You Make Me Whole

“Or…” he said slowly, still grinning widely at her.

“Or what?”

“We could make it real.”

This time it was Ray’s turn to have her face taken over by a wide smile. “Carter, we don’t have to go through all that. I have everything I need right here.”

“Ray, we don’t need to pretend about something we know is real. My life has been complete since the moment I met you, even if I didn’t know it at the time. It doesn’t matter that everyone already thinks we’re husband and wife. I want to promise myself to you forever for real. What do you say? Ray, the love of my life, mother of my incredible son…will you marry me?”

*****

Only Annabelle was told about the wedding, she was the only one to know they were pretending to be married in the first place, but that aside she still seemed the perfect choice to have as their witness. She held Harry in her arms while they stood in the registry office. Carter and Ray decided to wear the same clothes they had worn on their first date together, to remind each other of how they started their first chapter, by starting their new one in the same way.

Harry was dressed in the cutest little suit with a tie that matched Carter’s. Ray and Annabelle cooed with delight when they saw him.

The ceremony did not last long, nor did it involve any flourish or extravagance that most weddings were capable of possessing. But the sentiment of it alone meant more to Carter and Ray than it ever needed to. It was a promise of new beginnings, of belonging, and the comfort of knowing that anything daunting about the future would leave them with someone to face it all with.

Carter ended up selling his accountancy firm two years later, when home life was so blissful that he hated saying goodbye to it every morning. The money he made from the sale would run out eventually, but by then he hoped to find something new. It didn’t have to pay nearly as well, but if Ray had taught him anything, it was that finding something to be passionate about made money completely irrelevant. Right now, his family was his passion, and he didn’t want to miss a second of it, especially once discovering the news that Harry was soon to be a big brother, which filled the family with even more delight.

Ray had taken to motherhood like a fish to water. It came so naturally to her, it was hard to believe she was the same nervous girl that was reluctant to commit to anything out of the fear that the responsibility might be too much. Her friends slowly started to drift away, but they remained in touch, asking about Harry and keeping her up to date with the latest dramas. Ray also gravitated towards new people, mostly mothers she met at her baby group. Although, Annabelle remained by her side throughout everything, and truly proved herself to be Ray’s best friend, and the perfect godmother to Harry.

Everyone now had their place in life. From how much everything had changed in not a huge amount of time, it was hard to imagine life was any different. Ed and Tanya were thrilled with how Ray and Carter had created their little family. Ray even managed to make-up for all the hot dinners they had provided her over the years by inviting them over for dinner once a week. Everyone was happy and confident that they were in their right place in life.

Ray was never bored either, as she managed to find excitement in every day. From the day that Harry managed to pull himself up on to the couch, to the day that Carter came in and told her he was selling his firm, everyday was an adventure. It was a lesson that Ray could only thank Carter for teaching her, and planned to spend the rest of her life making it up to him.

The end.