Here & Now // T. Hall Sequel

Chapter 20

Last chapter. All in Taylor's POV. Thank you all for reading, this has been an interesting journey, but all good things come to an end.

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Taylor's POV

The way she looked walking down the aisle brought tears to my eyes. She was the most beautiful bride. And she is now my wife.  She made pictures bearable, since I was tired of them as soon as they started. I couldn't stop smiling. Things were falling into place and I was finally getting to be her husband.

"You look so goofy smiling this much," my new wife laughed at me. "Would this be better than winning the Cup?"

"So much better. I get to keep you by my side for the rest of my life."

Pretty soon, we were on our way to the reception. Barely able to keep our hands off of each other for the ride there, we were on cloud 9. I looked at her and smiled before opening the door to the limo.

"Are you ready?"

"So the party begins," she laughed, pushing me out of the vehicle. Everyone in our wedding party was lined up on the sidewalk, our families and friends stood behind them. Bubbles were everywhere.

There were more people waiting for us inside. I guess I never realized how large Belly's family was until they were all in the same room, with my family. One of her cousins ran up to her, almost getting lost in her dress.

"Can I sit with you guys?"

"You can sit on my lap so that you don't get the pretty bride all dirty." I picked him up and we started to our table. We let the guests settle down before going through the buffet line.

We sat down eating. Of course, her plate was filled with barbecue. Her grandma flew someone up from the south to make our dinner. It was a culture shock for my family, but everyone seemed to like it.

"This was definitely a good choice. I'm glad you were in charge of the menu."

"Of course it was a good idea," she laughed, "It was my idea."

As we were called up for our first dance, Belly pulled me after her. She was more excited than I was and possibly had a buzz from the champagne. She never did do too well with bubbly. I told her to drink cider and wine, but she refused.

I spun my new wife around and she ended up next to me. "Taylor, I'm so glad that I have you."

"You have me and everyone else in this room. They all love you. Just not as much as me." I told her as we dance to the old Keith Whitley song.

"Everything's been perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything more."

"Just a happy marriage?"

"Our marriage is going to be happy, just not easy. Nothing ever comes easy to us."

"And that's what makes it so much better." We ended the dance with a kiss and everyone seemed to join us on the the floor.

It was fun, getting to dance with all of my family. Old and new. She smashed the cake in my face and we ate cookies and cream macarons and cupcakes, even though they didn't necessarily "go" with our dinner.

But the part that made everything worth it wasn't the food or even our first dance. It wasn't getting to see everyone in one place. It happened after I danced with my mother.

"Go," she told me, "Go dance with my mother. You deserve it, Taylor." Annabelle looked at me with sincerity. She wouldn't be able to dance with her father, but she made sure that I wasn't going to miss out on something.

I sat down next to her and I could tell she was hurting. Then her grandfather came up to the table, "I picked the song me and your grandmother danced to. I hope that's okay." Her hands covered her mouth and her eyes started to water.

"Belly, go."

"Thank you." This day was full of surprises for her. Of course her grandparents and I were all in on them.

Halfway through the song, my father went up to them so that he could have a dance with her too. "You are now my daughter and I'll be damned if you don't get a father daughter dance tonight."

I could see her crying into her new father's shoulder. She was so happy. Whether it was the dress or her being able to dance with a father figure, it wasn't clear. But we did everything and anything and I could tell she appreciated it.

As soon as the dance was over, she ran up to me and threw her arms around my neck. Annabelle wept into my shoulder, just like she did to my father. 

- a week later -

After some down time in Toronto, we were heading back to Edmonton to see our new house before going to South Africa. It was finally done after I told her about it and I had someone furnish it for us. I had customized it so that one of the attic storage spaces became her walk in closet and I took the smaller one.

I carried my wife of a week into the house and watched her walk around.

"It's so small and cute and Taylor, I love it." She went upstairs to the master suite and saw the deck and everything else. "This is going to be great. We can turn the downstairs into the nursery if I get pregnant."

My wife looked to me with wide eyes and I realized that I was in for the biggest ride for my life and I couldn't be more excited.