Dating After the End of the World - 41

“You look beautiful, Molly,” I say as I watch her twirl in front of the full-length mirror. It’s cracked in multiple places, fissures running to and fro on the surface, making it look like there are multiple versions of her. But it works nonetheless. She’s adorned in an all-white dress, the lower half billowing out as her momentum fills the fabric with air.

“Thanks, Casey,” she says, pausing her twirl and looking to me with an unsure sadness in her eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay with me wearing this?”

“Of course.” I smile. “It was just gathering dust in a dresser. Plus, she would have wanted it to be put to good use.” It’s my mother’s wedding dress, and my dad kept it all these years, safely locked away in his bedroom closet.

“But what about you and Blake, if . . . ya know? Wouldn’t you wanna wear it?” Molly asks.

“Well, we were enemies first, then lovers, then enemies again, and now lovers. So we’re due to switch back to enemies very soon,” I say with a laugh. “So don’t worry about us. This is your day.”

“That’s right, Molly, so enjoy it, because tomorrow, it’s back to training and surviving the end of the world,” Tessa says as she swipes an old Maybelline blush across her cheeks.

I pat her shoulder as she gets to her feet and stands beside me.

“Thank you both for standing up with me.” Molly beams at us, tears in her eyes. We grab her hand and squeeze it, creating a little sisterhood circle of our own.

Tessa and I have donned old dresses I found in the back of my closet. A sequined one I bought my senior year, when I thought Blake would ask me to homecoming. It was unworn until today. And a pink bridesmaid’s dress from a wedding I stood up in my freshman year of college. We look rather ridiculous, but it doesn’t matter.

A knock on the door interrupts us. “Can I come in?” Blake’s voice calls from the other side, instantly giving me butterflies.

“Of course!” Molly blurts out, excited for someone else to see her in the dress.

Blake walks in wearing his navy dress attire. It was the only formal outfit he could find, but he wears it well, and it appears I like a man in uniform.

“Molly, you look beautiful!” he says, giving her a hug.

“Thanks, Blake.”

He turns to Tessa and me, all smiles. “And so do both of you.”

“Don’t lie to me, Blake,” Tessa says, trying to flatten out her puffy, pink dress. “I look like a cake topper for a little girl’s birthday party.”

“But a beautiful cake topper,” I tease.

Blake smiles and steps to me, kissing my cheek and resting his hand on my waist to pull me into him. “And you look like you should be on top of something else,” he whispers, biting the tip of my earlobe. I giggle, giving him a smoldering look as I pull away.

“You two are disgustingly cute,” Tessa says with a smirk.

“Yeah, you’re like a younger Greg and me, our puppy love growing into a full dog.” Molly cups her hands together over her heart.

I furrow my brow. “I’m, like, a decade older than you, and I’ve known Blake since I was thirteen.”

“Love works in mysterious ways.” She beams.

“We’re all set out there,” Blake says with an amused look on his face. “Are you ready, Molly?”

She nods, the ringlets in her hair bouncing like springs. “I’ve been ready since that first night I spent with Greg, when he brought me back to his dorm and—”

“All right, let’s get you hitched then,” I interrupt before she goes into more detail.

Outside on the front lawn, people are seated in a hodgepodge of chairs, overturned buckets, and stumps set up in rows. Several carpet runners serve as the aisle, with red and white rose petals strewn over them. Aunt Julie stands at the end of the passage of rugs, under a makeshift altar made of two-by-fours and adorned with wildflowers. She has tears in her eyes as she holds her head high, waiting to officiate this special occasion. Greg stands to the right of her, dressed in one of my dad’s old suits. It’s a size too big, but with his raised shoulders and puffed-out chest, it’s barely noticeable.

Over the last six months, we’ve taken in a dozen people, so there are many new faces gathered before us. After our successful mission to the hospital, we got a little bolder with our scavenge runs, confident that we could handle ourselves, even in places filled with biters. We explored more hospitals, gated homes, and government buildings, but the jackpot was a secured warehouse. We found enough grains and canned goods to feed everyone here for years. So when we discovered stragglers in need of saving, we welcomed them into the fold.

