Restoring Us

by Fabiola Francisco

  “Okay sweetie, it’s time to go.” My mom smiles warmly, tears threatening to flow from her eyes.

  Breathing in and out, inhaling a stabilizing breath, I grab my abundant bouquet of pink roses. Dan and Aiden will be waiting for us at the altar next to Ethan, Jess and Katie walking in before me. It’s amazing to me that I’m in this moment in time, and I can’t help but wonder what’s going on through Ethan’s mind. Thinking about him, I get my phone and type out a quick text before he walks out.

  The very soon to be Mrs. Owens loves you. I can’t believe we’re doing this! Can’t wait to spend my infinity with you. <3

  We spent all of last night reliving our history, the good, the bad, the in between—everything that brought us to this moment. As soon as I hit send, my dad walks into the suite.

  “Wow. You look…beautiful, baby girl.” My dad kisses my forehead lovingly.

  “Thank you, dad. Are you ready?” I breathe in deeply. The nerves are setting in. I just want to be next to Ethan, in the comfort of his presence.

  “As ready as I’m going to be. You’re my little girl. Not sure I’ll ever really be ready to let you go.” A soft tear runs down my cheek, and I’m ever so grateful for waterproof mascara. “As a father, you never want to see your little girl grow up and leave your side, especially with the hardship you’ve suffered, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Ethan is a good man. He will take care of you and stay by your side always. Trust in him and his ability to love you. I’m honored to have seen you grow into such a beautiful and caring woman. He’s a lucky man.”

  God, I’m going to lose it. Trying not to bawl, I kiss my dad’s cheek and smile weakly. We make our way down to the first floor and out to the garden entrance.

  The day is a beautiful, spring day. I couldn’t have imagined it to be so perfect. The breeze is blowing slightly, swooshing and swaying in the nearby distance, blowing the smell of eucalyptus and pine towards the celebration. The sky is a clear blue with the soft, radiant yellow sun beginning to descend into the horizon. The nature surrounding us is vividly green and lively. The birds are chirping a melody much more beautiful than any band could play, as if it were written just for me and for this special occasion.

  My dad begins to lead me down the aisle, all eyes on me, and I see the familiar faces nearest to the aisle smiling at me, a few with tears in their eyes. A lot of people made it out here to be a part of our celebration, but then again, who would want to miss Ethan and I getting married after all we’ve been through and the rumors that have circled us.

  I see a smiling Ethan looking dashing in a tux, his hair combed perfectly, and his dimples highlighting his face. I love this man with all my heart and soul. After all this time, I can’t believe he’s the one person I would want to spend the rest of my life with. The one I couldn’t live without.

  Tightening my arm around my dad’s arm, he looks over at me, and smiles reassuringly. A combination of nerves and peace overcome me. I am so ready for this step, but the feel of everyone watching me as I make it is nerve wrecking. Each step I take moves me closer to my future, to my love, to my life. His smile grows wider, enthusiastic.

  Reaching him, my dad kisses me on the cheek, and shakes Ethan’s hand. He holds out his hand to me, and I sigh in relief as I realize this is the beginning of his and my world. Standing under the wooden pergola arbor with chiffon drapes and a beautiful chandelier above us, his comforting smile reminds me of all the reasons I want to be standing here next to him, hand in hand, in front of all our witnesses to display our love and commitment towards each other.

  “You look absolutely perfect,” he whispers in my ear before looking at the wedding officiant. I blush and look at him, ignoring the world around us, and lean in to kiss him. “No. You need to wait until he pronounces us husband and wife to get a kiss from me.” Shaking my head, I bite my lip to hide my smile and face the officiant ready to get this show on the road. I’m ready to become Mrs. Ava Owens.

  The officiant begins to speak, welcoming everyone, talking about love and life, but in all honesty, I’m lost in Ethan’s gaze, his emerald green eyes staring deep into my soul, and his dimples concaving in his cheeks.

  “Love is a battle, something that isn’t easy to come across, but when you find that person that completes you, that lightens your heart, you find a peace and loving sensation. No one can express this better than themselves. Ethan, you have your own words to share with Ava.” The officiant looks between us.

