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Epilogue
Amber
The woman in the mirror did not even look like me. It had only been a couple of months since Frank proposed, and now it all seemed like a whirlwind romance. It was all too perfect. Not only was today a huge day for me and Frank, but it was a big day for Caroline, as well.
We were going to get married today and finally become a family, but I was also adopting Caroline as my own daughter, as well. I wanted her to have a mother as well as a father. I wanted her to feel like she was mine, because in such a short amount of time, that's exactly how I felt about her. It was silly now to imagine how worried I had been about it all. If I would have known, I could have avoided a lot of strife, and we wouldn’t have lost any time.
I was getting ready for the reception. Usually it was done after the wedding, but this time it was going to be done first, because I wanted the adoption done before we'd actually tied the knot. I wanted her to really be my daughter.
There was a slight knock on the door, and I knew that it wasn’t Frank. It was Caroline. She told me several times that she wanted to help get me ready and I was glad that she finally came. Caroline had her own dressing and hair to get done, though, it looked like she was ready to go. She was absolutely adorable.
When I saw her, my heart just melted. She had on a pink-lace trimmed dress that made her seem like a little angel. Her hair was bouncy and curly and when I complimented it, she agreed that she loved it.
“Did you get everything ready that you needed?”
She agreed. “Yes, I did. I was hoping that you would wear something for me, during the wedding?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you know how you're supposed to have something blue and something borrowed. I have this little blue bracelet that I made a very long time, maybe even six months ago, so it's old. And it’s blue. And if you give it back to me later, then it would be borrowed, too.”
She said it so matter of factly and her expression was so dire. I was still getting to know Caroline, but she was a very serious young lady, as well as very sweet. I told her that I would be honored to wear it. That made her happy and the grin on her face was huge.
While I was putting on the bracelet, Caroline said something that stopped me in my tracks. Of all the feelings I thought I would have come over me, it wasn’t this one. I didn’t think I would be hit like a freight train, in a tiny room that I was getting ready in.
“I'm so glad you're going to be my mom. I used to pray for one when I was a kid.”
I tried not to snicker from her comment, it was too serious a moment. But considering that she hadn't even hit ten yet, she was already talking about her childhood as if it was in the past. How grown-up she was.
“Well, I'm glad that I get to be your mommy, too. I always wanted a daughter of my own. I know that we're going to have a great time together.”
She just nodded her head and I tried not to let her words get to me. I was still nervous about it all, but I knew that there was nowhere else I’d rather be. Frank and Caroline where my family now. All of my extended family were here for the wedding, but those two were my life.
We heard the music starting to play for the reception and she started to get even more excited. I didn't know which one I was more excited for, but I could easily tell which one it was for Caroline. She was obviously ready for a better life to begin. Soon she would be my legal daughter, but in the few months that I had known her, I had already started to feel like she could very well be my own.
Frank was waiting for us, and he had a huge grin on his face, much like the one on his daughter’s face. They looked like quite a pair. We were surrounded by people that had known us for many years, and even though I had been gone for so long, it felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Everything was working out and now I was finally going to have the family that I craved. Not to mention the man that I loved.
“Are you ready?”
I took his hand and agreed that I was ready for what came next. Caroline’s smaller hand was already in my other one. She had a glow to her, and I hoped that it was because she was happy. I bet I had the same glow. I didn't think I'd ever been so happy in my life. Who knew that after all these years, we would be back together? I'd always known that we were supposed to be, I just wished that it wouldn't have taken so long. I tried not to think about the time that we could have spent together. It would have made me sad.
Today was a good day, a great day, and I wasn’t going to let anything spoil it. I followed them into the reception, and we did the symbolic as well as legal signing of the adoption papers for Caroline, before we went down the aisle together and said our vows.
In one day’s time, my whole life had changed. Not only was I a mother now, but I was a wife, as well. Two roles that I knew I would always cherish.
