Halloween.
Who’d have thought I’d one day be celebrating monsters being gone today? I think I always knew if I ever got married, it’d be on this day. Can’t believe I talked Riley into it, to be honest. When I started the journey back to Florida, I felt like my life was over. That there was no point in trying because I was so good at failing. I was stupid and made mistakes that ended up saving my life. I’ve always been an optimist, but hell, I never believed in fate.
Now I do.
I was meant to get in that fight. I was meant to be an epileptic, hard as it is. Because I was meant to be here today. Riley was meant to find me outside the hospital. We were meant to be together. And I can’t wait to be a dad and do everything I wish my parents would’ve done for me. Now, I’ve got my base family. We have a freaking crazy future, but I know it’s all gonna be okay. How can it not be? My first entry in this thing was about my journey back to Florida. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I was looking for something. Now I’m at the end, and I’ve found everything I was missing.
I sort of
So instead of a song quote, this comes straight from me.
Now I'm yours
You found me heartbroken, heartbroken,
On the floor
Became my salvation, salvation
Through the war
You got me wide open, wide open
Now I'm sure
In a world like this where some back down,
I, I know we’re gonna make it.
In a world like this when love comes ‘round,
I, I know we’re gonna take it.
In a world like this where people fall apart,
In a time like this where nothing comes from the heart…
In a world like this,
I’ve got you.”
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Week Eighty
Nick was nervous.
Last night, they’d set up two tents along the beach. It was cooler now that they were going into November, but no one wanted to prepare down there without some shelter. It was Nick who’d wanted the wedding to be along the peninsula, by the ocean he loved. It felt like a lifetime ago when he, Brian, Riley, and Gretchen had come down here only to learn that zombies had taken the ocean for their own as well. They’d cleared the area of bodies when they’d rounded up the others, and only occasionally in the past couple days had one washed ashore.
He’d spied a pair further up along the coast earlier, but there was no time to clean them up now. He felt sorry for them. Maybe now their souls were at rest, however. Part of him had wondered, deep down, if their souls had really moved on, or if they had been trapped within their rotting, reanimated shells. Taking a deep breath, he looked down at his hand, which bore an engagement band he had found once they’d returned to the base. It was funny how many things could change in less than two years. Nick knew he had managed to lose everything and yet, in another way, gain everything as the world changed around him. The overgrown kid struggling to be an actor back in Los Angeles never would have considered settling down with someone. He hadn’t thought himself good enough for that sort of thing. Or even a believer in marriage, really. Seeing his parents had been enough to put that fear into him. Then he’d met Riley.
Funny how one person could change your life.
“Nick?” He turned around in the folding chair he was sitting in. There stood Brian, ready to go with a Bible and a smile. There was still some time, of course. Kevin was the official best man, since Brian was the one officiating the ceremony, but he’d like to think they both were. He wasn’t much for tradition, anyway. The suit he wore fit him well, making him look almost out of place, a debonair man in a world that was starting over after it had crashed and burned. “You okay?”
Nick nodded. “Just thinking.”
“I don’t blame you.” Brian smiled. “This sort of thing makes you think.” His expression became wistful, but in a happier light, rather than a saddened one. “Even with my wedding to Leighanne, I was pretty nervous.”
“I don’t even have a reason to be nervous,” Nick said with a chuckle. “I don’t have to worry about a job. And it’s going to take all of us to keep us going. Sometimes, I think I wonder what she saw in me.”
“Same thing we all do,” he replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. “None of us are the people we were before Infernal Friday, remember that. You’re a good guy, and you’ll do anything for people you care about.” Brian grinned. “And besides, what would we do without our human jukebox?”
Nick stuck his tongue out at him in response. “I’m keeping music alive!” After a moment, he smiled up at Brian. “But thanks, really.”
“Come on, let’s get you married.”
“I can’t wait.”
It felt surreal.
