Chapter 30
Two days
later Tina returns home. She makes plans
to return to Jamaica on the closing date of the house. On the flight home she decides she needs to
hire a nanny to help with Isaac and Laura so both she and Pam can return to
normal work hours. When she arrives
home, Pam agrees to help with the kids a few days a week until Tina finds a
nanny, so Tina can go into work some as well.
After a 3
week search, Tina finds the perfect young lady whom Isaac and Laura seem to
love. Her name is Elaine and she moves
into one of Tina’s extra rooms. They all
settle into their routine and life seems back to normal.
It isn’t
long before Tina makes a quick trip to Jamaica to sign the papers on the
house. She returns home to Texas a new,
proud homeowner. She makes arrangements
with Ellen to order furnishings for the house and have them delivered. Ellen would see to it that things are done
correctly. It will be a month or so
before this process begins but Tina wanted to get it all set with Ellen and the
furniture company.
The date of
Suzy’s wedding draws near as the family is more anxious about knowing where
Cole is. They haven’t heard any update
since he left the hospital. Tina
continues to keep the faith he will make their wedding in November.
Tina, Isaac,
Laura and Elaine all make the journey to east Texas for Suzy’s wedding. Isaac is the ring bearer and Laura who is
almost one year old is going to hopefully be the flower girl. “She’s been practicing,” Tina tells Suzy when
they arrive. “Hopefully she’ll make it,”
she laughs.
“She’ll be
fine,” Suzy says with a hug.
The morning
of the wedding, Suzy is sitting in the bride room with her mom, all here
bridesmaids, Tina and Laura. “Mom, I
really wish Cole was here. I always
pictured him walking you down the aisle.”
Hazel hugs
Suzy, “I know dear, so did I. Look I
have this for you. With it at least a
part of him will be here.” Hazel hands
Suzy Cole’s college graduation ring.
“Wear this and keep him close.”
Suzy hugs
here and slips the ring on her right index finger. Just then there is a knock on the door. Tina goes to the door, “Who is it?” There is only another knock in response. She cracks the door open just enough to see
who it is. She peers through the crack
and sees a familiar face.
“Oh my gosh! Cole!” she screams flinging open the door and
practically leaps into his arms almost knocking him over. Hazel and Suzy aren’t far behind. After many hugs and tears they all sit in the
bride room.
After a few
moments of silence, Tina finally asks, “So how in the world did you….”
Cole
interrupts, “Todd Campbell. I don’t know
how he did it but somehow he got me out.
I just got in, knew what an important day this was so I came straight
here, after stopping to get my wedding threads of course,” he says with a
smile.
Hazel wipes
a tear from her eye, “You seem to be getting around pretty good.”
Cole kisses
here cheek. “Yes the prosthetic leg they
gave me is pretty good. I am still
learning to balance. Pretty soon I can
get rid of this silly cane. Now enough
of this sappy stuff. We’ve got a
wedding!” Cole looks around and noticed Laura
playing on the floor. He starts to
cry. “She has gotten so big! Is she walking yet?”
Tina smiles
and calls her, “Laura come here.”
Laura stands
and wobbles slowly to Tina.
“Oh my
goodness,” Cole cries.
Tina picks
Laura up and sits her on Cole’s lap.
“Laura, this is your Daddy.
Remember we talked about Daddy?”
Laura smiles
and hugs Cole, “DaDa.” Cole’s heart
melts.
Suzy finally
speaks, “I know a little boy who is gonna turn inside out.”
Tina
laughs. “That he will. Let me go get him and your dad as well.” Tina leaves but soon returns. She opens the door slowly and Isaac sees Cole
sitting in the chair, “Daddy!” He runs
and leaps into his lap.
“Hey
buddy. I told you I’d be back,” Cole
says as he hugs Isaac tightly.
“I knew you
would. You gonna stay this time?” Isaac gives him a look.
“Yes
buddy! I am going to stay,” Cole says
with a smile. “Tell you what buddy,
tomorrow after Aunt Suzy’s wedding, we will have a family day. Just you, me, mommy and Laura. We will have just have fun. Now, where is Pawpaw?”
