Carpe Diem (32 page)

Flynn is over looking at the piercing jewelry. I put the book down and walk over to him. I take hold of his hand in mine.

“So are you going to man up and get a piercing too?” I joke.

“The test of a real man is not that of the tolerance for pain, the true test is how fast he can run from a man with a needle,” he replies.

I laugh loudly, causing Rachel to jump slightly. When I glance her way, she gives a small smile and returns to what she was doing.

“Okay who is ready to get some ink?” Tina calls out as she approaches us.

“I am,” I reply.

“Hell yeah,” Bryna adds.

“All right who gets to go first?”

Bryna and I both look toward Flynn. We know that after he watches us, he may very well change his mind.

“Oh no, ladies first,” he tells us, backing away.

“Flynn, you know you are going to chicken out if you go last,” I mock.

He stares at us for a moment, trying to decide if he wants to agree with my point or not I assume. I watch as his eyes soften, victory is mine.

After cleaning Flynn’s arm and adding the stencil, Tina makes sure he is ready one last time before she puts the needle to his skin. Flynn nods to her then turns his head. What a baby, I think to myself.

“Ah,” he calls out as Tina turns on the machine.

“Dude, I haven’t even touched you yet,” Tina tells him.

“I know, I was just practicing,” he jokes.

Ten short minutes later, Flynn is done. He was a champion—no yelling, no screaming, and no twitching. Tina even gave him a Dum Dum sucker. It was meant as a joke, but he paraded it around like it was the Stanley Cup.

I went next. I could not handle the anticipation any longer, it was killing me. Tina follows her routine of prepping the area, my right ankle, and starts the machine once again. It was a strange sensation. It didn’t feel as if my skin was being punctured over and over by a small needle pushing ink into my skin, it felt, to me, like steady vibration.

It does not take Tina long to finish my tattoo, maybe a half hour. When I stand and look in the mirror, I smile at its perfection. Bryna starts clapping and I watch as her eyes fill with tears. Mine don’t take long to follow. A quick hug and it is Bryna’s turn. Flynn and I stand back and compare notes on the experience.

“I’m happy to see you could handle the pain,” he tells me.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

“You know being a girl and all, I was thinking I would see you faint or something,” he jokes.

“Well, let’s see you give birth to a watermelon after they shove a giant needle in your back, then you can talk to me about pain,” I joke back.

“Fine, you win.” He chuckles and then pulls me closer to gives me a kiss.

Bryna’s tattoo took a little longer because of the two shades, but looking at the beauty resting on her forearm, it was well worth it.

Before leaving, I offer Tina the remaining piece of Jack’s glass. Tina already knew most of my story but didn’t know about the mug until now. When I finish telling her and place it in her hand, there is not a dry eye in the house.

Carpe Diem may have started out a silly school assignment a substitute teacher gave me, but today I plan to Carpe the hell out of each Diem until my last breath.

Once my tattoo is complete, I pull out my folded list and find what I am looking for at the top of my list and cross it off.

Get a tattoo

Next, I look to the end of the list and find the next thing I intend to cross off today.

Find Happiness again

W
hat a year it has been. Bryna graduated from college with honors, moved back home, and Flynn has her helping at Avery Reynolds Excavating & Landscape Services. She has amazing ideas about how to expand the business and Flynn tells me if she keeps up the enthusiasm he may retire and let her take over.

I can’t say I hate that idea. Flynn and I have been busy adding and crossing things off the Carpe Diem list, but work does tend to put a damper on plans from time to time. However, not today. Today I cross the final item off from my original list. Flynn and I had managed to do everything else over the last year and today seems the perfect day to finish.

Three months ago on a short trip to Jamaica, Flynn proposed. We were stuck in our hotel room because of rain. We didn’t mind. We spent the evening talking and laughing for hours. We eventually ordered room service, adding a side of strawberries and champagne. A little cliché I know, but I loved everything about it.

When the conversation seemed to fade, I was surprised when Flynn put on some soft music then took my hand in his and brought me out on to the balcony. He looked into my eyes and danced in the rain.

“Piper, I have loved you since the first day I saw you. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known. Being with you makes me the happiest man in the world. Do you know how much I love you?”

“Yes I do, and I love you,” I reply.

“I want to spend the rest of my life dancing with you. I want to seize each day, together… wherever the adventure brings us I want to be at your side… Marry me.”

“Yes. Yes,” I shouted.

He placed a ring on my finger, we made love under the stars, and today we will say, “I do.”

Neither of us wanted a large wedding. We decided something small with our closest friends and family was more us. Chef Basil was more than ecstatic when I called and asked him to cater the wedding for us. Unfortunately, Flynn made him promise no Spam. I was a little disappointed, so Chef made sure to sneak in a Spam-inspired hors d’oeuvre for me.

