Author's Note: Here we are. Welcome to the finale of Traffic Girl: Juliet, book five in the Traffic Girl series. I can't tell you how grateful I am for the amazing feedback, observations, kind words, and constructive criticism you've all given me. And I'm looking forward to keeping this going with a sixth book in the series. Stay tuned with no delay for Traffic Girl: Katie.
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It was chaotic leading up to our departure for the wedding. We would be gone for two weeks, so packing up the family and taking everything we needed for the wedding was a heavy lift. But it was worth it. We would be forging memories to last a lifetime, and I wanted every detail to be perfect. All of us did.
The five of us flew in three days before the wedding, little Katie and John Junior in tow with both nannies. The small party of guests came the day before the main event on a separate jet a couple days later, which would give us some time as a family to just enjoy ourselves in the peace and quiet of isolation. We meant it when we decided to keep it a small ceremony, with Melanie, Juliet, Petey, Alix, Jason, Crystal, and Bianka joining us. They were the people closest in our circle. We would celebrate with everyone else later.
The island Petey had arranged for us was exceptional. It was a tiny blip, between Andros and Great Guana Cay in the Bahamas. It barely showed up on a map since it was only forty acres. But it had an air strip, which ran along the west side of the island, so we could land directly, and plenty of room for an intimate-yet-wild wedding weekend. There was a main estate house, which had been converted into event space, and it included a stunning front lawn. The remainder of the developed portion of the island was in back of the main house, and it consisted of six cottages, each with two or three bedrooms, and they ringed a massive infinity pool that looked over the stunningly clear, inviting waters of the Caribbean.
A full staff, including two chefs and multiple butlers, were on-call at all times. We had shipped ahead an array of provisions, so the island was generously stocked by the time we got there. Jason and Crystal had volunteered to ensure the party favors arrived safely. And Juliet had arranged for one of her talent agency's superb event planners to serve as wedding coordinator for the weekend. We had a very specific schedule we wanted to adhere to, including for the two weeks we would stay after our guests left as a honeymoon.
The first day, we took it easy, lounging around the pool and enjoying a family day. It was a welcome slowdown, and we all tried to prioritize living in the moment. The most surprising thing to me was that none of us felt any anxiety or nerves, at least we didn't show it openly. For me, this was a culmination. An unexpected culmination, perhaps, because who could ever dream their lives would unfold this way, but one I was looking forward to without any doubts. The general level of excitement bubbling among all five of us was a significant indication that this was a fear-free environment. We were doing something great. It was special. And I hoped the couple surprises I had in store would make it even more special.
Having two family days was important and restful. Having two evenings with the girls for us to reflect and anticipate the wedding helped us ramp up the excitement. The first night, I took a walk with each girl individually, with one specific question I wanted to pose to them: how did they want marriage to change us?
We had talked about that topic from time to time, particularly in recent months. But one thing we all agreed on was that we didn't want the ceremony to be just a ceremony, and then we'd move on with our regular lives as they were. We wanted it to mean something. We wanted it to be a source of new energy or change. I was impressed by each of their answers. It gave all of us a lot to think about and, more importantly, a lot to aspire to.
Katie suggested that we get in a routine of date nights. She was so cute when she brought it up. She was scared of offending the other girls but confessed she really liked when we got one-on-one time. Of all the girls, Katie relished alone time the most. There often -- though less frequently as time wore on -- were times when she held a kind of self-doubt or fear that all this was too good to be true. I wholeheartedly endorsed her date night proposal, which made her beam. It was a great idea because it allowed us to foster those individual relationships and afforded each of us to be creative.
Rita's proposal was for family dinner. We had become more sloppy in making sure we sat down to dinner all together most nights. It was an easy habit to slip out of when my work and Jess's work was busy, or we had other things going on, like parties. So we renewed our commitment to having all of us at the table together five nights a week. Rita had firmly established herself as the matriarch-mama bear of us. She always put the well-being of the family first, providing a steady hand that helped us balance all our commitments. And our desires.
Jess had something in mind that was similar to Katie's -- focused on stoking our one-on-one time. She thought it would be reasonable to have a getaway once a quarter. It didn't need to be something fancy or crazy, but having a couple days where we could get out of town and reconnect would help us stay fresh. It also would enable us to build a series of distinctive memories.