  “Ava Evans, my love, my life. Life has tested us and separated us. I’ve been disloyal, distrustful, but my love for you has never faltered. If there’s anything I’ve ever been sure about it is what I feel for you. The universe made it a point to unite me to my soulmate for a lifetime, knowing we’d be inseparable. Words can’t explain the gratitude I feel for your trust and faith in me, and the honor I have in calling you mine today. I can’t wait to grow old with you, you’re my forever, my infinity.” Ethan’s green eyes sparkle in the late afternoon sun, the chandelier above us reflecting in them.

  The officiant turns to me waiting for my vows.

  “Ethan Owens, I don’t know where to begin. You’re the love of my life, the missing piece to my broken puzzle, my light. Our relationship has been everything and nothing in the spectrum of time. There was a time I never thought we’d be standing here, in front of everyone, proclaiming our love for each other, and there was a part of me that felt like I needed to lose your memory altogether. I traveled far and long, but the sight of you haunted me, pulling me back into the love I felt for you and not allowing me to release it. Despite the hurt and pain, you are the only one who ever made me feel whole. You’re right; our souls are endless memories of each other, a flame burning from the same candle. I love you, now and forever, and I regret nothing of our journey that has brought us here.” I don’t know how I managed to let those words out and not cry.

  Looking at us with compassion, the officiant motions for us to place the wedding bands in each of our ring fingers, and says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Before I know it, Ethan has wrapped his arm around my waist bringing me to him, his lips dipping down to crash on mine in a sensual kiss.

  I hear our witnesses clapping and whistling, but we’re lost in our little world. Separating from the kiss, Ethan stares into my eyes, looking deep within me and says, “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” I kiss him one last time, and we make our way down the aisle, forever bound by love, our souls dancing together in unity.

  “Where’s your something blue?” His breath tickles my neck.

  “It’s your surprise for later.” I wink at him and he growls quietly.

  After many pictures and congratulations from our family and friends, we make it over to the reception. Nestled in the French garden, round tables sit on the edge of the wooden dance floor with ivory silk tablecloths and a bouquet of pink and white roses in the center.

  An almost invisible tent structure encloses the tables and dance floor, a plethora of small twinkling string lights hang throughout it illuminating the space, and a collection of chandeliers hang over the dance floor. I’ve entered a magical wonderland created just for us. Holding my hand, Ethan leads me out onto the dance floor before making our way anywhere else.

  “Dance with me.” His voice is firm and demanding, yet laced with love and gentleness. I wrap my arms around his neck, his hands making their way to my waist, and we begin to move as Tim McGraw’s voice serenades through the speakers. This day wouldn’t be complete without dancing to our song.

  I close my eyes and breathe in Ethan’s scent, a combination of his cologne and his natural fragrance, and allow the music to lead me. My heart swells with the love I feel for this man. I’m lucky to have found the love of my life in my best friend, to live out my life with him by my side, holding me, protecting me, and loving me.

  Thinking about our lives, our story, and how we got to be dancing here under the beautiful shimmer of the chandeliers w
ith our family and friends witnessing our love, soft tears begin to roll down my cheeks. It wasn’t always easy, but it would have been harder to live my life denying my love for him, wandering the streets of life empty and lost.

  Noticing I’m crying, Ethan gently kisses my tear stained cheeks and smiles against my skin. “It’s been a crazy ride, but I’d never give myself completely to anyone but you. You’re my everything, Ava.” We continue to sway to the music, feeling his heartbeat thump from his chest, and I find peace in his arms, the same peace I felt all those years ago when we were children and “got married” for the first time. The peace you feel when you come home after being away for far too long.

  Epilogue

  Ethan

  Five years later

  I stand at the doorway watching her speaking softly in the dim light of the bedroom. Taking my time to breathe in what is now my life, I look at Ava’s perfect silhouette cradling our baby girl.

