11. Epilogue #3
She’d been utterly shocked that he was getting bonded to a shifter, but she’d also been so very happy for him, and now he wondered if that disapproval of shifters had permeated their conversations after she’d left.
Had he been part of the reason that their communication had become so sporadic?
Had she felt disapproval he hadn’t even known he’d been projecting?
“She’s still your mother, Adam,” Calder had reminded him gently. “It’s her job to love you and be the adult.”
That was true. But maybe she hadn’t dealt very well with him choosing to stay with his dad, and he hadn’t dealt very well with her leaving, and they just hadn’t communicated.
Maybe this was a chance to start fixing that, at least a little.
Nothing would change the fact that she’d left and that she hadn’t done a great job of mothering from a distance.
But maybe she hadn’t been given a lot of opportunities, either, and she’d tried more than he realized.
She wasn’t able to come to the wedding, though.
Adam’s youngest half-sibling had graduated from high school that summer, and the whole family was on a long-planned two-month trip to Australia, where they’d all reunited and made the time to be able to do it.
(His oldest half-sibling was 23 and working on a law degree.)
They weren’t getting back until almost a month after the wedding, although Adam’s mother had offered to cut the trip short.
Adam would have assumed in the past that she was picking her new family over her old one, despite that offer. Now, he could recognize that she already had important plans and she was genuinely offering to overturn them.
For the first time in a long time, it didn’t feel like a competition that he was losing, and he felt comfortable telling her to stick with her itinerary.
“Are you sure?” she’d asked tearfully. “I don’t want to miss it.”
“I’m sure,” he’d told her firmly. “You enjoy the trip with your family. You all planned carefully for that, and I don’t want you to miss out.
” He also really didn’t want to think about how much a new ticket from Australia to California would cost. “But do you think we could maybe plan a trip after that? I’d really like you to meet Calder. ”
“I’d love that,” she’d told him. “Oh, Adam, I can’t tell you how happy I am for you finding someone you care this much about.” She swallowed audibly. “I know I didn’t go about everything right before. I’d really like to do better.”
“Me, too,” he’d agreed, sniffing back tears.
It probably wouldn’t mean a lot of changes in his day-to-day life, but perhaps it would be a lot like letting down a heavy burden he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying. Maybe it would mean actual visits and more frequent phone calls, and a new attempt to make a fractured relationship work.
Adam would have liked to have his mother there for the wedding, but in the end, it was just one day. He’d rather she come when she actually had time and he didn’t have to feel guilty about taking her away from her other family.
(Besides, he could show off Calder anytime!)
Calder had said the decision was up to him, but he’d seemed… not totally upset that Adam’s mother wasn’t coming to the wedding. (That wasn’t quite right, but that was as close as Adam could seem to interpret. Calder didn’t like people that hurt Adam, that was for sure.)
And then they’d gone to board the boat for the wedding, and Adam’s father had been there.
Adam had felt the surge of satisfaction from Calder, and he knew that somehow, his mate had done this.
Adam burst into tears, unable to contain his emotions, his dad cried, too, and Simon bustled about and got them cleaned up and ready for the ceremony.
Adam and Calder had decided they wanted to walk down the aisle together, no one giving anyone away or any of those antiquated notions.
Was his dad going to be okay with that, though?
Or would he feel left out? Adam was a bit anxious, but Simon calmly escorted Adam’s father to a seat right at the front.
It was a small wedding, and everyone from Divine Confections made room for his dad, who looked a little misty-eyed and… content with it all.
Adam was definitely going to have to get details later on how Calder had managed this. But for now, he was just incredibly grateful. Since his revelation about Calder to his dad, he’d begun to doubt that he was ever going to talk to his father ever again unless they were yelling at one another.
This was so much better.
When the ceremony started, Simon scattered rose petals ahead of them with extreme relish—they were rainbow-colored and might have landed on all the guests as well as the aisle—which was only partially responsible for the huge grin that Adam couldn’t seem to wipe off his face.
Calder and Adam walked down the aisle hand in hand, and when Adam somehow tripped over the rose petals, Calder caught him even though he was sporting only his two human arms. The ripple of laughter was friendly, and even though Adam could feel his face heat, he just clutched at Calder and kept walking.
Moira, the teal-haired witch conducting the ceremony, was also authorized to legally perform weddings in California, so they’d have the proper records for the normal government, should they ever become necessary.
They’d chosen to keep it on the short side, but Adam was surprised by how choked up he got over the simple ceremony. This wasn’t how witches bonded, and yet movies and tv and books were full of these vows, and they’d clearly made an impression on Adam.
“I wasn’t expecting you,” Adam told Calder, staring into the dark eyes that had become so very dear to him.
“If I’m being perfectly honest, I convinced myself I didn’t want you.
But I was so incredibly wrong. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you so much.”
Calder squeezed his hands. “I feel exactly the same way. I’ve been waiting for you for what feels like my whole life, and nothing could beat my excitement at finding you.
You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner, and I feel so incredibly privileged to be yours.
I look forward to all the time we’re going to have together so I can show you every day how much I love you. ”
So, yes, Adam might have cried at his own wedding, but that was totally normal, right? The bonding had already happened, but there was still something incredibly affecting about standing here declaring their intention to love one another in front of their closest family and friends.
Well, Adam’s closest family and friends. Calder didn’t have any, saying that the mythical shifters didn’t really share numbers—or even all have phone numbers. That was a relatively recent invention, after all.
“Maybe it’s time to change that,” Adam suggested. “Wouldn’t it be nice to get invited to events like this?”
Calder considered this for a moment. “Yes, I’d like that. We always seem to run into one another eventually, but I can start trying to form more permanent connections.”
It didn’t change this particular wedding, but Adam thought it might be nice going forward. Maybe it was Adam’s very human brain, but if they were going to live for a really long time, it would be nice to have company. But that was a problem for another day.
They’d picked out rings together, agreeing that would ensure they each had something they liked and would actually wear.
They’d settled on bands of black zirconium inlaid with mother of pearl since it had made them think of the sea.
Adam’s came with a fine, strong chain so that he could wear it around his neck rather than need to constantly take it off while baking.
For the ceremony, they both wore them traditionally. There was something very satisfying about slipping the band onto Calder’s finger, and the surge of Calder’s emotions said he felt the same.
Yes, Calder had already been his, but now more people would know that at a glance.
The boat’s photographer took lots of photos, but Adam spent the whole time staring at Calder, marveling at his good fortune.
Adam could feel the huge wellspring of Calder’s love, endless as the ocean.
He had absolutely not mastered how sharing feelings worked, but he did his best to bundle up all the love that he had in his heart and fling it at Calder.
From the deepening smile on Calder’s face, he’d succeeded.