Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
“We good to go, Joey? Hey, what’s the matter?” I ask him, noticing how nervous he looks.
Worried is more like it.
He’s got the rings, which I thought he might’ve lost but he hasn’t so it’s not that.
And his ring bearer outfit matches his job for today perfectly.
“What is it?” I quiz him again, surprised by his answer.
“Does this mean you won’t want to hang out with me anymore? With you being married, I mean,” he asks, and I feel a little piece of my heart go out to the guy.
“Aww, Joey. Why would you think that?” I ask him, surprising myself by just how much such a crazy idea wounds me.
“Of course, we’ll still hang out, all of us,” I assure him.
“Well, my dad left my mom, and they were married…now he doesn’t want to hang out with me,” he sighs. “And if you marry Jade, you’ll be too busy and all the way over in Philly to want to do stuff,” he adds, his voice trembling with emotion.
Despite my costume, which is actually made of real armor, I squat down on my hams, getting on his eye level.
“Joey. We’re all going to be family now. And nobody’s not going to want to hang out with anyone because of it,” I tell him firmly.
“Jade and me, we love each other very much. And we’re going to have our own kids someday soon. But you, your mom, and Jade’s mom, you’re all our family too,” I explain.
I hope I can break through his idea that just because something shitty happens once doesn’t mean everyone you meet will do the same thing.
Because it’s just not true, and it kills me inside to think he could imagine we’d forget about him like that.
Trusting people again is hard, but that’s a pill I learned to swallow a long time ago, and I’m glad I did.
It’s been Joey, Miles, and everyone else, especially Jade, that’s shown me that being bitten once isn’t the end of the world.
In fact, it can be the beginning of a whole new one.
“And I can visit whenever I want?” Joey asks.
“Of course, but something tells me you’re going to be seeing a lot more of us anyway. Especially once the game launches,” I remind him.
“You really think it’ll take off?” he asks, sniffing his emotions back into check and packing up his cord and phone.
I hold out my hand for his, and making our way to take our places, I feel the kind of excitement I never knew could exist.
I'm about to be married to my one true love and have my trusty ring bearer, who’s also my go-to guy for game development ideas right next to me. I'm already a winner in my book.
“You’ll see, Joey,” I assure him, tousling his curly locks. “You’ll see…now, let’s go get married.”
Jade’s dress blows not just me away but everyone else, too.
It’s not a costume or character I recognize. And it wouldn’t matter what she wore; it could never change how I feel about her. Especially today.
She changed her mind about her costume, choosing her mom’s idea instead at the last minute.
I always thought the idea of wearing someone else’s wedding dress was bad luck or just plain old-fashioned.
But seeing her in what I learn is her great grandma’s wedding gown, which her mom hand altered and made look like new, I’m not the only one in the church who’s speechless.
And funnily enough, with all her lace and satin, the flowing white train, and the vintage veil is the perfect match for my knight in shining armor look.
We take traditional vows, and when the moment comes, Joey does a fine job as ring bearer as well as reminding me of the most important things on this, our most important day.
Our wedding kiss after Jade says ‘I do’ is already running a close second to our first ever kiss as my most cherished life moment.
Once it’s official, I’m eager to say a huge thanks to everyone, but Jade looks like she wants to make an announcement of her own.
“We’re going to have a baby!” she squeals with excitement.
Taking my breath away for the second time, but it’s like music to my ears.
The best wedding present ever.
“You sure?” I ask her, knowing it is.
“I knew the second I saw you two that day you came to pick up Jade’s things,” a familiar voice says.
Jade’s mom squeezes between us, sharing our hug.
“That’s when I knew my girl had found her man. And not just any man…the best man I know.”
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
Jade
“I just thought Joey would want to go to the game launch with us,” Zak murmurs.
Lowering his voice to a near whisper once he hears the news. Nowhere near as excited as he was, getting ready a few minutes ago.
I try to sympathize with him; I really do. But seriously?