The Happy Ending

four months later

I was nervous before Linda and Eric got married because I didn't think anyone would ever ask me to be a bridesmaid. I spent the whole day with my aunt, helping her get ready, and I admired her calmness. The nervousness that should accompany the bride was not visible at all. Instead, she smiled softly as if it were an entirely ordinary day.

The ceremony itself, and then the party, had a modest form and a smooth course. However, I will not say that when I saw my grandmother's twin, I suddenly felt threatened, but she smiled politely at me and I understood that I was safe from her. Nevertheless, in her presence, I could not hide my nervousness, it was unable to leave me. From our side, her sons also appeared with their partners. Everyone turned out to be quite nice, and interested in me. Though they normally lived on the property, Grandma kept no one but Linda away from me. They claimed I was like my mother and even started sharing stories from her youth with me. During the conversation, however, out of the corner of my eye I noticed someone's nervous mind and decided to follow it.

It turns out it is Eric's eldest son from his first relationship who was discussing something outside with his younger siblings. A fourteen-year-old copy of his father tried to overcome stage fright at the speech he was going to make on behalf of himself and his two brothers. They wanted to formally ask Linda to call her "mom". I listened to them repeating all the details again. The oldest child's voice was trembling and he had no desire to step in front of the guests. I was surprised at how close they are to Linda. I was also generally surprised to find out how old she has been with Eric. However, I was glad that my aunt found happiness and her family.

"You know you don't have to do this," I said, getting their attention.

"But I've seen such videos on the Internet..." - began the middle boy.

"Look, I can see that you are nervous about this and you are stressing yourself unnecessarily." I smiled. "I mean, my aunt doesn't care about any public action. I think it will be even more valuable to her if you talk to her in private, she is already happy that she has you and that you have accepted her."

"Really?" the youngest asked.

"Of course," I nodded. "Besides, have you seen how terrible a woman looks with makeup smeared from crying? You won't even start talking and she will cry already.” I laughed. "Believe me, make-up artists are expensive now," I suddenly grew serious, wanting to make fun of them a little.

They followed my advice afterward and of course, complained later that I had told them something about expensive makeup and then they were afraid not to make my aunt cry. But my relative thanked me because the fact that it all happened without an audience was even more valuable.

fourteen months later

Surprisingly, Tetsu was not very influenced by the meeting with his grandmother, he often laughed about it, but I knew that his soul was wincing at the loss of mental health he had suffered. It took over a year to work through this trauma. He pretended everything was fine, even when I tried to reach him with my own power, he reacted to even the slightest presence of power with a masked fear and smile.

It made me nervous because I wanted to talk to him about it, but he still got into the lie that he was fine. We argued frequently during this period, although our relationship did not seem to be so at the beginning. And even with the most serious of them, not even the slightest thought appeared in his head to end our relationship. In this I found the strength to work on the problem and also on myself to understand him better. I also had to accept the fact that I could not push and give in to the feeling that the problem must be solved as soon as possible so that it does not develop into a more serious form. This particular one, however, required work, not a cut like a Gordian knot.

Only after that did we start making serious plans for the future and moving in together. Of course, it was different from that week, which was some kind of a substitute for living together. At that time, I didn't know what would come of it either. At first, it was strange, even though we hadn't been together since yesterday, Tetsu was careful about every little step. All the time somewhere he thought back to the fact that his previous relationship had failed. It also made me more attentive, and the lack of a certain naturalness and the tension that accompanied us in the first few weeks irritated even Kiba.

One day, before going for a walk, the dog put us against the wall and asked for explanations as to why we behaved differently in each other's presence than when we are only with him. We looked at each other uncertainly, pondering our pet's question.

"Well," I said. "Tetsu, we will achieve nothing without being truly ourselves in every aspect.

"You know I'm afraid of a quarrel," Tetsu muttered, avoiding my eyesight. "I don't want to screw this up like last time."

I placed my hand gently on his cheek and smiled. He looked my way and allowed himself to share his worries, fears, and hidden emotions with me

"Quarrels are also part of the relationship, the first one will happen eventually and many others too, but we must have the ground to start working out compromises that satisfy both of us. If we both put in a lot of work, we'll make it, right?"

He nodded his agreement and stroked Kiba, thanking him for pointing out the problem. From that moment on, things started to move in a better direction. On our second anniversary of the day we met, Tetsu asked me to go shopping because he hid a gift for me somewhere and needs a moment to pack it.

I couldn't disagree and all in all, I went to Victor and Alex, whose apartments were used as a hiding place for my gift. For most of my relationship with Tetsu, I tried to collect various souvenirs, such as tickets from the places where we were on dates, postcards, and photos, some taken in secret. A few months ago, when I noticed that there were quite a few of them, I decided to make a souvenir of them. I had to ask Victor for help, because even though I was creative with baking and decorating cakes, now I didn't quite know what I wanted to achieve. I was browsing the Internet for inspiration, but a lot of them also did not make my task any easier. Months of work paid off, however, and I was pleased with the result and gladly returned with the wrapped gift in my hand.

