Epilogue
L aura fusses over my hair. “They’re a little too low.
We need to raise them or you’ll look like one of the Spaniels.
” She is determined to honor Carrie Fisher in her iconic Princess Leia role and get the buns exactly right while I fidget in my white dress.
It’s a simple sleeveless shift with a lace overlay on the bodice.
“These flowers are going to die before you finish,” Angela says, holding the floral crown intended for my head.
“They’ll be fine. This is a no-negativity zone.
” Gloria holds my bouquet, a riot of color thanks to the choice of local wildflowers.
Her smile is as bright as the golden daffodils in her hand.
It feels good to see that smile again. Her mother died right after Christmas, and she’s finally getting into a groove of her own.
I know it’s been hard for her to mourn the same woman twice—first the mother she didn’t get in the early years and later the one she did.
She deserves all the happiness I feel today and then some.
“Who’s looking after Buffy while you’re here?” Laura asks.
“My new neighbor, Ellie. She’s great with animals.” There’s that sparkle in her eye that I’ve noticed every time she mentions Ellie’s name. I decide to leave my prying until after the honeymoon.
Charlie’s sister pokes her head into the cabin. “Tee time, ladies.”
Butterflies swarm my stomach. Not the ones that spread anxiety, but the good kind that herald joyous excitement.
The sun is shining as I vacate the cabin. The temperature is a perfect seventy degrees. No wind to mess with the carefully crafted donuts on either side of my head.
It’s already a perfect day and I’m not even married to him yet.
The music begins. In lieu of more traditional songs, I chose a violin version of “In Dreams” from Lord of the Rings . This ceremony is for the bride and groom, after all, and we want it to reflect us rather than society at large.
Olivia is our flower girl. I thought she might object because flower girls are supposed to be much younger, but she actually cried tears of joy when I asked her.
Her parents have been ensconced in new relationships and she’s not a huge fan of either new partner, so the wedding gave her something positive to focus on.
She also asked to work as a junior counselor at camp this summer to “beef up her resume,” and Charlie and I were more than happy to agree.
Elizabeth walks behind Olivia. According to Charlie’s reports, I half expect her to perform acrobatic feats, but she places one foot in front of the other just like the rest of us.
Chewy is the ring bearer. “The Imperial March” plays as the Yorkie trots down the aisle. He was meant to be first, but his nervous jitters relegated him to the back of the line. We’re nothing if not flexible in our approach to tradition.
The music changes to signal my turn. My heart swells as “Across the Stars” begins to play.
All heads swivel to face me. I don’t love the spotlight, but I know Charlie is waiting for me at the end of this path and that thought sustains me.
I walk slowly past the rows of chairs, in time to the music, letting my gaze wander.
I feel a surge of emotions as I spot a group of campers on my side of the aisle.
Charlie worried the song might be too melancholy for a joyous occasion, but there’s so much excited chatter, I’m not certain anyone else is even aware of the music.
I focus on the archway that Gloria and some of the others crafted for us to stand under for the ceremony.
In lieu of flowers, they used balloons of Yoda’s head.
Charlie’s brother stands beside him. He wears a traditional tuxedo and a solemn expression.
I noticed Kayla seated on the groom’s side, holding their squirming toddler on her lap.
Charlie stands at the end of the aisle watching me like I’m the only other person on the planet. I bask in the glow of his adoration as I approach the arbor where the OG Shadow Daddy waits to join us in intergalactic matrimony.
I glide down the aisle with my back to the past, ready to meet my future.
Charlie’s handsomeness has exceeded all expectations.
He wears a traditional tuxedo and bowtie, save for the elven leaf brooch pinned to his suit jacket.
Grinning from ear to ear, he taps my foot with his own, prompting me to look down at a pair of brand-new special edition Star Wars Converse.
His, not mine. I can’t remember the last time he wore Gucci or any other dress shoes.
For better or worse, he’s one of us now.
Our wedding bands are simple gold rings, modeled after—you guessed it—the One Ring. I have no plans to throw mine into the belly of Mount Doom though.
One of the balloons pops when I say “I do,” and everybody laughs when the Dark Warlord is the first to hit the ground, covering Chewy in a protective embrace.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss or dance a jig or however the spirit moves you.”
Cue the Marvel opening theme song. Everybody cheers. I’m not sure whether it’s for the recognizable tune or the conclusion of the ceremony, but it doesn’t matter.
Charlie takes my hand and together we walk down the aisle, our first official act as a married couple.
The reception immediately follows the ceremony.
I change out of my dress into white satin shorts and a Princess Leia racerback tank top that features her famous quote: I Love You.
It seemed apt when I bought it. Melody serves as the wedding deejay, although she was disappointed when we opted for the non-karaoke package.
The playlist is perfect, spanning several decades of pop music and Peter Quill’s awesome mix tape from Guardians of the Galaxy .
Jeannie is the first to congratulate us.
She left the law firm a month after Charlie and now works as our company’s administrative professional.
Without her, we’d be a mess. She keeps the files organized and the schedule running smoothly, dotting all the i’s that we—and by ‘we’ I mean ‘I’—miss.
She and Ben seem to have hit it off, which I try not to get overly excited about so I don’t scare them off.
“Make sure you open my gift before you leave for the honeymoon,” she tells us for the third time this week.
