She’s still crying as she glances atme.
“No more tears. This is a happy day.” I pull her close and embraceher.
“Maybe one moreI’m-so-sorry?” sheasks.
Weepy-eyed again.Dammit.
I lean away. “I’ve put you at the heart of so much blame all these years. What you did wasn’t great, but I can’t spend the rest of my life blaming you for anything I didn’t do with Ty. I forgiveyou.”
The tears keep streaking down her worn face as she puts her arms back aroundme.
In another life, not so distant, even that much would have been far more than I could have said, but especially now that I see a light at the end of the tunnel, and knowing my son is really back in my life, I see all that reallymatters.
My love forhim.
His love for hismother.
My love and Jesse’s for oneanother.
Our little fucked-upfamily.
35
Jesse
“Seriously?”I say. “I can’t take it offyet?”
“No, I told you, I’ll take it off.” Eric guides me up a staircase, and I start to trip, but he catchesme.
“I’m gonna die trying to get to this surprise of yours, aren’tI?”
His laugh hits my ears just right. “I caught you, didn’t I?Here.”
I feel him shift about before I’m weightless as he hoists me into the air and throws me over hisshoulder.
“Oh my God. We’re going upstairs like this? If you fall, you kill both of us. You know this,right?”
“I just married you. I’m not going to lose you on ourhoneymoon.”
Honeymoon.
It’s among the many words I’ve enjoyed using, along withmarriedandhusband.
Hearing Eric say them, watching the way his mouth moves and the expression on his face, the sparkle in his blue eyes as he says them tome.
As we exchanged vows, I could sense in every fiber of his being the same commitment, the same love I have forhim.
I never could have imagined a wedding would mean somuch.
It was frantic and hectic and insane for all the weeks leading up to it, resolving so many issues, putting out all the fires. I never would have believed that a few moments could have erased all the strife and replaced it all with appreciation that the work was hard, but so very worthit.
But that’s the way our entire relationship has been, Isuppose.
By the way Eric’s moving now, it’s clear we’re not on the stairs anymore, which sets me atease.
“Almost there,” he says, and I’m sure he thinks I’mimpatient.
Between the plane, boat, and taxi adventure, it hasn’t been the quickest of journeys to get here, but I’m patient as ever knowing that Eric has crafted all this, created the perfect honeymoon, I’m sure, for us to spend these beginning weeks together. Not that we managed to make it through even as much as the plane trip without needing to coordinate a bathroom trip just right to get rid of a little bit oftension.
