He would get a body.
But first, I would get this…I looked out to the crowd, finding my sisters…and my mother, as well as my stepfather like I’d ordered. All of them were grim-faced. Ethan’s family was also there, watching, confused, but at least more pleasant looking. Finally, my gaze landed on Ethan, who was waiting under the canopy of roses, a million lights above him. His green eyes were the most beautiful thing out there, though. Before I unleashed chaos, I just wanted to have this moment, this simple moment where he and I were perfect…and I could say he was mine.
22
“If the house of the world is dark,
Love will find a way to create windows.”
~Rumi
ETHAN
How many people were here?
Two hundred? Three hundred? A thousand?
I didn’t know.
I didn’t care.
Because I didn’t notice anyone else but Calliope and our daughter in front of her as she threw roses into the air, which fell back down on top of her to her own amusement. She was cute and innocent. While her mother was the picture of that and everything else. Calliope really looked like the muse poets wrote of and painters dreamed of putting on canvas. It did not look like she was walking but floating, slowly drifting to me. The only problem was how slow it all went. All I could do was stand there and try not to make a fool of myself.
“If you need a napkin for any tears, let me know,” Wyatt whispered beside me, but I ignored him. “Or holy water and an escape hatch,” he added, but still, I ignored him, stepping forward and to reach her.
She took my hand with a smile that actually left me breathless because it was real. She beamed, radiating warmth, even though it was cold as hell just a minute ago.
I felt as though I could watch her walk for hours, if not forever. Without even realizing it, I had reached for her when she was close enough to me. Her eyes shone as she grinned wider.
“I look beautiful, don’t I?” she whispered.
“Your ego makes it very hard to compliment you,” I muttered.
“Your ego is what makes it hard. You could just agree with me,” she pressed.
And I really wished to know who, out of the both of us, did she think had the bigger ego here. I turned slightly to lead her forward, toward the unfamiliar priest, standing ready to marry us.
“Family, friends, loved ones, it is a pleasure to share today’s very special occasion with you, in which this man and this woman stand before us all to reaffirm their love and commitment to one another, under God,” he began, but
honestly, I just wished to skip to the end of this.
Hopefully, she told him to keep this short, I thought. The sight of her took me back. Calliope, my Calliope, was so good at masking her emotions that it felt like she had multiple personalities. It was only after years of being with her, years of collecting the broken puzzle pieces of her that I had come to understand her. Even when I had my doubts, even when I wasn’t sure where some pieces fit, I was always certain of two things: when she was truly terrified and when she was truly happy—and from the look on her face, the shine of the moisture in her eyes, she was really happy.
“What?” she whispered, glancing back over at me, noticing me staring at her.
“Yes, you look beautiful,” I muttered back, forcing my focus front, causing her to snicker and mumble something I couldn’t hear.
“If you listen to fairytales and read the great love stories, you’ll see that marriage is always the final step in all romances. Two destined souls search for the other in a sea of souls. And no matter how far apart they may be, or what obstacle they must face, they search until they become one—that oneness being marriage. And once they find it, they live happily ever after, the end.” He stared between us. “But we do not live by fairytales but by the word of God, and he said, they shall become one flesh, in Genesis, and that is just the beginning of the book.
“Marriage is not the end but the beginning. It is the beginning of a grand adventure, the joys, blessings, and yes, pains and challenges. And in the face of all of that, today Ethan and Calliope stand ready to reaffirm their commitment to working together to make their marriage grow and blossom in the years to come. Take this moment to remember the vows you took as husband and wife on your wedding day. Remember all the stresses and battles you have suffered to reach this moment and once more reaffirm your bonds as you both look to each other.”
When we turned to each other, she winked at me and pulled out a small scroll from the pocket I didn’t realize she had in her dress. She carefully undid it, and when it fell, it fell to the ground, making everyone, even the priest, chuckle.
She looked back at the crowd. “What? We’ve been through a lot.”
They just laughed more.
I shook my head, but I couldn’t help but grin. Even now, she had to be dramatic.