Author's note:The joy of fan fiction is that you can write things you'd never get away with in a story written for profit. For example, I have no idea where John Legend or Ed Sheeran were in February of 2017 or if either of them or the other bands mentioned in this chapter would have been available for this storyline. Also, I'd never include song lyrics in a published work for profit because of the gray legalities surrounding copyright. However, I'm not earning any money here, the Fair Use doctrine covers the characters from this story (the work of EL James) as well as the song lyrics contained in this chapter. My sincere appreciation to the actual artists who created of all these. Oh, and just FYI, the song "Perfect" was released in September of 2017 and probably doesn't really work for this timeline, but that's OK, because this is fiction. :)
Also, the governor of Michigan in 2017 was Rick Syder, who isn't a Harvard grad and didn't fit my story at all, so I invented a replacement who worked out better. Especially if you're from Michigan, you'll need to use your imagination.
And so, here we are, the big day! Just a few more chapters to follow this one. Enjoy!
Chapter 60: Our Wedding Day (Christian's POV)
"What the fuck do you mean he's not coming?!" I shouted into the phone. I couldn't believe this shit! "I've already paid two million dollars, and he signed a fucking contract!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Grey. There's nothing we can do," the female voice on the other end of the call responded sympathetically. "Mr. Legend has come down with the flu during the flight to Seattle. He's sick in bed in his hotel room right now and won't be able to make it. You'll receive a full refund for your deposit. Mr. Legend wishes me to express his sincere regret, and best wishes on your wedding day."
"Well, shit," I replied. I hung up before telling the bitch that Mr. Legend had just ruined my wedding day. I'd arranged for him to play that song that I'd learned in the middle of the night while Ana was in Hawaii and I was at Mom and Dad's house. The lyrics perfectly expressed how I felt about my Ana, and I knew she was a big fan of this fucker. How dare he decide to get sick on today of all days!
"What is it, Christian?" Mia asked worriedly. "I can tell it's something bad."
"John Legend isn't coming. Apparently, he caught the flu on his way to Seattle," I told her.
"Well, shit," she sympathized. "But… it's a good thing he cancelled instead of coming and giving whatever crud he has to all your wedding guests. Or to you and Ana. I know you don't want to be sick on your honeymoon."
"No, but I wanted today to be perfect for Ana," I replied.
"It's still going to be perfect," Mia assured me. "You've still got all the talent you've planned for the reception. I know for a fact that they're all coming. For the ceremony… Well, you're not going to like it, but I'm going to say it anyway. You need to do what I suggested in the first place."
I sighed. "Mia, I don't play in public."
She smiled. "There's a first time for everything," she reminded me. "And isn't she worth it?"
There was no question about that, and I didn't have time to come up with a better plan. When I saw my angel walking down that aisle, I knew that it was the right thing to do. To say that she looked radiant would be an understated cliche. She was magnificent. Even though my eyes didn't leave hers, I didn't miss the looks of shock in the audience when they all got a look at her baby bump, which I was delighted that she was showing off beautifully in that stunning white dress. I'd already seen her in it today at our photo shoot, but somehow she'd gotten even more beautiful since then. Gone were the days when a blushing pregnant bride was taboo. We were both very proud of our two little buns in her oven, although it would be quite some time before we let the public know there were two; with any luck, we'd keep that secret until after they were born. But today, the world would know that we were expecting a baby, but not until our publicity team released the photo that we'd already chosen from our photo shoot this morning. Not any with Christina; I still wanted to shield her from the press as much as possible. Nobody here had a camera or smart phone. They were banned, and security had confiscated any that our guests had tried to sneak in. We were going to be the ones to control our narrative this time. The world would see the bits of our wedding that we wanted them to see, and only that much.
Only our wedding guests would have the honor of seeing my baby girl walk down the aisle sprinkling rose petals like Ana, Mia, and the wedding planner had taught her during our wedding rehearsal. Christina was doing so well, looking so beautiful, until she got to the end of the aisle. When she noticed that there were still petals in her basket, she'd proceeded to turn the basket upside down and dump the rest right at my feet. It was both adorable and hilarious, and the crowd had roared in laughter. The sound of three hundred people laughing startled Christina, and she got that look on her face she gets when she's about to cry. I quickly picked her up, kissed her cheek, and told her that she'd done beautifully, and I was so proud of her. I managed to stop her from crying just before passing her over to Mom, who would keep her occupied during the ceremony. And… just in time… I looked up to see the back doors open, and the love of my life walked through them on the arm of her father.
