Teaching Noah | √

Epilogue

ONE YEAR, THREE MONTHS LATER

Summer

❀

"Aw, you look stunning, Renée," Mom walked into the room, Luke following closely behind her. 

"Thanks, Mom. Riley did a wonderful job," Renée responded, a big smile on her face, "You look beautiful as well." Mom enjoyed that she called her that, and clearly, Renée loved to do so too.  

"How are you feeling?" Mom asked. Luke stood in front of her, and her arms were draped around his shoulders.

"I don't know," Renée breathed a laugh, pulling the robe she sat in closer to her. "I'm nervous, I'm excited. I can't believe it has come so soon." 

"It's usually like that," Mom's eyes caught mine and she blew me a kiss before looking back to Renée, "Take it from someone who has had to walk down an aisle two times."

Mom didn't have the courage to file for a divorce because she feared that she was betraying dad. While she wasn't happy in her marriage to him, she didn't want to leave him especially because of the state he was in. However, her relationship with Simon only continued to grow and she got to a point where she was convinced that she wanted to be with him. 

It wasn't until one afternoon when Mom was working that she received a phone call from dad saying that he didn't want to be married to her anymore. Even though it was what she had wanted, it hurt her that . Since dad wasn't in the country and their situation was a peculiar one, the process was very complicated. I'd never see Mom as stressed as she was during that period, but luckily, she had Simon by her side, and he was very helpful and supportive. 

They got married six months after a relationship bound by years of friendship where they thoroughly enjoyed each other's company and knew how to work through conflicts together. I was convinced that since they had both been married to different individuals before, they had thought everything through— if marriage was a logical move, as opposed to doing it merely because of how they felt. Besides, Luke and Drew, especially Luke, had a strong attachment to Mom and already started referring to her as 'mom' before she and Simon even decided to get married. 

Simon and Mom had a small, intimate wedding. By small, I was talking about fifteen extra guests which consisted of their actual friends, so they had strategically picked out the guests they wanted to invite. The wedding was held in Simon's backyard which was more than big enough, and Mom thought it would be nice and meaningful to have the wedding there since we would eventually move into his house. Everything about it was beautiful; the ambience, but the after party was even more beautiful. The aesthetics; lights, plants, the long-estate table and the dinner. It was so refreshing to see Mom so happy that day, and I'll probably never forget the smiles on hers and Simon's faces. 

I thought about Camden in this moment, because leaving the old house meant leaving Camden. My friendship with him had continued to grow before leaving, and at some point, I did have to tell him about my feelings for Noah. It was one of the hardest conversations I'd ever had with anyone, and in the end, Camden wasn't too pleased.  

Small cries filled the room, and Luke ran to the cot in the corner in the room where Willow lay. "Aunt Renée! Can I take Willow?" 

"Yes, honey, but be careful," Renée called back, a smile on her face. 

Renée managed to give birth to a girl who was her carbon copy. Willow had Renée's face; her upturned eyes and nose, and her black hair. Simon often joked that Renée and Willow were going to have a Reese Witherspoon situation where her daughter almost looked like her clone. But even with all these, Willow was a total daddy's girl, and she had River wrapped around her finger. She was only six months old, and that meant she could sit conveniently on her own, although she enjoyed being held in a standing position so she could bounce. She wasn't speaking yet, but she was doing a great job making sounds joyfully and trying to imitate sounds she heard. It was interesting her watching her grow and seeing her evolve month after month.