AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Quite a few. Your father passed not long after you were taken, I’m so sorry.’
Harriet pursed her lips together, taking in the news. ‘And my mum?’
‘She still misses you. She never gave up. That letter is from a few weeks ago. She posted it as an open letter to you, wherever you are. I wanted you to see it.’
The letter had made me cry for Harriet and her whole family when Petros had found it. It was the letter that had given him the push to finally bring her family up with her.
‘There’s a phone number,’ Harriet whispered. I handed over my phone. ‘What if she doesn’t want me? She knew me us a kid, carefree and young. I’m a twisted, broken killer.’
‘And she’s your mother. That kind of love doesn’t diminish if it was there to begin with. It only grows,’ I said. ‘You don’t have to make a decision now though.’
‘If I don’t do it now, I’m not sure I ever will.’ Harriet chewed at her lip as she looked from my phone to the number on the paper.
‘Do you want us to go?’ Petros asked.
‘No. I need you both. Please, stay.’
She moved to one of the sofas, and Petros and I sandwiched either side of her, ready to support her no matter the income.
Tension thrummed in the room when the metallic ringing began. A crackle sounded, and then there was a female voice.
‘Hello?’
‘Mum?’ Harriet said, her voice cracking with emotion. There was a pause on the other end, and I glanced at Petros.
‘Harriet? Baby? Is that you?’
‘It is.’ There wasn’t a dry eye amongst us as her mum inhaled at the other end of the line.
With the softest of voices, laden with emotion she said, ‘Happy Birthday, my darling.’
EPILOGUE
HARRIET
Nancy’s voice echoed through the tiny, ancient chapel.
Pretty summer blooms decorated the old wooden pews, while white pillar candles flickered on just about every available surface. Despite it being the middle of the day, the private chapel was quite dark, if not for the warm glow the flames provided.
Petros, Alfie and I stood in a perfect little triangle, holding each others’ hands. Giddiness filled my tummy as Alfie winked at me. He looked dashing in his kilt and tweed jacket, a sporran hanging around his hips. Petros looked every bit the sharp, sophisticated tux-clad groom.
‘I join your spirits together, binding them in an eternal commitment to one another. From this day forth you will go forward no longer as an individual but as a trio. While you will, of course go ahead, celebrating each other’s individual accomplishments, you are strongest when you are together. Please all place a hand in the centre, overlapping each other.’
Nancy gave me a sweet smile as I placed my hands atop Petros’ and Alfie’s.
‘These three strips of material resemble each of you. The strip of blue and white—decorated with the Greek key pattern for Petros’ homeland. The hem of Harriet’s wedding dress—passed down from her mother—altered to bring in a new love story. And for Alfie? A strip of his family’s tartan.’
Nicole moved to stand between Petros and me, draping each of the three materials over our tower of hands.
‘May this knot remain tied for as long as love shall last,’ she proclaimed, tying a knot in the loose ends of the fabric, pressing our hands together.
‘May the vows you speak never grow bitter in your mouths.’ I sniffled back tears as I looked from Petros to Alfie, my heart about bursting right out of my chest.
‘Hold tightly onto one another through good times and bad and watch as your strength grows. In the joining of hands and the fashion of a knot, so are your lives now bound, one to another.’ The third knot sealed the union.
The ancient ritual gave the moment a levity I’d been worried it wouldn’t have. Without the legal aspect of our union, I’d thought it might feel empty. But it didn’t. It was like all of the people who’d gone before us, who’d tied the knot before there were marriage licenses and government restrictions, came to join us in spirit.
‘I love you both so much,’ I whispered.
