Epilogue
"Eve, stop eating all the blueberries!" I shooed the pesky pygmy goat away, but she wasn't deterred.
I sighed and rolled my eyes as I turned to the other two goats who were eating what they were supposed to, the weeds, and praised them for being good boys.
Naturally, as soon as she saw me petting her brothers, Eve butted in and begged for attention and since I wasn't a cruel goat dad I stroked her head too and got back to the task at hand.
I reached for the closest branch, gently pinched a blueberry and rubbed my fingers together.
The fruit rolled off its vine as if it had never been attached to it in the first place and I smiled.
It was wild how content such a simple thing could make me.
Especially considering my life and the kinds of places I'd been. The kind of things I'd done.
Some days I worried I'd wake up and realize I'd made a mistake or that I'd lose interest in the farm and it would fall into the same neglect as when I'd bought it, but then I'd pinch myself and remind the little voice in my head that I'd been doing this for seven years and I still loved every single moment.
Of course, it helped that I was content in my personal life too. It might have taken a while for me to move on and allow myself to be happy again, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.
I put more blueberries in the bucket on the ground and thought of my beautiful man.
It seemed silly now, how much I'd resisted him, how long I'd stayed away from him for fear of having my heart broken again when in truth I'd never known love until I met him.
To love and be loved freely and openly was an indescribable joy.
Something that couldn't be put into words.
Having someone in your corner, ready to fight your battles for you as you would for them, being cherished every day, was something I'd never experienced.
Not with this intensity. That was for sure.
I took a step forward and my foot met goat. Eve lifted her head from the bucket and bleated at me. I dropped to my knees to apologize but it was then I realized why I'd accidentally kicked my goat.
"Eve! What did I say? Stop eating the blueberries! They're not for you."
She looked at me as if she couldn't believe the kind of bullshit I was yapping and two seconds later her head dove back into the bucket.
"That's it," I said. "You're fired! Bad weed eater!"
She didn't seem particularly perturbed by my admission, but I picked up the bucket and carried it as I collected more sweet and juicy blueberries, much to her disapproval.
She slammed her tiny head to my thigh and I winced. She was about to do it again when I heard an engine from the end of the row and a few seconds later a cart turned the corner and drove toward me.
Warren was inside in his finest suit but a stern expression on his face, which only got more intense when he came to a stop in front of me.
"What the fuck, Patterson?" he shouted.
"What?" I asked when it dawned on me. "Shit. What time is it?"
Warren stepped out of the cart and shook his head in dismay.
"Time to get a move on, clearly." He clapped his hands and the goats wagged their tails, gathering around him, thinking he was playing a very exciting game with them.
I walked up to the cart and after Warren got back behind the wheel we set off, goats in pursuit beside us.
"They're so funny, aren't they?" I chuckled and pointed at them.
"Are you serious, Patterson?" Warren snapped. "You're gonna be late and you're worried about the goats?"
"I wasn't worried," I mumbled only to get another glare from my friend. "I'm sorry. I lost track of time," I answered.
He tutted.
"What the hell are you doing out here today of all days anyway?"
"Zach needed blueberries. For the cake," I replied.
Warren rolled his eyes.
"Are you telling me there's no fresh blueberry in the house?"
I shrugged.
"Of course. But I wanted them freshly handpicked. I want everything to be perfect today."
Warren shook his head.
"You know what would make the day perfect? If you weren't late!" he huffed. "You two are ridiculous."
He looked so frustrated and yet I couldn't help but laugh.
I bumped his shoulder with mine and smirked at him.
"But you're happy for us, right?"
"We'll see," he said.
As we reached the end of the row, he turned right and I flinched.
"You're going the wrong way," I said.
"Nope. You're way too late," he answered.
"What? No! I'm not even dressed."
"No time."
I looked down at my plaid flannel shirt and jeans and my chest tightened. He wasn't suggesting I wear…this? Today, of all days?
"You can't be serious!"
Warren dug his hand on the inside of his suit jacket and retrieved a bowtie.
"Are you kidding?" I asked.
"Do you want everyone to leave? Because that's what’s going to happen if we don't go now."
At that he came to a stop at the crossroads between four strips of plants and turned to me.
"Are you gonna put that on?"
I didn't manage to answer, because another cart pulled up right beside us, this one with Teddy, also dressed in a fine suit and Zach, in his sweater and jeans, covered in confectioner's sugar.
"What the hell?" I asked. "You're not dressed?" I asked him.
"You're one to talk," Teddy chuckled.
Zach pressed his lips to the side in a sad pout and said, "I got carried away with the cake."
I remembered the bucket of blueberries and grabbed it from the cart to hand it to him.
"I got your blueberries."
Zach took the bucket and his face brightened with a huge smile.
"Aw, they're perfect," he said and put his arms around me.
I kissed his forehead and hugged him back, taking a deep sated breath to cherish this moment with him in my arms.
"Come on, you two. Let's go get you married so you can go back to your farm and baking," Warren shouted and Zach and I pulled apart, laughing.
"This wasn't how I pictured us doing this," Zach said and gave himself the once over.
I patted the sugar off his sweater and turned to him in earnest and told him, "Seems perfect to me."
And it was. This was who we were after all. We had a past, a dark and complicated past, but a common future. And this future was filled with blueberries, cake, love and joy. So much joy.
It should be illegal to be this happy, but I guess that was what it was like when you found the person you belonged with.
Zach gave me his hand, and together we walked up the row of plants before we turned a corner where our guests were awaiting. We walked down the grass aisle stalked by the goats and Lookah, and stood before Autumn dressed in a wonderful, figure-hugging blueberry purple dress.
"Are you ready?" She raised an eyebrow at our clothes, and I turned to the love of my life.
"So ready," I said.
"Me too," he added.
And so we got married. In the middle of an acre, in a sea of blueberries. Maybe not exactly as planned, but definitely so fitting to us.
Besides, all that mattered was love and that was as boundless as the fields that surrounded us.
Don’t miss Wyatt’s story in the grand finale of Mayberry Protectors.