Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 74450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
His voice broke, and he looked down at his shoes for a spell. He’d never forget what that experience felt like, but now, he knew how to cope with it. When he lifted his gaze again, Azure was crying.
Her maid of honor handed her a tissue, and she gently dabbed at her eyes.
“Azure found me and dragged me out of my own way. I’m honest with myself. People have poured compliments on me all damn week—oh, sorry, Pastor…” The pastor smiled as many people snickered. “But the truth is, I can be really pigheaded. I am not easily bullied or run over. Sometimes though, you have to let your guard down, and just… just trust love. You have to trust the process. You have to believe in what you can’t see and question what you can. You have to envision the painting on the canvas before you’ve even given it one brush stroke. Azure is the unofficial poet of our union, but I have a little something I want to share in closing…”
He closed his eyes for a fleeting moment, then took her hands in his.
“You came to me when I needed you most.
“You cook one hell of a pot roast.
The end.”
Everyone started cracking up, even Azure, who also stared at him as if he were crazy.
“What?” He threw up his hands with a smile. “You thought I was going to be as sensual and elegant as this woman here? You can forget it!”
More laughter ensued.
“Okay… for real… here it goes.” People quieted down. “Short and sweet, but it says it all…
“You came to me when I needed you most.
“You gave me a new reason to brag and boast.
“I had an angel by my side.
“One I looked up to, with pride.
“When no words came to mind, you signed a new language
“You spoke of my pain, my arrogance, and my anguish.
“When I had no choice…
“you were my voice.
“You brought me higher when I thought I had reached my peak…
“You were my words when I could not speak.
“…I love you, baby.”
She squeezed his hands and mouthed the words back, “I love you too,” as their guests applauded. He slipped his hand in his pocket, and removed his little worn nub of a purple crayon, from when he was a child. He looked down at it in his palm, his eyes sheened over. He took her hand, and wrapped her fingers around the crayon.
“…I’m giving my crutch, my safety net to you, honey. I no longer need this. Draw whatever you wish with it, but especially, draw me closer to you.”
“Thank you.” Another tear cascaded down her cheek.
They continued the vows, and exchanged rings.
“Caspian and Azure, this is your first kiss as a married couple,” Pastor Abraham announced with a great big smile. “You may now kiss one another.”
Caspian leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his bride. He claimed her lips in a kiss, the heat between them exploding to the point he didn’t dare let go.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife!”
He could hear the applause and cheers, but he just kept holding her. Squeezing her. Embracing her.
He spoke to her. Silently.
Loved her. Loudly.
They were no longer lost or alone. The sun was out.
They’d be found…
Epilogue
…Two years later
Green Meadows Memorial Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky, was the final resting place of Mrs. Florence… as far as everyone knew. Only, Axel, Legend, and Caspian were aware that this wasn’t her final resting place at all. Mrs. Florence had never laid down for eternity. She never died in the spiritual sense of the word. She’d been working diligently from behind the pearly gates, sitting on her throne with white feathers all around her and colorful robes, singing gospel songs, playing the piano, petting cats and dogs, and sipping a coffee with a sprinkle of cream. This tall, no-nonsense intelligent, deeply spiritual, empathic, and beautiful spirit had taken a keen interest to three boys whose life was destined for disaster, and she kneaded them like dough, proving to them they were meant to be great—and that under heat and pressure, they would rise to the occasion.
Caspian placed a white feather at Mrs. Florence’s tombstone. Legend followed suit, laying his alongside Caspian’s. Axel stood there for a moment, gripping his feather tightly against his chest, then set it down across theirs on the base of her grave.
It had been a long journey for all of them but worth every second, every minute, every hour, every year, every decade. Caspian slipped his baseball cap from his head, allowing his dark locks to fall forward. He held the hat against his chest as he read her tombstone for the millionth time. He saw the date she died, but it seemed as if she were very much alive… He could almost feel her around him, right at that moment.
“Ain’t it strange how after all that’s happened to us, the bad dreams, the sleepless nights, the way our worlds were turned upside down, that we love her even more than we did the day she passed away? I’m sad that she doesn’t come to us anymore in our dreams…” Axel stated. “It was hell when she slid in my nightmares, but she gave me a sense of peace and comfort, too.”