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Through All the Dust

Chapter Fifty-Five: All is Not Lost

Lauren, Mona, and I were relaxing by the pool. We were officially one day away from the Haner-Peterson nuptials and spirits were high. The boys had insisted that it was a great day for a swim, but we ladies weren’t having it. Sun first, pool later.
I watched as Brian and Matt splashed around, careful not to spill the drinks in their free hands. They looked so…happy. It was the first time I’d really noticed their joy in the many months since Jimmy had died. It was uplifting to say the least. I loved to see my man in all his glory, soaking up his life.
“You’re going to be a married woman tomorrow,” Mona spoke suddenly. “I can’t wrap my head around it.”
“I know!” Lauren agreed loudly. “Isn’t it crazy?”
“It feels like you just met Brian,” Mona thought aloud. “I can still remember the way he followed you around blindly across the country…He loved you so much.”
“Loved?” I repeated with a sly grin.
“He still does, obviously,” she laughed at herself. “I was just thinking about the night you ODed.”
“Don’t think about that,” I instructed her, glancing quickly at Lauren to ensure the word hadn’t tipped her over the edge.
It hadn’t.
“I was just thinking about the way Brian knew…God,” she gushed with a roar. “He’s dreamy.”
“Who’s dreamy?” Justin’s voice cracked, startling the three of us.
We all whipped around to find a shirtless Justin grinning down at us. His tattooed chest looked strange illuminated by the brilliant sun.
Mona smiled, “You, Baby.”
“Don’t you forget it,” he winked, walking quickly passed us and into the pool.
The boys greeted him with a cheer, taking them into their weird little circle. I thought back to the time when Justin and Brian hardly got along at all. They’d kept up appearances well enough, but Justin was constantly trying to sabotage any good will Brian had toward Haven. Brian had always taken it in stride.
He’d endured so much just to be with me. He was like the shiny golden prize waiting at the end of a treacherous and gruesome maze. I felt a lot like I’d won him.
“So,” Mona announced, sitting straight up and planting her feet onto the concrete beneath us. “Rehearsal dinner is at…”
“Six,” Lauren answered for me.
What a good little maid of honor she was.
“And afterwards, we are…”
“Getting shitfaced,” I said straightly, my focus still on Brian’s rippling muscles.
He was tasty as fuck.
“Okay,” she laughed. “Lauren are you coming out for drinks?”
She hummed and hawed, tilting her head slowly from side to side. She went on to explain something or other about nursing and if she could get Owen to take a bottle, she’d come out. I didn’t want her to feel pressured to leave Saint Owen, so I cautiously ensured her it was fine if she didn’t. But not that I didn’t want her there.
“What’re we talking about, ladies?” Matt grinned, looking hunky as ever hanging half-out of the pool.
“Drinking,” Mona and I said together.
Lauren lingered a half a second behind with her own version of the truth when she said, “Owen.”
“What about Owen?” he smiled, his dimples reigning. “And what about drinking?”
“Did I hear someone say drinking?” Zach chimed in, making big waves as he swam to the edge and pulled his arms up next to Matt.
They looked like a page straight out of some kinky tattoo magazine. I wasn’t really complaining. I’d skipped the whole bachelorette thing, so I figured that if I wanted to ogle my friends discretely, they were fair game. A tiny part of me wished Jimmy was there to ogle. He was my favourite, after all.
“Obviously we’re going drinking,” Brian announced from somewhere behind them. “It’s the Bs’ last night of freedom!”
The guys cheered and clapped their hands against each other’s backs. We, women, were still very much distant from one another. Mona was the first to laugh at their ridiculousness.
Brian pulled himself from the pool, each and every muscle in his arms shifting and shaping themselves into lust. I was practically foaming at the mouth.
“Well, hello-o, Brian,” I grinned.
He laughed quietly, rolling his eyes at me as he lingered just beside me, his chest dripping onto my arm. I rubbed it away, annoyed with the sensation. Brian leaned down and planted his lips on mine, drenching my forehead but I just didn’t care.
“Save it for the alter!” Johnny cried from the poolside.
“Bri,” I laughed, finally pushing at his tattooed chest.
FOREVER. I ran my fingers over the letters, the black still fresh and vibrant. A flicker of sadness crossed over my otherwise content face. Brian ran his hand along my arm, stopping only to take my hand into his. His face told me to stop.
“We should get ready soon,” I told Brian softly.
It was my determination to get through the day without losing it. Brian had taken a similar vow, collectively agreeing that Jimmy would be super pissed if he’d found out we’d spent the day leading up to our wedding moping around. That wasn’t true to Jimmy’s honor, and we were reluctant to make it so.
“You women take way longer than we do,” Brian noted with a smile. “We’ll be in the pool until five minutes before you need us.”
“Do what you gotta do,” I shrugged, pulling my man down for one last kiss.
I rallied my girls and we removed ourselves from the men’s attention. There were some cat calls and whistles as we strutted away from the pool. Lauren giggled, her cheeks rosy with embarrassment.
“Let’s get ready to practice getting you married,” Mona teased lightly, bumping her hip into mine.
“Please don’t mess it up,” Lauren added happily. “I know you have a penchant for disaster…but let’s just get through the next twenty-four hours unscathed, shall we?”
I laughed, “I’ll see what I can do.”