“Mom, it’s almost time,” Bryna announces as she comes into the bedroom.

“Thank you, sweetie.”

“Mom, you look amazing,” she says, smiling.

“You don’t look bad yourself.” I smile.

“Are you ready?” she asks.

“Ready as I will ever be,” I say as a few tears start to form.

“No, you’re not allowed to cry yet, you will ruin your makeup,” she says and the tears form in her eyes.

We each begin to laugh and wipe away our tears.

“We better you get down there before this turns into a full on cry fest,” Abby calls from the doorway.

“What is a wedding without a few tears of joy,” I tell her.

“Well, you can cry all the tears of joy you want after the pictures. It took me an hour to do your makeup and it is a work of art that cannot be duplicated,” she jokes.

The three of us begin down the stairs and meet Casey in the living room where she is waiting to hand me my bouquet. She is not having an easy time holding back her tears when she sees me making my way down the staircase.

“Breathtaking,” she calls out.

“Ah, you’re just saying that,” I joke.

“Bryna, isn’t your mom breathtaking?”

After a few hugs, a few more tears, and a quick wardrobe check, we are making our way to the back door. The backyard has been transformed into the perfect stage for our I do’s. It was nearly dusk, the white lights that hang are starting to glow with the setting sun. The band starts to play when Casey signals them we are ready. I catch a glimpse of Flynn standing next to the officiate, waiting for me to walk down the aisle.

He looks so handsome in his tuxedo, and I can’t wait to be standing next to him. As Bryna and I start to walk toward him, I resist the urge to run down the aisle, partly because I know it is not a race to the finish line and partly because I know Bryna has been looking forward to walking me down the aisle to give me away.

“Who gives this woman to be wed?” the officiate asks.

“I do,” Bryna replies.

Bryna places my hand in Flynn’s and then takes her seat.

Flynn and I stare into each other’s eyes and everyone and everything fades away. It is as if it is just the two of us here. If it were not for the vows we are to repeat, I would not have heard a word that was said.

“I, Piper, take you Flynn to be my husband, to be my faithful partner in life. I will stand by your side and sleep in your arms through sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow. I promise to love you without reservation, to live with you and laugh with you through the best and worst. I will always be open and honest with you, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.”

“I, Flynn, take you Piper to be my wife, to be my faithful partner in life. I will stand by your side and sleep in your arms through sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow. I promise to love you without reservation, to live with you and laugh with you through the best and worst. I will always be open and honest with you, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.”

“With that, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Avery. Sir, you may now kiss your bride.”

Flynn takes me into his arms, places his hand on my cheek, and kisses me with such tenderness. It isn’t until Abby gave an “ahem” that we realize the kiss lasted a little longer than it should have.

Flynn and I walk back down the aisle while everyone claps. I can feel my cheeks warm with embarrassment, but I don’t care. I am in love, and I am happy.

The evening flies by in a blur. Chef Basil outdid himself with our meal, the band played well past the time they were to end, and no one could say they didn’t have a wonderful time. When the last guest finally leaves, Flynn and I fall down on the soft grass.

“You’re stuck with me now,” he tells me.

“Ha, jokes on you, tomorrow I’m putting yoga pants on and I’m never taking them off.”

“You look good in yoga pants,” he tells me.

“Yeah, right. Only supermodels and yoga instructors look good in yoga pants.”

“You can be my yoga instructor,” he jokes.

“Ha, right, you can’t even do downward facing whatever.”

Flynn smiles as he pulls a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

“Well, before you teach me downward facing whatever, would you like to do the honors?”

I carefully unfold the delicate paper and find the last item that needs to be crossed off.

Marry my best friend

THE END….

T
he smell of coffee fills the room. My eyes are closed, and I keep them closed a few moments longer, taking deep breaths and enjoying the aroma. Tossing the comforter off me, I jump from my bed, I quickly change into jeans and a tee shirt before heading downstairs.

As I come around the corner, I see Jack sitting at the dining room table reading a book and sipping coffee from his favorite red mug. He hasn’t heard or seen me yet so I tiptoe softly and sneak up behind him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he tells me.

“Oh come on, how did you know I was there?”

“Because I was a ninja in a former life,” he jokes.

“Ninja my ass.”

“If I told you my secrets, I would have to kill you,” he jokes again.

“So what are we going to do today?” I ask.

“Oh, I thought we would take a walk and then have a picnic.”

“Really? It’s a little cold out for a picnic don’t you think?” I ask.

“No, it’s a beautiful day,” he informs me.

I walk to the front door and walk out onto the porch. The sky is blue, the trees are full of leaves, and there is a soft breeze kissing my cheek. I have a strange feeling that something is not right. I could have sworn it was going to be cool today.