Rebel(71)

I smile gently. “Not a doctor yet, Chuck.”

“I’m sure it’s just a matter of formality,” he laughs.

“Sure. And four more years of med school. And years of internship.” The path to being a doctor is long, but I’ve survived pre-med. What’s ten more years, right?

I take a moment to glance out over the ocean. It’s a gorgeous day on the deck of the Golden Emperor of the Seas. When Gavin and I decided where we wanted to get married, there really wasn’t any question. It was just too perfect.

This time our parents are here, and weird as our situation is to some people, they are happy for us. We’ve all had four years to adjust, I guess. We mostly find it funny to freak people out by talking about “our parents”. Mom and Herb don’t think it’s nearly as amusing, but whatever. These days we’re just a normal family, or as normal as billionaire mother/daughter father/son families get.

We even pulled a few strings and found Joyce and Mabel so we could invite them. If Chuck was amused, Joyce found the whole thing hilarious. Of course, she got the story when we were here the first time, but it only made her appreciate the irony more.

The music starts, and I have a flash of deja vu. Barring a few central people, the crowd’s different, but it looks the same. The long red runner from the door to the ivy-covered arch at the end looks the same. Captain Chuck waiting for us at the end is the same. We start the same walk.

But it’s also different. We’re older, and we know what we’re doing this time. And this time we know we’re in love.

Oh, and I’m wearing a dress.

I look up at Gavin, who’s taking in the setting. It’s amazing how he changed once he started talking to his dad. More specifically, when he quit working for him. Things were tense for a while, but they worked through it. Herb never said anything, but I think he figured Gavin would come back crawling.

Instead, Gavin took everything he’d learned from his father and used it to start an investment firm of his own, and while he isn’t making billions, he’s well on his way. It made him take himself more seriously, and he’s got more respect from his father now than he ever did before. Suddenly they’re equals.

Fortunately our first pregnancy scare was just that, a scare, but maybe it’s time to change that? I’m in no hurry, but I can imagine Gavin with our own son or daughter. He says he’ll never be as rich as his dad, because he spends so much time with me. One day that will be us. But he also says that’s why he’s already more successful, so I can live with that. Quite happily.

For the rest of our days.





*** THE END ***