...Two and a half years later
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E: The speaker at my graduation was better.
E: And he didn't drone on this long.
E: And he's currently letting Ava play on his phone, so he's pretty much my favorite person.
T: I hope you get along just as well after the ceremony…
E: You don't have to do this. The wedding is in two weeks.
T: I'm tired of lying and pretending. I need to do this.
Tris put her phone to sleep and slipped it in the pocket of the dress she wore under her graduation gown.
Thanks to the college classes she took during high school, it had taken Tris three years to finish her bachelor's degree in child development, including a summer internship with the American Family Foundation's Illinois chapter. She hadn't worked during her school years, but had raised Ava with Eric as he provided financially for all three of them.
Tris had shared life with Eric, raised Ava, and gone to school while planning their wedding. Now she and Eric were two weeks away from their big day, and she was about to blow everything up. Eric tried to talk her out of it, but Tris was done. Done pretending. Done living a lie. Done.
She stood with the other graduates when her program was called, and fingered the slip of paper in her hands. Step-by-step she got closer to the stage as graduates were called. When she got to the stairs, Tris handed the paper with her name and honors to the emcee, then climbed the small staircase to the platform.
"Beatrice Coulter, suma cum laude," the announcer called.
Tris grinned broadly as she crossed the stage. Their secret was out there.
After the ceremony, Tris filed out with the other graduates and hurried to the place where she had arranged to meet her family. Just like at her high school graduation, Ava was the first to spot Tris.
"Mommy!" The three-and-a-half year old called from her perch on Eric's shoulders.
Tris smiled. Ava was a beautiful little girl. She strongly favored her father in coloring, and her fine golden blonde hair still curled, though it had grown quite long. Her eyes were more blue than Eric's grey, and between that and their shared expressions and mannerisms, people were often surprised to learn that Ava wasn't Tris' biological child.
"Hey Sunshine!" she greeted her daughter, who wiggled and reached for her.
Eric lowered the toddler to the ground, and Tris picked her up as Eric wrapped his arms around both of his girls.
"I'm so proud of you, Duchess," Eric said as he leaned in for a kiss.
"You grad-u-ate-ed!" Ava said, carefully sounding out the word she had been hearing a lot.
"Yes she did," Natalie said as she took her turn hugging Tris. "And she did a good job."
"Were you a good girl during the ceremony?" Tris asked Ava.
"Uncle Caleb brought me a new coloring book. Daddy! Where's my princess book? I have to show Mommy!"
Tris set the squirming little one on the ground so she could help her daddy dig in their bag for the all-important coloring book.
Caleb and his fiancee, Susan, took turns hugging Tris. Caleb had graduated the year before and was going to medical school closer to home. After just a few months back in the area, he had proposed to Susan, and they had a fall wedding planned.
After them, Tori and Bud took turns hugging Tris. The trainer/tattoo artist and photographer had become Tris and Eric's closest friends. The two couples were often together, and "Auntie Tori" and "Uncle Bud" had a room in their home set up just for Ava, with toys galore and a single bed. When Bud and Tori eloped during spring break, George, Amar, Tris, Eric, and Ava had been the only ones invited, and Tris had been honored to serve as Tori's sort-of bridesmaid and sign as a witness.
Andrew was the last to hug the graduate. "Practicing your new last name, Sweetpea?" he questioned Tris.
"Um, actually," Tris said, looking to Eric, who just smirked at her in amusement. Obviously he wasn't going to be any help. "That kind of, uh, is my name."
The assembled family members stared at her in stunned silence while Eric, Tori, and Bud just smiled.
"But… but… the wedding!" Natalie said in a quiet but panicked voice.
"No," Tris insisted, reaching for her mom's arm. "Nothing changes with the wedding plans."
"You eloped?" Caleb asked in a shocked voice. "Why?"
"And when?" Andrew asked.
Eric chuckled. "I told you to stick with the plan," he said to Tris as he stepped up to stand behind her. "We were keeping it to ourselves and planning the wedding as if we were just a normal engaged couple. But somebody insisted on letting the cat out of the bag and using her legal name at graduation."
"Why?" Caleb repeated.
"Ava," Tris explained, pointing at the little one now perched high on Bud's shoulders. "I really struggled with living off Eric and not really, legally being her mom. I didn't have any rights and couldn't make decisions about her care or anything. It ate at me - especially after they were in that car accident. So we got married and I legally adopted her."
"Now?" Susan asked. "After all this time? You couldn't wait a few more weeks?"
Eric chuckled again and put his hands on Tris' shoulders. "Tris and I got married on Valentine's Day," he said. "Two years ago."
"Two years," Natalie breathed, reaching for Andrew's hand. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Mommy?" Ava interrupted. "Can we go?"
"Soon," Eric promised. He and Bud exchanged a quick look, and the older man suggested taking Ava on a walk around campus for a little bit.
"Good idea," Tori said, whisking the toddler away from the family drama that was brewing.
"I'm sorry," Tris said when her daughter was out of earshot. "I was selfish. I just… I wanted everything. I wanted to be married and to adopt Ava. But Dad was just sworn in as a senator, and you were moving, and Caleb was in Baltimore, and we had just set the wedding date and put a deposit on the ballroom. Two years was too far away and I wanted to legally adopt Ava - I needed to adopt Ava. So I convinced Eric to go through just the legal parts. Bud and Tori went with us to the Justice of the Peace, and we got married. I adopted Ava, and we otherwise just kept things the same."
"But why didn't you tell us?" Andrew asked.
"I didn't want to bother you," Tris tried to explain, though her reasoning sounded lame now. "I wanted to have the wedding with my family like we always dreamed, Mom. I want Dad to walk me down the aisle, and to wear my dream gown, and dance with Eric at our reception. I tried to convince myself that I could have it all - the elopement for Ava and the wedding for real. But as time passed I've felt more and more guilty for not telling you."
