Through It All Page 4

  “Mel . . .” Laura started, unable to form a complete sentence.

  “It’s going to be okay.”

  SEVEN

  Laura had moved out of her apartment weeks prior. She’d forfeited her independence and her solitude for the promise of a life of togetherness, for the promise that she wouldn’t have to be alone. For the promise that they were together together, as Lolly had once put it.

  Now, she wasn’t so sure that was a good idea. When faced with the first obstacle that crossed her path—the death of her mother, she’d melted down. She’d crumbled. She’d been unfaithful to her partner, an action that went against the very essence of her being.

  It was unlike her, and it was killing her. Slowly, the guilt eroded her. Steadily, the voices in her head made her question everything. After all, they’d been apart for fifteen years before Mel re-appeared. And now, after less than six months, they were back together and engaged. Who does that? Who lets someone back into their life after such a long hiatus? It was confusing and maddening, and she couldn’t seem to make it stop.

  She wrote in her journal daily—a practice that went back to her youth—and one morning it hit her as she wrote. She was angry because all this time, she’d had the upper hand. She was abandoned. She was cheated on. She had control of their relationship in its new incarnation because Mel had come back to her. The moment she faltered, she relinquished the upper hand. Mel had been incredibly gracious, and that only made things worse.

  Laura realized she’d been going about it all wrong. Instead of a partnership, she’d been in an unbalanced relationship where she could always call upon the hurt in her heart to keep the power position. She could win any argument by harkening back to the past, and now, they were on a level playing field. It was a breakthrough moment. She’d been so selfish and couldn’t see it. She was writing a book about redemption, but had failed to realize she needed to redeem herself.

  This is my issue to solve.

  After a week of thinking it through, of planning and organizing and mustering her courage, Laura called Mel at work—something she rarely did—and summoned her to the only logical place.

  “We need to talk,” she said. “Can you meet me for coffee this afternoon?”

  On her way across town, she stopped at the jeweler to do something she should have done a long time ago. She wore an engagement ring, but she hadn’t returned the gesture. She’d played their engagement in the traditional sense. She was clearly the “bride,” after all. It had never occurred to her—until a few days before—that she needed to step up and offer a symbol of her love as well. Not once as they were planning the wedding had she thought about the kind of ring to give Mel, until she realized it. Until she realized they both had a choice, and they had chosen each other, faults and all.

  She was fully committed to making things work, and she was going to prove it. The jeweler had made her a beautiful custom ring in just a few days—an incredible feat considering it was almost Christmas—and it was ready just in time.

  · · ·

  Mel Kippling went out of her way to make it to their Starbucks, to hold a place at their bar, in the middle of the workday, unsure why this impromptu meeting was called. They could, after all, just talk at home that night, like they did every day. Things hadn’t been great with Laura since Thanksgiving, but they hadn’t been horrible either, at least in her mind. They’d had a big slice of life to contend with, but they were managing. They’d buried Mary Brighton; they’d talked in-depth about what had happened with Autumn. They’d helped Lolly work through some of the issues she was facing at school, helped her through her own relationship struggles with her crush on Reese. They’d decorated a tree.

  By all accounts, things were fine, and getting better. They were living life. They were working on it, like adults. Mel was confident they would get through it—that they’d stabilize again. It would just take time.

  Before long, she heard Laura’s voice in her ear.

  “Is this seat taken?”

  “It’s all yours,” she answered, pulling out the barstool and searching for a clue, just a little hint, as to why she was there.

  “So . . . you’ve got me here . . .”

  “I do.” Laura said, taking Mel’s hands in her own, cupping them together.

  “And?”

  “I wanted to meet you here because I wanted to start over, and this is, of course, the most logical place to do that. The last month has been rough, and I feel like have dragged you down with me because of my own selfishness. We’ve both made mistakes. We’re human. I get that now, more than I ever did before. But, I can’t imagine another day of my life without you in it. There is no one else. There has never been anyone else that holds a candle to you, and I don’t want to wait another day . . .” Laura said, pausing to catch her breath, to slow down her speech, “. . . I want to marry you now.”

  She pulled the ring out of her pocket and continued, “It struck me that I didn’t give you a ring in return, and that was foolish. So, I’m hoping you like this one. I had it made with three stones on it—one for our past, our present, and our future. We’ve had quite the journey to get here, but there is no one I would rather spend the rest of my life with—no one. Would you do me the honor?”

  “You know the answer,” Mel said, uncharacteristically flustered in the moment, her raspy voice barely audible amongst the chatter and commotion of their surroundings. “Yes.”

  “What a relief,” Laura said, grabbing the hand of her love and leading them through the crowd. “I got the license a few days ago. We’re going to Atlantic City.”

  “We’re what?”

  “Yep. AC. Us. Now.”

  “What about Lolly? What about our friends? You want to elope two days before Christmas? Really?”

  “Lolly’s in the car waiting outside, she’s coming with us. I invited Christina and Mark to be witnesses and they’re meeting us there.”