When Ana reached me, I didn't restrain myself, nor did she. We weren't traditional, so it didn't matter that we were supposed to wait until the end of the ceremony for the groom to kiss the bride. That was just a load of misogynistic nonsense anyway. I wanted to kiss my bride, and she wanted to kiss me, so we did. Ana wore no veil to get in my way. Instead she wore a crown of yellow daisies that matched her bouquet. Christina had one that matched, but she wasn't wearing it. I guessed that they hadn't been able to keep it on her. It didn't matter, though. All that mattered right now was the goddess in my arms, who I didn't hold back from kissing like my life depended on it, and she kissed me right back. Right there, in front of our three hundred guests and the judge, who cleared her throat and announced humorously, "You're supposed to wait until the end for that."
As a side note, Judge Candace McCracken was a close friend of my parents, especially my dad, who had known her since childhood and had attended Harvard Law School at the same time. After we'd moved to Washington when I was little, they'd considered going into practice together, but it hadn't worked out for one reason or another. Now, she was a circuit court judge in Seattle. I'd grown up thinking of her and her husband Daniel, who was a federal prosecutor, as an additional aunt and uncle. Candace knew me well, so the next words spoken by Ray didn't surprise her at all, and I'm sure she agreed with his sentiment.
Ray responded dryly, "These two make their own rules," which made everyone within hearing range laugh.
Ana and I simply smirked at each other because we knew Ray spoke the truth. This point was demonstrated by Candace's next words. She didn't say the usual, "Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?" No, Ana felt those words were completely outdated, and she'd argued with her dad about it, but they'd finally agreed on the words the judge would say.
"Raymond Steele, as father of the bride, do you give your blessing on her marriage?"
"I do," Ray responded. He kissed Ana's cheek, gave me a warning glare, and then placed Ana's hand in mine.
"Carrick and Grace Trevelyn Grey, please stand," Candace then said, just as we'd rehearsed. Ana and I felt strongly that if we were going to have Ray's blessing, we needed my parents' blessing as well.
"As parents of the groom, do you give your blessing on his marriage?" Candace asked.
"We do," my parents answered in unison.
"We do," Christina repeated loudly from my mom's arms, making everyone laugh again.
Candace smiled warmly and told Ana and me, "You have the blessing of your daughter as well."
Ana smiled radiantly as she responded, "Yeah, we knew that already. We love you, baby girl!"
"Love you, Na-na!" Christina responded, earning awes from the people sitting nearby. To them, I'm sure it sounded like she'd said "mama," but we hadn't yet taught Christina to call Ana that. We knew we would once the twins came along, but we weren't pushing Christina, knowing that she was still getting used to life without Leila. She hadn't forgotten her first mother yet, and we didn't want her to. But we knew the time would come when she called Ana "mommy."
Candace said, "Parents, please come forward and light your candles." Just as we'd rehearsed, Ray, Carrick, and Grace all came forward. Grace handed Christina to Carrick and lit the candle on one side at the same time that Ray lit the candle on the other side. Later in the ceremony, Ana and I would use our parents' candles to light the one between them, our unity candle. This was a traditional element that Ana had said she wanted to keep in our wedding because she really liked the symbolism of our two families joining upon our marriage. I agreed, but in hindsight, I wished Grandma Liz could have been here to symbolize my birth family. I was beginning to realize that they were as much a part of me as my adoptive family had always been and always would be. But Grandma Liz was still in prison. Gran Emma wasn't able to travel; her health had gotten worse over the past couple of months, and she was beginning to have trouble with daily things like feeding herself and toileting. Aunt Rachel hadn't felt she could leave her mom, but we would give them an official recording of the ceremony. Aunt Rachel would be one of the few that we would trust with one, and she'd watch it with Gran. Derrick and Kelly were here and serving as a bridesmaid and groomsman, so my birth family was represented. Their names were even listed in the program as cousins of the groom.
