A Proper Young Lady (27 page)
Read A Proper Young Lady Online
Authors: Lianne Simon
Memories sweep me back to the time Daniel first gave me his heart, swore to love me forever, and promised me his children. The sun shone bright over Miami that day.
It was you I loved all along.
Small cumulus clouds skip like lambs across the Atlanta sky, chasing the cool February breeze. Pine trees wave at the passing flock. Geese honk in the distance.
Fred-as-Dad kisses me on the cheek and escorts Mom and Beatrice up the stairs to seats around the edge of the gazebo. Opposite the Welles. Cooper offers Grace his hand and leads her up to the center, where Pastor Hawkins waits.
I stand in the dread silence, Dani quiet beside me. Even the birds remain still. The throbbing of my heart pounds loud in my ears. In the cool shade, a bead of sweat rolls down my nose. Darkness clouds the edge of my vision. My body sways.
Breathe.
Dani presses a tender hand against the small of my back and urges me forward. Up the stairs to embrace our dreams.
My hair floats unruly on the breeze—even with my veil. Something tugs on my skirt as I near the top—the hem snagging on one of the steps. Grace pulls it loose, leaving behind one more memory of a once magnificent gown.
Cooper, Dani, me, and Grace—we stand abreast, facing the pastor, surrounded by family. In a fairytale park under an azure sky. An impatient squirrel chatters at us to be on our way. Leaves rustle overhead.
“Dearly beloved,” Pastor Hawkins begins. The man says the words I’ve heard a hundred times before. They echo still in my night visions. My heart knows them true.
Heat spreads across my cheeks. I grin my happiness at Mom. Even Mrs. Welles surrenders a half-hearted smile when I catch her eyes.
Dani takes my hand in hers and slides a ring on my finger. That cute one with the vines. “I, Dànaidh Ailean Welles, take you, Melanie Rose Fairbairn to be my wife. To have and to hold. From this day forward. For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish. Till death do us part.”
Dani says it with such conviction—her promise kept.
Yes. Kept. My dreams abide indeed.
Grace presses a ring into my hand. The one with two hands and a heart.
Mom smiles contentment at me.
You’ve got Danièle now, honey.
You can’t leave yet, Mom. You gotta wait long enough to see your grandbabies.
Dad, I sure wish you could be here too.
The love in Dani’s violet eyes enthralls me when my gaze turns her way again.
I always imagined you this happy married to me.
“I, Melanie...” Pastor Hawkins prompts.
The smallest cloud of doubt whispers across the calm serenity on Dani’s face. Do you truly love me? her eyes ask.
Well, yeah. You know I do. I will always love you.
I slip the ring on the girl’s finger. “I, Melanie Rose Fairbairn, take you, Dànaidh Ailean Welles to be my—”
My intersex girl, the father of my children. By whatever name.
“—um, yeah—my husband. To have and to hold. From this day forward. For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish. Till death do us part.”
Our ceremonies were always simple—the sort a child might invent. I look up at the pastor and wonder if he knows what comes next. He smiles back at me and raises a hand in blessing.
“By the power vested in me by the State of Georgia, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
We did it.
My intersex girl pulls me into a tight embrace and kisses me. The way Dani always did. Time slows. My heart thumps loud in the silence. Maybe I do believe in happily ever afters.
The End
Also from Lianne Simon
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Jameson can be like other boys after minor surgery and a few years on testosterone Well, at least that's what his parents always say. But Jamie sees an elfin princess in the mirror, and male hormones would only ruin her pretty face. For him to become the man his parents expect, Jameson must leave behind the hopes and dreams of a little girl. But what is so wrong with Jamie's dreams that they can't be her life?
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