I peer into the mirror and adjust the sky-blue sash around my waist. The hand-sewn pearls on my heart-shaped bodice catch the light and glow in understated way, and my satin skirt drapes down to the floor elegantly. I’m not a vain person, but I think it’s probably impossible to look at yourself on your wedding day and not think you’re beautiful.

And my wedding day is finally here.

My mom steps into view behind me and reaches out to touch the ends of her fingers to my hair. “You look so gorgeous, honey. He’s going to fall over.”

“I hope not,” I say. “He needs to stay upright at least through the ceremony.”

Bri laughs and hands Mom my veil. Together, they nest it in the curls piled on top of my head, getting the little tiara just so, and draping both layers to fall down my back.

“Are you sure you don’t want this in front, baby?” Mom asks.

“Garrett knows what I look like,” I say. I don’t want to walk down the aisle with a veil over my face; I don’t need to be unwrapped.

Bri pulls at the short train of my gown, getting it lined up properly. It’s almost time to go out and meet my husband. I feel like I should be nervous, but I’m not. Stepping into a new life together feels like the exact right thing to do, and I can’t believe we didn’t figure it out sooner.

But maybe all that happened exactly as it should. We almost missed each other, sure, but what matters is what we have now.

Bri hands me my bouquet, and then picks up her own. She’s my only bridesmaid; Garrett and I managed to keep our wedding small and intimate. Just families and our closest friends. That’s all we need.

That, and each other.

My whole being warms as I think about him. I haven’t seen him since yesterday, when Levi, Garrett’s dad, and my dad—of all people—took him off to his bachelor party.

“Don’t be all smelly and hungover,” I said as they were leaving.

Levi snorted. “You have so little faith in us.”

“No,” I said, “I’ve been out with you guys too often.”

Garrett’s dad leaned across the front seat of the car. “It’s okay, Beck, they’re with me.”

Great. Deeper pockets for the bail money. But I smiled and waved, and off they went.

I didn’t have a bachelorette party; instead, I had a spa day with my mom, Garrett’s mom, and Bri. We spent the whole day—and a hell of a lot of money—and got massages and mani-pedis and were just generally pampered all day.

I also ate like a damn pig, which I probably shouldn’t have. The dour seamstress at the wedding shop had warned me for months that I couldn’t gain any weight if I wanted to fit into my dress. So I’d been very careful … until yesterday.

I figure the sauna sweated off at least half of what I ate, anyway—and the dress fits, which is what matters.

“You look so happy,” Mom says, and I turn to see tears in her eyes.

“Oh, Mom.” I hug her. “There’s no reason to cry. Everything is exactly how it should be.”

“I know,” she said. “That’s what I’m crying about. It’s so wonderful.”

“It really is,” I say. And it is. It’s the most wonderful thing I could ever have imagined—and it’s only going to get better. I lay my hand on my stomach and think about the birth control pills I threw in the trash yesterday. Garret and I are planning to start a family right away—after all, family is what matters most to us. The family we’ve always been, and the family we’ll create together.

A couple of kids, maybe even three—we’re both only children, and want something different for our own. They’ll have a big yard to play in; Garrett’s parents gave us a down payment as our wedding present, and we bought a house in Blue Swan Cove. Garrett objected at first, because of my commute—but grad school isn’t forever, and our life together will be. Settling near our parents and our jobs and our friends was the right choice.

The house is already full of my dad’s paintings and the things my mom passed down to me from her mother—knick-knacks and a hope chest and a beautiful old quilt rack, plus the things Garrett’s parents gave him, and the things we chose together to complete our home. The old and the new. Our family, stretching back as far as I could see, and into the future as well.

Garrett is finishing up his second year at law school, and my first year of my master’s was just about done as well. We’ll finish our degrees at the same time and settle into the life I didn’t even know I wanted, until I didn’t want anything else.

There’s a knock on the door, and Garrett’s mom pokes her head in. “Are you ready? Oh, Beck!” She puts both hands over her mouth and just shakes her head like she can’t believe it.

“Don’t you cry, Jessica,” my mom says. “Your makeup.”

“Oh, screw my makeup,” Garrett’s mom says, but she pats just under her bottom lashes delicately with her pinky finger.

“Let’s go take our seats.” My mom turns to me. “Are you ready, sweetheart?”

“Mom, I’m so ready.”

They walk out, and Bri gives me a quick, hard hug. “Let’s do this,” she says, and as if on cue, the band starts playing.

It’s time.

I walk to the door, and Bri steps out just ahead of me. We make our way down the short hallway to a heavy velvet curtain that holds my whole life on the other side. My dad is waiting, his eyes suspiciously shiny. He leans down and kisses my cheek softly. “My girl,” he says, and nothing more.

Bri looks at me, her eyes shining. “Ready?”

“More than.”

She nudges the curtain aside and steps out. I wait, my hand in the crook of my father’s arm, counting slowly to thirty. It’s the longest thirty seconds of my life.

Then it’s my turn. We step through the curtain and my eyes go immediately to Garrett, standing next to Levi, looking handsome in a black tux. My best friend. My lover.

My husband, in just a few short minutes. I tremble all over.

When he sees me, his eyes light up and a grin spreads across his face.

Dad and I make our way down the aisle, and at the end of it, Dad places my hand in Garrett’s, then takes a seat beside my mother.

Garrett squeezes my hand. I squeeze his back, and try to put everything I’m feeling into my eyes. I think it must be working, because I see it reflected in his.

Then we turn to the pastor, and start our future.

Together.