Once their candles were lit, our parents took their seats on the front row. Mom and Dad were seated very near us with Christina, so she could watch everything up close for as long as we kept her attention. Mom had a bag overstuffed with toys for Christina, so I wasn't worried.
Candace then looked to the audience and said, "We are all here today to celebrate the marriage of these two wonderful people, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. They have purposefully kept this part of their wedding short and to the point, so we will begin with their vows to one another. The bride and groom have written their own vows. They also decided together that the bride would go first. Anastasia?"
Ana looked nervous for a fraction of a second, but I'm sure nobody caught it except me. She smiled adoringly at me, making me almost forget to breathe, she was just so fucking beautiful.
"Christian," she began as she took my hands in hers. "I love you, so very much. You are, without a question, the love of my life, my soul mate, and I want to spend the rest of my days with you, as your wife. I have respected you since before I even met you, and I will continue to respect you for the rest of our lives. I have honored you as the only man I've ever truly wanted to be with, and I will continue to honor you for the rest of our lives. I will be faithful to you. Only you. I have loved you since almost the day I met you, and I will continue to love you for the rest of our lives. We've already seen some really difficult times, and I know we will see more difficult times in our future. I chose to be with you even when we thought your reputation was destroyed, and I will always choose to be with you. When times get hard, I will do whatever we need me to do to get us through it. And we will stay together. Always. We will work together to solve whatever problems we have, and we will succeed, because we're brilliant."
She laughed at her own joke, as did most of the crowd, but I simply stared at her in awe. Yes, she was brilliant, and I was a better man with her by my side. No question about it.
She squeezed my hands and smiled at me sweetly. Then she continued, "I've realized over the past few months that of all the things that really matter to me, you and our family… our children… matter more to me than anything else." She placed both my hands on her stomach as she said these words, then held my hands there as she continued, "I love you and our children… Christina and our future children… so much. And I will always do anything I need to do to take care of and protect you and our children. You, my family, are what matters, more than anything else."
She moved my hands from her stomach to her heart and continued, "My heart is yours. I am yours, Christian Grey, until death do us part. And even beyond the grave, if there's an afterlife. I will always be yours. I love you."
She turned back towards Candace without releasing my hands. I knew that was the signal that it was my turn. But I was too choked up to speak for a moment. I also needed to wipe the tears from my eyes. Damn if she didn't have me crying like a baby at my own damn wedding.
From behind me, Elliot reached around and handed me a handkerchief, which I had to momentarily let go of Ana's hand to take. This made the crowd chuckle, but I didn't care. None of them had been the recipient of those amazing words that the love of my life had just spoken to me. She was mine. And life was just fucking amazing.
"Whenever you're ready, Christian," Candace spoke kindly, with a loving smile. Yes, she was enjoying this. She'd known me during my rebellious teenage years, before Elena had gotten her talons in me. There were a few tears in her own eyes, if I wasn't mistaken. And Mom and Dad were both wiping their own tears, I could see. Yeah, they knew how miraculous all of this was.
I handed Elliot's handkerchief back to him after wiping my eyes. "Thanks," I told him before I turned back to Ana and took both her hands in mine. God, she was so beautiful with that radiant smile. How was it possible that this angel was mine? A complete miracle. There was no doubt about that.
"Anastasia," I began. "I am in awe of you. Yes, I am convinced that there is, indeed, an afterlife, and I'll spend it with you. I'm convinced that there is, indeed, a God, and he or she brought you into my life at just the right time. You are… There are no words to express just what you mean to me. You… I fell in love with you the very night I met you, and I've been growing deeper in love with you with every passing day since then. You are brilliant, there's no joke there. You are one of the smartest people I've ever met. But you're so much more. You're compassionate, loving, brave, strong, beautiful, and passionate, and so much more.
"I am in awe that you have accepted my daughter as your own and that you love her so much already. I am in awe that you're carrying my… my child in your womb," I paused briefly as I remembered to say child, not children, not twins, not yet. She hadn't given it away when she'd talked abstractly about "future children," and I wasn't going to give it away either.
