Well, that was pretty high praise, considering all the professional help she'd had back then; at least one person thought she looked like a bride. Ellie grinned and pulled him into a hug, kissing the top of his head. “You look pretty handsome yourself, sweetie.”
Gen had found a suit that fit Ricky, and although he fidgeted uncomfortably in the unfamiliar formal wear, Ellie thought he looked absolutely adorable. She hoped Todd, who was on camera duty with a borrowed phone, would take lots of pictures of him.
She noticed him fidgeting again and smoothed a stray lock of his hair. “You ready?” She'd asked him to walk her down the aisle, and practiced with him a few times that morning. He'd taken the task very seriously, nervous and stiff even during rehearsal.
He nodded solemnly. “I think so.”
Outside, Ellie heard the wedding march start up on an electronic keyboard, one of the quarantine camp residents majestically and mostly accurately playing the notes. The distant murmur of the various groups of guests fell to expectant silence, and she felt her stomach fluttering again.
She took a deep breath and offered her son her elbow. “All right, let's go,” she whispered.
Ricky took it, looking awkward and nervous, his grip a bit tighter than was strictly necessary. Together they ducked out of the tent and started up the berm at the south end of their camp, Ellie keenly aware of dozens of eyes on them as they came into view.
Linny was waiting just atop the dirt hill holding a basket, expression solemn; the moment they arrived she began walking ahead of them down the aisle, tossing of handfuls of petals from flowers donated by friends in Stanberry.
The “aisle” was the narrow path atop the berm, chosen so everyone could see them. Cara and her two sons stood on the inner slope of the dirt pile, so they could see and be visible but wouldn't obstruct the view of Ellie from the direction of the main camp.
As for the groom, he stood on the makeshift podium they'd created on the western berm, where everyone would be able to see him and Elllie during the ceremony. Bruce had grabbed a tuxedo from his closet when they'd gone to retrieve the cache at the house, and while it was old-fashioned and not the best fit, Hal still looked incredible in it.
Judging by the almost stunned expression on his face as he watched Ellie approach, he must've thought the same about her. That sent a warm thrill through her.
There were three groups of guests watching as she did her best to move across the soft dirt in a graceful glide, the gathered guests positioned so they almost made a triangle around their campsite; oddly enough, its spot at the quarantine camp's entrance was actually the best place to host the wedding if they wanted as many of their loved ones as possible to attend.
Or at least, gather as close as they could under the circumstances.
Nick and Tallie and their other friends in the survivors' camp were all along the patrol route fronting Ellie's camp, crowding the borders of the narrow area to fit in; her daughter waved wildly as Ellie and Ricky passed, making her smile as her son waved back just as eagerly.
Nick gave them a thumbs-up, which was an odd greeting for a formal wedding. She guessed it was his unspoken reassurance that Denny and the survivor patrols were all out in force right now, being extra vigilant so everyone else could celebrate without worrying.
Or at least, worry less.
Johnny, Starr, and their friends in the larger camp were just on the other side of the fence beside Ellie's campsite, standing atop the berm so they could observe the proceedings. As for Stanberry, Gen, Billy, the Norsons, and some of the other citizens had risked exposing themselves to the virus and Jay's attacks by crowding into the Zolos-vulnerable visitor's area at the western end of the main camp. Including Mayor Darby and a plump, stern-faced woman Ellie assumed was his wife.
Ellie had to be honest, she was glad Darrel had spurned her invitation. She'd only grudgingly offered it, more as an olive branch than anything, and had secretly dreaded his abrasive attitude souring the festive mood.
The last man in the Stanberry group, waiting as close as possible near where Hal stood, was the man who'd be taking their vows and officially tying the knot.
The formal system for obtaining a marriage license was obviously not functioning at its best at the moment, especially with Stanberry isolated, and the number of people in town who could officiate a wedding were few and far between. Neither Ellie or Hal were particularly religious, but they had no arguments with the minister of a local congregation performing the ceremony.
