Epilogue
“I love you more than I hate everyone else.” — Unknown
Callum
“ C an you explain why you needed to do this today of all days?” Luke stands next to me, his arms crossed in his pastel pink suit, yellow flower pinned to its breast pocket.
You should’ve seen the fit he threw when Grace told him that’s the one he’d be wearing.
“Do you think it’s a case of cold feet or something? Like he’s totally losing it?” Griffin leans over me, whispering to Luke as the sleeve of his pastel purple suit brushes against me.
I roll my eyes. “I’m right here, fucker. And I’m not losing my shit or have cold feet. ”
“Uh-huh. Then explain why are we standing in God-knows-who’s shit, on a fucking farm on your wedding day? Which is…” He glances down at his watch. “In thirty minutes!”
“Hey! Don’t insult the farm!” Jacob calls out. “This is Francesca’s birthplace.”
Luke slowly looks at Jacob in his pastel yellow suit and then to me. “Don’t fucking tell me you’re here to get a duck.”
“No.”
“Thank Go—”
“I’m here for a pig.”
“A what?” Griffin squeals.
“A pig.”
“What the fuck do you need a pig for? I thought Sophie wanted all vegetarian menu for the wedding.”
“I’m not about to eat it, idiot.”
“Jesus, Luke! Have some consideration, there are poor animals listening to you here.” His younger brother chastises him and then bends down in his pastel blue suit to talk softly to the said animals.
“What do you need a pig for then?”
“It’s a wedding gift.”
“For?”
“My wife.”
“I’m so lost right now.”
“My wife wanted a pet pig, she’s getting a pet pig.”
Finally, the owner of the farm comes out, carrying a small pink mini piglet with a brown spot over her left eye in her arms.
“There’s your girl! All ready to go,” she says, and I take our pig from her.
Luke and Griffin stand there, watching me with dumbfounded expressions.
“Oh hell!” Luke throws his arms up. “I’ve officially seen it all. Callum is buying pigs, the world must be ending.”
“Dude! I want one too! Mellie can grow up with her!” Matteo says excitedly, bouncing his daughter in the baby carrier he’s wearing over a light red suit. So light it almost looks coral, but Sophie refuses to admit so .
“Hands off my pig,” I say, taking her from the owner and lift her up to my eye-level. “You better be a good girl for mommy!”
She oinks in answer, and I take that as agreement.
“Great! Now let’s get you ready. We have a wedding to go to,” I say and take out a small tutu skirt and a pink collar Alec and Jacob suggested I buy.
Over the last month, I’ve gotten to know the pair better, and even I have to admit, not all of their ideas are completely off the rocket.
Most. But not all.
“Never mind. Now I’ve seen it all.” Luke deadpans as I put it on the pig.
“Shut it,” I tell him, scooping her up and straighten my mint green suit.
Like the Shrek I am, Sophie told me when she chose who wears what color for our wedding.
Honestly, I’d wear a fucking tutu as well if that’s what my wife wanted. I’d wear and do anything to make her happy.
Because that’s what I live for. I live for my chaotic wife.
Hence the pig and the second “official” wedding.
Sophie told me she didn’t need one, but I wasn’t about to have my girl miss out on any experiences. Including that damned bachelorette party Grace and Fanny threw her last week.
I’m still finding glitter all over our apartment.
The only thing she was adamant about is that the ring I originally got her stays, and I easily agreed because choosing that ring was the easiest thing I’ve done apart from falling for my little menace. It screamed “her” as soon as I saw it back then.
“Okay, let’s go before the girls behead us!” Alec says, and we all get into my new SUV.
“I can’t believe you got a fucking pet pig,” Luke grumbles from the passenger seat, eyeing her on my lap. “You know that means I’ll have to get a fucking pig too!”
I laugh. “Sounds like a you problem to me, mate.”
We arrive at the venue, and as soon as we park Vassar runs up to the car. “Where the hell have you been? The wedding is about to start! ”
“He was getting a fucking pig,” Luke grumbles once more, making Vassar frown.
“A what?”
I lift up our small pig. “A pig.”
“The fuck?” His eyebrows shoot up but whatever else he was about to say gets cut off by a high-pitched excited squeal coming from his oldest daughter, Victoria.
