Epilogue – Bryn

One Year Later…

“Do you think your dad and Sara will be okay for the long weekend?” Rebekah asks me as we step off the plane. “I’m a little nervous leaving Holly with them. I know they’ve had her overnight, but this is longer…”

“Holly is talking now!” I remind her. “Enough to say what she wants anyway, they will be fine. Plus, Dad has your Mom on call so there are other people around to help Holly out. And he will just ring us. You need to stop worrying! It’s going to be okay. I know this is the first time away in another country, but it’ll be fine.” I step back and let her see the view from the airport window. “And we’re in Hawaii, so it’s time to chill out.”

A smile spreads across her face as she looks at where we’re going to be staying. I started arranging this trip a while back with a surprise in mind, and now it’s time for that plan to happen. I absolutely cannot wait.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Rebekah nods slowly. “We can get back at a moment’s notice anyway.”

I take her hand and guide her outside once we have our baggage, tossing my head back as the heat of the sun washes over me. God, I need this, just as much as Rebekah does. Much as being a parent is the best thing that ever happened to me, it’s tiring. It’s hard to juggle parenting, a social life, a working life, and a romantic life. Sometimes things just have to give, which is why me and Rebekah need this time to be just us.

“Let’s get a cab to the apartment,” I say happily. “Then I think we should take a trip to the beach.”

“Ooh, the beach! Yes please.” Thank God Rebekah sounds excited for that plan. “Sounds amazing.”

We step into the nearest cab and whiz towards our home for the next few days. Both of us stare out the window, staring at the view, but our hands are interlinked the entire time. Even when we’re doing our own thing or things are a little hard, the love that we have for each other always shines through. The chemical connection between us overshadows everything else. That’s what I will always cling to above everything else.

Me and Rebekah go into our apartment and we’re immediately blown away by how lovely it is. It’s modern, but with a beachy feel, and a pool out the back. The perfect place for me and Rebekah to relax. Actually, a great place for us to bring Holly when she’s a little bit older. I’m sure she will absolutely love this. Especially as it’s within walking distance of the beach. That’s one of the best things about this place.

“Do I have time to change?” Rebekah asks me. “I’d love to get a nice dress on for the beach.”

I squeeze her hand in mine. “Of course, you take as long as you want. I will wait.”

As she leaves the room, I pace up and down nervously, going over the plans in my mind. I know I have it all done, but I can’t stop myself from nervously ticking everything off in my mind. I want this to be perfect.

“Right.” Rebekah comes out in a sweet looking white gossamer dress that almost makes me chuckle. She’s wearing the perfect thing without even realizing it. She looks absolutely gorgeous. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

As we walk towards the beach, I can feel the nerves getting better of me. I’m sure that Rebekah must be able to feel me shaking with anxiety, but to her credit, she says nothing. At least not until she gets to the beach and she sees what I’ve set up. A small but very pretty little ceremony that’s just for us.

“What is this?” she gasps. “Have you done this? Is this for me?”

I turn and give her a smile. “I did, and I did it because one year ago I proposed to you, and when I did I had the intention of marrying you in a wonderful, grand ceremony not long afterwards. Unfortunately, life got in the way, our darling little Holly was born, and it just hasn’t happened. And now… well, correct me if I’m wrong because I can change everything if you don’t like it, but now I think that we don’t want the big ceremony, we don’t need to fuss and the expense, plus the stress of organizing it all. I figure a little, romantic elope would be better. That’s why I set this all up here… and then we are already on our honeymoon too.”

I pause while I wait for her to answer. I chew down on my bottom lip, suddenly wondering if I’ve made a huge mistake. Maybe Rebekah has always been dreaming of a big white wedding and I’ve taken that away from her. That wasn’t what I want to do, I thought this would be romantic, that’s all.

“I love this!” Rebekah’s voice bursts through my shock barrier. “I absolutely love this, it’s perfect.”

