Placing his hands under my arms, Nash lifts me up and lays me down onto the bed, facing up. “The difference?” He reaches up my dress and grasps my panties. “Making love is slow and thorough.” Lifting my dress above my hips, he nods for me to pull it up and over my head. I do as he hints. “All night long.”
“All night?”
“All night.”
“Won’t we get tired?”
He laughs. “If we get tired, we’ll sleep. When we wake, we’ll do it all again.”
“Oh.” I see. “All night.”
“All night.”
And that’s what we do. We make love. We sleep. And we do it all again.
38
Epilogue: Isabelle
A lot has happenedin the past six months. First and foremost, my dad is back home and working on the farm nearly full-time now. His prosthetic arm, while not like his real arm, is pretty amazing. After a heap of training and rehab, he’s now able to do some of the things he did before, and the things he can’t, Ben or I or one of the other hands can. It’s a blessing, for sure. The best part is that my father seems to be dealing well emotionally too. I’ve heard stories about other people who’ve gone through something similar but fared far worse afterward due to depression and even PTSD. Dad was lucky in that regard.
Ivy left town as soon as the check cleared. Literally. After the final meeting at the lawyer’s office, Nash asked her if she wanted to say goodbye to Andi. Her response? “Nah. Just tell her to watch out for those carbs.”
We didn’t tell her that.
Honestly, I’m still in shock over that, and so is Nash. We weren’t sure how to talk to Andi about it, so we just told her the truth––mostly. We just told her Ivy went back to Hollywood. What else was there to say? Andi merely shrugged and asked if we could have pizza for supper. I suspect Ivy will come up from time to time, especially since we heard she landed an acting gig on a series television show. If it’s successful, we may see her on TV each week. Or not. I don’t plan to watch it, but I’m sure others will.
As for me, I went back to teaching full-time a few months ago. Dad was doing well enough that he didn’t need me hanging around. I was glad to be back to my usual routine too. I’d missed my kiddos as well as my teacher friends. Rose had so much to tell me when I returned, it took two nights in a row at Sisters to fill me in. It was well worth the time spent, let me tell you. Nash was right about Mr. Salinger. He really gets around.
Nash and I are going strong. Since Mom and Dad got home, I’ve spent most evenings at Nash and Andi’s place. I, officially, moved my dollhouse over to the Watson place two months ago. Andi was beyond thrilled. Before I set it up though, I told her how special it was to me, that my father built it for me from scratch and that I expected her to treat it with care. Andi took those words to heart. Even playing with it every single night, it looks just as I left it.
Which brings me to Mr. Nashville James Watson, my future husband, the man I’m going to marry in about fifteen minutes.
Fifteen minutes! Can you believe it?
We decided to get married at our church. Not a surprise, but it felt right to do it there. While I didn’t want a big, fancy affair, I still wanted a traditional ceremony. Rose and Kelly are my bridesmaids, and when I asked Andi if she’d rather be the flower girl or the maid of honor, she said, “Both.” So, she’s both. As soon as she’s done walking up the aisle with the basket of flower petals, she’s going to stand up with me. It works. Isaac is Nash’s best man, and beside him is Max and Shawn, his other lawyer and newest friend.
We’re all standing behind the double doors waiting for the music to start, and I’m as nervous as can be.
“You ready to do this, Izzy?”
I look up at my dad and smile. “I’ve been ready for this my entire life.”
My father smiles down at me, and I can see his eyes shiny with tears. “You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”
“I bet Mom was prettier.” I’ve seen pictures, so I know she was gorgeous. I tried to wear her dress today, but it was just too small. No amount of alterations would have made it work for me, so in the end, I bought a dress in Des Moines. It’s all lace, strapless, and fitted down over my hips; then it flows out in an A-line skirt. I knew it was my dress the second I put it on. I’ve heard of that happening, but I was a skeptic until I turned and saw myself in the dress.
“Your mom was beautiful too. Don’t get me into trouble.” He chuckles. “You’ll always be my precious girl. You were a perfect baby and an even more angelic child.” Dad sniffles, and it makes me well up too. “While I hate to let you go, I know you and Nash will take good care of each other.”
“Dad.” I use the tissue I stowed away in my all-white bouquet. Dabbing away the tears, I push up onto my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. Then I whisper, “You’re my hero, Daddy. And you always will be.”
He pats my hand with his prosthetic hand, and I smile at him again just as the music starts in earnest.
“It’s go time,” says Rose loudly.
“Ready?” I ask my dad.
“No.” He smiles then changes his answer. “Yes.”
