Summer 2012 - London-Carlson Wedding

Bruce Lillard (62), Joy London (23), Bridget and Bryce Ebadi (7)

Since Uncle Bruce insisted that Joy not put off her wedding for his or the children's sakes, Joy decided to start making plans.  She invited Felicity over for lunch and a day of shopping.  As a nice gesture, she decided to invite Bridget along too.

Bridget was delighted to be included with the big girls' day out.

She gloated about it to Bryce as they left, but he didn't mind.  He'd much rather stay home and play with the puppy than go on a boring, girly shopping trip.

Their first stop was the mall where they looked for dresses to wear to the wedding.

"Wow, Joy!  Look at you, sissy.  You are going to be a beautiful bride!"

After trying on one dress, Bridget was getting bored with shopping.

She spotted her best friend, Kendra, outside running errands with her mom and asked Joy if it was alright if she went outside to talk with her instead.

While Felicity waited on Joy in the dressing room, she noticed a strange man come up and give Bridget a friendly hug.

"Uh, Bridget, honey . . . do you know him?"

"I'm giving out free hugs today.  Would you like one?"

"Uh, no thanks.  I think you'd better go on your way."

After shopping, the girls went out for a nice lunch.

"This looks like a really nice place," Bridget remarked.  "I think I'll order the lobster."

"Lobster? Are you sure you like lobster?" Joy asked. "Maybe you should choose something a little safer . . . and less expensive," she added under her breath.  "Hey, look they have mac n cheese."

Joy was relieved that Bridget decided to go with the mac n cheese.

Felicity was appalled by Joy and Bridget's table manners.  "Hey, watch out!  You're getting your crumbs in my spaghetti.  Gross."

"Joy, I can't believe you're really getting married.  It's hard to believe we're old enough for that already.  It's like you're really a grown-up now."

"Watch out, you'll be next."

"Maybe," Felicity said, twirling the strands of spaghetti on her fork.

"When you were my age, what did you want to be when you grew up?" Bridget asked.

"I don't know.  I think I always wanted to be famous, like as an actress or a model, or maybe a politician."

"You did always want to be in the limelight," Felicity agreed.

"Now, you're going to be on TV."

"If everything goes according to plan . . . I really hope it works out with having my own show.  I really want it to be successful.  Maybe even win a few awards."

Felicity stayed over on the night before the wedding, so she could be there bright and early to help get ready.  They had a light, healthy breakfast, before getting their hair and makeup done and getting dressed for the wedding.

Everything was all set up by the time the guests started to arrive.  Joy was disappointed when she woke up in the morning to gray skies and drizzling rain, but luckily they were able to set up a tent, so they could still have their outdoor wedding.

Maybe they were a little anxious for the ceremony.  Not all of the guests were seated when Alon and Joy started exchanging their vows.

They were so glad to have their friends and family present for their big day.

Surrounded by flowers and rose petals in bright autumn colors, it was just what Joy had dreamed of.

And even more importantly she was standing next to the man of her dreams.  She knew they were going to have a happy future together.

Felicity looked over at Chase, seated next to her, and wondered what he was thinking.  She wondered if he regretted not being in Alon's place at the altar.  He'd always said he wasn't the marrying type, so maybe he thought he had dodged a bullet.  If he had any thoughts about the past, he was keeping them to himself.

After the ceremony, the bride and groom cut the cake.

And very daintily fed each other a bite.

Uncle Bruce seemed to have some choice words for their older brother Jimmy about settling down and getting serious about his life. 

Jimmy wasn't interested in hearing it.  He wasn't sure he wanted to settle down with one woman.

"Okay, I'll get off your back," Bruce conceded.  "I am proud of you for following through with your education and completing your degree."

The guests took their cake inside to eat.  Joy noticed Felicity and Davis standing together is awkward silence as she ended up sitting next to Chase.

He offered his congratulations and assured her that anything between them was in the past.  They were just kids when they were fooling around with each other.  Now she was moving on with her life and he promised he'd never try to stand in the way of her happiness.

After cake, Joy's other older brother, Frank, sat down at the piano and played some music for the guests to dance too.

Despite the fact that the rain had started to come down harder, some of the guests insisted on staying outside.  They panicked when a tree in the yard was struck by lightning and caught on fire, but only momentarily.

Once the fire was out, they went back to what they were doing,

playing in the rain.

Meanwhile the bride and groom were inside, sharing their first dance.

