One year later at the wedding…

“I’m freaking out. I want to see Cole,” I said, glancing out of the window.

“Oh, stop that,” Kinnat said. “You know the rules. He’s not allowed to see you until the ceremony starts. It’s bad luck.”

Peter was now a one year old, which meant he was starting to grow more and more responsive, as well as needier. I had him in my lap, but he just wouldn’t sit still. He started wailing loudly, reaching for my chest.

“Ugh. Screw the rules and superstition. And I’m sorry, Peter. No milk for you right now. I have to keep my suit stain-free,” I said.

I found myself closing the blinds and playing by their rules anyway. I despised a lot of traditions, such as the ones that my old family followed, but this was a wedding, and I wanted it to feel like one.

Kinnat laughed at my goofiness and sat down next to me. He took Peter out of my hands and calmed him down. “You look so handsome, Piper,” he said. “Cole is going to freak out. Just wait.”

But it was so damn hard for me to sit still! I kept glancing at the clock, waiting for the minutes to turn, but time seemed to slow down. Finally, after what felt like days, I heard the music echoing from the large field.

Cole and I decided to have the wedding here because it was on the side of a beautiful mountain. The field was adjacent to a cliff that overlooked the whole town. This was going to be our new home, away from the city and our past in general.

“It’s time, my dear,” Kinnat said. He walked up behind me and dusted my suit off. “Okay. Perfect. You ready?”

I nodded, feeling my throat tighten. I was ready to marry Cole, but I was nervous about the ceremony. Luckily, the size of the crowd was incredibly small, so when I walked out, I felt my fears wash away.

When I saw Cole, I nearly ran into his arms. In a lot of ways, it was hard not to walk with our parents down the aisle, but we were forging a new path together. Instead, we came out from opposite sides. We united in the center and walked together toward the altar.

It was a stunning day. The sun was bright enough to draw the green of the plants out, but it wasn’t too hot. It was just right. This was the wedding I had always dreamed of. The audience and music paused for our vows.

“Cole. When I first met you, I knew you’d change my life. I’ll admit that I was scared. No, I was terrified. The backlash we were going to face was so daunting to me. I never thought we’d get through it. Then, we were forced to separate,” I said, taking a small breath before continuing again. Cole was already crying silently. He never once looked away from me.

“I resented you. I’ll admit that too. I thought you left me behind, never to think about me again. I didn’t know there were different ways to live, and I resented the fact that you found a way out. I lived ten long years without love,” I said. Tears formed in my eyes. “But then, you came back for me. Not only did you return. You enlightened me. You showed me a new way of living. You got me out of that hellhole. Now, we are equals. We are completely in love. We have the best family in the world. I truly believe in this and us, forever. I believe that our love spans throughout time.”

The audience couldn’t hold back their tears either. The sounds of the audience’s loud nose-blowing echoed off of the mountain. It was Cole’s turn to make everyone sob their brains out now, including myself.

“Piper. You were the cutest guy in the whole school. I immediately noticed your peaceful demeanor, but I couldn’t find the confidence to say hi to you. It took me a full month. And do you remember how I talked to you?” Cole asked. I nodded, biting hard against my lips.

“I bumped into you in the hallway. I completely tripped on my face. I looked so foolish, and my face was red with embarrassment. I nearly ran away from the situation, but you took my hand. You whispered, ‘it’s okay.’ The way you looked into my eyes… nobody looked at me like you did. I just knew that you understood me,” Cole said.

“After that, I couldn’t stop being near you. I couldn’t get enough of Piper. I was rebellious and crazy, and I just had to scream our love from every rooftop in town. The only problem was that everyone was against our love. That, of course, was a huge problem,” Cole said. “I had to leave, and I was too young to know how to bring you with me. I was stupid and naïve. I was so afraid of my father. But then tragedy struck, and my father passed away. Somehow, this brought us together. Life is like that sometimes, I guess. Through the power of our love, we had a perfect, darling baby. Now, we have everything in the world. I’ll never give this up. I’ll never stop kissing you in the morning, even with my bad breath. I’ll never stop staring into your beautiful eyes, even when I have cataracts. I’ll never stop admiring your wonderful soul, Piper. We have the world to look forward to. Let’s get married.”

The whole audience was a sloppy, sob party. Dylan and Kinnat were both wailing as loud as our baby. Cole and I both had the rings ready. First, he placed his ring on my finger. Then, I put my ring on his. Everybody clapped and wiped their tears away.

“Party time!” I shouted.

Pelada, the band that our English teacher showed us stepped onto the stage. They powered on their synthesizers and started playing loudly. We ran toward the dance floor. I put out my arm and Cole took my hand. He turned me around until twisted into his chest. Then, he spun me back out. The whole crowd of friends followed suit.

This is how we wanted to live out our lives now. We had a new community, one that didn’t care too much about following all of the rules. It was full of people who loved life and wanted to experience as much good as they could feel.

When the song changed, Cole picked me up into his arms. I was entirely out of breath and dizzy with happiness. I found my companion again, the man that completed me. That was all that mattered.

End