Eastern Lights (Compass 2)

Aaliyah smiled and laughed nervously. “I was scared to meet you all.”

“I understand, but we are just thankful that you did. The fact that we get to see someone surviving and thriving because of our loved one, well, if that isn’t magic, then I don’t know what is.”

“Please, everyone, take a seat,” I said, gesturing to the chair surrounding the table. We all sat, and laughed as our nerves skyrocketed through the room. Aaliyah began telling her story, about how she came into needing a heart transplant, and then Addie and her family shared stories of William.

Aaliyah and I wanted to know them all, too. They told us about his service in the military. They told us about his bad taste in music and movies. About his goofy impersonations.

“He could do a perfect Jim Carrey impersonation like no other,” his daughter, Becca said, holding her son in her lap. She chuckled at the memory. “I remember being a kid, and whenever I’d get pissed at him, he’d do the Ace Ventura impression and force me to laugh.”

“That was our Grant, though.” Addie nodded. “He was the light in every room.”

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Aaliyah asked, sitting up a bit in her chair. “Did you say Grant?”

“Oh, yeah. It was William’s middle name. Most people called him Will, but the family called him Grant. I’d been calling him that since the day we’d met.”

Aaliyah looked toward me, with stars in her eyes and I felt it, too. The overwhelming love that our Grant was sending our way. I squeezed her hand under the table, and she squeezed mine back.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you all for too long, but I have this gift for you. Well, we have thirteen of them to be exact, in the other room. But, here it is,” Aaliyah said, standing from the table and walking over to Addie with the teddy bear in her hands.

She handed it over, and Addie looked a bit confused. “Well, thank you, sweetheart,” she said, still a bit stumped.

“Squeeze it,” Aaliyah said, nodding in her direction.

Addie did as she was told, and within seconds, tears began flowing from her eyes as the sound of William’s heartbeats began to be heard from the teddy bear.

“Is it…?” Addie asked, her voice cracking.

“Yes. I figured you all deserved to have him with you in some way, shape, or form,” Aaliyah explained.

Dammit, who was cutting the onions?

By the end of the visit, everyone was in tears, but they were tears of love, of gratitude, of peace. After the family left, I stood in the office, pleased with how everything went during the conversation with the family.

Aaliyah walked over to me and fell into my arms. “His name was Grant,” she beamed.

“Because of course it was,” I laughed. I glanced down at my watch and stood up straight. “Oh shit, we gotta get going. It’s already noon, and we can’t be late. It is, after all, our wedding day.”

We didn’t start our day like most couples on their wedding day, and we were all right with that, because we weren’t like most couples. We were our own story, our own adventure, our own happily ever after.

We headed from my office to the place where all of the magic began—Oscar’s Bar. A few years ago, I was a superhero and she was a lady dressed in red. She was looking for an escape, and I was looking for her without even knowing it.

Oscar’s was decked out with decorations, thanks to my mother and my small town village that all came up to New York to celebrate Aaliyah and me. The moment we walked inside, Jax and Damian grabbed me to take me to the men’s room to get ready, and Mom and Kennedy pulled Aaliyah over to the ladies’ room.

“You’re late,” Jax said, handing me my outfit that was hanging on one of the bathroom stalls. “You shouldn’t have been late today.”

“It’s not like the show could go on without me,” I said, unbuckling my pants and sliding out of them to toss on my wedding outfit. “But before we get things going, how about a joke?”

Jax and Damian groaned in unison.

Look at me, getting two grumpy best friends. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“A superhero walks into a bar, and marries a woman dressed in red. And they lived happily ever after,” I said.

Jax narrowed his eyes. “Are you being extremely corny right now?”

“I’m being extremely corny right now. I love her, Jax.”

“Shit. I’d hope so, seeing how I paid an arm and a leg to fly up here for this wedding. Do you know how expensive direct flights are? This shit is wild.”

I laughed. “Yes, well, I would say I’d pay you back for the flight, but I’m not going to.”