21. Epilogue
Epilogue
Caroline
By early spring, Caroline knew exactly how she wanted to look when she married her husband again.
Her long, blond hair fell in loose waves down her back. No pins pulled at her scalp, and no one had suggested cutting it, taming it, or making it more suitable. Her ivory dress had a soft square neck, a fitted waist, and a full skirt that moved easily when she turned.
Caroline looked at herself in the bedroom mirror. She didn’t see a woman dressed to pass someone else’s examination. She saw herself.
“Hold still,” her mother said behind her. “I’m trying not to catch your hair in the last button.”
Caroline smiled at their reflection. Her mother wore a soft blue dress they’d chosen together. She’d come over from her own apartment that morning, though she visited so often that Hayden claimed they should install a revolving door.
The joke made Caroline happy every time.
Her mother could visit because she wanted to, then return to a home of her own.
The apartment had been Hayden’s gift, but it wasn’t a finished place handed to her with somebody else’s choices already made.
Caroline and her mother had viewed it together.
They’d chosen the warm colors, the comfortable furniture, and the kitchen shelves placed low enough that her mother didn’t have to stretch to reach them.
There was a bedroom no one else needed to share and a small second room waiting for the day Edith was old enough to stay overnight.
Caroline still sometimes pictured the narrow strip of floor beside the bed in Bakersfield, her suitcase filling most of it. Then she thought of her mother’s apartment key hanging from a yellow ribbon near her front door.
Her mother fastened the last button and rested both hands on Caroline’s shoulders.
“Beautiful,” she said.
Caroline covered one of her hands with hers. “Are you happy?”
“I have my own home, my daughter is marrying the man she loves a second time, and my granddaughter smiles when I sing to her.” Her mother met her eyes in the mirror. “I don’t know what I’d complain about.”
“My revolving-door policy?”
“That man can joke all he wants. He gives me Edith before I take off my coat.”
The bedroom door opened, and Jemma came in holding a wad of tissues.
“I’ve cried twice,” she announced. “The ceremony hasn’t even started, so this is going badly.”
“You look lovely too,” Caroline said.
“Don’t be kind to me. It’ll happen again.” Jemma pressed a tissue under one eye and looked Caroline over. Her face folded. “Oh, honey.”
“No.” Caroline pointed at her. “Save some tears for the vows.”
“I’m trying.”
Her mother handed Jemma another tissue. “How’s Hank?”
Jemma closed her eyes. “He asked the groundskeeper if he knew how much land was being wasted on ornamental planting.”
Caroline covered her mouth, but a laugh escaped anyway. “Did the groundskeeper ask why?”
“Thankfully, no. Hank was about three words away from explaining how many RV spaces could fit beside the roses.”
“Hayden will be thrilled. He thought the investment opportunity had died.”
“Hank’s dreams don’t die,” Jemma said. “They just find richer soil.”
Caroline laughed again, and Jemma began crying for the third time.
Anita appeared in the doorway, took one look at Jemma, and held out another tissue.
“I came from Vegas for a wedding, not a flood.”
Downstairs and beyond the broad windows, the wedding Caroline had planned was ready.
Cream and butter-yellow flowers filled the pale rooms. Under the covered space overlooking the garden, long tables curved around the ceremony area instead of sitting in stiff rows.
Caroline had chosen the colors, the flowers, the cloth on the tables, and where every chair belonged.
She wanted people to see one another. She wanted the celebration to feel warm even if spring rain came across the lawn.
It looked like a place where people could stay.
When Caroline went downstairs with her mother, Jemma, and Anita, Hank stood near the bottom in a dark suit that seemed to offend him. He pulled at the collar, then stopped when he saw her. For once, no business plan appeared on his face.
“You look beautiful, Caroline,” he said.
The plain sincerity caught her off guard. “Thank you, Hank.”
He nodded, looking pleased that he’d managed it. “Very nice setup too. Weddings must be a profitable business.”
Jemma shut her eyes.
Caroline burst out laughing.
“What?” Hank asked. “People get married every day.”
“Not on my lawn, they don’t,” Hayden said as he approached.
He wore a dark suit and the tie Caroline had chosen. Edith rested against his shoulder in a yellow knit dress with soft leggings under it. One tiny fist had caught the edge of his tie, and Hayden was trying to loosen it without wrinkling either the fabric or his daughter’s serious expression.
“Your customer is stealing your clothes,” Caroline told him.
“She’s been trying to eat this tie for five minutes.”
“Maybe she doesn’t like it.”
Hayden looked offended. “Her mother chose it.”
“Then Edith has excellent taste and wants it for herself.”
Their daughter turned at the sound of Caroline’s voice. Her eyes went wide, and her legs kicked against Hayden’s chest. Caroline reached for her, and Hayden handed Edith over without hesitation.
He looked at Caroline then. Really looked. The delight on his face warmed her more than the dress, flowers, and house together.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said.
“I know.”
His dark eyes narrowed with amusement. “Good.”
He kissed her temple because Edith was between them. Caroline leaned into him for one brief moment, safe in the sight of anyone who happened to be watching.
More relatives and friends had begun gathering in the garden.
Edith moved between a circle of willing arms, though Hayden kept finding reasons to take her back.
Each time Caroline saw him with their daughter against his shoulder, she remembered the hospital, his open shirt, his huge hand covering Edith’s tiny back, and the fear that had sat beneath every breath.
There was no fear now.
Larissa and Adam Lynch arrived early. Larissa greeted Caroline’s mother and Jemma with calm politeness, then told Jemma that her dress was lovely. Adam shook Hank’s hand. When Hank began looking toward the garden again, Jemma caught his sleeve and drew him toward the other guests.
