The jeweler smiled.
“I think so.”
Nathan understood why.
New wasn't always better.
Some things didn't need replacing.
They needed repairing.
On the first anniversary of the canceled wedding, Nathan expected to feel embarrassed.
He didn't.
His brother texted him:
Best wedding gift you ever gave yourself was not getting married.
Nathan laughed.
Then corrected him.
Not myself.
Emily.
That evening, he and Emily ordered pizza.
She was seven now.
Two front teeth missing.
Purple pajamas.
Sarah's repaired locket around her neck.
Emily climbed onto the couch.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think you'll get married someday?”
Nathan nearly choked on his pizza.
“That's a big question.”
“Mrs. Carter at school got married.”
“Good for Mrs. Carter.”
“She married Mr. Carter.”
“That seems efficient.”
Emily rolled her eyes.
“Dad.”
He smiled.
“Maybe someday.”
She became serious.
“Will I have to call her Mom?”
“No.”
“What if she wants me to?”
“Still no.”
“What if she's really nice?”
“You can call her whatever feels right.”
Emily thought.
“What if she hates Mommy?”
“Then she won't be someone I marry.”
That answer seemed to satisfy her.
A few months later, Emily asked to see the wedding video.
Nathan refused at first.
Then Dr. Rebecca suggested they discuss which part Emily wanted to see.
Emily didn't want to watch Vanessa hit her.
She didn't want the closet.
She wanted the end.
“The end?”
“When you stopped it.”
Nathan hadn't realized Lucas kept recording.
There was footage of Nathan walking onto the ceremony lawn holding Emily.
Footage of the confused guests.
Footage of Nathan saying the wedding would not happen.
They watched that section together.
On screen, six-year-old Emily clung to Nathan's mother.
Seven-year-old Emily watched quietly.
Then she pointed.
“You looked mad.”
“I was.”
“At me?”
Nathan turned toward her.
“No.”
“I know now.”
Those three words mattered more than anything.
I know now.
There had been a time when Emily believed adults' anger automatically belonged to her.
Now she could separate someone else's choices from her own worth.
The video continued.
Nathan on screen said:
“I’m taking my daughter home.”
Emily paused the video.
“You picked me.”
Nathan felt his throat tighten.