Episode 894

Previously…
– Tempest made amends with Alex and Trevor, and they insisted that she play a role in their son’s life.
– Family and friends gathered at Alex and Trevor’s house for a party. Lauren, Josh, and their daughter revealed themselves as surprise attendees.
– Alex and Trevor announced that the party is actually a surprise wedding!

Under the tent in Alex Marshall and Trevor Brooks’s backyard, flower petals in autumnal shades of red, orange, and yellow have been scattered over the grass to form an aisle. On either side of it, their family members and friends stand around tablecloth-covered pub tables, waiting for the surprise wedding ceremony to begin. The plucky tones of Sara Bareilles’s “I Choose You” dance from the speakers mounted above the back porch.

helen-2017The first person to step out of the house, cross the porch, and proceed down the aisle is Helen Chase. She wears a tasteful pink pantsuit and carries a black-bound notebook in one hand toward at the end of the aisle, where another table with a candle burning atop it stands.

Natalie Bishop leans over to Josh Taylor. “They’re letting her officiate?” she whispers.

“Alex told Lauren that Helen offered, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Josh says quietly.

“Well,” Natalie says, rolling her eyes, “this should be entertaining.”

Next out of the house is Tempest Banks, who carries her biological brother — and Alex and Trevor’s son — in her arms. The infant is dressed in navy shorts and a short-sleeved, light-blue button-up shirt. As Tempest brings him down the aisle, she looks at the guests gathered around her. She receives an encouraging smile from Claire and another from Travis, and many oohs and aahs are directed Chase’s way. She wishes that Samantha were here to see how Tempest has made peace with Alex and Trevor, and to see their friends celebrate their love — having made it through some dark, difficult times. Tempest takes her place beside Helen and silently hopes that the ceremony moves quickly, because as small as Chase is, he is still going to be heavy to hold for too long.

“What a handsome boy,” Helen says to the baby, who coos back at her.

“Yeah, he’s pretty cute, huh?” Tempest says.

“He certainly is.”

They refocus on the opposite end of the aisle as Jason Fisher and Lauren Brooks Taylor appear. Arm-in-arm, the old friends pass through the guests before assuming their positions on opposite sides of the table up front.

Everyone waits with baited breath for the grooms to appear. As the song continues to play, Trevor Brooks and his father emerge from the house. The men make their way over the path of flower petals — which match the boutonniere now affixed to Trevor’s white shirt. At the end of the aisle, Patrick pauses and takes a long, loving look at this son.

“I’m so proud of you,” Patrick says. “And your mother would be, too. She’s watching over us today.”

Trevor feels himself already tearing up at the mere mention of his late mother. “I know she is.”

“I love you, Trev.” Patrick gives his son a warm hug and then drifts back to take his place with the other guests.

As he does so, Alex Marshall and Don Chase walk from the back of the house toward the aisle. Alex has a boutonniere similar to Trevor’s pinned to his own shirt.

“Hi, Alex!” Billy Fisher calls out, waving furiously, as they walk.

“Hi, buddy,” Alex says amidst laughter. He reaches out and pats his little half-brother on the head, and for a moment, his mind flashes to Graham Colville. He wonders how he would have handled it if their father were still alive — would Alex want him here?

“Thank you,” he says to Don as they reach the end of the aisle.

“I wouldn’t miss being a part of this for the world,” Don says.

“Not just for that. For… for being in my life. For taking me in when you didn’t have to. I’ve been so lucky.”

Emotion brims behind Don’s eyes. “We’re the lucky ones. Getting to see you boys be so happy together, and be so true to yourselves — it’s a gift.” They embrace, and then Don takes his place with the other guests.

“On behalf of Alex and Trevor, I’d like to thank everyone for being here,” Helen announces. “Not many of us knew that we were coming here for a wedding today, but I’m fairly certain I speak for everyone in saying that we couldn’t be more thrilled to celebrate such a wonderful, loving couple.”

“Hear, hear!” Patrick interjects, to a smattering of whoops and laughs.

Helen’s voice takes on a more solemn tone now. “Before we go any further, though, I’d like to take a moment of silence for those loved ones who aren’t able to be with us today.”

