The Truths We See

Epilogue

I stared at the girl in the mirror, confused about how that girl could be me. She looked like she had everything together and like she hadn't been crying the whole day before. No signs of puffy eyes and traces of red. She didn't look like her father was sentenced to the max of 12 years for vehicular homicide because he was drunk and couldn't pay the fines. She definitely didn't look like she had just attended her brother's trial a few days earlier. 

She looked pretty. 

I felt pretty.

For the first time in years I felt okay with how I looked. I was even okay that it took a stylist and a makeup artist and a wedding dress to do it. I even seemed to glow, and I couldn't figure out why.

Lilly fluffed my skirt and turned a grin accompanied by smiling, red-rimmed eyes on me. "You're absolutely beautiful, Brenda," she said, sounding slightly choked-up. "I told you that your dress would suit you."

While getting all of my personal items out of my old house, I came across several boxes in the attic that hadn't been touched in seemingly years. In them, I found dozens of pictures of my mother, alonegwith her clothes and perfume and jewelry - including her wedding rings and her dress. After I cried for an hour over the discovery, I insisted I had to wear the dress and use her ring with my engagement ring. When I told Jimmy I wanted to do that, he agreed to use it. He'd been really supportive through everything. 

We'd been able to decide fairly quickly on an apartment in Oklahoma City for now. It came with a six month lease, so we felt it was a good place to settle for a little while before going to Dallas or maybe Baton Rouge, or even Mobile. Neither of us had ever seen the plains or the gulf or even visited the South, so we wanted to go and see it all. It hadn't taken much to get Jimmy excited about those places. 

In the meantime, we were going to California for our honeymoon, touring the redwoods and generally staying in the northern part of the state with a single trip to L. A. on Tuesday. When we get back on Friday, we're giving our deposit and first rent to the apartment in Oklahoma and we were moving in the week after. It was a lot all at once, but we were excited. 

Lilly wasn't as excited, but she knew it was what I'd wanted. After all, she'd only have the high school friends who'd stayed behind for company. Maybe her coworkers, too. Her boss gave her her old job back once Ben was caught, apologizing profusely. He even gave her all of her hours back, too, with a raise. 

"It's time," Lilly said. I nodded and took a deep breath, noticing the change in music for the first time. She gave me a final hug and nodded at Jimmy's sister, Tammy. The groomsmen were waiting for them: Brett, Jimmy's brother and best man, and Jimmy's best friend from high school, Jack. They'd recently found each other and picked up right where they'd left off. Jack was a little surprised we were getting married, but he was insanely happy for us. 

I watched them pair up - first Tammy and Jack, then Lilly with Brett - and waited for my cue. As I began walking down the aisle I caught sight of Jimmy standing at the end. He was wearing his tux. I'd never seen him in a tux before and couldn't help finding it impossible to tear my eyes away from him. He looked absolutely amazing, but the most gorgeous part was the grin that reached his eyes and lit up his whole face as his eyes seemed to drink me in. 

He held out his hand for me once I was close enough. I took it and gave my flowers to Lilly. We faced each other and everyone else in the room seemed to disappear. His other hand took mine and he gave me a quick peck on my cheek. "You look beautiful," he mumbled as he pulled away. 

I could feel the blush in my cheeks as the wedding began. 

When it came time for the vows, it didn't really feel like vows at all - it felt like I was retelling him promises I'd already made to him. Which, in a way, I had. I'd told him many times that I didn't want anyone else, that he was the only person I wanted to spend forever with. When I said those words in front of an audience, they didn't scare me. I wasn't scared. I was only sure I would be true to them.

When we were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. James Martinez, it didn't feel weird, and it didn't feel like an accomplishment - it felt like something I'd known for a long time had been confirmed. It felt like a new beginning while at the same time it felt exactly the same.

I looked down at my ring. Every time I would doubt this was really my life, I knew seeing that would remind me that it was really true, that I was married to my best friend. 

Nothing could possibly be better than this.

The End

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Author's Note:

My dear readers,

Thank you so much for reading and voting and commenting on my story! It means so much to me to log on and see how much you've been enjoying it. I wanted to entertain you and, maybe, possibly, help you through a rough patch. If I have, I'm glad. Stories have always helped me when I was going through something and to be able to do that for someone else means a lot to me. 

What's next for me? Well, I'm working on a story for the Open Novella Contest called What Was Hidden. Whether I win or progress in the competition or not, I'm fully planning on finishing the story. There's no set updating schedule, so I'm posting chapters as I finish them. When I finish the story, I'll begin working on another original story. As I don't have a set title or description at the moment, I can't tell you what it will be. I will announce on my social media and here on Wattpad the title and description as well as the date I'll publish the first chapter when it becomes available.

In the meantime, thank you for coming on Brenda's journey with me. She wants to thank you for your support, too. 

Please note that this story is unedited aside from some proofreading on my part. This is the first draft and I will not be editing this story in the foreseeable future due to claims on my time and working on my next story for you. I will edit one day, but that's not today. If you have any suggestions as to a story plot or things you'd like to see changed in this story, please leave them in a comment or a DM via Wattpad or my Twitter. 

Thank you again for all of your support. I wish you all the best. 

Until Next Time,

Hannah Cook