“Now I have to go and offer my boy some whiskey and a peek at some girly magazines so he can keep up his stamina, seeing as how you had him out all night.” He pats my shoulder with a heavy hand. “Welcome to the family, Katie girl,” he says, and then he leaves as quickly as he arrived.
I feel like someone just took the bottom corner piece off my mental Jenga game.
Gabby walks into the room. “What did Pop want?” she asks. All the kids have started to call him Pop.
I finger the pearls around my neck. “He gave me these. They belonged to Jake’s mom.”
Gabby tips her head to the side to regard the pearls. “That was nice of him.”
“I know, right?” I say lightly. “Can you help me lift my hair off my neck?” I ask Gabby, and I hold out a sheet of bobby pins. “I want to show these off.”
I stare at the pearls right up until it’s time to go. Then I go to meet Jake, wearing the pearls his father gave his mother on their wedding day.
53
Jake
I stand at the altar with Pop beside me. Alex is next to him, and Alex is so nervous he can barely stand still. I motion for him to come to me, and then drop down in front of him and straighten his tie. We’re all wearing khaki pants, button-down shirts, and flip flops. Pop said a man doesn’t get married without a tie, so we let Trixie pick them out. We are all wearing the most absurd bowties known to mankind. Pop’s is purple paisley, Alex’s is red with Minnie Mouse ears all over it, Fred’s is a cluster of palm trees, and mine reminds me of a swirly psychedelic hippie flower.
The lake is our backdrop for the wedding. It’s my favorite place in the world, and I couldn’t imagine formally joining my life with Katie’s anywhere else than in this place where we met all those years ago.
I haven’t told her yet about Pop’s offer, and I’ll be happy no matter what her decision is, but I’d be lying if I said I want to go back to New York. I want to stay here, in this magical place, so we can give our children the same kind of childhood I had.
We stand beneath a simple white arbor, and there are rows of chairs draped in ribbons that blow and twirl in the breeze like streamers on a moving bicycle. In the front row we have Adam, and Adam’s twin sister Carole. Genetically, she’s Katie’s mother, and I’m glad she showed up today. She spent last evening with Katie and Gabby, doing girly things that moms and daughters do, and I know she brought a sense of peace to Katie.
Behind them are Jeff’s parents the Stones, and his sister. Jeff’s mother is holding Hank in her arms. He’s jumping and making cooing noises at her, patting her face. She blows into his fist and he opens his mouth wide, landing on her face. She’s glowing. I’m glad they showed up, because Katie needed to see them. She needed their acceptance on this day.
The letter they left for me touched me deeply. I locked it in my safe so that I can keep it forever. When times get tough, I might look back at it and remember Jeff’s suggestions. I’m honored that I somehow have his approval.
The rest of the chairs are filled with people I know from work, a few of Katie’s friends from home, and people from the complex who are now our friends. My police chief is here, too. He walked up to me and looked at me over the rims of his glasses. “I told you to get a dog, Jake. I didn’t tell you to get a whole damn family.”
I shrugged, smiled, shook his hand, told him that the dog was one of the best things I ever did—reuniting with Katie and acquiring her family was the very best thing I ever did—and then someone ushered him to a seat, along with his wife.
Trixie and Sally appear at the end of the aisle. She tells Sally to sit, and the damn dog plops his fat rear end right down. He slurps Trixie up the side of her face and she giggles. I can hear her all the way at the other end of the aisle.
Sally’s fur is still coming in on one side from the emergency surgery that saved his life, and he has some scars that will never fade entirely. Trixie says they give him character. I think he has enough character for a dozen dogs. Right now, he’s wearing a purple tutu and his nails are painted pink.
I hear Carole whisper to Adam, “You two would have a granddog who’s a cross dresser.”
Adam playfully elbows her in the side and she clamps her lips together. I chuckle into my fist. Carole winks at me. I wink back.
Pop, Alex, and Fred stand with me, and I watch as Trixie passes out white carnations to everyone who came to watch us get married. She takes her time with it, and Sally watches her every move. Then she goes to stand with Laura and Gabby, who are waiting on the other side of the altar. Sally sits at her feet.
The music changes suddenly and everyone rises. Katie steps out where I can see her. All the hair on my arms stands up. My mouth goes dry. My jaw falls open. My heart starts to thud.
She’s holding tightly to Dan’s arm. Originally, she asked both her parents to walk her down the aisle, but Adam declined. He said he’d be too nervous to walk, and that he wanted to enjoy it from the aisle seat.
Katie smiles at me as she walks slowly toward me. Her dark hair is piled high on her head, exposing her long, slender neck. Dampness burns my eyes when I see that she’s wearing my mother’s pearl necklace. I’d recognize it in my sleep. I’d recognize it with my eyes closed. I’d know it anywhere. I even know it around Katie’s neck.
I look at Pop and find him choking back tears. “You’re welcome,” he whispers. I wipe my eyes and clear my throat.
Damn, she’s beautiful. And having her here, in this place where it all started…well, that makes this even better. It makes it perfect.
She and Dan step up beside me. “Hi Jake,” she says. She sniffs and wipes her cheek. “You look very handsome.”
“You take my breath away,” I mutter.
“You guys want to wait until I go sit down?” Dan asks out of the corner of his mouth.