Surprise, Surprise!

By Jo and Bridgid

His mind was in overdrive. Jack Aubrey was like a small boy sometimes. He was impatient and impetuous.

Many things had set his marriage to Bridgid on hold and neither party was innocent of causing the delays. He'd had enough of the wait. What better time than the present to seal this deal once and for all? Making a mental list of what was needed to be done, he left her preparing supper aboard the ship with the message that he'd be bringing guests back to dine with them.

"Who?" she asked quizzically

"Never you mind, Siren."

"How many?"

He cocked his head, grinning as he feigning an expression of deep thought. "Six including you,  and adding myself....." He replied. "That makes eight."

"Wait a minute, Aubrey. That doesn't add up."

Patting his ample gut, Jack just smiled. Thinking that the General may have an appetite similar to his own Jack said "Make it ten, my dear."

"Okay, sailor. I hope none of these mystery guests are vegetarians or allergic to shellfish. I'll have Tua pull up the traps and we'll have lobsters.

"Ah yes, Tua. Well, well, best make it an even dozen."

So much for Jack's math.

With that he kissed her, winked and ducked out of the cabin to fetch his guests, hoping none of them would be otherwise engaged. His first stop was at the Meridius station. As he walked up to the door he brushed both of his sleeves and cleared his throat before he knocked. Jack stood at wait with his arms behind his back and his shoulders squared.

Joimus answered the knock just as Maximus started down the stairs, his hair still damp from a shower. "Jack!" she smiled. "It's so nice to see you. Come on in." She
turned, calling to her husband, "Jack's here, darling."

Maximus came up beside his wife, a pleased smile on his face. "Come in, come in. What brings you out here, my friend?"

Giving Maximus a pat on the back, Jack then turned to take Joimus by the hand. He bent at the waist and laid a kiss on her knuckles. Raising his eyes to look at her he stood and smiled broadly.

"I am here partially because of you, both of you, my friends. You see, I woke this morning thinking of you and the situation here."

Realizing that his statement did not quite sound correct he blinked a few times before rephrasing. "It is not hard to see that your marriage suits you. I feel that it would do the same for me. What I mean to say is, I am ready to commit in a similar fashion."

There was more than a hint of excitement in his voice and he was not sure he was conveying his plan properly. "Let me make this more simple. I would like to marry Bridgid today, as soon as possible and I would be honored if you would both stand for us as best man and matron of honor."

He let out a sigh of relief as if an anchor was lifted off his chest. 

Joimus looked at Maximus, her hand over her mouth as she tried to stifle an affectionate chuckle at Jack's manner of asking his question.  Maximus curved his hand over her arm then smiled broadly at Jack. "An honor, my friend, that will be my good pleasure to fulfill."

"Does...does Bridgid, um, know?" Joimus asked, figuring somehow that the absence of her cousin at the Captain's side portended that she did not.

Grinning with comfort to Maximus, Jack conveyed his thanks with the expression on his face. His look became winsome as he answered Joimus. "Aye, she is aware that we are to be wed, however she is not aware that it is to be today. If that be the case then we would surely have a larger guest list. There is no time to plan such a thing at this juncture, not a moment to lose. As a matter of fact we should make haste to collect the vicar and his beloved."

Taking Joimus by the hand he urged her toward the door with no thought that she may want to change.

"Jack!" Joimus protested, indicating her cream-colored slacks and yellow plaid shirt. "These aren't exactly wedding clothes. What, um, will Bridgid be wearing?"  She was curious if they were all just going to show up and Bridgid had been, say, shelling oysters all day, what her cousin would think of getting married in such attire.

His right brow rose when he thought of what she'd be wearing later on that night and a blush rose above his collar. He cleared his throat several times before his mind grasped what was really asked.

"Attire? I had not given this any thought but she does have a number of frilly and fair scented dresses on board the ship. Perhaps, once she is made aware of the circumstances of this occasion, you, dear, could help her choose something suitable?"

He let go of her hand with a nod. "Forgive me. I will wait until you are suitably attired." Of course he saw nothing wrong with the way she was dressed. Joimus was lovely as always.

