Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Seven: The Wedding
Stella's daughter, Eleanor, announced her engagement on a rainy Sunday in April.
She was twenty-eight years old, a physicist like her mother, working on her doctorate. Her fiancé was a young man named Thomas, an engineer she had met at a conference.
Lina received the news in a phone call.
"Grandma," Eleanor said, her voice high and breathless. "I'm engaged."
Lina sat down on the couch.
"Engaged," she repeated. "You're engaged."
"I'm engaged! Thomas proposed. I said yes. We're getting married!"
Lina's eyes filled with tears.
"Congratulations, sweetheart," she said. "I'm so happy for you."
---
The family celebrated.
The penthouse was filled with people—Victor and Katherine, David and his half-siblings, Lily and Jake and Samuel, Leo and Maya and Stella and Daniel, Clara and Michael and Melody, Emily and Hope, and all the great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, great-great-great-grandchildren, and great-great-great-great-grandchildren. Friends and neighbors and the particular chaos of a family that had something to celebrate.
Eleanor showed everyone the ring. It was small and simple—a single diamond on a silver band, with a small engraving on the inside that read, "To the stars and back."
"It's beautiful," Lina said.
Eleanor hugged her. "Thank you, Grandma."
---
The wedding was planned for the following spring.
Eleanor wanted a garden wedding, like her mother and her grandmother before her. She wanted flowers and fairy lights and a string quartet. She wanted her great-grandfather to walk her down the aisle.
Ethan's eyes filled with tears when she asked him. He was one hundred and two years old, frail but still sharp, still loving, still present.
"I'd be honored," he said.
Eleanor hugged him. "Thank you, Great-Grandpa."
---
The months passed.
Eleanor and Thomas planned the wedding. They chose flowers and a cake and a menu. They argued about the guest list and the seating chart and the color of the tablecloths.
Lina helped with all of it.
She did not complain. She did not interfere. She just showed up, again and again, and did what needed to be done.
"Why are you doing this?" Eleanor asked one day.
Lina looked at her great-granddaughter.
"Because you needed someone," she said. "And I needed to be that someone."
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
"You're a good great-grandmother," she said.
Lina shook her head.
"I'm just your great-grandmother," she said. "Trying to do the right thing."
---
The wedding day arrived warm and clear.
Lina sat in the front row, Ethan beside her. Victor and Katherine sat behind them. The family filled the garden.
Lina's heart was pounding.
Her great-granddaughter was getting married.
She thought about the first time she had held Eleanor, a newborn in her arms, so small and perfect. She thought about the first time Eleanor had said "Great-Grandma." She thought about the first time Eleanor had won a science fair.
And now this.
She was not ready.
But she had to be.
---
The music changed.
Eleanor appeared at the end of the aisle, her arm hooked through Ethan's.
Her dress was white and simple, with flowers in her hair and a veil that trailed behind her. She was smiling. She was crying. She was beautiful.
Lina watched her walk down the aisle and cried.
Ethan handed Eleanor to Thomas, who was waiting at the altar, his own eyes wet with tears.
"Take care of her," Ethan said.
Thomas nodded. "With my whole life."
Ethan kissed Eleanor's cheek.
He walked back to his seat and took Lina's hand.
"She's beautiful," he whispered.
Lina leaned into him.
"She's ours," she said.
---
The ceremony was simple.
The officiant spoke. The couple exchanged vows. They exchanged rings. They kissed.
Eleanor and Thomas were married.
Lina clapped until her hands hurt.
The family cheered.
---
The reception was chaos.
Dancing and laughing and speeches that went on too long. Grace gave a toast that was funny and sweet and perfect.
"Eleanor," she said, "you've been my cousin for twenty-eight years. You've been my friend. My confidante. My partner in crime. I couldn't have asked for a better person to grow up with."
Eleanor cried.
Grace hugged her.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you too," Eleanor replied.
---
Lina found Eleanor on the balcony, looking at the stars.
"Are you okay?" she asked, standing beside her.
Eleanor nodded. "I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"About everything. About growing up. About starting a new life."
Lina put her arm around her great-granddaughter.
"Are you scared?" she asked.
Eleanor was quiet for a moment. "Terrified."
Lina held her great-granddaughter.
"Me too," she said. "But you're going to be okay. You're going to be more than okay. You're going to be wonderful."
Eleanor leaned into her.
"I love you, Great-Grandma," she said.
Lina's eyes filled with tears.
"I love you too, sweetheart. More than anything."
---
The reception ended.
Eleanor and Thomas drove away in a car covered in streamers and tin cans.
Lina stood in the parking lot, watching them go.
Ethan put his arm around her.
"She's married," he said.
"She's married," Lina agreed.
Ethan kissed her forehead.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
Lina thought about the question.
"Empty," she said. "Not in a bad way. Just... empty. Like I've been carrying something for so long that I forgot what it felt like to put it down."
Ethan pulled her into his arms.
"That's called love," he said.
"Is that what this is?"
"I think so."
Lina leaned into him.
"She's gone," she said.
Ethan kissed her forehead.
"She is," he said. "But she'll come back. They'll always come back."
Lina closed her eyes.
She thought about all the years ahead. The visits. The phone calls. The moments she would hold her family and the moments she would have to let them go.
She was not ready.
But she was learning.
And learning, she was beginning to understand, was the most important part of love.
---
That night, Lina sat on the couch with Ethan.
The penthouse was quiet. The family was gone. The memories remained.
"How do you feel?" Ethan asked.
"Full," Lina said. "Not from the food. From... everything. From watching her. From seeing her shine."
Ethan put his arm around her.
"I feel the same," he said.
Lina leaned into him.
"Thank you," she said. "For never giving up on me."
Ethan kissed her forehead.
"Thank you for giving me a reason to stay," he said.
They sat in the darkness, holding each other, while the city hummed outside the window.
And Lina thought about all the years ahead. The challenges. The joys. The moments she would hold Ethan's hand and the moments she would have to let go.
She was not afraid.
Not anymore.
She had survived worse.
She could survive anything.
As long as she had him.
As long as she had her family.
As long as she had her constellation of stars.
---
End of Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Seven