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I was pissed that my emotions got the best of me because my eyes filled with tears, instantly blurring the image of her beauty that’d transfixed me. I quickly brushed away a tear that snuck down and out the corner of my eye, then saw that her eyes were as filled with tears as mine.
“You’re so beautiful,” I impulsively said without considering I wasn’t supposed to talk yet.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she returned with a laugh.
That’s when my mind reset. This whole day was about me and Mickie. We weren’t here to put on a show for anyone.
“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” the reverend asked.
“Her mother, Alice, and I do,” Tim answered.
I stepped forward, took Mickie’s hand, and looked toward Tim. “I will always love and cherish her, Coach,” I smiled. This profound gesture of me taking his beautiful daughter’s hand meant that she was mine to love, honor, and protect, and I saw the proud grin in my future father-in-law’s eyes.
As the reverend spoke, I stood there, utterly lost in my future wife’s eyes. I couldn’t tell you a word he said because I was spellbound by her, as always. I saw our whole lives flash before my eyes—anniversaries and holidays, our children, their graduations and weddings, and our grandchildren. I saw us holding each other’s wrinkly hands when we were too old and feeble to do much else. I saw my whole life in her eyes, and I could hardly wait to say the two words I’d been waiting for since I got her back.
“I do,” I said, my voice nearly cracking from the emotion I felt.
“I do,” Mickie said when the reverend asked, her smile bigger than ever.
“You may now kiss your bride…”
Without hesitation, I swept her into my arms, dipped her back, and sealed the deal.
The area was lit by hanging party lights and candles in glass containers on the two tall tables that were filled with champagne flutes for us to toast our union.
“Well, let’s hear the toast,” Jake said, holding his glass. “You selfish lovebirds didn’t even offer cake. What kind of a wedding doesn’t have a cake?”
“The kind that offers petit fours in little boxes for you to take with you so we can get the hell out of here faster,” I joked.
“I knew something would get messed up,” Collin teased.
I ignored the somber expressions on my parents’ faces. This was not up their alley, me doing something untraditional like not having a six-tiered monster cake and Collin and Jake acting like this wasn’t a formal affair. My parents honestly didn’t know how to respond.
The best part was that I didn’t care if they were insulted by my lack of etiquette. I was being myself, in love with my wife.
“To my beautiful wife,” I raised my glass. “I’m going to wing this, babe, and I hope I don’t pay for it later.”
She flashed an adorable smile.
“You and me,” I shook my head, suddenly overwhelmed with emotions again. “Damn it,” I cleared my throat as the group chuckled. Mickie’s eyes stayed locked onto mine and kept my mind steady, “We are about to embark on an amazing life together. And as I promised, I will forever honor you, love you, and cherish you. I thank God for you, baby. You’ve changed my life in many ways, forgiving me for the unforgivable.”
“Don’t say that,” she mouthed.
“I will say it because it’s true. I watched you walk down that aisle today, trusting that I would never hurt you again. As you walked like the angel and goddess you are, I couldn’t understand how blessed I am to have you in my life. I was in hell all those months without you. I felt a painful emptiness when you were out of my life, and I never want to feel that again. However, I raise my glass to you now, Mrs. Aster,” I smiled, then said with great pride, “Doctor Aster. I promise to spend the rest of my days on this earth making up for any pain I caused you and thanking you for waiting for me to figure out that I can’t live in this world without you. I love you, baby.”
Once the toasts were done, the conversations were over, I stole my bride from everyone and led her out to the getaway car.
“Is this the 4Runner you bought for the camping trip?” Mickie laughed at my truck.
“You know it, gorgeous,” I said.
“You’re too much,” she said. “Don’t tell me we’re on our way to go camping?”
“Would you hate me if I told you I wanted to relive that properly?”
She turned to wrap her arms around me and kiss me, “This is why I fell in love with you. I would never get mad about reliving our crazy first date,” she chuckled. “But I hope we’re doing it all with the same gear?”
“I put everything—truck and all—in a storage unit after the house sold, hoping we could relive it one day.”
