Motorcycle Girl: Book Two

Chapter 35: Throwback

I glance down at Odeletta, the elegant white dress resting on her body. She's so beautiful. Her brown hair is into a curly updo, her makeup is light and delicate. The wedding dress is loose on her body, loose enough to hide the small baby bump. It's noticeable in tight clothing, especially if you know her body type.

All of our relatives are here, including my grandparents who live in Florida and I haven't seen since I was eighteen. Friends are here, from her work in New York. Hell, officer Larik is here. It warms my heart that all of these people came out to Chicago and dressed up to celebrate Odeletta and I.

She sits next to me at the reception, watching her father walk up to the stage. We're married. She's my wife.

My wife.

The world rings around in my head and makes me grin.

We had all the first dances and now people are going up to do the speeches.

Josh taps the microphone after my Mom walks off the stage, my family having gone up already and everyone in hers had too, except her Dad. Josh is the last to go.

Everyone goes quiet when Josh taps the microphone.

He clears his throat loudly.

"I'm sure most of you in this room know that my wife and I were ripped away form our daughter when she was twelve years old." He says. "And when I got locked up with Adelaide for something I never did, I knew right then and there I would never see my little girl again." He frowns, looking down at his shoes. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he sighs. "So when I was at my execution trial, just as they were standing Adelaide and I up, the door to the court room shoves open and a girl in her early twenties came running in, breathless. I swear to you guys, my heart skipped a beat. It was ten years later and she grew up, matured. Her hair was short, but I knew the moment I saw her adult face that she was my little girl, and I panicked. I didn't want them to take her, and they grabbed her. And a man came in behind her, American, who looked ready to shit himself when he saw her get grabbed like that." Everyone laughs quietly, myself included. "And that man was Nathan. They came with their French class and Odeletta had spent years gathering information and proof on how we were innocent, on what really happened, and to me, she was my child. My daughter. She was the girl I wiped tears from when she fell learning to ride her bike. She was the girl that took off her pull-up in the grocery store when she was two because it was fully and she was tired of wearing it. From the start, she was a stubborn thing. If we tried to feed her something as a baby that she didn't like, she somehow knew she wouldn't want it and she would refuse to open her mouth. From there it went to climbing out of the crib during nap time, and then removing her pull-up, looking up at me with wide brown eyes and saying, in French, "Papa, I want to go in the potty." Odette's face is red but she's smiling. "She loved freedom. She loves riding her bike because it was open and she was free. She loved having the windows down in the car. So when I found out she had a motorcycle, I wasn't surprised in the slightest. Odeletta is free spirited, stubborn, and annoying...and I wanted a man for her that would put up with that and love her anyways, and she can be a handful. She has a loud mouth and a bad attitude and she is not afraid to speak her mind." He smiles. "I was scared she would never find that. When I was in jail I was hoping she would find somebody...and then I met Nathan. Who talks back to her when she's being a brat, argues with her when she does something stupid, forces her to put her motorcycle up for the winter, and loves her unconditionally. They have been through hell and back together but not once has their love for each other wavered. I look up to them. Weird, right? Looking to to my daughter and her husband?" He smiles. "But I am proud. I am proud of my little girl. She grew up with a hard life, but it made her strong. I am proud of her for finding Nathan. I am proud of Nathan for putting up with her even when she can be impossible. I am a proud man today, and I couldn't be happier. You guys keep doing what you do. Odeletta, keep being the strong girl you were raised to be, and Nathan...good luck."