Three amazing years filled with excitement, surprises, adventures, and food. I like how he smiles at me; a smile that is more than a smile. Paul and I for 3 years. Wow! Three years that have gone by very quickly, but we have learned so much about each other in that well-spent time. He is a very ambitious and driven man. But hey, that comes in very handy when it comes to the plans we have made together. We have sat down and discussed a lot of things. Like how many kids we want to have together, how we want to redecorate the house, places we've always wanted to travel, and which bank to have. :-)
I see so many 'relationships' in my business that are a mockery to the word. But, the link that Paul and I have is the real deal! There is no doubt about it. We fight together! He knows when to get me to work harder and I know when to get him to relax for a while.
Mom, absolutely adores Paul. The next day over lunch, Mom made sure to enquirer about my date.
"So, what how was your date last night with my son Paul?"
"Well, if you do ask, it went well. More like amazing, Mom! He took me to this new restaurant in town that has great Caribbean cuisine. I have no idea how he heard about it, but the atmosphere was so live! The music they played was fun and and energetic. We ate, danced and ate some more. I'm so glad he loves good food as much as I do! I have no idea what I would do otherwise," I said recalling the events of the night before.
"Oww, so he can dance?"
"He sure can. I was like, 'Alright, Babe, you better get that!'" I recalled the show Paul had put on for everyone.
Haha, Mom laughed at my method of encouraging my boyfriend.
"So, when do you think you're going to pop the question? You guys have been at this for a minute now."
"Well, Mom, thanks for asking again for the millionth time."
"I'm asking a legit question, thank you very much."
"You'll see, is all I'm going to say on the matter, thank you very much."
A few days later
Ding dong
"Hey hun, dinner is almost ready."
"Ohh yea, I'm right on time!" Paul said as he gave me a little happy dance. Paul was a big fan of Aunite Gabby's cooking and always seemed to show just just when Auntie Gabby turned the stove off.
"Wait a sec hun," Paul said grabbing my arm as I turned toward the kitchen. "I have a serious ache in my shoulder from working out, do you mind getting it?"
"Sure, and also, when I'm done, I have a question for you. I was going to save it till after dinner, but I think now is better."
"Yea yea, that's fine. I just want to relax again. My poor shoulders have been aching me all day!"
"Oh yea! That's so much better. Thank you very much Kay," Paul said as he stretched his arms up and around, and then turned around to face me.
"Kay, where did you g--"
"Paul, you have been a great friend to me for almost four years, and an even better boyfriend for three years. I love you with all my heart and I can't see my life without you in it. I want to travel with you,
party with you,
dine with you,
make babies with you,
and grow old with you. Will you marry me?"
"YES! I will Marry you Kayla Tanner!"
I must say that I have never seen so many pearly whites at the dinner table before!
6 months later
The day had come. My destination wedding was falling into place. Mom and Auntie Gabby flew the family, Alex and Marcus' date, Monica Bennett, to Trinidad and Tobago for this perfect dusk wedding. The wedding planner flew ahead of us to make sure that everything would be perfect for the bride and groom.
There were sounds echoing and lights flashing from the hotel as Paul and I stood there gazing into each others eyes. The hour had come!
Mom stood tall, taking in all the emotions she was feeling. Her baby girl was getting married! Oh how she wished Dad could be here to witness this union, but she knew that His memory stood tall in everyone's heart right now.
She recalled the day that Dad and herself held each other and promised to love each other forever.
The day that I came into this world and all the pains and emotions that swam through her veins that day.
That evening Marcus made sure to give a big hug and let me know how proud of me he was that I found such a good man that he is proud to call a brother. What else could be said after that?
It is true that it was very hard for Paul and I to keep our hands off of each other. We're newlyweds! Can you believe it?
There was no one else that I could think of to have at my wedding besides my bestie Alex.
"Kayla, I just want to say that you are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen! I know that Paul is going to make you a happy woman, just make sure you keep him happy also. Never be afraid to say sorry and to give a gift to your booski. You guys are gonna make it! I know it! Love ya girl!"
All I could was cry and give her a long squeeze. Yes, a squeeze, not a hug. :-)
I would have to say that Mom and Paul together are hilarious. Why are they so silly? I don't know where they get it from. Anyways, they sure are having fun dancing and cracking jokes together.