In fact, Bruce and Winn both insisted that the kindly middle-aged man had done an excellent job for other weddings, with a reputation for giving reserved but heartfelt speeches before the exchanging of vows.
As Ellie came to a stop facing Hal, leaving Ricky waiting a step behind her, the minister cleared his throat and began speaking in a surprisingly loud and carrying voice, easily reaching all ears in the expectant hush.
True to the Norsons' word, the minister's talk was lovely: hopeful and energetic. He spoke of taking steps into the future in these difficult times, and that there was no disaster that people couldn't recover from. And that it was refreshing to see good people living and loving and celebrating life for a change.
Ellie spent most of the speech staring into Hal's eyes, basking in the warmth and love she found there. She was so grateful for so many things, that her children had survived Zolos, and that they'd found a place to move forward through the pandemic, and had everything they needed to survive at least the next few months.
In this special moment, though, she was grateful she'd found this wonderful man to be with her through all this. She hadn't thought she'd find love again after her divorce, certainly not in some random fellow passenger on an airline flight.
But here was proof that it could come at the most unlikely of times and in the most unlikely of places. And be all the more wonderful for that.
Finally, the time came to exchange vows. Ellie knew Hal had spent hours preparing his, but even so found herself tearing up at how eloquent, heartfelt, and above all passionate his words were.
She hoped her own vows, also carefully prepared, did as good a job of expressing the sheer depth of her feelings.
Finally they exchanged rings, Hal slipping his rose-carved silver ring back on her finger and Ellie slipping a plain silver wedding band their friends in town had scrounged up onto his.
Then the minister solemnly but warmly announced the newlyweds could kiss, and almost before Ellie knew it her new husband had swept her up in his arms to give her the sort of kiss that made her knees feel weak.
As they parted the three groups of guests all cheered, Tallie's delighted shouts rising above the rest. Ricky was whooping and jumping up and down, as were Hal's siblings, and even Cara clapped politely.
Hal took her arm, and together they walked along the berm doing their best to greet their guests. It wasn't exactly a formal wedding reception line, but it was the best they could do under the circumstances. And in some ways it was very sweet, how hard everyone tried to make the event special in spite of the difficulties.
Obviously it was impossible to hope for gifts from friends in the main camp, and doubly so for the survivors' camp. But Gen had made up a big basket meal full of delicacies, at least the best that could be whipped up under the circumstances, including slices of the wedding cake she and Winn had baked for everyone in Ellie's camp, and a bottle of champagne for the adults.
People in all three groups had prepared their own lunches to share out, and everyone settled down to eat and bask in the celebratory mood. Ellie and Hal pulled up camping chairs to sit on, her new husband seated on one side of her and Ricky cuddled up on the other, with Cara on Hal's other side and Todd, Lenny, and Den clustered around Ricky.
Ellie hoped the kids would all treat each other like brothers and sister now, since in many ways Hal was as much a parent as an older brother to his young siblings. But the kids seemed to take their new relationships very literally.
Or maybe they were just doing that for fun.
“You know your mom's my sister now, right?” Linny asked Ricky, grinning teasingly. “That means I'm your aunt and you have to do what I say.”
Ricky made a disgusted face. “No I don't! She's your sister-in-law. That's just legal stuff, you're not really my aunt.”
“Yes I am.” The blond girl held out her arms, dark green eyes sparkling with mischief. “Now come give your dear old aunty a big hug!”
“Eww, gross!” He abandoned his chair and food and bolted away along the berm, Linny in hot pursuit cackling gleefully.
Ellie grinned after them, willing to forgive their rambunctious behavior in the excitement of the moment, while Hal roared laughter.
She reached out and took her new husband's hand, feeling a new surge of tenderness for him. He quickly sobered and turned to smile back at her, squeezing her hand gently. “Hey,” he murmured.
“Hey.”
“The eagerly awaited day, huh?”
