Close to You (Fusion 2)

She’s smiling so brightly, and yet so gently at the same time. She boosts up on her toes to kiss my lips, and then, to my surprise, begins to speak.

“I’m so glad you did this because I have something to say too.” She blinks and seems to gather her thoughts, and then turns those bright green eyes up to mine. “Wuthering Heights is my favorite book, and the best line in it says this: If he loved you with all of the power of his soul for a whole lifetime, he couldn’t love you as much as I do in a single day.

“I’ve always felt that that line was written for me, about you. I’ve watched you from a distance for years, caring for you, worrying about you, thinking of you. I’ve felt pulled to you my entire life, Landon. I couldn’t explain it, and I couldn’t wish it away even when I tried. You’ve never left me. I’ve carried you with me always. It’s a constant surprise to me that you’re mine now. It feels like the best dream I’ve ever had, and I find myself wishing and praying that I don’t wake up.

“But, I’m not dreaming. And for better or worse, you are finally mine. I have a feeling that ours is going to be a life that’s a little bit messy, with lots of laughs and some tears, but that is what makes it great. It’s passionate and whole and true. And I can tell you for certain that it’s forever. Because it’s already been forever.”

She reaches up and gently catches a tear that has escaped my eyes.

“I am so blessed.”

I pull her in and wrap my arms around her, and kiss her tenderly.

“Now that we’ve finished our vows, are you ready to go celebrate?”

“I’m ready for all of it.”

“IF THEY DON’T stop putting parsley on the plates, I’ll—”

“Mia,” Cami says with a laugh, and hugs her tightly. “Relax. I don’t care about the parsley. And you’re supposed to be enjoying yourself. This is a party.”

“You’re right.” Mia shrugs. “I’ll give them a refresher course on garnishes later.”

“Atta girl,” I reply happily as Lucas and Addie both stand and Lucas taps his water glass to get all of our attention.

“Hi, everyone,” Lucas says. “So, it’s tradition for the best man to give a toast, but instead, Addie and I are going to tell a story.”

“It’s a really great story,” Addie adds with a nod.

“Picture if you will,” Lucas begins, raising his hand for dramatic effect, “a hot summer in 2003.”

“Cami was seventeen and Landon was in his early twenties, home for the summer before he shipped off to join the Navy.” Addie glances over at us, grinning widely. “And we had a big cookout in Landon’s backyard.”

“But Cami didn’t come alone,” Lucas continues. “No, Cami showed up to the cookout with some dude, none of us can remember his name. Now, what I do remember is seeing Landon’s face when Cami walked into the backyard with that bozo on her arm. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, I do believe that Landon proceeded to glare at the guy all night.”

Please don’t tell them about how drunk I got that night.

“What he didn’t know,” Addie says, picking up the story, “was that Cami was so not into Mr. No-name. Frankly, she just brought him along in hopes that Landon would get jealous and finally make a move. It was her last-ditch effort, if you will, before Landon left.”

“Oh, he was jealous all right,” Lucas says with a laugh. “And I won’t even get into how much beer he drank that night.”

“Thank you!” I call out.

“But he didn’t make a move on our Cami,” Addie says, and everyone in the room says “aw” in sympathy. “I believe her exact words after that night were ‘screw him.’”

“Awww!” everyone says again. I reach under the table and take her hand in mine, and when I look down at her, she’s laughing with the others, not embarrassed in the least.

“But the story gets better,” Lucas says. “Not long after Landon moved back home, I came to town to see how he was doing, and I was shocked when he bailed on a night of debauchery with me to take Cami out on a date.”

“It was their first official date,” Addie says with a smile. “And it may have been years later, but they finally got it right. That first date led us here, and all we can say is, it’s about time, you guys.”

“To Landon and Cami,” Lucas says, raising his glass. “And to a long life together.”

Everyone cheers and I lean in to whisper in Cami’s ear. “This moment is thirteen years in the making, and I couldn’t have pictured it any better than this.”

Epilogue

Three months later . . .

~Cami~

“I have wedding photos!” I announce, and pull an album out of my purse. The five of us are enjoying Sunday-morning brunch at our usual place in Northwest Portland.

“Oh! Fun,” Riley says, and reaches for the album and she and Kat huddle together to look through the photos.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me that you could see my belly through my dress?” Addie asks with a scowl. “I would have showcased it more.”

“No one can miss it now,” Mia says, and reaches out to rub Addie’s stomach. “Are you ever going to tell us what you’re having?”

“No. Jake and I want it to be a surprise.”

“I don’t like surprises,” Kat says, and then points to one of the photos. “Aw, Cami, this candid shot is awesome. When was this?” She turns the album to show me and I smile at the memory.