Chapter Fourteen
Derek
In the end, it turned out that nearly everyone wanted to make the trip out to the farm to drop their desserts off personally. Which left me with no choice but to invite them all to stay for the wedding. I figured it was the least I could do.
It put me at the front of a long line of cars, my own personal parade. I don't think I'd ever appreciated how much fun could be had in making a grand entrance. The small gleam of approval my invitation brought to Hailey's eyes was a nice perk as well.
The first person I ran into on my return was Wyatt. "It's about time you got your ass back here," he grumbled.
"What's wrong?" I asked, as I tossed him his keys. "You miss me?" Over all, the cake situation had worked out in my favor. It had let me be the hero who'd just saved the day. And I'm not saying the hailstorm had been anyone's fault. But I wasn't altogether ready to let my brother—or anyone who'd laughed about it—off the hook just yet.
"You wish," Wyatt scoffed. "But lemme ask you something, son, do I look like I'm wearing a shirt that says 'fireman'?"
Mystified, I glanced involuntarily at his chest. "What're you talking about Wy?"
"I'm talking about how you left me here putting out fires, that's what."
"Something else caught fire? Are you kidding me? What now?"
Wyatt's mouth dropped open. "It's a metaphor! Jeez, what's with you two? Imma get you matching dictionaries for a wedding present, see if I don't."
I had no idea what he was talking about, and there was no time to ask because Gabby was calling my name. I turned and caught my first glimpse of my bride.
She came running down the path from the house like a runaway angel, wearing a dress that looked like a piece of Nebraska sky. She was beautiful. Breathtaking. More goddesslike than ever.
My knees went weak. I actually had to clutch Wyatt's arm for support. "Would you look at that?"
"Dayum," my brother murmured appreciatively. "I have got to get me one of those."
"The dress?"
"No, dummy. The girl."
I gave him a shove. "Get your own girl. This one's mine."
"Well, that's what I just said, isn't it?" He turned away, but not before giving Gabby a nod, and a smile, and a two-thumbs-up gesture—and a look that brought a blush to her cheeks. I filed that away to ask about later.
"What did you do?" she asked, eyeing the procession of baked goods that were making their way into the barn.
"Exactly what I said I'd do." I put my hands on her waist and drew her close. "We had a problem with the cake, so I fixed it."
"I'll say!" Then she hit me with that smile, leaving me no choice but to kiss her.
Now, I know what you're probably thinking, that it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the ceremony, right? But let's be serious, for a minute. What could possibly make things worse?
"I still don't understand," Gabby said when she finally pulled back. "What are all these people doing here?"
"You know the other day, how you were complaining that everyone at the wedding was your friend not mine?"
Gabby wrinkled her nose. "That's not exactly what I said, but okay..."
"So, I went out and made some new friends, and invited them."
"Is that right?" Gabby broke off to wave to an older woman who was passing by, carrying a German chocolate cake. "Hi, Mrs. Bennett. Thank you for coming. And for the cake!" She turned back to me and shook her head. "You know what though, I can't help noticing how so many of your new friends look a lot like my old friends."
"Of course. That's how this marriage thing works. What's yours is mine, right?"
"I guess so," she murmured as she slid her arms around my neck and kissed me again.
I left Gabby to greet our guests, and hurried off to get changed into my suit. When I got back, Mick waved me over, saying, "Come and meet Bodhi."
As I shook hands with Mick's friend—the man who apparently was officiating at our wedding—I couldn't help but think I'd seen him somewhere before. The feeling grew stronger the longer we talked. After a few minutes, Mick excused himself, and left us to get acquainted, which basically led to an abbreviated version of the same conversation I'd just had the day before with Dave.
Finally, I couldn't resist asking. "Have we met? You look familiar. I feel like I know you from somewhere."
Bodhi shrugged. "It doesn't seem likely. This is your first trip to Sapphire Falls, right? And I can't remember the last time I was in LA."
The feeling persisted, however, and I felt so comfortable because of it that I found myself telling him about Bali—about the trail I'd hiked, and the curse I'd incurred, and the guilt I couldn't shake, that nagging feeling that all these complications were my fault.
