Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
A discussion a few weeks later, it was revealed that her things had been moved to a storage area where they could be safeguarded until such time as she retrieved them. It was on a subsequent trip back that she finally was able to become reunited with the things that had been given to Trill when she was turned over to him in preparation for their upcoming nuptials. He had kept them from her until the deal was done, and though there was nothing of any real value beyond sentimentality, it had been a sticking point that he’d not given them to her. It gave her great satisfaction to have them back again.
“How does it feel to be back?” Niall asked as they strolled along the banks of the river, acting like a tourist in what was once their own town at different points in their lives.
“Like I don’t belong here anymore?” she replied.
“Yes. I feel the same, but it’s a beautiful place to visit, just the same,” he said, looking out over the water at ducks and birds gathered below.
“Aye,” she told him as he leaned over and kissed her softly on the top of her head. He pulled away and leaned down to tie his shoe. When he looked up again, she saw that he held a small box in his hand and gasped.
“Deidre, I love you with all my heart and soul. Getting stuck on the run with you turned out to be the greatest day of my life, and I never want to lose what I’ve been so lucky to find. Will you marry me?”
“God, yes!” she squealed, unaware that people had stopped to watch when they saw what was happening. A loud cheer went up around them, jarring her from the tiny bubble in which only the two of them existed. She laughed as he slipped the ring on her finger and she held it up for them all to see. Another cheer arose as they stood smiling at one another amid their impromptu fan club.
“Aye! Get on with it then. Kiss her, you bloody fool!” a woman yelled at them.
“The masses have spoken,” he laughed, leaning in for another kiss to a hearty round of applause.
It was only a few days later that she’d had to give him some unexpected news.
“I think we might have an issue with the wedding,” she said as he sat reading over some documents he’d brought home.
“What’s that? It’s a simple ceremony. How much could go wrong?”
“I might have to buy a different dress.”
“Why? I thought you loved the dress you picked out?”
“I do, but I don’t think I’m going to fit into it by the time the wedding rolls around,” she told him.
“I don’t see why...” he started to say as he turned to face her, but his look of confusion quickly faded as he spotted the small plastic device in her hand.
“I’m pregnant,” she said.
“Oh, my God! How far along? This is incredible!” he shouted, jumping up from his chair and pulling her to him.
“No idea. I’ll have to go to the doctor and find out.”
“Okay. Let’s do that. Let’s go now.”
She laughed and pulled away from him.
“Let’s just make an appointment for normal office hours like non-crazy people, okay?”
“Okay. If you insist.”
“Now, about that dress,” she joked.
“Well, we’ll just have to improvise. We can either buy a bigger dress, move the wedding date up, or just have the tailor cut a little hole in the front for your belly to poke out,” he said.
“Very funny.”
“I vote for moving the date up. I’d marry you tomorrow. In fact, why don’t we do that? Let’s get the family together and go down to the courthouse and get married.”
“I really wanted a wedding, but that does sound nice.”
“No reason we can’t do both. Instead of moving the formal wedding in, we’ll push it out. We’ll get married tomorrow and have a re-commitment ceremony after the baby is born.”
“I like that idea. Let’s do it.”
The following day, the McNally family gathered at the small gazebo in the park across from the clerk’s office. Between the immediate family and the children of Niall’s older two brothers, it was quite a gathering even without guests. Her sisters-in-law, Eimear and Niamh, served as her bridesmaids while Fergus and Olcan stood by the groom.
She entered the gazebo as Deidre Byrne, a simple Irish immigrant who’d seen a life of unhappiness prior to meeting the man who stood before her. She left as Deidre McNally, future American citizen, wife, and mother-to-be. She still had her own hopes and dreams that were fully supported by her new husband, but none of it meant anything compared to what she had found with him.
By the following year, she was well involved with school and the twins she’d given birth to only months before. Niall was a wonderful father, and despite what his family did for a living in this unforgiving city, he was a good man. Some people might find those two things in stark contrast to one another, but she didn’t.