Page 105 of Beyond the Fame

We split into two sides and Rey takes his place at the front near the cliff’s edge to officiate.

Today marks exactly five years since Lana and Mylan met. It only makes sense that they’d get married on their anniversary of the day that changed both their lives.

It’s a hot May evening. The sun sets, casting a gorgeous array of colors across the sky. The water is calm since few people are on the lake. Tourist season doesn’t technically begin until Memorial Day in a few weeks.

A violin player Lana and Mylan hired starts playing an instrumental version of We Belong by Pat Benatar.

Mylan emerges from the woods, dressed in a white, short-sleeved dress shirt tucked into black slacks. His mother is on his arm, dressed in a flowing light pink sundress. She glows as she glances up at her son proudly.

They pass through the middle of where we stand on the bluff. Mylan kisses his mom on the cheek and leaves her next to Bruno and Ginger. Ginger takes her hand and squeezes it.

Lana appears out of the woods next. She’s wearing a simple white sun dress laced with pink and purple flower designs. She carries a bouquet of lilies, and on her arm is her grandfather. They walk slowly for Pa, and when they reach the front, the song ends.

Lana gives Pa a big hug and a kiss on the cheek then leaves him next to Gram, who sniffles and wipes her eyes with a tissue.

The ceremony is short and sweet. Lana and Mylan wrote their own vows, and they both gave tributes to Tyler.

Seeing Lana share her life with someone other than my brother should have been weird. But it’s not. I'm happy for her. My parents are happy for her too, but they decided not to come today. They said it would have been too hard because this wedding was supposed to be Lana and Tyler’s.

‘I dos’ were said, and the kiss was beautiful.

After the short ceremony, we all crowd together chatting, laughing, and crying for several minutes before Lana and Mylan get our attention.

“The reception is at Lilies,” Lana announced. “Being it’s Saturday night and an hour until seven... you know what that means?”

“Rock Star Karaoke!” Everyone except Rey and Mylan’s mother yells.

I hadn’t been to a Rock Star Karaoke night in years. It’s where a band, Silo’s Symphony, plays instead of a track for people to sing along to. It’s become somewhat of a tourist attraction after videos and pictures of Mylan singing to Lana were posted online. He’s such a horrible singer, but he performed on that stage without a care in the world.

We all start heading back through the woods to where we parked our cars. Rey says he won’t be joining us since he and Adeline have to drive to Memphis early tomorrow morning to fly back to New York.

Gram and Pa head home too, but everyone else joins, including Mylan’s mother.

“Are you going to sing?” Jensen asks next to my ear once we enter Silo Springs city limits.

I shrug. “I might.”

“We should get drunk and sing a song together.”

I bite my lip and turn my head. It's dark in the car, only the lights along the street and from cars allow me to see his face. “I’d be down for a duet.”

“Not a drunken duet?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t.”

“Can’t what? Drink?”

I nod.

“Why?”

I say nothing and wait for him to figure it out. After a few more seconds, his entire face lights up. He takes my head in his hands and he crushes his lips against mine.

“What just happened?” Eloise asks. She's sitting next to me while Kelly sits up front.