David wakes Erica with a kiss
Yay, it's the wedding. I hope you like. The stuff in italics is D&E telling the story. No
that's not the story they're telling hte boys, LOL, I mean not in that detailed. That's just for the readers. Hope you like. 
Part II
"Pine Valley," Nicholas laughed, "There's no castles in Pine Valley."
"Of course there is," David told them, watching both boys shake their heads, "Where else would the prince and princess live?"
"What their names?" Noah asked, shifting his eyes from his daddy to his mommy, who flashed him a knowing smile.
"Prince David and Princess Erica,' David told them through a wink as he watched both boys smile back at him.
"You're silly, daddy," Nicholas laughed.
"I wants story," Noah chimed in, nodding to his daddy.
"Good, because it's one of the greatest love stories ever told," He told them, though his eyes had drifted away from them and were now locked with Erica's. Definitely the greatest love story ever told.
"Tell the story, daddy," Nicholas piped in, breaking the spell his parents seemed to have fallen under.
Erica laughed, peeling her eyes from David's long enough to look down at her little men, "Yes, tell the story, David," She said, nodding through a bright smile as she and her boys turned their eyes on him.
"Alright, alright," He laughed, shaking his head, "It all stated on a snowy night in Pine Valley," He told them, watching their eyes fill with wonder and curiosity. They knew bits and pieces of his and Erica's courtship, but nothing like he was going to tell them. He felt it was important for them to know how their first wedding had almost not come to be and the lessons both mommy and daddy had learned from it all.
"Prince David and Princess Erica were stranded at the airport in New York," He began, "The weather was to bad for the planes to fly, so the only way home was to drive. Prince David rented a car to drive home, but when he went to pick up there car, someone was already in it."
"Princess Erica," Nicholas laughed, looking past Noah at Erica.
"That's right," David told him, "Well, Prince David didn't like that and wanted Princess Erica to get out of his car so he could drive home. But she wouldn't get out, so he got into the car intending to drive home."
"Princess Erica told him not to drive," Erica interjected with a sly smile and a knowing wink.
"Cause it was snowing," Nicholas half asked, half said, watching his parents nod.
"Prince David didn't listen, and tried to drive them back to Pine Valley, despite the blizzard," He continued, stopping to cast his eyes down to his boys, who were waiting with baited breath.
"He should have listened to Princess Erica," Erica chimed in, flashing her husband an adorable smile, "because they got into an accident."
"Oh no," both boys exclaimed, eyes going from parent to parent and back again as they waited for more of the story.
"Ah, but if Prince David had listened to Princess Erica there would have been no accident, and he wouldn't have been there to save her life; help nurse her back to health."
"He saved her?" Noah asked watching his daddy nod.
"And then he took care of her; helped her heal," Erica added, all smiles as her eyes drifted toward David.
"Did he kiss her?" Nicholas asked with a mischievous smile.
"Yes he did," David replied, nodding, "And even though he'd loved her long before that first kiss, he knew then that they would be together forever."
Erica drew in a hard breath at his words. She already knew he'd loved her long before that first kiss, not far away from there current hotel, but hearing him say it always managed to take her breath away; sweep her further off her feet.
"And they got married and lived happily ever after," Nicholas finished, all smiles.
"Not quite," Erica replied, "Love isn't that easy, baby."
"But that's how the story goes mommy. The prince and princess get married and live happily ever after."
"That's how this one ends too," David assured them, "It just didn't always go the way they wanted it too.."
"How can that be? How do you lose a person's dress?, "Erica blew angrily into the phone, "I'm getting married in a week."
David listened from the kitchen, watching her pace around the living room as she read Donna Karen's assistant the riot act. Not that he blamed her for losing her cool, in the last three days the caters had called to tell them of an error in scheduling that left them double booked for their wedding weekend; the flower company had phoned the next day, worried because the Orchids they'd ordered were on back order and probably wouldn't be ready for the wedding, and now her dress was MIA despite an invoice that said it had been shipped to her.
"I don't care what your invoice says or doesn't say, my dress better be here in a week or you'll be hearing from my lawyer," She hissed into the phone before pushing the end button and hanging up. "Uh," She let out in a mock scream as she tossed her phone toward the kitchen.
David made a quick move to his left, bypassing the flying cell phone by just a few inches, "I'm on your team, Erica," He told her with a smile, "What's going on?" He asked, despite the fact that he already knew.
"They can't find my dress," She sighed, shaking her head as she moved toward the couch, "They say they shipped it out last week, yet no one knows where it is now." She told him, flopping down on the couch with an exhausted and exasperated sigh.
"Well," He started, headed for the couch, "there's still a week until the wedding, I'm sure they'll find it."
