“I love you too.”
* * *
The rest of our wedding day goes by in a blur. We smile until our faces ache, I do far more talking than ever before, and everyone enjoys the four-tier cake Fitz made. The bottom layer is fruitcake. Then there’s a layer of white chocolate and raspberry, another of chocolate, and then the top tier is pink champagne cake. He even made miniature sugarcraft models of the pair of us holding hands with blossom petals all around us. We have our first dance, which is little more than holding each other as we sway to slow music, and then we get in a limo and head straight to the airport.
Once we are in the limo, Fitz presents me with a small cake.
“It’s Addy’s Sakura cake?” I ask.
“Yup. Just for you.”
“You’ll have to help me eat it. We won’t be able to take it through security.”
Fitz laughs. “I’m sure I can do that, but first I want to tell you about your wedding band. This is oak,” he says, pointing to the strip of wood closest to my knuckle. “Because it’s strong and resilient, like you.”
My eyes tear up. I smother my emotions with a large bite of cake.
“This one is cherry,” he says, pointing to the next.
“Therehadto be cherry tree in there,” I sniff.
“Of course. Among other things, cherry trees symbolise love and romance. The next is birch for new beginnings.” He leans over and pecks my cheek. “This is the start of our new beginning together, Addy, and I couldn’t be happier.”
“Nor could I.”
“Next is Acer for longevity because I know we’re going to be together for a long time.”
I eat more cake, although I’m almost sobbing into it.
“Wisteria for long life. I have every intention of growing old with you, Addy.”
“And I with you.”
Fitz grins. “Apple for happiness and finally beech for patience because you’re the kindest, most patient man I know, and I love you for it more than you could ever know.”
“I do know,” I whisper. “I love you too.”
I loved the ring before, but now it means so much more to me.
* * *
Exhausted, we slept through most of our flight to Japan. Now here we are, in a park in Tokyo, standing on a path covered in cherry blossom petals. Cherry trees line either side of the path, their dark trunks and branches complimenting the pink of the blossom. The petals are a brighter shade of pink than any I’ve ever seen before in the UK. They’re utterly stunning, and the sweet scent of the petals is pleasantly intoxicating.
“Photo,” Fitz says.
He insisted on buying a selfie pole, and now I see why. I hold the pole up, angling it so I can get a good shot of us both. Fitz does a typical anime victory sign, and we both pull silly faces. Then we take a more sensible photo of the two of us grinning at the camera, and finally, I take one of us kissing beneath the cherry blossom.
Fitz cuddles up to me, and we stand, holding each other for a long time as petals drift down around us. There’s something dreamlike about this moment, something utterly perfect.
“Addy?” Fitz rests his chin on my chest as he stares up at me.
“Hmmm?”
“Thank you for being my tree.”
“And your weighted blanket?”
He sniggers and nods against my chest. “Yup. My tree and my weighted blanket.” He sighs happily. “My everything.”
