by Penny Wylder
I get it now. I get why life and love go hand in hand. People come and go. Things change. The world moves around you like you're a spindle. But true love, a love like ours, it comes once in a lifetime.
My parents weren't in love. They didn't share what we share, and I spent far too many years worrying about becoming them. Doug and I will never be them. It isn't possible.
Because we were never them to begin with.
11
Douglas
“All right, I think we're all set for today.” I stand up from my chair and fix the papers that are laid out in front of me. I shake Mr. Thompson's hand, and his partner Gianna's.
Work has been amazing. Since doing Eileen's movie, the phone never stops ringing. We're working on her second movie now, and Lyllian is still thriving as her production assistant.
Jim pops his head in the door after our new clients leave. “Hey, Eileen and Lyl are here to talk about the final details for her movie. You want me to do this one or you got it?”
“No, I got it.”
“Good, because Neil called, and they're having an issue with the electric on the set. I'm going to go check it out.”
“Sounds good. Let me know how you make out. I know an electrician we can call if you can't figure it out.”
“No problem. I'll send Eileen and Lyl up.” He slaps the door and walks off.
I smile to myself, my stomach turning with a hint of excitement. After clearing off the table, I pull out Eileen's papers for her movie and set them in front of me. My eyes keep glancing at the door in anticipation.
“Knock knock,” Eileen strums her knuckles against the open door.
I give her a big smile. “Hey, come on in.”
Lyllian walks in a few seconds behind her and winks at me. “Hey, you, how's your day going?” she asks.
“It's been good, but better now that I get a chance to see you.” I walk around the table and meet her halfway with a little kiss on the cheek.
Eileen giggles as she drops into one of the chairs and twists the swivel chair side to side. “I need to make my next movie about you two. I swear, if only everyone could have a love story like you guys.”
I grin as I look into Lyl's eyes. “You'd have a hard time writing ours, because our love story is just beginning.”
“Just beginning? You two have been together for how long now?”
“A year officially,” I answer. “But I feel like we've been together our whole lives.”
“Right, me too,” Lyllian says. She presses up on the tips of her toes and kisses me on the lips. “I mean, we have spent a lifetime together already.”
“God, you are two cute.” Eileen leans back in her chair and spins to face the table. “All right, I hate to cut into the cuteness, but we have some final details to get in order. Lyl?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you take out portfolio two and open it up to the rain scene.”
“Sure can.” Lyllian lets her fingers linger on my arm for a second as she walks to the table.
I bite my lip, watching her ass as it sways with each step. Lyl is wearing a tight black pencil skirt with bright red heels. Her blouse is a silky cream color, and she left the top two buttons open.
“Here you go.” Lyllian slides the papers over as she takes her seat next to Eileen. She crosses her legs, drawing my eyes down. Her legs glisten under the lights, and all I can think about is running my tongue from her ankle to the crease of her hip and everywhere in between.
“Doug,” Eileen says as she looks over her shoulder. “You joining us?”
“Absolutely.” I take the seat across from the ladies and rest my hands in front of me on the table. “All right, you tell me what you need us to do, and we'll do it.”
“Now that's what I like to hear from my men,” Eileen says, flashing a big smile. “You know the right things to say. I should have brought my husband today, too.” She chuckles and glances over at Lyllian. “Don't lose this one, he's a keeper.”
Lyllian smiles bashfully, her eyes freezing on mine. “I know he is.”
“Okay, now let's get down to business.”
We spend the next hour going over all the small details Eileen wants us to pay attention to for the set of her next movie. She has a particular vision, and my job is to make it come to life.
I take notes as she talks, but my eyes keep moving to Lyl. I love this girl so damn much and I'm more than ready to show her how much she means to me. I've run out of words to express what I feel inside.
“And I think that's it.” Eileen closes her folder. “What do you think, Lyllian? Is there anything else you want to add?”
“No, I think you covered all of it.”
“Good, then I think we're done here. Doug, I'll have the scripts ready for you by next week. When do you think filming will start?”
“I'd say we'll be ready in a few weeks.”
“Perfect.” Eileen presses her palms against the table and stands up.
“Oh, Eileen, can I borrow Lyllian for a minute?”
“Of course, dear, I'm going to go hit up the lobby and get a coffee.”
I wait for Eileen to leave, then look at my girl. “I got you something for your promotion.”
“You did? You didn't have to do that.” Lyllian is packing up the portfolios.
“I didn't have to, but I wanted to. Turn around and close your eyes.”
She purses her lips, her eyes squinting. “All right, but I'm not going to get hit in the face with a pie or something, am I?”
“Maybe, but it won't be a surprise if I tell you.”
She laughs out loud and holds up her hand. “I swear, if you're pulling some prank on me. . .”
“I'm not pranking you, just keep your eyes closed.”
“They're closed.”
I grab the basket out from under the table and set it on top. “Okay, you can turn around and open your eyes.” Lyllian spins back. “Surprise,” I say.
There's a basket of muffins on the table with a giant pink bow around the handle. Tilting her head, she giggles. “Aw, you shouldn't have.”
