Act 3: An Ending Of Sorts Episode 1: Freedom.

Most people would say that this wedding was beautiful but that would be the greatest understatement of Jo’s life. In terms of all the history of weddings this would take a solid 102,67th place but in her mind it was perfect. At least, perfect enough for her. Her parents even came up for it and they never leave home. Of course they came up. When they heard who she was marrying, they couldn’t resist. Some of the first words they said to her was “Finally.” They even brought Daniel, her older brother. He, of course, came with his wife Cathy and their children Bailey and Aaron. It felt as if her side of the wedding would be enormous. That feeling quickly ended when she heard that Phil’s entire family nearly booked an entire hotel for themselves. This news was, of course, broken to her the night of the practice dinner. They had rented out Kavel’s which was a quite popular venue in the north part of Morgantown and the entire thing was full. Upon entrance, it was like a clown car full of excitement had dumped the population of Rhode Island into the building. However, despite the number of people, the practice dinner went quite smoothly and everyone went home happy and prepared to hit the ground running the next day.

“Are you ok, dear?”

Her mother stood, braiding Jo’s newly shoulder length hair. Jo, watching her mother in the mirror of the bride’s dressing room, looked as if she were about to cry. Jo sniffed and offered up a smile. “Yeah, it's just that… Well, I promised that, when my hair grew back, I would be in a better place.”

Her mother took a bright pink hair tie and carefully slipped it into her daughter’s smooth brown hair. “Well, are ya? Cause, if not, I will not hesitate to call this whole thing off until you feel better.”

Jo laughed, doubling over on the stool. “Oh, mom. You don’t need to do that. I’m good. I’m very good. It’s just that… all of this is happening so fast.”

She felt soft hands, full of caring and responsibility, rest upon her shoulders. “Jo, Sometimes things happen quickly and that is ok. There is absolutely no shame in allowing yourself to float on the river of your life. Just, well, try not to sink, alright? I know how bad you are with canoes.”

Jo laughed again and gently hit the hand on her left shoulder. “Mom! It was one time. Besides, Daniel was rocking it anyway.”

“Then you have learned a good lesson. If Phil ever tries to rock this canoe… rock back and even harder, got it?”

Jo nodded. “Yeah, got it.”

“Good.”

Her mother removed her hands and shuffled to the other side of the room. “Now, let's get you in your dress.” 

 

Setting up the wedding itself was a hassle but she had to have it perfect and wouldn’t allow it to be any other way. It was the first time in a long while that she was truly happy and nothing could ruin it. Not even the appearance of her fiance’s best friend and all his antics. Phil and his five friends, which doubled as his Dungeons and Dragons group on Wednesdays, had gone out for a bachelor party at some mystery location, probably the bowling alley or whatever, the night before the day before the wedding and were somehow still reeling off of that night’s excitement. For a man who didn’t drink, Clint sure knew how to party in almost any situation. Jo couldn’t help but laugh at the jokes and side quips made while putting on the pink tablecloths. Phil was, of course, not present. He knew it was bad luck to see the bride and she was glad. If he was here he would tell her not to set it up while in the bride’s dress but she was not about to let anyone else set it up. However, not everything was quite perfect. The priest arrived two minutes later than he was supposed to and the DJ was chronically early but she tried not to let it bother her. It instead bothered her dad that she wasn’t caring enough. When asked, Jo simply responded: “I am happy, dad. I’m not going to let some mistakes ruin that either.” 

When the time came, Jo walked down the aisle, head raised high. When she reached the altar, Phil gently raised the veil to reveal the woman underneath. Soft hand brushing against her growing hair on its way back down. She looked up at him smiling wider than she ever had before as her anxieties melted away and she started to float gently down the river. The ceremony began as it always did with the invocation. “Dearly Beloved and Honored Guests, We are gathered together here to join Jocelyn Thatcher and Philip Patson in the spiritual union of marriage.” 

When it came to the vows Jo started to panic again, public speaking was never her forte and she wasn’t sure if she could get across in words what took her so long to understand. Phil saw this in her eyes as he had countless times before. Taking her hands, he began to speak in her stead. “Jo, for the longest time I have searched for the words that I never got the opportunity to tell you before so I will tell you now. I Love You Jo. I always have. I know I haven’t always been what you have needed and I know that I can never promise to you perfection. But I can promise this: I will always be here. When you are happy beyond compare, I will be there to celebrate with you. When you are sad for any reason, I will be there to cry with you. When we fight, as all married couples do, I will still be there to make amends after. Because I want to be here but only with you. Together we can make this life what we want, no strings attached.” 

The priest turned to Jo aware that, thanks to a small briefing by Phil ahead of the ceremony, she probably wasn’t going to say her vows in public. “Do you, Jocelyn-” 

“Wait!”

Both the priest and Phil looked at her in surprise. Aware that all eyes were on her, Jo took a deep breath. “Phil… oh, Phil. I may not know a lot of things. I sometimes come short of perfect. Sometimes I don’t even consider myself worthy of being loved or unworthy of you. But I swear to you that I will work on being worthy for you. Only you. I Love You Phil, I always have and always will. I am not saying that either of us will be the best at love or life but I promise that, no matter how many pitfalls and how many changes we have to pull through, I will be there by your side.”

She turned to the priest, chest heaving with adrenaline. Under her breath, she whispered. “How was that?”

The priest gave her a subtle thumbs up from behind the bible and she turned back to see Phil who looked impressed with her.

