Epilogue
November 2
The beach at the Westin is dreamy. The sun is going down over the water, giving everything white or cream-colored a bluish hue, including our dresses and the sand. The beach reminds me of one of the romantic bridal magazine shoots I’ve been looking at for the last few weeks. From the paper luminarias partially buried in the sand to all the white peonies and blue hydrangeas decorating the chairs and the arbor where Jack and I will shortly exchange vows, everything looks perfect. The wedding planner at the Westin thought of everything, and she pulled it all together in two weeks.
Yes, it’s a risk to have the wedding on my due date, but it’s the only time the Westin had an opening. Besides, I went late with the boys. I’m hoping I’ll go late with their sister too.
“You both look fabulous!” I’m so grateful Suzanne and Sarah are here. “Thank you, thank you, for being here.” The three of us embrace in a group hug. “I can’t believe I’m doing this! I hope I don’t fall walking down the aisle.”
“You won’t fall. If you trip, we’ll catch you,” Sarah says as she pulls away and looks me over. “Your dress is stunning. I love that this is a ‘shoes optional’ event. And your ‘tan lines as accessory’ aesthetic is so cool.”
Twirling on the balls of my bare feet, I show them my simple linen strapless dress that falls loosely over my very pregnant belly to end above my knees. I want my tan lines to show. They’re for Jack. “I’m kinda going for the full ‘barefoot and pregnant’ theme.”
“Oh my god, Isa.” Sarah laughs as she fixes the straps on her airy linen dress.
“What? It’s true!”
Our laughter is interrupted by Cole and Luke, who come running up with big smiles. “People are coming!” they shout. They look so adorable in their untucked white button-down shirts and khaki shorts. I flatten their cowlicks with my hand, but they spring back up.
“Have you seen Jack?” I ask the boys.
“Yep, he’s inside,” Cole says loudly, pointing up the sandy path.
“Are you guys excited?” Suzanne squats down to the boys’ level to talk to them and tries to fix the cowlick I couldn’t.
“Very!” The boys jump up and down and then run toward Jack’s location.
We didn’t invite many people. Just a few of Jack’s employees, his friends, and his mom. The only people I knew to invite are Suzanne and Sarah, my matron and maid of honor, and Sebastian and his wife. Surprisingly, Henry arrived with Suzanne. I’m glad, of course, but we didn’t know until the last minute whether he’d actually show up.
“Jack invited Lila,” I inform the girls. “Or maybe the studio sent her. But I’m not worried. Jack proposed to me, and it’s me he’s marrying today.”
“You go, girl,” Sarah cheers.
“I’ll take care of her if she gets too friendly with Jack,” Suzanne adds. She holds her hands out to inspect her nails.
The visual of Suzanne using her manicure to defend me is simultaneously hilarious and horrifying. “I think this wedding is enough to rub her nose in, don’t you think? Besides, you don’t want blood all over your dress; it will ruin it.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Suzanne huffs but puts her claws away as music starts to play and people take their seats. “We better get inside. We don’t want to keep your hunk waiting.”
Watching the boys walk with Ringo toward Jack standing under the flower-covered arbor, I get weepy. “I’m a little nervous,” I admit. I turn to the girls on each side of me. Suzanne removes a tissue from her cleavage and fixes my eye makeup before I ruin it with tears. “I love you guys.” Seeing her pull a tissue out of her cleavage makes me laugh enough for a second to forget about why I’m weepy.
“We got you,” Sarah says, smiling. “It’s our turn.”
The string quartet begins to play a beautiful version of the wedding march. The three of us walk between the chairs set up on the beach to join Jack, the boys, and Ringo.
As soon as I’m close enough to see Jack’s smiling haint-blue eyes, I immediately feel better, and I know this is right.
Jack, dressed in a white shirt and khakis like the boys, takes my hands as Sarah and Suzanne step to their places at the side. “You’re beautiful, darlin’. I love the tan lines!” His words make me giggle.
Luke and Cole give me hugs. “Hi, Momma!” Cole says, then goes back to patting Ringo.
“I’m glad you showed up,” I whisper to Jack. I’m still in disbelief that tonight is happening.
