Page 121 of Senior

“All right now,” Ms. Rebecca said. “We’re gonna get to that part, son.”

He chuckled as he pulled back. “Sorry, Mama.”

“Now. Dearly Beloved… we are gathered here today to witness the union of Stanley and Stephanie. I think I speak for us all when I say, it’s about damn time.”

A round of Amens went up around the room, causing both of us to roll our eyes.

“Please bow your heads for a word of prayer.”

Everyone followed along.

“Father God, we come to You today, asking You to bless this union where two hearts become one. Grant this couple the patience to see it through the hard days, the humility to forgive, and the courage to be soft even when things get hard. Father, I ask that You fill their home with nothing but love and laughter. Guide and protect them as they enter a new, yet familiar journey as parents.”

I could hear the snickers in the background, and it made me giggle inwardly.

“Watch over them as they build the life they deserve. These and all blessings we ask in Your name, Amen.”

“Amen.”

Ms. Rebecca smiled and reached for both our hands.

“I have been around to witness this love from the very beginning. My son has always been crazy about this woman. Told me he was going to marry her at sixteen years old. The older they became, the more I realized this wasn’t puppy love. He knew he’d found his soulmate. Life has a funny way of throwing us off the path we forge for ourselves. You wanna make God laugh, tell him your plans. I will say this. No matter how much time passed, no matter what happened, these two remained friends even when they couldn’t be together.

“That’s one of the secrets to a lasting relationship. A solid foundation. You can move away or start something new. But when the foundation is solid, you can always come back to it. That is what we’re witnessing today. It’s an honor to marry two of my babies. I put in a lot of work with these two, so if anybody was gonna marry them, it was going to be me.”

I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I love you, Mama,” I said.

“I love you more, puddin.” She smiled as she palmed my face. “I’m gonna turn it over to you two. Stanley, I can tell you’re anxious, so you can go first.”

Senior grabbed my other hand. For a long time, he just stared at me like he couldn’t believe we were here. Shit, I couldn’t believe it either.

Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Stephanie Ann Micheals, you are the culmination of every hope, every dream, everything I could ever wish for and more than I deserved. I have carried you in my heart for what feels like a lifetime. You’ve seen me through so many phases, and I’m honored to enter the next phase as your husband.”

He shook his head as tears streamed down his face.

“I’m not ashamed to admit that I am a flawed man. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I’ve hurt people that didn’t deserve that from me. I’ve hurt you and that is my biggest regret in life. No… that and losing you was my biggest regret. No matter how I tried to move on, no matter how deep I searched for you in other people, there’s never been anyone quite like you. And that’s nothing against them. My heart can love, it just doesn’t know how to love anyone the way it loves you.

“I love you with my soul… with everything I am and everything I will be. You are my best friend, the love of my life… you’re my fucking soulmate, Stephanie. In every lifetime, I’ll try my hardest to get back to you. I’ve worn many hats over the years but my top two are being a father and now being your husband.

“I wake up, get on my knees and thank God every day for bringing you back to me.” He kissed my hands. “My love… I’m so sorry that you had to experience heartbreak to get to this point but believe me when I say I’m here to heal you. I’m here to restore you and carry you through every storm in every single season.

“I’m honored to have the privilege to spend the rest of my days loving you, creating memories with you, and raising an ever-growing family with you. I’m not a perfect man, but I promise to always put you and our family first. I promise to communicate… to respect you, to protect you and our children from all forms of harm, even if it means laying down my life for you.

“Most of all, I promise to never give you a reason to question that my love for you surpasses time or common sense.”

That pulled a chuckle from the crowd.

“I love you, Steph. Nothing but God himself will ever take me from you again.”

He cupped my face and wiped away the tears as they just kept falling.

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing them. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

It took me a moment to gather myself because my heart was so full that it was spilling over. I couldn’t hold back the tears.

“Take your time, baby,” Ms. Rebecca said, rubbing my back.