As the day turns into evening, the shade of the live oak trees provides a large canopy with its branches overhead. Emma, Mateo, and I stand up from our seats and gather in front of our mother’s grave. Emma and I place a kiss on our hands and put it on their father’s headstone.
Eduardo stands and walks over to Emma, offering her his hand. I feel Jameson behind me. He doesn’t come forward, unsure of his position at this moment, but I want him to understand he belongs with me as long as he’ll have me. I lean into his strong, hard frame, as he wraps his arms around me. Eli, Gus, and Philip begin to pack up the items for us to take them to the vehicles, so that we can make it back to the condo before it gets too late.
I extend my hand out to my sister like we’ve done to each other our whole lives. I take out the silver ring she had made for me for a birthday present. I begin to talk to my mom and start our final goodbyes.
“This ring saved my life, Mom. I was supposed to have died in that fire the night you passed away. In a way, I feel that a part of me did. It wasn’t until I met someone that I can finally let go and surrender myself to being loved. I need to fully feel all the emotions I have kept suppressed for so long. We were forged in fire and came out stronger on the other end after all.”
I bend down and grab the little spade the guys left for me while they packed everything away. I dig a hole into the groundwhere their gravestone rests. Under their names, the inscription reads:‘Forever forged in our hearts.’
I place the ring into the hole, and Emma covers it with dirt. It rests between the two headstones of my parents. We hold hands, smiling at each other, and back away.
Mateo steps forward and bends down to my mother’s grave, touching her name. “Whatever your reasons were, Mom, I just want you to know that I forgive you. I know that in your heart, you believed you were doing the right thing. Maybe if circumstances were different, you would have returned to being my mother, but that time was taken from us. All I can do is move on and heal. I have to forgive you to move on. Thank you for giving me my life, and I promise to do something with it to make you and my family proud, but most of all, I am going to live and love every day I have on this earth.” He places a kiss on the stone and stands.
I smile at him through tear-stained eyes, and I don’t have to look at Emma to know that she is doing the same thing.
Eduardo clears his throat. “I’d like to say something if I could.”
Emma tenses, and Eduardo gives her hand a squeeze, reassuring her that it will be okay, like he does frequently.
“I just want you to know, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, that I love your daughter. I have always loved her, and I am going to marry her. I forgive you for keeping us apart, but I hope you find peace in knowing that I would give my life to keep her safe and give up my own for hers.”
Emma reaches up to Eduardo and kisses him.
“Marry me, Emma.”
Emma pulls back to look up at him. “We are already engaged, Eduardo.” She giggles, not understanding his words, but I know what he means.
The look in his eyes says he is done waiting.
“Marry menow,Emma.”
It’s not a question, even though he poses it as one. She looks at him, her head tilted. Assessing.
“When?” she asks.
“As soon as possible,” he answers just as quickly.
She beams a full smile at him. “Yes, I’ll marry you whenever you’d like me to.”
He picks her up in one fluid motion and twirls her around. He places her back on the ground, kissing her. “Did you hear that, guys? We’re getting married.”
Part Three
The Future
Epilogue
THE WEDDING
“Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica
“Dance Macabre” by Ghost
We are gathered in the church for Emma and Eduardo’s wedding. He meant it when he said he wanted to get married right away. His manager at his gym, Helena, helped Emma organize everything. They both had similar tastes in music, so it wasn’t hard to get contacts who could meet the requests of what I can only describe as a goth wedding. Eduardo didn’t care what wedding he had as long as he was married to the love of his life. It’s been a long time coming, and I can’t deny him the opportunity to marry her right now. One thing our past has taught us is that life is short. Make the best of it while you can because, even though they were given a second chance, we know that is rare.
I look out to the crowd gathered here, and I think we did well. The band is the same one Eduardo used to replace the original band the night we were going to be sold off at Mr. Martinez’s party. I love their style, and they eagerly agreed to the handsome fee Emma’s soon-to-be husband offered them for the day.
I look in the mirror at my deep blood-red dress. It’s gorgeous, but not as gorgeous as my sister’s. I can’t wait to see Eduardo’sreaction to her as she walks down the aisle. Her friends made the trip up from Corpus to be here, and some are bridesmaids. Eduardo has Jameson, our brother, Gus, Eli, and Philip as his selected groomsmen. They are all in tuxedos, much like on the night of the party. The jacket has silk embroidered roses, and Eduardo is wearing a ridiculous top hat.