We’ve built several new cabins, made the dummy house livable again, and fortified our perimeter even more, raising the height of the barbed wire and adding a day shift for patrolling. We vowed to never allow an attack like we suffered to befall us again, or at least we’ll do everything in our power to stop it from happening again.

Standing off to the side from Aunt Julie is Terrance with a harmonica in hand, ready to play the wedding procession down the aisle. He’s a large man in his late fifties with dark skin, a barrel-size chest, and a thick beard. Terrance is one of the new faces who joined us during a scavenging raid. Near the end of a run, we were loading up the truck, and in a moment of brief silence, we heard a sound that none of us had heard in a very long time. Music. Sitting on the roof of a house with a rifle resting on his lap was Terrance, playing his harmonica without a care in the world. He had barricaded the first floor of the house, coming and going through a second-story window with the use of a rope ladder he could retract back into itself with a hidden pull cord. Blake and I struck up a conversation with him, like neighbors greeting one another while out on a walk. We got along well, and it felt like the old normal. He’s been with us ever since. Terrance is one tough sonofabitch, but not the toughest sonofabitch I’ve ever known. He reminds me a lot of my dad, and I think the two of them would have been fast friends.

“Don’t you clean up nice,” a voice calls from behind me. I turn to see Elaine, smiling from ear to ear.

“Same to you,” I say, pointing at her floral dress, which she made out of an old sheet. We embrace one another in a tight hug.

“All those months ago. Greg avoiding her like the plague. Did you ever think this day would come?” she asks.

I turn back to look at Molly, hiding behind a tree out of Greg’s sight, a grin plastered across her face. I haven’t seen someone that happy since . . . maybe ever. And despite everything, her bubbly nature and optimism for this fallen world have never faltered.

“Yes. Yes, I did,” I say with a smile.

“May I walk you to your seat, madam?” JJ asks, arm extended with his elbow bent, waiting for Elaine’s hand.

“Aren’t you about to walk up the aisle? You can’t be seen so soon,” Elaine protests.

“I don’t think it’s that formal of a crowd.” JJ smirks.

Greg starts fist-bumping Terrance as he goads him into playing some tunes before the ceremony starts. Terrance obliges and begins performing “Bad to the Bone” on his harmonica.

Elaine lets out a heavy sigh. “At least there will be an open bar at the reception.” She chuckles as JJ escorts her to her seat.

“Pssst,” I hear someone say.

I spin around to find Molly waving me over. I quickly sprint across the grass, hoping she’s not getting cold feet.

“Hey, everything okay? Are you ready?” I ask, finding her with her back leaned up against the tree.

“Mm-hmm.” She nods, her lips pulled in, tears beginning to form across her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just . . . when I pictured this day, I thought my mom would be sitting in the front row, my brother and sister both standing up with me. And my dad would walk me down the aisle and give me away.” A tear escapes her eye and I swiftly dab it dry, saving her makeup from streaking.

“I know, Molly,” I say, resting my hand on her arm. “I know it more than anyone, but it doesn’t make it any better and it doesn’t make it suck any less. Just because this day isn’t what you pictured doesn’t mean it can’t be wonderful. It’s different, yes, but different doesn’t mean bad. There are so many people here that love you dearly, and none more than that big goof up there waiting for you.”

Molly pokes her head around the tree to get a glimpse of Greg and starts giggling upon seeing him dancing and singing the lyrics to the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” She looks back at me with a smile on her face.

“Sometimes the family you’re born with can’t always be there. But the family you pick up along the way can be. So let’s celebrate that and the two of you becoming a family of your own.” I tilt my head, returning the smile.

Molly lunges forward, drawing me into her before I have a chance to react. It’s reminiscent of the first hug we ever shared.

“Thanks, Case,” she whispers into my ear. “I’m ready.”

Signaling Terrance to start the actual wedding music, I join Tessa, JJ, and Blake at the end of the aisle.

“She didn’t get cold feet, did she?” Tessa asks.

“No, her feet are scalding hot,” I joke.

As the music begins, Tessa and JJ link arms and start off down the aisle. Blake nods to me as we stand side by side, waiting for our turn.

