Anita's Secret 2, Chapter 20

Anita's Secret 2
The Wedding is near!
Chapter 20

Anita let out a deep sigh. This was it; everything was taken care of now. She got her dress, he had his suit and their family had beautiful clothes too. Victor's parents had the rings and Anita's parents had Hannah's dress for safekeeping.

A sudden knock on the window made Anita look up. Outside was Mildred standing and Anita walked to her front door. "Hi Mildred, what are you doing here?" she asked as she let Mildred inside.

"I was just wandering around." said Mildred. "Well, that and I did some shopping." she placed the shopping bags onto the ground.

Anita chuckled. She could have known that Mildred would be doing some last-minute shopping before the wedding. "Well, I just made some tea." she said and walked to the kitchen. "Do you want some?"

"Yes, please. All that shopping had made me thirsty." Mildred sat down onto the chair and she looked towards the kitchen. "Anita, how do you feel?" She figured that the bride-to-be had to be nervous on the day before her wedding.

"Just a little bit nervous." said Anita as she walked into the room with a serving tray. "We can't change a thing now. We have to hope that everything will be alright."

Mildred smiled. "Well, tomorrow will be the last day and then it'll be over. And from that day, you and Victor will be together forever." Mildred had to admit that she couldn't wait for the wedding day either. She had already packed a pack of tissues, because she knew that it would be beautiful and she would be emotional.

Anita poured in some tea. "I can't wait for the moment that we will be wearing each other's rings."

"What about your honeymoon?"

Anita shook her head. "No honeymoon. Victor and I have the week off and we will be staying at home." They didn't have all the bills of everyone who will be helping and had already helped at their wedding, but Victor and Anita didn't want to spend any more money. "And I don't think we should be packing too now."

"Together with Hannah, I suppose?" Anita nodded and Mildred smiled. "It was pretty hard for you to leave her behind with us, wasn't it?"

"It was the first time I went away without her for a whole weekend." When Victor and Anita came back from their weekend away, Anita was really happy to see her little girl again.

"I hope the two of you do understand that you should go away together every now and then." said Mildred. She figured that the two lovers should have some time alone. And they wouldn't always have that if Hannah would be around them all the time.

But when Anita wanted to say that she knew it, she got interrupted by another knock on the window. This time, it was her own mother. Anita went to the front door once again and she opened it. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

"I did some last shopping before the wedding." said Jocelyn when she went into the house. "But apparently, I wasn't the only who had the same idea." She placed her bags next to Mildred's bags and she went to the living room.

"Hello, Jocelyn," said Mildred with a smile, "did you do some shopping too?"

Jocelyn laughed. "I saw this marvelous hat and I had to have it. And things like that." Jocelyn sat down onto a chair and she looked to Mildred. "I've been wondering about something. What are they going to do with Hannah?"

"What do you mean?" Mildred had no idea what Jocelyn was talking about.

"Well, Victor and Anita should have a 'honeymoon' without Hannah."

"So, what are you suggesting?"

"Did you…?" Mildred shook her head and Jocelyn smiled. "I figured that we would take Hannah with us for a week after the wedding, so Victor and Anita would have some time alone."

"To the bungalow you are staying now?"

"Yes, we will bring Hannah to school and Victor and Anita will have the time to be alone together."

Mildred smiled. "I think that's a wonderful idea." she looked to the kitchen, where Anita was doing something. "I'm wondering what's taking Anita so long."

"Maybe she has a nervous breakdown."

"No, she almost forgot to turn off the gas for tonight's dinner." said Anita as she walked into the living room. She placed the cup onto the table and poured in some tea for her mother before she sat down again. "And I don't have a nervous breakdown, I just feel extremely calm at the moment."

Mildred looked to Jocelyn. "How long will you be staying here?" Jocelyn and her family had rented a little bungalow not far away from the neighbourhood where Victor and Anita lived.

"Till January the second. So we can celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve together." Jocelyn looked to her daughter. "I hope we will celebrate it with the whole family."

"That was the plan, yes." Anita looked to Mildred. "If you didn't have other plans."

"Don't you worry honey. I will force Lionel to come with me, if he likes it or not." Mildred took a sip of her tea. "You know, maybe Lionel and I should pick up Hannah from school. We will bring her back before nine o'clock."

Before Anita could say a thing, Jocelyn agreed with her friend. "You and Victor should spend your last single night together."

"Apparently, I don't have a say in this." said Anita with a sigh. "Alright, let's do it." she looked to Mildred. "Are you coming to here too tomorrow morning?" At the morning before the wedding would start, some old friends of Jocelyn would come over and do the hair and make-up of the bride and her family. Well, except for her father then.

