Epilogue Devon
Four Months Later
I stood in front of a full-length mirror and adjusted my mismatched cufflinks. One was inlaid with a smooth square of onyx. The other was borrowed, and engraved with the initials “E.K.” It had seemed fitting to include something from both of my dads on my wedding day.
Ed held my tuxedo jacket for me, and when I slipped it on, he said, “You look very handsome, Son.”
I turned to him with a smile. “Thanks, Dad. And thank you for everything else, too. Kit and I are so grateful to be getting married in this beautiful hotel, and we’re blown away by our wedding present.
That trip is going to be amazing.” He’d booked us a first class all the way European vacation for our honeymoon.
Kit was so excited for his first trip abroad, and I couldn’t wait to experience it with him.
“That’s not your wedding present. I’m planning to buy you two a house when you get back from Europe.”
“That’s so kind, but you don’t have to do that, Dad. You’ve already done so much for us.”
“It would mean a lot to me, though. I really want you and Kit to have a home of your own, someplace you can put down roots and raise a family. But no pressure! You two are still young, and you have all the time in the world to decide if having kids is right for you.”
“We probably will adopt a child someday, but that might be five or ten years down the road. In the meantime, we want to focus on each other, and on our careers.” I was working on some new songs with the plan of recording an album, and Kit’s career as a drag performer and designer was just starting to take off.
He had a regular gig every weekend at a club here in San Francisco, and he was also designing incredible works of art for three new clients.
“Can we talk about the house after Kit and I get back from our honeymoon?”
“Of course. I wasn’t actually going to bring it up until later, because right now you have something much more important to focus on. You’re about to marry the love of your life!”
“That I am.” I turned back to the mirror and checked my reflection. I felt like I’d made the right call with my vintage 1960s midnight blue tux, which had a certain Rat Pack pizzazz.
I couldn’t wait to see what Kit was wearing. Actually, I couldn’t wait to see him, period. I asked, “What time is it?”
Ed glanced at his watch. “The ceremony’s supposed to start in about eighteen minutes.”
“That’s too long. Do you know where Kit is? I want to see him.”
“He’s getting ready in a suite at the other end of the hall. Are you sure about that, though? There’s a superstition about fiancés seeing each other before the ceremony on their wedding day. It’s supposed to be bad luck.”
I grinned and said, “I’m not worried.”
“In that case, go have fun. I’m going to join your mother. Last I saw, she and your landladies were raiding the champagne for the reception, so she’s probably pretty jolly by now.” He gave me a hug and said, “I love you, Dev. See you out there.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
After he left, I paused for a moment to look out the window. Kit and I were getting married in the rooftop garden of one of the nicest hotels in San Francisco, and the view from the top floor was pure magic.
It stirred up a memory of myself at ten years old—a lonely kid staring out the window of a tiny apartment while my mom was at work.
Back then, I never imagined my life could be this good.
But now I had a beautiful future ahead of me, and I got to share it with the sweetest, most wonderful man I’d ever known.
And I really couldn’t wait another minute to see him, so I left the room and hurried to find Kit. When I knocked on his door, Hal answered and blocked my way, repeating the same thing Ed had said. “Isn’t there a superstition about fiancés seeing each other before the wedding ceremony?”
“Stand back, dude, and let me at my soon-to-be husband.”
I heard Kit chuckle in the background and call, “Let him in.”
His dad was with him, and as I entered the room Armando said, “Come on, Hal, let’s give these two some privacy.” He hugged both of us before sweeping Hal out the door with him.
Kit turned to me with a smile, and I murmured, “My god, you’re beautiful.”
He was wearing all white, and he looked like an angel. His jacket was belted like a trench coat, and the pant legs were cut slightly wide, giving the suit a soft look. He’d paired it with stiletto heels, and he wore a delicate wreath of tiny white flowers like a crown.
“You’re beautiful, too, Devon. Wow. Look at you.”
“Thanks. I thought my suit was a gamble, so I’m glad you approve.”
As I crossed the room to him, he said, “Hal’s right, you know. There’s a well-known superstition about not seeing each other before the wedding, because it brings bad luck.”
“Do you believe that?”
“No, not at all. But it seems like something you might believe in.”
“Old me might have been concerned,” I said, “but new me knows there’s nothing to worry about.”
“What changed you?”
“Here’s what happened. I fell in love with this amazing, curse-busting, lifesaving superhero, and he agreed to be my husband.
The love we share is stronger than anything the universe can throw at us.
That’s a proven fact. What chance does some sad, old superstition have in the face of something this powerful? ”
Kit draped his arms over my shoulders and smiled at me, and I wrapped my hands around his waist. “I should have added a cape to this outfit,” he said, “what with being a superhero and all.”
“It would have been fitting.” I kissed him and grinned. “You’re taller. I almost didn’t know where to aim.”
“It’s the five-inch stilettos.”
“Aren’t they uncomfortable?”
“Oh yeah. That’s why I’m switching to sneakers for the reception. I want to dance the night away with you and our friends and family. But for the ceremony, I intend to look statuesque and elegant.”
“You nailed it.”
He flashed me a playful smile. “Can you believe it? Our wedding day is finally here! Are you nervous?”
“Not even a little. Are you?”
“Nope. I can’t wait to be your husband, and our wedding is going to be perfect.” He played with the hair at the nape of my neck and said, “Hal was teasing me, by the way. He said we were trying to one-up his and Ryder’s wedding by getting married in that incredible rooftop garden.”
“Their ceremony among the wildflowers was beautiful.”
“It really was.”
I smirked and added, “Ours is better, though.”
“It’s not a competition.”
“But if it was, we won.”
He rolled his eyes, but he was grinning as he turned to the mirror and checked his hair. “Is the flower crown too much? I was going for whimsical, but I might have landed on ye olde renaissance fair.”
“It, and you, are absolute perfection. Now, can we please get married already? I can’t wait another minute.”
“Definitely. Let me message JoJo and let her know we’re ready, so she can get everyone in place.”
A few moments after he sent the text, we could hear the band we’d hired start to play. I told Kit, “That’s our cue,” and he grabbed my hand and led me out of the suite.
When we reached the closed set of double doors leading to the rooftop garden, he turned to me and said, “Since you went rogue and came to find me, how do you want to do this?”
“Let’s walk each other down the aisle.”
He nodded. “I like that idea.”
“Before we go out there, I want to tell you I absolutely adore you, Kit. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’m so damn lucky that I get to grow old with you.”
He kissed me, and then his face lit up in a radiant smile. “I adore you too, Devon. Now let’s go get hitched.”
I whooped with joy and shouted, “Hell yes, let’s do this thing!”
Both of us were laughing as we threw open the doors and ran hand-in-hand into the sunlight.
The End