NICE DAY FOR A WHITE WEDDING

Mom had said that it was hard to describe, the birth process. It wasn't the same for everyone, and describing it wouldn't make a difference because you couldn't understand until you felt it yourself. Until you were there in the hospital room, pushing when the doctor telling you to push, the pain almost too much until you heard that sound, the sound you were waiting for – the first cry. It was loud and healthy, and I had tears in my eyes.

"It's a boy," the doctor had told me, and when my son first lay in my arms, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Michael had been there for the whole thing, though he had stayed outside the room, since he didn't feel comfortable watching the process, and I didn't blame him. But he was there for me, and he was there to welcome my son into the world. He was the first man in my son's life, and I don't think I could have made a better choice with anyone else.

"Are you sure it's yours?" Starla asked, wrinkling her nose. The tiny baby – my tiny baby, my son – was sleeping, wrapped in the blanket in Starla's arms. She brushed the wisp of his hair from his face. "He looks nothing like you," she added, looking up at me. Of course he didn't look like me. He was a brand new baby.

"Good thing, too," Foster said, rolling his eyes, "Otherwise that would be one ugly baby." But he was smiling, and I smiled, too. I was happy to have everyone here for me – Michael, Starla, Foster, Mom, and Stef. All the people that meant the most to me were here to meet my son for the first time. I hadn't been sure what to expect, exactly, through the birth and afterwards, and having familiar people here made it a lot easier for me to make it through.

"I think he's adorable," Stef said. She peered over my sister's shoulder at him. "But you could have picked a better name than Dylan," she added.

"It's better than Louisa," Starla said, "You're lucky you weren't a girl," she said, speaking to my sleeping son, "Otherwise you would have had a silly name." She smiled down at him, but Dylan was still sleeping and didn't respond. "Your mommy has poor taste in baby names. If you had been my baby, you would be Seth, or Roger."

"Roger?" I exclaimed, wrinkling my nose, "What kind of name is that?" All I could think of in regards to that name was Mr. Rogers Neighborhood- not exactly the impression I wanted when I named my own son. Dylan had been just a choice, with no particular reasoning behind it, except that I liked it, and it seemed to fit the boy well enough.

"What's wrong with Roger?" Starla asked, "It's better than Dylan."

"I think Dylan's a nice choice," Michael said, cutting into to stop an argument before it started. He'd only been dating Starla for a couple of weeks now, but he already knew how to deal with my sister and I when we got that way. He was sitting over in the corner on the couch, next to Foster. Starla and Stef were standing next to the bed. Both had been fawning over Dylan since they'd come into the room, and I didn't mind.

"You think he's going to look like Frankie?" Starla asked, looking at me. I didn't respond right away, and I saw how Stef tensed a little bit.

"I don't know," I said, shrugging, "He might." I didn't want to think about that. This was my son. Frankie wanted nothing to do with him, and so that that was his decision. I was going to accept that and move on. Michael had said that he would be there for as long as I needed him, and I trusted him. "As long as he doesn't act like Frankie, It'll be fine with me," I added, smiling to show that I was mostly kidding.

"How's my grandson doing?" Mom asked, entering the room with four cups of coffee on a tray and a fifth in her other hand. Stef hurried to take the tray from her, setting it on the table. As the coffees were passed out, Starla handed Dylan back to me, and I adjusted myself on the bed so that I could hold him better.

"I thought I was too young to have grandkids," Mom said, looking down at Dylan in my arms, "But now that he's here, it feels like just the right time for me to be a grandma." I knew exactly what she meant. I hadn't been expecting have a child at this time in my life – it had been one of the last things on my mind. But for some reason, it felt like Dylan had come at exactly the right moment.

Then he opened his eyes and looked up at me, blue eyes wide and looking straight into mine. I felt my eyes watering up. I kept getting these moments, where I remembered that I was a mother. That Dylan was my son, and it shocked me at times, to realize all that it meant. But at this moment in time, while I was in the hospital, it was a good feeling.

"Oh, he's awake," Stef said, her voice a little louder than I would have liked. She leaned over the bed and looked down at him. Instinctively, I wanted to ask her to back off, but instead, I just tucked Dylan in closer to me. I held his tiny hand in mine and smiled down at the beautiful baby that was mine. That I had created and carried for nine months. It was amazing how he knew, instinctively, that I was his mother, his protector. It was amazing, the bond that formed between a mother and a child without any training or conditioning. It just came naturally.