"That's not the point," She breathed, sliding in next to him as he sat down next to her.
"I know," He nodded, sliding in next to her, "It'll all work out."
"How can it, David?" She sighed, shaking her head, "The cater is already booked. The Orchids are back ordered and my dress is who knows where. How can we have a wedding without those things?"
"We just adjust the details to work with what we do have," He told her, watching her tilt her head and raise an eyebrow at him, silently wondering if he was serious or not. "It can still be a beautiful ceremony without all those things."
"Hardly," She blew back, "Maybe we should just postpone the whole thing." She wasn't serious, or at least she wasn't completely serious, though the idea of putting the whole thing off until things were absolutely perfect was tempting.
"You're not serious," He tossed back, shaking his head.
"Not completely, no," She told him, "But maybe we should think about it, at least until we know things can be perfect."
"Things are never going to be perfect, Erica. Something is always going to go wrong," He reminded her, watching her nod back at him.
"Yes of course, but at least by waiting we'd be guaranteed to have food, flowers and I'd have the dress I want."
"You'd postpone our wedding because of food and flowers?" He asked, a slight hint of disbelief tinting his words.
"You wouldn't?" She asked back, holding his eyes, "This is the last time I'm doing this David, I want it to be perfect. Don't you?"
"Erica, I don't care if you were my Stanford sweats and a tee-shirt when you walk down the aisle. I don't care if there's flowers or an empty room. And I sure as hell don't care if the people of this town have food at a reception. I could walk into City Hall sign the papers and it would make no difference to me, I'd still be your husband. That's all I want."
She let out the breath that had caught in her throat and blinked back a few tears, her mouth open to respond, but no words could find their way through the well of love and honor his words had evoked in her. "David," She finally managed to push out before he shook his head to stop her.
"I want a marriage, not a wedding," He told her frankly, "And if you'd be willing to forgo the rest of our lives together because of flowers and food, maybe you're right, and we should postpone."
"David," She started, ready to tell him that he was right and that she'd marry him without all of those things, when his pager beeped loudly.
"I gotta go," He told her, eyes peeling from hers, as he got up from the couch, "We'll talk later." His voice was soft and faraway, and she wondered for a moment if that's what defeat sounded like.
"David," She started, but he shook his head, leaning down so he could drop a quick kiss on her lips.
"I love you, Erica," He breathed against her lips, "And I want you happy. If you want to wait for the flowers, the food, and your dress, then we'll wait…but I don't care about any of it."
She watched him walk toward the door, back to her, no other words spoken.
Part II
"Pine Valley," Nicholas laughed, "There's no castles in Pine Valley."
"Of course there is," David told them, watching both boys shake their heads, "Where else would the prince and princess live?"
"What their names?" Noah asked, shifting his eyes from his daddy to his mommy, who flashed him a knowing smile.
"Prince David and Princess Erica,' David told them through a wink as he watched both boys smile back at him.
"You're silly, daddy," Nicholas laughed.
"I wants story," Noah chimed in, nodding to his daddy.
"Good, because it's one of the greatest love stories ever told," He told them, though his eyes had drifted away from them and were now locked with Erica's. Definitely the greatest love story ever told.
"Tell the story, daddy," Nicholas piped in, breaking the spell his parents seemed to have fallen under.
Erica laughed, peeling her eyes from David's long enough to look down at her little men, "Yes, tell the story, David," She said, nodding through a bright smile as she and her boys turned their eyes on him.
"Alright, alright," He laughed, shaking his head, "It all stated on a snowy night in Pine Valley," He told them, watching their eyes fill with wonder and curiosity. They knew bits and pieces of his and Erica's courtship, but nothing like he was going to tell them. He felt it was important for them to know how their first wedding had almost not come to be and the lessons both mommy and daddy had learned from it all.
"Prince David and Princess Erica were stranded at the airport in New York," He began, "The weather was to bad for the planes to fly, so the only way home was to drive. Prince David rented a car to drive home, but when he went to pick up there car, someone was already in it."
"Princess Erica," Nicholas laughed, looking past Noah at Erica.
"That's right," David told him, "Well, Prince David didn't like that and wanted Princess Erica to get out of his car so he could drive home. But she wouldn't get out, so he got into the car intending to drive home."
"Princess Erica told him not to drive," Erica interjected with a sly smile and a knowing wink.
"Cause it was snowing," Nicholas half asked, half said, watching his parents nod.
"Prince David didn't listen, and tried to drive them back to Pine Valley, despite the blizzard," He continued, stopping to cast his eyes down to his boys, who were waiting with baited breath.
"He should have listened to Princess Erica," Erica chimed in, flashing her husband an adorable smile, "because they got into an accident."
"Oh no," both boys exclaimed, eyes going from parent to parent and back again as they waited for more of the story.
