Episode 94

Episode 94

Winter Weddings & Funerals - Part 1

SUMMER

"Sunny, quit fidgeting," my mother scolded as she zipped up the back of the dress I hoped I'd be marrying Jack in tonight. Provided he didn't think my idea was insane.

Planning to pair a wedding with what could technically be considered a funeral, wasn't exactly a normal person's idea for the perfect time to trade nuptials. Good thing I'd never been considered normal.

Autumn swiped blush on my cheeks as I glared at my mother in the mirror.

"The dress wasn't altered," I sighed. "We didn't have time." I groaned as I stared at myself in the dress I'd chosen back in California. We'd purchased it for the wedding we were planning on our property but when we got the call about Ellen, all that changed, and we jetted to Norway.

I scowled at the image I presented in the mirror.

Something just didn't feel right.

"Maybe if you suck it in? Inhale really big and then Mom can yank it up," Autumn suggested.

I shook my head and shucked off Mom's prying hands.

"Just stop!" I snapped. "We can't make all of this"—I gestured to my ample curves—"fit into a dress a full size too small. It's just not going to work. I'll be miserable." Not that I wasn't miserable right then. "Maybe this was a bad idea…" I hedged, second guessing everything.

"I mean, who really wants to get married at a funeral, right? It was a stupid idea anyway." I sniffed, shoving the emotions way down as I realized how, once again, I'd bulldozed forward on one of my wild, harebrained ideas without truly thinking it all through.

"Well, there is one other option," Mom volunteered with a sly smirk.

"And that would be?" I flopped into the chair in my parents' room. "Jack and TJ will be waiting in the lobby for all of us in less than a half hour.

I watched as Mom entered the closet in the palatial room. A few seconds later, she exited with something I had not expected to see in a million years.

Her wedding gown.

"I know you said you wanted to do your own thing for your wedding with Jack, but I was your size exactly when I married your father and…" She ran her hand down the front of the champagne-colored beaded wedding gown. It was magnificent. As little girls, my sister and I used to fight over who would get to wear Mom's wedding dress first. Then, we got older and formed our own personalities, and that concept went right out the window.

Staring at the gown now, I wondered why I'd ever thought something else would be better.

"Mom," I gulped, "I can't believe you brought it."

She shrugged. "Honestly, right before the flight, I prayed to the ancestors that all would happen as it should for you and your new family. Then I felt a pull toward my closet and this dress. You know how it is, you never question—"

"You never question the ancestors," Autumn and I said at the same time.

"Exactly. And lookie here. You need a wedding dress you connect to. Something that feels genuine and was made and embroidered with love. Your own grandmother hand stitched and beaded this entire dress. I can't think of anything more fitting than marrying Jack wearing this gown."

I stood up and let the other dress fall into a heap at my feet. Wearing nothing but my undergarments, I grabbed Autumn's hand as Mom bent low so I could step inside the gown. She pulled the heavier fabric up and my bust fit perfectly. The shoulders were capped, and the front opened to a deep V that made my cleavage look incredible. Beading flowed in a chevron design across my breasts, pointing like arrows at the waist. The beads continued on a sheer overlay of lace and tulle from the waist, all the way to the floor, flaring out a couple feet. My golden blonde hair was curled and cascaded down my back and over my shoulders, catching the light and making me feel like a goddess.

I'd never looked more beautiful in my entire life.

Mom gasped, tears in her eyes as she fiddled with my hair. "Baby, you are so gorgeous, you steal my breath away."

The dress fit perfectly. No alternation needed. Per usual, my mother was right all along. She'd suggested her gown when I told her we were getting married, but I'd pushed back, thinking I wanted something that was only mine. I was so wrong. Nothing else could have made me feel this good.

"She is not lying, sis. Look at yourself in the mirror. That is what a bride looks like on her wedding day."

"Maybe wedding day," I whispered, taking my image in while praying Jack would appreciate the wild idea I had.

"How are you going to drop getting married today on him?" Mom asked as she approached with the velvet cloaks we'd purchased yesterday on our girls shopping day. Mine was white, for obvious reasons. My mother's cloak was a dark navy that made her blonde hair look like she was bathed in a golden halo of light. A deep rich emerald green set off Autumn's hair making it look as though it had caught fire and complimented her mossy eye color perfectly.

"I hadn't thought that far in advance. I figured the timing would present itself," I answered. "If the universe and our goddesses want us to get married today, it will happen. If they don't, well, that settles it don't you think?"

Mom nodded. "Makes perfect sense to me."

I lifted the hood of the cloak and set it on my head, then closed the ties to prevent anyone from seeing the dress underneath until just the right time.

