"But I was an idiot," Cole said gruffly, and kissed her.
Faith put her arms around his neck. When the kiss ended, he gathered her close against him. They stood that way for a few minutes, and then she leaned back in his arms.
"Peter doesn't know."
"Pete," Cole said, and grinned. "That's good. This way, we can tell him together."
"He misses you something awful. He hasn't stopped talking about you."
"Yeah." Cole cleared his throat. "Well, I haven't stopped talking about him, either."
Suddenly, the door flew open. "Mom? You know that car
I found in the cereal box..." Peter's eyes widened. "Cole?" "Yeah, champ." Cole squatted down and held out his arms.
"Did you miss me?"
Peter ran to his father and threw himself into his arms.
"Mom said you had to go away."
"I did. But I'm back. And I'm never going to leave you again." Cole stood up straight and put one arm around his wife. "Never," he said softly.
"Never," Faith said, and she wondered what she'd ever done to deserve such incredible happiness.
It was silly to have another wedding, Faith said. Yeah, Cole said, that was the truth. They were already married. They had a certificate to prove it.
But their son kept reminding them that he should have been there, when his mom and dad said `I do.' Cole kept looking at his beautiful wife and imagining how she'd have looked as a bride. Faith kept remembering how gorgeous her handsome husband had been in his tux.
And so, on a hot, perfect August afternoon, they invited some of Cole's friends-Faith's friends, too, now-to what they claimed would be a small party.
It was, instead, a wedding.
They were married in the evening, on the flower-bedecked terrace of Cole's penthouse high above the city. Faith was beautiful in a long white gown of pearl-studded lace. She had a pair of antique gold combs in her hair, a gift from her son who'd spent an entire day shopping with his father. Cole was breathtakingly handsome in his black tux.
It was, the guests all agreed, a wonderful wedding.
And, the groom said softly to his wife, as she lay in his arms later that night, it was just the beginning of a long and wonderful life.