Heads are bowed respectfully. Lauren reaches out and squeezes Trevor on the shoulder; the siblings do not need words to exchange thoughts about Roz right now. In addition to Graham, Alex now thinks also of his mother. He wonders what their relationship would be like if he had ever had the chance to come out to her. Would she have accepted him? Would she have mellowed with age? As difficult as she made things sometimes, there is a sudden longing inside him to have her here today, to have her see the man he has grown up to be.

“Thank you,” Helen says. “During that moment, I couldn’t help but think of my Courtney. Alex and Trevor, she would be so happy for you both today. And if not for her, I might not be standing here at all.”

In the audience, Tori Gray reaches down and takes her cousin Sophie’s hand. She can only imagine how strange it must be for Sophie to hear about her mother in the abstract like this.

Helen glances quickly at the book in her hand before looking up again. “You see, Alex came into my family’s lives many years ago, under some unusual circumstances. And despite the chaos of that time, Courtney generously befriended Alex — and he fit right in with her, Jason, and Lauren. She insisted on making him a part of our family, and Don and I couldn’t be happier about it. Alex, you’ve been like a son to us. And Trevor… your parents became dear friends of ours so long ago, when Courtney and Lauren became friends when they were just girls. We have been so fond of you for so long, and frankly, I can’t imagine a more perfect partner for Alex.”

Natalie again tilts her head toward Josh and speaks through gritted teeth. “She’s keeping this thing on the rails so far.”

Josh snickers. “So far.”

Helen turns to indicate Chase. “And now you have a family of your own, in your son — and Don and I are so, so honored that you chose to name him after us. It just goes to show that biology is only one way of forming family and that what really matters is love.”

“Here,” Trevor says, extending his arms toward Tempest, “I’ll take him for a bit. You must be dying.”

“You have no idea,” she says, exhaling with relief and laughing at the same time. Trevor takes the infant from her.

“And now, I’m going to perform a musical number originally done by that man with the guitar, Ed Sheeran,” Helen says. Confused murmurs and shaking heads ripple through the crowd.

“Here we go,” Natalie says, barely keeping the words under her breath.

“I’m just kidding!” Helen exclaims. “But wouldn’t that be a hoot? No, I think I’ve taken up quite enough time today. Let’s get these two married!”

As she references her book again, Alex and Trevor trade the briefest of looks of exasperation, which morphs into a shared giggle.

“As you can see here,” Helen says, “we have two containers of sand here. One is blue, and one is pink. As a symbol of the way that they are joining their lives together, I’m going to have the grooms pour their individual containers of sand into this third one.”

Alex picks up the pink sand and carefully pours some into the square, glass vase sitting on the table. Trevor takes the blue and does the same. They alternate until both their containers are empty, and the blue and pink crystals intermingle so closely that they can never be separated.

“Isn’t that beautiful?” Helen says. “The boys have also written their own vows. Who would like to go first?”

1DA38210“Um, I will.” Trevor fumbles to takes his notes out of his pocket, so Alex lifts Chase out of his arms and holds him.

Trevor looks over the card that he has pulled out of his pocket, takes a deep breath, and begins.

“Alex, I can’t believe we’re standing here today. Sometimes, I can’t believe this is our life at all. It feels like a dream. There are times when I think about what it was like to be that little boy who was so scared to come out — like it would completely ruin his life. It seemed like there was this thing that everyone else was going to have that I wouldn’t ever know. I wish I could go back and tell that boy that he’s going to grow up and meet an amazing man, who’s a talented writer and an incredible friend and also really, really handsome.”

The audience chuckles lightly, touched, as Trevor stares into Alex’s eyes.

“But you’ve been more than I ever dreamed of. You make me want to be a better person every day. You make me feel safe and supported any time the world gets scary. And you helped me understand that the reasons becoming a parent were so scary were the exact reasons that we should do it — because the reward is going to be so much greater than all the risk and the unknown stuff. Alex, I just… I love you more than I ever thought was possible, and standing here saying these vows to you is more than I ever dreamed. I love you so much.”

“That’s so sweet,” Rosie Jimenez whispers as she lays her head against Travis Fisher’s shoulder. He wraps his arm a little tighter around her as they wait for Alex to begin his vows.