I continued, "Yes, my love, I agree that our family is more important than anything. And I promise you, Anastasia, that you and our children will always come first in my life. Not our work, Ismintis-Grey, although it is important. Not our foundation, which we'll announce soon, although it's also important. But nothing is or ever will be more important than you and our children. You are everything to me, Anastasia.
"I promise to love you, to honor you, to be faithful to you, to respect you, to support you when you need it, and to stand back and watch you shine when you deserve to be recognized for the amazing goddess you are." That got a chuckle from Ana, that I referred to her as a "goddess." There were tears in her eyes, too, though, so my words were moving her. I hoped she knew just how sincere I was.
"I will love and protect you with every ounce of my being, and with all the resources at our disposal. Everything I have is yours. My purpose in life is to love you and keep you safe and happy. Everyone here knows how badly I've already failed to keep you safe, but I'm never going to stop trying, and I'll be damned before anything like that ever happens to you again. So, I stand here in awe of your strength and resilience while also promising to do my best to make sure nothing or nobody ever hurts you again. You are and will always be the love of my life, the better part of me, my everything.
I shifted awkwardly before I continued speaking. At the end of my vows, John Legend was supposed to have started singing, but that wasn't happening now, and I needed to transition into my own musical debut. What a time for it! Oh, well, it couldn't be helped, and Ana was indeed worth it. I told her, "I'd arranged for John Legend to come and sing a song that says what I feel for you better than I can do it myself. But… well, he's not coming. And well… I haven't practiced this at all. But Mia got the sheet music from Mom and Dad's house, and, well… here goes nothing."
Ana knew that we were supposed to have a surprise musician right after our vows, the way we'd rehearsed it. She hadn't known it was going to be John Legend, only that I'd arranged a surprise for her. And I shocked the shit out of her by walking over to the piano myself and sitting down. She knew I'd never performed in public in my life, and I was about to play a song I hadn't practiced, that I hadn't even looked at in a few months, in front of three hundred people. But like I'd agreed with Mia earlier, and I kept reminding myself, Ana was worth it.
I began by playing through the first part of the song, just re-familiarizing myself with it. And then, I began to sing. I felt so nervous through the first verse that I'm not sure how I got through it. But then, once I got to the bridge, I glanced up at Ana and sang, "My head's under water, but I'm breathing fine… You're crazy and I'm out of my mind."
Ana was full-on weeping as she listened to me, but she mouthed the words of the chorus with me. My eyes moved back and forth from her to the sheet music, and I don't think her eyes left mine at all. "'Cause all of me loves all of you… Love your curves and all your edges, All your perfect imperfections. Give your all to me, I'll give my all to you. You're my end and my beginning. Even when I lose, I'm winning. 'Cause I give you all of me. And you give me all of you."
As I played, the music came back to me, and I was able to play the remainder of the song without looking at the sheet music. I could sing it directly to Ana, keeping my eyes locked with hers. And my God, could the lyrics be more appropriate, even if I'd written them myself about my Ana? How true it was that even when she was crying, she was beautiful. I'd seen a lot of her crying in the past few months, after all she'd suffered, but I fell deeper in love with her through it all. Without a doubt, the world had been beating her down, and I'd been there to see it all. She truly was my everything.
To my own shock, at the end of the song, there was a standing ovation. I wasn't sure if it was because it had actually been that good or if people were just surprised that I'd done it, being who I am. But one look at Ana's tearstained but radiantly smiling face and I had my answer. "That was amazing," she whispered in awe. "Wow. Just… wow."
Once the crowd stopped clapping and sat down, it was time for us to exchange rings. Here, we went with the more traditional words, which we repeated after Candace as we put our rings on each other's fingers. Ana had already seen her ring, of course, and she loved it and how it looked with her engagement ring. So did I. They suited her perfect hand perfectly, and I was more proud to see my ring on her finger than I had words to express. I had gone with her to choose my own wedding band, which was platinum and had our initials and wedding date inscribed inside. I would never take this ring off my finger. It was immediately a permanent part of me.
Once our rings were on our fingers, Candace pronounced us husband and wife. We didn't wait for her to tell us to kiss. We knew this was the part where we were expected to, so we did so without waiting to be prompted, causing the crowd to chuckle again.
