Page 149 of Letters to Molly (Maysen Jar 2)

Finn wore the wedding band from Marriage Part One, as he’d been calling it, on his right hand. The band from Marriage Part Forever was on his left.

We’d opted for a destination wedding, jetting off to Hawaii to get married on the beach with our families close by. My parents even made the trip, despite my mother’s irritation that I was remarrying Finn.

In the last ten months, she hadn’t gotten over it. Maybe she never would. But if she had thoughts, she kept them to herself and that was all I could ask for.

Everyone else was ecstatic to see us tie the knot again. Finn wore a simple cream suit. I opted for a tea-length chiffon dress. We partied the night away with tiki torches and loud music. We enjoyed the beach until the weekend was over.

Finn and I stayed for a honeymoon while his parents took Kali and Max home. We spent a week exploring Maui, hiking in the jungle and relaxing on the beach when we weren’t busy in bed.

It was a rainy day that we think I got pregnant. I’d missed a birth control pill somewhere along the way and had hoped it wouldn’t matter.

It mattered.

I wouldn’t change it for a thing. Jamie was the piece of our family we hadn’t realized had been missing. And Poppy was over the moon that we’d asked to name him after our departed friend.

As Finn turned off the main road and into the tree-lined drive at the cemetery, my irritation with today amplified. “This is so stupid.”

“I’m not going to argue with you,” Finn muttered. “But let’s just get it over with.”

We pulled up next to a curb and parked behind a short line of familiar vehicles. I wasn’t used to packing up a baby, so we were the last ones to get here. Our friends and family members stood under the shade of a tree to avoid the scorching August sun. It was only eleven in the morning, but as soon as I stepped out of the Jeep, my sweat glands opened.

Finn hooked one arm through the handle of Jamie’s car seat and put the other around my shoulders. “You look beautiful.”

“I look awful.” I looked up at him and smiled. “But thanks for lying to me.”

“We’ll get through today. The kids will be gone at camp tomorrow. And you, Jamie and I are going to get some fucking sleep.”

I was taking a few weeks off from the restaurant, just managing the books from my laptop at home, and Poppy and Rayna had the rest covered. Finn had taken on a few freelance landscape-design jobs this spring but didn’t have any looming deadlines.

“You won’t hear me argue.” Tears welled in my eyes and I leaned into his side, sniffing them away. “I’m so, so tired, Finn. I don’t know if I can do this.”

“I’m right here.” He held me tight and kissed my hair. “I’m right here.”

I nodded, blinking the tears away as we got close enough for everyone to converge.

MacKenna and Brady approached first, wanting to see their new cousin again. One of the cutest pictures I had from this past week was of me in the middle of the hospital bed, holding Jamie, and all the kids piled around me, staring at his button nose.

“Hi. How are you today?” Poppy asked.

“I’m good.”

She frowned. “You’re dead on your feet.”

“Yeah,” I admitted, still using Finn as a crutch. “But we’ll get through today and then I can take it easy.”

“We’re making this short,” she declared. “It’s stupid anyway.”

“Hey,” Jimmy snapped. He’d been hovering over the kids to get a look at Jamie. “Let’s be respectful. Randall wanted this as his memorial service. We owe it to him to carry out his wishes.”

A chorus of groans filled the air. Every one of the adults rolled their eyes.

“Let’s get started,” Cole said. “Then we can get out of the heat.”

“I hope this isn’t the attitude you’ll have at my memorial service,” Jimmy grumbled as he led the way to the newest tombstone in this section of the cemetery.

He was the only one wearing all black today.

As we circled the tombstone, Jimmy pulled out some reading glasses from his shirt pocket. After they were perched on his nose, he unfolded a piece of paper that had been in his pants pocket.