“Here, my arms got a good rest,” Tempest cuts in as she takes Chase back from Alex. “You do your thing.”

“Thanks,” Alex says with a smile. He turns and takes a moment to focus on his fiancé.

“Trevor, I remember the very first time I laid eyes on you. I had two thoughts: one, that you were unbelievably handsome. Two, that you were a serious jerk.”

The crowd laughs along with the men.

“Because you were so sure I’d picked up your coffee off the bar,” Alex continues, “and when it turned out we’d ordered the same thing, you didn’t even apologize. I mean, who gets that serious about a white chocolate mocha? But I remember there was something about you — something magnetic. And I saw you again a while later, across a club, and I had that same feeling. I didn’t know who you were, I didn’t know your name, but somehow, I knew you were going to be a part of my life.”

alex-2017He pauses, again needing to gather himself. He feels emotion swelling up in his throat.

“That’s the thing about being a writer: you’re always trying to write the story. You’re always trying to file things into an order that gives it meaning. So it only seemed right when we met for real, and there was this unmistakable thing between us. That day out by the river, at the spot that you showed me had been your private getaway when you were younger — that was the day we admitted how we felt and had our first kiss. And, to me, at that age, it was the end of the story. And it was perfect.”

Trevor stares back at him adoringly.

“But it wasn’t the end,” Alex says. “Because we’re real people with real lives, and we don’t live in a fairy tale. So things got harder. We both had a lot to learn about who we were and what life was about. It got too hard for both of us. When things didn’t work out, all I could think was… That can’t be the story. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t satisfying. But now, years later, I see that it had to be the story. I understand now. We had to go through what we went through, and we had to find our way back to one another. We had to learn how special what we have is, so that we could truly appreciate it and do the hard work to fight through the tough times. Because now I know — we know — the value of that thing that we both noticed before we even knew each other’s names. And now we see that this isn’t the end of the story. It’s the next step, and I couldn’t be happier to be taking it with you, and with our son. Trevor, I love you.”

As the men’s eyes remain locked, Helen wipes a tear from her own face.

“That was just so lovely,” she says. “Now, best man and maid of honor, could we please have the rings?”

Jason and Lauren each hand over a silver wedding band, which Helen places upon the table.

“These are the same bands that Alex gave Trevor at Christmas last year,” Helen says. “The boys have been wearing them already as symbols of their commitment, but today, they will place them on one another’s fingers again as they take their official vows.”

She hands Trevor one of the bands. “Trevor, place this on Alex’s ring finger and repeat after me…”

Trevor takes Alex’s hand and slides the band onto his finger.

“I, Trevor Brooks, take you, Alex Marshall, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from his day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, ’til death do us part.”

Helen picks up the other hand and gives it to Alex, who holds Trevor’s hand in his as he places the ring back on his finger.

“I, Alex Marshall, take you, Trevor Brooks, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from his day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, ’til death do us part.”

The men continue to hold hands, gazing into one another’s eyes.

“By the power vested in me by… whatever internet site you boys showed me how to use,” Helen says, “I now pronounce you husbands! You may kiss!”

Alex and Trevor do not waste a second longer in coming together, their lips meeting for the very first time as spouses. Cheers and applause fly up from the audience.

Alex pulls back only millimeters. “We did it.”

“We did it,” Trevor repeats before kissing his husband again.

END OF EPISODE 894

Thanks for joining us for this very special episode!
Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Next Episode

94 thoughts on “Episode 894

  1. Hey , Michael !!!

    After a 13 year on and off courtship. Alex and Trevor our finally married. I like that episode focused solely on the nupitals.

    Natalie and Josh as the Greek chorus was quite funny.

    Jason , Courtney (RIP) Lauren , and Alex will always be my favorite young adult group on Footprints.

    Helen officiating the wedding at first was quite random but made sense she has been there since Alex’s coming out.

    The scenes with Patrick and Trevor talking about Roz were great. And the one wuth Don and Alex were touching as Don was more of a father figure in his life. In addition to Alex thinking about Sally and Graham. And a rare and cute moment with him and Billy. I liked Tori holding Sophie’s hand when Courtney was mentioned.

    I think this was one my favorite Footprints weddings.

    Great Episode

    Bre

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