I look around at the family and friends who have gathered with us today. My parents are here, friends that I've known most of my life, from when I was working in the restaurant business, and the staff I have now, all here out at our place, The Big Bear Mountain Café and Bakery, the place we opened just six months ago.
Story's friends are here too. Cora, her maid of honor, of course, has tears in her eyes. And all her friends from Honeybee’s, and Helena and her husband are standing with us as well. We're lucky, of course, to be one more successful match from the Seeking Curves Matchmaking Agency, and we'll proudly let anyone know who asks how we ended up together. It may not have been the most traditional pairing, but there's no shame in using an agency to find true love. How could there be when it brought us together?
There's a cellist playing as Story begins to walk down the aisle. I hold my breath, wondering how in the fuck I got so damn lucky. High up in the mountains, feeling like the king of the world, with a woman like her promising to be at my side for the rest of my damn life.
Later at the reception, my mom pulls me aside. "Oh, Truett, I always knew you'd settle down one day, but a girl like her." She shakes her head. "A mother couldn't ask for a more wonderful daughter-in-law."
Story joins us and my mom wraps her in a big hug. "Oh honey, look at you. Nothing could make this day more beautiful, could it?" Mom asks.
Story and I, though, our eyes light up. There is one thing that could make this day more magical for my parents.
I call Dad over and we decide to let them know our good news before we cut the cake, before we have the first dance.
"What is it?" Dad asks, worried for a moment. "Did something happen with the food? I knew it was too much having you make the meal and the cake for your own wedding. You should have hired something out."
"No, Dad," I say, "the food's fine. The cake is perfect. Look at it. Story made a masterpiece." We look over at her three-tier cake and it is spectacular. Her TikTok fans will be ecstatic when they see the grand reveal. She's been building a massive audience over the last year, after she announced that she'd fallen in love and gotten engaged to me, which, yes, brought me out of my reclusive shell, and maybe isn't a bad thing, all things considered. Announcing our love to the world is the happily ever after I never knew I needed.
The cake is blue and pink, just like the colors of our wedding, and a nod to our little announcement.
"What is it?" Mom asks. "What's going on?"
"Well," I say, wrapping an arm around my wife, kissing her cheek. My wife, damn. I don't think I'll get used to those words anytime soon, the beauty of them, the magic. "Story is pregnant," I tell them.
"Pregnant?" Mom gasps. "Really?"
"I know it's not exactly a traditional thing to announce your pregnancy at your wedding, but–"
"Oh, Truett. This is the best wedding gift in the world."
"Well," my dad laughs. "I don't think the bride and groom are usually the ones giving the presents at a wedding." He chuckles. "Oh, look at you two. Married, with a baby on the way."
Story laughs. "Actually," she says, "not a baby."
Mom frowns, "Are you just teasing? You're not having a baby. You're actually getting a dog or something."
"Mom, Mom, don't cry. No, that's not what Story means. Not that being puppy parents is a bad idea. We'd love to have a dog, but no, not a baby," I say, trying to clarify.
Mom shakes her head, confused. "What do you mean?"
Story smiles. "We were hoping you might figure it out."
Her hand runs over her bouquet of blue and pink flowers.
My mom still looks flabbergasted. "I'm sorry. I'm not a millennial. Help a mother out." Story laughs. "We're having twins. A boy and a girl. We just found out last week."
"Twins!" Mom exclaims. "A boy and a girl, twins!"
I laugh. "Yeah, Mom. I know you wanted to be a grandmother and, well, you are, on double-duty."
My dad beams, "Oh, good thing we moved to Big Bear a year ago, huh? Wasn't just to help you get your restaurant and bakery going. It's to help out with the kids on the way." He shakes his head. "Oh, a father couldn't be prouder."
Story starts crying at this. "I never thought I'd be so lucky," she says. "I always wanted to have a family, to be a mom, but this." She shakes her head again. "To have twins and to have you guys and to have everybody here…"