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Not long before he left for Poland, he met with the executor of the will and found that not only was his inheritance sizable, there were also long letters from his mother and father waiting for him.
His parents each asked for his forgiveness, for the parts they played in assisting the Vidovic Group, for the ways they failed him as parents, for everything they missed out on by not coming after him when he left. It was a big deal and we spent a lot of time talking through it together. We’re each on our own journey of figuring out how to think of our parents in memoriam.
This announcement about quitting is something new that he’s working up to telling me, and I’m on the edge of my seat, fighting for patience as he slowly forms his next sentence. “I found something I’m actually really invested in, security-wise, something personal.”
“That’s great, I’m so proud of you. What is it?”
He starts to grin again, but his voice gets a little choked up as he tells me. “I am now one of the executive security officers for Lourden Luxuries. My team will handle all security and logistics for purchases, transactions, and exchanges.”
“Everett!” I exclaim, my eyes wide in awe.
“Our main office is down the block-”
“And around the corner from Milenna!”
I squeal and grab his arm, shaking him with excitement. Could this day get any better? We’re getting married for real, we’re going to work downtown together, we’re going to build a life together. Together, together, together.
He grins. “I was going to wait to tell you, but I knew how happy you were going to be and I just couldn’t hold it in anymore.”
“Ev,” I say, completely laugh-crying. “This is the best.”
“You’re the best,” he says with a wink.
He makes a left-hand turn and we head down a smaller road, still paved, but only wide enough for a single car.
“This is it.”
I shiver with excitement as we turn again and then the car noses down a steep driveway and the view in front of us is incredible. Everett brakes so I can take it in.
A large white farmhouse with green shutters and a wrap-around porch sits right in the middle of my view. There’s a wide expanse of grass and meadow all around, dotted with trees and a few outbuildings here and there.
“Welcome to my humble farm, Wife,” says Everett.
It’s the perfect place for us, both rich in imagery and in meaning. It’s my dream come true.
After we get our things settled in the master suite that will double as our honeymoon suite, I use a guest room to take a moment to myself and change into my wedding dress.
It’s an ethereal white gown with billowing, gauzy sleeves and a deep V in the back. I saw it on display the minute we stepped into the store and knew it was the one, especially when it didn’t require any alterations. I reverently step into it and, because of the low back, I’m able to zip it up myself. I pin my hair up in gentle twists to make a loose chignon and put in the pearl and gold chandelier earrings I picked out of the safe this morning, the same ones Mom wore on her wedding day.
I miss her the most. Getting involved in her foundation just revealed more and more of her true beauty of character, love for others, and passion for the arts. There were times where I had to excuse myself from conversations effused with her praise to go dry my eyes in the women’s restroom. I wish she was here.
And I know I should long for my dad to be able to witness this, but I don’t. I don’t long for him at all. If he hears of my marriage and is heartbroken that he’s missing his only daughter’s wedding, well, that’s what he gets for lying to me.
I don’t necessarily blame him for it, I’m glad he’s safe and hidden, but I do carry resentment. Maybe one day I’ll work through that. Hard choices were made, and he is not here. I don’t really wish it differently.
In fact, the only people I might have wanted with me are Ainsley and Mr. Delancey. But Everett and I decided that this was just for us. Our personal life as a new family begins today.
We’re going to be Everett and Laina Milenna-Park.
I tuck the comb of the elbow-length veil into my hair and look over myself one more time. The last step is to slip my written vows into my capacious pockets and walk out to where Everett is waiting for me on the wide lawn, his back to me.
He’s in a sharp black tuxedo, one of my favorite looks for him. I’ve seen him in a tux before, at a gala we went to together in London, but this time he’s dressed up because he wants to look his best for our wedding.
A photographer is walking along the edge of the lawn with a big telephoto lens, but for once, I’m glad to see them. They signed many pages of paperwork promising to photograph our special day and ensure it’s for our eyes only, to be shared with friends in the privacy of our home, not with strangers, splashed across magazines.
I take a deep breath as I come closer, exhaling slowly through my lips. This is it, my wedding day. And I’m walking towards my dream of a husband. How did I get so lucky?
I tap Everett’s shoulder and he slowly turns around.