Kat, always the playful one, had an extension of our bachelor-bachelorette night game in mind. She wanted to expand that to our swingers group. She thought letting people pick a fantasy to act out would make an already compelling, adventurous group even more spicy. By the glint in her eyes when she told me this, I knew she had something in mind for me. I didn't ask what it was. Part of the fun would be finding out.
Taken together, the girls' visions created an exciting balance, something to anchor our desire for stability and exploration. The formality of marriage was important to us, but so was keeping our lives fresh and adventurous. We had that insatiable need to keep moving forward, but being married changed things in a significant way. It was more than just symbolic. It was the full-on commitment to our lifestyle and the way we wanted to live. And it gave us a platform to celebrate it and cement it.
The two days of family time were the perfect foundation for the celebration, but it really started to feel like our kind of party when our friends arrived. Melanie, Juliet, Petey, Alix, Jason, Crystal, and Bianka tumbled off their Gulfstream G550, and we knew immediately they had brought the party with them. They were boisterous, disheveled, and had obviously gotten into the goodies on the six-hour flight from LA.
"We are all rolling our asses off," Juliet said when she hugged me hello, lingering and not wanting to let go.
It was an incredibly lovey-dovey greeting all around, and it set the tone for what was our rehearsal dinner day. Although we didn't have a rehearsal. Just dinner. The staff on the island were exceptional, and to celebrate the arrival of our guests and the eve of the big day, a couple of them had gone free diving for spiny lobsters. It made for a simple and sumptuous feast, the lobsters simply grilled with butter and a wickedly good scotch bonnet salsa. The Champagne, white wine, and rosé flowed like water. It was the perfect setting and perfect vibe for the weekend. When bedtime for the kids hit, the nannies took them to the other side of the island, where they could sleep in peaceful bliss. And we turned the main house into an adults-only party.
We watched the sunset, drinks in hand, with the warm ocean water washing over our toes. It was humbling and beautiful to see the flaming orb appear to descend into the ocean. The colors were pastel, then warm, as it changed from pink to orange to an almost amber before it disappeared beyond the horizon.
"Hey, can I steal you for a minute?" Juliet said, slipping her hand in mind as the last beams of light shot up from seemingly below the ocean.
"Yeah, of course," I said, and Juliet pulled me away from the ocean toward the back side of the main house and over by the far edge of the infinity pool.
She guided me toward one of the comfortably padded lounge chairs, and we sat down together. Juliet took both of my hands in hers. They were soft and warm. She looked at me, her eyes still sparkling despite the deepening twilight.
"So, I wanted to tell you this myself," she said. "Melanie is doing the same right now with the girls. But I thought I owed it to you to hear it from me."
"What?" I said, a chill running up my spine.
"Mel isn't going to be the maid of honor tomorrow," Juliet said and paused.
She smiled at me when the look of confusion passed over my face.
"She's going to be the matron of honor," Juliet finished.
My look didn't become any less confused. At least, not for the several moments it took my wine-buzzed brain to process what she told me. Juliet took pity on me and gave me another hint. She held up her left hand and wiggled it. In addition to her engagement ring, there was a round band studded with baguette diamonds.
"Oh my god," I said. "Juliet!"
"We did a very quiet civil thing before we flew out here," she said. "We just couldn't wait anymore. It was super spur of the moment. We felt it, and we just did it."
"I'm so happy for you!" I said and gave her a bear hug so strong it caused her to almost tumble into my lap.
"It brings me so much peace," Juliet said. "Mel brings me so much peace. I'm truly grounded. I feel confident. I feel like I know where I am and where I'm going. That's not easy to do in this environment."
"Yeah, this place sucks," I said jokingly. "Impossible to enjoy anything."
We both laughed. I looked Juliet in the eyes. There was a self-assuredness in them.
"Thank you," she said sincerely. "I mean, for more than just Mel. I wouldn't have met her if it weren't for you. Just the whole -- I mean, just everything in life seems to be going right at the moment. It's hard to believe I've lived in LA for almost a decade, and this is the first time I really feel like things aren't just totally beyond my control."
"You always seem like you've got it together," I said.
