More laughter.
“But over the years, I’ve learned that love doesn’t always arrive in the way we expect. Sometimes it makes things complicated. Sometimes it asks us to be more generous than we think we can be.”
He looked at Karen.
“Mom, I’m proud of you. For building your bookstore, for starting over, and for remembering that your life belongs to you.”
Then he looked at me.
“And Alex, if you ever hurt her, I still know where the shovel is.”
Everyone laughed.
Daniel lifted his glass.
“To Mom and Alex. May your second chapters be better than your first drafts.”
We drank.
Karen leaned against me, smiling.
And as I looked around the garden, I realized that our wedding wasn’t a declaration that our story had been easy.
It was a celebration of the fact that we had chosen to keep writing it.
The Phone Call That Started Everything
