Theo and I were married only six months after we connected in New York. It was a winter wedding, so we decided to do it in Florida. Theo invited about twenty people from New York and Canada, and I invited fifty or so of my family and closest friends.
It was a small but beautiful church wedding that we held in a quaint little chapel before throwing a party at our neighbor's house. My parents had a nice place, but our neighbors had an elaborate spread, and (as long-time family friends) they were happy to let us use their place for a reception.
The wedding was at 4pm, followed by dinner and dancing at the reception. It was a special day. At the reception, I told the story of what happened in Canada when I got to witness Theo hand our waitress a bag full of cash. I left out the details such as where he got it and the fact that it contained over sixty-thousand-dollars, but I did tell the story (with Theo's permission, of course).
We both recounted the story of meeting when we were kids. We went back and forth, telling different details we remembered. This segment was funny since we both had very different perceptions of what went on back then. We knew we loved each other, though—in spite of being kids and having a severe language barrier.
***
"Y'all should tell that story again," Zoe said, as we rode the elevator to the S&S gallery on the first floor.
"The one from when y'all were kids in Canada."
A month had passed since our wedding in Florida, but Theo and I had been on our honeymoon since then and had only been back in New York for a day. The crew at Shower & Shelter planned a wedding party for Theo and me since most of them hadn't been able to make it to the wedding.
Everyone was there—even past tenants and old friends that I had never met. Theo and I knew there was going to be a wedding party, but neither of us had any idea about the magnitude of it until the elevator opened and we saw how crowded it was.
There must have been at least two hundred people. The gallery was packed. Theo didn't have any family, but the outpouring of love I saw for him was humbling. People came out of the woodwork to celebrate our wedding and tell him how much he had impacted their lives. S&S was like a big family, and I was thrilled to be a part of it.
We had just told the story from when we were kids, and now we were just mingling with everyone and enjoying drinks and snacks. Theo went across the room with Lane to meet an artist who had recently applied for a spot at S&S. Lane was impressed with him, and wanted to make sure Theo made his acquaintance at the party.
The staff had brought big, round tables into the gallery for the occasion, and I was sitting at one of them, talking to some of Theo's closest friends while he and Lane went to meet the artist.
Sarah and Collin were sitting at our table along with Lu and Joe, and Macy and Ethan. Macy's sister, Tabitha, was there alone because her husband had been up and down taking photos. Zoe and I made conversation with Tabitha since she was sitting close to us. Zoe was asking her about these woolen dolls Tabitha made, and Tabitha showed us a few pictures of them on her phone. She custom-made them to resemble actual people, and I marveled at some of the familiar faces I saw in her work. I had met Tabitha before and I knew she made dolls, but I had never seen them.
All of the couples on the other side of the table had commissioned her to make them keepsakes, and all of them chimed in on our conversation, saying how fun it was to see what she came up with. Sarah had a picture of her and Collin's, and I compared them to the actual couple, remarking on how cool and creative they were.
I glanced up from looking at Sarah's phone and realized that Theo and Lane were headed back to our table. I couldn't believe he was mine. He was the star of the show, the man of the hour, and he loved me with his whole heart. He had on a dark suit. He had recently taken off the tie and unbuttoned the collar, and he walked toward me looking dashing. He smiled at me when we made eye contact. He licked his lips, and not in an embarrassing, cheesy way, but in a way that made me feel all warm and melty inside. I made a cute little helpless face at the way he left me breathless, and he smiled as he continued to stride toward me.
Lane sat next to Zoe, and Theo came to sit in the chair next to me. In one quick motion, he pulled me onto his lap. I went easily and willingly, smiling at him as I adjusted on his leg.
He leaned up and kissed me.
"Oh, my gosh, y'all. They are so in love," Zoe said from right next to us. The statement made both of us smile, but we didn’t take our eyes off of each other.
"I know something Caroline wants," Macy said from the other side of the table. Neither of us looked at her, but I could see her out of the corner of my eye and knew she was the one talking.
Theo's hand came around my thigh. He was being discreet, but his touch made me forget to breathe. "What does Caroline want?" he asked, talking to Macy but smiling at me and the fact that I was thoroughly breathless as a result of his touch.
"You need to hire my sister to make you some dolls," Macy said. "Caroline likes them."
"I do," I said. "You should see those dolls she makes."
He nodded, wearing a little half-smile. "Good, great, sounds great. I think she should definitely make us some."
"Me too," I said, smiling and not taking my eyes off of him.
"It's a miracle!" Lu said from the other side of the table. "Not just your Canada story, or the medical stuff, but the fact that Theo is acting like this. It's a freaking miracle. It was her or nothing, I guess."
"You're right," Theo said, talking to Lu, but still holding my gaze. "It was her or nothing."
So, there it was.
There you have it.
There's the story of my full ride into the sunset. I found the man of my dreams in Theo Duval. He believed you should love God, love others, make art, and be yourself. And I had to say, I agreed with him.
It seemed as if the whole crew at S&S got their own happy ending, but after more than twenty-one years of build-up and anticipation, I had to believe mine and Theo's was the sweetest.
The End
Thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed the Shower & Shelter Artist Collective series.