Page 115 of Just One Moment

“ShouldIread it now?”Shelooks up at me eagerly.

“I’dlike that.Readthem to me.”Idrag her onto my lap and settle us against the pillows.

We’redefinitely going to be late for dinner now.

Sheopens the book andIsee her cheeks pull up in a smile as she traces the letters.Wedrift into our own world whenQuinnbegins reading out each haiku, slowly and softly.

Mywords, spoken by her.

ThewayIwould describe my love forQuinnJacksongoes beyond the twenty-six letters of the alphabet.Allthe languages in the world aren’t enough.

Yet, from the dayImet her,Ifound myself writing poetry again.SomethingIhadn’t done for almost fourteen years.

Justone moment was all it took for me to see a new future.

Everymoment after, has been beautiful, life altering, andallowed me to not only find the love of my life but the old me again.Ihave the woman tucked against my chest to thank for that.

That’swhere she’ll stay, in my arms, until the end of my days.

There'sno pot of gold

Atthe end of the rainbow

You'llonly find us

epilogue

GRAHAM

TEN MONTHS LATER

Theprobability of my heart being any fuller: zero.

ButthenIlook down at my wife.

Mywife.

Justhours ago, the woman whose smile can’t be dimmed by a solar eclipse, weaved her fingers with mine as we shared promises to each other to keep for the rest of our lives.Wemight have been surrounded by our family and friends, but she was allIsaw.

Iguess not much has changed since the day we met.

Wheneveryone stood and she walked toward me, time stopped.Evenon the arm of my big brother—who most definitely shed a tear when she asked him to walk her down the aisle—it was just the two of us.Hersimple, white satin dress was molded to her exquisite body, the material rippling like pearlescent water.

Eachstep she took, brought her closer to becoming mine in a whole new way.

Ididn’t attempt to hide my tears and neither did she.Withoutsaying it, we both shared the same thought.Thiswas the moment we had been waiting our entire lives for.

Weagreed the ceremony didn’t need to be extravagant, and after saying our vows at the town hall, we went back to my mom’s house to celebrate.Quinn—my wife, because that’s never going to get old—wanted just two things.Abouquet of yellow flowers and a wedding cake made by her.

I’venever been one to say no to her and she really outdid herself with the four-tiered, half-nakedVictoriasponge.

We’reall crowded in the kitchen, laughter from our loved ones filling the air.

Atug on my pant leg has me peering down to find my niece staring up at me with a gap-toothed smile.

“UncleGray.Nowthat you’re married, will you be having a baby likeDaddyandJoJoare?”

Quinnsqueezes my hand, curling her lips around her teeth to stop her laughter.