"Yeah, I know that trail," he said when I'd finished. "It's tricky as fuck. Don't beat yourself up over that. But, you're missing the point. The curse is...well, first of all, it's not a curse. It's more in the nature of a Zen koan. You know, like that whole 'what's the sound of one hand clapping' nonsense? It’s useful, I guess, if you need a way to focus your mind, but you can't really answer a question like that, any more than you can avoid complications. Not in this lifetime. And why would you want to?"
"I can think of a lot of reasons, actually!"
Bodhi shook his head. "You still don't get it. Look, you know that saying, 'life is what happens to us while we're making other plans'? Well, this is the same thing. The complications are life. You just have to learn to embrace them."
Suddenly, it hit me. "Chiang Mai," I said excitedly.
"What's that?"
"Chiang Mai. Thailand. You taught a class there, several years ago. That's where I know you from."
Bodhi shrugged. "Could be."
"Definitely." I knew I wasn't mistaken. That class had had a major impact on my life. I'd been backpacking through Southeast Asia, reevaluating things—as you do—looking to make some changes. Feeling the need for a little exercise, I'd wandered into a yoga class that had been just about to start. And that, ultimately, was what led to my decision to become a fitness instructor. Which, in turn, led me to meet Gabby. And then to propose to her—while in Southeast Asia, teaching a yoga class. Talk about synchronicity! Eventually, that led me here, to Sapphire Falls, where I met up with Bodhi. Again.
"Wow. That's crazy," Gabby said when I told her the whole story, shortly before the ceremony. "It's like it all happened for a reason."
"That's what he said."
Gabby frowned. "She."
"What?"
"You're saying it wrong. The line is, 'that's what she said.' She. Not he."
"But... Bodhi's a he."
"I know." Gabby shot me a confused look. "Who said he wasn't?"
"You know what? Never mind. Can we just get back to what we were talking about?"
"You mean go back to talking about how even the things we thought of as problems were pushing us in the direction we were supposed to go?"
"Right."
"Every cloud has a silver lining?"
"Sure."
"So, then I guess it all comes down to Fate—like I've been saying all along. We're soulmates, Derek. We were destined to meet, destined to marry, destined to live happily ever after, for as long as we both shall live."
I couldn't resist teasing her, "Seems to me the jury's still out on that last part."
"Don't be silly. Why would our higher selves have gone to this much trouble if they didn't intend for us to be deliriously happy together?"
"Well, when you put it like that..."
"I realized something, too, this week," she said.
"Oh?" I didn't want to ask her what that was, didn't want to hear her tell me that she'd figured out she belonged here and she didn't want to leave. But I owed it to her to hear her out. "What was it you realized?"
Remember our conversation about how you didn't know anyone here; and you said you knew me, and didn't that count?"
"Yeah?"
"It occurred to me that you were right. That's the only thing that counts."
I hid a smile. "So, you mean you've decided that you're the only one who matters? Now, is that out of all the people in the world, or just here in town?"
She gave me a look. "Such a smartass. Remind me again why I'm marrying you?"
"Uh...I dunno. Sex, maybe?"
She rolled her eyes. "Could we please be serious for a minute? I'm talking about us—you and me—that's really all we ever needed for this wedding. I got caught up in all the trappings—the dress, the flowers, the cakes..."
"Well, those were some pretty sweet cakes."
"Yeah, they were. But you know something? I can't think of anything more perfect than the way this has all worked out."
And maybe she couldn't think of a way to improve on this moment, but I could. So, I pulled her close and kissed her—long and hard. And when I let her go, I smiled and said, "Let's do this. Now. No more waiting."
A short while later, Gabby and I stood together on the chapel's front porch. And with practically the whole town of Sapphire Falls in attendance, we clasped each other's hands and promised to always put each other first; to not sweat the small stuff; and to love, respect, and faithfully care for one another—no matter what complications life threw in our path. Easiest. Promise. Ever.