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What if she was somewhere in the building right now, talking with Desiree and Wendy and Malia, telling them that she had second thoughts. That it was moving too fast and it was too much responsibility. That jumping feet-first into a marriage with a child already there, especially to someone who you really, in the grand scheme of life, hadn’t dated that long, wasn’t what she wanted to do?
All these emotions rolled through my mind and wouldn’t stop. I tried to calm them, to think of anything else, but they kept coming. I couldn’t even concentrate on Rose, since the girls had taken her with them. Desiree said she had an idea. That was all I had. Then Rose was whisked away in a move I thought for sure was going to earn me negative points with the judge. He seemed to understand, though, and I was thankful for that.
Internally, the only worry I had was that Dee would be disappointed. I knew she probably wanted a big wedding, and I planned on giving it to her later. I mentioned it as soon as we called Wendy and told her that we needed her and Finn to come as soon as possible. When I did, she lit up like a Christmas tree, and I knew it was the right call. But I didn’t want to spend another moment without her as my wife, and she said the same of me.
There was a jewelry shop just a couple of streets down from the courthouse, and Aiden made a call to have the jeweler come by. I don’t know what he said, but he must have called in a favor because the little older man swung by minutes later with a case of wedding rings and engagement bands. I picked out rings for Dee and me, knowing full well we might end up changing wedding rings if she hated it, and Aiden, Finn, and Gerry all offered to pay for them as a wedding gift.
I thanked them for the offer but paid for it myself, telling them that their presence was enough of a gift, which they chided me for the Hallmark-y cheesiness of. We were still joking about that, rings in my pocket waiting, when Wendy came into the courthouse, beaming.
“She’s ready,” she said.
“I’ll go get the judge,” Aiden said.
Judge Sam had gone into his chamber just after the jeweler showed up to take a brief rest. According to the state, both of us had to fill out a marriage license before he could proceed, and I had filled out my side while he was out with us. Part of Dee getting ready was that she had to fill out hers and give it to the judge. His return would mean that she had signed, and when he came out following Aiden, he had the distinct look of a man who had just been napping but would pretend he hadn’t been. He took his place at the podium, and I waited for the door to open again.
When Dee came out, she looked radiant. They had found a veil for her somewhere, white lace and vintage looking. She was still wearing the same dress but now had a bouquet of flowers in her hands and a white hood to match the veil.
The ceremony was quick and to the point, as I assumed marriages in a courthouse would be. Judge Sam asked us simply if we would accept each other in the bonds of marriage, which I agreed wholeheartedly before waiting pensively for her to respond.
“I do,” she said, and my heart lifted.
“Then, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
I pulled Dee in to the cheers of our friends and pressed my lips to hers, the smiles on our faces impossible to ignore.
24
DEE
When Gerry suggested that lunch was something he and Malia wanted to do for us, I thought it meant we would all go out together. Instead, he surprised us by securing a reservation at the only sit-down fancy restaurant in town besides Sergio’s. It was a quiet place with unusual hours just on the edge of town, but the food there was supposedly spectacular if you could get a reservation.
Somehow, Gerry got one, which I assumed had something to do with Finn and his chef connections. As we were whisked away into Hawk’s car, with promises by Malia and Gerry that they would get mine back home for me, I reflected for the first time how incredible and sudden all this was.
This morning, I had been a single woman. Sure, I was desperately in love with Hawk and had no intention of being with anyone but him, but still single. My life didn’t feel as stalled out as it had before, and I no longer felt the envy of my sister and her relationship with Gerry. I was happy to let what was going to happen with Hawk simply happen on its own time.