“Oh my gosh, Uncle Clover! Whose piggy is that?” she asks excitedly as her blonde curls bounce and the pretty pink flower girl dress swishes around her running feet.
I smile wide and crouch. “It’s a present for your auntie Sophie.”
“It is?” Her eyes grow wide, a toothy smile in full display.
Victoria, or Vee for short, is eight and one of the brightest, happiest kids I’ve ever met.
I nod and spot her younger brother Killian running up to us with Kira close behind.
“Do you think you can keep her company until the ceremony starts?” I ask the kids and they nod eagerly.
“Jesus Christ, what love does to grown sensible people.” Vassar sighs, but there’s a smile on his face.
“Tell me about it,” Luke grumbles from the side, raising his phone to his ear. “Yeah, I need another pig. Do you have any?”
“Make that two!” Matteo shouts.
Sophie
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four…
I look down and the crackers I managed to eat this morning threaten to come back up like everything else has been in the last three days .
“Sophie! What are you still doing in there?” Gracie asks from the other side of the door. “We need to get going! The ceremony is about to start.”
Oh God…
“Sophie! What’s—are you throwing up in there?” she squeals, the noise muffled over the one I’m making leaning over the toilet bowl.
“Open up!” She bangs on the door just as I rinse my mouth. “Are you sick?”
“Pregnant.” I throw the door open, holding up the pregnancy test I just took for fun.
I’ve been feeling nauseous for a few days and my breasts are tender, but I swear, I didn’t think I was pregnant. The test was more as a joke to pacify myself.
Newsflash, it didn’t work.
“Pregnant,” Grace utters slowly, eyeing the stick and then whisper-shouts, “Harry James Potter! You are pregnant!”
“This thing says so.” I lift it up again and take a shuddering breath, feeling lightheaded all of a sudden.
“Sophie,” Grace says cautiously, leading me to the couch. “Come on, take a seat. Are you feeling lightheaded? I was very much so in my first trimester.”
My eyes fall to her belly and grow wide. She’s about to pop, her due date right around the corner. I’ll be like that. I’ll be popping in nine months.
Oh God…
“Shh, honey, breathe! I take it this wasn’t planned?” She fans my face.
“N-no. I mean, we said we wanted kids, but it wasn’t exactly in the plans just yet.”
Grace smiles wide. “Those are usually the best kind of plans.”
“But…but…Grace, what if Clover freaks out? Given his history. What if he changes his mind and doesn’t want this?” My hand clutches over my stomach, feeling protective all of a sudden.
It’s as if some switch has flipped inside my brain as soon as I saw those two lines .
“I’m pretty sure you’re the one who’s freaking out. Let’s not get crazy over here. I’ve seen how he is with Vas’s kids and Julie’s daughter. He adores them, and clearly they love him as well. I’m sure, he wouldn’t be all that warm and fuzzy if he felt off about kids.”
“That’s…that’s true. They do all adore him. Especially Killian.”
Vassar and Kira’s son practically worship the ground his new uncle walks on. Ever since we met them a month ago and Kill found out Clover used to be in the Navy, that’s all he talks about.
They bonded so much on the trip that at the end of it, Kill announced he wanted to be like his Uncle Clover.
I’ve never seen my husband’s eyes mist over like that. He did his best to hide his emotions like always but we’ve all seen it.
Now, those two have daily FaceTime conversations. I kid you not. And whenever Callum asks Killian to do something, my four-year-old nephew responds with, “Yes, sir.”
Kira even resorted to calling Clover anytime Kill doesn’t want to eat or go to sleep.
“Look at me.” Grace takes my hands in hers.
“This was meant to be. All of it. Now go marry your Shrek—again.” She gives me that pointed look I revived one too many times since she found out about our proposal pact.
“And then tell him the happy news. Because you know I won’t be able to keep it a secret for too long. ”
I laugh, take a deep breath and fling my arms around her neck, hugging her.
“Thank you, Gracie. Thank you for bringing me to Loverly Cave.”
“Told you it was magical.” She smiles into my hair.
“Yeah. It is.”
“Damn it,” Vassar hisses, pressing his fingers over his eyes as soon as he sees me and his chest shakes silently. “You are the most beautiful bride, little sister.”
