Page 93 of Revived

Epilogue

Luke

Two Years Later

The day of our wedding is finally here, one I had been anxiously waiting on for the past two years. And as I watch my future wife walk towards me, I can’t help but silently thank my first one for sending her to me.

One year from the day that I met Rachel here by the lake, I dropped to my knee in the snow and asked her to marry me, Grayson mimicking my position by my side. I needed Rachel to know that we both wanted her in our lives forever and to never doubt that we chose her. She made us a family, solidifying the connection we all felt that day when the three of us crossed paths and I trusted a stranger to watch my kid. Not my finest moment as a parent, but definitely the one that changed my life more than ever.

She screamed her answer and hugged us both, but true to her initial declaration, she wanted to wait to get married until she finished her teaching credential. Surprisingly, she was hired at the elementary school near our house right after she finished the program, thrown into the tornado of the first year of teaching. One night, I came home to the vision of her on the kitchen floor, leaning back against the cupboards, drinking straight from a bottle of white wine. She was distraught and crying, but still so strikingly beautiful. I held her, stroked her hair in comfort as she admitted out loud how much more challenging her job was than she thought it would be—the lesson plans, the behavior problems, the students that needed the extra help to fill in the gaps. Listening to her and reassuring her that she was made for that job, she powered through the rest of the year while we anticipated our wedding for this summer.

And now, it’s a perfect Saturday in June, the sun resting high in the sky, the humidity not terrible, but the warmth of the air still palpable enough that I want to make this as fast as possible. Not to mention, once the ceremony is over, I’ll finally be able to call Rachel my wife, a title I never thought I’d want so desperately to give to another woman after Hannah. But I do, with every pump of blood through my veins. This woman is mine and I want the entire world to know it.

Rachel looks stunning, her white dress flowing to the ground in soft waves of elegant fabric, sprinkled with crystals that sparkle as the sun catches them, her father guiding her down the path of the hill to me as I stand waiting at the gazebo adorned with white and variegated roses, the same ones I gave to her the night of our first date. Tendrils of her dark chocolate locks hang around her face, her make-up light and soft to highlight her natural beauty, the strapless top of her dress showcasing her collarbone and toned shoulders that I can’t wait to kiss and nibble on later.

But it was her vibrant green eyes and blinding smile that took my breath away, the same way she caught my eye that first day in this very same spot—the day when the flecks of gold caught the sunlight and dulled the darkness I’d been living in. No matter how gorgeous I found her to be on the outside though, it was her heart and soul that captured me, revived me, peeled the blindfold away I was walking around with on my eyes for five long years before she showed up.

And as her father kisses her cheek and hands her palm to me, I know that she’s the reason I’m still here living. It was her love that I was waiting for and finally accepted, thanks to a few angels nudging me along.

“You look breathtaking,” I tell her as she stands before me.

“You look pretty striking yourself, handsome.” Her lips curl in a smirk that makes my body burn with need for her. Just a few more hours, Luke. Be patient.

“Mommy, you look so beautiful,” Grayson interjects beside me in his matching tux, standing next to Cash and Cooper on my side. Pfeiffer and Jess mimic their stance behind Rachel, performing their duties as our best friends and wedding party.

Rachel softly laughs at our son. “Thanks, handsome. Let’s make this official, shall we?” She winks and then focuses back on me.

As the preacher speaks and ask us to promise to love each other in sickness and in health, until death do us part, I pray with all my might that I’ll never have to experience losing two great loves in my life, a fear that kept me from owning what I felt for Rachel in the first place. I know that nothing in life is guaranteed, but the thought of losing this woman too makes my throat feel like I’ve swallowed a knife. Through therapy and being honest with Rachel over the past two years, I’ve been able to conquer a lot of my fears about death and moving on with my life, which has allowed me to fully immerse myself in the family and memories I’ve built with Rachel now—my second chance.

Time helped me realize too that it’s better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, right? That’s how the saying goes, doesn’t it?

My life was monotonous and lacking substance before Rachel entered it, with the exception of my son that kept me grounded in my reason for waking up each day. But her light awakened me to the consideration of having someone to walk through life with again, a truth that forced me to accept that loving Hannah didn’t mean I couldn’t love Rachel too. I had room in my heart for both of them, and that’s more than some people get in a lifetime.

So I vow to love this woman now until the day I die, or vice versa. Because feeling is living, and this woman brought me back to life, with my eyes and heart wide open to the experiences that make all the good and bad worth it with the right person by your side.

When I kiss Rachel for the first time as her husband, a surge of purpose comes over me. This woman is who I’m meant for, and I make sure she knows that as our lips meet and we seal our union in front of all of our family and friends.

“How do you feel Mrs. Henderson?” I speak low in her ear as we walk hand in hand through the grass in the cemetery, headed towards Hannah’s grave the day after our wedding.

“Like the luckiest woman in the world,” she beams, her feet falling gently as we weave among the headstones, landing at our destination quickly.

After Rachel and I reconciled, she asked me to introduce her to Hannah, convincing me that the two of them didn’t have to be completely separate parts of my life. Instead, she wanted us to share our life with her, letting her know how happy we are together and how grateful we are that she brought us to one another. When I told Rachel the story of the night Hannah and I got engaged, complete with the words that ended up solidifying for me the serendipitous connection we established, she could hardly believe it. But she felt that Hannah and her grandpa must have had something to do with it too, like I did. So we started visiting her grave together along with Grayson. Despite the fact that Hannah wasn’t here physically, she was still very much a part of our family, and it was important for Rachel to make sure that I understood that.

“Hi, Mommy.” Grayson runs over to her headstone, kissing the marble and then placing the sunflowers in the vase stationed in the ground, granting the scene a little pop of color. After we make our visit today, we’re headed to my parent’s house to drop off Grayson. Our flight for Jamaica for our honeymoon leaves early in the morning, so we just assumed take him over the night before so we don’t have to wake him up early as well.

“What do you want to tell your mom today, Grayson?” Rachel takes a seat in the grass beside our son, pulling him into her lap, encircling her arms around him. I stand by with my hands on my hips, admiring my wife loving our son while sharing our life with the woman that connects us all together.

“Mommy… Daddy and Mommy got married yesterday. It was at the same place where we met her and she let me feed the ducks. Then we danced and ate cake and now they’re going on a trip. Then I’m gonna start second grade soon. I can’t wait.”

“That was a lot of information, bud.”

Grayson shrugs. “Yeah, but yesterday was a fun day.”

Rachel glances up at me, her face full of joy. “Yeah, it was.”

“Can I go toss my baseball around now?” Grayson moves to stand, pulling his glove from his back pocket. He may only be seven, but he’s got a knack for baseball and takes his glove with him everywhere, which means I also must have a ball wherever we go. These visits are hit and miss with him sometimes. Some days he will sit and talk to Hannah for a while. Others, like today, he’s bursting with energy and needs to move rather than be still.

Tossing the baseball to him I grabbed before we exited the car, I warn him. “Yes, here. But make sure you stay where your mom and I can see you.” I bend down to sit next to Rachel as he intercepts the ball.

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