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When she finally does appear, it wakes me up from the bored haze I was sinking into.
Amelia looks stunning. The extravagant dress makes her dark hair stand out even more than usual. Her red lips and rosy cheeks pop. This is her moment, and I love it for her. I love that I’m here, and a part of this family. Tears well up in my eyes, andpour over when hers meet mine. She smiles at me, and it's filled with nothing but joy. It feels very representative of my life now, happier than I know what to do with.
Amelia met Sam at the beginning of the year, after he walked into her office as a prospective client. That didn’t work out, obviously, because they hit it off immediately. After twenty minutes of talking, she closed the office early to go out on a date with him.
He proposed after a couple months, and none of us were surprised. Miles and Justin love the guy. We all see how happy he makes her, how well they fit. And he’s ahilariousaddition to family dinners.
The ceremony is gorgeous. The vows make me cry even harder, almost an embarrassing amount for how many people are in the crowd.
I'm not the only one. I peek over at my boyfriend, and even he's wiping tears away with the back of his hand.
Amelia and I have bonded a lot over the last few months. We've had tons of deep conversations, learned more about each other's life experiences. She became a single mom at such a young age, and she didn't know how to manage having her own life and raising her sons at the same time. It had seemed impossible to her, and it's obvious mistakes were made along the way.
But our mistakes get us where we need to be, none of us would accomplish much without them. I've accepted her apologies a hundred times by now, and I fully understand that her actions were rooted in her love for her son. There was no way for her to know how sincere I was. There was no way for her to truly know that I was genuinely in love with him.
There's no way for anyone to deny it now.
Another interesting new development is her relationship with my best friends. Reya, always insistent on being included ineverything, and Vic, who’s happy to go with the flow, have been toplentyof family dinners. Sometimes Vic’s husband will join us, sometimes all of the children do too. Amelia basically has three new grandchildren that she endlessly spoils.
Justin and Isabelle split their weeks in half with their kids, so they're a part of the fun most of the time, thankfully. The last year has really turned us all into one big family. It’s what my girls already were to me for so long, and I love that everyone is happy to have been brought together. There’s never a dull day between us.
For the reception we eat delicious, fancy food that is entirely overboard, just like most of Amelia's taste. Miles holds my hand the whole time we're seated and we listen to everyone chat around us.
Until, of course, it's time for him to give a speech.
He's so happy to do it. So dedicated to everything he does and everyone he loves. I give him a quick kiss before he stands to take his place in front of the microphone. I watch his ass the whole way, not caring who notices.
"Hi, everyone." He turns his head away and clears his throat, his only sign of nervousness. "I'm Miles, the son of the bride. A very lucky son to have been raised by this incredible woman. She's taught me a lot with her words, and her stories, but even more with her actions.” He goes on about her strength, and what a great job she did as a mother. I get choked up, agreeing with every word.
She did do a good job. Miles is proof of it.
He looks at her and smiles. "I'm so glad you found someone that you can complain to. Someone that takes care of you the way you take care of everyone else. Thank you, Sam. We're happy to have you."
Someone reaches a glass of champagne out to him and he laughs, realizing he forgot to grab his own on his way up there. I smile to myself.
"Cheers to finally finding the person you needed all along. I love you both very much."
I watch as everyone in the room sips their champagne, and realize a second too late that I should pretend to take a sip of mine too. There are way too many observant people in this room and I don't need anyone reportinganythingtoanyoneuntil I'm ready.
Thankfully Vic and Reya are caught up in their own applause.
I place the glass against my lips and hope the fact that the liquid inside doesn't make contact with them isn't obvious to anyone around me.
I think I’m in the clear, because all the attention is on Amelia and her son as they embrace. I love seeing him so happy, and I can't wait to give him one more reason.
The night is calmer than I anticipated. The group of us hanging out in our hotel room consists of myself, Miles, my girls, and Justin.
Julian is happily on baby duty for the night. Last we saw, they were all half asleep in their huge bed, trying to keep their eyes on the princess movie that was playing.
The brothers have celebrated hard today. They're both a bit drunk, and talk over each other every time one of them unlocks a new memory they need to share.
"I think it might be time everyone switches to drinking water," I say as I stand. I’ve heard enough about the scar on Justin’s butt.
Vic stands to follow me.
"I think that's a great idea."
It's a nice place, bigger than I ever thought I'd see myself in, thanks to Amelia's splurging. Instead of being one hotel room, it's more like three or four of them put together. We turn the corner to a full sized kitchen, and my attention goes towards the fridge. I am rather parched now that I think of it. I should have filled that champagne glass with water earlier.
