Epilogue
Two months later…
On the arms of my parents, I walk down the aisle toward the man who becomes my husband today.
Blake has never looked more handsome. He’s wearing a suit, something he rarely does, and a blue tie that he chose specifically to match my eyes.
His brothers are to his left, and on his right, my two sisters. Maisy is here, too, having practiced being our flower girl for the past eight weeks.
Hannah is off to one side, here to interpret the ceremony for all our deaf friends. I just hope I can read every single word that comes off his lips, because it’s him I want to look at as he says his vows.
Blake takes both my hands in his as the minister says a few words. I don’t bother watching, I know what the officiant is saying. Blake and I scripted the entire ceremony. The only thing we don’t know are each other’s vows. I tamp down my nervousness and get lost in Blake’s eyes as the time comes for him to say his.
I’m surprised when his lips don’t move. They don’t move at all. Instead, he drops my hands and begins signing. A huge lump forms in my throat when I realize he’s going to sign all his vows.
“Ellie,” he signs, “I may never completely fit into your world, and you may never completely fit into mine. But it doesn’t matter, because we fit with each other. We’re the perfect fit. The only fit. You complete me in ways I didn’t think were possible. You’ve taught me how things most people think are a hindrance can actually be a gift. Being able to communicate with you without spoken words somehow enhances our connection. What some call broken, I call beautiful. What some pity, I’ve come to celebrate.
“Your silence has opened my eyes. I’ll never look at things the same way again. You’ve taught me that love isn’t just saying I love you. It’s showing it. It’s living it. It’s feeling it. Love is much more than just words. And it’s something I never would have known if I hadn’t met you. Today is not the best day of my life. That day was the day I first saw you. It was the same day I found out about Maisy. Today is just the day that solidifies us as a family—something that has surely been fated in the stars since the beginning of time.”
I can’t move. I can’t breathe. The fact that he learned all those signs and did them to near perfection is just another testament of his love for me.
He reaches out to wipe a tear from my cheek. “It’s your turn,” he signs.
I blow out a long deep breath and swallow my anxiety. It’s my turn to surprise him.
“Blake, my love,” I sign as well as say, at a volume I hope is acceptable for the venue. I have to clear my throat before continuing, because when you don’t speak for a long time, it’s actually a bit hard.
His chin quivers at my spoken words. He quickly puts a finger to my lips right before signing, “You don’t need to do this. You know by now that I love you exactly how you are.”
“I know I don’t need to,” I sign. “I know I don’t have to. And that’s what makes me want to. Now, do you mind?”
He laughs, tears coating his lashes as I say, stutter, and sign my way through my much-shorter-than-his vows. Speaking publicly for the first—and most likely last—time in my adult life, I declare to him and everyone present my unwavering love for a man who accepts me exactly the way I am and who never expects me to be more. Which is why I will be more. For him. For them. For us.
When we’re pronounced husband and wife, we kiss and gather Maisy into our arms. As a family, we turn and face the entire room of two hundred people. A room I’m stunned to see is silent. Because instead of clapping… they’re all doing jazz hands.
***
The End