Chapter 9
The wedding was perfect.
Small.
Intimate.
Just our closest family and friends.
In the backyard, under the cherry tree.
Ethan was right.
He was the ring bearer.
In a tiny tux with a blue cape.
He walked down the aisle first, holding the ring pillow so tight his knuckles were white.
Everyone laughed and cried.
My mom walked Lena down the aisle.
She looked beautiful.
In a simple white dress, her hair down, a small bouquet of daisies in her hand.
No diamonds.
No big fancy mansion.
No lies.
Just us.
The judge who’d given us the restraining order married us.
He smiled when he saw Ethan.
“Glad to see you all doing so well. This is the best part of my job. Seeing the good guys win.”
When he said “you may kiss the bride,” Ethan yelled “YAY!” so loud the neighbors probably heard him.
The cake was chocolate.
With dinosaur sprinkles.
Just like he’d wanted.
Ethan gave a speech.
He stood on a chair so everyone could see him.
Held a piece of paper covered in crayon marks.
“Hi. I’m Ethan. Today is the best day ever. Because now Lena is my mom forever. She’s the best mom in the whole world. She makes me mac and cheese. She kills spiders. She holds me when I have bad dreams. And my dad is happy now. And my real mommy Sarah is happy too, because she’s in the tree watching us. Thank you for coming. Can we eat cake now?”
Everyone cried.
Even the judge.
That night, after everyone left, we sat on the porch swing.
Ethan was asleep between us, his head on Lena’s lap, his feet on mine.
Full of cake.
Happy.
Safe.
Lena leaned her head on my shoulder.
“Can you believe this is our life? After everything that happened?”
I kissed the top of her head.
“I can. Because we earned it. We fought for it. And we’re never letting go.”
She held up her left hand, looking at the ring glinting in the moonlight.
“Forever?”
May you like
I smiled.
“Forever.”
