“I’m definitely willing. And grateful. But I’m surprised you didn’t use this in the show. It’s amazing.”
“I couldn’t. For me, this is too personal. This is what I used to dream about. I wanted nothing more than to curl up next to you each night and get to wake up with you each morning.”
She looks over at me and her eyes shine with happiness.
“Now you’re here and this is really my life. Dreams really do come true.”
“You’re my dream too, Josie. But the reality we create together is going to be so much better than anything we’ve ever dreamed.”
Josie sighs. “Thank you, Zack. I’m going to love making this a home with you.”
†
“Now this is the life.”
Tank accepts the beer that I hand him and takes a seat in one of the folding chairs arranged on Gabe’s back lawn. He bumps fists with Finn, who arrived ten minutes before and has his bad leg stretched out on another folding chair in front of him.
It’s been a few weeks since Josie’s show and we’ve spent the time enjoying the freedom of having our own house. For a while we completely ignored the outside world and just stayed in our own little nest, christening every part of the house just because we could. I think Josie is just happy that she doesn’t have to hold back anymore. There’s no one to hear her scream. And making her scream never gets old.
Now that Gabe is feeling better, he wanted to have us all over and for that, Josie and I were willing to come up for air. After I told him about my visit with Max, he’s feeling the same way I am. Life is short and there are no guarantees about tomorrow. It’s great to get everyone in one place and celebrate all the things that are going right in our lives.
The girls, Josie, Sasha, Rissa and Emma, are standing under the gazebo Gabe had erected just for this event. Josie and Sasha were really happy to have a chance to spend more time with their future “sisters” as they’ve started calling themselves.
Luke arrives then and we all stand to greet him. Our youngest brother is biracial so he looks slightly different than the rest of us but the family resemblance is still strong. He looks like a tanned version of Tank sometimes.
“You guys remember my mom, Anita.”
His mother stands behind him nervously holding a pie plate. Her long braided hair is pulled back from her face and she’s wearing an elegant black skirt and jacket. Luke mentioned that she finally allowed him to spend a little money on her and buy her a few presents.
“Hello everyone. It’s nice to see you all again,” she says.
Finn is instantly on his feet. He kisses her cheek effusively. “Is that my pie? You are an angel. A goddess. Run away with me.”
Luke pushes him away. “Dude, again with the hitting on my mom.”
Finn takes the pie plate reverently. “It’s this damn crackberry pie. It makes me do crazy things.”
Debbie and Paula come over and welcome Anita with hugs. Their boisterous enthusiasm seems to be putting her at ease and in that moment I love them more than I ever have. A lot of women would be weird about welcoming their sons half-siblings and assorted family members into the fold but our moms have taken it completely in stride.
Tank shakes hands with Luke. “Glad you made it.”
Luke looks uncomfortable. He was reluctant to get too close to us at first but Gabe says we all wore him down.
“Now that you’re all here. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”
We all get quiet as Tank takes a deep breath. “Finn has already agreed to be my best man at my wedding. But I want you all to be my groomsmen. I think it’s fitting to have my brothers stand behind me while I make vows.”
Gabe holds up his beer. “We’d be honored to. And I hope you’ll all do the same when it’s my turn. We could do it for Finn if he hadn’t snuck off with his bride and gotten married in Vegas.”
We found out Finn and Rissa were married when he sent us the pictures. Rissa was a gorgeous bride and they both looked really happy in the shots. I have a feeling that her happiness is all that mattered to him.
Finn takes the razzing with a smile. “I didn’t make my move fast enough years ago and she got away. I wasn’t taking any chances this time.”
“Congratulations, man. Wow. In sickness and in health, it’s pretty deep stuff.” Luke claps Finn on the back. “Better you than me.”
We all laugh.
Tank sets his beer on the ground next to his chair. “I can’t believe that I’m about to vow to the death with someone but I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”