They didn't care that they guests were outside playing in the rain,

they were glad for a few intimate moments alone.

As they danced, the party was winding down.  Felicity and Bridget watched some television in the living room before bedtime.

And Bryce had disappeared upstairs hours ago.

He wasn't at a loss of how to amuse himself.

Joy and Alon Carlson will be remaining on this lot.  There's enough room to build a separate little house for the newlyweds, so they can have their own private space, yet remain close to help Uncle Bruce with the children.

Summer 2012 - Lillard

Joy London (23), Bridget and Bryce Ebadi (7), Bruce Lillard (62)
When she had first met Jessica and her children, Joy had a suspicion about the children's paternity.  She'd seen a family resemblance in Bryce's face, but she was surprised when her uncle Bruce had stepped forward as the twins' father.

Knowing the children needed a parent and not wanting to disrupt their lives more than they had been already, Bruce packed up and bought a house in New Eden, so the children could stay in their school with their friends in the town they knew as home.

Joy moved in as well.  They had gotten pretty close in the short time she had rented a room in their house and even closer since their mother's death.  She couldn't abandon them now and leave them to live with someone who up to this point had been a stranger to them.

Although he had been a bachelor his entire life and had never had children of his own, until now, Bruce had been around children his entire life.  As a child and young teen he lived with his sister Layla and her family. He and his sister Grace (Joy's mother) often helped care for Layla's children (Suzanna and Jesse) when they were young.  After Grace married and started her own family he lived with them.  Joy had lived in the same household as Uncle Bruce almost her entire life.

But living in a household with your sisters' families was not the same as having a family on your own and suddenly transitioning from a bachelor to a single father.  Joy knew he would need some help while he and the children got to know each other.

Joy had a way with kids.  She knew how to relate to them.

Bruce found it frustrating that he didn't have the knack for it that Joy did.

But after watching her example and following her lead on how to relate to the children, they were starting to break the ice.

He hoped he was up to the challenge of raising two young children who had just gone through the trauma of losing their mother prematurely.

He wanted to do something special for them, to make them feel at home, so he placed a phone call.

And later that afternoon a puppy was delivered to the house.

What child wouldn't want a puppy to love?

As much as they had both wanted a puppy, the children were too busy playing tag to notice when the new pet arrived, but for Joy, it was love at first sight.

With everything else going on, Joy hadn't forgotten about her other love, Alon. 

They tried to make time together, but it was hard to find privacy in the busy house.

And when they did, she was just too tired to make much of their time together.

Alon was very understanding.  "We've waited this long to be together.  I don't mind even if it means waiting for our wedding night . . . which will be soon, won't it?"

Joy had hoped so, but now she wasn't so sure.  She hadn't even thought about the wedding, since Jessica died.  Right now making sure the kids were settled and doing well was the first thing on her mind.  She hoped Alon didn't feel neglected because of it.

Bruce could sense Joy's sadness and one evening they had a talk about what was bothering her.

"Don't put your life on hold, because of us.  Life can take a funny turn and you never know what can happen.  You may miss your chance . . . Anyway, don't worry about us.  The children and I will be fine.  Don't forget to do what is right for you."

The next day, Joy invited Felicity over to discuss wedding plans and to catch up.  They hadn't seen as much of each other since Joy left university and they missed seeing each other so often.

In addition to wedding planning, Joy had big news.  She'd been offered the chance to host her own local television show.  She just had to come up with a proposal for the show's content.  She had so many ideas flowing through her mind, it was hard to pick just one subject to focus on.

"I think finishing school early was the right thing to do.  What can I learn from a book or a class room about acting and the entertainment business that I can't learn by getting out there and doing it," she reasoned. "How are your classes going?"

"Good.  I think I'm going to keep going after my master's is finished.  I just want to see it all the way through."

"How are things going with your love life?  Have you and Davis made up yet?"

"We're co-existing," Felicity replied.  "I know you want us to get back together, but I'm not sure that we ever will.  I really don't need a guy who is going to play games.  I thought he was more mature than that."

Though they lived apart, Joy and Felicity still maintained their close connection as twins.  "Let's see what we have in the kitchen for dinner."

After dinner was bedtime and even though he had his own room, Bryce seemed to prefer sleeping on the couch.

As Bruce was tucking the children in, Felicity came up to him to say goodbye and he offered the same advice to her that he had for Joy. Life is short, don't let it pass you by.