“You do?” I cock my head curiously and examine her face while I check in on her. “Because we don’t have to… I can change this all, I can do something else, we can get married at home…”

“I want to do this,” she reassures me. “I love it. This is so romantic.” She giggles the most wonderful sound. “And now I’m on my honeymoon too. That’s awesome. And we can always have a party when we get back.”

“Yeah of course! If you want to. We can have our parents there, our friends, the guys from the team, the cheerleaders… whoever you want.” Ah, the cheerleaders. They keep wanting her back on the team but Rebekah doesn’t feel ready yet. Still, she’s maintained her friendships with them and I’m sure it’ll happen in the end. I’m not about to push Rebekah, she’s enjoying being a mom at the moment, she isn’t ready for more. “That’s nice.”

Rebekah grabs my hand and she drags me towards the wedding, her excitement levels growing, and I feel myself look forward to it again. There is something incredibly romantic about getting married in secret, just the two of us, with only strangers around. The big weddings are for other people, not us. This is solely for me and Rebekah which is what drew me to the plan in the first place. The intimacy and romance.

Very quickly, upon seeing the woman who I have video called with a lot while planning this wedding, the music kicks into gear. Rebekah gives me a happy look as we walk down the sweet aisle. There are flower petals dotted everywhere, the sun is beaming brightly, and me and Rebekah are in our most natural states. To me, this is perfect, I wouldn’t have it any other way in the world. Even the vicar and the photographer are barefoot in the sand, looking more relaxed. This couldn’t be more opposite from a church wedding if it tried!

We make it to the vicar who is standing there smiling at us both. Without even pausing for breath, he launches into the ceremonial words. “We have Bryn Whitting and Rebekah Swartz here, am I right?” We nod. “Good okay, then we are gathered here today on this beach in the bright sunshine…” I chuckle at this. “To join you in marriage…” As he goes through the early part of the ceremony, discussing the legal sides of things, I tune him out. I don’t care about all of that part, all I care about is the beautiful woman in front of me. I run my eyes up and down her, looking at her light colored hair, her sparkling eyes, her high cheek bones, her sexy curves, her gorgeous stature, and I feel like I’m the luckiest man alive. I cannot believe this is the woman who is about to be my wife. There is a giant smile on my face, one that is matched on her face.

Then it was my time to speak and repeat after the vicar. “I, Bryn Whitting, take you Rebekah Swartz to be my lawfully wedded wife, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”

Then Rebekah says the same, but she adds her own little bit in at the end. “…I promise to love you forever, just like you know, because you are the man of my dreams and I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Tears ball up behind my eyes, I can feel emotion getting the better of me. I’m not usually one for crying, but this, aside from the birth of my daughter, is the happiest day of my life. “I love you too,” I whisper, trying to keep myself under control for as long as I can. “So, so much. You have no idea how much I love you.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” the vicar says to us both happily. “You may now kiss the bride.”

I feel a deep sense of satisfaction as I lean down to press my lips to that of my bride’s. Rebekah Swartz, now Rebekah Whitting, is the most wonderful woman in the world, and now she’s mine forever.

“What do you think about a honeymoon baby?” I ask with a smirk. “Give our little baby a brother or sister?”

I’m only half joking, but I don’t expect her to nod and quite seriously agree with me. “Yeah, I think we should try. I want to have a basketball team of babies so we better start now, hadn’t we?”

I can’t stop laughing as I look into her eyes. “You are crazy, you know that?” I kiss her again. “But that’s why I love you. Yeah, sure whatever you want. Let’s have all the children in the world.”

We are then taken to sign all the paperwork, to make our marriage official, and as we do I make a silent promise to myself that I will continue to do whatever I can to make this woman happy. There was a time, although not for very long, where I left her alone and very confused, and that upset her. We might be way past that now, but I won’t do it again. I’ll do whatever I can to make the woman that I love happy. Forever.

Finally, she’s mine, finally, I’ve started playing for keeps.