"I want to have babies," Stef said, sighing, "Lots of cute babies like yours. A whole family of them." She smiled and looked wistfully into the distance. I refrained from rolling my eyes, knowing that Stephanie would not be ready to have children for at least another five years. She was too flighty, too much of a party girl to settle down and have children.

"Are you even seeing anyone?" I asked, giving her a sideways look. Stef shook her head and sighed again.

"Naw, and I probably don't want babies that badly. But if you're ever looking for a babysitter, I'm first in line to volunteer!" She grinned.

"As his grandmother, I think I get first dibs," Mom cut in, and we all laughed, "I've got to get an early start on spoiling him rotten."

"Me too," Starla said, "I'm going to be the best aunty this boy will ever have." She rubbed her hands together, and I wondered what she was thinking.

"You'll be his only aunt," I pointed out. Even if Frankie suddenly decided to take responsibility for his son, he had no sisters. There would be no other aunt to take Dylan's attentions away from Starla, and so she could be both his best and his worst aunt. I didn't say this part out loud, though.

"I'll still be the best," she said.

"And I'll be the one to teach him everything boys need to know," Foster said, raising his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes at that. I wasn't sure that Foster's influence would be much better than the influence Frankie would have had.

"I'm not sure I want that to happen," I said. Michael and Mom both laughed. Then Dylan started crying – and loudly, too. His little face turned red and his mouth was open wide, those lungs letting a sound that was hard to believe coming from a body so tiny.

"Looks like you got your work cut out for you," Starla said, grinning.

"I think he's hungry," I said. The subtext was – maybe you guys could leave the room so I can feed my son. Mom was the only one who got it.

"I think Regan might like some privacy to feed Dylan," she said, looking specifically at Starla. Foster and Michael stood up immediately, and Foster was the first one out of the room, with Michael not far behind. Mom herded Starla and Stef out before she turned to me.

"I just wanted to tell you, Regan, that I'm so proud of you. I don't get to say that a lot, but I do love you. I think you turned out exactly the way I wanted you to." She bent down and kissed me on the forehead, like she used to do when I was younger.

"Oh, Mom!" I said, feeling my eyes well up with tears again.

"Baby, you're the best daughter a mother could ask for." She brushed my hair back from my face and gave me a smile before leaving the room. As I fed Dylan, I thought about how lucky I was, how perfect my life felt at this moment in time. I could not have asked for anything different than the way my life was now.

I had been unable to attend Jenny and Noah's actual wedding ceremony, due to the fact that I would have had to take Dylan, and he was still at the stage in his young life where he could not be quiet through the length of the ceremony. He was only six months old, anyway.

But the reception was a laid back barbecue type affair, much more informal, and so I could attend it. The large park was big enough to hold the hundred something people that were there. I only recognized a couple of people, other than Noah, Jenny, and Stef.

The food was buffet style, the tables placed under large canopies, protecting them from the warm sun. There were tables and chairs near the food area, and a band playing underneath another canopy, complete with a dance floor.

I had worn a sundress and sandals, and pulled my hair back into a barrette. Dylan was wearing one of the little outfits my mother had bought for him – a green one-piece suit that looked like an air force uniform. Right now, Stef was holding him as she walked around, greeting the people she knew. Michael had gone over to the buffet, trying to snag some food and possibly a table for us, so I was just standing in the sun, enjoying the heat and looking around, trying to see if I could recognize anyone else. There were members of Noah's family I'd met when we were dating, including his parents, who didn't remember me, and Noah's older brother, who did.

"Regan, right?" Moses asked, approaching me. Moses had been a college student when Noah and I started dating, and he'd had that intrigue that older men had. Now, he had that distinguished look of one who'd been around the block a couple times. His brown hair had lightened to a golden blond and he'd grown a beard. He must have been in his thirties, at least. To me, that seemed almost old, until I remembered that I was only a couple years away from thirty, myself.

"Moses, wow. It's been a long time."

"Yeah," he said, "Isn't this weird for you, being here? I mean, you and Noah --" he began, but I stopped him before he got the wrong idea.

"Are friends." It had been more than five years since Noah and I had been together, and I had no romantic feelings towards him anymore. It wasn't awkward to see him walking around, kissing his new wife, showing her off to his friends and family. No more awkward than if it had been Michael, or Stef.