There was a gentle breeze blowing, giving the weather just the cool touch it needed to keep the heat from being too much. Birds could be heard above them. He was standing by the now-finished archway. It had been painted white and then covered with the blue, yellow, and purple wildflowers he’d found along the base and vines AJ had cut from just outside the gates. Brian was standing on a podium they’d found and put on the mini-platform Howie had helped put together with Kevin. Kevin stood at his side, looking suave in his Air Force uniform, holding the rings and giving Nick a reassuring smile. The clothes for the men had all been picked out by Howie, because the women had all agreed he was the only one with a real sense of style. Nick had wanted them all in costumes, but was where Riley had drawn the line, though the idea had given her a good laugh. Which had been what Nick wanted. It had kept her from thinking about the families that should have been there.
It was almost perfect.
Another body had washed ashore, which had caused Gretchen to make an odd expression, mixed with disgust and pity for whoever the person had been when it was alive, as she walked down their “aisle.” She looked lovely in a pale blue satin dress, which had a sweetheart neckline and flared out below the waist, the hem ending just above her knees. In her arms was Evette, their official flower girl, though she was too young to throw petals. She was fast asleep in a lacy dress she had managed to not spit up on yet that day. Behind Gretchen came Gabby, looking just as fresh and pretty in a similar dress, which was just a bit longer on her. The three women had helped her do her hair up special, with a single white flower pinned in just above the intricate bow.
AJ, like he’d done for Brian and Gretchen’s wedding, started strumming the tune for the Bridal Chorus from where he sat beside Selena. Howie sat on his other side, looking happy that his friends were all finding the happiness they deserved. Nick and Riley had both wanted them to be part of their bridal party, because why not? But both Howie and AJ had joked that they needed an audience. Riley suspected it might have been because AJ worried Selena felt a little out of place still. Time would one day make that a non-issue.
Then came the rest of his life.
Her hair was curled in ringlets, and her face was bright with joy. She wore a simple dress, somewhat casual, yet perfectly fitting for her personality. It was a strapless dress covered in lace with a heart-shaped top and a sky blue satin band that wrapped around her waist and was tied in a bow in front before the dress widened out to the bottom just about at her knees. Riley blushed as Nick smiled widely at her. His smile only grew as she looked even more embarrassed while walking towards him. When she reached him, he took both her hands in his and smiled reassuringly. The pair turned towards Brian, but Nick didn’t miss the tears that began to form in her eyes.
Brian grinned at the two. “Alright, so we’re here today not only because these two managed to survive the apocalypse till the dead fell apart, but because, despite all the death, despair, and destruction, they found each other. They found a light of hope within a sea of darkness. In each other, they found a reason to keep fighting, no matter what life decided to throw at them. It hasn’t been easy, but here we are to celebrate everything they’ve fought for.”
Nick gazed at Riley tenderly. “Rye, the day I met you was the day you saved my life. I wouldn’t have survived that night if you hadn’t almost run me over.” Everyone chuckled, and he paused, licking his lips before continuing. “You’ve stood by me since that day, and I don’t think I would’ve made it this far without you. It hasn’t been easy, and it won’t always be easy. But I know I can face this world and everything that’s to come. I know we’re going to make it. Because I’ve got you. I love you, and I promise, no matter what, I’ll find a way to protect you for the rest of our lives.”
With a lump in his throat, he watched as a few solitary tears streaked down Riley’s face. “I never thought I’d be here,” she replied. “Before the world changed I wasn’t a happy person. I couldn’t see what was really important in life. I may have saved you that night, but you saved me, too. You wouldn’t let me push you away. It’s not just the world that changed me. You changed me, as well, Nick, and it was for the better. Everything we’ve done, everything we’ve dealt with, it’s been worth it because I have you. I wouldn’t have a life worth living if you weren’t here to live it with me. I love you more than life itself, and I’ll be there for you in every way, as long as we both live.”
Brian nodded at Kevin, who handed Nick the rings, a pair of bands he’d found when he’d been raiding the military mall for options. They were done in tribal band designs, resembling the tattoo he had along his arm. Somehow, they’d felt right. He met Riley’s gaze again, and she was smiling through the tears that were now almost impossible to stop. His vision had gone slightly blurry as well.
“And by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. Okay, Nick, go ahead. I know you’ve been dying to kiss her this whole time.”
Nick immediately pulled Riley into his arms and kissed her, ignoring the catcalls coming from AJ.
That was one thing he didn’t need to be told twice.
