4.8.2022
This cover photo is as close as I could find to what I imagine for the wedding venue! The top picture is where the wedding and reception are based. The bottom picture is where the luncheon is based. I wish I could describe them exactly how I see them, or have pictures of how I actually see them, but these work:) Anyway, sorry it took a few days longer than normal to upload this chapter! Hope y'all enjoy:)
We'd tried to keep the wedding relatively small, mainly family and close friends, but it was still a bigger group than I'd expected, considering the size of our families. Still, our photographer did an amazing job with all the photos, even the big group photos.
Both the beach and the venue make beautiful backdrops, and it takes about an hour to get all the different group photos we want. After we do one with the other Salty Christians, I know those ones will be some of my favorites. As well as the ones with Rylie's siblings. Then we do some with my cousins, and based on the amount of laughter and awkward poses we do, I know those will be good, too. Basically, I was excited to see all of the pictures.
As everyone begins heading back inside, Rylie and I stay back for a few pictures of just us. The photographer keeps the beach as our background for a few different poses before turning us so the venue building stands tall behind us.
I don't let go of Rylie once during the whole shoot, and I probably enjoyed the kissing poses too much, but I was so happy. Her dress ruffles and blows around us in the light breeze, and I brush her hair behind her ear as the wind teases it.
"I should've worn my hair up." She laughs, and I turn us so she's facing the wind, and her hair blows away from her face.
"Better?"
"Much better. Thank you, love."
"You're welcome." I grin before kissing Rylie. Despite it being the end of November, the weather was still really nice. The rain had let up just as I was finishing getting ready, and it looked like it would stay clear for a while longer.
Our sandals sit in the sand near the base of the stairs we'd come down, and the sand tickles our bare feat each time we move. Not many people are on the beach which is surprising, but I'm thankful. That way, no one was getting in the way. The waves are calm, crashing softly on the shore behind us, accompanying the click of the photographer's camera as she shoots.
"Alright girls, I think we're good!"
"Thanks, Kendra." I say with a smile. She was another student in one of my photography classes, but I always wondered why she was even taking photography classes. Her photos were amazing.
"You bet. You two are a dream to photograph, and both so beautiful. Can I do all of your other needed photoshoots, too? Or even just random photoshoots I need for school?" She says, and the three of us laugh. "For real though, I'm excited for these pictures. I'll let you get to the luncheon but I'll be around snapping candid's and whatnot."
"Grab some food for yourself!" Rylie says, giving Kendra a warm smile before she disappears back inside.
"Can I grab some food, too?" I tease, taking Rylie's hand again.
"For you, my wife? Anything." Rylie responds before pulling me towards the building.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The luncheon is in a different room, a large, wide room with round tables and brown chairs, already filled with our family and friends. Dark, shiny wood floors stretch beneath us, and white curtains with twinkle lights line the windows, parted to let the light in. More long, white curtains are strung from each corner of the room and connect to a large chandelier in the center of the ceiling. Small pictures of Rylie and I sit on the center of each round table, along with a vase and a singular orchid flower. It was hard not to smile when I saw those pictures. I obviously loved them, partially because I took them, but also because somehow, our love for each other really showed in each picture.
The room is bright and happy, and chatter and laughter surround us the moment we step through the doorway. "I love this." I say softly as I watch our people mingle.
"I love you." Rylie says before kissing my cheek. She pulls me further into the room towards a table with two empty chairs, and I grin when she pulls my chair out for me.
"Thank you, love." I slip my left hand onto her thigh, or rather, the layers and layers of the fabric of her dress covering what would be her thigh before studying the food in front of us. "Oh my God..." I breathe, and Rylie laughs. We'd both decided what to do for food for the luncheon, and I'd been excited then, but seeing it now, in front of me, was a whole different story.
My fancy glass plate is filled with mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and fried chicken. The smell alone is tantalizing to my senses and I can instantly feel my mouth watering. Rylie, already proving that she was the best wife in the entire world, slides a cold can of Dr. Pepper beside my plate. Condensation drips down the side, the little drops reflecting the twinkle lights around the room, and leaving small wet dots on the cream colored table cloth.
"Marry me again." I say with a grin before leaning over to kiss her.
"Okay." She says with a laugh.
Before eating, I glance around our table and see that we sat with my grandparents on my dad's side, Rylie's grandma, Spencer, and the triplets. The grandparents are chatting happily with each other, while Spencer is having a competition with the boys to see who can stack the most corn and make the tallest tower. I shake my head and laugh as I start eating. Spencer was so good with his younger brothers, and he had been spending so much time with them, and Harper lately.
When I first met Rylie and she'd told me about her family, she said that Spencer had moved out as soon as he could. Their parents had been in the process of a divorce after years of fighting, and he no longer wanted to deal with it. I know it had hurt Rylie that he'd left, but she also understood why.
Now that things were beginning to mend between Spencer, Rylie and their mother, Spencer had been coming around more. It also helped that they had a new sibling to get to know. Harper had everyone wrapped around her little finger. She was the reason the family was able to start healing and forgiving the damage that had been done. That was a pretty great reason to mend a broken family, in my opinion.
As I eat, I watch my grandparents. Before my father died, I went tot see them at least once a month. They lived in Charleston, South Carolina, and we used to make weekend trips out there all the time. My dad had lots of siblings, but he was the one that visited his parents the most. All of my aunts and uncles on that side had three to six kids each, so maybe it was harder for them to make frequent trips.
Occasionally, others would come on these trips and I'd have some cousins to play with, but I didn't mind being the only one to go visit grandpa and grandma. They were both retired, and they always had fun stuff planned for me. Plus, they lived right on the beach which was obviously an added bonus.
