Trying To Be Just Us - Chapter 62

This is the last chapter of John and Zoey for awhile... I'm going to focus on Maggie's Gift for a bit and then John and Zoey will be back.... enjoy!



Trying To Be Just Us - Chapter 62

The rest of the day was filled with caterers and flowers and laughter. John stayed as close to Zoey as he could. Even with all the preparations going on around them, he made sure he pulled her aside for secret kisses and hugs, and just plain 'I love you's'...

Finally it was time to go get dressed, and she walked up the stairs to her room. Margaret came in a few minutes later, and Sara and Kate both excused themselves, as they sensed Maggie and Zoey needed to talk.

"You're marrying my baby."

"I thought Ben was your baby," she smiled, brushing through her hair.

"Nope. Ben has always been my youngest, but John was always my baby..."

Zoey smiled. "I'll take good care of him, Maggie."

"I know you will, sweetheart." And she hugged her. "I wanted to tell you before this all got nuts, and it was still quiet, how much I love you.... both Rich and I. You were the catalyst that made all my boys happy, and I can't believe John was lucky enough to find you." Maggie reached out and held Zoey's hand. "You remember the first night
we met? You told me you were afraid you weren't good for John."

She nodded, tears starting to flow. "And you told me I was the first woman who probably deserved him..."

Maggie smiled. "That's right. And it's been proven so many times over. I love you, Zoey. I couldn't be happier with his choice..."

"That means so much to me, Maggie," she said, and hugged her. "I want this marriage to work... You and Rich, you have the kind of marriage I want. My parents..."

"Honey, I believe from what you have told me, you are nothing like your parents. Marriage is not easy, but you love each other, you make each other happy... you'll make it work. I have faith in both of you." Maggie kissed Zoey's cheek. "I brought my mother's earings for you... for something borrowed. I know you have my mothers ring for something old... and by the way, I wish you could have known her, she would have loved you. I feel her all around us here... She loved John so much, they had a special bond... and you are exactly the kind of girl she would have loved for him."

Zoey hugged her hard and they both cried.

"We have to stop this - we are both going to look horrible for pictures!" Maggie giggled.

Zoey smiled and nodded, wiping away the tears.

Maggie opened the door. "Okay ladies, we are done being mushy..."

Sara and Kate grinned as they walked in.

"We were just going over the list... something old, something new...." Maggie said, squeezing Zoey's hand.

"The dress," said Sara.

"Something borrowed - earings - and something blue..." Maggie singsonged, as Kate
produced a box from la perla.

"Oh no..." Zoey shook her head. "I'm afraid to look."

Inside was the tinest light blue thong Zoey had ever seen. She laughed. "What is the point of this thing?"

"Sexy..." Maggie laughed.

All the girl's giggled as Zoey finished getting dressed.


The evening was perfect. Just the right temperature, a light soft breeze, the twinkle lights everywhere, all over the courtyard, and intimate tables lit by white candles. The wedding guests were seated at tables instead of in rows - Kate's idea - and it was lovely. A gorgeous arbor of white climbing roses was at one end of the courtyard, and a bandstand and dance floor were were at the other end. John adjusted his tie nervously as he and Carl and Ben stood by the arbor.

"You nervous, bro'?" Carl grinned at him.


"Terrified," John said. "Just don't want to say the wrong thing. You have the
ring, right Ben?"

"Yep, got it right here." He played around, slapping his pockets, as Carl gave him a nudge.

From the front table, Maggie whispered, "...boys...stop it..."

Kate and Sara came down the ailse in Vera Wang dresses, both of their own picking. Kate in a slinky black slik chemise all the way to the floor with a low cut back, and Sara in an black empire waist that flowed over the bump. Both Carl and Ben gasped, but John looked right past both women as the music grew louder and Zoey came down the staircase. She was dressed in a white silk dress - soft, simple and gauzy, off the shoulders with a very low cut back. There were tiny seed pearls in swirls on the bodice and her hair was loosely piled on her head... the way John loved it. She looked absolutely gorgeous, walking down the aisle between the tables filled with friends and family, on his fathers arm... and as she looked up at him through her lashes, she took what little breath he had away.

