I stand at the altar with Pop beside me. Alex is next to him, and Alex is so nervous he can barely stand still. I motion for him to come to me, and then drop down in front of him and straighten his tie. We’re all wearing khaki pants, button-down shirts, and flip flops. Pop said a man doesn’t get married without a tie, so we let Trixie pick them out. We are all wearing the most absurd bowties known to mankind. Pop’s is purple paisley, Alex’s is red with Minnie Mouse ears all over it, Fred’s is a cluster of palm trees, and mine reminds me of a swirly psychedelic hippie flower.

The lake is our backdrop for the wedding. It’s my favorite place in the world, and I couldn’t imagine formally joining my life with Katie’s anywhere else than in this place where we met all those years ago.

I haven’t told her yet about Pop’s offer, and I’ll be happy no matter what her decision is, but I’d be lying if I said I want to go back to New York. I want to stay here, in this magical place, so we can give our children the same kind of childhood I had.

We stand beneath a simple white arbor, and there are rows of chairs draped in ribbons that blow and twirl in the breeze like streamers on a moving bicycle. In the front row we have Adam, and Adam’s twin sister Carole. Genetically, she’s Katie’s mother, and I’m glad she showed up today. She spent last evening with Katie and Gabby, doing girly things that moms and daughters do, and I know she brought a sense of peace to Katie.

Behind them are Jeff’s parents the Stones, and his sister. Jeff’s mother is holding Hank in her arms. He’s jumping and making cooing noises at her, patting her face. She blows into his fist and he opens his mouth wide, landing on her face. She’s glowing. I’m glad they showed up, because Katie needed to see them. She needed their acceptance on this day.

The letter they left for me touched me deeply. I locked it in my safe so that I can keep it forever. When times get tough, I might look back at it and remember Jeff’s suggestions. I’m honored that I somehow have his approval.

The rest of the chairs are filled with people I know from work, a few of Katie’s friends from home, and people from the complex who are now our friends. My police chief is here, too. He walked up to me and looked at me over the rims of his glasses. “I told you to get a dog, Jake. I didn’t tell you to get a whole damn family.”

I shrugged, smiled, shook his hand, told him that the dog was one of the best things I ever did—reuniting with Katie and acquiring her family was the very best thing I ever did—and then someone ushered him to a seat, along with his wife.

Trixie and Sally appear at the end of the aisle. She tells Sally to sit, and the damn dog plops his fat rear end right down. He slurps Trixie up the side of her face and she giggles. I can hear her all the way at the other end of the aisle.

Sally’s fur is still coming in on one side from the emergency surgery that saved his life, and he has some scars that will never fade entirely. Trixie says they give him character. I think he has enough character for a dozen dogs. Right now, he’s wearing a purple tutu and his nails are painted pink.

I hear Carole whisper to Adam, “You two would have a granddog who’s a cross dresser.”

Adam playfully elbows her in the side and she clamps her lips together. I chuckle into my fist. Carole winks at me. I wink back.

Pop, Alex, and Fred stand with me, and I watch as Trixie passes out white carnations to everyone who came to watch us get married. She takes her time with it, and Sally watches her every move. Then she goes to stand with Laura and Gabby, who are waiting on the other side of the altar. Sally sits at her feet.

The music changes suddenly and everyone rises. Katie steps out where I can see her. All the hair on my arms stands up. My mouth goes dry. My jaw falls open. My heart starts to thud.

She’s holding tightly to Dan’s arm. Originally, she asked both her parents to walk her down the aisle, but Adam declined. He said he’d be too nervous to walk, and that he wanted to enjoy it from the aisle seat.

Katie smiles at me as she walks slowly toward me. Her dark hair is piled high on her head, exposing her long, slender neck. Dampness burns my eyes when I see that she’s wearing my mother’s pearl necklace. I’d recognize it in my sleep. I’d recognize it with my eyes closed. I’d know it anywhere. I even know it around Katie’s neck.

I look at Pop and find him choking back tears. “You’re welcome,” he whispers. I wipe my eyes and clear my throat.

Damn, she’s beautiful. And having her here, in this place where it all started…well, that makes this even better. It makes it perfect.

She and Dan step up beside me. “Hi Jake,” she says. She sniffs and wipes her cheek. “You look very handsome.”

“You take my breath away,” I mutter.

“You guys want to wait until I go sit down?” Dan asks out of the corner of his mouth.

“Not really,” I say at the same time Katie says, “No, thank you.” We both laugh, and Dan lets out a chuckle too.

The pastor starts the ceremony, and asks who gives this woman to be married. Adam jumps to his feet and he, Dan, Gabby, Alex, and Trixie all scream at once, “We do!”

Katie laughs and Dan kisses her cheek, places her hand in mine, and goes to sit. I see him slip his hand inside Adam’s, and Adam leans against him for support.

We get to the vows, and Katie turns to face me.

“Hi Jake,” she whispers.

“Hi Katie,” I whisper back.

“The couple has written their own vows,” the pastor says. He motions to Katie.

“Hi Jake,” she whispers again.

“Hi Katie,” I whisper back. Again.

Katie’s voice is strong and sure when she goes on. “I fell in love with you when I was sixteen years old, Jake. And right then, I wasn’t ready to be your wife. I needed to do a few things, meet a few people, have a few children, and then I had to find my way back to you. But when I got here, here you were. You were open and willing, and I think you fell in love with my kids at the same time that you fell back in love with me.”

I chuckle. “I did.”

“I promise, Jake, to love you through all things, forgive you through all things, and persevere with you through all things. I promise to forgive easily, to love honestly, and to value you always. I love you, Jake, and I want to feel like this forever. I hope you’ll be a father to my kids, a husband to me, a friend to everyone, and I hope we die still loving one another the same way we do today, if not more.”

She wipes her eyes again. “Your turn,” she whispers.

“I fell in love with you, Katie, when I was sixteen years old. I wasn’t ready then, though, because we both had a lot to learn. We had to grow and change so we could be ready for one another when the time came, and I have to tell you, Katie…” I lean toward her and say loudly, “I am so ready for you!”

The wedding guests let out a tiny ripple of laughter, but I carry on. “I promise to listen when you talk, I promise to talk in a way that will make you want to listen, and I promise to work together with you on all things all the days of my life. For as long as I get to keep you, I will cherish you and the children you bring with you into this marriage. I know I won’t be their father, but I hope I get to have a special place in their lives. But even more than that, I promise to love you, Katie, in the best way I know how.”

Katie smiles at me.

“Oh,” I say. “I also promise to humanely trap and release every rodent that ever tries to do you harm, and I promise never to let those gnarly beasts harm your kids in the process.”

Katie tosses her head back and laughs. A wave of laughter spreads through the wedding guests.

The pastor speaks for a few more minutes, we exchange rings, and I finally get to kiss her. She lifts her arms around my neck, holds on tight, and kisses me back. I lean down close to her ear. “You feel like summertime,” I tell her. I watch her eyes. They tell me everything.

Mrs. Stone passes Hank to Katie. She motions to her kids, and they come to join us. I kneel down and wrap my arms around all of them and Sally licks the side of my face. I scoop Trixie up. “Why did you put my dog in a tutu?” I ask her.

“He likes the tutu,” Trixie says, as if it’s obvious. “And he looks really pretty in a tutu.”

I never thought I could be this happy. Summertime for a lifetime.