"Yes."
Jake exhaled.
"Good."
"That was fast."
"I thought you'd make me suffer."
"I still can."
He placed ring.
Sophia pulled him up.
Kissed him.
From office came applause.
Sophia pulled away.
Molly stepped out with Emily and Claire.
Sophia stared.
"You people."
Molly grinned.
"I knew."
"Of course."
Claire cried.
Emily filmed.
Jake apologized.
Sophia forgave temporarily.
Wedding happened following Christmas.
Evergreen Café catered desserts.
They rented restored barn outside Pine Hollow.
Snow fell lightly.
Sophia wore ivory.
Jake wore dark suit.
Molly served as best person because she refused "flower girl."
She was ten.
Before ceremony, Sophia stood alone in small side room.
Nervous.
Marianne entered.
"You okay?"
Sophia nodded.
Then shook head.
"I'm scared."
Her mother smiled.
"Good."
"What?"
"Means you understand it matters."
Sophia looked toward mirror.
"What if I was wrong again?"
Marianne stepped closer.
"About Jake?"
"About myself."
She touched daughter's face.
"You will be wrong again."
Sophia frowned.
"Wonderful."
"Marriage isn't reward for being certain."
"It's practice of returning after uncertainty."
Sophia thought about repair.
Her mother's advice sounded suspiciously like Jake.
She smiled.
Outside, Jake stood with Molly.
Molly adjusted his tie badly.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"Are you nervous?"
"Terrified."
"Why?"
"Because Sophia can legally change her mind until she says yes."
Molly rolled eyes.
"She won't."
"How know?"
"She bought towels."
Jake stared.
"What?"
"For our bathroom."
"That's commitment."
"Exactly."
He laughed.
Then Molly looked toward him.
"Mom would be happy."
Jake's breath caught.
Molly continued.
"I think."
Jake nodded.
"I think too."
She hugged him.
He held daughter tightly.
When Sophia walked down aisle, Jake stopped breathing for a second.
Not because dress.
Though beautiful.
Because she looked at him like she knew exactly what she was choosing.
Not fantasy.
Not rescue.
Him.
Full person.
He looked back same way.
Their vows were simple.
Sophia:
"I choose you when you're easy."
Jake smiled.
"Rare."
Everyone laughed.
She continued:
"And when you're impossible."
"I choose the life we've already made and the one we don't know yet."
Jake said:
"I promise not to fix everything."
Sophia laughed.
He continued.
"I promise to stay when fixing isn't possible."
They kissed.
Molly complained it lasted too long.
Perfect.
Three years later, Sophia gave birth to a boy.
They named him Oliver.
Jake cried before baby fully arrived.
Sophia mocked him later.
He denied.
Hospital nurse confirmed.
Molly, now thirteen, held Oliver like fragile machinery.
"He's weird."
Sophia smiled.
"Most newborns."
Jake stood behind them.
Family.
Not simple.
Not original.
Not replacement.
Family.
One night months later, Sophia sat feeding Oliver while Jake made coffee at two morning.
She looked exhausted.
Hair messy.
Old robe.