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Chapter 33 Chapter 33

 

            Andrea heard her cell phone ringing and she didn’t need to look to see who it was.  Annie, leave me alone, she thought to herself, but answered it anyway.  Before she took off from the rest area, she had thought ahead and hooked the hands free set up to her cell phone before she began driving so she could talk and drive at the same time. 

 

            “Where are you?  I am at the rest stop and I cannot find you,” Annie shouted into the phone, knowing darn well that Andrea had taken off. 

 

            “You know where I am, so don’t even start.  The whole point of me leaving was to get out of Nick’s life, and all you’re trying to do is keep me around and in it.  You are right, it was very irresponsible of me to drive with a broken arm and after taking pain pills, but I’m fine.  And since I’m only four hours from home, I am just going to drive straight through and sleep in my own bed tonight.”

 

            “You are being a hypocrite, don’t you think?  You wouldn’t let me walk out on Alex, but you’re walking out on Nick.  Why can you do it, but I can’t?”

 

            “I’m not doing it to avoid commitment, I don’t have those issues.  I did it for him.  I don’t want him to be with me, it’s not fair to him.  I do not want to be the reason he is under fire from the media and the fans.  I don’t want other celebrities trying to figure out why he is dating me, or having to defend our relationship to them.  I did this for him!”  She was so busy standing on her soapbox that she didn’t realize it wasn’t Annie on the line anymore.

 

            “That’s bullshit,” a male voice yelled back at her through the phone.  “You don’t want to be the one that has to deal with it.  You don’t want people picking apart your past, or criticizing you or critiquing you, you don’t want to have to defend our relationship or have to convince people that you are the right girl for me and that I’m the right guy for you!”

 

            “Nick, what are you doing?” Andrea asked, taken aback by the way he was talking to her and puzzled as to how he got a hold of Annie’s phone. 

 

            “When I saw AJ’s bus pull behind us and then exit the interstate, I figured they were up to something, so I had my driver get off at the next exit and circle back.  Why are hiding from me?  Why are you doing everything in your power to stay away from me?”  He paused to catch his breath, and when he began talking again, the tone in his voice had changed drastically.  “Why don’t you want to be with me?  What is so wrong with us being in love and creating a life together?  Why does it matter so much to you what other people will think?”  He asked these questions with such tenderness and uncertainty, his voice filled with self-doubt and sadness. 

 

            “Nick, I,” she started, but was not able to verbalize what she wanted to say to him. 

 

            “Say it.  Whatever you are trying to say, baby, just say it.”

 

            The way he called her baby almost made her lose control of the steering wheel.  Oh Lordy, I am a fool for this man, she pleasantly thought to herself.  Why am I running from him? 

 

            “Andrea, please, talk to me.”

 

            “I’m not running from you, not really anyway.  I know that I physically ran away from you, but in my mind, I’m running from me.”  She paused for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts so that what wanted to say would make sense when it hit his ears.  “After Alex said that I am completely different than anyone you’ve ever dated, it spooked me.  I realized that I am not even in the same league as the woman you’ve dated, and the press had a field day with those relationships.  I am so scared that you are going to buy into what everyone says about it, and it’s going to break us apart.”

 

            “Well, that would be kind of odd, considering we haven’t really started a relationship yet,” he responded, joking with her.

 

            “I don’t want to if we are going to end up resenting everything about each other a few months down the road.  Nick, I’ve never had feelings like this for anyone, and I swear to God when I say this, not even for my husband.  I loved him deeply, but there is a different passion with you, and honestly, I’m surprised I’ve been able to fight it off this long.  I just want something you can’t promise me.”

 

            “What is it that you want?”  She did not respond to him right away, causing him to grow weary.  We’re getting so far with this, please don’t back away now.  Talk to me, finish this conversation so we can move on with our lives together.  “Don’t stop now, my love, tell me.”

 

            “I want you to promise me that we will always be together, that no matter what happens, you’re not going to leave, or say you’ve had enough.  I want to know that you’re in this for the long haul, and it’s not fair of me to expect that from you.  I don’t know if I can jump into this without knowing that, but I can’t be expecting you to make that promise to me.”

