When We Touch

Dropping to one knee in the sand, I open the box. Her hand is still over her lips, two crystal tears hit her cheeks, and she starts to nod.

“Oh, Jackson, you’ve owned my heart for so long.”

Rising quickly, I slip the ring on her finger and gather her into my arms. “Is that a yes?”

“It’s a yes, please,” she says, laughing.

Cheers and applause surround us, and I kiss her with all the truth and love and passion of the rest of our lives together.

Lifting my head, I feel a little tug on my pants leg. I don’t even hesitate before bending to scoop Coco onto my hip.

“I said it was okay for him to ask you,” she says to her mother.

Emberly only laughs more, her eyes shining as she hugs us both. My arms go around my fiancée, and soon friends surround us. It’s a group hug with Tabby, Chad, and Donna—even André holds out a fist for me to bump.

It’s a moment of optimism and joy. We’ve found our happily ever after, and before long, our lives will become one…

But I see the hint of sadness in my girl’s eyes. She’s looking past the support of friends to the lone woman standing at the edge of the crowd. The lone woman with her arms crossed and a frown that almost looks like a grimace. It puts an ache in my stomach. In spite of everything, my girl still wants things to be different.

“I’ll be right back,” she whispers, and I nod.

The DJ spins another tune, and everyone starts to dance, bouquet-toss momentarily on hold. I trail behind Emberly at a distance, just close enough to hear, enough to intervene if she needs me. I won’t let her do this alone.

“Emberly.” Her mother’s voice is clipped. “I guess best wishes are in order.”

“Thank you.” Ember’s voice is quiet but firm. “I hope you’ll be happy for us. I’d like you to be happy for us.”

“I’d hoped for more for you, but you’ve always been willful.” I can’t see her face, but my fists tighten.

“Jackson completes me, Momma. I wish you could understand that.”

“I’ll never understand you.”

“You believe what you believe, and you force interpretations, even make things up, and that’s how you construct your world. Then you find others who like what you say and go along with it, support it, because it gives them a group, a community.” Emberly’s voice breaks. “That’s fine for you—only I don’t agree. It’s not what I want or what I believe. I focus on God’s love, but you only focus on the judgment.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” For the first time, I hear emotion in the woman’s voice. “You don’t know the pain I’ve suffe

red because of that family.”

Ember’s voice is gentler. “Jackson isn’t like that. I wish you wouldn’t blame him.”

Time passes. I hear a sniff, but I can’t tell who is crying, until Ember’s clear voice speaks.

“We all start out like Coco—strong and pure. Then we encounter these people, these negative forces. We make mistakes. We hurt people. We’re hurt… We’re introduced to shame, and we carry this with us. We try to cope with the pain in different ways. Some of us cope better than others.”

She pauses for breath, and I’m not staying back any longer. My girl is baring her soul, and my arms long to hold her.

“The best we can hope for is to find love… friends, lovers to help us get through, to ease the pain.”

I’m with her now, and I wrap her in my arms. She leans her head against my shoulder, and I pour all my love into her.

“What’s the point?” her mother asks, and I hear the break in her voice, I hear a flicker of softening.

“I’ve found love. Why is it so hard for you to let me have it?”

Marjorie walks slowly to where we’re standing, and when she speaks, it’s directly to me. “I wouldn’t let him take another daughter.”

Ember’s chin drops and I slide my hand along her back. “What if no one takes?” I ask. “What if we make room for each other, see if it’s possible to grow together?” Thinking, I find the words. “I never wanted to be hurt either, but saving Ember was the best thing I ever did.”