After my father died, we'd stopped visiting them so much, and pretty soon, we stopped going completely. I'd always wondered if it was because it made my mother sad, but when I was about 14, I heard her on the phone with my uncle Jeff, my fathers brother. She'd told him that my grandparents had asked us to stop coming because it was hard to see me growing into a young woman and seeing all of the characteristics I'd gotten from my father, that they would never see in him again.
I had been so angry for months after that, but it had taken me so long to talk to my mom about it. Her father had passed away before I was born, and her mother had moved to Arizona, so we didn't see her much.
My father's parents had been the only grandparents I'd known, and then suddenly, they were hardly a part of my life. First, I lost my father, but they always seemed to avoid me. That's why I had gotten so attached to Chester, I think. He had been the grandfather I'd been yearning for all the years after I'd lost my own.
When I finally talked to my mother about it, her eyes had filled with tears and she'd pulled me down on the couch, keeping her hands on mine.
"They miss your father so much. After his siblings all left and moved, he was the only one that went back to visit them regularly. They loved seeing you, too. You get your looks from your father. Your dark, curly hair, your beautiful brown eyes, even your cute button nose. They always commented how you were his carbon copy, but prettier." My mother had said with a small laugh.
"They'd grown to love you so much, but when your father died, it was so painful for them to keep seeing you, knowing they'd never get to see their son again."
"But why?" I'd cried. At nearly 15, I had gotten good about hiding my emotions until I was alone, but this had been too painful. "Wouldn't they want to see me more?" I hadn't been able to understand.
"I wish I knew, honey. And I hope they'll come around eventually, because they're missing out on knowing a wonderful young woman."
As I remember this conversation with my mother, my heart swells. She and I had always had the hardest conversations, but they'd been so vital. That had kind of changed while I was dating Gabe and when she'd sent me to the surf camp, but I was so grateful things had improved greatly since then.
Rylie's hand slides onto my hand, and I realize I'd stopped eating. "You okay?" She asks, concern written in her blue eyes.
"Yeah, just thinking. I'll fill you in later." I promise with a reassuring smile. My eyes focus back on my grandparents, and I'm stunned to see my grandmother's eyes already on mine. A look of regret and pain flashes across her features, and I feel my heart shift. Somehow, I knew she was thinking about the past, too.
I'd forgiven both her and my grandfather long ago, but I'd never gotten close to them again. I didn't love them any less, though, and I was so happy they'd decided to come to my wedding. I send my grandmother a smile, one full of love, forgiveness, and happiness. Her expression transforms instantly, filling with relief and love.
When I finish eating, Spencer and the boys get up, and I decide to bridge the gap that had been widening over the years, and go talk to my grandmother. "I'm gonna go over there for a bit." I whisper to Rylie.
"Okay! I wanted to talk to my Aunt anyway, so I'll just go now. See you in a bit?"
"Don't be gone too long." I smile and kiss her cheek before moving to Spencer's vacant chair.
"You look lovely, Aspen." My grandmother says as I sit.
"Thank you, grandma. And thank you both for coming. I know it was a bit of a drive, but it means the world to me."
"We wouldn't have missed it. I know we missed a lot after..." She clears her throat and swallows hard. "After your father passed away, but recently, I realized what a mistake that was. I am so sorry for everything. We shouldn't have let his death push away the greatest part of him."
Tears fill my eyes at my grandmother's unexpected apology, and I place my hand over hers on the table. "Greif is really powerful. Everyone deals with it in their own way. Heaven knows I did."
"You are too good, Aspen. Rylie is so lucky to have you. You two make a beautiful couple, and I can tell she makes you happy. Unlike that Gabe guy. From the pictures your mother sent, I did not like him. Jeff told me what happened to him, and I'm tempted to bake cookies and send them to the prison for the guys that took care of him."
"Grandma!" I bark out a laugh and cover my mouth as I get the attention of my cousins at a nearby table.
"I'm kidding, obviously. I am really glad you found Rylie. You two remind me of my best friend when I was younger, before I met your grandfather."
It takes a moment for her words to click in my brain, but my eyes widen the moment I understand. "You..." I can't find the right words.
My grandmother was like me?
"Yes. We were in love. It was during a time when that sort of thing wasn't accepted, so we kept it hidden. Eventually, we both did what was best for us and found young men that could take care of us and help provide the families we'd always yearned for. I love your grandfather, but I still think of her sometimes."
"Oh, grandma. I had no idea, that must've been so hard." I couldn't imagine not being with Rylie. Even if I had to be with her in secret, I would choose that over not being with her at all.
"It could've been a lot harder, but luckily, she was still a part of my life for a very long time, and your grandfather was the reason for that. He knew how much we meant to each other, and he did everything he could to keep us in each other's lives. I was very blessed."
"So that's why you and grandpa hardly reacted at all when you found out I was marrying a girl." I say with a laugh.
"Yes." My grandmother joins in on my laughter. "I was glad my favorite granddaughter took after me in her attractions." She jokes, and I giggle. "I'd love to officially meet Rylie once she's free again. I want to be a part of your life again, and I'd like to start with getting to know your wife."
My wife. That would take some getting used to.
My eyes find Rylie across the room, and I watch her for a moment before responding. "I'd really like that." I finally say with a warm smile.
A/N: A few days ago, my cat had babies and I wanted to share a picture! Three of them didn't make it, but I was able to save one of them and pretty much bring him back to life. He's got a black smudge beneath his nose, so I named him Snuffs because for some reason, that seemed fitting 😂 He is absolutely adorable and I'm obsessed with him!!