EPILOGUE
671 Words
One year later, the oak trees in the park turned gold and amber. The afternoon sun came through their leaves warm and bright. Emma knelt on the grass and adjusted the flower crown on Lily's head. "Hold still." "It tickles." "You are the flower girl. Flower girls hold still." Lily grinned and squirmed. "I get to throw petals on Daddy." "You get to sprinkle petals down the aisle." "I'm going to throw them." Emma gave up. She kissed her daughter's cheek and stood up. On the other side of the grass, Alex stood waiting by an arch adorned with roses. He'd been waiting for ten minutes and had looked their way every few seconds. Emma saw him in his wedding suit. The man who had found them in a rainstorm and let himself become someone Lily could run to. The last year had not been easy. There had been lawyers' meetings, and Rachel and the hospital team. Two families had come together in ways they never could have imagined. A threat was neutralized, and a security issue was fixed. They spent months bracing for another shift in the ground. None came. The ground held steady.
Rachel sat in the front row with Maya on her lap. Maya waved at everybody who caught her eye. She covered all of her bases. Just before the music began, Emma found Rachel sitting in the first row, adjusting Maya's dress. Rachel looked up. For a moment, they just stared. "You look beautiful", Rachel said. "So does she", Emma said, nodding at Maya. Rachel smiled. It was tired and warm and real. "I never thought-" She stopped herself, started again. "A year ago, I opened my door, and my whole life changed. And somehow-" She shook her head. "Somehow it got bigger. Not smaller." Emma felt her throat close. "I know." Rachel leaned over and squeezed her hand once. "Go get married."
The music started. "Now?" Lily said, turning to Emma with big eyes. "Now." Lily walked down the aisle. She threw petals everywhere. She arrived at the front with an empty basket, a tilted crown, and a huge smile. Emma walked to Alex. He watched her walk. He wasn't guarded at all. He took her hands. His thumb went back and forth over her knuckles. "You're late", he said. "I'm exactly on time", she said. "I was adjusting a crown." He looked at her like he had through the rain-streaked window a year ago. Like he was memorizing her. He made his promises. He broke once on Lily's name, but then composed himself and finished. When the judge told him he could kiss his bride, Emma laughed, even though she had not intended to, and he smiled into her mouth, probably having intended to.
He stopped, and Lily tugged on his sleeve. "Daddy. Me too." He scooped her up. She buried her cheek against his, he kissed her temple, and she squealed and hid her face. Emma watched them. Her husband and her daughter in the October sunlight. There was a woman over by the far oak tree; she was young and dark-haired and didn't seem to be with the other party-goers. Her eyes moved to Lily, then to Emma. Emma's breath caught. The woman had Lily's eyes. Not Rachel's gray-green, but... Something. Something Emma had seen on Lily's face for six years but never put a name to. They regarded one another across the lawn. The woman's face was complex and careful. She nodded once, then turned, headed at an easy pace towards the parking lot. Alex appeared at Emma's shoulder. "Who's that?" Emma watched the woman vanish. "I don't know", she said. "She had Lily's eyes." Alex froze. His hand found hers. His fingers closed over hers, squeezing. "Together." It was soft, like something he had said before. Emma hung on. "Together." Whatever it was could wait. The light was golden, her daughter was laughing, and the man she loved was holding her hand. For now, this was all that mattered.
THE END.
- Writer
