The Happy Birthday Song ✓

Epilogue

Tuesday, May 20th 2025

Chichester, England

1:10 PM

The church doors swing open, the afternoon light showers the guests in its warmth as they all stand.

And here comes the bride. Her dress, white and pristine, flows down the length of her body. The very epicentre of the wedding, looking as graceful and beautiful as the sun. Her face is hidden behind the veil but a smile can be seen as her eyes lock with the groom.

As the bride takes her place at the altar, her father lightly kisses her hand and goes to sit down. She passes her colourful bouquet of roses to her maid of honour and taking a deep breath, she turns to face the groom. His smile is infectious and she can't help but smile back. The guests sit themselves down as the priest clears his throat and calls for attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends," the priest begins, smiling benevolently, "we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the joining of Robert Angeles and Farah Finley. With love and commitment, they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife."

Junie cannot help smiling either as she watches her best friend wed the man of her dreams. The planning and preparation for the wedding has been absolute mayhem. When she met up with Farah eight months ago, she expected their standard coffee date and catch up about their lives, what she did not expect was Farah to announce Bobby proposed and that she wanted Junie to be the maid of honour.

It took four stressful months to find the perfect wedding dress and it was worth it because Farah looks stunning. Her dress, however, is a little tight and but she did not want to bring up the matter on the day of wedding as Farah was already stressed and freaking out about all the things that could wrong.

The bible readings and the vows pass by in a saccharine blur and as they exchange rings and make promises to love each other until their deaths, Junie is reminded of her own wedding. Of seven years ago in a small church in Brisbane. Of the rush that came with being pronounced man and wife and their first dance underneath the stars.

She steals a glance at her husband. Dylan is sat in the second row, looking exceptionally handsome in his tuxedo. His eyes suddenly meet hers, and in the twenty-two years they have known each other and in the seven years they have been married, his piercing blue eyes never fail to make her heart flutter. His mouth widens into a bright grin and he gives her a thumbs up. Junie smiles at him and returns her attention to the bride and groom, just in time to see them kiss. The entire church breaks into applause and a few wolf whistles.

7:34 PM

Junie Mercer watches from her seat as Farah and Bobby take to their first dance as husband and wife. She smiles to herself. Last night, during her hen night, Farah revealed she's three weeks pregnant. Bobby's a great man and she imagines the two of them are going to fantastic parents.

"Junebug."

She looks up at the sound of her nickname. Dylan's stood before her, holding a glass filled to the brim with champagne and another with orange juice as he smiles warmly. He passes her  a drink and sits himself down on the seat next to her. 

Of course, nobody can quite believe that Dylan Mercer, the internationally famous singer-songwriter, is at the wedding. It's a good thing most of the people are close friends of theirs. For probably the umpteenth time that day, she thinks that he looks very handsome in his suit, she's seen many of the women stealing glances at him and she feels sense of triumph every time they frown as they catch the gold wedding band around his finger. He's going to be performing later, singing some of his best hits and a special number he wrote just for Bobby and Farah.