Chapter 15 - Epilogue - The Table of HonorThe reception was held outdoors under a canopy of fairy lights and canvas tents, filled with laughter, clinking glasses, and the sound of acoustic guitar music floating on the ocean breeze.
There was no sweetheart table elevated above the rest, separated by walls of ice and pretension.
Instead, there was one long, sprawling banquet table right in the center of the lawn—a table large enough for everyone.
At the head of the table sat Grandma Rose, laughing heartily as my cousin Tyler recounted a terrible joke. Next to her sat Aunt Diane, Aunt Ruth, and Aunt Melissa, passing platters of food down the line with effortless warmth. Further down, sitting between two community volunteers who had helped build our downtown project, was Brooke, smiling as she helped pass a basket of bread rolls.
Ethan and I sat right in the middle of it all, shoulder-to-shoulder with the people who mattered most.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the ocean in brilliant shades of violet and gold, Ethan tapped his water glass with a silver spoon.
Ting. Ting. Ting.
The laughter around the long table quieted down as everyone turned to look at us.
Ethan stood up, lifting his glass high, his eyes shining with deep emotion as he looked down the line of family members—real family, bound not by blood or status, but by love, loyalty, and grace.
"To family," Ethan said, his voice ringing clear and strong across the lawn. "The ones who stay when the chairs are pulled away."
May you like
I raised my glass, locking eyes with my husband, my grandmother, and everyone around the table who had helped me find my way home.
"To family," we all answered in unison.