She nodded. “It's been a long road to get here.”
“With a lot of stops and more than a little walking,” he agreed, wrapping an arm around her and resting his head against hers. “But this is exactly where I want to be.”
“Mmm.” Ellie took the last bite to clean her plate and stood, setting it on her seat. “Come on, we should probably mingle with our guests a bit more.” She especially wanted to have a long talk with Tallie, make sure she felt included in the celebration.
Her daughter was on her feet at the very border of the patrol area, and it was another source of joy for Ellie to see her jumping excitedly, few signs remaining of the lingering weakness that had kept her bedridden for so long.
“Mommy, you look so beautiful!” she shouted. “You just got married!”
Ellie found herself laughing and tearing up at the same time; she couldn't think of anything in the world she wanted more than to scoop her baby girl up in her arms and hug her tight. “I did,” she said solemnly. “Hal's my husband now, and my last name is Westmont.”
Tallie's nose crinkled. “You change names a lot.”
Well, considering she'd changed back to her maiden name after the divorce less than a year ago, and now she had Hal's name, that was sort of true. “This'll be the last time as far as I'm concerned, sweetie girl,” she promised with a grin, reaching out to take Hal's hand.
Ricky and Linny tore past them, still playing their version of tag, and Tallie's attention shifted to them. “Is Linny my sister now?” she asked hopefully.
Ellie hesitated. “Technically she's your aunt.”
“Oh.” Her daughter's face fell. “I wanted her to be my sister.”
“You can treat her like a sister,” Hal offered. “Linny would love to have a sister, too.”
“Okay.” Tallie was silent for a moment. “What's tech-techmicly mean?”
Nick chuckled and whispered in her ear, and her brow furrowed in deeper puzzlement. “I still don't understand what it means, Daddy.”
“Never mind, sweetie,” Ellie said, smiling; Tallie was so cute. “How have you been? Have you been having fun with Aimee?”
She settled back to listen to her daughter chatter about the things she'd done in the survivors' camp, holding Hal's hand the entire time. Then they spent some more time chatting with the guests from the survivors' camp before moving on to the guests from Stanberry.
They were looking antsy about being outside their barricade and so close to a camp teeming with Zolos; even Gen and the Norsons seemed ready to head back. So after receiving a few more well-wishes and saying their goodbyes, she and Hal stood waving as the group hurried back to town.
The survivors' group was next to take their leave, still at their limits caring for the influx of new Zolos patients while also patrolling town searching for signs of what the still-absent Jay was planning. Nick and Tallie stuck around for a while longer, although eventually he had to begin his shift patrolling west of town. He promised to bring Tallie around for a visit later, though.
After that the party pretty much wound down. The guests from the main camp offered their last congratulations and also took their leave to get back to work, still dealing with the aftermath of the breakout.
That left just their camp, effectively drawing the wedding reception to a close.
Ellie felt her stomach flutter with excitement as Hal glanced at her, then at the tent they'd now be sharing, and with a slightly nervous smile cleared his throat. “Shall we, Mrs. Westmont?”
She looked over at Cara and the kids. Her new mother-in-law had agreed to babysit for their wedding night, which admittedly would be starting pretty early since it was still afternoon; after waiting so long Ellie wasn't about to wait any longer now that she was officially married. She was even grateful for Cara's shockingly blunt personality this time around, since the woman had unabashedly said she'd keep the kids occupied singing songs and playing games so the new bride and groom could have some privacy.
Ellie nodded and offered her new husband her arm. “Yes, let's.”
She bit back a squeal of surprised laughter when instead of taking it he abruptly swept her off her feet, carrying her easily in his arms towards the waiting tent.
✽✽✽
Gen wondered if it was weird that she'd found the wedding of her boyfriend's ex-wife super romantic.
She didn't think so, since Ellie and Hal were both such sweet people, and such a lovely couple. They deserved to find that happiness after everything they'd been through, and their success gave Gen hope that the bad times would eventually end and good times were coming.
