“Honey, you dodged a bullet. Good for you!”
“Walk away before you embarrass yourself further.”
Elliot spun around, sputtering.
“You don’t know the whole story! She lied to me. She TRICKED me!”
“Sounds like she was smart to,” a young mother said, holding her toddler tighter.
Elliot’s mouth opened and closed.
He looked around for a sympathetic face and found none.
Then he turned on his heel and stormed off through the crowd, shoving past strangers.
“She lied to me. She TRICKED me!”
I let out a slow breath.
The photographer smiled gently at me.
“You still want that picture, sweetheart?”
I knelt down between my brothers and pulled them close.
“More than anything.”
They giggled as the operator counted down.
“More than anything.”
I held them tight, my heart quieter than it had been in weeks.
The camera flashed, capturing the first real photo of our new family.
Whatever came next, we would face it together.
***
By that evening, the video had spread through our town.
Elliot’s coworkers, friends, and family all saw the man who demanded that two newly orphaned little boys be sent away so our wedding could go ahead.
The first real photo of our new family.
Elliot called me over and over.
He texted apologies.
He begged for another chance.
I never replied.
He wanted me to choose between him and my brothers.
Instead, he taught everyone exactly who he was.
Elliot called me over and over.