My own throat clogs up with emotion. “You better stop crying or I will too, and I can’t start yet! My mascara is not that waterproof! ”
Vassar chuckles a bit, wiping a tear off his eye and barrels at me, wrapping his arms around me nearly crushing me. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whisper back.
“Mom and Dad would be so proud,” he says, and I crack, the tears I was holding back spilling into his shoulder.
“Of both of us, Vas. Of both of us.”
He hugs me tighter, not letting go for a long moment.
“You’ll always be my little Sophie, remember that.” He pulls away, eyes red and damp. “But now, let’s go down that aisle so I can hand the responsibility of your chaotic ass over to your husband.”
I can’t wait to tell him he’s about to be an uncle of another little chaos.
We both laugh, tears and all. It takes another ten minutes to reapply my makeup that I already ruined before we are ready to go.
Despite all the color around me for our wedding, I opted to keep my mother’s ivory dress with puffy lace sleeves without any alterations.
It’s not the usual dress you’d see in the ’80s, because my mom wasn’t a usual kind of gal.
The skirt is not puffy like you’d expect, but rather a flowy A-line with no extra underlining.
Just overlapping lace everywhere and a scoop neckline and I needed it just like that.
The only color on me are my flowers and the pink panties Clover loves so much.
I take a step forward, finding Clover’s eyes already waiting for me, and all my worries, nausea, and everything else fades. Because there he is. My husband. My lover. My soulmate.
He’s right there, ridiculously hot in his green suit, watching me with trepidation and so much love in those intense eyes, I feel mine fill with tears.
How did I get so lucky?
Vassar leads me toward him, I’m aware there are people around us. Our friends and family, but I only see him and the urge to tell him, to let him know, is overwhelming .
We step up, Vassar gives Clover my hand.
“I knew it from the first time I met you, Callum. I knew you were the only person I could trust with my baby sister. The only one to love her the way she deserves. To treat her like she’s your entire world and you keep proving it every day.
Thank you,” he says, his words tight with emotion he’s trying to hide, and so is my husband, who swallows hard and wraps Vassar in a hug.
Well, there goes that new layer of mascara.
Mr. Colson steps up and starts the ceremony but I don’t hear a word as I look in Clover’s eyes. The eyes that reflect the same tears or happiness that I’m wearing.
We say our vows, having decided long ago that we’d like to repeat the exact same ones we said on our first wedding.
The one that started it all, but before Sam Colson can say another word, a loud oink comes from down the aisle, and I gasp when I see Killian running after a tiny pink pig wearing a tutu.
“Don’t worry, Uncle Clover, I still got the rings! Come on, piggy, we have to behave!” my nephew shouts, but the pig won’t stop until she’s sitting at my feet. My eyes drop down and then to my smiling husband.
“Is that…Shrek! Did you get me a pig?”
He takes the rings from Killian, who tries to drag the piggy away, but she won’t budge.
Clover takes my hand and slides my ring back on. “I told you, I’d give you anything you want.”
This man…this beautiful, grumpy, complicated…
“I’m pregnant!” I blurt out, my heart too full with feelings to keep it hidden a minute longer.
There’s a beat of silence, followed by a collective gasp from the audience, but it’s Clover who has my attention as his eyes widen, drop to my belly, and then he drops to his knees.
Right there, right in front of me and half of Loverly Cave as he lays his palms on my stomach and cries.
Tears streaming down his face as he kisses my stomach and looks up at me. “Pregnant…we’re going to have a baby?”
“Yes.” I nod, my own tears falling freely .
He gets up, scoops me up into his arms, and kisses me long and hard to the sounds of cheers and whistles all around us.
“I’m going to be a grandma again!”
“I’m going to be an uncle? Oh God, my sister is pregnant!”
“I call dibs on being the godfather!”
“In your dreams!”
“Congratulations!”
“My water broke!” Grace shouts, and all hell breaks loose.
“Well, it wouldn’t be our wedding if there’d be no chaos all around us,” Clover says, and we laugh.
Nope, it wouldn’t be.
“I love you, little menace. Thank you for bringing color into my life.”
“You’re welcome, Shrek.”
“Always such a brat.”
THE END