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Kat sat in the wheelchair in the hospital bathroom, waiting impatiently for Nora to finish her makeup.
“And…done!” Nora said as she cleaned a small dollop of lipstick off the corner of the smaller girl’s mouth. “I swear, no one is prettier than a bride on her wedding day.”
Kat groaned inside, remembering how she had let slip that one of the things she regretted not getting to do was get married. She knew she would have never said anything, had they not been in the room when the doctor gave her the updated prognosis, advising her that the six months they’d thought she had was now only a matter of weeks, at best. A few meaningful looks and not-so-subtle nods later, the girls had left, and they hadn't spoken of it since. She had forgotten about it until Nora had come into her hospital room with a makeup kit and white dress, informing Kat that she would be officially entered into the marriage state that very afternoon.
Kat looked in the mirror and was stunned. Her veil covered her short hair, something she had hated and regretted almost since the moment that the scissors had started cutting, and the makeup was the opposite of what she’d worn for their concert: subtle, designed to elevate and draw attention to her delicate features.
“Damn,” she whispered, blinking rapidly to avoid tearing up.
“Am I good, or am I good?” Nora asked softly, gently hugging Kat before wheeling her back into the room proper. The wheelchair, a compromise they’d made with her doctor, was required whenever she was moving around, but she was allowed to stand on her own so long as someone was within arms reach.
Nora helped Kat stand, then whispered, “Stand right here, and don’t move.”
Kat did as she was told, unsurprised to see Dylan snapping pictures of her.
They really went all out with this, Kat thought wryly, playing along and giving a genuine, albeit shy, smile from behind her veil.
“Don’t turn around,” her sister instructed as she moved to the side. Kat rolled her eyes as she felt a hand gently grip hers, the angle of their fingers telling her that the other person was standing back to back with her.
Dylan took several pictures of their hands, then nodded. “Ok, let’s do this.”
Kat turned around to find that it was Swann holding her hand. Clad in a white dress and veil of her own, Kat had to agree with Nora: brides were beautiful.
Especially when they're Swann, she thought, fighting to keep her feelings from showing.
Autumn and Nora, dressed in black suits, moved to take their places next to Swann and Kat, respectively, before nodding to a man who had just entered the room. Dylan and her parents, dressed in their best, stood to the side.
Wow, they REALLY went all out. That’s the minister from my mom’s church.
“We are gathered today to celebrate the love that these two have for each other. Due to circumstances we are all aware of, this ceremony will be brief, but I know we wish them all the best.”
He glanced down at a notecard.
“Swann Holloway, do you promise to love and cherish Kat, through good times and bad, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?”
Swann looked at Kat, her eyes boring through the veils and into the poet’s soul.
“The first moment that we met, you saved me from a bully. You were my knight in shining armor. As I got to know you better, you let me see the real you. The parts that you hide behind the armor. The sensitive beauty that you keep behind your walls to stop the world from hurting you anymore than it already has. You let me see you, and in return you saw me. The real me, the me that hid behind the camera.” She took a shaky breath. “There's nothing I want more than to spend whatever time you have left in this world as your wife. I love you, Kat.”
Kat was taken aback by the earnestness in Swann's voice, the genuineness in her eyes.
“Kat Mikaelsen, do you promise to love and cherish Swann, through good times and bad, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?”
Words failed the young poet as she tried in vain to look away from Swann's eyes. Unable to speak, she nodded her head, squeezing Swann's hands tightly.
“The rings, please.”
Rings? Kat thought as Autumn and Nora pulled ring boxes from their pockets.
“Swann, place the ring on Kat's finger and say, ‘With this ring, I thee wed.’”
The ring, a delicate claddagh with an emerald in the crown the exact same color as Swann's eyes, fit perfectly as she slid it onto Kat's finger.
“With this ring, I thee wed.” Swann's voice was heavy with unspoken things that no words could convey.
Oh, my god. They're not playing around. Am I actually getting married right now?
Nora nudged her, handing her a ring identical to the one Swann has just put on her finger, save that the gemstone was a delicate sapphire.
“With this ring, I thee wed,” Kat choked out.
“I won't ask if anyone has any objections, since I’ve been told that the couple wouldn’t care anyway.” A ripple of laughter went through the room. “We cannot legally commemorate this marriage, but in every way that matters, I pronounce the two of you married. You may kiss.”
Autumn and Nora stepped over and lifted the veils as Swann leaned in, gently cupping Kat’s face as she pressed their lips together.
This was different from the kisses she had shared with the girls after too much beer, too much weed, and too few inhibitions out at the cabin. Those had been gentle, teasing pecks (with Nora occasionally slipping in too much tongue), followed by peals of laughter and squeals of “oh no, you didn't!” This…
This was a balm on her wounded soul. The healing of an ache she hadn't been aware had been bothering her. A weight lifted from her chest, so familiar for so long that she had stopped being aware of carrying it.
She found her arms wrapped around Swann, clinging to the cameragirl tightly, as if she was the one lifeline keeping her grounded.
As they danced their first dance to Punkrockdyke, Swann whispered, “I probably should have asked before we dragged you into the ceremony, but will you marry me?”
“First, I need to ask: when did you know?”
“I’ve always known. I just didn't want to push you into anything. Once the doctor said you were running out of time and you told us about wanting a wedding, I decided that I couldn't wait any longer. You deserved this, and you deserved to know how much I love you.”
She kissed Kat again, slowly, lovingly. Kat felt like her soul had been sucked out of her body through her mouth, and she was hovering in the air watching the kiss from above.
When their lips parted, she was left frozen. “Holy fuckballs, where did you learn to kiss like that?” she gasped, desperately seeking a center of gravity.
“Practiced on Snowy,” Swann said with a smirk.
“I’ll accept your proposal, so long as you promise to keep kissing me like that,” Kat said, leaning up for another kiss.
Three days after the wedding, they got the call.
“Girls, you need to get here, now,” Kat’s dad said over the phone. “The doctor says there's not much time.”
They arrived in record time as Dylan was walking out of Kat’s room.
“She wants to see each of you one at a time.”
After a quick rock-paper-scissors match, Nora went first, followed by Autumn. By unspoken agreement, each of them allowed Dylan to cling to them while they waited to go in.
Swann held her close, straining to hear her voice. With a last burst of strength, Kat reached up and pulled Swann's face down for a kiss. Her last words were whispered against her wife's lips, only for her to hear.
The doctor, long accustomed but not numb to such scenes, had already turned off the alarms on the machine monitoring the young girl’s vitals before the moment had come, not wanting to disturb them. He jotted down the time and, with a gentle pat on Swann's shoulder, went into the hallway to tell everyone else.
The funeral was held three days later. Most of those in attendance had never met Kat, but were business associates of Mikaelsen Ranch and were there to pay respects professionally. Swann, Nora, and Autumn had stood together off to the side before Dylan had gestured for them to join the family, revealing that three seats had been set aside for them.
“It's what she would have wanted,” Dylan said, hugging each of them warmly despite the mascara streaked tears streaming down her face.
Swann was the last to leave, although Autumn and Nora waited a respectful distance away. She stood still as a statue for a frozen moment, her hand gently resting on the lid of the coffin, before she lowered her head and pressed her lips to the wood, her mouth moving with words no one else could hear. When she finally stepped back, she saw a black raven, it’s eyes glowing purple thanks to some trick of the light, sitting on the headstone. With a small nod to the bird, she turned and walked over to her friends, idly fiddling with the ring on her finger.