After a while Paul asked where Marcus had disappeared to. Well, I told him to find either the food or the girl and you would find my brother. Funny thing is that in this case the two came together.
The honeymoon is part two to my perfect destination wedding to Trinidad and Tobago. Hotel here we come. Perfect: conforming absolutely to the description or definition of an ideal type. A perfect wedding!
A couple of weeks after the wedding
After Paul and I got back from our honeymoon, he had not trouble fitting into the family. I still can't get over how I never thought I would meet someone that would cherish food as much as the Tanner women do, well I guess Paul shut that down.
Relocating is never always fun. Unpacking boxes, breaking down boxes, ridding of boxes. Having to take time off of work to move, Paul made sure to do some catch up on work at home.
It's been fun decorating. Mom, Paul and I went shopping at Sim Depot, Swalmart, and Sylkea. We added a third floor to the home (yes a little more than a little decorating, but it has been in progress for a while), so the Tanner's officially have a nice sized family room. I'm completely in love with it! The color sceme is perfect and the furniture works with the space and it's size. Auntie Gabby has barely left! I was proud to watch Paul place his trophies are around the room.
Mom, who is now quite the workout buff, and Paul are enjoying the home gym. I'm still getting used to the idea of a home gym, but I think I can get used to it.
Our bathroom was my personal decorating project. Mom was sweet and gave us the master suit, so I went with some greens and yellow with a light pink accent that would brighten up the space and flow into the bedroom. I found this great light granite counter top at wholesale and a gorgeous sink, on sale, to go with it. In the bedroom, I found a great bed that was modern but cool. I fell in love with two white chairs to go in the sitting area and a nice rug to go in that area also. I got a nice, simple vanity. But most importantly, I fell in love, again, with an attractive bedding set I wasn't sure Paul would appreciate. I didn't want it to have to much pattern, but not be to plain. This set just blew all plans and ideas out of the water. I wanted to make sure the room had both a touch of femininity and masculinity. He actually like it!
Even though I have grown up in this house, with all the changes, it seems like a different place. Mom rearranged the office which allowed me to have a much better view of the scenery I was blessed to have outside the window. Working on my book now came with the added bonus of a fresh source for inspiration.
Since the family room would now host the new and improved HD tv for the Tanner's, the old living room became a formal living room. We gave it a fresh coast of paint with some texture to add a splash of fun to the walls and fresh carpet to replace the old worn one. We bought a nice bar and some cool comfortable furniture. Everyone decided that the kitchen renovation would happen in the future. Why? Well, for one reason, Auntie Gabby does not want anyone touching her paradise. :-)
Later that evening I went to my theater, and yes it will be mine some day, to check in on things. I wanted to be as involved in it as possible. Last year I purchased more shares, so as to make sure everyone who was anyone knew that I was serious out being apart of the theaters future.
At home, Paul got down to business. After we finally put all the finishing touches on our place, he realized that if something broke, he wanted to be the fix-it man. Actually he said that he needed to be the fix-it man. He was now the man of the house, so he had to be able to handle a house of this size and stature. So, he hit the books to learn about fixing sinks, tubs, showers, toilets and anything else that would need his light touch.
A month later
Paul and I have barely been married for two months when the worst thing I could imagine happening at the time happened.... Auntie Gabby... passed.... aw--.
I sat down in the guest house to take in all of who Aunite Gabby was. She was the weirdest, most loving, paranoid person who could cook that I've ever known. She has been there for me my whole life. I couldn't ak her advice on dating but she could tell me how to fix anything around the house and encourage me to be the best person I could be. I picked up the photo album that I had brought with me and looked into the past.
I closed the album. Oh man... I wish she were still here! Who is going to keep Mom company and help with my kids when they come? They will need the Aunite Gabby touch. Whose going to make sure the garden is maintained to hr high standards? Whose going to give me the best hug known to mankind? ...... We will miss and love always Aunite Gabby!
6 months later
There is one thing that always helps with grief, hope. After puking up every meal for a few days, I went to the doctor to see if what I suspected was true. It was indeed. I had a new hope. So far, the biggest help to my family was having Paul and Alex around. Alex knew just what to say to each one of us, and Paul found ways to be there that surprised us all. Now, that I was pregnant, I knew things were going to get so much better around the house! I had hope.