The rehearsal was boring. It was a ton of walking—a lot of stressful grunts and groans from my wedding planner. But the location was breathtaking. I knew for certain that I’d made the right choice when I’d thrown all of my money at this place. The view was incredible…and waterfall…Fuck.
When we’d finally learned to walk at an acceptable pace, we were excused. That was it. That was the last of the pre-wedding practicing we’d have to endure. We were all shuttled to the restaurant Brian had specifically chosen to treat our closest friends and family within. We sat ourselves at the head of the world’s longest table, fondly watching our loved ones laugh and drink and be merry.
Brian grabbed me by the back of the head and demanded that I kiss him back. I’d never tell him no.
The clanking of a glass separated us, but it didn’t stop us from grinning like two idiots. I was grossly in love with the man; the wedding vibes had only increased it sevenfold.
“Ahem,” Tom cleared his throat as he nervously climbed to his feet, a champagne glass in his hand. “Hello, everyone…I was hoping I could have your attention for just a few minutes…I have a few things I’d like to say.”
Everyone fell into a hush, eyes all focused on Mr. Brody. He looked so damn nervous.
“Yeah, Tom!” I cheered like a sports fan, giving him a little wink and a grin.
He smiled at me, “Eighteen and some years ago, that beautiful, albeit loud, woman there,” he gestured to me with an open palm, “showed up at my doorstep. She had a bag packed and a stuffed donkey tucked under her arm. That’s right, a stuffed donkey…not a bear. Because even at six years old, Blair couldn’t do anything normally.”
Brian melted as he watched me fall into my past. I’d forgotten all about the donkey. But as Tom spoke…
“Denny,” we said in unison.
I nodded affectionately, feeling just the tiniest bit emotional.
“That’s right,” Tom beamed at me. “She was there for a sleepover, she said. She told me that she hadn’t been invited but Tyler was her best friend and that he would want her to sleep over. My wife and I didn’t know it at the time, but that green-eyed little girl would turn out to be the daughter we didn’t plan to have.”
I was fighting back the tears now. Lauren was bawling like a baby, dabbing her eyes with her cloth napkin. Matt had an arm around her shoulders, trying to stifle his laughs as he consoled my hysterically touched best friend.
Brian took my hand in his.
“Blair was a troublemaker all her life,” he continued fondly, his hands shaking as he spoke. “She was a bit of a hermit, terrified of crowds…It only makes sense that she’d become a world famous pop star.”
He paused for laughter, which came in spades. Brian laughed the loudest.
“And life hasn’t always been good to Blair,” he said more grimly. “But Blair has always been good to the world. She has never let it burn her out. She has never lashed out at the one’s she loved for the things she couldn’t control…Blair is the very definition of grace…and of strength.”
Okay, a couple of tears. Just little baby ones. No big deal.
“Three years ago, we lost our son,” Tom said, choking a little as he passed through the words. “And Blair lost her best friend. Her brother. The two of them were inseparable…Anywhere our boy was, you’d best believe Blair Peterson was on his heels. So, when they turned nineteen and announced they were moving to Southern California…we weren’t entirely surprised. Sunshine, Los Angeles…It all made sense.”
Marge was a ball of tears. I was so moved to find Justin had pulled her into him and was rubbing at her arm affectionately. He was the only piece left from the days when Tyler existed. I was relieved to find he hadn’t forgotten.
“Blair,” Tom said, looking straight to me then, “do you remember what I said the day you moved away?”
I couldn’t hide my grin, “Don’t bring home any California men! They’re trouble!”
The room snickered and laughed.
“That’s right,” Tom smirked. “And what does she do? She brings home a California man!”
Brian tilted his head back in laughter. I shook my head at Tom, unable to hide my amusement.
“Like I said, she was always a troublemaker…And when she walked in with this man from California, tattooed arms, tattooed hands…Told us he was a guitarist in a metal band…Oh boy…We didn’t know what to make of him.”
The room chorused with laughter once more.
I glanced over at Brian with love in my eyes. It felt like forever, bringing him home to Massachusetts. It hadn’t been under great circumstances, but the impression he’d made had lasted eternally. Marge and Tom had loved Brian—and they still loved Brian. He smiled back at me.
“But then the young man spoke,” Tom said thoughtfully. “And he looked at our Blair…and we knew right away. This wasn’t just some boy from Orange County. This was the boy our Blair would spend her life with. We met him once and we knew. It’s the way he looked at her…the way she looked at him…If you’ll check it out, you’ll see the look I’m talking about.”
I felt eyes on me. Pulling my gaze away from Brian, I found the room staring us down affectionately. We laughed with serious discomfort.
“She might not carry around a stuffed donkey anymore,” Tom chuckled softly. “And she may not remember what her natural hair color is…or what her skin looks like without all that ink in it…But the one thing that has always stayed the same is Blair’s inherent ability to rise above it. You are my survivor, girl. You are a spitfire and a force. You might be a pain in the butt with the mouth of a sailor…but we love you.”
Okay, I lost it a little. I was blinking back tears as I mouthed back an ‘I love you, too’.
“Brian,” Tom said, raising his glass to him, “you are the world’s most patient man.”
Our friends all laughed. Matt cheered. I made a mental note to go and deck him later.
“Tomorrow we may be giving away our daughter,” Tom spoke, trying not to get too choked up. “But tomorrow we gain a son.”
Tom thanked everyone humbly as they clapped and cheered. I abandoned my place at the table and high-tailed it for Tom, burying myself in his strong arms. Maybe I didn’t have a father to make a speech, or a mother to do my hair…but looking at Tom and Marge that night, you’d never have known the fucking difference.
“I love you, sweet girl,” Tom cooed into my hair.
I was bawling now, nuzzled into his neck, “I love you too, Dad.”






Notes

*sniffles*

xx

Comments

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RamonaFoREVer RamonaFoREVer
6/18/19

@Jenny117
T-Minus one hour!! The wait is almost over!! :)

fyction fyction
5/6/19

Scared yes but still extremely excited

Jenny117 Jenny117
5/6/19

I am so ready for the next one!!!!!!!!!!

Jenny117 Jenny117
5/6/19

@Buggaloo
Me too!! Nervous excited .. but excited!!

fyction fyction
5/6/19