Epilogue #2
"I know. I can't stop." He laughs, wipes his eyes with his free hand. "I've been crying since I saw you come around the corner."
"Vail warned me."
"Of course she did."
Magnus clears his throat. "If you two are done being adorable, we have a wedding to conduct."
Light laughter from the guests.
I squeeze Gunnar's hands.
He squeezes back.
And we begin.
The ceremony is everything I dreamed it would be.
Magnus walks us through the traditional vows first.
To have and to hold.
For better or worse.
For richer or poorer.
In sickness and in health.
Until death do us part.
Gunnar's voice shakes on every word.
Mine isn't much steadier.
But we get through it.
And then it's time for the personal vows.
The ones we wrote ourselves.
The ones that mean even more.
Gunnar goes first.
He takes a breath and looks at me.
Really looks at me.
"Ingrid. I've loved you for as long as I can remember. Before I knew what love was. Before I understood what it meant to want someone, need someone, choose someone. You were always there. In my mind. In my heart. In every dream I had about the future."
His voice cracks.
He pushes through.
"I waited for you. For years. Watching you from a distance. Wanting to be closer but not knowing how. And then—finally—you saw me. You really saw me. Not as a friend. Not as the kid who used to follow you around. But as the man I'd become. The man who would do anything for you."
Tears stream down my face.
I don't try to stop them.
"I promised you fifty years," he continues.
"And I meant it. But standing here now, looking at you in that dress, I realize fifty years isn't enough.
A hundred years wouldn't be enough. Eternity wouldn't be enough.
" He squeezes my hands. "You're it for me, Ingrid.
My beginning. My end. My everything in between.
I love you. I'll love you forever. And I can't wait to start this life with you. "
I'm sobbing now.
Full, ugly sobbing.
Astrid hands me a tissue.
I dab at my eyes, try to compose myself.
It's my turn.
"Gunnar." My voice comes out wobbly. "I spent so long being lost. Being broken. Being convinced that I didn't deserve happiness. That I wasn't worthy of love. That anyone who got close to me would eventually see how damaged I was and leave."
He shakes his head, like he wants to argue.
I keep going.
"And then there was you. You, who never gave up on me.
You, who saw through all my walls. You, who loved me when I couldn't love myself.
You waited for me, Gunnar. Through all the years.
Through all the mistakes. Through all the times I was too blind to see what was right in front of me. You waited."
My voice breaks.
I push through.
"You saved me. Not just from the man who hurt me—from myself.
From the voice in my head that said I'd never be good enough.
From the fear that happiness wasn't meant for people like me.
" I squeeze his hands. "You showed me what real love looks like.
Patient love. Steady love. The kind that doesn't give up.
The kind that fights. The kind that's worth waiting for. "
He's crying again.
We're both messes.
It's perfect.
"I love you, Gunnar. I love the boy who followed me around the clubhouse. I love the man who held me when I fell apart. I love the husband you're about to become. And I can't wait to spend the next fifty years—the next forever—showing you how much."
Magnus wipes his own eyes. "Well," he says gruffly. "I think we're all going to need therapy after that."
Laughter from the guests.
A release of tension.
Of emotion.
"The rings," Magnus says.
Astrid turns to where Leif, my nephew, is supposed to be standing with the ring pillow.
He's not there.
"Leif?" She looks around. "Leif, honey, where—"
"I dropped them!"
The panicked voice comes from under one of the chairs.
Everyone turns to see Leif, a small boy absolutely terrified, on his hands and knees, searching the grass.
"The rings fell off and I can’t find them"
Chaos.
Astrid rushes over.
Geirolf right behind her.
Guests stand up, looking at the ground.
Gunnar and I exchange a glance.
He's trying not to laugh.
I'm failing miserably.
"Found one!" someone shouts.
"The other one's over here—no, wait, that's a bottle cap."
"Leif, sweetheart, it's okay—"
"I ruined the wedding!" He's crying now, full meltdown mode.
Astrid scoops him up, tries to comfort him. "You didn't ruin anything, baby. We'll find them."
