Epilogue
Emma
J uniper Falls, six months later…
"Mama, is it time?" Charlie tugs at my dress for the hundredth time, his ring bearer pillow clutched tightly to his chest. "Can I practice one more time?"
"Let your mother breathe, sweetheart." Hazel adjusts the simple crown of wildflowers in my hair. "The waterfall's not going anywhere."
Neither is Andrew, I think, catching his eye across the clearing. He's discussing something with Ben, the nature preserve's head ranger, but his gaze keeps finding mine, his smile soft and private. Even now, after months of planning this small ceremony, the sight of him in his charcoal suit makes my heart skip.
"Ranger Ben." Charlie abandons his pillow to approach the ranger, who towers over him in his uniform. "Are there really bears here?"
"Not in this part of the preserve." Ben's stern expression softens slightly. "But we do have some interesting birds nesting near the falls. If you're quiet, you might spot them during the ceremony."
Charlie's eyes light up. "What kind of birds? Do any of them look like dragons?"
"The way you're bouncing around, we won't see anything but scattered flower petals." Hazel winks at me. "Though I hear there's been quite a photographer lurking about lately, catching all sorts of wildlife on camera. Making Ben's job more interesting, I'd imagine."
Ben's grunt sounds suspiciously like "troublemaker" as he moves off to check one last time that no one brought rice to throw after the ceremony.
"Don’t mind him," Hazel says. "And your bouquet's ready."
She presents me with the arrangement we designed together—wild roses and Queen Anne's lace, with carefully placed dandelions adding spots of sunny yellow and silver-white seeds. Some might call them weeds, but Andrew specifically requested their inclusion. "For all the wishes that brought us here," he'd said.
"It's time," Hazel announces, her eyes twinkling as our small gathering of friends and family finds their places. "Ready?"
Charlie retrieves his pillow, practicing his serious ring bearer face. As he takes his position, I catch Andrew's expression—pure love as he watches our son, who insisted on wearing glasses just like his dad's for the ceremony.
The ceremony passes in a blur of emotion and perfect moments. Hazel's words about love and second chances. Charlie's proud strut down our makeshift aisle. Andrew's hands trembling slightly as he takes mine.
"I choose you," he says in his vows, his voice rough with feeling. "Every day, in every way. You and Charlie and our perfectly imperfect life together."
"I choose you back," I manage through happy tears. "My careful, wonderful man who makes space for chaos and art and dreams."
As the sun begins to set, casting golden light through the waterfall's mist, Andrew pulls me close for our first dance. Charlie wedges himself between us, and we sway together, our little family complete.
"Even the most stubborn hearts can be softened," I hear Hazel telling Ben, who's attempting to fade into the background. "Sometimes it just takes the right person to shake things up."
Ben's non-committal grunt is almost drowned out by the waterfall, but I catch his thoughtful expression as he watches a flash of movement in the trees—probably that photographer Hazel mentioned.
"Look, Mama!" Charlie points excitedly. "Wishes!"
A breeze has caught a patch of dandelions growing near the falls, sending their seeds spiraling through the golden light. Andrew's arm tightens around my waist as we watch them dance.
"Beautiful," he whispers against my hair.
"The dandelions?"
"All of it." He pulls back just enough to meet my eyes. "Our whole story."
Charlie tugs at Andrew's sleeve. "Can we make a wish?"
"I think," Andrew says, drawing us both closer, "all my wishes already came true."
As the waterfall thunders behind us and our friends and family celebrate around us, I lean into my husband's embrace. Some wishes do come true, I think. Sometimes they just need time to scatter and grow and find their way home again.
Like us.
Thanks for reading Dandelion Dreams.