She watched his expression as he came into view, and she smiled as his mouth dropped open. Rich had taken her shaking hand and wrapped it around his arm, as he whispered, "... you look beautiful, almost as beautiful as my Maggie did on our wedding day. Are you nervous, sweetheart?"

"Terrified," she said.

"Just hold on to me, I'll get you to John," he said, and he kissed her cheek.

She turned and hugged him. "Thank you."

"You are more than welcome, always wanted a girl. If Maggie and I had a girl, she would have been you." And he saw Zoey's eyes mist over.

Se looked up and all she could see was John, and somehow her heart stilled. As she walked toward him, he reached out and took her hand. His dad patted him on the back. "She's all yours, you are responsible for her now..." and John nodded.

The judge started. "We are gathered here today to unite Zoey Helena McClaren and John Clayton Mayer in marriage. They have each wriiten their own vows for the ceremony, and they are so happy that you are all here to share the beginning of their life together." He smiled at the couple before him. "Zoey?"

She turned to John as he held her hand and she took a breath. "Before I met you," she said, looking into his eyes. "...I had learned in order to survive I had to count on myself. I was terrified of letting anyone in. I was so afraid of losing control. And then you fell into my life..." She saw him smile. "You showed me it was alright to trust, it was alright to let go and just breathe, to let someone else take the lead. You gave me pure, unconditional love and support, and at the same time never let me lose who I am... John, I can't imagine my world without you. You have become as indespensible as the air I breathe. And I promise I will always be here to support you the same way you support me. I will love you, and cherish you, and always be your soft place to fall. You are my heart..." She saw the tears in his eyes, as Sara handed her his ring and she took his hand in her and slipped it on his finger.

"John?" the judge nodded.

He took a deep breath, smiled... and kissed her hand. "Zoey... you know I have worked on these vows for weeks, and they just aren't right. So, I think I'm going to wing it." She laughed softly, as she heard Carl groan.

John looked into her eyes and forgot about his worries of sounding silly or stupid. "I was drifting before I met you. I had doubts that I would ever find someone to love me, to have the kind of marriage my parents had, the life I had growing up. I chose this profession, this life, where no one around you tells you the truth, and you have to be careful to keep your head straight. You need to surround yourself with friends, people you can trust..." John paused and smiled at her. "You never lie to me. When I'm an asshole, you are the first to tell me..." He heard his mom groan... and saw Zoey smile back at him. "I can be just John when I am with you, and you will never know how precious that is to me... You are my anchor. When I start to float, you are there to pull me back in. When I fly too high, too fast, you are always there to catch me. I told you once this love of mine may not be perfect, but it's all I have to give you. I promise to always be there for you. You are the reason I take the next breath." He reached out and Ben handed him the ring. He slipped it on her finger, smiling into her tear filled eyes, and said... "I give you my heart, space when you need it, a soft place to land when you come home... and all my love."

"I now pronounce you man and wife. Mazatov and blessings for a joyous life together."

"I can kiss her now, right?"

Zoey laughed and the judge smiled and nodded.

John softly kissed his new wife, and whispered in her ear. "Too late to back out now, Mayer."

She wrapped her arms around him and whispered back, "I love you, John."

"May I present Mr. and Mrs. John Clayton Mayer."

They turned and saw their friends and family for the first time. The whole room had faded away from both of them as soon as Rich had given Zoey's hand to John. Now as they stood there together and watched as their friends and family rose and clapped, John thought, this is the ovation I have been waiting for all my life... He turned and looked at Zoey - his wife, his partner, and his love - and he knew. The "I" that he had been for so long would now be a "we". It was one of those moments of clarity you have so very seldom, and one that he would never forget.