Larissa studied the flowers at the windows. “These are beautiful, Caroline. I like the yellow.”
“Thank you. I wanted the color to carry outside.”
“It does.” Larissa turned to Edith, who was back in Caroline’s arms. “May I hold her?”
Months ago, Caroline would’ve studied the question for a hidden correction. She’d have wondered whether refusing made her rude and whether agreeing made her weak. Now it was only a question.
“Yes. She wants to be upright today.” Caroline showed Larissa how Edith liked to rest against a shoulder with one hand firm across her back. “If she starts rubbing her face, she’s tired.”
Larissa followed the instructions. “Like this?”
“Exactly.”
Edith caught a strand of Larissa’s dark hair. Larissa smiled and freed it carefully.
Nearby, Adam asked Caroline’s mother how she was settling into the new apartment. Her mother said the kitchen was perfect but the building’s elevator made too many noises. Adam listened and asked whether management had looked at it.
Caroline watched them for a moment. Then she turned away. She didn’t need to study every expression or guard every word spoken around her mother. If a problem appeared, she’d handle it. Hayden would stand with her. Until then, she could enjoy her wedding.
Speaking of Hayden, his arm came around her waist.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
She looked up at him. He hadn’t asked what she was doing wrong. He’d simply noticed where her attention had gone.
“Yes.”
He kissed her temple. “Are you happy with how everything looks?”
Caroline glanced at the tables, flowers, and covered garden space.
“It looks like us.”
“Then I’m happy.”
“This event is a personal triumph,” Paulie announced behind them.
Caroline turned. He looked perfect in a dark suit, his hair neat and his tie properly fastened. It couldn’t last.
“What did you contribute?” she asked.
“I refrained from objecting. You’re welcome.”
Hayden sighed. “You weren’t asked.”
“Exactly. Yet I showed remarkable restraint.” Paulie looked at Caroline. “I also arrived with my tie on.”
“Do you intend to behave during the ceremony?” she asked.
“Caroline, I’m wearing a tie. There are limits to what one man can give.”
As if to prove the point, he loosened the knot and ran a hand through his hair.
“Five minutes,” Hayden said. “I thought you’d last six.”
“I was under pressure.” Paulie glanced around at the gathering. “For your peace of mind, Dasha is in Russia on vacation.”
“I wasn’t wondering,” Caroline said.
“Even better. I hope she finds the trip deeply fulfilling and unexpectedly lengthy.”
Larissa gave him a warning look over Edith’s head. Caroline saw the corner of Hayden’s mouth lift.
The conversation moved on. So did Caroline’s thoughts. She didn’t wonder who Dasha was visiting, when she might return, or whether the family missed her. Dasha had nothing to do with the day Caroline had made.
When Larissa returned Edith, Caroline reached out and took her daughter without apology or explanation. She kissed Edith’s warm cheek, then handed her to her mother so the guests could begin to take their places. Hayden helped guide them, leaving her alone for a moment.
Paulie appeared at her side, quieter than usual.
“Hayden’s happy,” he said.
She looked at him. “It’s our wedding. I hope so.”
“No. I mean he’s happy in a way I’ve never seen.” Paulie glanced toward the garden, where Hayden stood speaking to their father. “You gave him something he didn’t know how to ask for.”
Caroline felt the truth of that, but she also remembered Paulie’s postnup joke at his parents’ house and his cheerful offer to find her a lawyer who would destroy Hayden.
“That doesn’t excuse you from being a menace,” she said.
He gave a solemn nod. “I’m hoping Edith inherits my charm and absolutely none of my judgment.”
“We all hope that.”
Paulie kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful, Caroline.”
“Thank you.”
He smiled, and the old mischief returned. “If you change your mind, I still know excellent divorce lawyers.”
“Go to your seat.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Caroline’s mother came to her when everyone was ready. Edith rested in the curve of one arm. With the other, her mother reached for Caroline’s hand.
“Still want me to walk with you?”
“Always.”
They stepped toward the covered garden space together. Her mother’s fingers tightened around hers. Friends and relatives turned, but Caroline barely saw them.
Hayden waited ahead.
He smiled at her with the same open delight she remembered from Vegas, when she’d called him a swindler and he’d stayed at the bar because she made him laugh.
They’d crossed more than distance to stand here.
They’d learned that love could be true and still fail when it wasn’t protected.
They’d also learned that failure didn’t have to be the end if change followed the apology.
Her mother kissed Caroline’s cheek and took her place beside Jemma with Edith in her arms. The baby stared at the nearest flowers as if she’d been given the serious task of inspecting them.
Caroline joined Hayden.
The ceremony was short. It didn’t pretend they were beginning for the first time. The officiant spoke of promises renewed by choice, then invited them to say their own.
Hayden took both of Caroline’s hands. The wedding band and engagement ring he’d restored caught against his fingers.
“I promise to listen, to stand beside you, and to make our home a place where you never have to doubt that you belong.” His voice was steady, but his eyes shone. “I love you, Caroline. I’ll keep showing you.”
She’d known the words were coming. Hearing them still took her breath.
Caroline tightened her hands around his and answered:
“I love the life we’re building, even when it’s messy and neither of us knows what we’re doing. I promise to keep talking to you, keep laughing with you, and keep choosing you.”
From her grandmother’s arms, Edith made a small, offended sound.
“Unanimous approval,” Paulie murmured.
The guests laughed. Even Adam Lynch smiled.
When the officiant invited Hayden to kiss his bride, he drew Caroline close. She was already smiling when his mouth met hers.
Around them, everyone cheered. Her mother cried openly with Edith held against her heart. Jemma applauded through her tears, and Paulie’s whistle rose above the rest.
THE END