 

            “That sounds like a great wedding vow,” he said, catching her off guard. 

 

            “I guess it does sound like a wedding vow, huh?  But that’s what I mean though; I can’t expect you to make that kind of promise, like a matrimonial promise to me right now.  You would probably go running off into the night and never look back.”  She laughed at the suggestion that they would get married or exchange wedding vows.  That’s the last thing on his mind, I’m sure.

 

            “I promise,” he said, so soft and sincere she almost didn’t hear him. 

 

            “What?” she whispered into the phone, as if trying to keep the rest of the world from hearing their conversation. 

 

            “You heard me, I said ‘I promise’.  I PROMISE, Andrea Jean Hotchkiss!  I promise that you are the only person in this entire world that I want to fall asleep next to every night and wake up next to every morning.  I promise that when the going gets tough, we get going together.  I promise….”

 

 

I promise to love you like you’ve never been loved, to cherish you like you are the air I breathe, to honor you and everything you are for the rest of my life.  To quote something my favorite person in the whole world said to me during the conversation that brought us back together, ‘I want you to promise me that we will always be together, that no matter what happens, you’re not going to leave, or say you’ve had enough.  I want to know that you’re in this for the long haul’.  Well Andrea Jean Hotchkiss, soon to be Andrea Jean Carter, I am, without a doubt, in this for the ‘long haul’.  I love you.”

 

            Andrea sat down in at her chair in the middle of the huge table that was set up at the front of the dining hall for the entire wedding party to sit at.  As she watched all the guests, her friends and family and Nick’s friends and family, talking with each other and having a good time, she thought back to that August day when she was driving home from Chicago.  What if I hadn’t answered Annie’s call?  What if I had just hung up when Nick came on the line? What if, what if, what if?  She smiled to herself as she remembered him promising her all these crazy, funny things, but more importantly, he had promised her what she needed to hear. 

 

            She laughed as she remembered using the “emergency and law enforcement vehicles” only U-turn on the interstate and wheeling her car around back towards the city.  I felt like an outlaw, she reminisced, laughing out loud slightly.  I will never forget the look on Nick’s face when I pulled onto the rest stop and he was still talking to me on the phone, pleading with me to just turn around and come back. 

 

            She would also never forget how he had gotten down on one knee and asked her to marry him.  I never imagined being proposed to at a truck stop off of I-90, but it is something I will never forget.  Nick was completely unprepared, he had no ring and no speech prepared, but he had still gotten the job done.  He took the ring he was wearing on his pinky finger off and held up to her. 

 

            “Dre, I know this isn’t your typical engagement ring, or your typical engagement proposal, but I don’t want you to go another minute thinking my feelings are anything less than forever. We don’t have to get married right away if you don’t want to, but I am ready to make this commitment to you, a permanent, life-long commitment, not matter what the press, or the fans, or anyone else has to say about it.  As soon as I get a chance, I am going to replace this with a real engagement ring, but for now, will you wear my ring…. and will you marry me?”  She of course said yes, and he slipped his ring onto her thumb, the only finger it would fit on.  The afternoon, after the boys were done playing in the charity softball game, he had gone to the jewelry store and bought her a real engagement ring.

 

            Andrea looked down at her left hand, now feeling her ring finger was complete.  A beautiful 2.5-carat platinum engagement ring paired with a matching wedding band.  This rock in huge, I can’t believe he wanted me to wear something bigger.  I remember him trying to convince me, ‘Dre, my girl should not have a normal engagement ring, it should be bigger and more beautiful than other engagement ring in the world.’.  She smiled again, reflecting on the nickname her husband had implemented for her shortly after they were engaged.  She loved it when he called her ‘Dre’. 

 

            “Dre-baby, what are you thinking about?” her husband asked her as he took his seat next to her at the table.  “You look like you’re a million miles away.”

 

            “Actually, my mind was only about 300 miles away,” she told him with a gleam in her eye.

 

            “Ah, right, Chicago,” he nodded, understanding exactly what she meant.  “You know, after this is all done, we can drive down to that truck stop again, just for old times sake,” he suggested, smiling and wiggling his eyebrows at her.  By “down” he meant hopping onto the I-90 southbound and making the drive from Central Wisconsin to Chicago again. 

