CHAPTER 22 ALEXIS
“Oh, honey. You are just utter perfection,” Tracy says, and I glance in the mirror.
I did my hair and make-up myself. I can’t remember the last time I did my own hair and make-up for a major event, let alone in under twenty minutes.
I’ve learned a few things about make-up application over the years, and I wanted a natural glow sort of look today, so that’s what I did.
My hair falls in loose waves, and the dress is utter lace perfection.
I feel beautiful. I felt beautiful a few days ago when I was supposed to marry Brooks, but that was just the outer physical beauty. Today I feel right inside on top of feeling right on the outside, and that combination is what tells me this is perfect.
I’m not running anywhere today—except down the aisle toward my groom. Or…up the stairs, I guess.
“Are you ready?” she asks.
I nod, and she gives me a quick squeeze.
“Before we get this going, I just want to say thank you,” she says.
“To me?” I ask, holding a hand to my chest. “I should be thanking you. You helped us get all this into place, and you’re here officiating, and you’ve raised the perfect man for me…”
She presses her lips together and glances up at the ceiling before she draws in a deep breath and fans her eyes.
“I knew this day wouldn’t be without tears.
” She laughs a little. “I want to thank you for making Danny so happy. He’s never been like this with a girl before, and that’s what tells me this time he found the right girl. ”
I take both of Tracy’s hands in mine. “Thank you for saying that. You have no idea how much it means to me.”
“He’s a wild one, but no matter what, he’s my little boy, and I only want what’s best for him. And it’s so clear to me that you are what’s best for him. So thank you for being that for my boy.”
I lean in for one more hug. “I love you, Tracy,” I say softly.
It feels so nice to have a parent who supports us and our dreams—but really and truly the dreams we have now, not the dreams we had back when we were teenagers.
Dreams change.
Goals change.
Feelings change.
But the love I have for Danny…that’s solid. It may shift and transition through the years when I see him as a dad, or when I see him as he retires, or when I see him old and gray, but those are the shifts and transitions that will draw us closer together as we navigate this life together.
“If you’re ready, I’ll send Gregory up,” she says.
I nod, feeling a little misty. “I’m ready.”
She smiles one more time, and then she leaves.
I’m alone for a beat, and I allow my mind to wander.
Is it wrong to do this without my father here?
No.
Is it wrong to do this without any friends here?
No.
Ultimately this is my life merging with Danny’s, and this is what we want. Social norms and expectations can fuck right off.
Two short raps at the door tell me Gregory is here.
“Come on in,” I yell.
The door opens, and Gregory walks in. He stops short by the door when he glances up and sees me. “Ms. Bodega, wow. Ma’am, you look so…” He pauses as he searches for the right word. “Happy.”
“I am happy.” I smile softly, his single word meaning the entire world to me.
“What a road this has been,” he murmurs.
“Thank you for all your help in getting me here. I don’t say it nearly enough, Gregory, but I appreciate you so much. I’m so thankful you’re a part of my life, and more often than not, you’re like a father to me.”
“I’m thankful to be a part of it. I know I don’t mention it often, either, but I once had a daughter who was a lot like you.
Smart as a whip. Talented. Sassy. Beautiful.
I lost her far too young, but when I started working with you, it healed a little part of me that died with her.
I couldn’t protect her, but I can protect you. ”
“Oh, Gregory,” I cry, and I rush into his arms for a hug. “Thank you.” I draw in a shaky breath as I do my best to compose myself.
“You ready for this?” he asks.
“I’m ready.”
“Then let’s go get you married.”
We head upstairs to the rooftop, and when he opens the door, I see how it has been transformed. Danny must have gotten dressed in two seconds flat and then rushed up here with the flowers and the beautiful arch he put together for us to stand beneath as his mother marries us.
I see a tripod with Danny’s camera set up on it—our very own video recording of our special ceremony.
And standing under the arch is our officiant and her son, the man about to become my husband.
In a tux.
That’s right.
Daniel James Brewer is wearing a tuxedo, and he looks fine as fuck.
I take Gregory’s elbow as I walk across the deck toward them to the soundtrack of the ocean. We stop when we get to the end, and Gregory places my hand in Danny’s.
“You shaved,” I murmur.
“You’re gorgeous,” he says, and his eyes are heated as they land on me and don’t move—as if he can’t look away.
I can’t look away from him, either.
Tracy asks, “I’m thrilled to be here today to celebrate the union of Daniel James Brewer and Caroline Alexis Bodega, two people very special to me, Gregory, and each other.
Today, you stand before us, ready to declare your lifelong commitment to one another.
Danny, what would you like to vow to Alexis today? ”
Danny draws in a deep breath and offers a chuckle. “Well, I thought I had another forty-eight hours to write this speech, so I guess I’m speaking from the heart today.”
