I swallowed hard, and my vision suddenly became blurry.

Years had passed since I’d first noticed his captivating eyes, the green and deep blue mingling with gray, the faint crinkles at the corners that’d slowly appeared over time… He was my home. I drew an unsteady breath and faced Kieran, and I immediately got caught in his warm, nervous, a bit amused gaze. This moment-how I’d hoped, lost hope, and hoped again that we’d stand here one day. Then Kieran squeezed my hand, and I exhaled. I should listen, if I could just hear past the rushing sound in my ears. The place wasn’t as bland as I’d expected nice fabrics covered the walls, and two big bouquets of flowers flanked the spot where the officiant was already speaking to us. The nerves hit me with full force when we stepped into the office where thousands of couples had vowed eternal love and devotion before us. My sister had taken her shopping in Seattle. “You all look lovely.” Jaylin, on the other hand, loved her new dress. Jess wasn’t a fan of wearing a suit one bit. “All good to go.” I kissed him quickly and glanced back at the children.

Nothing had been lost so much as I’d…made some last-minute changes to something we’d bought together. “Did you find what you were looking for?” “Fancy running into you here.” I smiled as I reached him on the steps. Hi there! I usually post my mini outtakes on the Instagram account but this week, the outtake got a little too long! So I’m posting it here.

Aftermath by Cara Dee