Take Two

after

i had every intention to wait a while before publishing this epilogue, but i decided to publish it now as a thank you for 100k reads. again thank you guys for the support, i never in a million years expected to get to this point.

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F I V E Y E A R S L A T E R;

Dad,

I knew that you wanted to be here today, to see me wearing the dress that has been sitting in my closet for months. But I understand why you didn't want to come.

Let me tell you Dad, I didn't expect that my life would be where it is now. Me, wearing one of the most gorgeous dresses that I had ever worn, about to walk down the aisle with Carter by my side. Needless to say, five years ago, sitting on the floor with an emotionally unstable Carter in my arms I could have never imagined that we would be where we were now.

But here we were. Carter was waiting for me downstairs, he told me that he wanted my appearance to be a surprise, but I knew that he was probably down there collecting his thoughts and prepping himself for the walk down the aisle.

With a deep breath I walked forward and hesitantly tapped on the adjoining door that lead to my mum's hotel room. I knew that she was probably more nervous than Carter. The last time that I had seen her she was sitting in her dress, hands shaking, as she waited for the clock to strike 1:00.

"Come in, darling."

I opened the door and found her in the exact position that I had left her, standing in front of the floor length mirror, smoothing her hands down her dress.

"Oh, my beautiful girl." Mum met my eyes in the mirror with a smile before she turned around. "You look stunning."

"Says the gorgeous bride." I reached forward to grab her shaking hand, "you're beautiful, Mum."

Jay and Mum are still doing well, even if it had taken him nearly four years to propose. We all knew from the way that they looked at each other when Mum had brought him home for the first time that it was only a matter of time before he proposed, although he did take his sweet time as I'm sure you agree.

"You think?" She turned around, facing the mirror once more. She smoothed her dress with her hands.

"Of course, Mum."

She let out a shaky laugh, obviously the nerves were getting the best of her.

Mum has been second guessing whether she should go through with the marriage again, not because she didn't know whether she was ready to spend the rest of her life with Jay, but because she didn't know if she was ready to move forward. This time the roles were reversed, I was the one pushing her telling her that I was ready and that Mark would approve.

The final push that she needed to start planning the wedding was the letter from you. After I called you I never expected for you to contact Mum directly, but now that you both are in better places I think that's what worked best. She didn't let me read the letter, although whatever you wrote had her in tears for hours after.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked the question as I gathered a few last minute thing from her room, holding the flowers in my hand before I motioned to the door.

With a shaky breath, my mum nodded her head. "I am, Zoe. I am."

She grabbed my hand and together we walked out of her hotel room and to the elevator.

She hadn't wanted a huge wedding like she had with you, but Jay's immediate family was too large to have the wedding in the backyard. So the wedding planner had suggested this hotel, it had a beautiful balcony that backed on to lake Ontario. Carter was waiting for us down in the lobby, Jay and my mum hadn't wanted a wedding party so we both had special seats for us in the front row. Although Jay is persistent that Mark would have been his best man, since whenever we tell him about Mark he says that Mark sounds like a man that would be his best friend.

"Am I doing the right thing?" Mum asked, turning to me as the elevator doors came to a close.

"Of course, this is the best thing that has happened to us in the past five years."

"But it won't be the only thing..." She trailed off, looking suggestively at my left hand that was bare of jewelry.

"I'm only twenty-two." I murmured, absent mindedly stroking my ring finger.

"And you two have been dating for five years, nearly six all together." Mum pointed out, taking her bouquet from my hands.

I rolled my eyes at her suggestion just as the elevator doors opened, revealing a nicely dressed Carter pacing a few feet away between the crowds who were about to descend on Toronto, "today's your day. Let's just get through today and then we'll talk."

Carter's eyes lit up as he saw my mum and I exit the elevator, his eyes sweeping up and down my body. Even I had to admit that I felt like I looked good in what I was wearing.

"You look beautiful," Carter reached forward to pull me into his arms, a goofy smile spreading across my face as he did. Five years later and he still made my heart race just as fast as the first time.

"Thank you." My mum said from behind me, a teasing smile on her face as she looked at the two of us, embracing in the middle of the hotel lobby.

"You look gorgeous as well." Carter complimented, letting me go so that his arm was only wrapped around my shoulder and I was standing against his side.

She laughed, "thank you, Carter. Although I do have to say that you two make a stunning couple."

I could feel a blush fall over my cheeks as I buried my face in Carter's shoulder, I still hadn't gotten used to the never ending compliments.

I suppose I had truly changed after Mark's death, I wasn't the same confident girl that I was before yet in some ways I was even more confident then I had ever been. I had become the person that I used to only dream of being.

Mum's wedding planner, Margaret, came rushing up to us. "Are you guys ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Mum said, the shakiness back in her voice.

Carter moved his arm so that it was wrapped around my waist instead, leading us towards the balcony entrance where the guests were seated and Jay was waiting on the other side. "Are you ready?"

I nodded, knowing that when Margaret opened the doors for Carter and I to walk down, followed by my mother, that there was only a fresh start on the other side.

Everything had finally fallen into place. All of my high school friends were seated in the audience, despite my mother wanting a small wedding, and Carter was by my side. Plus, the fact that you and Mum are on speaking terms helps immensely.

But most importantly I was in a better place, and I was happier then I had ever had been. I think that's because Mum and I have learned the beauty of stories, and how Mark hasn't truly left us, not when he is still with us every day in the stories that we tell. I hope that you're telling stories too, Dad.

"Well, Miss Finley," Carter motioned towards the opened doors and the aisle that laid before us, "it's time to take a trip down the aisle."

Love,

Zoe

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and that's a wrap!