“Me, too. Who knew you were such a softy under all that crap,” I joked. I knew he loved his wife. He’d loved her since the moment he
saw her enter the crowded bar we’d be hanging out at all those years ago. He’d told me that night she was his future wife. I thought he was
just drunk, but damned if he didn’t do it.
“Well, I have a reputation to uphold. Can’t let everyone know what lies beneath all this,” he said, making a grand sweeping gesture over his
physique. We all groaned, and I asked if he was finished.
“One more thing. Don’t leave the toilet seat up. They hate that.”
I shook my head and laughed and we all clanked our glasses together in a half-assed toast. I checked my watch and swore time had frozen. Not
even an hour had passed.
Longest. Day. Ever.
“How about you, Mr. Finnegan,” Colin said, “Got any advice for my boy Logan?”
He was silent for a moment, staring into the empty beer glass in front of him.
“Never go to bed angry and don’t sweat the small stuff. You never know what tomorrow will bring, and life is too short to worry about things
that don’t matter. When I had my stroke, do you think I sat in that hospital bed worrying about whether the house chores would be done or the
trash would be taken out? No, I thought about my wife and children and how much I wanted to fight so I could spend another day with them by
side. You have a fight ahead of you Logan, don’t waste breath on things that aren’t worthy of it.”
“Thank you,” was all I could manage. I stuck out my hand for a handshake but he instead pulled me into a bear hug. I’d never had a loving
father. I didn’t know how to interact with one. Tom, along with Clare and the rest of her family, were showing me what it was like to have a
family and a place to call home.
My future was bright and full of infinite possibilities because of her, and if the clock ever decided to move again, she would be my wife in
just a few short hours. Nothing could keep me down. Not even cancer.
Clare
“Breathe, just breathe,” I chanted. My heart was running a marathon in my chest and I was convinced it would soon explode from my ribs
roadrunner style, headed straight for the altar to get to Logan first.
Now that I had that picture in my head, it was nearly as romantic as I had originally thought.
“Are you nervous?” Leah asked, standing beside me in her knee-length coral dress that accented her bronze skin and honey blonde hair
perfectly.
“No, I’m ready. Like really ready. Why are we still back here?”
She snorted before answering. “Because you still have fifteen minutes before the ceremony is supposed to start. You have to allow the rest of
the guests to be seated.”
“What guests?” I asked impatiently. “The only guests that are here are family, and the wedding party. How can they not all be seated by now?
” I huffed.
“Alright, Clare-bear, let’s re-do your makeup and primp a little. We need to get your mind off the clock, otherwise you’re going to explode.
”
I nodded in agreement. I really was going to explode. Logan was out there in his tan suit, probably standing at the altar with the deep blue
ocean serving as a backdrop behind him. He was waiting for me, and I didn’t want to make him wait anymore. I wanted to barrel down that aisle
and hear the minister say husband and wife so I could scream to the world that he was all mine.
Leah dabbed, blotted and glossed my lips until she was satisfied, and then put all of her tools away in her little clutch bag that she’d
stowed just inside the door we were about to walk out of. The wedding was not on the beach, but it was as close as we could get without having
to make all our guests sink in the sand with their nice shoes on. The hotel had a beautiful garden patio with an almost surround view of the
ocean. At the very edge was a grassy area where we’d set up chairs and a gorgeous flower covered altar. Nothing else was needed. The view took
care of the rest.
Everyone else was either seated or being seated. It was just Leah, Ella, Maddie and me. We all grasped hands and tried not to cry.
“I love you guys,” I said.
“We love you, too, babe,” Ella said. “Thank you for loving Logan, and for bringing him back to us. You’ve completed him, and I’ve never
seen him so full of life.”
I pulled her into my arms and we hugged. I was so grateful Logan had friends that had cared for him through everything. Even in his darkest
points when he pushed everyone away, Colin and Ella had stayed.
I kneeled down to my beautiful daughter who was just as excited as me, but when she jumped up and down, it was cute. Kids got off so easy.
“Are you excited baby?” I asked, and she gave me a huge nod, over exaggerating every movement.
“After you’re married, can I call Logan my Daddy? Do you think Daddy would be mad?”
The tears I’d been trying to hold back let loose down my cheek and I pulled her into my arms.
“No, baby. I think Daddy would love that. Logan too. No one said you couldn’t have two daddies, right?”