"All right, let's go lay Jack's friends to rest and maybe get married!" I chuckled, disbelieving I was actually going to attempt to marry Jack on the mountains underneath the Northern Lights.

"Sunny, aren't you forgetting something?" Mom asked as I made it to the door to leave the room.

I looked down at myself. "Not that I can think of…"

"Honey, you're not wearing any shoes. How are you going to hike through the woods in the snow without shoes?"

I lifted the dress and the cloak and wiggled my pink-painted toes on my bare feet. "Okay, so maybe I forgot one thing."

* * * *

My nerves were at a thousand as I held Jack's hand and we tromped through the snow. It was technically nighttime but the moon was so bright, it lit up the snow well enough to see our little group make our way to what the guide claimed was the perfect spot for seeing the lights and setting our friends' souls free.

"You sure you're warm enough in that cloak?" he asked.

"It's lined with faux fur and satin. I'm good. Besides, it's not the cloak that matters, it's what's underneath that is important."

Jack's eyebrows rose toward his hairline. "Oh? Can I expect to find you bare under there?"

I burst into laughter. It felt good to laugh since my anxiety and stress were at an all-time high.

"That is a stellar idea, and I promise to surprise you with such a thing in our near future," I chuckled.

"You've been acting a little strange the last couple days. Is it the funeral?" Jack asked. "Or…" He swallowed as though he was worried about something important.

"Or what?"

"The other night you told me you were going to take a step back from your business to focus on TJ and me. I wouldn't be upset if you'd changed your mind."

I squeezed Jack's hand and shook my head. "I have never been more sure of anything in my life. I want to be there for you and TJ. Honestly, I don't feel as though I'm giving up anything. You promised to help me find a CEO who could take the brunt of the work. I trust you to do that. Do you trust me to be TJ's mother?"

Jack stopped in his tracks. A few of the others did too.

"Go on ahead. Summer and I will follow in a minute," he waved his hand for our families to follow the guide.

Erik and Savannah passed us with a smiling TJ. Erik had our boy on his shoulders. He was babbling nonstop in Norwegian, pointing to different things that were of interest to him. Erik being an eager new uncle, dutifully took in each thing and shared his thoughts.

Jack waited until the others were out of hearing distance before he cupped my cheeks. "You are the only woman I trust to mother TJ. Savannah is sweet and will probably be a good mom to their children. Your mom, Irene, Autumn, all really wonderful people that I'm glad are in TJ's life. But you…you have already become his touchstone. He looks for you in a crowd of people. He calls out for Sum Sum more than anyone else. You've made yourself his person during a very hard time. And I don't know how I could ever be more grateful or feel more love for you than I do today."

Now was the time.

The wind blew the hood off my head, and I felt a little nudge on my shoulder, but no one besides Jack and me were there.

The ancestors.

"I want to get married," I blurted.

Jack smiled wide and nodded. "Soon as we can, we will." He looped his arm around my waist and brought me flat against his chest.

"No. I want to get married today. Now. On this mountain."

"What?" His entire expression was one of confusion.

"When we get to the spot where we set Ellen and Troy's souls free to spend eternity together, I want my mother to marry us. Right out in the open, under the lights, in nature, with only the family we've chosen present."

His gaze traced my entire face. "You're serious."

"I am. It's the only way we can be sure Ellen and Troy are with us. The three of us. I'd like to have their blessing."

The kiss came out of nowhere.

Jack's mouth crashed over mine so fast and so hard I almost lost my balance. But Jack was there to hold me up. His tongue tangled with mine in a dance as old as time.

The kiss went on and on until he ripped his mouth away, sucking in air.

He pressed his forehead to mine, both of us winded.

"You are the best fucking thing that has ever happened to me. You hear me, Summer? Before you, I was cold, alone, and empty inside. Every day I'm with you I feel…full. Full of life, of love, of hope."

"Jack," I croaked, putting my hand over his heart, comforted by the rapid beat against my palm.

"All the years I grew up with no family to call my own. Practically every year until I was put in the boys' home, I had a new family to get used to. One that never stayed. Sure, I had the Johansens, and my best friends, but they weren't mine. They didn't belong with me. You…you're mine. And I'm yours. And I know with my whole heart not a single soul could ever take that away from me. You prove time and again that you aren't going anywhere."

"I never want to be without you, Jack," I stated with as much grit and confidence as I could muster.

"And you never will. I don't care what I have to do, you and me are forever. So if you want to get married here, in my home country, with the people we care about most present…while we still have Ellen and Troy, I say we do it. I can't imagine a more perfect union."

"I love you, Jack."

"Love is too small of a word to express how I feel about you, Summer." Jack said and then kissed me softly. "Let's get married!"

Jack tugged on my hand and together, we ran through the moonlit snow toward our future.