Isaac jumps
down. “He had to go potty. I’ll go get him!”
As Isaac
gets to the door, Matthew opens it. He
stands amazed as Cole stands up in front of him. “Hey dad,” Cole says as Matthew walks in
already in tears.
“My Cole,”
Matthew says putting his arm around his son.
“God is great!” They hug for a
long time. Suzy finally speaks.
“Um, guys, I
hate to stop you but its time!.”
Matthew
kisses Cole’s cheek. “My heart is full
son. I have no words.”
Cole puts
his hand on his father’s shoulder. “I
know dad. It’s all good. Now mom, may I escort you to your seat?”
Hazel smiles
and takes Cole’s arm, “You need your cane?”
Cole kisses
her cheek, “Not is you hold on tight.”
Hazel smiles.
Tina kisses
Cole and takes Laura. “As long as I get
first dance.”
Cole smiles,
“I wouldn’t dream of giving it to anyone else.”
The wedding
was beautiful. At the reception, Suzy
and her new husband, Donald, opened the dancing. Cole fulfilled his promise to Tina. They held each other so tight as they
danced. Tina softly crying tears of joy
onto his shoulder. She couldn't believe
he was home. Cole also danced with Hazel
and Suzy who had similar reactions.
Chapter 31
Cole got an
apartment around the corner from Tina’s house.
He continued to do therapy for his legs and arm. He had a few small medical procedures to
finishing repairing a few issues. He
also got reconnected with Todd from the FBI who helped him not only get out of
the agency but also got him a job running security for a local F.B.I.
affiliate. Cole took things easy as he
continued to heal. Laura took to him
immediately and just melted his heart every time she smiled at him.
As summer
came to a close, they were in constant communication with James and Ellen. They talked about Cole’s role as Director of
Foreign intakes at the orphanage. Tina
would also serve as Medical Director and oversee the building, staffing and
operation of the brand new medical facility.
They were all very excited.
The plan was
to be married in November in Jamaica, spend thanksgiving and Christmas in Texas
with family and move to Jamaica after New Year’s. By then the house would be finished and ready
to go. Cole loved the pictures of the
house and helped Tina pick out most of the furniture.
Before long
the wedding was only a few months away.
Tina was working hard to finish up her research and prepare for the
move. The kids were also excited that
mommy and daddy would be together.
They all
flew to Jamaica a couple of weeks before the wedding to finish the plans and
make sure the house was ready to go.
Elaine goes with them to help with the kids. The rest of the family will arrive in a week
or so.
Cole and
Tina work out the details of where everyone will stay and what all still needs
to be done. As they arrive at the house,
Cole loves it. He is glad Tina picked
it. Laura and Isaac love their
rooms. The only furniture left to get is
the dining room table and the master bed.
Tina and Cole will go pick those out together.
Soon
everyone starts arriving for the wedding.
Things will be simple yet elegant.
Cole will wear simple white beach pants and shirt. Tina will wear a white lace sundress.
The morning
of the big day arrives and everyone is excited.
A few chairs are placed in the sand just below Cole and Tina’s
rock. The wedding party and Pastor James
will stand on the rock just above everyone.
Pastor
James, Cole, his dad, Isaac and Laura take their place as the music
starts. Ellen plays the keyboard as Tina
and her father walk toward the rock.
When they get to the foot of the rock, Pastor James begins. Cole looks down at Tina and smiles with tears
in his eyes.
“Family and
Friends,” Pastor James begins. “We have
come today to witness Cole and Tina pledge their love to each other and these
two wonderful children. Is there any
reason why they should not be wed?” He
pauses. “Having none, who gives Tina to
be wed?”
Tina’s dad
speaks up, “Her mother and I.” He kisses
Tina, shakes Cole’s hand and then places Tina’s hand in Cole’s as he helps her
up on the rock.
Cole and
Tina hold hands and look into each other’s eyes as Pastor James continues. “Cole and Tina will now say their vows to
each other.”
Cole takes a
deep breath and begins. “Tina, I love
you and I know that this love is from God.
