Epilogue
Briar
The plane ride to Punta Cana was worse than last time. Apparently, I am even more paranoid now than I was before Atlas was born. He is my everything and all I want to do is protect him. It helped that we had all our close friends and family on the flight with us, until we hit turbulence.
I got so nervous I started muttering how I was scared of dying. To calm me down, Aaron started using some sexy talk to distract me, telling me what he was going to do to me in the hotel room once we arrived. Unfortunately, he forgot that his parents were sitting behind us and now they know about all the unprotected sex we had in bed and in the shower the last time we were here, which was super embarrassing. When Aaron realized that they heard, he simply asked them to erase everything from their minds, as if that was a thing. They both said no problem very curtly, both of them sporting horrified looks and red cheeks.
The reality was we were happy his parents could be here. It wasn’t easy convincing the doctors to let Catherine come to Punta Cana, but we made it happen. She was in a wheelchair full time now. We always try to spend as much time as possible with her so she can watch Atlas grow. It’s been so hard on all of us watching her body slowly shut down. But she wanted to be here. She wanted to watch Aaron walk down the aisle. After my mom picked up my car, I never heard back from her. I called to tell her about Atlas’s birth but she never returned the message, so I didn’t bother to tell her about the wedding. Same with Dad since he never returned my only call when I reached out to him, panicking over my pregnancy.
It turns out that Aaron and Atlas are the best things to happen to me because I have a family now and Catherine, who I call Mom now, is walking me down the aisle so to speak. I’m walking her down the aisle in the wheelchair but it’s going to symbolize her walking me down the aisle while Brody walks Aaron down the aisle.
All of Aaron’s good friends are here. So are Ruby, Charlie, and Annie. We’ve all been there for each other, through thick and thin, and this is another time my friends are showing up for me.
We’ve already been in Punta Cana for a week, enjoying the sun and beach. Atlas loves taking naps in the cabana on the beach. We wanted a week of relaxing before the wedding to spend time with friends and family, and that’s what we got.
We even put Atlas to sleep with Aaron’s parents one night so we could wake up at the ass crack of dawn and watch a sunrise. Who would’ve thought, a year later, Aaron and I would be back in the exact same spot, ready to exchange vows.
We will be getting married on the beach. Cade, Finn, Luc, Hayden, and Macklin are all his groomsmen. While the girls are my bridesmaids.
Aaron walks down the aisle first, holding Atlas and walking side by side with his dad. Catherine and I wait for our cue to head down the aisle next.
“I’m so happy for you two, Briar,” she says, and tears fill her eyes.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You know I always wanted a daughter, and you’re more perfect than my dreams,” she declares.
“You’re going to make me cry.” I swipe at the corner of my eye, where a tear threatens to escape.
I head down the aisle, pushing Catherine in the wheelchair. I watch Aaron with so much love in his eyes that I am mesmerized by his gaze. We are at the exact location where Aaron insisted on watching the sunrise with me. Not only was the sunrise a start of a new day for us, but a new life. We exchange vows, promises of forever, pledges of love and support. When I look into his green eyes, I’m home. He is my beloved, and I am his.