  “I would’ve never guessed you had this in you. Never.”

  Laura wasn’t a risk taker, and she knew this was a risk. She stood to play the part of the fool, but she didn’t care. If losing her mother taught her anything, it was that every day was a gift. She knew what she wanted, and she wasn’t waiting any longer to get it.

  EIGHT

  The wedding chapel in Atlantic City was cheesy. Aren’t they all? Add to it a generous amount of over-the-top Christmas decorations, and this place was quite the spectacle.

  It didn’t matter. In ten minutes (or less), they’d be married, finally. Almost sixteen years after they first met, they would be committed to each other—legally—a breakthrough in and of itself.

  Lolly sat in the front row of the little chapel and smiled, fully in support of her mother and her future step-mom. She loved her dad, of course she did, but she’d always had a close bond with her mom. Even when she hated her, she still loved her. Seeing her finally happy made Lolly happy too. It gave her hope for her future. It made her think that someday she might find the right person for her. It was possible, anyway.

  An older man in a tuxedo—overly formal in what was clearly a turn-and-burn establishment—stood at a faux wood alter. “Are we ready to begin?”

  “We’re more than ready,” Mel answered, gifting a knowing wink to the blonde beside her. It wasn’t the wedding they were planning, not even close, but, it was fitting. Her daughter was there, the love of her life was there. Nothing else mattered.

  “Okay, well, then, let’s do this thing.”

  Let’s do this thing? Laura smiled to herself. Interesting choice of words, but a little levity never hurt.

  The officiator ambled on for a minute or two, his canned speech clearly perfected over many years and thousands of shotgun weddings, his notecard prompting him that he was marrying Laura Ann Brighton and Melanie Jean Kippling. Luckily their names were easy—he got them right. He was still new at this marrying two women thing, but he was doing just fine. When he arrived at his natural stopping point, he prompted for
vows, “Do you have vows, or, shall I read the standard?”

  “We have them,” Mel answered instantly, before Laura could ask for the standard issue to have and to hold . . .

  It was impromptu, but she had this covered. Looking into the eyes of her beloved, she spoke freely, unencumbered. “Laura, I love you. I can’t imagine my life without you, and I don’t want to. I can’t promise you perfection—that’s not real. Life throws curveballs, no one knows that better than we do. What I can promise you is I’ll be there for you, no matter what, through it all. Always, for the rest of my life.”

  As Mel finished speaking, the gravity of the moment sunk in. Laura made the right decision, there was no doubt. True love could overcome the most insurmountable obstacles. It was about choosing to overcome the obstacles. Not giving up. They would be fine.

  Blinking back tears and finding her voice, Laura said simply, “I’ve spent too many years without you, too many nights alone, wondering if I’d ever see you again, but someone recently reminded me that lovers don’t meet somewhere . . . they’re in each other all along. And, that someone was right. You have been in my heart all along, and you always will be. The broken road that led us here has taught me that choice—choosing to be together, day after day—is the most important factor of all. I love you Melanie, and I promise that I’ll be there for you, too, no matter what and through it all.”

  Mr. Tuxedo seemed touched, because he was. Clearly these two belong together, he thought, as he continued the pre-programmed ceremony from memory. He had another wedding in fifteen minutes and needed to speed things along. As he reached the last line in his script, he paused, perplexed.

  “By the power vested in me by the State of New Jersey, I now pronounce you . . . erm . . . wife . . . and wife? You both may kiss the bride.”

  As she kissed her new wife, the vision she’d had as a young woman re-appeared in high definition in Laura’s mind. The country house, the white picket fence . . . the babies. Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe, there was still another chapter left to unfold in the Brighton-Kippling romance.

  THANK YOU

  Thank you for reading! If you liked this story (and even if you didn’t), I’d greatly appreciate a quick review on Amazon or Goodreads so I’ll know if you’d like to see more short stories like this one, and perhaps a full-length novel in the future.

  You can stay in touch at https://akrosewrites.wordpress.com or akrosewrites@outlook.com. Your emails are the highlight of my day, and I very much appreciate your outreach.

  -A.K

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Behind every writer—published or not—there’s a team of people that supports them, lifts them up, and tells them to just keep writing, even when they feel like they shouldn’t. I’m incredibly lucky to have a few folks that have been instrumental in the ongoing journey of finding my literary voice, and wanted to send a few extra special thank you notes.

  Bonnie, the best beta reader, plot counselor, and adviser I could ask for.

  Jo, who pushed me to re-think a few critical elements and keep this story going.

  Lauren, an incredible editor who has taught me a lot about the art of what gets left out.

  Lisa, my pseudo-therapist who has relentlessly encouraged me to keep writing, no matter what.

  Tamara, who insists that voices in my head are perfectly normal, and to let them tell me what they need to say.

  And, to my own Dani California, who has gone along with my crazy ideas for fifteen years, and who doesn’t care what I write about, as long as I’m having fun. Love doesn’t get any deeper than that.