"Ah, but if Prince David had listened to Princess Erica there would have been no accident, and he wouldn't have been there to save her life; help nurse her back to health."
"He saved her?" Noah asked watching his daddy nod.
"And then he took care of her; helped her heal," Erica added, all smiles as her eyes drifted toward David.
"Did he kiss her?" Nicholas asked with a mischievous smile.
"Yes he did," David replied, nodding, "And even though he'd loved her long before that first kiss, he knew then that they would be together forever."
Erica drew in a hard breath at his words. She already knew he'd loved her long before that first kiss, not far away from there current hotel, but hearing him say it always managed to take her breath away; sweep her further off her feet.
"And they got married and lived happily ever after," Nicholas finished, all smiles.
"Not quite," Erica replied, "Love isn't that easy, baby."
"But that's how the story goes mommy. The prince and princess get married and live happily ever after."
"That's how this one ends too," David assured them, "It just didn't always go the way they wanted it too.."
"How can that be? How do you lose a person's dress?, "Erica blew angrily into the phone, "I'm getting married in a week."
David listened from the kitchen, watching her pace around the living room as she read Donna Karen's assistant the riot act. Not that he blamed her for losing her cool, in the last three days the caters had called to tell them of an error in scheduling that left them double booked for their wedding weekend; the flower company had phoned the next day, worried because the Orchids they'd ordered were on back order and probably wouldn't be ready for the wedding, and now her dress was MIA despite an invoice that said it had been shipped to her.
"I don't care what your invoice says or doesn't say, my dress better be here in a week or you'll be hearing from my lawyer," She hissed into the phone before pushing the end button and hanging up. "Uh," She let out in a mock scream as she tossed her phone toward the kitchen.
David made a quick move to his left, bypassing the flying cell phone by just a few inches, "I'm on your team, Erica," He told her with a smile, "What's going on?" He asked, despite the fact that he already knew.
"They can't find my dress," She sighed, shaking her head as she moved toward the couch, "They say they shipped it out last week, yet no one knows where it is now." She told him, flopping down on the couch with an exhausted and exasperated sigh.
"Well," He started, headed for the couch, "there's still a week until the wedding, I'm sure they'll find it."
"That's not the point," She breathed, sliding in next to him as he sat down next to her.
"I know," He nodded, sliding in next to her, "It'll all work out."
"How can it, David?" She sighed, shaking her head, "The cater is already booked. The Orchids are back ordered and my dress is who knows where. How can we have a wedding without those things?"
"We just adjust the details to work with what we do have," He told her, watching her tilt her head and raise an eyebrow at him, silently wondering if he was serious or not. "It can still be a beautiful ceremony without all those things."
"Hardly," She blew back, "Maybe we should just postpone the whole thing." She wasn't serious, or at least she wasn't completely serious, though the idea of putting the whole thing off until things were absolutely perfect was tempting.
"You're not serious," He tossed back, shaking his head.
"Not completely, no," She told him, "But maybe we should think about it, at least until we know things can be perfect."
"Things are never going to be perfect, Erica. Something is always going to go wrong," He reminded her, watching her nod back at him.
"Yes of course, but at least by waiting we'd be guaranteed to have food, flowers and I'd have the dress I want."
"You'd postpone our wedding because of food and flowers?" He asked, a slight hint of disbelief tinting his words.
"You wouldn't?" She asked back, holding his eyes, "This is the last time I'm doing this David, I want it to be perfect. Don't you?"
"Erica, I don't care if you were my Stanford sweats and a tee-shirt when you walk down the aisle. I don't care if there's flowers or an empty room. And I sure as hell don't care if the people of this town have food at a reception. I could walk into City Hall sign the papers and it would make no difference to me, I'd still be your husband. That's all I want."
She let out the breath that had caught in her throat and blinked back a few tears, her mouth open to respond, but no words could find their way through the well of love and honor his words had evoked in her. "David," She finally managed to push out before he shook his head to stop her.
"I want a marriage, not a wedding," He told her frankly, "And if you'd be willing to forgo the rest of our lives together because of flowers and food, maybe you're right, and we should postpone."
"David," She started, ready to tell him that he was right and that she'd marry him without all of those things, when his pager beeped loudly.
"I gotta go," He told her, eyes peeling from hers, as he got up from the couch, "We'll talk later." His voice was soft and faraway, and she wondered for a moment if that's what defeat sounded like.
"David," She started, but he shook his head, leaning down so he could drop a quick kiss on her lips.
"I love you, Erica," He breathed against her lips, "And I want you happy. If you want to wait for the flowers, the food, and your dress, then we'll wait…but I don't care about any of it."
She watched him walk toward the door, back to her, no other words spoken.