  I remember the day we brought her home. It was a beautiful summer day, June 2nd to be exact. This was the day our lives gained new meaning and love. We were both insanely happy and nervous as hell. It’s not like we were children anymore, no we’re both very much adults, but we suffered a lot of heartache and pain in the process. The journey wasn’t easy, and we almost lost hope, but we finally got our beautiful baby girl, Arabella. It was just a couple of months ago, but I feel like we’ve had her our entire lives.

  I had received the phone call a couple of weeks after yet another exhausting interview to determine if we were apt parents in the making. When the social worker told me the news, I all but hung up on her from excitement. I was going to be a father, we were going to be parents, and to a little girl.

  I left work without a word, knowing damn well they wouldn’t fire their vice president, and sped to Ava to tell her the news in person. I knew she’d be at the gallery since she was training a new curator to take over a lot of the load, and the timing for that was perfect with the news I just received.

  She had opened her own gallery a couple of years ago, Le Infini Art Gallery, a combination of art and her own photography exposed.

  The choice to adopt wasn’t easy, and Ava was hesitant at first, but after a lot of talking and research, we decided to go for it. At that moment, I was so fucking happy we went for it, that all the struggle to get there dissipated.

  “Ava!” I ran into the gallery almost tipping her over, slamming my body to hers and kissing her with so much passion.

  “What are you doing here? Not that I mind a hello like that.” Her smile was beautiful, and I could just imagine how much more beautiful it would get when I told her the news.

  “We got her! We’re going to be parents!” I couldn’t contain myself.

  Ava just stared at me in shock. “Did you hear me?” I shook her recklessly to get her to react.

  “What do you mean?” Tears filled her eyes.

  “I just got a call from the social worker. They’ve chosen us to be parents to a little girl. She’s in Cincinnati. We meet her next week once they’ve processed all the paperwork.”

  “Are you serious?” Tears were now flowing freely down her face; she jumped on me, hugging my body tightly. “We’re going to be parents,” she whispered almost to herself.

  “Hell yeah we are!” I kissed her moist lips with fervor, my tongue invading her mouth as so much fucking joy filled me.

  “I guess it’s a good thing we bought the house then.” She laughed nervously, still in shock. We had moved into our new house a month ago looking for more space for us to expand into. The apartment had gotten too small for us, and we were ready to upgrade.

  “We don’t have a crib! We need to prepare her room. Oh my God!” She jumped off me and began jumping up and down excitedly. “Can we go buy it now?” Her hazel eyes shone with a new light, and I couldn’t deny her what she wanted.

  “Yes, can you leave Becca tending the gallery?”

  “Yes!”

  We shopped for hours that day, completing everything we needed in preparation to bring home our little angel.

  When I had told her the name I had in mind, she cried again. Arabella, meaning answered prayer and beautiful girl, our baby girl was both. Although the cancer took so much away from us, even more from Ava, we’ve bounced back stronger than ever. It may have shaken us and stormed into our lives, but our roots grew deeper because of it—our unbreakable bond intertwining from the soul outward. And now, we had a third soul to unite us.

  Looking up from our daughter’s face, Ava catches my eyes, and she breaks out into a smile. I walk towards her, needing to feel her close to me. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?” I kiss Ava’s temple and watch our little girl sleep.

  “Absolutely perfect.” Ava sighs contently. “Sweet Arabella, one day we’ll tell you the entire story of how you came into our lives, but right now, sleep beautiful girl.”

  Carefully placing her in the crib, Ava walks out of the room with me, and closes the bedroom door slightly behind her. Her lips meet mine and her arms wrap me in a passionate embrace. Lifting her up, she wraps her legs around my waist, never breaking our kiss. I lead her into our bedroom, closing the door behind us, and we get lost in our infinity.

  Strawberry Pop Rocks Martini Recipe

  I love party planning just like Ava and Katie. A staple in Ava’s birthday party was the Pop Rocks Martini. I thought it would be fun to share with you all a recipe you can make and enjoy. Hope you like it! Cheers!