And in the meantime, filled her with resolve to focus more on the positive in spite of their current situation. Like the fact that Nick and the kids were safe and healthy out there beyond the barricade, and that his feelings for her remained just as strong in spite of the fact that they'd been forced to stay apart for so long.
He could've easily given up on their relationship with all the obstacles to it and found someone else, like Val. But instead he'd held to the hope of what they'd share in the future, when they could finally be together.
And Gen firmly intended to do the same; Billy was sometimes shy, even wary around other people, but he'd taken right to Nick and his children. Having them as part of the family would be good for all of them.
“It's good to see you smiling, Imogen,” Winn said warmly, pulling her into a brief one-armed hug as they walked through the barricade's southern roadblock. “You have the nicest smile . . . it's a shame it has so few reasons to come out these days.”
“Then I guess I should make an effort to do it anyway,” Gen said, hugging her back. And she meant it; smiling didn't always make everything better, but it usually made everyone feel better.
The older woman chuckled and crouched to hug Billy. “How about you, honey? I'm glad you got to visit your friends.”
“Me too, Grandma.” Billy stuck his lower lip out. “But I wish I could've played with them.”
So did Gen. She couldn't believe Darby had refused to let Ellie and Hal and their families into town now that they were done with their isolation. Hadn't those poor people been through enough? But instead they had to sit outside the protection of even the quarantine camp, with children, vulnerable to anything Jay had planned.
Gen spent a lot of time fretting for the safety of her friends.
Winn seemed to know where her thoughts had gone, because she gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. Gen smiled gratefully, reaching down to take her son's hand as they continued down the street.
Billy's grandparents really were some of the best people she knew. Almost like second parents; they'd embraced Gen and treated her kindly even after her relationship with their son Darryl had ended a bit messily, not blaming her or trying to convince her to give things a second try or anything like that.
More importantly, they did their best to be good grandparents to Billy. They'd visited every time they were down in KC, and made sure Gen knew that
she and Billy were always welcome to come up for a visit. They made sure he got a present every birthday and Christmas, and went nuts over every picture of him Gen put up on social media.
Winn especially was wonderful. In fact, probably one of the most special moments of Gen's life had been a conversation with Winn after Gen had been dating Darryl for a few months.
Her boyfriend's mom had always called her “Imogen”, even when everyone else called her by her nickname. When Gen finally worked up the courage to ask her about it, Winn had looked a bit embarrassed.
“I hope you don't mind,” the older woman had said. “It's just that Imogen is such a lovely name, and you're such a lovely young woman. It fits you so well, it would be a shame not to call you by it.”
Tears had sprung to Gen's eyes, and she'd thrown her arms around Winn and hugged her tight. That was when she'd first begun to genuinely love the dear woman, and their relationship had remained strong even after Gen broke things off with Darryl.
As her group left the roadblock behind and made their way down the street, neighbors called out greetings and well wishes. Many even came over to ask how the wedding had gone, expressing their regrets that they hadn't been able to leave the safety of the barricades and join the festivities.
The conversations slowed their walk to the house they were staying in, with friends of the Norsons, and after spending so long standing Gen's feet were sore and she was ready to sit down, maybe even take a nap. But she couldn't complain because she enjoyed talking about the wedding, and how beautiful it had been in spite of the fact that it had taken place in a campsite on top of a dirt hill fortification.
She wanted to share the experience with her friends in town.
Stanberry was a truly wonderful place. Gen was grateful Bruce and Winn had not only agreed to let her and Billy come up to stay when the pandemic started, but had firmly insisted on it.
It was inspiring to see how the good people of Stanberry had come together and cooperated to survive in the face of this crisis. Everywhere around her she saw them finding ways to keep on living with the utilities out and conditions so hard, working together to do things they couldn't do themselves.
Isolation | Book 4 | Holding On Page 10