I snorted. “You’re gonna make me cry tears of laughter. You’ll have to do me all over again.”
“I like the sound of that.” He placed the cap back on the liner. “There. How’s that?”
I turned to look at myself. He’d done a pretty damn good job. Add “using the groom as a makeup artist” to the list of unconventional things about this wedding.
Smiling at him from behind me in the mirror, I said, “You make everything better. I may have really gotten gypped in the mother department, but I got the best husband in the world.”
“I love the sound of you calling me your husband, and I’d kiss the shit out of you right now if I didn’t care about messing you all up again.” He flipped me around and said, “Fuck it” before planting a big kiss on my lips.
Landon and I stayed in the room alone together for the rest of the hour. He had to keep fixing my makeup because either I was crying, laughing, or he was kissing me again.
Finally, there was a knock at the door.
Marjorie stuck her head in. “The priest is saying it’s time.”
He took my hand. “Are you ready?”
Nodding, I said, “When I walk down the aisle, try to pretend like you’re seeing me for the first time.”
“Pretend I didn’t just do your makeup? I bet I’m the only groom who can say that.”
“You probably are.”
He kissed me lightly on the lips, so as to really not mess up my lipstick this time. “I love you, Rana.”
“I love you more.”
Hand in hand, we entered the foyer of the cathedral, and for a quick moment I thought I might be seeing things.
Beth was standing there with her hands on Lilith’s shoulders. For the first time ever, Lilith looked nervous to see me.
“Thank God,” I could hear Landon whisper behind me.
She was wearing a beautiful, white dress and had flowers in her hair.
I could barely get the word out, “Hi.”
“Do you need a flower girl?” Lilith asked.
Walking slowly toward her, I said, “There’s only one position open for that, and it’s always only ever had your name on it.”
“You did promise me.”
“I did.”
“Don’t cry,” she said. “You’ll ruin your makeup.”
“It’s okay. I can redo it,” Landon said as everyone momentarily turned to him.
Lilith called him out on it. “What?”
“Never mind the makeup,” I said as I wiped my eyes and hugged her. “I don’t care about the stupid makeup.”
Seeming a bit uncomfortable, Beth smiled. “We got stuck in traffic. We thought we would miss it.”
Looking up at her while still embracing Lilith, I mouthed, “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Her eyes lingered on mine as she gave me a look that only she and I could understand as two women unified in our love for this little girl.
“I would’ve stopped the whole thing and started over for you, Lil, if you’d gotten here late.”
She gazed up at me in admiration. “You look really pretty.”
“So do you.”
“This was the only white dress they had at the store. I didn’t know you were wearing beige. That figures. Anyway, I got it at Macy’s. I know that’s where my grandmother used to steal from.”
“You read the book?”
She blushed a little. “Yeah.”
Beth looked at her. “We’ve read it several times.”
My father, who’d been talking to some relatives, finally emerged. His eyes lit up when he spotted Lilith.
She must have recognized him immediately when she said, “Hi, God.”
Papa held out his hands then cupped her cheeks. “Lilit.” He then pulled her into a hug.
It was the first time my father had ever held his granddaughter. I couldn’t think of a better wedding gift than to be able to witness that.
And suddenly, I wasn’t the only one crying anymore. Landon had lost the battle against his own tears upon the sight of my father holding her.
I asked Lilith if she wouldn’t mind walking down the aisle with Papa and me. It was another unconventional thing to add to the list.
With my father on one side and my daughter—yes, my daughter—on the other, I made my way toward Landon that day, feeling more complete than I had in my entire life.
LANDON
TWO YEARS LATER
Heaven to me was a lazy Sunday on Eastern Drive with a warm breeze. Sundays were my only days off, so I basically lived for them.
With the Michigan summer upon us, Sundays became even sweeter. The weather was reminding me a little of California. A feeling of bittersweet nostalgia would always emerge whenever I’d think back to my days out west.
Rana and I sat on the bench that I’d built out in front of our house. I’d constructed it so that we’d have a front and center view of all the happenings, particularly as they pertained to a certain thirteen-year-old. We watched as Lilith scooted up and down the street with one of the neighbor boys named Jayce.
I’d love to be able to say that Lilith had fully come to terms with the fact that Rana was her birth mother, but their relationship was still a work in progress. They still very much had a big sister, little sister dynamic. I wasn’t sure that would ever change. Things were complicated as of late because as a teenager, Lilith had reached a rebellious stage. Rana was especially sensitized to every move Lilith made, determined to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble with boys.
I’d also love to be able to say that Rana’s own mother showed up at our door and that by some miracle, they’d reunited, but that never happened and likely never would.
And I’d especially love to be able to say that Rana and I were holding our first born on this beautiful day, but my wife suffered a miscarriage at twelve weeks—about six months after our wedding. We were devastated but vowed to keep trying without stressing out too much about it. We had faith that God would give us a baby when the time was right in the same way that he’d brought us together.
Basically, I’d love to be able to say that everything turned out perfectly in our world, but such is life. It wasn’t perfect. But it didn’t have to be, either.
Rana never did end up learning to drive. As much as she loved parking lots, she kept chickening out every time I tried to take her on the freeway. She also hadn’t gone back to school yet because she kept changing her mind about what she wanted to study. As of now, she continued to be a career belly dancer, which wasn’t a bad thing because honestly, she was born to shake that ass. Somebody had to do it. And I loved watching it.