"You here with anyone?" Moses asked, looking around. Was he flirting with me, or was he just curious? I wasn't sure, but I hoped that he wasn't flirting with me. I couldn't see myself beginning to date Noah's brother ever, but especially not now, at the stage of my life that I was in.

"Yeah," I said, and gestured to Michael, who was over at the table, getting some food to us.

"Hm." Moses said. Let him think that Michael was my boyfriend or fiancé. Maybe he would cease his attempts at flirtation, if that's what he thought.

"Hey Regan, your son wants his mommy," Stef said, approaching us. Dylan was whimpering, and his face was red. I took him into my arms and rocked him gently.

"Mommy's here," I said, "shh..." I brushed his hair back from his face as he calmed down

"That your baby?" Moses asked, looking down at him. I nodded.

"This is my son. His name is Dylan," I said. I could see Moses' interest fade, and he looked past me, over my shoulder.

"Oh, that's uh... oh, I think I see someone..." And he was gone. Score one for Regan.

"That went well," Stef said, raising her eyebrows. I shrugged.

"I wasn't interested in him, anyway," I said honestly.

"You don't think Moses is the least bit cute?" she asked. I rolled my eyes. Of course Stef would be thinking about physical attraction, when I was worried about his personality.

"No." Again, it was an honest answer. She didn't ask anything else and I looked around, trying to see if I could find Michael with the food. I was getting a little hungry.

Then I spotted him, holding a place for us at one of the tables. He saw me and waved us over.

"Hungry?" I asked Stef. She shrugged, but followed me over to the table that Michael was saving for us. I sat down and Michael passed me a plate with some fruit, a cookie, and a couple finger sandwiches. He put his own plate down in the chair next to mine and pulled out his chair.

"Thanks," I said. Then I realized that it would be kind of hard to eat and hold Dylan at the same time. "Crap, I think I left Dylan's seat in the car." I started to get up, but Michael stopped me with his hand on my shoulder. I sat back down.

"I'll go get it," he said, "You want anything else?" he asked, ever the nice guy.

"Could you get his diaper bag, too?" I asked, "His toy is in there." Foster had bought Dylan a little squeaky bath-toy giraffe and Dylan absolutely loved that thing. It was one of the only ways to keep him from crying when I put him in the seat. He preferred sitting with me, but the giraffe kept him distracted enough so that I could leave him in the seat when I needed to.

"All right. I'll be right back." Michael grabbed his keys from his pocket and headed out to the parking lot. Stef sat down next to me and picked a grape off my plate, popping it into her mouth.

"So, what kind of workout are you planning to get rid of that baby weight?" she asked, after she'd swallowed. I found myself staring at her. Workout? Baby weight? For god's sake, Dylan was six months old! It wasn't like I didn't have more important things on my mind than working out.

"I hadn't thought about it," I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. I knew Stef wasn't purposefully trying to be vindictive. She was honestly worried about things like baby weight and looking fit. But maybe when she had children, she'd realize that there were more important things to life.

"You should try yoga. It's good for stress relief, too." I nodded, but didn't say anything. Dylan whimpered a little bit, and I rubbed the back of his hand with my finger. He curled his fingers around mine and pulled it into his mouth, gnawing on it.

"Uncle Mikey will be back with your toy," I told him. He looked up at me with his big blue eyes, and I just nodded. "Yes he will. You want your toy, don't you?" Dylan made a noise.

"Uncle Mikey, huh?" Stef asked, "So am I aunty Stef?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You could be," I said. Stef wouldn't exactly be my first choice of someone that I wanted to influence my son, but if she wanted to be the 'aunty', then I guess I would be all right with that.

"Hey, I'm gonna go talk to Moses, all right? You good here?" Stef asked. I nodded, and she left. I looked up, trying to see if I could find Michael heading back with Dylan's seat, but my eyes caught on something else instead.

There was a man standing over by the food table, and, at first I thought that it was just accidental – like he just happened to be looking in my direction when I was looking in his. But our eyes met and he didn't look away. Instead, I saw him smile at me.

He was fairly average looking – about 5'7", medium build, with crew-cut dark brown hair. He wore black slacks and a maroon polo shirt. Nothing too outstanding. But for some reason he just appealed to me. Something about him...

He was holding a plastic cup in one hand and a paper plate in the other. He held up the plastic cup and gestured like, 'Can I join you?'. I nodded, and he headed over, picking through the crowd to get to us. A moment later, the man appeared, and he put his food and drink down on the table in front of Stef's seat.

