THE LIFE ETHAN COLE NEVER EXPECTED
Chapter 11
The wedding celebration lasted until late into the night.
There was food.
Music.
Dancing.
Stories.
Someone brought out an old guitar.
Someone else started singing.
Walter attempted to dance.
Everyone agreed it was a mistake.
Lily spent most of the evening running between tables.
June’s coworkers insisted Ethan dance.
He refused.
They insisted harder.
Eventually, he gave up.
June took his hand.
“You’ve improved.”
“I’ve had practice.”
“With who?”
“People who don’t know what they’re doing.”
She laughed.
They danced beneath the lights.
Around them, Greyhaven celebrated.
Ethan looked at the faces.
People he had met by accident.
People who had helped him.
People he had helped.
People who had become family.
He thought about the first night he arrived.
He had carried almost nothing.
No plan.
No home.
No reason to stay.
Now he stood beneath hundreds of lights with his wife in his arms.
Lily was laughing nearby.
Walter was arguing with someone about the music.
June rested her head against Ethan’s shoulder.
He closed his eyes.
For once, there was nowhere else he wanted to be.
