Epilogue

EPILOGUE

ONE YEAR LATER

We were back at the ski lodge in Telluride, only this time the wedding was a sure thing.

Flora was still red-cheeked and slightly out of breath as she re-knotted Beau's tie. I brushed a hand down her long lace gown then made sure no bite marks were visible on my throat. Dusted off a stray thread on my white pantsuit and slipped back into my heels.

Beau wore a lopsided grin while he tightened his cuff links. "I told ya we could be fast."

I snorted as I fixed my smudged lipstick in the mirror. "I knew we'd be in trouble if we came up to change together."

"Is that a complaint I hear?" He nuzzled my nape. "'Cause I believe you were calling both our names not three minutes ago."

I fought a smile as he met my gaze. "No complaints, just stating a fact. You've always been trouble, Beau Duvall."

"Tell me about it," Flora teased. She turned and let me adjust her very pretty, very delicate crown of daisies. "The man's obsessed with us."

He gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek, and she laughed. "I'm about to marry my beautiful soulmates. Obsessed ain't half of it."

I re-pinned his boutonniere and admired the look of my wedding rings against his black tuxedo. After some resizing, we'd kept the ones Flora had given us that night, and the memory was such a sweet one I was blinking back tears.

"Hey," Beau said softly, "you okay, gorgeous?"

I pressed the edge of my palm beneath my eye. "I'm thinking about us at that cabin a year ago, proposing to each other on New Year's Eve. How I never knew I could be this happy. Even thought for a while that I didn't deserve it. And now… this . Everyone we love, downstairs, dancing their faces off beneath a ceiling filled with disco balls."

Flora wrapped her arms around my waist and kissed my hair. "They don't even know the surprise yet."

I touched my wrist. We'd gotten matching tattoos a few months ago—a small, simple mountain range with the sun rising behind it. To represent our weekend in that cabin and all that we'd learned there. This past year together was not without its ups and downs. We had some family members who took longer to support our relationship than others. Had our own challenges as we navigated an entirely new relationship, one none of us had ever been in before. We discovered patience and flexibility, and most of all, we kept trust at the center of all of it.

In the end, Flora did win the laundry argument. Though Beau retaliated by tossing her, laughing, onto the bed and demanding that he and I pay penance for all the socks we'd folded incorrectly.

In the months after we came back, I began planning more weddings for clients whose relationships looked like mine. I'd done four so far, and the people I'd met had offered us so much advice, broadening our community so we always had someone to turn to when we had questions. I'd also planned three coming out parties, one adoption celebration, and a handful of "just because" parties. For those warm Tuesdays in October just because the leaves are changing. Fridays in the springtime when the air finally turns balmy after the long winter. Saturday nights in the summer when the sun never sets and the days feel endless.

After risking so much to be together, we embraced our days with a reckless abandon that made my heart sing. Our friendship grew stronger, our passion grew hotter, our love was as expansive as the sky above.

Beau took a breath and rubbed his palms together. "Speaking of…are we ready?"

Flora nodded, taking my hand and then his. "Let's go declare our big queer love for the world to see."

And then I let my soulmates lead me out into a dance party that was truly going full swing. We'd rented the same lodge we'd visited a year ago, telling our friends and family we were throwing a one-year-anniversary bash. It was disco-themed, so everyone showed up in head-to-toe glitter and platform shoes, twirling around in colorful dresses and bell bottoms. When it became obvious that people were noticing us standing on a small platform in wedding attire, we had the DJ cut the music.

My dads turned and saw me—dapper white suit and all—and their expressions of happy, tearful surprise had my heart skipping in my chest.

But then Flora handed me the mic, and that same heart rejoiced in anticipation.

I cleared my throat as the crowd quieted. "You might have guessed by our sudden outfit changes that we convinced you all to celebrate New Year's Eve here under false pretenses. In about five minutes or so, you'll be guests at our wedding."

There came a chorus of shocked laughter, a smattering of cheers and applause, some delighted gasps.

"But before that, we wanted to thank all of you for showing us what community really means these past twelve months. We asked you to support our relationship, and you did more than that—you encouraged it, celebrated it, seemed genuinely overjoyed to see us finally together."

Flora took my hand while Beau looped an arm around my shoulders.

"You fought for us the way we fought for each other. And nothing's more queer than that—purposefully taking up space, demanding to be seen, shining forward in every way possible." My voice caught. "We owe everything… everything to the people in this room. You taught us an abundance of imagination, you gave us pride, you allowed us to pursue an enchanting new possibility. And you never once stopped and asked ‘but why?' You always said ‘why not ?' Why not reach for joy, in big heaping handfuls, until you're filled to the brim with it?"

Tears tracked down my cheeks. Beau brushed a kiss across my temple, and Flora wrapped her arms around my waist.

"The symbols of this ceremony mean nothing without the people behind it. And that's all of you," I said. "Thank you for believing in our love."

I looked at Beau and Flora, gorgeous and dazzling beneath the disco light.

"Let's get married, shall we?"

THE END