Chapter 18 - The Second Wedding
Ethan proposed again one year later.
Not at Calloway House.
Not in a restaurant.
Not beneath chandeliers.
He proposed in my backyard while Noah chased fireflies.
There was no photographer.
No hidden orchestra.
No audience.
Ethan simply took Lily's hand.
“I can't promise I'll never disappoint you.”
She smiled.
“Good start.”
“I can't erase what I did.”
“Also true.”
“But I can promise never to build another life with you that depends on hiding who I am.”
Then he asked.
Lily said yes.
Their second wedding had forty guests.
Marcus attended.
Peter attended.
Rebecca attended.
Noah served as best man.
I walked Lily down the aisle again.
Halfway there, she stopped.
“Dad?”
“What?”
“Are you sure?”
“About Ethan?”
She nodded.
I looked toward him.
Then back at her.
“This isn't my decision.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“What if I'm wrong?”
“Then you'll face it.”
“What if I'm right?”
“Then you'll live it.”
She smiled.
“That isn't very comforting.”
“It isn't supposed to be. It's supposed to be true.”
She squeezed my arm.
Then we continued.
At the reception, Ethan approached me.
“I have something for you.”
He handed me the brass key.
Again.
I laughed.
“This thing keeps coming back.”
“I don't need it anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because I finally understand what it opens.”
I raised an eyebrow.
He looked toward Lily.
“Nothing worth having.”
I studied him.
Then smiled.
“Now you're learning.”
I put the key into my pocket.
Where it belonged.
But later that evening, I quietly slipped it into Lily's handbag.
She would find it eventually.
Some things aren't inherited because someone dies.
May you like
They're inherited because someone finally becomes ready to carry them.
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