Then, Ana and I walked over to the unity candle and lit it using our parents' candles. And that was it. Short and sweet, with the most important part of it being our vows. No doubt, the most memorable part of it for everyone attending would be my solo, and I wasn't thrilled that the attention was on me instead of Ana, but I'd done it for her and only her.
And then, we turned towards the crowd, and Candace introduced us as Mr. Christian and Mrs. Anastasia Grey. Yes! I loved the sound of that, and Ana knew it! Holy shit, she was my wife now! Nothing could have wiped the silly smile from my face. It was, by far, the happiest moment of my life.
Once we'd gotten through the receiving line that seemed to take all fucking day, our reception was a party to remember. Thankfully, John Legend was the only musician we'd hired who hadn't shown up. The DJ, a friend of Elliot's who worked for Bamboo Beats, which the wedding planner had approved as one of the best in Seattle, turned out to be excellent. But before he took charge, I had a few more surprises for Ana. John Legend wasn't the only famous person I'd flown to Seattle for our wedding, and not the highest price tag.
First, during dinner, we were entertained by some local talent. But we lived in Seattle, and Seattle was known for its famous musicians. So we didn't bring in nobodies, not to our wedding. No, only big names would do for my Ana. But I also didn't think the grunge scene was really best for our wedding, knowing Ana's tastes as I did. So, I brought in local talent that I knew she liked. Namely, Fleet Foxes, Pearl Jam, and Death Cab for Cutie. Each band played three or four songs during our five course dinner, for which I paid them well. Then, it was time for us to cut our wedding cake, followed by wedding speeches. Elliot outdid himself in his speech about me, and I was so damn proud to be his brother, even if he was an idiot sometimes, and told people shit that I would have preferred to have kept private. Kate made Ana cry… she'd been doing a lot of that today, but they were happy tears, so that was fine.
"When I was six years old," Elliot began, "my life changed dramatically. I went from being an only child, adopted by Carrick and Grace Grey only two years earlier, after my birth parents were killed in a car accident. My life changed when they brought home a baby brother, two years younger than me. I'd thought, oh great, I have someone to play with now. But it took a few years for Christian and me to really begin to act like brothers. He was really quiet at first.
"I remember trying really hard to get Christian to talk to me. I shared my toys with him, and he played with my cars, but he still didn't talk to me. Then, Mia came along, and he finally started talking, but it still took time for us to really become close. I thought he didn't like me, so I left him alone.
"The turning point came at school one day. We both attended the same school, I was just a couple of grades ahead of him. I was probably around ten, and Christian was around eight. We were waiting for our mom to pick us up after school one day, and she was running late. There was this other kid in my class, a real bully, and he was picking on me, making fun of me for something stupid, but I was just a kid and he was bigger than me, and I was afraid of him. But Christian… he was a lot smaller than both of us, but he wasn't afraid of the bully. After the bully got in my face shouting insults, Christian had had enough. He walked over, tapped the kid on the shoulder, and when the kid turned towards him, Christian punched him in the nose. He broke his nose! That was the first kid whose nose Christian ever broke, and he became my hero that day. I was the big brother who was supposed to protect him, but he'd been the one to protect me. And he always has, from that point on. He broke a few more noses protecting me, until I started working out when we were teenagers and learned how to take care of myself.
"And then… the real fun began. I could tell you some hair-raising stories of the crazy shit we got up to as teenagers, but Christian made me sign an NDA." That made the crowd roar with laughter. Dumb ass. It wasn't true, of course, but it didn't matter. I just laughed along with the crowd at his foolishness. At least he knew better than to tell the crowd any of THOSE stories.
Elliot continued in a serious tone, "The thing about Christian that most people don't realize… Well, everyone knows he's a genius. He's so smart he thought his professors at Harvard were too dumb, so he dropped out and started a multi-billion dollar corporation, and they study his work now at Harvard. So, everyone here knows how smart he is, how good at business. But what you don't know about this man is… he loves deeply, and he protects the people he loves. So when he made those vows to Ana today… there was no doubt in my mind that he will do everything he promised her. He's a man of his word, and he's met the love of his life. He will do right by her. That, I am certain of. And Ana is, truly, his better half. The changes I've seen in him since she came into his life and helped him realize things about himself that have always been true... are remarkable.