“It will be the very first gift we open tonight,” Charlie promises.
“You’ll need it for the plane,” she adds, and I can tell she’s desperate to reveal the present before we even open it. Two more drinks and she probably will.
My guess is some sort of matching husband and wife neck pillows.
Our honeymoon will be a long flight, but it’ll be worth it to see Hobbiton in person, and the rest of New Zealand, of course.
My pointy ears are packed. I can’t wait to walk those hills and pretend I’m in Middle Earth with my very own Aragorn or Legolas, depending on my mood.
I tried to persuade Charlie to grow out his hair a bit, but he nixed that one right away. Even without the hair, he’s my hero.
Elizabeth is the life of the party. I’m pretty sure she’ll have managed to dance with every single guest at the reception by the end of the night, which is no small feat. There’s no denying the lightness in her step ever since she quit the pro golf circuit.
“I hope I find myself like you did, Charlie,” she says, shimmying beside us while “Funkytown” plays in the background.
“Keep looking and you will.”
Elizabeth presses her pink-glossed lips to my cheek. “Don’t tell Kayla, but you’re my new favorite sister-in-law.”
“Not everything has to be a competition,” I remind her.
Her blue eyes widen as she pivots to her brother. “See how ingrained it is?”
“Oh, I know.” He envelops her in a hug. “You’ll get there, Lizzie. It takes willingness and work, and you’ve got both in spades.”
Nobody bats an eye when Stefan sets a canoe on fire and sends it across the lake like it’s a Viking funeral.
No one has a clue which ritual this is supposed to be, but we honor the moment with solemn silence.
Stefan’s plus-one is Lawrence, a guy he met at Comic-Con in New York in the fall.
Stefan is waiting until camp begins to ask him to move in, and watching Lawrence as he intertwines himself with Stefan in order to drink from the horn currently hanging around Stefan’s neck, I feel confident Lawrence will say yes.
I notice Charlie’s parents slip out early on, but he doesn’t mind. He’s having too much fun to care. His brother and sister-in-law last until ten, when Michael pulls a reluctant Kayla from the dance floor with a reminder that they have a toddler with a strict bedtime routine.
“But we should get together soon,” he tells us, “once you’re back from New Zealand. We’ll hire a babysitter.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Charlie says, giving his brother a warm hug. Kayla wipes away a happy tear.
Baby steps, literally.
Gloria is next to depart. She has her own trip planned, which is music to my ears.
“See you in June,” she says, wrapping me in a maternal embrace.
“Looking forward to it.”
I clasp Charlie’s hand. “Who’s that man dancing with Angela?”
He follows my gaze. “My cousin Kevin.”
“Is he single?”
“As a matter of fact, he is. His wife Devon left him for their tennis instructor last year.”
“Ouch.”
“It’s actually okay. Nobody ever liked the fact their names rhyme. Kevin and Angela would be a vast improvement.”
Melody packs up her equipment and leaves after Elizabeth. “I’m sorry to go when you could clearly dance all night, but I’ve got another gig tomorrow and I need my beauty rest.”
“Don’t apologize,” I say. “You were awesome.”
She blows me a kiss. “See you when you get back from your trip.”
Charlie pulls his phone from his pocket. “One more song?”
I fall into his arms. “Why not?”
He switches on “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green and we sway together, completely out of step with the beat, but we don’t care.
Fireflies wink at us from the tree line.
I wink back in a conspiratorial fashion, recalling what the fireflies witnessed two years ago in June.
Two nerds, neither as self-aware as they believed, falling in love.
“I don’t want this night to end,” I tell Charlie.
He brushes his lips against mine, soft and tender. “If it doesn’t end, then we don’t make it to the honeymoon.”
“Hmm. Good point, counselor. Motion to strike from the record.”
He cracks a smile. “Not a litigator.”
I thread my fingers through the soft hair at the nape of his neck. “Maybe not, but you sure can be persuasive.”
We dance by the lake until the wee hours of the morning. It’s a long flight to New Zealand; I figure I’ll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane.
Charlie holds me close, and I breathe in the scent of evergreen and musk. My two favorite smells in the world.
He strokes my back. “There’s a question I’ve been wanting to ask you all night.”
“You already asked me, Charlie. That’s how we ended up with a wedding.”
“Not that.” He nuzzles my neck. “What are you wearing underneath this ensemble?” he murmurs in my ear. “Is it a gold bikini?”
I look up at him with as much innocence as I can muster. “You can’t skinny-dip in a gold bikini now, can you?”
Today has been miraculous for so many reasons and I can barely take it all in, but I try to commit each and every moment to memory.
One day, if I’m very lucky, I’ll be an elderly woman in a high-end massage chair with time to reminisce, and this will be one of the days I conjure in great and loving detail.
Whatever gaps exist in my recollection, Charlie will be there to fill them in with his usual wit and good humor, and possibly a few lawyerly embellishments.
I rest my cheek on his shoulder and release an almost imperceptible sigh, prompting him to drop a kiss on the top of my head.
“Long day, right?”
“The best kind of long day.”
I’d been content with my life before Charlie. This , however… This is so much better than anything I would’ve dared to imagine for myself. Truth isn’t stranger than fiction.
It’s so much better.