There was no rush.
We had a lifetime.
And because this was us, we had further.
Perfect.
Epilogue
I loved the salt water spray off the ocean and the way my toes felt wiggling in the warm sand—actually, I just loved being able to wiggle my toes. The sun was over the horizon but was still strong enough to keep the breeze from giving us chills. At least those kinds of chills—I had plenty of the other kind. Standing among family and friends, my heart warmed, but I only had eyes for him. He was nervous. He would never admit it, especially not to me, but I could tell. He shifted from barefoot to barefoot, but his smile and those eyes told me everything I ever needed to know. He was head over heels in love.
“Love you,” I mouthed as the acoustic guitar began to play. Because I did, more than anything, more than walking, more than life itself. Tack gave me the greatest gift the day he was born. He made me a mother and introduced me to unconditional love. Loving him and watching him grow (way too quickly) taught me that life was short and there’s no time to waste on regret and fear. And the beauty of unconditional love, once you recognized you’d been blessed with it, was that it was not just reserved for the one who bestowed it upon you ... oh, how I knew this, madly and deeply. Tack was on his way to finding it and nothing made me happier as a parent.
Chase and Lili had started the beach wedding tradition, not that I was there, but Ash and I followed suit with my surprise Hawaii wedding. Of course he pulled it off, there was nothing that man couldn’t do. The day after he found himself and came back to me, we arrived in Maui and a week later on a very similar beach day to this, I became Mrs. Asher Craig. I could still barely stand, but with Tack carrying me, and Asher waiting for me at the end, there was no other path I felt so secure on. It was perfect, he made sure of it. Everyone who mattered looked on as I promised my heart to the only man I ever loved. Even Pop made it for his final trip. Unfortunately, the following year we suffered his loss. But he was and always would be forever inked on our hearts.
Now twelve years later, my Tack was doing the same.
Everyone turned to gaze up. Ava grinned from ear to ear as she floated down the sandy aisle. Her gorgeous sky blue silk dress was fit for a princess and highlighted her porcelain skin. With her thick black hair twisted and loose curls framing her face, she looked beautifully mature for her ten years and I knew I was in trouble. Luckily she, too, only had eyes for her brother, at least for now. I could only pray I had a few more years.
After witnessing his five nieces grow up, Asher warned me that we were going to keep her locked away until she was twenty-five. I laughed and scoffed, but in this moment I thought he might have been on to something.
I heard a sniffle beside me and I looked over to see my dear friend’s smile and sweet blue eyes light up when her twin sons took their places standing tall next to Chase. One a complete Colton clone like his father and uncle, the other a spitting image of her. Both undeniably charming. And although Lili had more than her share of testosterone to deal with, I knew she wouldn’t have had it any other way. In fact, she loved when Asher teased Chase that God gave him boys for a reason, because ‘he only had time to be one Tarzan to his Jane.’ Ash was not wrong. Chase’s intensity could be a bit over the top, always had been, but that didn’t take away from how amazing he was with his family.
The music slowed and Pachelbel Canon in D began to play. My soon-to-be daughter-in-law emerged at the top of the staircase slicing straight through the dunes. Flanked by tall green sea grass, her stark white gown glowed against the bright blue sky. The sheer lace V-neckline was overlayed with a classic organza that clung to her slim frame and fell in open waves to the ground. As she began to descend the stairs, the fabric opened, exposing her long legs. The dress reminded me a lot of mine.
At the time I was still very much dependent on my wheelchair, and it was a good thing I at least had the ability to cross my legs, otherwise the thigh-high slit Asher drooled over when he took me shopping for my wedding gown—right after he chartered a plane and flew us to Honolulu to peruse Harry Winston’s ring display—might had proved indecent. Not that I would have cared. He requested to see ‘my sick legs while I made him the happiest man alive’ and I decided—two point two seconds after he slipped the most stunning princess cut diamond on my left hand—that I would never begrudge him anything. Ever. If you hadn’t figured out—Ash was obsessed with legs and ass. His hands were glued to mine most of the time.
It was August and we were on the serene beach behind Chase and Lili’s Cape Cod home. Tack and Paige couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. Gorgeous as ever, she tried so hard to hold herself together, but those happy tears betrayed her and streamed down her beautiful face when her father lifted her veil and kissed her cheek. Fathers and daughters … it pierced my soul every time. But I buried that deep and watched with pride as my grown son shook his hand before linking his with Paige’s. My eyes welled and I reminded myself to breathe when Tack mouthed the only words that ever mattered to his stunning bride. The words that Ash repeated to me over and over again, enough to last a lifetime.
It was a traditional and simple ceremony but they chose to write their own vows. We listened as love poured from their young souls, bringing me right back to when Ash and I recited our own promises. Yes, we vowed to love, honor and cherish, but for us that was easy. It was a given. Neither of us knew what it was like to not love the other. We finally saw it for what it was, unconditional. The true promise we made that day and every day after was to live life on one unified path. And if that path curved or came to a bump we would only take the next step together.
We had paved a beautiful life.
“And by the power vested in me, by God, and the state of Massachusetts, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
The cackles and hoots filled the warm air around us. I smiled through my glassy eyes as Tack cupped her cheeks and kissed his wife. Then I glanced at my girl who had giant crocodile tears rolling down her sweet cheeks. It was perfect.
“And now it is my honor to introduce to you for the very first time as husband and wife, Doctor and Mrs. Tack and Paige Craig.”
I couldn’t hold back any longer, through my stretched cheeks, I let my tears spill down my face. For so many reasons.
“Hey, Ma, Tack wanted me to find you. It’s almost time for the mother-son dance. Then Paige is gonna dance with her dad.” I loved that Ava copied her father and called me Ma. She was definitely an ACE, our Ava Evelyn Craig. And despite his objection, her grandmother made sure she had the monogrammed backpacks to prove it.
“Okay, honey, thanks.” I grinned from the depth of my soul.
Our beautiful daughter was life’s ultimate gift. Two years into our marriage, and after Ash insisted we start the process early, we flew halfway across the world to complete our family. Adoption was an extremely lengthy process, full of delays, disappointment, and added stress. So much so, at times our family questioned why we didn’t just try the good old fashioned way. But Asher had his reasons, and Tack, Chase, and Kimi were indisputable proof that love was thicker than blood. And we had more than enough love to go around. In fact, I’d pick nurture over nature six days a week and twice on Sunday. When our sweet baby girl was placed in our arms, we were done. Everything we thought was stressful or time-consuming evaporated into thin air. She was ours and we were madly and completely in love. Unconditionally.