"Christian, you're more than a brother. You're my best friend, and I'm glad you're still there to watch out for me. I've got your back, too. And I've never been prouder or happier for you than I am right now."
Elliot walked over and side hugged me, kissed Ana's cheek, and sat down by Kate, who kissed his cheek. Then Kate stood up and walked to the microphone.
"You've heard about Christian, so now, let me tell you about Ana. On my first day of college at Stanford University, this shy, nerdy girl walked into my dorm room and announced she was my roommate. I'd had it in my head until then that I was going to spend the first couple of years of college just going to parties and having fun, then I'd get serious when I got closer to graduation. Ana, though… she was serious from the start. I don't think she earned anything less than an A in any course she ever took. Not only that, but she made me study. I ended up making higher grades than I ever had… because of Ana.
I got her to loosen up, too, though. She insisted we limit our fun to the weekends, but she did let down her hair. I was with her the first time she ever got drunk. And the second. And the third. Well, you get the point. It wasn't often, but she knew how to have fun. But I learned something from Ana that I hadn't expected. You don't have to get drunk to have fun. Some of the most fun we had was just hanging out with other friends, playing silly card games or board games. We even made up a few games. And what I noticed about Ana through all of that… what stuck with me… is that Ana paid attention to people, and she remembered details that became important later. She listened carefully. She noticed people who were usually overlooked by other people. Some of those people work for her now, and they've helped make her billions. I learned to follow her behavior, and I believe it's made me a better journalist."
Kate gave Ana a secretive smile, and then continued, "Now, I'm going to tell you all a secret that I haven't told many people. I was there the night Ana and Christian met. You know from the interview they did with me a few months ago what kind of event that was, but this speech right now isn't about me, so that's all I'm giving you. What I want to say is this… there was this chemistry between them from the very beginning that was palpable. It was obvious that Christian was smitten from the very beginning, even before he could see her face, because we were wearing masks. Ana was, too. She didn't even know who he was… because of the mask… but she wanted to. I could see it. That night was the beginning of a romance that has been a whirlwind, but it's very real, growing, and lasting. I have never met a couple more in love than Ana and Christian… except maybe me and Elliot. I have Christian to thank for introducing me to his brother, now my husband. And so you see, we are one happy family.
"Ana and Christian have been to hell and back through the past few months that they've been together, and now… as you all can see, they're expecting a baby. They're already amazing parents to Christina, and I'm going to have another niece or nephew in the next few months. It's a lot of change for both of them in a very short time, and I can tell you… They are brilliant, not just in business, but in their personal lives, too. They communicate with each other, and they are there for each other. I'm a little jealous, I admit, because Ana has a new best friend. I mean, I'm still her best friend, but Christian has moved in on my territory. It's OK, though, because they are meant to be together. I've never seen a couple more meant to be than these two.
"Ana, I love you. Christian, with any luck, I'll grow to love you, too." I laughed at her, recognizing that she was repeating words I'd told her just a couple of months ago.
Kate continued, "Congratulations, both of you. And I can't tell you how happy I am that we're all family." She then gave Ana an enormous hug, and fist bumped my shoulder. I smiled and fist bumped her back.
Then, at last, it was time for the biggest surprise (not to mention the most expensive one) of all. Mia had helped me arrange this surprise, and I knew Ana was going to love it. Ana knew that we'd chosen an Ed Sheeran song, "Thinking Out Loud," as our first dance song. What she didn't know was that Ed Sheeran was here, and he was going to sing the song live while we danced. He was also going to sing a cover for "Sweet Pea," by Amos Lee, which was the song Ana wanted as the father/daughter and mother/son dance, which we were doing together. Then, we were going to invite everyone to dance with us to "Perfect," which I'd played on the piano once and thought it was simple enough for anyone in the room to dance to, even though none of them had heard it because it still hadn't been released yet. It was just a simple waltz. Ed Sheeran was then going to sing another song or two for us all to dance to before the DJ took over.
When the music started, Ana thought it was a recording that the DJ was playing. We were already on the dance floor when Ed Sheeran began to sing, and Ana's eyes popped.
"Christian! Holy shit! You hired Ed Sheeran to sing at our wedding!" she spoke in my ear.
