat, "You may kiss your wife, Kyle."

Then our lips collided for the first time as husband and wife. I couldn't be happier to have chosen the right man for me. I knew that Tucker was going to be the best husband and father I knew he could be. People in the little room applauded for us as we continued to kiss each other, so soft and tender of a kiss. One person was still clapping. I glanced back to see my dad and Carol at the door, my dad the only one applauding for us.

My dad walked towards us with Carol on his heels, and not a very agreeable look on her face. "Welcome to the family, son," he said and my dad hugged Tucker with multiple pats on the back. Carol walked up to me with a sad smile. "Abigail, if this is what you want, it's your decision. Not a great or wise one, but hopefully you'll learn one day."

"I'm happy. That's all that matters to me." I stood my ground with her. My dad engulfed me in a strong bear hug and dragged me away rather quickly to the side of the room. I looked back to Tucker and Carol, who looked like she was apologizing to him while Tucker looked really mad with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Abigail, I wanted to let you know that I fired Alex," my head snapped back to his face.

"What? Why?" I asked with my mouth hanging open. I hope it wasn't because I decided not to go with Alex to Paris.

"Airport security told me what had happened when we came out. I found Alex and fired him on the spot for treating you the way he did." He exhaled, "I'm so sorry, sweetheart," Then hugged me again, as he got a little choked up in my hair from his tears.

Tucker cleared his throat and my dad stepped aside, lifting up his glasses and wiping away the tears from his cheeks, "Sir, I plan on taking care of your daughter, more than you will ever know. I promise," Tucker told him and my dad clapped him on the shoulder.

"From father to new son-in-law, you clean up your act. That's my daughter and grandbaby. I expect you guys to be over every Sunday for dinner once that baby comes. You got it?"

"Of course, Daddy," I said kissing his cheek. My dad left Tucker and me in the corner of the judge's little office.

"Thanks for the call, Harry," I heard my dad say, and then hugged the judge. Of course, the judge called my dad. He probably saw McCall on the list and panicked, knowing how ruthless my dad could be; my guess is he called him right away to get him over here.

"Any regrets, Mrs. Tucker?"

I looked back into Kyle's warm blue eyes with nothing but love and no regret whatsoever. "None, Kyle, absolutely none."

"Kyle huh?" he asked, cupping my cheek and I nodded.

"Kyle Tucker. My Kyle Tucker," I said into his hand, and then I pushed up on my toes to gently touch my lips to his. I loved him and this is where I belonged, with him and our little baby that was on the way.

"
This going to be enough?" I asked the manager of the new apartment building, that I just put a down payment on.

"Should be," he answered, clapping my shoulder. "Congratulations!"

I glanced up at the man with a wide smile. "Thanks." It felt pretty good to finally own my own place, something I thought would never happen. The manager, Saul, left me alone to take more looks around. It was a pretty decent sized place with two bedrooms, two baths and was clear across the city. Gabs would like it here; she sure would be surprised on how we could afford something like this, but what she didn't know was that while Gabs was going to the airport, Carol had a little visit with me, trying to pay me to stay away. Of course, I didn't have a chance to tell her to fuck off before my mother reached out and snapped the ten thousand dollar check from her spoiled rich fingers. I pocketed that money for a good three years, letting it grow in the bank so I could support Gabs and our family, just like I promised her.

My cell started ringing as I locked up the apartment door; I pulled out my phone to confirm it was indeed Mrs. Tucker herself.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe. You almost here? I'm so ready to be outta here." I could hear the rambunctious little kids in her studio, all ready to be done and go home.

Taking the stairs so she wouldn't hear the ding of the elevator, I said, "Yep, on my way. I have a surprise for you."

She inhaled a breath. Gabs always loved surprises, even if it was the smallest things. One more thing you could add to the list of why I love her so damn much.

"I'll be there soon. Be ready to go."

"Okay, I love you."

"I love you, too, Gabs."

I hung up the phone and skipped down the six flights of stairs. I hailed a cab and told him the address of the little studio Gabs ran with Jade. It was Jade's idea to start up the
Little Ballerinas.
Jade would handle the bookkeeping and Gabs would teach.

Jade and Jett were the awesome couple of the group – always smacking some sense into us when Gabs and I would fight. They were happy together and they were perfect. Jade still had problems with her dad and step mom from what Jett told me. And they didn't like Jett too much, either, but that didn't stop them from getting engaged. Jade started planning a rock and roll wedding – something Gabs wasn't happy about. She said she wasn't going to wear black to her wedding. While Jett and I were busy tattooing all day, Jade and Gabs were together, going to meet some doctor. Gabs didn't really go into any detail about why Jade went, but Gabs said it was helping with her throwing up thing. It was fine while she was pregnant; she only threw up when something didn't agree with her and the baby, but whenever Carol was around, that changed. Gabs told me that she felt she had control over it now and felt better about herself.

When I arrived at the studio, parents were there picking up their little children. Checking my watch to notice that I still had five minutes before Gabs class got over, I entered the building and walked down the little hallway to the five year old ballet class. I leaned on the doorway to watch as my beautiful wife helped the little girls bend their knees and keep their arms out in front of them, then back up without them falling.

My eyes scanned the room as I looked for a particular little girl somewhere. I found her standing behind her mom, holding her purple blanket in one hand and twirling her finger around in her blonde hair with the other. I whistled quietly to get her attention and when she heard me, she screamed out, "Daddy!" causing some of the girls to fall from being startled so badly. Gabs looked over at me with that same look I fell in love with four years ago. I winked at her, and just that easy, she blushed.

My legs were tackled as my little girl hugged them so tightly, "Daddy, up, up, up."

Reaching down, I picked up our gorgeous daughter. "And how is little miss Mia doing today?" I asked while giving her a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm mkay, Daddy. Mamma say she tired."

"Oh she is, huh? Well we better get her home then." I set Mia down and she grabbed my hand to watch Gabs close her class for the day. After Gabs found out she was pregnant, she quit her one year at Juilliard and went to the local college to get her teaching degree in dance.

Even though she had given up on her dream to have our daughter, she wanted to at least teach ballet. We did fine as a couple. David was livid when he looked at the books to see a ten thousand dollar check written out to me. He announced that he was done and Carol divorced him a little while later. About a year after their divorce, Gabs had lunch with Trish, Rachel's mom. Gabs came home with a plan to set them up and they had been together ever since. Trish was still having a hard time dealing with Rachel's death, and Brad, too. I think it was hard on all of us. But David and Trish were good together. Skinner was sentenced to eight years in Ricker's for the murder of Rachel. Trish was happy he was put behind bars. My mom, on the other hand, wasn't.