Once the priest was sure that the moment was right, he began to speak once more. “Alright, well, Jocelyn, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

She nodded, finally confident in herself. “I do.” 

He turned to Phil. “Do you, Philip, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” 

Phil looked at Jo then back at the priest. “I do.” 

The rings that came next were a simple silver band with the words ‘I Will Never Let You Go.’ engraved onto the inside. When the rings slipped onto each other's hands the rejoicing began. “It is my privilege and joy to pronounce you as man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Shortly after the ceremony finished, the reception began. First were the parent dances which were beautiful in their own right. Once they had concluded, Phil and Jo stepped out onto the dance floor. Phil whispered into her ear, “What music did you pick? And should I be scared?” 

Jo laughed, “You’ll see, it's not anything too bad I swear.”  

A second of quiet passed and a familiar tune began to play. It was a song that should have played a long time ago but it was better late than never. Phil couldn't help but laugh a little at the irony of the whole situation. Jo smiled because this was the very reason she picked it out as the first part of planning almost a month ago. 

Together at last, they twirled under the setting sun as they allowed the soul filled voice and smooth trumpet of Louis Armstrong to carry them away into anticipated love. To see life through rose colored lenses was usually considered to be a naive way to live but, just for one night only, Jo planned to live la vie en rose.

<�"---------------------------------------------The End�"------------------------------------------------>

Madison held up her hands from the keyboard and held them against her neck. She could feel herself beginning to tear up as she pressed ‘save’ and slowly closed the computer. I don’t remember finishing a book feeling so rewarding. 

She pushed the chair back from the table and stood. Almost a year had passed since she had met Jo in this very apartment, it seemed almost like it was a dream. Of course, Madison had been fired from Red Water since then. So, this final book was going to be published independently much like the first of the series. Madison liked it this way, she felt as if she was in charge of her will again. The door of the bedroom opened and out walked Harper. “I’m going to work a bit early today, I have a lot to catch up on before the students get there and… honey?” 

He saw the tears. 

She tried to hide them but Harp put down the briefcase in his hand and rushed to Madi’s side. “What happened?” 

She allowed them to be wiped aside by his sleeve. “Oh, nothing…I finished the book and I think…” 

She started choking up again. “I think it's my best work.” 

That moment, she fully broke down crying into Harper’s sweater. He hesitated for a second before placing his hand on her back and head on her shoulder. “I’m sure it is. I can’t wait to read it.”

She mumbled into his sweater. “We’ll see about that.” 

After the elongated hug, Harper stood back up and popped his back. “Well, you said that, when you finished your book, you would finally tell your parents about us. So, when is that happening?” 

He laughed. She hit him on the chest. “We’re in our forties, do they really need to know?” 

Harper looked at his watch, “I figure they might want to be invited to the wedding whenever that is. Hey listen, I will see you tonight alright? We can go to that Italian restaurant you like since today is such a special day. I’ll make reservations during my prep period. That is, if my sophomores don’t bother me again.” 

Madison stepped back from him, “It is?” 

He nodded, “Of course, you just made a large achievement.” 

He gestured to the laptop. “This sort of thing doesn’t happen everyday.” 

She smiled. “I suppose not.” 

Pausing for a moment, Harper looked back at her. “When are you going to tell Red Water that you finished this project?”

She flashed him a sly smile and said, as matter of fact as possible, “I’m not.”

In response to the puzzled look on her fiance’s face, she continued. “I was fired a while ago. I just didn’t tell you because I figured my name would be enough to get readers and I didn’t want you to worry. Besides, I want to get a more stable job and writing will just be a side thing. I was thinking about the library, I heard they were hiring from one of the ladies in my book club.”

“Madison Wood settling down? I have never heard a more incredulous sentence in my years on this giant space rock.” 

Harper checked his watch once more. “Alright, hey, I gotta go. We can discuss this whole ordeal over dinner, ok?”

He gently kissed her forehead. “I Love You, Madi.” 

As he stepped toward the door, she blew him a kiss which he caught and put in his breast pocket. “I Love You too, Harp. Don't forget about tonight.” 

“I won’t!” 

He yelled through the door as it swung to a stand still with the frame.

A month of revisions and edits later, the book was finally published. ‘The Tale Of Jo and Phil.’ He knew she was embarrassed about it, so he never told her, but Harper went to visit the book in the local Barnes and Noble the day after it was published.

There it sat. The crux of all that occurred. The culmination of the life of an author, the mind of a dreamer, and the fate of a girl who wished for nothing more than a simple life. A black book, no larger than an envelope, and no thicker than two inches. Unimpressive, though it may seem, it sat at the front of a myriad of books all clamoring for attention at the store front of a Barnes and Noble. To describe it in a way that befits more than pure emotion would be ‘plain’. But, to anyone that dares to pick it up, they would find a story of love, loss, regret, and redemption. The story of Jo. A girl just like everyone else. A girl with flaws just like everyone else. Who had wants, hopes, and dreams in the way that everyone else does. But, when those wants and hopes were torn down, she did what almost no one has had the courage to do: rewrite her destiny. Not just the way that she wanted but the way it ought to be. 

 

He smiled to himself as he bought it. His heart swelled as he read it in secret. He still couldn’t believe that he had landed such a beautiful and talented woman such as her. I don’t think I ever will, really. 

He never did tell Madison that he read it, he didn’t think it was necessary. As long as not a single day goes by where I don’t tell her I Love You then I never will. 

As far as Harper was concerned, he was not about to let that happen. Afterall, he meant it. He meant it as much as Phil does when he says it to Jo everyday.