Tethered (72 page)

I smiled and kissed Fred’s cheek. “Thank you, dad.”

I had never seen a grin as big as the grin that appeared on Fred’s face with that one small term that I uttered. He kissed both of my cheeks and then took Rosa’s hand.

“Come on, Mini Kiddo,” he said to her. “You have flowers to throw around.”

“Bye bye,” Rosa said, waving to me.

“Bye bye,” I waved back and watched until the door closed.

I was completely alone in the dressing room, but Emmet was there. Emmet was always there. I closed my eyes and felt his presence swarming around me, enveloping me in his warmth and love. I knew he stood at the alter feeling me, too.

As I stood there in the quiet room, I reflected on my life. How different it could have been if I had not befriended the sassy girl that sat at my table in Kindergarten. Who would have cared for me in the way that the Graynes cared for me? Who would have been a friend through thick and thin, blood, sweat, and tears as Emmy had been for me? What path in life would I have chosen if I was left to my own devices entirely, without my mom and dad present? I shudder to even consider it. The possibilities and sad stories that could have been are endless. What if I never had the opportunity to meet Emmet in the way that I met him? I knew without a shadow of a doubt that we were born for each other, but how would we have found each other if we had lived different lives?

The what-ifs, I realized as I opened my eyes, didn’t count. The real things that have already happened and that could happen in the future were all that mattered. My present state mattered. I did befriend that sassy girl in Kindergarten. Her family did care for me as one of their own, and Emmy was more than my loyal friend, she was my sister. My path in life got bumpy at times, but all in all, I had a very good run, despite who my biological parents were. I had enough sad stories in my reality; I didn’t need to think about the ones that never happened. I did meet Emmet. We did find each other, and that was what truly mattered in the end.

I took one last look in the mirror and grinned. It was time for me to fulfill my destiny.

*~*~*

As the small orchestra played a beautiful instrumental rendition of Christina Perri’s
A Thousand Years
, I walked the stone pathway covered in the pink and white rose petals that Rosa had thrown to the ground. Though I could feel Emmet, I couldn’t immediately see him. As I followed the stonework, the curved path straightened out and I saw him, standing at the altar in his tuxedo and pink bowtie. The hundred or so people that were standing on either side of the aisle faded into the background. Even Helene snapping pictures in front of me faded and I was barely aware of her presence. The only person I saw was Emmet.

I wanted to run down the aisle, but I managed to walk in the slow cadence we had practiced. I did not need Fred to give me away. Walking down the aisle alone was symbolic. I did not need to be given to Emmet, because I was already his. I have always been his, and he has always been mine. I didn’t understand it as a child, but now I knew that on that very day I first met him in the family’s back yard on the swings and he taught me how to propel myself, how to fly, I had claimed him and he had claimed me.

When I finally reached him, I barely registered Emmy taking my bouquet from my hand. Emmet took my hand into his as he smiled lovingly at me and led me the last few steps to the Justice of the Peace that performed the ceremony. I couldn’t take my eyes away from his brilliant emerald eyes. I barely paid any attention to the words the J.O.P. said until he announced that it was time for us to read our vows.

I sucked in a deep, excited breath. I had no idea what Emmet was going to say to me. We wrote our own vows and agreed not to share them until the ceremony.

“Donya,” he started as his thumbs caressed my knuckles. “Some men are born to do great, extraordinary things. I am one of those men, because I was born to love you, and aside from the love we have for our children, there is nothing else in the universe that is greater or more extraordinary than loving you. You are the only person who can complete me. You are the only home my heart knows. I have always belonged to you and you have always belonged to me, and I will never again let you go. We are tied together and there is no power great enough to sever that tie. I promise to love you, to cherish you, protect and honor you until my last breath on this earth.”

Emmet released my hands to wipe my tears away.

“I love you,” he whispered to me, but thanks to the mic that was attached to his jacket, everyone heard it. There was a chorus of “aww” and a lot of sniffling and a few giggles.

I wanted to break the rules and kiss him and feel his embrace, but I stood my ground. I was so overwhelmed by his powerful words that it took me a minute to get myself together to read my own vows.

