EPILOGUE
GRACE
Two years later…
I carried the baby basket I had with me and gave it to Laurie, instructing her to take her sibling with her inside. I would carry the other baby shower things I brought inside myself.
Yes, Laurie’s sibling. I had another baby a few months ago for the man of my heart.
Speaking of which, he came out from the house running towards me. He must’ve seen Laurie enter. He had been here earlier than us; he had to for his best man duties.
Jody and Marcus were getting married!
Watching them return together and settle and compromise, choosing the love they shared above all their differences, was so elating.
Imagine how I felt when Jody said she’d taken in for Marcus. When she first broke the news, I thought an ‘I’m having an abortion’ news would follow right after, but it never came. I had expected it because this was Jody. Jody! She had said it herself once that she didn’t think she ever wanted to be a mother.
Then that happened!!
Nk and I were reeling in shock many days after. We even believed she was just playing a prank on us. I was convinced she was. Then she showed up with a ring.
Marcus had proposed to her!
Our lives was just whirlwind after whirlwind after that. Whirlwinds of joy. Nk and I had wanted to start planning a large luxurious wedding immediately.
I was particularly ecstatic to. Jody had done so much for me during my wedding to Connor and I was ready to go over and beyond for her.
Sadly, she and Marcus were going for a very small wedding. It would be held at their home -a priest would be invited over- and the attendees would be no more than her parents -who are, by the way, completely smitten by Marcus- her friends; Connor, me, Nk, Nk’s kids and Laurie and Malcolm (My baby). We knew at once this was due to Marcus’ highly private nature.
We still gave it our all though, even though it was to be a small wedding. It had to be the most luxurious small wedding ever.
I proceed into the house and we tried to prepare everything before the priest arrived.
Jody was freaking out exactly like I thought she would be. She was excited about getting married to the love of her life, absolutely, but the prospect of marriage and being a mother really scared and made her nervous. She wasn’t hiding that at all. Nk and I didn’t waste any time in soothing and calming her; all of these were done while preparing her for the love tie.
We told her, yes, they were stressful. But they were also such beautiful and wholesome experiences that she would never regret embarking on, especially with the amazing guy she had by her side.
In the end, we managed to convince her it was going to be fine so she could enjoy her day without worries.
As her Dad walked her down the aisle of the garden -where we used for the wedding- I couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful Jody looked. I couldn’t blame Marcus for the dreamy look he had on his face.
Her wedding gown was designed by her and she really knew what she going for. The upper body lace material hugged her body tightly and flowed freely downwards. It was massively adorned by tiny glowing diamonds, but even the massive artificial glow of the dress had nothing on her glow as a person. I would give the credit to Nk and me out of bias, but I knew for sure it was she that was just so beautiful. Her face was so radiant, every inch of it screaming the happiness her heart felt.
Laurie had said something about pregnancy making women glow. I thought it was such a funny observation and made her explain she thought so. She said my glow had visibly increased when I was pregnant with Malcolm to the extent that Connor had given her less of his time because most times he was too busy staring at me. Then Jody had gotten pregnant too and her beauty had tripled.
I remember thinking it was a childish thing to say, a childish observation, but looking at Jody now, I was starting to see the fact in Laurie’s observation.
Marcus and Laurie had their eyes on each other throughout the vow-taking. Throughout everything! They just couldn’t take their eyes off each other, and they had such cute smiles on their faces. It seemed Marcus had smiled today much more than he had smiled his entire life; I wouldn’t even be surprised if that came out as a fact.
They were so happy, and that in turn made us all so happy.
The kids screamed continuously out of excitement.
Connor wouldn’t let go of my hand. At a point, he pulled me closer and dropped a long kiss on my forehead. I savoured every moment of it; wished it would never end.
When Marcus and Jody kissed, everything paused. Then continued.
This was amazing.
This was my life, and it was amazing. Not perfect, yeah, but that was where the beauty lay. Through the imperfections and mistakes, we were going to forge ahead, loving each other.
I drew Connor in for a kiss.