All three of us laugh at his words. It’s rushed, but you know what? There are no other words I’d want to hear from him right now than those directly from his heart.
He turns toward me and takes my hands in both of his.
“Before I met you, I wasn't interested in a long-term relationship.
My life was baseball and that's all I cared about.
And then one of my best friends told me to name the one woman who I'd want to be with if I could with no consequences, and my answer was immediate.”
His hands squeeze mine.
“Alexis Bodega. It had nothing to do with the fact that you are gorgeous, though you are.
But that's just surface level. I was always intrigued by you and impressed by your incredible talents, and then we were lucky enough to be in the same room at the same time when you came to sing at our opening day celebrations.”
He pauses, and I think back to that day. I was so nervous to be in the same room with all those incredible ballplayers, but I had no idea that the future held this for me.
“It was everything to me to meet the girl of my dreams, and my life hasn't been the same since that moment.
Every single day I've known you, I have fallen deeper in love with you.
From the text messages while you were on tour that helped us form a friendship that would become the base foundation of where we're at today all the way until the present day, where I can't picture my life without you, every day has been an adventure. Every day has been a blessing. And today, I promise to protect you when you need protection. I promise to love you. I promise to care for you. I promise to hold you close. I promise to fight to be with you every single day. I promise to run away with you—always. I promise to treat you like you deserve to be treated. I promise to give you the space to be who you are, and I promise to support you in the choices you make. I’ll be strength when you're weak, courage when you're scared, and energy when you're tired. But most of all, I promise to love you from now until my dying breath.”
His vows are not just the makings of some beautiful song lyrics. They're everything to me.
I thumb away a tear that splashes onto my cheek. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to follow that up. I'm used to crafting lyrics and using words, but I haven't really had time to think about what I want to say today.
So I guess, much like him…I’ll just speak from the heart.
“They say you meet the one when you’re not looking, and I can assure you that I was not looking.
I felt like something was missing from my life, but I assumed it had more to do with my career than my heart.
But that was only until my heart was lucky enough to find you.
I remember walking into the clubhouse on opening day.
I was terrified—not to sing in front of the crowd gathered there on opening day but to be in the presence of so many of baseball’s greats, only to be introduced to the man who would become my husband a mere nine months later.
I never could’ve seen my life taking this course nine months ago. ”
I shake my head a little as I try to come to grips with the fact that this is real.
“I never could have imagined how you’d make every single one of my dreams come true.
Being with you is more thrilling than being in front of a crowd of thirty thousand people.
It’s more exciting than being nominated for an award.
I would run away with you every day for the rest of my life if it meant I got one more minute with you, Danny.
I never knew love like this existed, and that’s how I know what we’re doing today is right.
I know you love me because I feel it. It’s genuine and true and perfect.
It’s us lifting each other up, supporting each other, and being there for each other in all the ways that matter.
I promise to support you and your dreams. I promise to honor you and cherish you.
I promise to communicate with you even when it’s hard, and I promise to stay up and fight instead of going to bed mad.
But most of all, I promise to love you from now until my dying breath. ”
He squeezes my hands still held in his, and his lips tip up in a small smile. I love you, he mouths to me.
I love you, I mouth back.
We both turn to look at Tracy.
“Danny, do you take Alexis to be your wife, to commit to only her through whatever life may throw at you until death parts you?”
Danny turns his gaze from his mom to me. “I do.”
My smile is so wide that my cheeks hurt.
I love the wording of that—it encompasses the traditional vows of to have and to hold through sickness and health and all that with the simple phrasing of whatever life may throw at you.
We both turn back to Tracy at the sound of her voice.
“And Alexis, do you take Danny to be your husband, to commit to only him through whatever life may throw at you until death parts you?”
“I do,” I say solemnly, and it’s his turn to smile.
“Then let’s exchange rings and make this official. The ring is a symbol of the never ending love and commitment you share, and the rings seal the promises you’ve just made. Danny, please place the ring on Alexis’s left ring finger and repeat after me.”
Danny pulls the band he bought at the jewelry store in Carmel out of his pocket, and he poises it halfway down my finger.
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment and love,” Tracy says.
Danny repeats the words, and then he slides the simple eternity band all the way down snugly onto my finger.
He hands me the ring he bought for himself, too, and I poise it over his finger then repeat the words Tracy says.
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment and love.” I slide it down firmly onto his finger. I know he’ll have to take it off during games. He can’t grip a bat with a piece of metal on his hand, but I know the commitment will still be in his heart.
“It is my wish that your marriage, your trust, and your love will grow even stronger with time,” Tracy says, and she brushes a tear from her cheek. “By the power vested in me by the state of California, it is my honor to declare you husband and wife. Danny, you may kiss your bride.”
He pulls me into his arms and plants a good one on me, and that’s it.
We’re married.
We’re married.