“They're your favorite. Banana nut, hold the gluten.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, I figure you got muffins the last time your job changed, so a promotion deserves actual muffins you can eat. Go on, have one.”
She reaches into the basket, plucking out the one on top, but as she pulls on it, she realizes that there's a ribbon stuck to the bottom. “What's this?”
“I don't know, keep pulling.” My smile grows wide as I walk around the table to her side. Placing my hand on the small of her back, her eyes flick to mine. “Go on, pull it.”
There's a curiosity in her gaze. A light twinkle glints as she grips the ribbon with two fingers and slowly pulls it out. Dangling on the end is a diamond ring.
“Oh my God, Doug, is this—” She cuts herself off as her eyes well up with tears.
I untie the ring and drop to one knee. Lyllian covers her mouth with both hands. I can hear her breathing, and see her chest begin to rise and fall in rapid bursts. I pinch the ring between my fingers and reach up for her hand.
She lowers her left hand, her fingers trembling as I take them in mine. Tears are making her eyes look like glass as they glaze the surface, waiting for one blink to be set free. But she isn't blinking. She's staring at me in shock and disbelief.
“Lyllian, I've loved you since the first day I met you. I always knew that we were meant to be together. I can't tell you how many times the words I love you almost came out of mouth.” I place the ring at the edge of her ring finger. “And now, I want you forever. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have kids and grow old with you. I want to call you my wife. Lyllian Hoxie, will you marry me?”
She nods eagerly, her voice a mere whisper. “Yes, yes I'll marry you.”
I slip the ring on the rest of the way and rise. Lyllian jumps into my arms, kissing me as the tears finally let go. She's crying, sobbing
as her lips press against mine. I can taste her salty happiness as her tears mix with our kiss.
“I love you,” I say. “I wanted to do this right, not like before. This is real, this is for you.”
“I love you too,” she says, her words vibrating against my lips. “I love you so damn much.”
Loud clapping comes in from behind us. Lyllian turns around, and almost drops to her knees as she sees everyone. My parents are here, Eileen, her husband, Jim and his wife, and her mother.
“Woo, congrats!” Jim yells.
Everyone is hooting and hollering. They're smiling as big as we are. My mother is crying, and so is Lyllian's. Even Eileen sheds a tear, wiping it away nonchalantly as she winks at us.
“Did you all know about this?” Lyllian asks.
“We did,” her mother says. “Doug called me awhile back and even asked my permission.”
“You did?”
“I did. Your mother was more than happy to give you away to me. Your father—”
“Don't worry about him, I'm sure he's pretty busy.”
“Actually,” her father says as he steps in from behind the small crowd, “he called me too.”
“Dad?” Her tears come down even heavier. “What are you doing here?”
“Doug called me, he told me what he wanted to do, and I just couldn't miss this.” Her father steps in closer. Lyllian releases me and goes to him. He embraces her with a big hug, kissing her on the top of her head. “I know things aren't perfect between us. I know I made a lot of mistakes, Lyl, but I want to start over. I want us to have a fresh start. Think we can do that?”
She looks up at her dad, her smile full and happy. “I think everyone deserves a second chance.”
“Even me?” he asks.
“Of course. You're my father.”
He hugs her tight, and for the first time I can see our future. I can see us together. I can see babies and the house with the white picket fence. I can see us with gray hair and wrinkles. I can see all of this, and it only makes me love what's to come.
This life, it’s ours.
It always has been.
And it always will be.
Epilogue
Lyllian
Six Months Later
“How you feeling?” my mother asks as she pulls the ties on the back of my dress tight.
“Nervous.” I suck in a breath and hold it as she gives one last tug and ties the ribbon into a big bow on the lower back of my dress. I look back over my shoulder and ask, “Were you nervous on your wedding day to Dad?”
“Oh, of course. I was a train wreck. You know what your grandfather said me that day?”
“What?”
“He said, Gloria, I'm not too old for you to hop on my back and escape. If you're not sure, if you have any doubts, just jump on and we're gone.” My mother laughs as she rests her hands on my shoulders. “I thought about it, but in the end, I married your father anyway.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Not at all.” She answers me with such confidence, it takes me by surprise.
“Really? Even though it ended badly?”
“That marriage gave me you. How could I regret that? You were the most amazing thing to come out of our relationship, that made it all worthwhile.”
I look back in the mirror and smile at her. “I guess there's a silver lining even in the worst of times.”
“You're not having second thoughts, are you?” she asks, arching her brow high.
“Oh no, not at all. I just never thought something that seemed so bad could ever have a bright side.”
“Well, that's something that comes with age. The older you get, the more you're able to look at things in a different light. I don't even hate your father anymore. We weren't meant to be, and that's okay. He's trying to make things right with you now, and that makes me happy.”
There's a knock at the door. I call out, “Come in.”
“Come in? What if I were Doug?” my father says teasingly.
“Hey, Dad, how do I look?” I turn to face him and instantly tears spring up in his eyes.