"Got it!" Hakon holds up the second ring triumphantly.
"It rolled under Magnolia's chair."
Applause.
Cheers.
Leif sniffles, looks up at his mom. "I didn't ruin it?"
"You didn't ruin it. You were the best ring bearer ever." He brightens immediately.
Hakon brings the rings to Magnus.
Leif returns to his post, clutching the now-empty pillow like his life depends on it.
"Let's try this again," Magnus says. "The rings."
He hands Gunnar my ring first.
Gunnar takes my left hand and slides the band onto my finger.
The wedding band nestles perfectly against my engagement ring.
The emerald catches the afternoon light.
Sparkling.
Beautiful.
Home.
"With this ring," Gunnar says, "I thee wed."
Magnus hands me Gunnar's ring.
I take his left hand.
My fingers are trembling.
I slide the band onto his finger and watch it settle there.
A perfect fit.
"With this ring," I whisper, "I thee wed."
Magnus beams at us.
"By the power vested in me by the state of Florida and a questionable website, I now pronounce you husband and wife." He gestures expansively. "Kiss your bride, man."
Gunnar doesn't need to be told twice.
He pulls me into his arms and kisses me.
It’s soft at first, then deeper.
Then someone—probably Ulf—wolf whistles, and we break apart laughing.
"I present to you," Magnus announces, "Mr. and Mrs. Gunnar Sigmarr!"
The crowd erupts in cheers and applause, and Mom starts sobbing even harder.
The reception is a blur of joy.
The clubhouse is transformed—tables covered in white linens, more flowers, more fairy lights.
Music playing and food everywhere.
Laughter and conversation and the clink of glasses.
The first dance is perfect.
Gunnar holds me close, swaying to the same song that played when I walked down the aisle.
"We did it," he murmurs in my ear.
"We did."
"You're my wife."
"You're my husband."
He pulls back, looks at me with wonder.
"I've been dreaming about this moment since I was seventeen years old."
"Liar."
"I'm not. I was dead set on marrying you one day, Ingrid, whenever you would give me the chance. I told a few people that."
"And they believed you?"
"They laughed at me. Said I didn't have a chance." He grins. "Can't wait to rub this in their faces during the toast."
The toasts are everything I expected.
Hakon and Ulf take the microphone together, roasting Gunnar mercilessly.
"This man," Hakon says, pointing at Gunnar, "once punched a guy for looking at Ingrid too long at a party. They weren't even dating yet. He was just, quote, 'protecting her honor.'"
"He was creepy," Gunnar protests.
"He was the pizza delivery guy!"
Laughter erupts and Gunnar buries his face in his hands.
I'm laughing so hard my ribs hurt.
"We've watched this idiot pine after Ingrid for years," Ulf continues. "And we've got to admit—we didn't think he'd ever work up the nerve to tell her how he felt. We figured he'd just follow her around forever like a sad puppy."
"A very pathetic sad puppy," Hakon adds.
"The saddest, most pathetic puppy."
"I hate you both," Gunnar says.
"You love us."
"Debatable."
They raise their glasses.
"To Gunnar and Ingrid. May your marriage be long, your fights be short, and may Ingrid always remember—she could have done way better."
"Cheers!"
Astrid's speech is softer, sweeter.
She talks about growing up with me, about watching me struggle and about seeing me finally find happiness with a man who deserves me.
"You're not just my sister," she says, looking at me. "You're my best friend. And watching you fall in love with Gunnar—watching you let yourself be loved—has been the greatest gift. I love you, Ingrid. I love you both. And I can't wait to watch your beautiful life unfold."
More tears and even more tissues.
Mom is on her fifth box at this point.
Dad's speech is short and gruff and perfect.
"Gunnar. You're a good man. You've proved that ten times over. Take care of my girl." He raises his glass. "To my daughter and my new son. May you have the life you deserve."
Simple.
Direct.
The most emotional thing I've ever heard him say.
And in this moment, I realize every hard thing I’ve ever endured has led me to right now.
I’d go through it all again to end up here.
THE END