He lost his mind!
I was unfortunately the only one home when he came banging on the door.
“You think this is going to work?” he said when I opened it.
“I’m not doing this,” I said, trying to close the door, but he stuck his foot in and blocked it.
“You already did, you [expletive]! Marrying my father?!”
I didn’t respond.
Sean laughed under his breath. “This isn’t over!”
Then he walked away.
“I’m not doing this.”
Sean didn’t come to the wedding. I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was my kids.
The ceremony was small and quick.
I didn’t feel like a bride. I felt like someone signing something permanent without fully understanding it.
Jonathan held my hand through most of it. Lila kept asking when we were going home.
***
When we got back to the house, the kids ran ahead.
The door closed behind us, leaving just Peter and me alone for the first time as husband and wife.
He turned to me.
I didn’t feel like a bride.
“Now that there’s no going back, I can finally tell you why I married you.”
I exhaled slowly, anticipating the worst.
“You asked me for something years ago,” Peter said. “And I never forgot.”
I frowned. “What’re you talking about?”
“It was after Sean disappeared for a couple of days. The kids were still little.”
And just like that, I remembered.
***
Jonathan had been about three. Lila was still in a crib.
Sean had been gone for two days. No calls. Nothing.
