“He asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

  “Will you marry me?” He asked handing me another ring. It looked like the ring linked to the one I had.

  “I will.”

  Then, John pulled out another ring, and it had a different shaped diamond on it. “Will you marry me?”

  “I will marry you, too.”

  The rings together looked like a wingless butterfly. I thought it was beautiful. We hugged, kissed, and celebrated. “I guess we should tell everyone the great news!” I said as we headed downstairs. Of course, I find Jeff and Alyssa both on one knee holding a ring, “Will you marry us?” Jeff and Alyssa said together.

  “Yes, I will marry you, too!” They slipped on the ring, and it gave the butterfly wings. Their ring was a butterfly split into five pieces. This was the most perfect gift I’ve ever received. Together, we were complete. It might not make sense to everyone else, but it made perfect sense.

  “How will this work?” I asked them. “Jeff and Alyssa are already married, and in Arkansas, you can only marry one person legally.”

  “You’ll see. Just be patient.” Dario said. “Plus, since you’ll be marrying Zack in the eyes of the State of Arkansas, you’ll have both of our last names.”

  “Raelynn Nicole Lewis,” John said. “I guess we can all change our name to Lewis?” That was an idea.

  We sat around joking and experimenting with different ideas for how our ‘wedding’ could happen. The butterfly ring I had on my finger still mesmerized me.

  When Zack came home from work, we talked about ways we could pull the wedding off and different ways we could make it official and legal. We joked about moving to Utah and joining their community but felt it wouldn’t be as ‘fun’ as we were having it. Plus, Alyssa is the only woman I’d let into my life. After hours of debating, we settled on watching Nightmare Before Christmas, and I fell asleep between Zack and Dario. They were my constant when things weren’t going the way they should. It’s not that I didn’t love John and Jeff. I did, and I do. There’s no ‘buts’ to add to it. I love all my men. Zack and Dario are my, how do I say this? They’re my Alphas. I guess if this were a werewolf novel, I’d be their Luna, they’d be my mate. Plus, we bonded first. Jeff and John are my beta’s, I guess. It’s hard to think of it any other way. I’m made for them, and they’re made for me. And then there’s sweet Alyssa. She’s my best friend and I couldn’t see life without her or Jeff. Jeff and I have yet to have anything sexual, but he’s a good friend when I want to vent. Each man and Alyssa serve a purpose with our poly-romance. Like they would in a band. Zack is my main singer and guitarist. John is the drums that keeps my heart strumming. Dario is the speaker that keeps us loud and alive. Jeff is the lyrics that keep us communicating. Alyssa is our melody. I guess that makes me the stage. Without me, we can’t go on; and without them, I have no purpose.

  The big event was finally happening. The men refused to see me until the masquerade ball, but I threw a fit and had my way with Zack, and he dressed to impress. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. He wore a black suit, with a black tie, and polished black suit. He put his hair back in a man bun, and his beard trimmed and cleaned up. I could see the muscles peeking through the shirt. John and Dario wore red and black tuxedos and Jeff was wearing a silver and black. I worked with them all and didn’t even know it.

  Alyssa and I designed all six masks together. She must have told them about the colors I put on my mask. Ironically, hers was like mine. We all wore red, black, and silver. The Silent auction went off with no issues. The estate sale was booming. When it was time for the band’s performance and the masquerade party, everything was perfect. I fell more and more in love with them. While they made the music, Alyssa and I supported them like perfect groupies.

  And then, at the end, Zack calls up Reverend Glenn. I thought he would be announcing the big donation from the church or mentioning a prize he won for the night. Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. Absolutely nothing.

  “Reverend Glenn, if you would, could you please come up to the stage? I’d like to ask a favor of you in front of every one of our friends and family.” Zack said. Reverend Glenn came up holding a few papers.

  “Nice to see you again, Zack. How can I help tonight?” The Reverend said, hugging Zack.

  “First, I’d like to ask Raelynn to come up here and I’d like the second band to take over.”

  My men joined me on stage with Reverend Glenn and Zack. The backup men took their spots. They played Under Your Scars by Godsmack. I melted.

  “Raelynn, you said you would marry me. Let’s do it. We’re already dressed up. We’re all here. We have written our vows to you, and we know we are all in this for the long run. So, let’s do it.”

