Louisa clasped them each in a tight hug and kissed them on the cheek. Rebecca offered them two handkerchiefs to wrap around their hands and stem the bleeding.
Joe embraced Molly. “We’re proud of you, Mo.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
He kissed Kathleen on the cheek. “You were already part of the family. This just formalizes it.”
Matty grinned at them. “Nice birthday suit, Mo.”
“I wouldn’t go there,” Brandi said. “At least for them, nothing shrank.”
“Ouch,” said Joey, doubling up in laughter.
Molly shook her head. “Boys.”
Blossom pulled loose from Joey’s grasp and wriggled under the quilt to sit between them.
“We’ll leave you alone now,” Jenny said. She pushed Joey and Matty toward the sea wall. “Come on, you two.”
Still wrapped up together, Molly and Kathleen sat on the beach. Blossom lay down across their feet, determined to stay close.
“That was beautiful,” Kathleen said.
“It is a beautiful ceremony,” Molly said. “I was so nervous, I thought I might pass out.”
Kathleen clasped Molly’s bandaged hand in hers.
Molly tilted her head. “The sky is so incredible tonight. It’s perfect. The stars are amazing.”
Kathleen looked up, squinting.
“You can’t see. Where are your glasses?”
But when Molly started to get up, Kathleen pulled her back down. She knelt in front of her, letting the quilt slip from around her shoulders. Kathleen bent to kiss her, a soft, lingering kiss. When she pulled away, Molly gazed up at her.
“I don’t need my glasses.” Kathleen tilted her head, looking into Molly’s eyes where she saw galaxies in perfect focus. “I can see everything I need to. Right here in your eyes.”
The End
About the Author
CAREN WAS RAISED IN Ohio, the oldest of four children. Much of her childhood was spent reading every book she could get her hands on, and crafting her own stories. She was influenced by a diverse array of authors, including Rumer Godden, J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula Le Guin, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Willa Cather, and the Brontë sisters. She has lived in Virginia for over twenty-five years where she practices physical therapy, teaches anatomy and lives with her partner and their canine fur-children. She began writing creatively again several years ago. Her first novel, Looking Through Windows, won a Debut Author award from the Golden Crown Literary Society in 2009. Since then, she has published several more novels, winning multiple Rainbow Awards and a 2014 GCLS Award for In This Small Spot.
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