Solo stood at the top of the meadow that spanned the space between the elephant enclosure and the wild dog habitat at the Glacier City Zoo.

There was a beautiful view of the sun setting over the water and the buildings of Glacier City glimmering in the distance.

But Solo chose to ignore that view, instead squinting to try and make out whether Cecily and her friends might be coming out of the visitor’s center.

He felt no trepidation. The marriage was but a ceremony. Their real bond had been made for him from the moment he had laid eyes on Cecily. In truth from moments even before that, when he had touched the kitchen utensils she had touched before him, and seen a fleeting vision of a woman with flowing ginger ringlets and gentle eyes.

He only felt anxious to have her by his side. This day of preparations and hiding from one another was not to his liking. Besides, the whole thing smacked of inefficiency. It was nonsense that they had arrived here in separate vehicles, not sharing their meals or their lodgings as usual.

To his right, Buck and Kirk waited for their brides as well.

And in the first row of folding chairs more brothers and their mates looked on.

Bond held a small and adorable baby in his arms. Beside him, Posey riffled through her bag, pulling out all kinds of small things that were presumably meant to help care for the tiny creature.

Rocky and his mate, Georgia, shared a kiss in the next set of seats.

Beside them, Rima was talking to Magnum and pointing at the far side of the zoo. Solo wondered if she was explaining the complicated system of levies that held this side of Glacier City afloat - or maybe recounting the tale of how Westley Worthington had sacrificed everything to save this city in the name of his beloved.

Solo longed to examine the blueprints for the system himself, but his new friend West had merely clapped him on the back and told him to get married first and then come for a visit to pour over as many blueprints as he liked.

Solo wondered if he might pursue work as a consultant in what Earth scientists called civil engineering. He was fascinated with the challenges of maintaining a city in the face of Earth’s vast fluctuations in wind, water and temperature. It reminded him of his own work on Aerie designing ships to withstand the journey of light-years. So long as he could do it from a laptop on the road with Cecily and their children, he felt the work would be a perfect match for his skills.

There was a slight commotion and he looked up to see Kate emerging from the visitor’s center.

Her blonde hair was straight down her back and the simple white gown she wore did not distract from her lovely brown eyes, which filled with tears the moment they gazed upon Kirk.

Beatrix came next. She wore a white lace gown with fingerless lace gloves to her elbows. Her hair was swept up on top of her head. A black velvet sash around her waist was an homage to her everyday favorite color.

Beside him, Buck sighed happily when he saw her.

But Solo was already watching the doorway for Cecily.

At last she emerged.

Her coppery curls were loose around her shoulders, matching the wink of the copper ring that hung from the delicate chain around her neck. The pale cream satin gown she wore was beautiful against her milky complexion.

She walked toward him with a quiet confidence, a solemn expression on her beautiful face.

Solo thought his chest might rupture with joy.

A soft trumpeting sound came from the second row of seats.

Solo looked down to see Dirk Malcolm blowing his nose while Aunt Stacy patted his back.

He glanced back at Cecily, who grinned and rolled her eyes slightly.

Laughter bubbled in his chest, and suddenly this was just another wonderful adventure with his mate.

The words of the ceremony went quickly. Solo managed to remember his part.

And when it was all over and he was permitted to kiss his bride, he made sure to go slow and sweet so that it would be a kiss she could remember forever.

Then suddenly music was playing and Beatrix had kicked off her shoes and begun to dance, her hair already coming out of its bun as Buck laughed and tried to keep up.

Kate and Kirk danced in each other’s arms. Though Solo was certain the tempo of the music was not proper for that kind of dance, he was glad that the two of them appeared to be more than content.

“Now what?” he asked his mate. “Do you want to dance?”

Cecily gazed out at the crowd of their friends looking happy but ponderous.

“I just want to remember it,” she said at last. “Things change in time, but for right now we’re all together, and everything seems to be perfect.”

Solo slipped the rose out of his top jacket button.

“You can replay it again as many times as we like,” he told her, holding out the bloom. “I’ve been holding onto this all day. It should be practically overflowing with memories by now.”

She smiled, like sunshine after a rain.

“Do you have time for a picture with your old man?” Dirk asked, jogging up to them.

“Sure we do,” Cecily said, looking up at Solo, her eyes dancing. “We have all the time in the world.”