Maximus, dressed in nice tan slacks and a cream silk shirt, was fine, but Joimus ran up the stairs and quickly slipped on a pale yellow sundress. The wedding would be on the boat so nothing fru-fru would be appropriate anyway.

Coming down the stairs again, she said, "Jack, we'll follow you to the mill, all right, so Alistair and Ahnna can ride with us. Just give me a minute to swing by the Greenery before we head out." 

Maximus got behind the wheel of their car and drove around to the entrance to the greenhouse.  Joimus hurried in, gathering up a spool of white ribbon, an armful of sunflowers, and a pair of scissors. Getting back in the car she said, "I'll make a bouquet on the way."

Seeing the sunflowers made Jack happy. He knew they were Bridgid's favorite.

So, it was off to the mill to explain all this to Alistair and Ahnna. So far everything was going well and Jack hoped there would be no monkey wrenches thrown into his plan, though he had no idea what a monkey wrench was. Bridgid had some funny ways of saying things at times.

The Mill was in his sights shortly and the Captain felt exceptionally calm as he pulled up. Maybe it was just this place that settled the storm in his mind.

He found Alistair outside.

"Good day, sir!" He raised a hand in greeting. "Tell me, are you and Ahnna engaged at the moment?"

Alistair stood, taking off his gardening gloves. "Nothing important, Captain. How may we be of service?"

"I am in need of a vicar who can perform a wedding at once. It is about time I made an honest woman out of Bridgid Morgan. There is no time as good as the present. If you and Missus Harris would be so kind as to accompany us..." He nodded toward Joimus and Maximus who had pulled up behind him, "...then we would mark this day as our anniversary in the ships log."

Alistair waved to the Meridiuses then turned back to Jack. "It will be my good pleasure. Let me tell Ahnna and get out of these blue jeans."  He looked down at his legs,
where his pants had large smudges of garden soil on the knees.

A mere ten minutes later, he and Ahnna came out the front door of the mill, Ahnna in a pale pink summer dress, Alistair carrying his Bible. The two of them got in the back seat of Maximus' car and followed Jack toward the sea.  "It's so good to be together for a happy occasion," Ahnna commented. "We've had enough tribulation for a long while."

"I agree completely," Joimus said, cutting off a length of white ribbon to tie around the sunflower stems. She held the bouquet up so Ahnna could see. "Sunflowers for a sunny day, for hearts full of sunshine."

"Amen," Alistair whispered.

Bridgid was in for one heck of a surprise. Jack was contemplating how he would tell her just what was up his sleeve. How would she react? Would she be madder than a moray with his tail caught in a crab's claw or would she submit to his spur of the moment wishes? He was about to find out. As they pulled up to the docks, she was on the deck waiting and waving.

Jack exited the car and waited for their friends and family to catch up before heading up the gangplank.

"Well load my cannon!" Bridgid exclaimed as the boarding party approached. "I knew we were having guests for dinner but I had no idea who. I couldn't be more pleased."

Extending her arms to her cousin Joi first, she giggled with glee. "I'm so happy to see you, to see all of you. It seems like it's been a year since we've had the chance to talk. Welcome."

After greeting everyone with a hug she smoothed the white sun dress she was wearing and turned to Jack, who seemed to be hiding (for lack of a better word) behind the General.

"Jack, this is a great idea. A spur of the moment dinner party works for me."

Jack looked at the guests as if to plead for help but in the long run he knew that there was no time like the present to spring this on her. He strode up to her and dropped to one knee without a second thought. Before she could say anything he said, "Bridgid,my love, will you marry me?"

With her mouth wide open, she looked perplexed. "Jack, you've already asked me to marry you and I've said yes." Smiling lovingly at him, she touched his cheek. "I'll say it again. Yes, I will marry you."

He stood, kissed her and turned to face everyone. "Vicar, I believe we are ready now, my good man."

"Wha..wha...WHAT?"

"Now, Siren. I meant to marry you now." Jack spoke in a steady voice.

She didn't think for too long before smiling at Alistair. "I'm a bit shell shocked, Alistair, but I've been ready for this moment for a dog's age, an old sea dog's age." Bridgid said as she took Jack's arm. "Joi, Ahnna, would you stand with me please?"