"Hi, I'm Theo," he said, sticking out his hand. I took my free hand, the one that was not in Dylan's mouth, and shook his hand.

"I'm Regan," I said, "Would you like to sit down?" I asked. He nodded and pulled out Stef's chair to sit down. Dylan pulled my hand out of his mouth and looked over at Theo.

"He's cute," Theo said, "What's his name?" He waved his hand at Dylan, and Dylan automatically grabbed his thumb.

"Dylan," I told him. Dylan gurgled and waved his hand around with Theo's finger still clutched in it. "I think he likes you." Theo smiled.

"So, you a friend of the bride or the groom?" he asked.

"Well, both," I said, "But I know Noah more than I know Jenny," I said, "We were friends in high school." I didn't mention that we'd dated, figuring that it really wasn't important. "How about you?"

"Jenny's my cousin. We grew up together. It's weird to see her getting married now," he said. I nodded, but it didn't feel that weird, considering that I now had a son. We were adults now.

"Where's his dad?" Theo asked, looking down at Dylan, who still had Theo's finger firmly grasped in his little hands. Theo smiled at Dylan, and my son used his free hand to grab another of Theo's fingers. He was certainly enjoying himself.

"He's not in the picture," I said. I didn't want to go into more detail, but luckily Theo didn't ask for any information. Of course, he could see that I wasn't wearing a wedding ring.

"Here you do, Dilly," Michael said, approaching us. He had Dylan's giraffe in his hand, and Dylan released Theo's hands, grabbing for the toy. Michael set Dylan's car seat on the ground beside me and I strapped Dylan into the seat before giving him the giraffe. Dylan promptly shoved the giraffe in his mouth and started sucking on its leg.

"Oh, hi," Michael said, noticing Theo. He stuck out his hand, "I'm Michael." Theo shook his hand, but I could tell he was uncomfortable. He probably thought Michael was my boyfriend or something, and I didn't want him thinking that. I mean, Theo was acting like he was interested in me, and he hadn't left after seeing Dylan. I wanted to give him a chance.

"Michael's my friend," I said, "He's helping me out with Dylan for a while. We're just friends," I clarified. Michael nodded, sitting down in the other free chair. "He's also dating my sister," I added. Because that would banish any thought Theo might have had about a romantic involvement between Michael and me.

"It's nice to meet you, Michael," Theo said, "I'm Theo."

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Aba!" Dylan said, waving his giraffe toy at Theo.

"Aba?" Theo asked, grinning at Dylan, "Is that so?" Dylan waved the giraffe again and then stuck it back into his mouth.

"You like kids?" Michael asked. Theo nodded.

"I'm a kindergarten teacher," he said, "Younger children are just so new and fresh. Their minds are completely open and free." He sounded so passionate about it that I found myself instantly liking him. The fact that he was a kindergarten teacher just made me feel even more attracted to him. Of course anyone I dated would have to like children, but to work around them all the time and still be as passionate about your work as Theo seemed to be meant a special kind of attitude. A parenting attitude.

"How about you?" Theo asked, "What do you do?" He looked at me. I shrugged.

"I'm not working right now, because of Dylan, but I've got a job at a dental office, as a secretary. I'm going back to work in a couple of months, as soon as I can find the right babysitter for Dylan."

"Because apparently Uncle Mikey is not fun enough," Michael said. I sighed.

"You know it's not like that, Michael," I replied, "I just don't want to take advantage of your friendship. And I don't want to have to ask you not to work just so you can take care of him." Michael had offered to take only the night shifts at work, so that I could work during the day, but I couldn't ask him to do that, not when he'd done so much for me already.

"I know," Michael said. I ate some of the food on my plate, but I wasn't as hungry as I thought I had been. Maybe it was just the excitement of meeting someone new.

"Would you like to dance?" Theo asked suddenly, startling me. I looked up at him. He looked a little worried, like maybe he was thinking I would say no.

"As long as Michael's all right with watching Dylan for a while," I said, glancing over at the man in question. He was smiling.

"Of course I will!" he said, "Now go." He waved me off. I stood up and followed Theo over to the canopy where the band was set up. They were doing a slow song that I didn't recognize, but it didn't really matter. Theo pulled me closer and I put my hands on his shoulders. He was just the right height. Not too tall and not too short. I'd just met him, but already, I hadn't seen anything not to like. Maybe it was too early to make a decision, but it wasn't as though I were agreeing to marry him.

