She sniffles next to my ear. “Your mom and dad would be so proud. She’d love to be here today. I know it. She used to talk about it sometimes—”
“She did?”
“Yeah. Especially when you were a little girl, playing wedding with your dolls. She’d call me and tell me. And your dad, he would be so sad but so proud to walk you down the aisle today.”
My eyes well, and I try to reel them in. “Tía, please. I’m going to cry.”
She lets go of me and sniffles. “Okay. I’m sorry,mija. You just look so much like both of them now that you’re grown up. It brings up a lot of feelings, you know?”
“I know.”
“Okay, I’m going to head out now and watch you walk down the aisle.”
“Thank you,” I say. “For everything. I’m so grateful, and I hope you know how much I love you.”
She nods, wipes her eyes, and her eyes go to my hands as I reach for my ‘bouquet.’
“What is that?” she asks, confused.
“My bouquet,” I explain with a devilish grin.
“You’re not serious?”
“Dead serious,” I say.
She shakes her head as she leaves. “Chamacos locos.”
* * *
The water witnessed our reunion.
The ocean watched us make love for the first time through our window, and the water was there at sunrise and at moonrise when we fucked. So we knew it also had to bear witness to our vows.
Karl stands with his back to the water in a dashing light blueish-grey suit that is so light, it’s almost white. An orange boutonnière with green leaves is pinned to his lapel, and he’s wearing a deep blue tie over a crisp white shirt.
He looks so perfectly handsome, waiting for me by the water, it steals my breath as I take my first step on the pathway to my future. I smile when I see Adrian standing next to Karl, a leash in his hands, and Pixel sitting like a good girl next to him.
“Sympathy for the Devil” byThe Rolling Stonesplays as I walk slowly. The handful of people invited stand to look at me, and I don’t miss their expressions turning curious when they see what’s in my hands, but it’s Karl’s reaction I care most about.
When his eyes fall to the object in question, he throws his head back with laughter. He shakes his head as I get to him, his pupils dancing with amusement. Then he sobers, and his hand goes to his heart—his eyes now full of emotion and love.
When I get to him finally and hand Sofia the ‘bouquet,’ Karl whispers in my ear, “Peanut butter, Iggy?”
EPILOGUE
LOLA
We’re on the third month of our honeymoon, and Karl refuses to tell me how long our honeymoon will last. Honestly, I don’t think he has a plan, and we could go on like this forever if we wanted to. Except we both miss Pixel terribly. She’s with Adrian now in our Acapulco villa, and I know we’re both getting anxious to get back to her, so we’ll probably go home soon.
From Acapulco, we went on to Vallarta for a week of nothing but making love, eating, and sleeping in, then the actual travel began. Money moves mountains in Mexico, and my passport was expedited so we were able to travel rather quickly. We spent a week in Fiji, then several in New Zealand because I fell in love with it.
After that, it was weeks in Italy where we lived on a luxury yacht most of the time, then Greece, France, and Spain. We’re now at the height of the summer season, and I never want to leave beautiful Croatia.
Karl is hell-bent on showing me that the world is so much bigger than Mexico and the United States alone and that I’m a welcome global citizen. I couldn’t be more in love with him for it. In turn, I treasure him like the precious man he is, showing him every day just how worthy of love he is.
I know he wanted to end in Europe so we could make a stop in Germany, and I know I’ll eventually get to see his home there.Ourhome now, I guess. And he mentioned meeting lawyers to get working on my dual citizenship in Germany before we go back to Mexico.
But today, we’re still in Croatia.