Chapter 11 #4
“Let’s get moving, then.” Joey leads us into the courthouse, through security, and up the stairs to the second floor for marriage licenses.
I pick Savannah up when Joey approaches the desk to show proof of our class, get the license, and see if a judge can marry us today.
Thankfully, the place is pretty quiet for a Monday morning in the summer.
“Are you going to get cake?” Savannah asks, face very close to mine when I turn my head toward her. “You have to have cake.”
“They’ll have cake,” Beau promises from behind us.
“What kind of cake?” Trevor asks, eyes sparkling.
“Doesn’t matter.”
Trevor leans forward and whispers, “It matters. Right, Savannah?”
Savannah looks thoughtful, then shakes her head demurely. “No, cake is cake. Miss Cindy’s hummingbird cake is my favorite though.”
“Oh, is that so?” Beau asks with a chuckle.
Joey’s whoop has us all looking his way. “Let’s go. We’re getting married right now.”
My heart beats double time as I follow Joey through the open door to the back office.
A clerk escorts us into the bowels of the courthouse, a happy grin on her face at the sight of us.
Finally, she pushes open a door into a small, miniature-looking courtroom.
A woman in her early sixties sits at the desk.
“Oh, look at that sweet flower girl. Who’s getting married today, sweetheart?”
Savannah perks up, bouncing on my hip. “My dad and papa! There will be cake after.”
“What kind of cake?” the judge asks, eyes teeming with held-back laughter.
“I don’t know, but any cake is good. Right, Uncle Beau?”
“Right,” Beau dutifully agrees.
The judge reads the typical words, but I black out a little, only repeating the vows when Beau nudges me in the back. Joey repeats his vows, and I guess we opted for traditional vows, thankfully, because I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head, no matter how much I love Joey.
Clapping makes me realize we’re married, and Joey follows it up with a soft, crowd-approved kiss.
Savannah wiggles between us, then wraps her arms around both of us when we pull apart.
I close my eyes with a soft smile, leaning my temple against Joey’s cheek.
We sign the marriage license, they agree to file it, and we leave the courthouse with a copy proving that we’re legally wed now.
In the next few weeks, I’ll have to go to the Social Security Administration office downtown to change my name, but that’ll come with time.
For now, it appears all my dreams have finally come true.
I make sure Savannah is buckled into her booster seat, then join Joey in the front of the car.
Our fingers tangle together again; it seems we can’t not be touching anymore.
But he doesn’t guide us home. Instead, he takes us in the direction of Trevor and Beau’s house.
There are a few cars out front, and my chest tightens for a moment, then releases.
The only people present would be people personally approved by Beau or Joey, so I won’t be subjected to anything that would ruin today.
The sun is bright in the July sky, air warm as it blows over us.
The sweet scent of the blooming flowers in Beau’s backyard carries over us, and I feel warm with love.
The love grows when Savannah grabs my hand the second she’s out of the car and tugs me around the back of the house.
Her dress flows behind her as she runs and I do my best to keep up.
Beau and his friend group stand around the backyard, along with Beau’s mom, Cindy, and his sister, Andy.
Hector from work and his wife are even here.
I freeze, desperately feeling overwhelmed by the presence of people who oddly seem to love me.
“The flowers!” Savannah shouts, gap-toothed smile sent my way. I let her go and watch her run off toward the raised beds in Beau’s backyard. Joey takes the space Savannah’s absence left, and his hand envelops mine.
“Okay?” Joey asks softly, eyes scanning my face for any perceived negative emotions.
My lips tremble as I smile. “Okay.”
Joey grins wide and leads me toward the group hanging around the backyard.
“Twenty years in the making, oh my god,” Cindy shouts just before enveloping us in a tight hug.
I return her hug tightly, smelling the peach-cobbler scent of her that reminds me of comfort and care when I needed it most. Cindy pulls away with a wet laugh, wiping hurriedly at her face.