Because of this, I want to be your husband so that we might serve Christ
together. Through all of the
uncertainties and trials of the present and future, I promise to be faithful to
you and love you. I give you all I have,
myself, and my love. As we follow God
together, may we grow in the likeness of Christ and our home be a praise to
Him.”
Tina has
tears in her eyes as Cole smiles and squeezes her hand. She takes a deep breath and speaks.
“Cole, I
love you and I know this love is from God.
Because of this, I want to be your wife so that we might serve Christ
together. Through all of the
uncertainties and trials of the past and future, I promise to be faithful to
you and love you. I give you all I have,
myself, and my love. As we follow God
together, may we grow in the likeness of Christ and our home be a praise to
Him.”
By now Cole
and Tina are both crying. They compose
themselves as Pastor James says, “Now Cole and Tina would like to make a vow to
Isaac and Laura.”
Cole and
Tina kneel in front of Isaac and Laura and they all hold hands. Together Cole and Tina say, “Isaac and Laura,
we take you to be our children. We
promise to love you and protect you. We
promise to provide everything you need and treat you as the gifts from God that
you are. WE promise to raise you in love
and fear of God and with His help we will strive to help you become the person
God created you to be. We love you now
and always.” They all hug as everyone
has tears in their eyes. Even Pastor
James has to compose himself before he continues.
“Cole and
Tina have made their vow to each other and also to Isaac and Laura before God
and these witnesses. God we ask for your
blessings and love on this beautiful family.
What you have brought together, let nothing separate. Cole and Tina, I now pronounce you husband
and wife. Cole you may kiss your bride!”
Cole takes
Tina and give her a kiss. They then pick
up Laura and Isaac.
“Ladies and
Gentlemen,” James begins. “May I present
to you Mr. and Mrs. Cole Connor and Isaac and Laura Connor.” They all walk off the rock, across the sand
and into the church. They share a kiss
in the doorway just as they did the day the storm first sent then into the church.
After a
beautiful reception, Cole and Tina fly off to Paris for their honeymoon. Isaac and Laura will stay in Jamaica with
Ellen and James until they return and all head to Texas together.
Chapter 32
AS the
holidays pass quickly. Tina and Cole
made final plans to move to Jamaica. It
made Christmas bitter-sweet. Everyone
was happy to spend the first Christmas with Isaac and Laura. They all had so much fun. They then spent New Year’s together until it
was finally time to say goodbye.
The family
in Texas promised to come to Jamaica in the summer and Cole and Tina planned to
come back in November for the holidays.
That would be their routine for as long as possible.
The car was
quiet on the ride to the airport. Tina
finally laid her head on Cole’s shoulder and began to softly cry. He just held her tight and said nothing.
On the
plane, Isaac stared excitedly out the window the entire flight. Laura mostly slept in Cole’s arms as he too
just relaxed. Tina did some work on her
computer, preparing for meetings about the medical facility. The construction was on schedule and Tina
hoped to open by March 1st.
Her plan was to have most of the staff in place by then. Her first course of action was to find a part
time nanny. She had hoped Elaine would
come with them but she had decided to go back to school. Tina hated to lose her but supported her
decision.
They arrived
in Jamaica and Ellen drove them to their new house where James already had
lunch waiting. “Charlie from the car lot
sent over a car for you guys to use until you get one,” James told them. “It’s in the garage. He said stop by when you can and he’ll help
you pick out a new one for each of you.
Cole I asked him about modifying one for you to drive and he said it
should be no problem but it would take them a couple of weeks.”
“Great,
thanks,” Cole said. “I owe him big
time. How’s the bus?”
Ellen
smiled. “Beautiful and getting lots of
use.”
“Good,
that’s what it’s for,” Cole replied.
After lunch
Cole and Tina just relax from the trip as Ellen and James plays with Isaac and
Laura. Tina is just about asleep when
her cell rings. “Dr. Carpenter,” she
answers in a sleepy voice.
“Tina, its
Elaine. Listen I’ve been thinking, if
the offer still stands, I’d love to come to Jamaica and work for you. I can work for you and still go to school
there. I was accepted to a university
there and I believe God is just leading me to Jamaica.”