“There was no chance I wouldn’t.” Jack squeezes my hands, and the feeling of his rough fingers reminds me that I’m alive and marrying a hard-working man who loves me and my children wholeheartedly.
The officiant, Marco, clears his throat as the music stops at the end of the verse. He’s wearing a light blue button-down shirt and khaki shorts, no shoes. The blue should contrast nicely with our whites, I think nonsensically.
“On this beautiful evening on St. John, we gather to witness the marriage of Isabelle Finley and Jack Avery.” Jack winks while he mouths my middle name. I smile wider. He never did figure out what my middle name is.
Marco continues, but I am in such a daze, staring at Jack as the ocean reflects the sunset, that I don’t hear what he’s saying. I’m just staring at Jack and wondering how we got to this point. Jack squeezes my hand to bring me back to the ceremony and we say our “I do’s.”
“Jack, you have something you would like to say?”
Jack coughs and clears his throat. “Luke and Cole, I’d also like to say a vow to the both of you, and this comes from my heart. I promise that I will always be here for you, to support you in every step you take. I promise to always love you as my own sons because to me you are. I love you guys.”
Luke jumps on Jack and hugs him. “I love you too, Jack, I mean Dad!” Jack holds him and hugs him tight. I hear a collective “aw!” from our guests.
Cole hugs Jack’s leg. “I love you, Dad.” Jack bends down and scoops Cole up too. The boys wrap their arms around Jack’s neck, and he sniffs.
Cole lets go with one arm and taps Jack’s back to soothe him. “It’s okay to cry, Dad. Tears are good for you.”
I didn’t think I could cry more than I already was, but now I’m all-out sobbing. The love shared by these three men makes me so happy. Jack and I aren’t building just a marriage—we’re forming a family.
Finally, with a last set of sniffles, Jack sets the boys on their feet and they run over to Ringo.
“Do you have your rings?” Marco asks Jack. He nods and helps Luke and Cole unpack the rings from Ringo’s special wedding harness, then stands back up and hands me one of the rings.
My turn to speak. I’m sure my lack of public speaking skills will become evident to everyone tonight. “I, Isabelle, take you, Jack, as my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, and with this ring, I pledge my love, my faithfulness, and my devotion.”
I slide the platinum band onto his left ring finger and look back up to his eyes. I made it through without stumbling over the words. Now if I can just make it through the rest of the night without stumbling!
Jack makes his vow to me and then slides a platinum band onto my finger. My face hurts from smiling as Marco pronounces us legally married. My husband pulls my hand toward him while he leans to meet me. “I love you, Isa Finley Kendall,” he whispers.
“I love you too, Jack Avery Kendall,” I whisper back, and he kisses me in front of everyone. Our guests cheer and whistle.
I shut my eyes, blocking out everything and focusing on me and Jack in this moment. Jack’s hand is at my nape, his other on the small of my back. He holds me securely as he leans me back with care and kisses me tenderly.
“Mr. and Mrs. Kendall. Kinda has a nice ring to it, huh?” Jack whispers in my ear.
“I love it,” I whisper back, feeling like the corners of my mouth are at my ears.
“Forever.” He kisses me again before helping me stand up.
The string quartet plays as Jack and I, hand in hand, lead everyone to the pool deck where the Westin staff members await us.
“How are ya doing?” Jack asks when he sees me cradling my stomach.
“I’m fine. She’s not used to all this excitement.” I give my hard belly a rub and hold on to Jack’s hand. I felt tightness in my back this morning and occasionally throughout the day, but I’ve done my best to ignore it. This baby isn’t coming today. The more I say that, the more it will be true, right?
Jack helps me into my chair, and a steaming plate is set in front of me. The chef used a maple glaze on the fish and beef, and a heart-shaped waffle accompanies each entrée. Glee at the thoughtful touch fills me, and I look up from my plate to smile at Jack. “Did you tell them to do this? Maine maple syrup and all?”
“Waffles are where it all sort of started.” Jack shrugs and cuts into his waffle, then feeds me the first bite.