 

            “Yeah, we might just have to do that,” she returned, giving him a wink Howie would have been proud of.  She placed her hand on his arm and leaned into him.  “Thank you for having the wedding up here,” she whispered into his ear, and giving him a kiss on the cheek. 

 

            “You were right, it is beautiful.  I never imagined having a snow covered wedding in my entire life, but I’m glad we did…I mean are…you know what I mean.”

 

            “Yes, I do,” she said and she ran her fingers over the wedding band on his finger.  “I do, I do, I do – never has there been two words I wanted to say to you more.”  He pressed his lips against hers tightly, and the entire room started oohing and ahhing. 

 

            “You’re supposed to wait until we ding the glasses with our silverware to do that,” said Annie as she stood up from her seat next to Andrea.  “Attention everybody, it’s toast time, and since I’m the maid of honor, I’m going first!”  The roar of the crowd silenced faster than ice creams melts on a hot day. 

 

Annie turned to her best friend, tears in her eyes.  “Thirteen months ago, I was afraid.  I was afraid that you, my best friend whom I love so much, would never be happy again.  Eight months later, I dragged you on a road trip in hopes of you finding yourself again, and maybe finding love again.  I never in my wildest dreams, well maybe in my wildest,” she looked toward the guests, all of them laughing, “did I imagine you would find love again with this beauty next you to.”

 

She paused and puckered her lips towards Nick, making a kissing sound as she did it.  The guests continued laughing.  “Okay, seriously though, this is something that none of us expected, but I could not be happier.  Nick, you have shown Andrea so much in the past four months.  You’ve shown her unconditional love, sacrifice, and compromise.  You have shown her understanding, comfort, and trust.  Thank you for showing her the road back home.”  Annie’s voice cracked as she said the last part, and she was no longer able to hold back the tears that were hanging in her eyes. 

 

Nick stood up and pulled her into a hug.  “Thank you for paving the road for me,” he whispered into her ear.  She wiped her tears off her face, cleared her throat, and spoke into the microphone again. 

 

“Thanks you guys, you made my makeup run!” she joked.  Andrea smiled at her cousin, their eyes meeting as they had too many times to count over the past 23 years.  “Andrea, I love you, you have been and always will be my sis from a different Miss, like we used to say.  You are my best friend, my therapist, my conscience, my co-worker, sometimes my boss, you are my right hand.  After all the things you have done for me besides just being my family all these years I am so happy that I was able to do this for you.  Be happy together, and give me lots of nieces and nephews!”  Annie set down the microphone and Andrea stood up.  They wrapped their arms around each other, this time, Annie didn’t mind being hugged. 

 

“Thank you,” Andrea whispered into her cousin’s ear.  “I’m gonna get you back so bad though during my Maid of Honor speech at your reception.”

 

“Well, you better hurry and write it, you only have seven days!” Annie retorted, smiling brighter than Andrea had ever seen.  “And my wedding is not going to be in the artic conditions of Wisconsin in December,” she added contritely. 

 

“Mal-ee-boo, mal-ee-boo,” they chanted together. 

 

“I still can’t believe you’re moving to Malibu,” Andrea said as her and Annie took their seats again, this time for the best man’s toast. 

 

“I told Alex that I would move anywhere he wants me to, as long as I don’t have to wear a wedding dress.”  Andrea and Annie started laughing.  Annie hated dresses, especially formal ones.  She would wear a skirt if she absolutely had to, but that wasn’t on the top of her list either.  “You’re lucky I even agreed to wear this thing for your wedding,” Annie snorted, pulling at the beautiful green gown that she was wearing. 

 

“You look stunning, I don’t know why you’re complaining.  When Alex saw you he almost ran down the aisle and mauled you as you walked down it!”

 

“Yeah, you’re right,” she said smiling.  “He does love me, doesn’t he?”  She looked over at her soon to be husband.  I can’t believe I’m getting married in a week, she thought to herself with excitement. 

 

“Okay, I need everyone’s attention focused back up here please,” AJ said into the microphone.  “It’s now time for the toast from the Best Man!”