“Beautiful,” he says with a proud smile. “Just like your mother.”
“Stop it, Roger,” my mother says. But her cheeks are blushing.
“Stop what? I can't compliment the mother of my child?”
“Behave yourself,” she says with a giggle.
“Well, fifteen years hasn't aged you one bit.” He leans in and gives her a light kiss on her cheek. “And you, you do look gorgeous. Doug is going to lose it when he sees you.”
“How's he doing? Have you seen him?”
“He's good. I just left him to come and see you.” My father pulls up the sleeve on his suit and looks at his watch. “It's almost time.”
I inhale a deep breath. “Already?”
“Already,” he says. He comes in closer, reaching out to take my hands. “I want to thank you, Lyllian. Thank you for letting me be here today. It means the world to me to walk you down the aisle.”
“Me too, Dad.”
He kisses me on the forehead. “You ready?” he asks.
“I am.”
My mother passes me my bouquet, and both my parents look at me, then at each other, and smile. I can feel the healing happening between them. They've both pushed past the pain and anger, and have finally let it go.
It's nice. I like seeing them in a room together and they're not arguing. I love watching the way they reminisce about the good times, and are able to focus on those memories that make them happy.
It gives me faith in the future and helps me see that life is meant to have both the good and the bad, but it's the good times we should remember and let live in our hearts.
My mother opens the door, and all three of us walk over to the double doors of the chapel. The music from the organ hits me as we stand outside. My eyes well up with tears, and as I blink, one tear breaks free.
My father catches it with his thumb and wipes it away. He smiles at me, and pulls my arm through his, cupping my hand tightly. “You know, I never understood what it meant when my mother used to tell me I would always be her baby no matter how old I got. But I get it now. I see you in this dress, with your hair and makeup done, and you've grown into such a beautiful woman. But I can still see my little girl. The little girl who helped me build the tree house in the backyard, and who liked to put on my work boots and shuffle around the house.”
I give him a loving smile. “I'm so happy you're here, Dad.”
“Me too, Lyl, me too.”
The doors open and as I look into the room, I'm overwhelmed with joy. Our friends and family are all standing as my mother goes in and takes her seat in the front pew. Bright red roses decorate the end of each pew, all tied up with a silky white bow.
My father takes the first step forward, pulling me with him. I glance around at the faces we pass, smiling and nodding. When I face straight, my breath is taken away instantly and everyone else in the room disappears.
Doug is in a white tuxedo with a red bow tie. His hair is tousled to perfection, his jaw clean shaven and sharp as diamond. Our eyes connect and he gives me a big smile. I see tears growing, bubbling over the surface the closer I get to him.
He shakes my father's hand and then my mother's, as both my parents give me away. The priest begins our ceremony, but his voice is in the background, drowned out by my beating heart.
Our eyes are locked on each other. Doug squeezes my hands as we take our vows. The priest smiles as he looks at me. “Lyllian, do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?”
“I do.”
“And do you, Douglas, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?”
“I do,” he says firmly.
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Doug wraps his arm around my waist and dips me low as he kisses me. The room erupts with applause and cheers. He stands me back up, and we hold up our arms as
we make our way back down the aisle.
People are throwing rose petals at us as they follow us outside to where the limo is waiting to take us to the reception. Doug opens the door and helps bundle up the train on my dress as I climb inside.
He pulls the door shut, dulling the sounds of voices outside. “Wow,” he says as he looks at me. “We did it.”
“We did.” I kiss him again. I can't stop smiling. “I'm officially Mrs. Lyllian Meyers.”
“Yes, you are. I love the way that sounds. Say it again.”
“Mrs. Lyllian Meyers.”
His body trembles from head to toe. “It's magic to my ears. I've said it over and over in my head over the years, but to hear you say it out loud, and for it be true, it's surreal.”
“I know, I can't believe it.”
“You know what I can't believe?” he asks, then says, “How damn hot you look in this dress.” His hands slip across my belly, and he palms my breasts.
“Yeah? You like it?”
“I love it.” He kisses the side of my neck, his lips moving up the curve of my jaw. “I don't think I'm ready to go to the reception just yet.”
“Oh really? So, what do you want to do?”
“I want to have my wife for the first time.”
I giggle as he nibbles the skin right behind my ear. “How? The reception starts in twenty minutes.”
“That's where you're wrong, love. The reception can't start until the bride and groom are there.” Doug rolls down the window between the driver and us. “Take us the extreme long way to the reception.”
“Extreme long way?” the chauffeur asks as he looks back at us through the rear view mirror.
“Yeah, and by that I mean, don't go there until I tell you it's time. You can do that for us, can't you?”
“Absolutely, I get paid by the hour.” He laughs and winks.
Doug grins as he rolls the dark tinted window back up. We're all alone in the back. And I know exactly where he's going with this.
He turns his attention back to me, stroking his fingers across the top of my breasts and up the side of my face. His touch is gentle, soft, like a feather on my skin. My body shivers, the sensation moving outward in all directions.