“Very true.” I cut into my own pastry and dip the golden square into syrup before I hold it out to him. He leans in and sensuously drags the waffle from the fork. A drop of maple syrup catches on his lip, and I wipe it up with my fingertip. I pop my finger in my mouth and suck off the sweet liquid. Jack groans and shifts in his seat.
“You can get syrup all over me anytime you want.” Jack winks, then bends toward me and leisurely peppers my mouth with kisses. My laugh bubbles out of me. Tonight is magical.
“I’d love to get out of here and have my way with my wife, but our guests would be disappointed,” Jack says.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to leaving either, but I haven’t had a chance to talk with your mom. I look forward to hearing all about you when you were little.” Laughter fills my voice. I’m sure Anne has plenty of stories.
A pang of sadness that my parents couldn’t be here hits me, but I don’t dwell on the feeling. I’m sure they’d be proud of me and how I’ve triumphed over difficulty. And they’d absolutely adore Jack, just like I do.
“I have to use the bathroom,” Luke announces when he and Sarah stop by our table. “Aunt Sarah’s taking me.”
“Okay, sweetie. Are you having fun?” Luke and Cole are the only two kids here; I hope they’re having a good time and staying out of trouble.
“They’re keeping us on our toes,” Sarah says, and they head into the Westin.
“She’s here with Zeus,” I whisper conspiratorially to Jack.
“Zeus? My Zeus? How did I miss that?”
“Yep. Turns out they hooked up at Suzanne’s going-away party and exchanged numbers. They’re not dating, she says, but I wonder.”
“I see Suzanne is here with Mr. Suzanne,” Jack says. We watch as Henry holds Suzanne’s hand and whispers in her ear, making her laugh. “It looks like everything is happy in Suzanneland.”
Well, happy for now.
Some of Jack’s band friends set up by the pool. They were told to be on their best behavior. Absolutely no limbo contests!
“Dance with me.” Jack stands and holds out his hand to either invite me to dance or help me out of my chair. I’m not sure which it is, but I take his strong hand and get to my feet. Now that I’ve been sitting for a while, adrenaline has stopped racing through my body and I’m feeling stiff. I make a fist and push it into the base of my spine, then lean back.
Instead of the crack I’m hoping for, I feel a pop low inside, and liquid gushes down my legs.
“Jack, I think my water just broke,” I say quietly so I don’t alarm anyone.
“We’re having the baby? Now?”
“Looks like it. You’re getting a wife and a new baby all in one day.”
“I’m the luckiest man in the world!”
November 11
The rain has started on the island, and sheets of water are blowing across the bay.
Zeus is making Jack work out in the rain like he’s a Navy SEAL. The boys are at school, and I’m nursing BG on the sofa.
My new husband—it gives me such a thrill to say that—and I had our first fight about naming our daughter.
“It’s been over a week, and you still haven’t named her,” Jack had said. “You can’t keep calling our daughter BG.” He finished changing our baby girl’s diaper for the fifth time that day and handed her back to me for another meal.
“BG? What’s wrong with BG? It’s short for baby girl. Once the paternity test results are back, I’ll feel better about giving her a name.” I lifted up my shirt and opened the nursing bra. BG latched on to my nipple and started to suck. “I feel like I’m living in a Jerry Springer episode.”
Jack had laughed. “I think Jerry might think this is a little over the top for his show.”
“Isa?” Gabrielle calls now.
I raise a hand so she can see me where I’m lying. “I’m here!” She bustles over and hands me a big, brown envelope. “This just came for you.”
“Thank you.” I accept the envelope, then just stare at it. I know exactly what it is—the results of the paternity test. With a sigh, I drop the envelope on the floor and finish feeding BG.
Fed and burped, BG is a happy child. I set her down on her little bouncy chair and slide the door open to the deck where Zeus is yelling at Jack.
“How much longer?” I shout, hoping they can hear me over the noise of the rain.
“I’d give him about an hour, then he’ll be on ice,” Zeus says to me in a much more pleasant tone than the one he was using on Jack.
“Okay, I can wait.” I smile at Zeus. I really feel bad for Jack, but he keeps doing this to himself. “I’ll come back in an hour.”
