Page 54 of I Do, or Dye Trying
“Thank you for loving me,” I said simply.
“Thank you for letting me,” Gabe replied. It might’ve sounded odd to anyone else’s ears, but it rang true in mine because I fought him and his affection for months.
I turned to face him, linked my hands with his, and said, “Let’s do it!”
Gabe widened his eyes in surprise. “Now? Our parents are waiting for us downstairs, Sunshine. I don’t think they’re going to believe that we’re up here hiding Easter eggs or wrestling,” Gabe said.
“I can be quick,” I said, playing along.
“Where the hell is the fun in that?” Gabe asked. “I’m going to take my time unwrapping the greatest gift I’ve ever received.”
“Hey, you two,” Al hollered through our bedroom door. “There are people waiting downstairs who want to see a wedding. You coming?”
“I was close, Al, but not anymore.” I covered my mouth when I realized that I had just made a sex joke with my future father-in-law and was about to faint when I heard his hearty laughter thundering in the hallway.
“Damn, I’m getting the best son-in-law in the world,” he said once he could speak again. “Oh man, that’s awesome. You better get down here before one of the mothers comes looking for you.” That was exactly the words we needed to hear to get us moving.
Gabe and I followed Al to the sunroom where our moms and my dad waited. Our moms burst into tears and took turns fussing over both of us. Al and my dad pulled handkerchiefs out of their pockets and handed them to our moms. I had a vision of Gabe doing the same for me someday when our kids got married.
“Good thing you scheduled ten minutes for our moms to cry and fuss,” Gabe whispered in my ear as they were starting to wind down. He pressed his forehead to mine and asked, “Are you ready to become Joshua James Roman-Wyatt?”
“I am. Are you ready to become Gabriel Allen Roman-Wyatt?”
“I am,” Gabe said tenderly then dropped a sweet kiss on my lips. “After you.”
I pulled back from him so I could join my parents who waited for me at the door. I fixed the smudge of mascara under my mom’s left eye then joined hands with my parents. I looked over my shoulder at Gabe who stood watching me with smiling eyes filled with so much love and happiness that I was sure I had to be dreaming. No one had ever looked at me the way he did. “It’s not too late to run,” I said teasingly.
“I’ll see you down there,” Gabe assured me.
The music started the second we stepped around the corner of the house, and the altar came into view. I didn’t have the urge to look back to see if Gabe followed because I knew damn well he did. I faced forward to a gathering of people who loved us and a future I couldn’t wait to begin.
IPAUSED WITH MYmom and dad at the corner of the house to allow Josh and his parents time to reach the altar. I wished that I could watch him walk between the aisles of seats where our closest friends and family gathered to share the day with us, but I stayed hidden so that I didn’t detract from his attention. Besides, I’d get to watch the video recording as many times as I wanted later. Perhaps, watching it would become an anniversary tradition for the two of us.
Josh and I had talked at length about the music we wanted to represent us as we walked, first as individual men then later when we became one. The songs we liked weren’t unique, but we found a way to make them our own. The second verse of an acoustical version of Train’s “Marry Me” was the cue to begin my walk. I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly to calm my racing heart while searching for the center that Josh was always trying to find.
“Keep breathing, and it will be all right,” my mom said, squeezing my hand.
“You’re right,” I told her then plastered a huge grin on my face for my guy and our guests to see. “Let’s not keep him waiting any longer.” Then the three of us took a step forward at the same time.
“Would you look at that,” Dad said once we rounded the corner of the house and could see across the expanse of the yard. We had practiced the walk the night before, but it looked completely different with smiling people filling the chairs, and the man at the altar wore a matching tuxedo to mine instead of shorts and a T-shirt.
“I’m looking,” I told him. My ingrained protectiveness urged me to keep an eye out for a potential threat, but my soul whispereddon’t look away from Josh.I placed my faith in the universe that brought Josh into my life and my trust in the extra men on hand for protection. I refused to let Jimmy rob me of another moment.
I saw the same love and commitment shimmering in Josh’s gaze that I felt in my heart. Tears welled in my eyes when he held out both hands for mine. Standing in front of me was a man who turned toward me instead of away from me, who reached for me instead of pushing me away. My Sunshine.
I never looked away from Josh’s eyes and listened with half an ear as Judge McDonnell began to speak about why we had gathered and the meaning of life and love. I knew why we were there and I was looking right at the meaning of life and love. I knew from rehearsal that I’d be reciting my commitment to Josh first. The level of excitement inside me kept building as I waited for the part where I got to promise to love and cherish him for the rest of my life.
Judge McDonnell seemed to be more long-winded the day of the wedding than he was at the rehearsal. I was ready to jump out of my skin by the time he said, “Gabriel…”
“I do,” I said eagerly. I winced with slight embarrassment when I realized what I’d done. The guests and judge chuckled over my exuberance, but the only reaction I cared about was from the man holding my hands. The joyous smile on his face said he didn’t care that I jumped the gun a bit.
“I do too,” Josh said just as eagerly.
“Fellas, this isn’t how we rehearsed it last night,” Judge McDonnell said good-naturedly. “Perhaps now that we’ve got that out of the way we can go back and do it right.”
“Not from the very beginning though,” Josh told him. “Start at the ‘Gabriel’ part.”
The judge chuckled some more, and I could see him shake his head out of the corner of my eye. He cleared his throat and began again. “Do you, Gabriel Allen Wyatt, take thee, Joshua James Roman, to be your wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, ’til death do you part?” Emotion clogged my throat, and it took me longer to respond than the judge expected. “Now you can say your part, son,” he encouraged.