I put my hands in his again, and with my tears still flowing, I recited the vows I had written for him.

“Emmet, I was born into this world bound to you. You are the only person in the world that can make me feel whole. You are the other half of me. You are the core of my existence and the essential life force that keeps my heart beating day after day, year after year. It is impossible to live without you. You are my destiny, and there is no force powerful enough to change that. I promise to be brave and selfless. I promise to honor and respect you, and to love you whole heartedly, with my whole soul, and my entire being until the end of time.”

Emmet’s eyes glistened, and judging by the way they dropped to my mouth, I knew he was resisting kissing me, too.

Moments later, the platinum diamond wedding band that matched my engagement ring was poised at the tip of my finger.

“Do you Emmet Matthew Grayne take Donya Elisabeth Stewart to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, through sickness and in health, until you fall asleep in death?”

Clear and loud and with passion, Emmet announced “I do.”

I laughed, feeling drunk and giddy with excitement as Emmet slid the ring onto my finger. I held my hand up to our guests and wiggled it, eliciting soft laughter and a cat call from Felix.

Emmy handed me Emmet’s platinum ring that matched my set.

“Do you Donya Elisabeth Stewart take Emmet Matthew Grayne to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, through sickness and in health, until you fall asleep in death?”

“Yes!” I nearly shouted, getting more laughter from the crowd. I slid the ring onto Emmet’s finger and bounced excitedly a few times.

“Now the bride and groom would like to do something a little different,” the J.O.P said as Luke handed Emmet two thick cords of white rope. “Emmet and Donya would like to literally tie the knot, symbolizing their love for each other and the connection they share.”

We each took an end of each rope and began to entwine them.

“Each of these ropes are a representation of your pasts and the lives you lived apart. The ropes entwined into one represent your present as your two lives also become one.”

Once the two ropes were entwined into one, we began to tie it into a knot.

“The completed knot will be symbolic of your future and the strong marriage you will have.”

With some laughter, a little frustration, and some goof ups, the knot was tied. Even the process of tying the knot was symbolic because our roads to this moment were laden with laughter, frustration and goof ups.

“Emmet and Donya have now tied the knot,” the J.O.P. announced. “When the ends of the knot are pulled, the knot will become strong and no matter how frayed or short the ends get, the knot is forever. Emmet and Donya, please pull on the ends of your knot.”

We pulled, and the knot became strong. I grinned at Emmet and he grinned at me.

“I now,” the J.O.P. said with liveliness. “Pronounce you man and wife. Emmet, you may kiss your bride.”

We didn’t let go of that rope, even when Emmet dipped me with one arm and kissed me with his sweet, soft lips until I was dizzy.

Chapter Sixty- One

“Owen, your mom is going to be here in a few minutes. Put the controller down and get ready to go,” I told him for the third time. I gave Emmet an evil glare that he could feel even though his attention was on the video game he and Owen were playing.

“Okay, buddy,” Emmet said, putting his controller down. “Listen to your mom.”

“Okay,” Owen sighed, and reluctantly put the controller down. He tore himself away from the television only after Emmet used the remote to turn it off. “Sorry,” Owen said as he passed by me to go upstairs.

“It’s okay. I don’t know if your mom is going to feel like hanging around. I like you to be ready when she gets here.”

“Okay,” Owen said as he went up the stairs.

I turned back to my husband of two years. “You are a bad influence.”

“Yeah, but I’m cute,” Emmet said and planted a kiss on my cheek.

“The jury is still out on that one,” I teased.

“Hey, little guy,” he smiled at the toddler in my arms. Emmet Junior was born almost exactly nine months after our wedding day. I was pretty sure that we created him on our wedding night.

Emmet took EJ from my arms. “We’ll go get Rosa,” he said and then kissed me properly, which should have been illegal in front of our kids. Emmet’s ‘proper’ kisses were the kind of kisses that made me want to throw him down on any surface and let Donya SGL out to play.

We walked into the kitchen together. I went back to the stove to work on dinner and father and son went out the back door to walk to Emmy’s to get Rosa.

