Epilogue
The dream wedding day was here. The chauffeur pulled the rented black limousine in front of Our Lady of Czestochowa Cathedral.
Avila took a deep breath and nestled her bouquet of flowers close to her abdomen. This was it.
Her wedding party, which included Ebony, was also seated in the limo, and everyone was beaming with excitement.
“Are you ready, Mom?”
She nodded, too nervous to speak. All she could do was think of all the possible things that could go wrong during the wedding.
She could trip over her words. She could trip over her dress. Anything could go haywire.
Samantha glanced at her too. “Hon, you look like you’re about to faint. Stay calm. This is your day. Enjoy the moment.”
“I’ll try to remember that.”
Enjoying the moment was going to be hard, though. Ever since she had decided to move back to Charleston, and ever since Terence
had proposed to her last year, all she could do was pinch herself to see if she had been dreaming. Yes, she had childhood
dreams of a fairytale wedding, but as life wore on, and as people came and left, her hopes had started to diminish.
She had stopped dreaming.
But something changed after she took the leap with Terence and started dating him. Things blossomed, and she started her stage manager job at the Little Theater. It was much better than working at the ER.
The doors to the limousine unlocked, and the driver glanced in his rearview mirror. “I’ll be in the parking lot, waiting.
I’ll be sure to pull up once I see you and your new husband leave the church.”
Her husband. The words sounded surreal.
“Thank you.”
The chauffeur exited the car and opened the doors for her and the wedding party. Avila stepped outside, and the wedding photographer
snapped photos of her and the rest of the wedding party.
“You look amazing,” the photographer said.
Avila laughed and twirled around in her gown. Then she stopped to pose while the photographer snapped more photos. Her smile
was less tense and more relaxed this time. She was ready for this.
She made her way up the steps of Our Lady of Czestochowa Cathedral, and then she waited in the foyer with the rest of the
wedding party. Beyond her, the inside of the sanctuary bloomed like a springtime carpet, a riot of lilies, and roses, and
lilacs, and hydrangeas, and even a dotting of orchids. Life was restored. Hope was restored. Faith was restored.
Shortly thereafter, the organist played, and the music resounded through the stone walls of the church. The flower girl processed down the aisle first, followed by the bridesmaids. Avila’s tummy flipped. She glanced over at Terence’s father, who was walking her down the aisle. He extended his arm to her, and she wrapped her arm around his.
“I’m so glad that the two of you are tying the knot,” he said. “I only wish that your mother was here to witness this day.”
Avila wondered how her mother would have reacted to seeing her getting married to Terence. She’d probably be happy about it.
Avila and Terence’s father took their place at the end of the aisle, and then they slowly walked down together. The wedding
guests oohed and aahed at her. Some even snapped photos with their cell phones.
At the end of the aisle, Terence stood, waiting for her. He looked beyond handsome in his black tuxedo, his hair in a cropped
cut, his dark eyes bright. Handsome. And Avila loved him.
Terence winked at her and had a mischievous grin on his lips. Avila laughed, and the trepidation she had felt over this day
slowly faded away.
She was doing this. She was committed to facing life together with Terence and Ebony as a family. They would bear one another’s
ups and downs. They would face the twists and turns of life together.
Terence’s father placed Avila’s hand in Terence’s, and then he stepped aside. She gave another deep exhale. Avila was going
to embrace this new chapter of her life without any doubts.
She relaxed into the moment, fearless.