If I was, though, I could see him being a good father to Dylan. He would know how what to do, and Dylan would love him. But here I was, planning his future when it was just one dance!

"I know this makes me sound so creepy, but I noticed you earlier and was afraid to say anything," he said, his voice soft. I smiled to myself.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I wasn't sure because I saw you with Dylan, and I wasn't sure if you were already with someone. I thought Michael might have been your boyfriend," he continued. I nodded.

"Yeah, I know. He's my friend," I said, like I had to say it again, even though he already knew, "We tried dating once, but it didn't work." I didn't know why I was saying that to him.

"I'm glad," he said, "I'd really like to get to know you." The slow song ended and the band announced they were going to take a break.

"Nice timing, huh?" Theo asked, smiling sheepishly, "You want to go sit back down with Michael and Dylan or want to wait here?" he asked. We'd hardly got to dance for even a full song, and I did want to talk to him. I glanced over at the table where Michael and Dylan were. Michael was holding Dylan in his lap, reading him one of his books. They seemed to be doing all right.

"We can sit here," I said, gesturing to the fold-up chairs on the edge of the dance floor. Theo nodded and we sat down next to each other. I inhaled and there was the scent of his cologne. Something strong and masculine. Not that overpowering Axe stuff Frankie used. It was nice.

"I don't know why I approached you," Theo said, "I mean, I thought you were with someone. I'm glad I did, though."

"I am, too," I said, "It's not a lot of guys that would be willing to strike up a conversation with a woman that has a six month old son." I hadn't been expecting to find anyone willing to date me for a long time. I'd planned on staying out of the dating scene, but for the sake of a father for Dylan. That was really what I was worried about.

"You like movies?" Theo asked, and then shook his head, "What am I talking about? Of course you like movies. Everyone likes movies. What I meant was," and here he was sounding nervous, awkward, "What kind of movies do you like?"

"I like just regular ones. Like funny stories. Adventures. Movies from the eighties. The Breakfast Club, Bill & Ted. Things like that." I shrugged, "What about you?"

"Bill and Ted? I love those movies!" he exclaimed, "I like horror movies, too." I wrinkled my nose.

"Starla likes horror movies," I said, "I mean, I can watch them, but they aren't really my favorite."

"Who's Starla?" he asked.

"My sister," I said, "The one that's dating Michael."

"You have any other siblings?" Theo asked.

"Just Foster," I said, "My brother. He's sixteen. What about you?" I didn't know what other kinds of questions to ask someone when you were meeting them for the first time. I was so used to knowing everyone that I'd forgotten how to make a normal conversation, without inside jokes and sarcasm.

"An older brother, Max, and two younger sisters, Shelly and Kayla. Max is two years older than me, and we used to be like best friends." He shrugged.

"What happened?" I asked, sensing there was a little story there. I couldn't picture myself losing contact with Starla, no matter what. She was my favorite sister. My only sister.

"He got married, had a couple kids, and moved away. Just busy with his family, I guess. We see him on birthdays and holidays. I guess that's how it happens, though." He shrugged again.

The DJ put on a song that I recognized instantly – Uptown Girl – I stood up from the chair and took Theo's hands.

"Come dance with me," I said, "I love this song!" He smiled, indulgently, but joined me on the dance floor.

"Umma!" Dylan exclaimed, waving his pacifier at Theo.

"That's right," Theo said, nodding at Dylan. Then he looked up at me.

"I've got your number," he said, "I promise to call sometime next week."

"I look forward to hearing from you," I said, and then realized that sounded kind of dumb. But Theo smiled, and I didn't care anymore.

"We'd better get going," Michael said, "I've got to work tomorrow morning." He had Dylan's diaper bag slung around his shoulder and his keys in his other hand.

"It was nice talking to you," Theo said again, "And you too, Dylan," he said, waving. Dylan grinned, drool dripping down his cheeks. As much as I didn't want to leave Theo right now, I knew that Michael was right, we had to go.

As we were strapping Dylan into the car, Michael was smiling at me.

"He seems like a nice guy," he said.

"Yeah. I hope he is." It was about time for the next stage of my life to start, and I was looking forward to having Theo be a part of it.

The End

Author's Note – yes, questions. Only the basic ones, this time:

1. What was the best part of this story? Character, scene, anything that you really liked about the story.

2. What was the worst part? Any character, scene, etc that should be taken out or fixed to make the story better.