Mildred shook her head. "I like my hair and make-up the way it is."

"But will Victor stay here…"

"No, his folks will pick him up tonight and he would spend his last night as a single in his old bed." said Mildred with a chuckle. She looked to the clock. "I really should be going now. I still need to clean Lionel's shirt and I need to iron it too." She gave Anita a hug and said goodbye to the women.

"Mom, how did it feel for you to get married to the man you loved?"

Jocelyn smiled. "It was wonderful! The church was wonderful and the priest was such a good man." She looked to her daughter. "What are the plans for the after party?"

Anita smiled. "We have seen the décor for the party. Even if there won't be any snow falling down, we will have snow. And we will have lots of hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts."

"That sounds wonderful!" said Jocelyn.  "I just can't wait for tomorrow." They heard the front door open and close and a few moments later, Victor walked into the room.

"You are home early, Victor." said Anita with a smile. She didn't expect him for a couple of hours.

Victor gave her a smile back. "I figured we should enjoy some time together before Hannah would come home." He walked towards his fiancée and he gave her a kiss. "Hello Jocelyn."

Jocelyn took one last sip from her tea and she stood up. "Hello Victor. Maybe I should leave now." she didn't give Victor and Anita the chance to protest. "You two need some time alone. I see the two of you tomorrow!" And with that, she left the room.

Victor sat down onto the couch next to Anita and Anita looked at him. "Your parents will pick up Hannah from school and she will be staying there for the rest of the afternoon. Until they are going to pick you up tonight."

"So we will be together for some long time then?" said Victor and Anita nodded. "What about that we will order some food and do nothing?"

"That depends. Do you have my bouquet already?"

"I'm going to pick it up tomorrow, before I will pick you up." Victor would be picking up Anita to go to the church. Anita wanted to walk down the aisle next to her almost-husband.

Anita smiled. "Well, everything is settled then. I've made something good for tonight, so we won't be ordering something."

Victor gave her a smile back. "Well, I'm really looking forward to what your meal is then. And to a short night together with you."

===

It was almost nine o'clock when the doorbell rang. And because Victor was upstairs getting something, Anita decided to open the door.

"Hi Mommy." said Hannah. The young girl was there together with her grandparents. And because it was past her bedtime, Lionel was carrying her.

Anita took Hannah over from Lionel. "Hi Hannah. Did you enjoy your time with your grandparents?"

Hannah placed her head onto her mother's shoulder. "It was really great."

Anita smiled. "So I notice." she looked to Mildred and Lionel. "I'll bring her to bed. You can get something to drink if you want to." Anita brought her little girl to her bedroom. After Hannah was wearing her nightgown, Anita walked to Victor's bedroom and knocked onto his door. "Are you ready, Victor?"

"I'll be right there!"

Anita smiled and she walked back to the living room, where Mildred and Lionel had already taken a seat. "So, what did you do with her?"

"When we walked back home from her school, we found out that it was really cold, so we decided to get some hot cocoa to get us warm again." said Lionel with a smile. "And once we were back home, we did some games, had a great dinner and watched some cartoons."

"And…" Mildred started, but she stopped for a moment when she saw her husband looking at her. "Hannah was a great help in the kitchen."

"That's great to hear." said Anita with a smile and she heard some noise coming from upstairs. "I think Victor is ready to go."

And indeed, a few moments later, Victor walked into the living room. "I just said goodnight to Hannah. It really looked like she had a great time today." He walked to Anita. "Do you think I will get a goodnight kiss from Mommy too?"

Anita stood up and she looked at him. "Only for tonight." she whispered and she gave Victor a kiss on his lips.

Victor smiled. "I can't wait to see you tomorrow."

Anita gave him a smile back. "Me neither." she said as Victor's parents stood up. "Good night, Victor."

"Good night, Anita." said Victor and he gave her a last kiss.

"Go to bed early, Anita." said Mildred. "You can use some rest." and she gave Anita a hug.

"We will see you tomorrow." said Lionel as he gave her a hug too.

Anita waved them goodbye and she turned off all the lights. She walked to her bedroom and she opened her wardrobe. Her dress was still covered and tomorrow, she would wear it with pride.
Anita got changed into her nightgown and she just wanted to go to sleep, when her bedroom door opened. Anita turned towards her door and Hannah walked inside. "What is it, honey?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Anita smiled and she patted onto her bed. "Come on, sweetie. We need to get up early tomorrow." Hannah lied down next to Anita and Anita gave her a kiss on her forehead. Hannah quickly fell asleep and Anita looked to her. Tomorrow, Anita would finally have a husband and Hannah would finally have a father. Their lives were complete now…