Chapter 23 - Wren
WREN
“Yes, the bigger hospital bed. Yes, exactly. Yes, the night nurses have been great,” Brooks says. “Great, thank you.”
Then he hangs up. I’m staring out the window in the back of the Escalade while he rubs my hand.
He’s been a godsend these last few weeks since my mom stopped her treatment.
He’s brought in the best care and equipment for her, making sure she and my dad have help around the clock, and arranged for rides for Cole to come stay with us in the city when it becomes too much.
He’s made sure I’m eating and drinking, laid with me when I’m paralyzed with fear and anxiety, and washed my hair when I can’t find the energy to care about myself.
And tonight, he’s arranged for a nice dinner with us and Keaton and Evie. Mom is asleep, according to Dad, and Cole is at a friend’s house for the night. I know he’s right. I need a night off from the fear. I’ve lost a little weight from not being able to eat, and I haven’t smiled in so long.
I put on this new dress he bought me and even threw on a little makeup to trick myself into feeling good.
It hasn’t worked yet, but I’m hoping it will by the time we get to the restaurant.
A little while later, we’re pulling into a little winery just outside of the city.
It’s beautiful, off the beaten path and hidden by big trees and rolling hills.
But there doesn’t seem to be anyone else here.
“Are they open?” I ask as he helps me out of the car.
“We rented the place out,” he says casually.
“I just wanted you to be able to have a quiet night with some friends.” He takes my hand and leads me through the doors of the building.
There is no one else here besides the woman behind the bar, who just smiles as we reach the back door.
But then, she disappears too. The lights dim around us, and I look around.
“What is going on?” I ask. Just then, someone comes through the side door, and I realize it’s my dad. He looks good. Much better than the last time I saw him. He’s in a nice button-down shirt and slacks and has his hair slicked back. “Dad?” I ask. He smiles as he pulls me in for a hug.
“Hi, baby girl,” he says, getting a little choked up.
“What is going on? Where is Mom?” I ask, getting a little frantic.
Brooks takes my hand and pulls me into him.
“Wren, I told you before that one day I wanted to make you my wife. And I know that we have only known each other for a few months, but I meant that,” he says.
I gulp. “Your mom told me that one of her wishes was to see you get married. And I had a hunch that you might have had a similar wish. So I asked your parents if it would be okay if we got married tonight.”
My heart is thudding in my ears. I look to my dad, but he looks happy, emotional even. Steady.
“Wha…what?” is all I can manage to say.
“It won’t be legit,” he goes on. “So you don't have to feel any pressure. But it’ll look real for your mom.”
“What do you mean it won’t be legit?” I ask.
“I didn’t want you to feel pressured into making a decision tonight,” Brooks says. “So if the time comes and you decide that you really will marry me one day, I’ll be the happiest man on the damn planet. But for tonight, I thought we could try it out. See how it feels. See your mom smile?”
My eyes are welling with tears.
The way this man loves me is nothing like I have ever known.
And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that it’ll be him one day at the end of the aisle at a very real wedding.
But this is the one I’ll remember forever.
“Yes,” I sputter, wrapping my arms around both of them. He kisses my forehead then pats my dad on the shoulder.
“Alright,” he says. “Take a minute. I’m gonna get out there. I’ll be the guy with the idiotic smile on my face at the end of the aisle.” He winks then walks out the door.
I turn back to my dad, and he swipes the tears off my face with his thumbs.
“He’s a good one, baby girl,” he whispers, and I see tears in his eyes too.
I give myself a few minutes to get it together before I tell him I’m ready. He motions to the bartender who makes a call over a radio. Outside, we can hear the music starting, and she gives us a nod.
“Whenever you’re ready,” she says. I smile. I think I was ready that first day in that elevator.
I take a breath, and the door opens. My dad leads me down a stone path to a clearing, where I see chairs set up in a beautiful garden.
Keaton, Evie, Julian, and Sawyer all sit together toward the front.
Ella sits nearby with Tom, and she’s dabbing at her eyes.
Cole stands up at the front to Brooks’s left, and I realize he’s his best man.
My knees buckle a little bit beneath me, but my dad holds me up.
And then I see her. My beautiful mama, in a new lavender dress.
Her hair and makeup have been done, and she looks absolutely stunning.
She’s beaming with pride, tears streaming down her face.
And I know that I will never forget this moment for my whole life.
How happy she looks. Her smile. The way she’s clapping her hands and waving to us.
As we get to the end of the aisle, my dad stops and helps her stand.
She takes me in her arms, and I hug her frail body gently.
She showers me with kisses and holds my face in her hands.
“I love you, my darling girl,” she says. “Now go get fake married.”
My dad leads me to the step, and Brooks meets us halfway. My dad pulls him in for a hug, then I take Brooks’s hand as he helps me up the stair.
The night is absolutely perfect. He got a photographer and a deejay and a caterer, the whole nine yards.
Even Mom dances for a few moments with Dad while she has the energy.
And as he spins me around the floor, I realize that this is my real wedding.
When we do get married legally, it’ll just be a courthouse thing. Because there is no way to top this.
And as I look around the patio at the most important people in my life, I realize this is what it was about all the time.
That good does outweigh bad. And when you find your person, the rest can melt away if you let it.
Because at the end of the day, it’s who you can survive getting stuck in an elevator with.
It’s who you can go through the storms with.
It’s who you want to fake marry and real marry.
Brooks Everett and I found each other when we both needed the other the most, and we didn’t even realize it.
When I’m weak, he becomes stronger for the both of us, and when he’s broken, I put us both back together.
And no matter what happens when the news breaks, I know we won’t. He is the light when it’s dark.