Page 107 of Mayflower

Me: So, you still up for the double wedding?

I follow it with a devil emoji.

Droga: You are crazy.

He sends laughing smileys. But seconds later, another message comes in.

Droga: Absolutely.

Then another one that almost makes me tear up.

Droga: It would be my honor, bro.

What can I say? I’m blessed.

RAVEN

A YEAR LATER…

I check on the twins. We have a stroller, but Maddy likes to put them in a twin shoulder-strap carrier. They are heavy. How she carries them around is beyond me. So, I ask to hold them for a while. She unstraps the contraption and passes them to me.

It’s a two-man job with two babies. We have a handful. But Maddy is such a trooper.

The handful in my arms threatens everyone’s peace—we are at a wedding. A double wedding, actually.

Archer and Katura, Kai and Callie decided to get married on the same day. It would’ve sounded eccentric before the Change, but these days, they only have one parent among the four of them—Alex Ortiz. It wasn’t just a two bros’ decision. The girls were excited about the double wedding, too.

So, here we are, at the beach, the ocean sparkling in the midday sun. For today, the football-field-sized sandy area was transformed into a flower garden with several hundred chairs lined up in front of a small wedding gazebo. There are more guests than the area can fill.

It sounds like a simple wedding, but it’s not.

Number one, giant fireworks tonight will probably be seen from the mainland.

Two, there is yacht-hopping tomorrow and the day after. Yep. Six yachts. Hundreds of guests. Who wants to bet that things will get out of control? Exactly…

Three? That’s the big one, the one we are the proudest of. There is a weekend wedding celebration for Port Mrei at Archer’s expense. Music bands. Food stalls. Carnival rides. A traveling circus from the mainland. Yes, it’s a lot more lavish than what Archer organized when Maddy and I got married. And Port Mrei has been talking about it for weeks.

Everyone is excited about the wedding, but I still can’t process my own happiness. I have three kids, Sonny and the twins. How did the universe bless me with so much? Most importantly, Sonny got his wish for a sister, and Tsariuk got his for a grandson. Sometimes, the universe listens.

I put my hands under both of my twins’ feet. There’s little Olya—Ollie. Little hands, raven hair, cute face. My blood, my DNA, her eyes. I hope they don’t change. I want Ollie to have Maddy’s eyes when she grows up.

Mathew Junior has an adorable little chestnut mohawk and sharp features. He stomps his little foot against my other palm in protest. He’s half-asleep, but the little guy demands attention.

Mathew Junior—Maddy insisted on the name. Junior rearranges his little mouth into a pout, so freaking precious that, suddenly, it’s hard to breathe as emotions flood me. I really need to get used to this. But how do you get used to the idea that something so precious was born out of me, my sins? Maybe Maddy’s character overrides them.

Ollie strains her entire body in an attempt to cry.

Oh, no.

Axavier, who sits in the row in front of us, turns around and looks at the babies over the sunglasses on the tip of his nose. His eyes flick to me with mild reproach.

“Chill,” I say, knowing that it irritates people when crying babies are around. But the wedding couples were absolutely okay with this. In fact, they laughed about it. Archer said, “You’ll be my favorite guest. Raven and the babies.” They tease me about it, fuckers. Wait until they have their own.

Ollie produces a short sharp screech, then stills. Sonny next to me leans to look into her face and wiggles his fingers in front of her.

Axavier turns away, murmuring, “Next thing you know, they will start wailing during the ceremony?—”

He keeps talking when a big, heavy hand lands on his shoulder, thick fingers tightening.

---