This was my life on the weekends. Emmet and I didn’t work, unless it was absolutely necessary. Owen was usually with us for at least half of the weekend and Rosa and Emmy’s daughter Kaitlyn usually played either at our house or Emmy’s. We were always back and forth between the two houses, especially during warmer weather. We were totally cliché, too, borrowing eggs, sticks of butter, and cups of milk while in the middle of making a meal or dessert. There were family barbecues and parties, and every other month Emmet and I hosted Sunday dinners for our extended Chicago family and friends. We were completely domesticated, at least on the weekends. The weekdays were another monster…

Three days before my wedding, I did a photo shoot with Vogue in my wedding gown. Helene and I also gave them photographs of the wedding and the wedding party. When the small article accompanied by several photos of my gown and the wedding party wearing clothes I designed appeared in the magazine, my phone began to ring and didn’t stop. Before I opened my boutique, I threw together a show to introduce the fashion world to my label
Emmya
. By the time the boutique opened, the clothes I featured in the show and even my wedding gown were in demand. I thought I would have enough time to feel the business out and get acclimated, but Felix and I hit the ground running and haven’t looked back.

We hired a few reliable, responsible and knowledgeable staff members to run the boutique and I did the administrative work at home. We also hired someone to oversee the seamstresses that brought my designs to life and another person to do the bulk of the necessary traveling work, especially since we just opened another location in New York and needed someone to keep an eye on things there.

With Emmy’s help, I worked from home at first, but the business grew too large too fast. I had to set up shop in an office building near the boutique, and within a year, Emmy helped me to hire a strong, but small staff to run
Emmya
. I continued to work from home as much as possible, but there were still a couple of days a week that I had to show up to the office. I had to hire a nanny to keep an eye on the kids while I worked. I was always in a meeting of some kind or dealing with a situation, and of course I had to have time to continue to create my designs.

Emmet was working hard, too. Luke’s law firm had grown significantly, thanks to hard work and a few high profile cases. Emmet was now a partner in the firm that now occupied a whole corner building. While he had fewer cases than he did when he was just an associate, the few cases he did have were more sensitive. He would try to be home by six every night, but sometimes it wasn’t feasible. With our crazy schedules, it was difficult at times to get any time together until after all of the kids were in bed, and by then we were exhausted. So, we made Fridays our early days – he comes home by three and I end my business for the day by two, and with the exception of a few circumstances, every weekend is work free. Despite our busy schedules, we are happy. We have a beautiful family, great friends, and we are
together
. The boutique and the firm can burn to the ground, and we will still be happy.

The doorbell rang a few minutes after Emmet and EJ left. I wiped my hands on an apron – a pretty, frilly, June Cleaver kind of apron given to me by Sam as a wedding gift – and went to the front door.

“Hey, Casey,” I said, as I opened the door for her.

“Hi,” she smiled as she came inside. “Oh my god what are you cooking?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs,” I said as I led the way into the kitchen. “You want to stay for dinner?”

“Oh, that’s tempting,” she said, peeking into the pot of meatballs. “But we’re going to my brother-in-law’s for dinner.”

“I’ll put some in a container. You can eat it for your midnight snack,” I smiled as I reached for a container.

“Yeah, you know how much we love those,” she said, rubbing her round belly.

After Emmet and Casey split up, she started spending time with her single neighbor, a widower and father of two. Only months after Emmet and I married, Casey married Tyrone. I really liked Tyrone. He was a good father to his children and to Owen. He worked hard in construction, and he doted on Casey, something she had been missing in her last marriage.

I know it’s strange to an outsider, but Casey, Tyrone, and his kids became an extension of our family. Casey and Emmet were friends before they got pregnant and got married, and now their friendship is renewed. It wasn’t unusual for their family to end up in our back yard or Emmy’s for a barbecue or party, and last year they even flew to Louisiana for the big Thanksgiving celebration. Now Casey and Tyrone are expecting their first child together, and both Emmet and I are happy for them, Emmet especially. He was glad that she was able to find someone who truly wanted and loved her.