Page 373 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

He kisses Annette's cheek, then steps to his seat beside her mother.

I don't let go of Annette's hand, not for a second.

The moment our fingers touch...

Everything settles.

The months apart. The uncertainty. The fear.

The recovery. The waiting.

Gone.

Pastor Ronald waits until the room settles again. Then he folds his hands.

"Jamie, Annette...

When the two of you first came to see me, you spent nearly an hour telling me why you weren't ready for marriage."

A few knowing smiles appear among our friends.

Pastor Ronald grins and looks across the room. "I remember thinking that these two have absolutely no idea how deeply they already love each other.'"

The chapel fills with quiet laughter as Annette looks down, smiling.

I rub my thumb gently across the back of her hand.

She looks back up and our eyes meet again.

Pastor Ronald smiles knowingly.

"I've had the privilege of watching your love grow. I've watched two people discover that strength isn't found in carrying life's burdens alone. It's found in allowing someone else to help carry them."

His words hit me squarely in the heart. Because that's exactly what Annette taught me. She never asked me to stop being strong. She simply refused to let me be strong by myself.

Pastor Ronald opens the small Bible resting on the lectern and opens to the scripture that almost every couple who come to him for their wedding want recited. It’s 1st Corinthians 13, also called the Love Chapter.

“Love is patient, love is kind...”

He finishes with the words that seem made for this moment.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

***

After the scripture reading, he says, "I believe it's time."

Pastor Ronald looks at both of us with unmistakable affection, then smiles at me.

"Jamie..."

"Would you like to share your vows?"

I nod once.

I'd rehearsed them. Repeated them to myself on long walks. In the truck. Lying awake at night.

Now...every carefully chosen sentence disappears. Because she's looking at me. Waiting.