“Of course,”
Tina says excitedly. “The apartment over
the garage has your name on it. It’s
furnished and ready to go.”
“Great,”
Elaine answers. “I’ll ship some stuff
over and plan on being there next week.”
“I can’t
wait. Listen call Beth as the travel
agency and she will take care of things for you.”
“Will do
Mrs. Tina. See you next week.”
Tina hangs
up. “Well it looks like Elaine will come
after all. She’ll be here next week.”
“Great,”
Cole answers. “One less thing to worry
about. I think I am gonna go lay
down. Wake me up in an hour,” he says as
he kisses Tina and makes his way to the master bedroom.
“He still
gets tired,” Tina says to Ellen as he leaves.
“It takes
time to get that endurance back,” Ellen tells her. “Give him time.”
Tina and
Cole settle into life in Jamaica and the family life. Before long, it’s time for the ribbon cutting
for the medical facility. There is a
grand ceremony and everyone it excited.
The next day it opens to its first patient.
Everything
is going well. Cole has made several
trips to bring back children in need. He
loves seeing their smiling faces. Tina
is also enjoying the medical clinic. She
still gets to see, interact and treat patients while also overseeing the
operations. Treating the small children
is her favorite part of the day.
The summer
quickly comes and the entire Carpenter and Connor families come to Jamaica for
their summer visit.
On the final
day of their visit, they are all sitting down for dinner when Cole gets
everyone’s attention.
“Hey
everyone, T and I have an announcement to make.” Cole smiles and takes Tina’s hand. “There’s going to be a new addition to our
family!”
Everyone is ecstatic. Soon the conversation turns to names. Everyone spits out ideas before Cole finally
stops them. “Well, we already thought
about this.” He takes his mom’s hand as
she sits on the other side of him from Tina.
“Mom, if it’s a boy, we’d like to name him Caleb. Would you be ok with that?”
Hazel begins
to cry. “Oh Cole! What a joy!”
She hugs him and sobs on his shoulder.
Everyone else sits in silence.
Finally Hazel composes herself.
She then looks at Tina and says, “Thank you dear. So sweet.”
Tina smiles.
“It was
Cole’s idea and I loved it,” Tina says as she gets up and goes to hug
Hazel.
Finally Pam
asks, “Any girl names?”
Tina
laughs. “No we haven’t gotten that far. We have a couple of ideas but nothing for
sure.”
“What do
Isaac and Laura think of this?” Tina’s mom asks.
Luckily
Elaine has Isaac and Laura in the other room.
“We haven’t talked to them yet,” Tina says. “We plan on doing that tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Cole
jokes, “We didn’t want them spilling the beans to you guys.”
They all
continue to talk well into the evening.
They finally decide to call it a night, so those traveling can get some
rest.
The next
morning after the family leaves for Texas, Cole and Tina sit down for lunch
with Isaac, who just turned 5 and Laura who is almost 2. After they have all finished eating, Cole
takes Isaac in his lap and Tina takes Laura.
Cole begins
to speak, “Hey guys, we have something to tell you. Mommy is gonna have a baby. So you guys will have a new brother or
sister.”
Laura just
looks as him and seems to not really understand. Isaac is really excited. “Wow!
When will we get it? Did you save
them just like us?
Cole
chuckles, “No buddy. This is a bit
different. The baby is in mommy’s
tummy. It will get bigger in there until
its ready to come out.”
Laura pats
Tina’s stomach. “Baby, tummy,” she says.
Tina hugs
her. “That’s right princess.”
Isaac
questions again. “How does it live in
mommy’s tummy?”
Tina laughs,
“Do you remember how we’ve talked about God and how He does all these wonderful
things? Well, God put the baby in my
tummy and He will help it grow until He’s ready for us to have it.”
Isaac
smiles. “Oh, ok. Well, can I have a brother?”
Cole and
Tina laugh. “God gets to decide that
buddy,” Cole tells him.
After
talking about it a bit longer, Isaac and Laura run off to play.
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