"I'm sorry too," Eric said. "I knew how much it meant to Tris to adopt Ava and have rights as a parent, and I knew how much the wedding meant to her, too. I agreed to the elopement because... well, because I wanted to be married to her for one thing, but because I knew it would give her peace about Ava. I just made her promise that the wedding would go on as planned and that we wouldn't tell anyone. I thought if people knew we were already married it might take some joy out of the wedding plans, or Tris might give up on her dream because it didn't 'matter' any more."
"Graduation was the first time it really became an issue," Tris said. "Anything legal is pretty private. My license, passport, and credit cards say Coulter, but no one sees them. Last names just don't come up in everyday life among friends and family. But today they were announcing my name, and I didn't want to lie or keep hiding. You guys should have known all along. I'm sorry."
"I get it," Caleb said. "You're a mom. You have to think of Ava first. With all the years we spent with foster kids in and out of the house, we understand the value of parental rights more than most people. I'm glad that Ava has been secure with two loving legal parents. As far as I'm concerned, you adopted Ava two years ago, but you're marrying Eric in two weeks."
"Thank you!" Tris said with obvious relief. "That's how I think of it, too. Eric and I are excited to celebrate our commitment at the wedding, even if we had to do the legal part early for Ava."
"I think we all understand why you did it," Andrew said, Natalie quietly nodding in agreement, "but why didn't you tell us?"
"That's my fault," Eric said. "I was afraid that if everyone knew, Tris wouldn't get the wedding she wanted. I didn't want her to give up that dream because it no longer mattered from a legal standpoint. We weren't trying to trick you, I assure you. I've offered to pay for things many times, and I want you to know that offer still stands. We didn't keep this from you so you would pay for the wedding."
"Of course you didn't," Andrew said, holding up a hand to stop Eric's rambling. "I'm happy - no, I'm thrilled - to give my daughter her dream wedding. And I understand about doing what you had to do for Ava. I think we're just hurt that you kept it from us."
Tris' shoulders slumped and she looked down at her feet. "At first I didn't feel bad about it," she said quietly. "Like I said, we eloped for Ava. But when we had an anniversary last February, I began to feel guilty about it. Not about getting married; I just felt bad about not telling you. Until today Bud and Tori were the only ones who knew. But we've celebrated two anniversaries, kind of, and we've been planning this wedding. I just felt guilty, like we were tricking you all into this wedding when we didn't have to. So I told Eric that I was graduating under my legal name, no more hiding, and finally telling the four of you the truth."
"Is that why you refused to have a bridal shower?" asked Susan, who would be Tris' Maid of Honor alongside Tori as Matron of Honor.
Tris nodded, still not looking at anyone. "That and the fact that we're already living together. We don't need more stuff. We're not actually just starting out in life, and I didn't want anyone to spend money on me."
"Which explains why you wouldn't register for wedding gifts," Caleb deduced.
"We're comfortably established," Eric said with a shrug. "We just want to celebrate with everyone."
"And it's going to be a wonderful day," Andrew said, trying to ease the tension. He glanced back and forth between his daughter, who still looked guilty, and his wife, who still looked hurt. "For now we have a graduation to celebrate. Let's gather up Ava, Bud, and Tori and get to the restaurant."
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Later that night, when Caleb was out with Susan and the Coulters had gone home, Andrew found himself consoling his wife as they got ready for bed.
"We've always been so close!" Natalie moaned. "I'm… I'm just… I don't know. I'm hurt, and sad, and kind of a little angry. Andrew, we weren't invited to our daughter's wedding! She didn't even tell us about it for two and a half years! I mean, I get the need to adopt Ava, but... but I talk or text with Tris almost every day! And she didn't think to tell me that she and Eric got married!?"
Tears of frustration began trickling down Natalie's cheeks, and she dashed at them angrily. "Maybe we shouldn't have gone to DC when she was so young," Natalie reasoned. "Do you think we abandoned her? Does she?"
"Nat," Andrew soothed. "Things worked out the way they were supposed to. God brought Ava and Eric into Tris' life at just the right time. She was never alone. Think about it, Sweetheart. Tris needed to adopt Ava so she could take care of her no matter what. But their marriage meant that Eric could do the same for Beatrice. You, me, and Caleb were all on the east coast. If, God forbid, Tris had gotten in an accident or something, Eric was all she had. Their marriage allowed him to support her - legally and in spite of her stubbornness."
Natalie chuckled. "Our girl has always been independent," she said.
"And our granddaughter is just like her," Andrew said.
Natalie sighed. "I do feel better knowing that Ava was covered. Those three belong together."
"It still amazes me how the pieces fit together," Andrew said as he climbed into bed. "Tris was in the right place at the right time to save Ava. We were in the right place at the right time to reunite her with Eric and help them adjust. Then Eric and Ava were there just when Tris needed them. They didn't elope to leave us out of their plans, Nat. In fact, I'd say they did what they had to do while saving the wedding for our family."
"I know," she said, shutting off the light and climbing in bed with her husband.
"So when do you think they'll give us more grandchildren?" Andrew asked eagerly.
Natalie swatted at her husband gently. "Goodnight, you old grandpa," she said.
"Goodnight, Grandma," he replied, and Natalie could hear the smile in her husband's voice.
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A/N: I almost ended this story at the engagement, but I had some good ideas for a dreamy wedding with an adorable little flower girl in the mix. So I decided to spring an elopement on you and give you the wedding. There's lots to see on my Pinterest board - search for AnnLiberty (all one word). Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and reviews!
XOXO, Libby