Sloane slips out from her chair in the last row and brushes past me, saying, “I’m going to check on the food and make sure the reception is all set back at the house.” She’s a couple of years older than I am, with a striking appearance, thanks to her long dark, wavy hair and light-green eyes. Sloane joined us about seven weeks ago, after her car hit a patch of ice and skidded off the road two miles down. She fit in almost immediately, thanks to her willingness to help with anything and everything. Her military background made her a valuable asset right from the beginning. She took night shifts, learned how to patrol, went on scavenge runs, and helped to train others on combat and weaponry. She was lucky to have stumbled upon this place, and we’ve been lucky to have her.

“No, no, sit,” I say, waving a hand and gesturing to her chair. “We’ll worry about that after the ceremony.”

She gives me a strained look. “But shouldn’t the reception be ready for Molly and Greg after the ceremony?”

“Yes, and it will be. Just relax.”

Sloane tightly smiles and retakes her seat, even though I know she doesn’t want to. She’s a lot like me in that way, unable to sit still, because there’s always something that can be done. I got that from my dad, and I wonder whether her dad was the same way. I smile back and thread my arm through Blake’s, ready to walk down the aisle with him.

“Hello, my dear,” he whispers.

“What did you have in mind?” I raise a brow.

“Huh?” His face is confused.

“Sniper tower, cab of the truck, tree house. What would you like me on top of?”

Blake smirks. “Definitely a tower, but not the sniper variety.”

“Tower? Let’s not go overboard.”

“Seems to do the trick for you.” He winks, making me laugh.

My eyes veer back to Tessa and JJ, realizing they’re more than halfway to Greg, so we missed our mark. “Whoops. We’re up,” I say, tugging him forward.

He grins at me and mouths I love you as we walk down the aisle.

I smile back and mouth I love you too , just before we part ways. Blake and Greg hug. Blake gives him an extra pat on the back, then takes his spot on JJ’s other side.

With everyone in place, I nod to Terrance once more. The familiar music begins and everyone instinctively stands, turning toward the end of the aisle.

Molly is as beautiful as any bride I’ve ever seen, apocalypse be damned. The universe must think so too, given the perfect weather and songbirds singing from nearby trees. The sun illuminates her from behind, and for a moment all I can see is the dress radiating light, and I can’t help but wonder whether Molly doesn’t have more than just my uncle Jimmy walking her down the aisle.

Greg has tears running down his face, with a smile so wide his lips might burst. Uncle Jimmy steps forward and whispers to Greg. A message only for a father’s and son’s ears. He kisses Molly on the cheek, hands her off to Greg, and takes a seat in the front row.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here on this glorious afternoon to join in marriage . . . ,” Aunt Julie says, sticking to the traditions we all tried to remember, but none of us had ever officiated a wedding before, so she’s winging it.

I look out into the crowd, noting the smiling faces, caught up in the moment, as most wedding attendees are prone to be. The majority of them haven’t known Greg and Molly for more than a few months, but they’re honored to be a part of their special day anyway. Because a day like this offers all of us hope that we can love and be loved even in the darkest times. The world may have ended, but our humanity is endless.

I look to the road beyond the fence, stretching for miles and . . .

What the hell is that? I squint to get a better view.

A semitruck drives down the highway, its white metal siding glinting in the sun as a plume of black smoke bursts from the exhaust pipe. A working vehicle driving on the road has happened a few times, like in Sloane’s case before she crashed, but a semitruck? Never.

I try to get Blake’s attention without ruining the moment, but he’s on the other side of JJ, and he’s just as enthralled with the ceremony as everyone else.

Suddenly, the truck slows. My heart pounds as I watch it, hoping it’s nothing. But then several men appear on top of the trailer, having climbed up the back of it. They get in a line, seemingly facing us, pulling items out of backpacks slung over their shoulders One of them drops down on his belly, while another man places something large and black in front of him. It takes me a moment to realize what it is . . . but when I do, my eyes go wide. It’s a sniper rifle.

“If anyone has any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace,” Aunt Julie says, scanning the crowd.

It’s quiet for only a split second, until I scream, “ Runnnnnn !” just as bullets rip through the air, hitting the ground around us.