Epilogue
Beau
Sabrina was in my pullover.
None of my pullovers fit her; they were too long. The sleeves had been pulled down over her hands. Her hand curled around the wineglass stem. It hadn't been refilled for several minutes.
It had been a year since the surgery.
The dining room was full.
Vivienne was at the head of the table. Mrs. Park was beside her. Their friendship most certainly began in the hospital's family lounge. Vivienne poured the wine — a deep garnet Cabernet she'd pulled from the cellar.
Cade and Suzanne were across from us.
Their wedding plans were coming together smoothly — the venue, the flowers, the band, all picked without a single argument. Cade approved everything on the first pass. The only thing he asked for was a vanilla cake. Vivienne said she'd never seen a wedding planned so easily.
My hand was on Sabrina's leg under the table.
Bonnie was next to Vivienne. Her hair was to her shoulders now. The ponytail era of her life was over, and she was a big girl who wore her hair down.
She was telling Vivienne about her science fair project.
The project was on bioluminescence — the cephalopod book's topic she’d chosen after surgery. She'd waited for and was ready when the school finally assigned it.
"Vivienne, the dinoflagellate is the most important one. Do you know why?"
"Tell me." Vivienne said with interest.
"Because it is the one you can see in the ocean if you go at night."
"Have you seen one?"
"Not yet. But I'm going to."
Suzanne set her fork down.
"The vineyard venue is perfect, the flowers are cream and eucalyptus, and the jazz trio is incredible. Cade picked the setlist himself. We're both so excited. Thank goodness, we haven't disagreed once."
"I'm being a respectful partner," Cade said.
"The best husband-to-be. I thought he loved to be the one making the decisions."
The table laughed. Cade laughed too.
"Sabrina, he is impossible. He used to have opinions."
"He still does," Sabrina said. "He is hiding them very well."
Vivienne looked at Cade. "Cade, make a decision about the cake."
"I wanted to have a chocolate flavor, but I’ve settled for vanilla. It’s more perfect for the occasion."
"Thank you," Suzanne said.
The table laughed again. I was watching Sabrina beside me. She was laughing at my brother, wineglass in hand, calm and beautiful. Bonnie leaned into her side, laughing too. Sabrina's hand was on Bonnie's hair.
I watched the two of them and felt peace fill my heart, quiet and certain. They were my everything now. Making them happy felt like the only thing that mattered.
I guess I'm going to be buying a ring soon.