Epilogue — Kaitlyn
EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER, CEDARHURST, ILLINOIS.
“Are you sure you’ll be all right looking after them both? Michaela can manage Samuel, if not,” Kaitlyn said, looking doubtfully at Rachel, who was holding the two infants in her arms.
“You leave them to me. You’ve got enough to be thinking about,” Rachel replied.
Kaitlyn was worried Samuel would be sick on Rachel’s dress.
He was going through a phase of getting overexcited.
Kaitlyn had taken to wearing a towel over her shoulder whenever she carried him around.
Still, if Rachel insisted, Kaitlyn wasn’t going to argue.
It was the day of the wedding, and there was a lot to think about.
“Don’t they look adorable! I love Rosie’s dress. What a beautiful shade of peach. It matches the flowers perfectly,” Kaitlyn said, watching in the mirror as Rachel continued to struggle with the two children in her arms.
“They won’t really remember the day, but it’ll be nice for them to look back on the photos in years to come. Can you even believe we’re moms?”
Kaitlyn smiled. The past eighteen months had passed in a whirl.
She and Alex had decided to delay their wedding until after the baby was born.
It had made sense and had allowed them to be better prepared.
Rachel had given birth a few months before Kaitlyn had, and Kaitlyn and Alex were godparents to her Rosie, who was a pretty child, with cheeks to match her name and a mass of curly strawberry-blond hair.
She was to act as flower girl at the wedding, though it was more likely she’d crawl up the aisle than walk in the procession.
Kaitlyn’s son, Samuel, was to be the ring bearer, though he too would need considerable supervision if the moment was to come to pass, and it was Rachel who was really holding the flowers and carrying the ring in her pocket.
They were getting ready at Kaitlyn’s house, the one she’d grown up in with her mom, and the ceremony was to be held at Cedarhurst Park, where Rachel and Sean had gotten married, too.
“My mom always she’d that being a mom was the best thing in the world. Alex’s mom loves her grandchild but doesn’t want to be called grandma. She prefers the title Nonna so she doesn’t feel so old,” Kaitlyn said with a chuckle, checking her appearance in the mirror one last time.
The wedding itself was to be a simple enough affair, but Kaitlyn had allowed the fact that she had a billionaire for a fiancé to offer some benefits.
She and Rachel had gone shopping in Paris, where Kaitlyn had chosen a beautiful dress, peach-colored like the flowers, with a delicate veil and patterned lace.
The past few weeks had been spent sticking to the strictest of diets, and it had been to her relief that her measurements hadn’t altered when Rachel had helped her on with the dress that morning.
Now, she only had the necklace Alex had bought her as a gift for their wedding day to add, an emerald-green to match her eyes.
“You look beautiful,” Rachel said as Kaitlyn rose to her feet.
“So do you.” Rachel laughed.
“Wait until about an hour into the ceremony and I’ll look like a disheveled mess with these two in tow. Perhaps Sean can take his turn. Come on, we’d better be going. We don’t want to be late, do we?”
With no dad or mom to walk her down the aisle, Kaitlyn had eschewed tradition.
She, Rachel, and the kids would travel together, though Alex had arranged the transportation, telling her it was a surprise.
It was due to arrive at noon. They stood on the porch, looking out along the street for the car.
“I hope it’s not something over-the-top. We could’ve just got a cab,” Kaitlyn said as the sound of a loud engine was heard from the end of the street.
To Kaitlyn’s astonishment, the car now appeared, driven by Stephen, who’d come with the New York staff to help with the arrangements. But it wasn’t just any car…
“I recognize that,” Rachel said, furrowing her brow. “It’s not… is it?”
“Betsy!” Kaitlyn exclaimed.
There was no doubt about it. This was the car, not something similar. The car. Kaitlyn stared in astonishment as Stephen got out and opened the rear door for them.
“With the compliments of Mr. Lancaster, ma’am,” he said.
“But… how?” Kaitlyn exclaimed, running her hand along the roof of the car, which felt like an old friend, a familiar one from the past.
“We traced the license plate. She was in a scrapyard but hadn’t been touched for years. What’s under the hood is new, but everything else we just cleaned up,” Stephen said.