It was starting to snow, so I quickened my pace because I hadn't taken my hat, not expecting the weather to get worse. When I walked back home I was surprised to see Kiba wearing his elegant collar and waiting for me with a serious face.

"Please close your eyes and follow me," the dog announced.

"Okay," I laughed. "I didn't think you'd be caught up in this too. Tetsu could tell if he wanted to organize a gala dinner. We could have cooked something together."

"Who said this was dinner?" Tetsu muttered, who suddenly found himself behind me. I wanted to open my eyes but he told me not to.

"What's happening?" I asked uncertainly.

"Surprise."

"I already know that," I replied, a bit worried about the situation when I don't quite know what to expect.

"But you don't know what the surprise is, do you?" Tetsu asked hesitantly.

"I guess you prepared dinner and some gifts, but I don't know what you got. I also have a gift for you, by the way," I said, trying to change the subject.

"Just making sure you don't guess anything too correctly," he added nervously.

I was wondering where it came from. He was cooking something he wasn't sure about, or maybe he had burned something. Did he try to bake a cake without being able to? Tetsu figured out something. I felt a little nervous about his nerves and I was getting impatient.

"No, I don't know anything, but I'm getting nervous," I replied.

"Me too," he sighed, and I felt him tightly gripping my hand in his, but I thought he was holding it at a strange angle. "The rules are simple, I will ask a question and you will answer. Now quietly count to three and open your eyes."

I did as he told me and I saw him kneeling in front of me and Kiba sitting next to him with a pillow on his head, on which there was a box with a cute, modest ring. The dog tried his best not to move and waited for my reply.

"Lucretia, will you do me this honor and be my wife?"

A few seconds passed before I realized the meaning of his words, then I started to cry happily while nodding my consent.

one year later

I was convinced that having already experienced the wedding of the eldest child, I would not be so nervous about the next one, but I was wrong. It has turned out that marrying a daughter is a much more difficult task than when your son gets married. I have appeared in court so many times, and everyone's eyes were on me, but it terrified me to know everyone would be watching me as I walked my daughter down the aisle. Martha adjusted my tie one last time and went to sit in the front row. I looked around at the rustic little room that stood not far from the restaurant where the party would be held. Linda and Flora acted as bridesmaids, and Victor and Hyacinth agreed to become the groomsmen.

At last, I was able to take Lucretia by the arm. My daughter looked beautiful in a dress that Martha designed and sewed for her. The delicate makeup only emphasized her beauty. I won't say that I shed a tear at the outset, but I quickly wiped it off, pretending that nothing like that had happened. Lucretia smiled at me, barely keeping her emotions in check. I was glad that I was the only one who would not be bothered by crying.

"Ready?" I asked in a whisper.

"Yes, and you Dad?" she replied.

I couldn't answer right away, as if in front of mine my eyes saw the ghosts of my dead friends. Leonard and Lucia smiled at me and stood on the other side of Lucretia. The bride's biological father took his daughter in one arm and his wife in the other. I didn't know where it had come from, whether it was done by Lucretia herself or by my own mind, but however it happened, I was immensely grateful for it.

"Thank you," Leonard said to me, with teary eyes.

"You did excellently," Lucia added. "My adult, happy daughter," she laughed softly looking at Lucretia. "It's all I dreamed of for her."

"Yes, now I'm ready," I said and wiped more tears.

another year later

Alex and I went to the toy store. We were getting ready to visit Lulu for the first time after leaving the hospital. I was nervous because my sister asked me to be godfather to her children. I thought I would have had this role earlier when Ginny gave birth to her son, but apparently, she strongly opted for godparents to be relatives on her side of the family. Hyacinth reluctantly agreed but said he would make it up to us and explain to the child that we are the cooler uncles and aunt.

Another thing caught my eye and I tapped Alex on the shoulder. I asked if maybe we should choose this as the first gift after all.

“Victor, I think Lulu and Tetsuya don't care about gifts, but visiting them."

"I just want to be a good godfather," I refused. "It's a serious task."

"You will do a great job and I'll help you," Alex said, squeezing my hand gently.

"But even Ginny ..."

"She thinks no one is worthy to even be in the presence of her child. You shouldn't worry at all."

I agreed with him and we moved on, still looking for the perfect gift. I couldn't decide on anything. Nothing impressed me, but I noticed that Alex had been standing by the shelf with mascots for a long time. I walked over and stood next to him. He was staring at two similar, but nonetheless slightly different mascots of foxes.

"They will be perfect!" I was glad and immediately went to the cash register with my loot.

"Yes, they're good for the twins," Alex added, and he followed me, putting his arm around me.