Goodbye Until Tomorrow
by Aurette
Epilogue
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!"
I smiled at Dietrich as Devon took Danielle in his arms and kissed her quite soundly. Dietrich, who was sitting a few rows back in the church, smiled back at me. I turned my attention back on the bride and groom before the photographer caught me not paying attention to the kissing couple.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you for the very first time, Danielle and Devon Orrmann!"
I couldn't help but smile at the joy in Danielle's face as she faced the people gazing at her. She and Devon stepped down from in front of the altar and made their way down the aisle to the back of the church. Gracie, as Matron of Honor, and Jonah, as Best Man, followed suit, and I jumped forward to grab the arm of my matching groomsman, a friend of Devon's whom I had never met before the rehearsal dinner.
Following us were Devon's sisters and the other two groomsmen. As I passed by Dietrich I gave him a little smirk before turning to smile for the photographer. Once we were in the narthex of the church, we broke away and I pulled Danielle into a hug.
"I"m so happy for you," I exclaimed. I really was. She was beautiful, radiant, all those other things. Compared to her last wedding, she looked like a completely different woman. I hugged Devon, who looked just as ecstatic as his new wife.
I heard a baby start wailing, and Gracie shook her head. "Guess Cillian's had enough of Mom," she said to me as our mother swept out of the church, ten month old baby in tow. Cillian stopped crying and started whining as soon as he saw his mom. He leaned away from his grandmother and held his arms out towards Gracie. She took him easily, not caring that her scarlet dress might get wrinkled.
Jonah sidled up to his wife and stroked his son's dark hair. He kissed Gracie on the cheek, oblivious to the crowd of people streaming out to get in line to congratulate the newlyweds. Before Dietrich could reach the bridal party, I rushed over and grabbed his arm. I pulled him into a nearby stairwell and let the door slam behind us. Before Dietrich could ask what was wrong, I pulled him into a kiss and he melted instantly against me.
"Feeling sentimental?" he asked in that wonderful accent.
"Shush." I silenced him with another kiss, longer this time.
He pulled away, his breathing hard. "You're so beautiful."
"You're so handsome."
"I love you," we said at the same time. I kissed him again, hard enough that he banged against the wall, remembering at the last minute that if I went to the side we'd fall down the stairs.
When I pulled away, I looked up into his eyes and grinned. "Mom was asking if we were thinking about getting married. I told her we'd only been dating ten months and that was just too soon."
"What do you think she would have said if you mentioned that you happened to already be married?" Dietrich asked, mischief shining in his eyes.
"Probably yell at me for not letting her plan another wedding." I laughed and let my husband tuck me against him. He rested his chin on top of my head. "When do you think we should tell them?"
Dietrich made a humming sound. "Well, perhaps when we decide we want to have kids and you have to break it to her that you're pregnant."
I snorted. "Yeah. That's lovely. 'Oh, mom, I'm pregnant. And don't freak out, I've been married for however many years.'"
"Oh, that will go so well."
"Shut up." I pulled back and smacked his shoulder. "I like this whole secret marriage thing."
Dietrich shook his head, but I knew he liked it just as much as me. "Maybe we'll pretend to get engaged soon. Go through a whole ceremony."
Wouldn't Gracie and Jonah love that. They were the only two people in the world who knew we were married. Well, except Dietrich's pastor, who had married us. My sister and brother-in-law had been the witnesses three weeks earlier on Christmas Eve, and they got as much a kick about our elopement as we did.
"Maybe," I said, thinking about it. "And then my mom can be all wondering why I'm not a Bridezilla and am totally zen about the whole thing."
Dietrich chuckled, and we kissed again. We broke apart like a shot when Jonah banged through the door.
"You guys," he hissed. "You're not the only newlyweds in existence."
"Don't get your panties in a bunch," I said, taking Dietrich's hand. We walked out of the stairwell after Jonah. "We're coming."
Dietrich squeezed my hand. He leaned over to kiss my hair. "Ich liebe dich, my darling."
I smiled at him. I ignored Jonah calling my name. After all, Dietrich and I were still in our honeymoon phase. No one else mattered. Well, I guess Danielle and Devon mattered, but they were busy hugging people and smiling.
I kissed Dietrich one last time before I broke away to get ready for pictures.
"I love you too, mein Liebling."
Fini
Author's Note: I've had this epilogue written for like, a year. So I hope you guys like what I did with it! I'm thinking about writing more about Gracie and Jonah (because, let's be real, they're pretty much awesome) delving into their marital life and trials and tribulations and stuff... Would you lovely people be interested in reading it? It wouldn't be so plot-y or anything, mostly just a slice of life thing going on. Just an idea.
And now the trilogy is over. I'm all sad. I love these kids. LOVE THEM I TELL YOU. But I've had so much fun writing about these people, and I hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as I did writing! Thanks for reading!
soli Deo gloria