"Yeah, and he showed up," I replied. Unlike that fucker, John Legend. "But let's just dance like we practiced and talk about Ed Sheeran afterwards. He's going to sing a few more songs." I wanted us to focus on the song, and the lyrics, which were just as meaningful as the John Legend song. I knew Ana and I would still be as in love at seventy years old as we were now, even more so.
We were both good dancers, and we'd practiced dancing to this song over the past month, so we put on a show. When the song ended, I wasn't sure if people were clapping more for us or for the famous musician, but it didn't really matter.
The DJ then announced the father/daughter and mother/son dance, and he invited Grace and Ray to join the bride and groom on the dance floor. I knew that Ana and Ray had also practiced this dance, but I hadn't had time to practice it with Mom. I knew it wouldn't matter, though, because my mom was a great dancer. I'd grown up watching her and Dad dance at our charity events. It was a sweet song, too, just as meaningful for Grace and me as it was for Ray and Ana. These people had chosen to love us, not because their blood flowed through our veins but simply because they wanted to.
At the end of the song, I kissed my mom's cheek and said, "I love you, Mom."
She had tears in her eyes as she responded, "I love you, too, son. And I'm so proud of you. So happy for you. I'll never forget this day, Christian. My dreams have come true for you."
The DJ then invited everyone to the dance floor for a brand new song that Ed Sheeran would not release for a few more months. Ed Sheeran himself told the crowd not to be afraid, that it was a simple and fun song to dance to. I had to agree. But more importantly, the love of my life was in my arms again, and the song lyrics perfectly applied to us… again. Everyone in the room had to agree that she did, indeed, look perfect tonight. None of them knew like I did just how perfect she was, and how much I didn't deserve her.
After that song, there was a surprise for both of us. Ed Sheeran announced it himself, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll take your seats, the sister of the groom, Miss Mia Grey, has prepared a special surprise for the bride and groom. This next song is "Photographs." If you will all direct your attention to the video screen nearest you, and prepare to be delighted by the lives of our lovely bride and groom, as portrayed in the multimedia presentation that Mia has created. Congratulations, Anastasia and Christian!"
He began his song, "Photographs," while on the screen we watched video images and still shots of me from a very young age… and Ana, also from a very young age. Mia must have worked on this for months! And she'd put it together so well, showing both of us age chronologically, surrounded by our families. There were images of Ana with her mom that made her cry. But I noticed that the images of her and Ray also made her cry. There were teenage pictures of her and Kate, showing how far back their friendship went. Intermixed with all these images of Ana, there were images of me holding Mia when she was a baby, and playing piano when I was really young, and climbing the tree in our back yard with Elliot… and the list went on. Not so many during my rebellious teenage years, but a couple from Harvard. And then, towards the middle of the song, images of us together began to appear. There were a few from that media shitstorm at the Zigzag Cafe, and one from the New Years Eve gala when Ana was wearing that gorgeous yellow diamond daisy necklace. There were photos of us with Christina. There was one of us in front of our new home, that thankfully didn't show the address. And there were even a couple from the photo shoot from this morning. How Mia had managed to pull this off, I had no idea. But I loved it. And so did Ana, clearly.
Afterwards, Ana and I both embraced Mia and thanked her for putting it together. It perfectly chronicled our lives before we met, and it continued to our wedding day. And I had to admit, the choice of song was perfect. This fucker was well worth the millions I was paying him to be here today.
The DJ took over from that point, but my surprises weren't over for the night. A little later, Mike Gregory, the governor of Michigan, one of Dad's Harvard friends, approached me with Dad. Ana and I had already greeted Mike and his wife Deborah in the receiving line before dinner, but that had been a couple of hours ago.
"Christian," Dad said, "I've just been talking with Mike here about your grandmother's case. We've just been waiting for her parole date, which we were able to get moved up to early June, but Mike's got a better idea."
Mike told me, "I've just told Carrick… and I'm telling you, now… if you apply for clemency, I'm ready to grant her a full pardon. That'll make it simple for her to move to Washington as soon as she's released. You won't need to transfer her parole. She won't have any parole. She'll be free and forgiven."