  Ingredients

  Pop Rocks Candy

  light corn syrup

  2 oz vanilla vodka

  3 oz crème de cacao

  2 oz strawberry purée

  Strawberry Purée

  10 strawberries, halved

  2 tbsp sugar

  1 tbsp water

  Instructions

  1. Mash strawberries with sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium. Boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding pulp. Cool completely.

  2. Pour candy into shallow bowl. Rub rim of martini glass with corn syrup, then dip into candy. Combine vodka, crème de cacao and strawberry puré e in a cocktail shaker half filled with ice. Shake well and strain into prepared glass. Top it off with Pop Rocks. Enjoy.

  Recipe borrowed from: http://www.chatelaine.com

  Sneak Peek

  Resisting You (Restoring Us Novella)

  Chapter 1

  Aiden

  Despite popular belief, I’m not an asshole. I’ve been nicknamed “Chicago’s Biggest Man Whore” by some. So I enjoy a good fuck every now and then. Okay, maybe more than just every now and then, but I’m a bachelor in my late 20s looking for a good time. I’ve got success, money, a nice apartment, and a fucking badass car. What’s not to love? Right? Apparently, not everyone thinks the same. So, what happens when I’m presented with a challenge? I fucking go hard for it.

  When I first saw her at Ava’s party, I thought she was the perfect, easy lay. She was hot in that innocent sorta way. My last few fucks were getting blurred, always the same thing, same type of woman. I could use a change. I had just gotten head from a Cyndi Lauper look-alike when I came back to my sister and her friends, coming face to face with my newest challenge. Not a groupie? I could have her on her knees with my dick in her mouth in no time. I’m all too familiar with that hard act; Stacy was on the losing end. She might as well give up now.

  Ava warned me not to mess with her, and I respect my sister. Don’t act so shocked. I’m not an ass, remember? My sister means the world to me, so I’ll listen to her. I left Stacy to enjoy her little 80s party with her getup, but when the time comes, I plan on striking and striking hard. I want my dick buried inside her pussy just for the fun fact that she thinks I never will.

  What I’m trying to figure out now, as I have a pretty little brunette rubbing her ass against my dick in the middle of a club, is why the fuck I’m thinking about her. Maybe because no one has ever rejected me before, especially in front
of my friends. God, seeing Dan make fun of her rejection had me seething. I don’t think I need to mention that I went home with a hot blonde that night.

  It’s now been a couple weeks since Ava’s party. Why can’t I just drop it? I’ve gotten plenty of pussy since then and will continue to get what I want. It’s not like I’m desperate for a woman’s attention. Quite the contrary, I always have my pick of women to choose from. Sometimes, two a night–no shame there.

  The brunette turns around to face me, confusion written on her face. I didn’t realize I stopped dancing when I got lost in my thoughts. “You okay, baby?” She purrs in my ear.

  “Yeah, just got a bit distracted.” I hold her hips firmly, moving my body, forcing her to move in the process. I already know what kind of night awaits me–hard fucking with this tempting brunette. There won’t be anything slow or gentle about it. Leave the sweet love making to the pussies.

  The brunette moans in my ear as I push my dick into her hip, giving her a small preview of what she’ll be getting later tonight. I have a feeling she won’t have a problem with me fucking her. She seems like a wild one, and I love going for a wild ride.

  Mother fucker. Right when I’m getting ready to leave with this chick, I see my latest challenge on the crowded dance floor. Well, well, well, if it isn’t little miss innocent looking ever so hot, wearing a very short dress that marks her curves. My dick gets harder, and the brunette dancing on me definitely thinks it’s because of her. She snakes her hand down my body and palms my dick over my pants. Instantly hard at the feel of her small hand over my dick, I can’t keep my eyes off of Stacy.

  Who the fuck is that guy? Is she seriously giving that little shit a chance and won't let me fuck her? He looks like he’s about 24, shorter than I am, and his dick is probably about the size of the straw that’s stirring his drink. What dumb fuck stirs his drink with a straw? He isn’t going to satisfy her. She needs a real man to push her over the edge, and I want my dick to do the job. She throws her head back laughing, and the sight of her open mouth makes me want to fuck it. I seriously have some issues here.