The next thing that happened to the family came as a huge surprise. I was in the office struggling to get a chapter done for my book when the door bell rang. Mom, being in the kitchen, went to answer the door.
"Hello sir. May I help you?''
"Umm... I hope so. I hope I have the right address. Is the Tanner residence?"
"Yes, it is. How may I help you? Any person in particular that you desire to speak with?"
"Yes, I was hoping to catch Mrs. Mimi Tanner."
"Yes, this is she. How may I help you?"
"Well, I'm your nephew, Lionel Racket."
I walked out of the office to see who it was.
"Hey mom, who is this?"
Finally mom came to and spoke, "Kayla, meet your cousin, Lionel."
What an evening. The whole family gathered around first to stare at Lionel and then to become acquainted with the family member who feel out of the blue. Marcus and I never really thought about how we never really knew many people from Mom's side of the family, except Uncle Ruben. Now Marcus, Paul and I had a new cousin. Cool!
The next night was fun. Why? Because Marcus and I got to hang, just like old times. We each had a book that we needed to read for work so he sat back and just read together. Marcus and I learning together... Wow, I felt like a kid again.
In no time I began to show. I had moved on from morning sickness to muscles aches. So, what does that mean for me? Shopping for maternity clothes and...
The spa! I even treated myself to a nice expensive body treatment package just because I wanted to. Weird how much you really really want things when you're pregnant.
For example, I got a weird desire I to hire a butler. Sure, why not! So, there she was. Very mean looking, not very talkative, but sure I'm going to let mean fly in this house. The Tanner's will break her of that no problem. But one things for sure, she got to work right away. She cooked up Autumn Salad for dinner. She's no Auntie Gabby!
I read a lot over the next few months. After I was sent home from work for knocking over to many things with my belly, I thought I would go insane. But, inspired by Auntie Gabby, I bought a ton of cook books from the bookstore and began to learn a list of recipes. There was no way some scary butler would be cooking for me forever!
Paul is completely in love with the idea of there being someone on the planet who is going to be a little Paul. Haha He is so silly. This child is going to be a little Kayla!
This belly is getting huge! I don't know how I'm going to continue to get out of bed! I would sleep on the floor, but I would never be able to get off the floor. Anywho, I went on a special errand tonight. After much discussion, Paul and I decided to invest in another venue around town. So, I went and became a partner at the local bistro where we had our first date. It was such a sentimental business transaction.
The next day Alex came over to check up on her hugely pregnant bestie. But who would have thought that she had an alternative motive to showing up at mi casa. Since I was no longer able to work out, more like keep up, with Mom as of lately, Alex volunteered her life-- I mean time. She wanted to get healthy and loose weight, so she cam seeking guidance from her second mother.
In the office when Marcus got home one evening, I stepped out to see how his day went.
"Hey Marcus, how's the life of an actor?" I asked trying not to laugh.
"Is there something funny you need to get off of your chest? Huh? Huh? Am I a clown? Do I amuse you?"
"Well, when you say it like, that wearing that, yea!" Hahaha It was to much to hold in. He looked retarded. Poor guy! We both just burst into an uncontrollable laughter.
Just then I went silent as I felt my feet getting really wet.
"Paul!" Marcus yelled.
Paul and I scurried into the car and sped off to the hospital.
Finally and 2:38 in the morning, Lilly Tanner was born. Brave and Athletic.
"Kay, she is beautiful! I have never seen anything like it! Wow...."
"I know.... Aww Baby, she is perfect," I said with tears streaming down my face.
We both gazed at Lilly thinking of all the great things she would become. How different life was going to be now.
"Things are never going to be the same. Are you ready for that?" Paul asked as he wiped my forehead free from the sweat buildup.
"I am as ready as I'll ever be! How about you my wonderful husband for giving me this child?"
Paul leaned in and gave me a soft kiss on my forehead and smiled staring at the two most important women in his life, " You bet I am!"
Early that morning, Paul and I walked through the front door ready to face all that was coming next. At least we had each other and Mom and now Uncle Marcus. Life was good, really good.