  I was full-fledged sobbing. Smiling ear to ear, tears running down my face. “I can’t do it, yet.” Everything, including the music stopped.

  “Alyssa isn’t up here.” A huge sigh rushed through the room from everybody. “Alyssa, get up here, babe. You’re in this too!” I said.

  All of us full of smiles and tears, vowed to be everything to each other as we chose. It was our choice to stay or go. It was our choice to raise this family together. The men each said their vows, like how they did in the bedroom. Jeff and Alyssa made their vows. And then, I made mine to them.

  “You have been the light in my darkness, my wick. I don’t know where I’d be without you, Zack. You helped me overcome Gran’s death, survive my death on multiple occasions and we’re bringing two beautiful lives into this world. I vow to be the mother to our girls that I always wanted. That we all deserved.” I said looking into Zack’s eyes. He slid the wedding band onto my naked ring finger on my left hand. I kept the butterfly rings on my right ring finger.

  “Dario, you’re the very beat of my heart and because of you, I can laugh again. You always make sure the mood is right and you take care of everything. I vow to always be the person you can count on when you can’t find that spark to get the engines running.” I said kissing him. He slid another band onto my left-ring finger.

  “John, your serene gestures, and calm demeanor is always refreshing. You’ve become one of my favorite people and I vow to always be someone you can count on. When everything else in this world fails us. I’ll be the one you can crack the last joke to. I’ll be the one to cuddle with you on long trips. I'll be the one to let you experiment and find what else you’re capable of, because to me the sky is your limit. And beyond that is still within reach. I love you.” I said kissing him. Like the others, he added another ring to my ring finger. I noticed a pattern was forming on my finger but couldn’t quite sort out the puzzle.

  “Jeff and Alyssa, the two of you are the definition of the perfect marriage. I hope to learn to communicate with the two of you and our family the way you communicate with each other. I hope I can learn the calming techniques Jeff uses to keep me grounded and centered. I hope to be as passionate about life as the two of you are. Alyssa, I hope you can help me be a great mom and not follow in the footsteps of those who have let us down. I hope we can raise women who aren’t survivors or victims, but heroes and live to tell stories of how they overcame their past better than we did.” I said to them, and they each placed a ring on my left ring finger.

  The result was a lily. On my left hand, I had a lily. On my right hand, I had a butterfly.

  “With all of you, you have been the missing piece in my life. Through everything I have overcome, my death, my gran’s death, losing my past, and gaining closure with everything I walked away from, I have gained clarity. Thank you for being the end of my tragedy and for helping me find peace.”

  I gave Zack a ring that I had made shaped to look like a candle wick. Inside it said ‘your wick, my flame’. For Dario, I had a black band with “Rae’s main string’’ engraved into it. John, I had two drum sticks rounded together to make a heart and engraved on it said, “my beating heart.” For Jeff and Alyssa, I had a metal puzzle piece cut into three pieces and formed into a ring-engraved inside said: “our missing piece”. The third piece, I added to a string and wore as a necklace.

  Everyone oohed and ahhhed. We all kissed and cried. We were now officially married. They showed me where they filed for the name change. We would all six now be known as The Lewis’ family. It was a beautiful day. All the money raised was donated, as promised. New schools would be built, teachers would get raises and supplies would be bought for the kids of White County.

  We promised each other that for our anniversaries, we would have an annual masquerade party and reconfirm our vows. If anyone wants out, just don’t show up. I can’t wait for the rest of our lives. Life is too short, eternity is forever. I vowed to take better care of myself and get my diabetes under control. For the first time in my life, I had someone to live for. Something to fight to take my next breath. Not only were my family of six everything, but the two little metal heads having their own little mosh pit in my uterus, too.

  The end.

  The moral of the story, I found my peace through my tragedy. Things might not be the best and might not end the way we want them to, but push on. Overcome your fears and fight them head on. Not everything is permanent, but giving up cannot be an option. Be the person you want to be. Set the standards you want for your life. Accept nothing less. You can do this, I did. Take it one day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time, and for those really, hard times, take it one second at a time.

 

 

  Brittany Wright, Tragic Peace

 

 

  Thank you for reading books on GrayCity.Net
Share this book with friends