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Julian repeated after me, and then there was a kiss, and I should have felt weird kissing him in front of all these people, but it was the most natural thing in the world, his lips on mine, knowing I was tied to him for the rest of my life.
The reception was a rush that I could barely remember, of course, I didn’t have any alcohol, but I was so hopped up on adrenaline that all I could recall was the first dance, and Hannah’s speech, where she made an announcement.
“As you all know,” she said, “Evelyn is first and foremost my best friend. So, when she came to me and asked permission to marry my father, of course, I saidyes!”
A few people whooped, and Hannah and I made eye contact.
“Of course, the day wouldn’t have been complete without two very important women,” she said, “So I’d like to have a moment of silence for our late mothers, Ruth Brooks and Thalia Stearns.”
I smiled, touched by the gesture, and fell into silence, my hand finding my mother’s ashes again. Since beginning therapy, Hannah had been able to open up about her mother, and we regularly spoke about Ruth and my mother like they were still alive. We agreed that they probably would have liked each other. All of our guests stayed silent as well until Hannah raised a glass.
“But with every loss comes gain, so, with their permission, I’d like to announce that in January, my best friend and my father will be welcoming a beautiful baby girl, Ruth Alexandria Brooks, to our family.”
Julian and I beamed up at Hannah. We had asked her to make the announcement because there was already so much we’d had to tell the world. Letting her have the moment of telling everyone was a gift to her. Ruth we obviously chose for her mother, and Alexandria was my middle name, as well as my mother’s. I didn’t know where it came from, or why her parents gave her that name, but now it was mine, and my daughter’s.
Staring at my best friend on the stage, with my new husband by my side, and our child growing inside of me, I thought that life probably couldn’t get much better. I finally felt accepted, and I knew I had a place, had people, had a whole family that loved me, and that I loved in return.
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