Epilogue
Four Months Later
D espite the storm last night, the skies are clear today with temps in the mid-nineties. A little hot for an outdoor wedding, but the reception will be held inside Jonah’s hangar that he finally got air-conditioned. Sage, Elaine, and I have been in Elaine and Jonah’s bathroom getting ready for about four hours now and the ceremony start time creeps up on us.
Sage holds Natalie and sniffs her head. “If I could have the baby without the man, I would,” she says. Elaine laughs.
She and I have grown close, bonding over our strong, but different, love for Nick, and our love for reading. She and Jonah are so different from my parents and I love being around them. I don’t have to think of ways to respectively say, “Fuck off,” when they criticize me or remind them of things the therapist said.
I’m already dressed in my navy blue bridesmaid dress, and we leave the bathroom to allow Elaine to slip into her simple maroon wedding dress instead of the traditional white. Nick knocks on the bedroom door before pushing it open. He looks me up and down, smiling and biting his lip before pulling me into him and nipping at my neck.
“Uhh, gross.”
His head whips to Sage and Natalie, whose tiny fist is curled around Sage’s dark red hair.
“Oh, hey. Didn’t see you there.” He chuckles nervously. “Is Mom almost ready? Jonah is nervous as hell.”
Nick will walk her down the aisle to give her away, then he’ll go to stand next to Jonah. He wears jeans and a navy vest over a white buttoned shirt. And I want to rip it off of him. I can’t help but scan his body with my eyes while I answer. “Yeah, she’s getting dressed now. Have you given him the papers?”
“Not yet. I’m waiting until I give my speech. Really punch him in the gut. Hey.” He snaps his fingers. “Eyes up here before I carry you to the guest room.” His smile is mischievous and adorable.
“There is a baby in here,” Sage says, shielding Natalie from us.
The bathroom door starts to open and I scurry to grab my phone to snap a photo of Nick’s face when he sees his mom. I get it out just in time to capture his eyes reddening and his expression morphing into one of endearment.
“Well, shit,” he says, swiping at his eyes before any tears can fall.
Elaine slaps his arm playfully. “Nicholas. Language. There’s a baby in here.” Then, she smiles and opens her arms.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you, son.”
“So, is this marriage even going to be legal? I thought you were still married to Nick’s dad.”
“ Sage !” I exclaim.
Elaine laughs. “It’s okay, Cori. I was able to have a lawyer hunt him down and have him sign papers without me having to see him.”
Callum pokes his head in the door. “Everyone’s ready. We good to go?”
I hold my hands out for Natalie, but Sage swings her out of reach. “No. She’s mine.”
I prop a hand on my hip. “She’s in the wedding. I’m supposed to carry her.”
“Fine.” After one more head sniff, she hands her over and leaves with Callum. I follow and line up behind Jonah, whose mom holds his arm by the back doors, and wait for the procession to start. When it’s mine and Natalie’s turn, I black out. My brain focuses too much on not tripping on the clumps of grass beneath the aisle runner, not dropping the six-month-old in my arms, and all the eyes that watch us, and I end up walking too fast to reach the front. But I breathe a sigh of relief when Nick and Elaine appear and all eyes go to her. My own watch Jonah as his stoic expression breaks, and he lets tears of love fall at the sight of his bride.
I tear up myself and then find Nick’s gaze, and the rest of the world falls away.
—
After we all eat BBQ, it’s time for speeches. Elaine tells me I didn’t have to give one because Nick has enough to say for both her and Jonah, and I’m so grateful. But I am in charge of watching Natalie who decides to poop right as Nick starts his speech. I’m inside the house changing her diaper as fast as I can before Sage graciously takes over so I can get back out and listen.
Nick stands beside Jonah, whose arm is wrapped around Elaine. Laughter at something Nick said vibrates the room before Nick’s expression sobers.
“I’ve said repeatedly how much Jonah is a father to me. I’ve even started calling him Dad, but now I want to make it official.” Jonah looks at Elaine for an explanation, but she shrugs because she doesn’t know either. “Many people don’t know that you can adopt an adult, but you can. And the reasons to do so are usually in case of death, the biological father won’t be contacted or given custody of any kids the adult may have. I don’t know if I’ll ever have kids, but just like Mom and Jonah want the world to know, through action and paper, that they’re husband and wife, I want the world to know, through action and paper, that he’s my dad. So,”—he pulls out the paper from a folder in front of him—“would you be my father?”
Jonah’s lips straighten into a thin line as he tries to hold back more tears before he stands and grabs a hold of Nick for a tight hug. A few rough slaps on the back later, Jonah signs the papers and everyone cheers.
A little while later, Natalie’s back in my arms again after Sage disappears with Brian. Nick finds me and kisses us both on the head. I stare up at him in adoration and complete and sudden realization that he’s actually mine.
“Hey, why don’t we practice making one of these tonight?” He waggles his eyebrows.
“ Practice? With or without protection?”
“With. Are you nuts? I don’t want a baby. Yet.” He smiles and squeezes my waist. “Your sister would never leave our house if we had one before her.”
He wraps his arms around me from behind. “Oh, you have BBQ sauce on your neck. Hold on, I’ll get it.” Just as I’m wondering how I got BBQ sauce on my neck, he sucks over the spot. “Oh, and over here.” He moves to just beneath my ear and I almost melt in his arms.
“You’re making me wet in front of all of these people.” I mean with his saliva, but it’s hard to think with his lips on me and it comes out wrong. He chuckles into my neck.
“Language, Cori. There’s a baby right here.”
As Mom approaches, shaking her head at us but grinning at our happiness, Nick takes Natalie from my arms and walks back to his mom and dad.
“So, how long before I get to be mother-of-the-bride again?”
“Ugh. I don’t know, Mom. We only just started dating officially a few months ago. Can you let us be?”
“Fine, but he’s the one. You know it, I know it.” She holds her hands up defensively. “And I’m not trying to pressure you into anything, but you’re so much happier with him. And lord knows, Sage can’t make up her mind. I doubt she’ll ever get married.”
“Getting married isn’t everything. It’s not for everyone.” However, because we understand each other better—thanks to the continued family counseling—I know what she means. It’s her way of saying she wants us to be happy and to know we aren’t lonely. “Who knows, Sage and Brian have been working through their issues. Maybe they’ll last this time.”
“No, they won’t. Sage can’t commit to a hair color, let alone a man.”
Sage approaches from behind us and holds up her left hand, a small diamond inlaid in silver adorning her ring finger. “Is now a bad time to tell you we’re engaged?”