“Sorry. Beau made me promise I wouldn’t cry. ”
“Not doing a good job, Ma,” Beau shouts from the other side of the deck.
“Like you weren’t cryin’ like a baby a minute ago!” Cindy shouts back, shooting him a look.
Andy joins in to tease her brother. “You were, like a big old baby.”
“Leave me alone,” Beau says grumpily, but his lips tilt up in a smile.
I love them all so much it could destroy me.
The scent of barbecue fills the air as Beau mans the grill, Colby at his side like always.
“You know, I always knew you’d end up together,” Harper says haughtily. “I actually used to have a crush on you both.”
“That’s weird,” Joey says quickly, grimace on his face. “You’re like a little cousin.”
Harper’s eyes sharpen. “We are not blood related, Joseph.”
“Right,” Joey agrees, albeit hesitantly. “Well. No more crush, yeah?”
“Hmmm.” Harper looks back over his shoulder at Jackson, who’s watching the interaction with keen eyes. “Perhaps not. Who knows.”
“Harper,” I say on a laugh while hurrying to envelop him in a hug. “Never change.”
“I am far too old to change now.”
“True,” Nolan pipes up. “He’s set in his ways like an old horse about to be sent out to pasture.”
Harper points at Joey, eyes wide and chin lifted in the air. “Nolan Hastings, you would’ve wanted him, too, when you were twelve years old and learning you liked boys. He wore a bandana and was always shirtless.”
“Not any different than now,” I tease, bumping my shoulder into Joey’s.
“Nah,” Nolan says quickly, angling his head to find Benji, who’s kneeling in the dirt to pick flowers for Savannah. “Joey never would’ve been my type. Maybe Lee though. I love a good smile.”
“I have a good smile?” I ask, genuinely confused. I’ve never thought twice about my smile my entire life. Everyone in the crowd chuckles, not at my expense, but probably at my inability to accurately see myself after all these years.
“You have the best smile,” Joey reassures me just before kissing my cheek.
“All right, so, Jackson won,” Trevor announces as he steps outside with a large tray of Cindy’s famous hummingbird cake.
“Jackson won what?” I ask curiously, unsure why everyone is laughing.
Trevor sets the cake down and takes out a bundle of cash. He hands it to Jackson with a wink. “You owe me half though.”
Jackson grumbles and counts out half the cash, handing it back to Trevor. “You had insider knowledge. You rigged the field.”
Trevor holds up one finger. “Ah. We didn’t set any rules about helping them realize they were in love. We just bet how long it would take.”
“I bet that you were already together,” Nolan says with a wolfish grin. “I still think you kind of were, you just didn’t know it.”
“You had bets about us?” Joey asks with a disbelieving laugh. “Seriously?”
“I did not bet, just putting that out there,” Benji says quickly.
Nolan pinches Benji’s cheek and crunches up his nose. “’Cause you’re a cutie. And you said you were afraid betting would interfere with the universe.”
“Well,” Benji says shyly.
“Universe always gets what it wants,” Colby says with finality.
He’s right.
The universe does always get what it wants.
We share barbecue and hummingbird cake that Cindy probably spent the entire day perfecting.
The heat bugs sing loudly out deep in the property.
Savannah laughs loudly as Benji carefully braids flowers into her messy curls, all of us watching on fondly.
The day feels hazy and warm, love radiating into me in ways I never expected.
Joey slings an arm over my shoulders, smelling so perfectly like him—like the way your house smells after a few weeks away, home and comfort and where all your worries slip away.
That’s Joey for me. Always has been. Always will be.
“It’s a perfect day,” I say softly, for only Joey to hear.
“It is,” Joey agrees, his hand finding purchase at the back of my head, fingers tangling in the waves of my hair.
Our loved ones keep talking, sharing beers and wine, and Savannah eats hummingbird cake, barefoot in the grass with flowers tied up in her hair.
I’ve found home, and it’s been where I was all along. How lucky can a man be?