We’re both lost in the scene. There are Sadie’s parents, looking happier than I expect. Her old man needs more time than Stephanie to come around, but I’m confident he will. Deep down, he’s just glad to have a family again, without the evil in his son tainting it.
My new mother-in-law gives me a knowing glance. I follow her eyes. Her huge work of art is hung neat outside the door leading inside the ship’s cabin. I’ll hear plenty of praise and chatter about it later, I’m sure.
The smiles on Bev, Tony, and Mrs. Folwell are conflicted. They’re happy for me, but they also understand what it’s taken to get here, and what they’ll never see from their own flesh and blood.
I slow when we’re just a few steps from heading inside. The back row of seats is supposed to empty.
Red notices, matches my pace, and squeezes my fingers. Happy green eyes search mine. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I whisper quietly. It takes another second to really believe it. “Honestly, never been better.”
We trade another quick smile. Then a kiss that lasts far longer.
I fucking love my wife’s lips.
She’ll also never know the reason I froze up like an idiot. That part is my little secret.
For several seconds, I swear I saw something in those empty seats that shouldn’t have been there. Three faces I’ll never forget in their desert camo, smiling, wishing me the best, finally at rest.
I’m not about to start believing in ghosts one way or another.
Still, something tells me they won’t be troubling my head anymore.
“Such an amazing time. Everything I ever hoped for.” Even on the ride home, Red can’t stop smiling.
I give Red a look she knows, reaching for her hand. “Everything?”
“Marshal!” She bats her eyes and punches me softly in the arm. “Later. Let’s not wake honeybee.”
She isn’t wrong. My little girl is completely tuckered out from the excitement, snoozing in her seat.
Where the hell does the time go?
I’ve spent four incredible hours sipping champagne, feasting, and going through a whirlwind of introductions to her college friends and obscure cousins. I’m ready to turn in with a whiskey sour and a little quiet, but damn if it wasn’t fun.
It wasn’t the biggest wedding, or the fanciest, or the kind we’ll watch on a screen years from now, wondering where the hell our youth and fire went.
Exactly how it should be. This isn’t the bookend of our lives.
This is our beginning.
From here, it gets better. That’s the real promise I made the second I growled the words, “I do.”
After tonight, it’s forever, and it’s ours.
Every kiss, every squeeze, every fuck, every sideways glance.
Every late night run for whatever she’s craving, pregnant and happy.
Every tear, every disappointment, every time we pull back from the brink, remembering how deep this love goes.
Every. Damn. Thing.
Tonight, this woman becomes mine in whole. Won’t let my head hit the pillow before I’ve claimed her totality, and then some.
I’m glad winter is just a memory. Makes it easy after I pull in, park my truck, and carry my beautiful bride across the threshold. We pause in the kitchen, stealing one more kiss, before I head back outside for honeybee.
“Upstairs,” I whisper, giving Red a wink, careful not to wake the sleepy girl in my arms. “Let’s put her to bed first.”
Red holds my hand while we head into honeybee’s room. I lay my little girl down, switch her lamp on its lowest setting, and pick up the book. It’s the stories I’ve read her a hundred times. She won’t miss anything if she’s truly out.
Red’s fingers tighten on my shoulder. I stare into her curious eyes. “Have a seat. Ritual, darling.”
And it is.
Reading to my little girl keeps me grounded. Lets her know I’ll always be there, no matter how much life changes, or how many new additions our family adds.
She’s got a big year ahead. A new mama, and a little sibling on the way.
My eyes flick to Red’s belly anxiously, wondering if I’ll have a son or another precious girl. Whatever it is, I’m ready.
I break open the book, holding Sadie’s hand, and read her a silly poem about the moon. Can’t remember where the legend comes from, but damn if it isn’t powerful.
Once, there was darkness. The moon didn’t glow until it had a visit from the maiden of light, sent by the sun. She knew exactly how to wipe away the darkness. Her kiss breathed light into the void – the same spark that’s shared down in the eyes of every child on earth, whenever they look up on long clear nights.
Red’s grip tightens on mine the more I read. There’s a lot of pretty language in between, a few lines that are downright scandalous for a kid’s book, describing the moon kiss.
Good thing it’s just us who hear it. I’m being eaten alive every second by hot green eyes.