Bad Seed

Hollis looked almost proud of himself for being able to keep such a secret, but I’d never seen him happier.

I saw Hollis give his boyfriend a look from the aisle before he went and stood by Grant. Jane walked to her place on my side of the altar, and then I felt someone step up beside me. I looked up and into the face of the only man I could ever see walking me down the aisle.

And my father smiled back at me before he offered me his arm.

“You ready?” he asked.

I linked my arm with his and snuggled close.

“I’ve been ready for years, Daddy.”

The music began, and everyone rose from their seats. My father set the pace, and together we slowly proceeded down the aisle. The sand was smooth beneath my bare feet, and the crashing of the waves loomed in the background. The sun was hanging high in the sky, and as I looked over, I could see the oceanfront hotel room.

The room where Grant had professed his love to me.

My eyes connected with his, and I could see the fire in them. The way his eyes raked up and down my body as I neared the front of the crowd. But it wasn’t the way he licked his lips or the way he grinned, or even the way he looked in his linen pants and button-down shirt that got to me.

It was the way he offered his hand to me when my father and I reached the end of the aisle.

“You treat her right, Grant.”

“You have my word, Glen.”

My father embraced me in one last hug, and then I slipped my hand into the hand of the man that was about to become my husband.

As we stood in front of the crowd and recited our vows, I noticed something. Everyone had their happy ending. Jane had found Jim and was expecting a beautiful bundle of joy. Hollis had finally introduced us to a man who had swept him off his feet. And I was standing there with Grant. The boy I’d fallen in love with at fifteen and the man I was pledging myself to for the rest of my life. I gripped his hands, and we exchanged rings, and once the vows were over his hands flipped my veil off my face.

And sealed with a kiss that dipped me all the way to the sand, the crowd erupted in applause as I smiled into Grant’s lips.

I was officially Mrs. Grant Hooper.

We turned out toward the crowd before Grant scooped me up into his arms. My veil fell to the floor, and I threw my bouquet out into the crowd. He walked me down the aisle, over the soft sandy dunes and back to the building where we had gotten ready. He cradled me close against his broad chest, and I could feel the soothing rhythm of his heart. My arms wrapped around his neck, and the rings he’d purchased for me were glistening in the light of the beach sun.

But I still had one last surprise for him.

“Grant?”

“Hmm?” he asked as he walked me to his car.

“Are you excited for Jane and Jim?”

He reached down and opened the car door before he placed me in the passenger seat.

“I am,” he said. “I can tell they’re very excited about their next step.”

“Have you ever wondered if we’ll be parents?”

His eyes locked with mine as his fingers danced around my wedding rings.

“I can’t say I don’t think about it. But it isn’t something I want to push you into too soon,” he said.

“So, you do want kids?”

“Have I ever given you the impression that I don’t?”

I smiled at him as I took his hand, then I splayed his large grasp across my stomach.

“Then I suppose it’s about time I tell you.”