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Epilogue
A year later
Cars and taxis packed the parking lot of the newest motel on the marina. TheHoliday Vacationchain had leased it for ten years and had added a third floor, all its rooms booked for the celebration and weekend event of Dr. Steve Winston’s wedding to his nurse Lillian Haynes.
In addition to his family and colleagues from the Cincinnati clinic, more than half of the island residents had been invited—friends, staff, patrons ofThe Captain’s Den, and many more.
Greg had flown in from London where his project had morphed into a two-year contract.
Stephanie, her husband, and twin girls had traveled from Atlanta a week before the wedding to enjoy a beach vacation.
The wedding festivities lent themselves to a nice family reunion. Steve’s sister Arlene Lambert flew from Lexington, KY, with her daughter Denise, recently graduated from college. Rafael Lopez, the daredevil young cousin from Miami, an accomplished pilot, chartered a small plane to St. John to bring his parents, Armando and Kristel Lopez, and his cousins, Tyler and Tim Kent who met them in Miami.
Royce had crammed a year and half’s worth of courses into a year and planned to graduate within months, but he would stay in school for a master’s degree.
Having met a wealthy businessman, fifteen years her senior, Cybil filed for divorce to marry him. Matt seemed more relieved than saddened. Last August, when his wife had refused to return, he’d rented a two-bedroom apartment in a high rise in Kenwood and had invited Royce to live with him.
With four junior surgeons and three residents, the Cincinnati clinic had prospered at the same rate as the St. John’s one. Steve had relinquished his position to Matt who was now in partnership with Dr. Randall.
Steve and Lillian had inaugurated the Marina Clinic last July and had worked ten to twelve hours a day, taking care of their patients. Their staff had increased at the same rate as their caseload. Sleeping on their yacht had become a normal way of life. The only time they’d left it had been for a few days during a hurricane when they’d taken refuge at their clinic with its concrete walls and hurricane-proof windows.
Steve had reserved a room at the hotel for his bride to get ready for her wedding. Susan Chen had arrived the night before and had given her a relaxing massage. With Stephanie and Heidi fussing around her, his sweet fiancée texted him that she should have stayed on their yacht.
At eleven o’clock, an open-air safari bus picked up the bride, Stephanie, her husband, the twins, chosen to be flower girls, Heidi, her husband, and Greg who would walk the bride down the aisle.
Other safari buses carried the groom and his sons, with Dr. Randall, Captain Douglas, and the lawyers and realtors who had worked with Steve to convert his dream into a reality.
The guests crowded into the church. When the bride arrived, Royce played a modern rendition ofThe Wedding Marchon his guitar, and Greg held his mom’s arm as they followed the three-year-old twins down the aisle, the girls tossing rose petals ahead of them.
Steve grinned from ear to ear at the sight of his beautiful bride in a short lace dress that skimmed her knees. She wore high-heeled sandals and held a single lily in her hand. The ceremony lasted only a short time with the minister asking the traditional questions. The groom kissed his happy bride several times.
Captain Douglas invited all the guests back to the pub for a happy hour toast celebrating their favorite Doc and Nurse Lilly. Later, they gathered for dinner at the remodeled restaurant on the marina.
By seven that night, the guests accompanied Steve and Lillian to their dinghy and watched Steve row back to his yacht. They waved and climbed up to share a private drink under the stars.
“To my lovely bride,” Steve toasted.
“To the man I’ve loved for almost half of my life,” Lillian responded.
“And to a happy honeymoon as we sail to Tortola tomorrow.
~~~******~~~