I wasn't sure I was hearing him correctly. "You're willing to pardon her? Really?" I asked surprisedly. "Even though she confessed to the crime? She killed a man."
I didn't know Mike Gregory well at all, but he was one of Dad's friends from Detroit. They'd known each other since high school, had gone to Harvard together, and had worked in the same firm when freshly out of law school. And they'd been good friends, not just work colleagues, back in the day when my parents had adopted me. Mike Gregory knew my history.
"Elizabeth Carter has served her time for the crime she committed," Mike responded. "She has an exemplary record while in prison, earning a college degree and becoming a mentor to other women."
Well, that was news to me. Grandma Liz NEVER talked about her time in prison, so I didn't know she'd earned a degree. My grandma had accomplished something I never had, even from prison.
More quietly, Mike continued, "And… the way I see it, Christian, between us, that bastard got what was coming to him. Off the record, I agree with your dad here. That woman's a hero. She took a menace to society off the streets. She doesn't deserve to have a criminal record. She deserves to live the rest of her life with a loving family. That's you, Christian." He turned back to dad and said, "Write the application, Carrick. I'll make it my business to ensure it gets through the parole board and into my hands. It'll take a few weeks to make all that happen. I can't give you an exact date. But… I'd wager that she'll be on a flight for Washington before that baby comes. I'm confident she'll be able to get moved here and settled before the birth of your child."
Holy shit, this was really happening. It was incredibly good news. She couldn't make it for my wedding day, but my grandma was going to be there when the twins came. We needed to get the boat house ready for her. I wanted her to have her own apartment, where she'd feel comfortable in her own space. The boat house was private enough. It was perfect, actually.
I talked with Elliot before the night was over, and he agreed to start work immediately after our honeymoon on not only the boathouse but also the new garage with staff apartments. He'd need to get building permits for the new build, but the boathouse renovation could start immediately. His crew was almost finished with the garage addition, which had doubled the size of our existing garage and added staff apartments in a third floor. But we would still need more.
Ana and I danced throughout the night, and I was delighted that her strength had returned. No, she still didn't have the stamina she'd had when we first met, but she was pregnant with twins, so it would take some time to get back to that place, after their birth. When I told her about Grandma Liz and the governor's pardon, she was just as elated as I was. She was ready to start planning the decor for the boathouse.
And then, we were on our way. We left early enough in the evening for the remaining crowd to send us off by throwing dried rose petals. Mainly for security reasons, we'd decided not to stay the night in a hotel in Seattle, but to head directly for Ana's plane, where we would consummate our marriage in our own private Mile High Club. Well, not as private as I would have preferred, as I had no doubt all of our security staff heard Ana's moans as I rocked her world. I mean, I had to make up for her pre-wedding night when I hadn't allowed her to come. And make up for it I did, by giving her at least three orgasms. I actually made it to four before we arrived in Hawaii. Then, I had to carry her off the plane to our waiting car. I was so proud of her for waiting, though. I hadn't insisted on it on our pre-wedding night, but it had really been more of a suggestion. I wouldn't have punished her if she'd come, but I wanted to see how well she could control it. She'd proven to me that she had learned to control her orgasms, and I was delighted. Our fun in the bedroom was only just beginning.
I had considered planning an elaborate honeymoon in Bali… or Paris, where I was already in the process of buying a house for us. And if I'd known ahead of time about the villa she had purchased in Italy, we would have gone there. But when Ana suggested her house in Hawaii, I knew it was exactly what she needed. It was relaxing, private, and secure. And my girl needed the comfort of her own home, without the security risks that are inevitable when traveling to unfamiliar destinations.
I finally got my wish… of making love with Ana in that hammock. In fact, I made love with her there at least once a day for the following week. We didn't leave her house other than to walk down to her private beach. We didn't see anyone else, not even our security, who were there doing their jobs but staying out of sight. The food was prepared for us, and our staff cleaned up after us, but they all stayed out of sight. It truly felt like it was just the two of us, and it was wonderful.
As much as we both loved the time together, we were both ready to get back to Seattle, mainly to Christina and Ismintis-Grey, at the end of it. Our life together was just beginning, and, as a poem by Robert Frost that I learned as a child said, we still had miles to go before we slept.