Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
"Oh noes." Bailey freezes when she sees a smudge on her frilly white dress we'd picked out together a few weeks ago especially for today.
"It's fine, sweetheart," I reassure her.
"It must be perfect." She lifts her small stubby chin. Bailey might be the spitting image of her mother, but my personality is always flowing out of her.
"I can clean it quickly." I offer her my hand. "You get what you needed?"
"Yes." She takes my hand, holding the bundle of flowers in the other one. She insisted on picking them herself, saying that only the most perfect ones would do.
When we get back to the house, I stop in the mudroom to get the smudge off her dress before we pluck the petals together, putting them into her basket.
I'll never understand Truly's and my parents and how absent they were all around. A weight left my shoulders when I'd finished unwrapping myself from all family deals and investments. I was finally able to walk away from it all. I haven’t looked back since.
The only good thing about that past life was it did lead me to Truly, and it lined our pockets so that our little family could live a comfortable life. Money will never be an issue, which gives us freedom. That's not something neither my father nor Truly’s would know about. Their freedom was stripped from them when more things shook free with me stepping away from them.
It had taken a handful of years for it to get through the court system, and they both are serving a five-year sentence, which is rather fitting. It's a little more than they took from Truly and me, with interest.
My sweet wife didn't want to leave her mother destitute, nor mine. They have more than enough to live on. The reality is the punishment for them was the social fallout and alienation.
As for Emily, she fled to Europe in hopes that her name wouldn't be tarnished. Selling out your boss is a sure way to never get hired by a company that's worth anything. Things have not been well for her. I’ve made sure of it. No one messes with my family and gets away with it.
Thankfully, Emily vanished from Truly's mind. Unfortunately, I had to tell her all Emily had done, or she wouldn't have let me ruin Emily’s career. I wanted my two pounds of flesh, but Truly made me settle for one, saying in the end we're the only ones that won. That ruining them was pointless. The life they lived was punishment enough. That's my sweet girl. Hence why I have to handle these things myself.
I know if she found out, she'd only roll her eyes, but it's not on her conscience. Fortunately for me, it’s not on mine either. I'm rather fond of those memories.
"Should I do it like this, Daddy?" I watch Bailey drop one petal at a time.
The bright purple rain boots she’s wearing with flowers on them are a stark contrast to the white dress, but it's Bailey, and my wife and I will always let her express herself. The silly boots won't ruin the wedding pictures; they are a part of our stories, all the details. Each as important as the next.
"What's the other way?" I ask when she makes it to the wall and turns back around to face me.
"Like this!" She starts throwing handfuls up into the air, and they rain down around her, making her giggle.
"I think you have your answer."
"More flowers is always better." I don’t know what I did to deserve this level of happiness, but I know I’d do anything to protect it.
“I didn’t know I would be seeing a real-life fairy princess today.” I look up to see Truly’s best friend, Mabel, walking into the room. I have the utmost respect for her. She’s always had Truly’s back. I’ll forever be grateful to her for being there for Truly when I wasn’t.
Bailey does a spin for her. Mabel and I share a glance. She gives me a small nod. “I got things handled.”
“Thank you." I take a step back.
“He’s going to kiss Mommy, isn’t he?” Bailey asks Mabel, scrunching her button nose. I don’t hear Mabel’s response; I’m already heading up the stairs, dodging a few people putting finishing touches on the food.
The wedding had started out fairly small, but when you live in a quaint town, you find yourself inviting the locals anytime you bump into them. It's not terrible. I quickly learned that I'd been so antisocial and skipping events when I could because of the guest list. In this new life we're building, I'm rather fond of most people here. They’ve become like an extended part of our family.
I want to know the parents our children will go to school with and all the things that come with a town like this. This is a way of life I didn’t believe existed.