You Are My Sunshine - Short Stories

The Forgotten Wedding Speech

Reef

I found something.

Something beautiful.

Finnick is making dinner tonight while my children splashed and played in the ocean. All five of them. Such beautiful little angels. But I am here, sitting in my brother's untouched room. There had to be some renovating done to fit our family, but never had anyone dared to ask for this room. Maybe someday I would let it go. But not today. Not tomorrow. But maybe someday.

I'm sitting on his perfectly made bed, his picture frames collecting dust on the bedside table where I left the drawer wide open. I don't know what possessed me to open it, but I'm glad I did, because if I didn't then I'd never find this. I would never find Kai's written speech for my wedding. The one he could never read to me. The one he wrote way before me and Finnick were even engaged.

I stared at it...

And finally...

I opened it.

The Speech

I knew this day would someday come. I knew one day my little sister, the idiot that she is, would find someone to love her more than I could. To protect her when I couldn't. To give her a new life, a beautiful life full of love and family and peace. When she was young, all she had was our stingy old shack, a full-time working brother for a guardian, and an active imagination that people couldn't possible understand. They made fun of her, called her stupid, dumb, too loud, too smiley, too annoying. I never thought those things. Neither did Finnick Odair.
Reef, I have had the privilege of raising you for your entire life, sticking around for your ups and downs, and I learned far more from you then you learned from me. My life would be a boring sack of shit without you, pardon my language. I don't think I remember any days where you wouldn't come home with a smile across your face. After everything you had gone through, despite the pain and misery and death you had suffered, you smiled. You have become a beautiful, intelligent, strong, and powerful young woman, and I am so goddamn proud of you. I always knew that someday I would have to give you up, but I will always be your big brother. I will always be there to catch you when you fall down. I will protect you from the monsters under the bed. Because I love you Reef. You are the center of my heart and soul, and seeing you happy with Finnick makes me even happier.
Finnick, I'll be honest, I hated you when I first met you. I thought you were cocky and stuck up, and you were at first. But that was a mask, I learned that over the time I knew you. I don't know what your life was like before Reef, and I don't wanna know, because it doesn't matter. No one can make her smile like you can. No one can make her laugh like you can. When I couldn't help her, when there were things I couldn't understand, you were there. Reef is the center of my world just like she is now the center of yours. And you are the center of hers. I can see the love in your eyes. I see you Finnick, and I welcome you to our screwed up family with open arms.
Hurt her, however, and I will cut out each of your organs slowly while your still alive and force you to watch me feed them to the sharks while you choke on your own blood. I will toss your body overboard so far out at sea where no one will ever find you again. But you knew that already, that's already been established.
I wish you fortune and luck in your lives to come, and I ask that when you have children, don't forget to let them visit stinky old Uncle Kai at the shack. I would give quite literally anything to have little kids running around the shack again. I love the both of you, and I can't wait to see the kind of world you two make together.

Here's to you.

I was on the verge of sobbing, the words hitting my heart over and over again, but I smiled. It was beautiful and something I would hold closely to my heart. Even though slowly I forgot how his voice sounded, reading this old forgotten speech reminded me of it. His voice was soft and gentle and smooth, but it was also powerful and intimidating for the people who did not know him. I loved my brother, and will always be gratefully for the sacrifice he made for my family. I know he's watching me now with a smile on his face.

"Hey Sunshine? My love? My one and only?" I heard Finnick shout up to me. "Where's the fire extinguisher? We have one, right?"

"Daddy set the dinner on fire!" A little girl's voice shouted while Finnick tried to shush her.

"Hey, Kailani, where is your alliance?!" Finnick said back and I let out a laugh and a heavy sigh. "Oi, Kai, Toby, put down that crab! Beau, I swear, what did we say about throwing rocks at Merrick? He doesn't like it! Put it down!"

He's yelling out the window now, the house seeming to be in utter chaos while the scent of smoke hit my lungs. We have four boys and one girl, and they are my heart and soul, and sometimes things were hard, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I let out another laugh and neatly placed the speech back in Kai's drawer, pushing it back in and leaving the room to it's perfect tranquility once again.

"Alright, what the hell do I have to fix now?"