She even smelled the same, a mix of leather and engine oil. It was like stepping back into the past, full circle to prom night. Kaitlyn was overjoyed, and the car now pulled away — arguably with a smoother start than in previous years — to make the drive to Cedarhurst Park.
“I feel like we should be going to the drive-thru,” Rachel said as they passed the turn for the window kiosk.
“I wouldn’t put it past him to drive us back there later on,” Kaitlyn said, smiling as she thought of how many colas she’d slurped in the front seat of this car.
The drive to the country club didn’t take long.
Kaitlyn was excited at the prospect of seeing Alex as they’d spent the previous night apart, he with his mom, and she with Rachel, Sean, and the kids.
A small crowd was gathered outside to greet them, including Alex’s mom, who came hurrying to open the car door as they pulled up.
“Did it surprise you to see Betsy again? It’s been quite a secret to keep these past few months. He’s been working on it in the garage,” she said, helping Kaitlyn out.
“I couldn’t believe it. It’s just… wonderful,” Kaitlyn replied.
With no procession to form up, Kaitlyn and Rachel made their way up the steps and into the clubhouse.
Rachel had admitted defeat with the kids and was leading them by the hand, the posy of flowers tucked under her arm.
Kaitlyn was feeling nervous. Getting married was a big deal.
The biggest deal. She thought of her mom, wishing she could’ve been there to see it.
She’s here in some way, though. I know it.
The ceremony was to take place in the same room as Rachel’s had, and Kaitlyn thought back to how she’d felt that day, watching her best friend get married and wondering if it would ever be her who was the bride.
So much had changed since that day, and yet it felt like the culmination of everything that had been meant to be.
Alex was standing at the front, wearing a light blue suit, his back to her.
She could see his reflection in the window, the nervous look on his face as the music they’d chosen — a piece by Handel that had been one of her mom’s favorites — began to play.
It sent a shiver down her spine and filled her with such joy and anticipation as to be almost overwhelming.
As Alex turned, she caught his eye, and a smile spread over his face.
“You got here then?” he whispered as she slipped her hand into his.
“Did you think I’d change my mind?” she asked, glancing up at him with a smile.
“Actually, I was worried Betsy might not make it.”
Kaitlyn laughed, and, as the music came to an end, the officiant walked forward to stand in front of them, the same woman who’d married Sean and Rachel.
“Good afternoon to you all, and a hearty welcome as we come together to celebrate this very special day,” she began.
The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur.
Kaitlyn and Alex made their vows to one another, promising faithfulness and love until the end of their days.
There was a reading, a poem they’d chosen together, and they exchanged rings, taking them from the palm of Samuel’s hand as Rachel held him up between them.
After the final pronouncement, they shared a kiss, and the room burst into spontaneous applause.
As they turned to face the guests, Rachel handed Samuel to Kaitlyn, so the three of them could walk out together.
It was a perfect moment, one that felt like a dream, even as Kaitlyn knew it was real.
It was everything she’d ever dreamed of.
“I love you,” Alex whispered, kissing her on the cheek.
“And I love you, too,” Kaitlyn replied.
It had taken over twelve years to reach this moment, and a great deal of heartache along the way.
But standing there, hand in hand with the man she loved, and holding the son they’d brought into the world together, Kaitlyn knew it had been worth it.
As they stepped out into the sunshine, Hilary threw a handful of rose petals over them, and Rachel did the same.
They showered down like snow or blossoms falling from a tree, and, as Alex turned to embrace her, Kaitlyn leaned forward to whisper in his ear.
“There’s something I want to show you.”
If Betsy had been his surprise to her, then her surprise was waiting for him.
It had been brought to the country club in secret and hidden in a side room.
With the other guests following, Kaitlyn led Alex into the room, where a table was set up with an object covered by a silk cloth. Alex looked at it curiously.
“What is it?” he asked, and Kaitlyn gestured for him to remove the cloth and reveal it.
As he did so, the sunlight caught the ceramic sculpture, filling the room with colored light as through a prism.
It was the sculpture, the two figures, encircling one another as though rising from the sea in a dance.
Kaitlyn had finished it in secret, and now it stood in all its glory as her gift to Alex on their wedding day.
“We came close before, but today marks the start of something new,” she said as he slipped his arms around her and kissed her.
“I want those two figures to always be joined,” he whispered. And that was just what Kaitlyn wanted, too.