Memory Lane

Chapter 37. Epilogue

Three years later...

Desiree

I stared at myself in the mirror while Wendy and Lyla made a fuss behind me. They were busy trying to get my veil right, but all I could focus on was the woman staring back at me. Today was my wedding day, exactly three years from the exact date that Jax proposed. I was wearing Gemma's old wedding dress from when she married Clay because it was quite frankly the only thing that would fit me now. I was heavily pregnant with Jax's third child but his first girl. If Gemma were alive today she would freak over the arrival of her first granddaughter, but this was sadly a day I had to walk alone.

Music started to play in the background to alert me that it was time to walk. Lyla and Wendy squealed excitedly before they assisted me with getting to the altar. I can't say I wasn't nervous as the make-believe butterflies made my stomach turn. Abel and Thomas were the ring bearers while Opie's daughter, Ellie, was my flower girl. She was doing her best to keep the boys at her pace while still managing to throw rose petals behind her.

"All rise!" Chibs yelled at the congregation and went up to the altar to shove the officiant out of the way. I could hear the light snickers and laughs of the people, and I couldn't help but join them. However, when I laid my eyes on Jax, I could feel all the air leave my body. He was standing at the end of the altar in his own version of his Sunday best. No suit, but he did manage to buy a fresh pair of sneakers for the big day.

As I got closer to him he left his place at the altar to meet me halfway to assist me to the end. The smile on his face was contagious and I couldn't help feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. He could hardly make it through the service without touching me in some way.

"Calm down Jackie boy, she's already pregnant," Chibs joked earning a few more laughs from the audience. "Do you Jax take Desiree to be your wife?" Chibs asked getting straight to the point.

Jax looked at me with such a look of admiration that I was in awe, "I do."

"Do you Desiree take Jax to be your husband?"

"I do," I said matching his cheesy grin.

"Then may the love of this man and this woman, their unity of spirit, grow deeper and stronger in the uncertainties and changes of life they will share. Bennachd dia dhuit. I love you both. You may now kiss your bride."

Jax placed his hands on my belly and pulled my frame closer to him. As soon as his lips landed on mine a chorus of cheers erupted in the church. Thomas and Abel ran up to us and Jax picked up each of them off the ground. When we made our way down the isle rice was being thrown at us and landing in our hair. I don't believe I ever stopped smiling even on the way to the reception.

It wasn't a huge celebration because we didn't want anything over the top. Jax and I just wanted to be surrounded by family and good energy on our special day. We had the reception at the clubhouse and it truly felt like a party. There was music playing and the kids were running around while the guys were drinking and laughing outside.

I was talking with Lyla and Wendy until I felt a pair of strong arms around me. I didn't have to turn around to know that it was Jax, I could smell him from a mile away. "May I have this dance Mrs. Teller?" he whispered in my ear.

I felt my cheeks heat up as I followed him to the dance floor. He had made Ratboy play my favorite song and I closed my eyes as he held me close. I inhaled his fresh clean scent that was mixed with the smell of weed and possibly a beer or two.

"You know, if you weren't already pregnant, we wouldn't be on this dance floor right now," I opened my eyes to see the cocky grin on his face and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I can't believe I just married you," I said rolling my eyes.

Jax feigned offense, "what are you trying to say? Am I that bad?" And as if she was answering his question herself, the baby inside of me kicked. Jax felt it and he looked down at my belly, "not you already plotting against me. Don't worry we'll make a daddy's girl out of you."

"No way, she is going to be mommy's little girl," I protested, "I'm tired of living in a house fueled by testosterone."

"Yeah, we'll see about that, but that girl's got Teller blood in her," Jax said confidently.

"Meaning?"

"She's going to choose me every time," Jax said matter-of-factly. I snorted at his cockiness and he rolled his eyes at me before planting a kiss on my belly. Whispering sweet nothings to the soon-to-be addition to the Teller family. "You come up with any names yet?" he said standing back up to dance with me.

I shook my head, "no, I haven't heard anything I like yet." Jax nodded his head and continued to dance with me. Abel and Thomas came out of nowhere with cake covering their faces and started to circle around us. "Whoa! Watch out for momma, she's carrying your sister," he kneeled down to the boy's level and pointed at my stomach.

Thomas and Abel placed their hands on my stomach and leaned into my embrace. "Hey, what do you think we should name her," he said looking between the two of them. I could see the boys stop to think for a moment as they pondered the question. Thomas came up short and simply shrugged his shoulders when he couldn't come up with anything. But then Abel said, "Rosie," as he looked to his dad for approval.

Jax looked at me and I tried to hide my face. "Rosie?" I questioned knowing that it sounded a lot like Gemma's estranged mother Rose. It felt strange naming my child after someone that I'd never really met. "Yeah, Rosie, after my mom's favorite flower. New beginnings right darlin?"

I stood there for a moment and looked at my boy's faces. I placed my hands on my stomach and started to speak to the child inside. "How do you like the name Rosie kid?" My question was met with a light kick, "I guess she likes it, Rosie it is." Abel looked proud of himself as his dad patted his back and Thomas placed his hands on my stomach to feel his sister kick. Everything was as it should be, and I could ask for nothing more at that moment. Because the good times were no longer memories from the past, but were now my present and also my future.

The End