Kody looks adorable in his tiny little black tux, bumbling happily toward us with a big grin on his face. Eden tries to take the pillow with the rings, but he clutches it to his chest and yells, “Mine!”
It takes some gentle coaxing from me and RJ to get Kody to let us claim the rings. Then, when our mothers try to lead him to the chairs in the front row, he calls out, “Mama! Dada!” and reaches for us.
“It’s all right—all my vows today include Kody.” RJ scoops him up, and I flank him, wrapping my arm around Kody as well.
He keeps playing with the flowers in my hair while the minister has us say our vows, and he pokes RJ in the nose more than once when he sniffles. And when the minister says, “You may kiss the bride,” Kody presses a warm palm against each of our cheeks. We follow our own kiss with a big sloppy one on both of his cheeks. His giggles of pure joy set off a chain reaction in the guests.
Kody is the reason I ended up in Chicago; he’s the reason I gave RJ a second chance. He showed me what real love looks like, the unconditional kind and the forgiving kind, and the kind that transcends time and distance and leads two hearts back to each other.
My heart is stronger for having been broken and healed by the man who gave me my greatest love. And from here, we get to watch it grow together.