Childbirth. The whole idea is barbaric. With all the technology in the world, you’d think they could have developed a better system than this, but nope! I’ve been poked and prodded, hooked up to IVs and monitors, and given a delicious lunch of ice chips and water. For the second time this year, I find myself dressed in white sitting in a hospital room. Only this time, I’m the patient.

What.

The.

Fuck?

As a stabbing pain tears through my gut, I double over, clutching my middle with a pathetic whimper. The contractions are a steady five minutes apart. It could be hours before there’s any kind of real activity, but here I sit, all dressed up with nowhere to go. Another wedding day ruined by circumstance. What are the odds? Fate is fucking with me. Dangling this carrot of normalcy just out of reach. So close, yet still so far. I refuse to take this lying down. Well, technically I’ll be lying down—they just wheeled in my epidural—but I digress.

I’m tired of waiting in this absurd limbo. It’s been a bitch of a year, a broken carnival ride that spins and spins without end. Well, I feel like throwing up and just want to get off already. Go on something simpler, like the teacups or the Ferris wheel. Something that moves slowly and easily at a nice, comfortable pace. For fuck’s sake, I want to marry Chase, have our baby, and settle into our life together.

Is that too much to ask?

“How are we feeling?” the anesthesiologist asks in a tone that’s a little too chipper for my liking. I flash him daggers, turning my lips down in a pout. “I see we had other plans today.”

Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. What was your first clue?

“Nothing important,” I reply, smiling sweetly.

“Well, you have some visitors waiting in the hall. We’ll get you comfortable, and then they can come in. Come sit on the edge of the bed.” Kicking my legs over the side, I sit up and wait as he instructs Chase to stand in front of me and hold my hands while I curl forward.

Oddly enough, the lyrics to “Comfortably Numb” roll through my head. An icy blast slithers up my spine as the drug does its job, and soon enough, my legs are nothing but two useless hunks of meat.

I settle back in bed, any residual pain melting away. “Everything okay?” Chase slides his hand into mine, warmth radiating from his crystal gaze.

“Super,” I reply with a reassuring grin. “Can you send everyone in?” I ask the anesthesiologist as he packs up to leave.

His pleasant voice echoes in the bustling hall. A split second later, Nikos materializes in the doorway. Wavy black hair shines in the light. He’s handsome. Strong brows and razor-edged jaw. A carbon copy of our father but less intense around the eyes. He smiles as he enters, his wife, Anna, and the priest not far behind. “Hey, Nikos. Thanks for coming.”

“How am I gonna give you away from a hospital bed?”

“It’s symbolic.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Anna adds. She settles next to me and rests her palms on the giant white hump sticking up between us. “Don’t you come out until Mommy and Daddy say I do!” she speaks to my stomach while Nikos sets up an iPad from the corner of the room. Athena’s smiling face pops on the screen.

“‘Thene!” I squeal.

“If you think I’d miss this, Kitty, you’re nuts! Hey, Chase.” Chase smiles and waves.

A moment later, Lainie arrives with Erik. I quirk a questioning brow. Lainie just shrugs, her light pink hair tied in a neat bun at the back of her head, little curly tendrils falling around her neck and ears. She’s dressed in a strapless Dolce that emphasizes her tiny waist. I’m instantly jealous. “Oh my gosh, Kat, this is, like, the most romantic thing I’ve ever witnessed in my life!” she gushes, running up to hug me. Her heels clack along the floor in a quick succession, the scents of lavender and cardamom wafting off her. “Don’t ask,” she whispers in my ear before untangling her embrace. She turns and grabs Chase next as Erik walks farther into the room.

“Hope it’s okay that I’m here.”

“Why wouldn’t it be okay? You’re my best friend. You belong here.” A sudden wave of emotion hits all at once. It dampens my eyes and constricts my throat, making the sentiment stall on my lips. My gaze scans the crowd gathered around me. There was a time I felt so alone on this Earth that I was stuck, my feet lodged in the sand, unable to move. I lived that way for so many years. I navigated the world with blinders on, never accepting the support standing behind me.

All I ever wanted, all I ever needed is here in my arms. We don’t always see eye to eye, but when push comes to shove, these six smiling faces have always been there when I needed them most. “You all belong here. You’re my family, blood or not. There are no words to thank you for everything you’ve done for me this year. For us,” I weep, reaching out to touch Chase’s hand.

His fingers wrap around mine and squeeze. “Well said, baby.”

Grabbing a tissue, I dab my eyes. “Let’s do this!”

All around me, my family gathers in. Father Eliades stands at the foot of my bed and opens his bible. “The rings?” Nikos digs into his pocket and drops the bands in the priest’s right hand. He blesses them and makes the sign of the cross over our heads. The Orthodox religion doesn’t waste time with traditional vows. Chase and I are joined together in faith, and in oneness of mind, in truth, and in love. The sacrament is a union, not a contract.

Later, Chase and I will exchange our own vows privately. Promises we made, we’ll share with one another when the dust clears, and we have a moment alone. We don’t need to prove our love to the world. That little piece will be ours to cherish.

Prayers are said, rings are exchanged, and through it all, the light shining in Chase’s eyes reflects everything I’m feeling at this very moment. It’s unconventional and strange, but then again, so are we. A wayward alcoholic and a devastated drug user. The idea has disaster written all over it, but somehow, it worked. We’re damaged and broken and fucked up beyond repair, but our torn and jagged edges fit. Apart, were two fractured souls. Together, we’re flawless.

“By virtue of the authority vested in me as an officiant, and the laws of this state, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate. You may kiss the bride!”

A riot of cheers breaks out in the small delivery room as Chase leans in and presses his lips to mine. It’s not what I planned, but I wouldn’t change it.

Today, we became husband and wife. Soon, we’ll be parents.

One story ends, another begins.