The next sixty minutes feel like fifteen hours.
Gabrielle watches BG while I take a quick shower. I let the warm water massage my head as I lean into the spray and think about what the contents of the envelope will mean.
If Ben is the biological father, my daughter will grow up knowing her bio dad died after attacking her mother. No mother wants that for her child.
But what are the chances that Jack is her bio dad? His surgeon had said the vasectomy reversal had failed, so Jack can’t father children. We used condoms the first time we had sex, but condoms aren’t entirely nonpermeable. Still, if this child turns out to be Jack’s, her name’s gotta be Miracle.
I’m startled when Jack opens the door to the shower and steps in.
“Hey you,” he says as he puts his arms around me. “You’ve been in here for a while.”
I rest my head on his hard chest while the water trickles between us. “I didn’t realize the time. Is BG okay?”
“Gabrielle is sitting with her.” Jack squeezes some shampoo onto my hair and begins to massage it into my hair. “Gabrielle said an envelope came for you. Did you open it?”
“No, I’m afraid to. I was waiting for you.”
“Let’s finish getting cleaned up and see what it says.”
“You’re always braver than me.” I feel weak in my knees.
“But what if it’s not what you think? Wouldn’t you want to know?”
“I know it’s what it says. If it can’t be you, it has to be Ben.” How could she be anyone else’s but Ben’s? I’ve only been with two people, Ben and Jack, and since my husband’s out of the question, Ben must be the father.
“Either way, I’ll love her like she’s my own, just like I love the boys.”
“Well, let’s find out.”
Jack rinses out my hair, shuts the water off, and wraps me in a towel before we step out of the glassed-in shower.
“Is it still raining outside?” I pull a dress on.
“Buckets,” Jack says as he pulls on a T-shirt and some shorts. “This it?” He picks the envelope up that I left on the nightstand.
I nod as we sit on the edge of the bed.
“Ready?” Jack asks.
I take a deep breath as he slides his finger into the flap and tears it open, removing the paperwork inside.
He holds it so both of us can read it together. Jack seems impatient with all the literature at the beginning and flips through to the last page, labeled “DNA Paternity Report.”
The sheet has four columns. The first is a bunch of numbers. The other columns are labeled “Mother,” “Child,” and “Alleged Father.” The mother column is blank; we all know who she is. Me.
All the numbers in the “Child” and “Alleged Father” columns mean nothing, but at the bottom of the page is a blue box.
I start to cry. Jack is crying too.
In the blue box are two numbers. “Combined Direct Index” and “Probability of Paternity.” Both numbers are ninety-nine. Jack is our daughter’s father.
Jack throws his arms around me. “My mother said BG looks just me when I was born.” He nuzzles my neck as he sniffles. “I didn’t think much about it because I think all babies kinda look alike.”
“Why didn’t you tell me she said that you look like BG?”
“It just didn’t mean anything at the time.” He kisses my shoulder. “I thought she was just being nice in a weird way.”
BG is Jack’s baby. His revision must have worked, at least on one night.
“We can give her a name now.” I don’t let go of him. Jack needs the hugs now. “BG Kendall.”
“Luke keeps calling her Charlotte after the spider.” Mrs. Stackpole is reading Charlotte’s Web to the class.
“Charlotte is my grandmother’s name.” Jack pulls back, his face a wreath of smiles. “It’s a very nice name.”
I nod. “I actually love it.” I study his face. Despite the sun’s weathering and the smile lines etched deeply into the corners of his eyes, Jack has a youthful air about him. He’s strong and steady, traits he’ll need as he raises three children with me. I love this man. “Avery. What about Avery for her middle name?”
“Avery?” Just when I thought he couldn’t pull me any closer or hug me any tighter, he does. “My middle name? Charlotte Avery?”
“Yes. Charlotte Avery Kendall.” This is one of the happiest days of my life. “It’s an honor to name her after her father.”
“Thank you, Isa.” Jack’s voice is choked with emotion as he helps me to stand with him. “Let’s introduce everyone to Charlotte. May she grow up to be strong and courageous, wise and perceptive, just like her mother.”
I can live with that.