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“I told you,” he began as his cousin Lenny stopped the car in the middle of the circle. He turned to me and looked into my eyes softly. “—that I’d give you the world.”
Before I could say anything, the DJ stopped the song and began speaking to the guests.
“Now, I know everyone’s excited that our couple has joined us, but please remain seated, because the groom has something he wants to say to his new bride.”
Everyone began cheering and I looked at Evan, unsure of what was going on. We’d said our vows at the church. I certainly hadn’t been prepared to say anything else. The DJ rushed over and handed Evan the microphone and with his usual charisma during such happy occasions, Evan jumped up and helped me out of the car.
“Now,” he said into the microphone when we were standing beside each other next to the car, “I was just reminding my wife—”
When he said “wife,” all 350 of our guests began to cheer wildly and even I felt myself blushing.
“That’s right ... my wife,” he went on. “I was reminding my wife that when she agreed to marry me, I said I’d give her the world. If nothing, I’m a man of my word! And I intend to do just that. So, Mrs. Journey DeLong, I have something I want you to know.”
“Yes,” I said shyly. Evan wasn’t big on surprises. He was a planner and he seldom planned anything I didn’t know about.
“He’s pregnant!” my younger brother, Justin, hollered and everyone laughed.
“No, that’s coming though ...” Evan said playfully. “But seriously. Journey, you know that dream car you always wanted?”
“What?” I asked. “You mean—”
“Yeah, that car right there.” He pointed to the pretty red car. “Well, darling, you don’t need to dream about it anymore.”
“What?” I shrieked this time.
A steady mix of “wow” and “ohh” came rising from the tables around us. I turned around to see my parents looking on arm in arm. My dad gave me a quick thumbs-up.
“What?” I cried in disbelief this time. “What?”
“Yes, it’s yours.” Evan smiled, and we hugged tightly.
“I love you so much,” I whispered into his ear. “How did you—”
“Wait, y’all,” Evan said into the microphone as people continued to applaud. “There’s more ...”
“More?” my best friend and maid of honor, Billie, shouted. “I hope there’s a car for me!”
“Are you ready for this?” Evan asked me, holding the microphone behind his back with one hand and using the other to hold me. His eyes were now intent and serious.
“What is it?”
“There’s a house in front of this tent,” he whispered. “Eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms, a three-car garage—”
“No—” I broke loose from his embrace and looked at him, covering my mouth with my hands.
“And a master suite with a walk-in closet,” he went on, “that now has every item of your clothing inside.”
“Evan,” I said happily as I began to cry. “We can’t ... we can’t—” The indecisiveness I felt earlier was fading fast. I was Cinderella at the ball right there in that moment.
“No such thing.” He placed his finger over my mouth before I could finish and handed me the microphone. “You tell them this one.”
“He bought the house. He bought the house,” I said, keeping my eyes on Evan. I couldn’t believe it. I felt like I was living a fairy tale. And if I’d been looking for something when I woke up that morning, now I had everything. The perfect husband. The perfect house. The perfect car. What else could I ask for? Right?
Chapter Two
April 19, 2008
For the first few months of our marriage, I was above the clouds. Somewhere out in the cosmos, starring in a novel, living every day happily ever after. I was in love with being in love and sometimes I had to remind myself of how I felt just hours before I got married. I’d look at my ring and thank God my mother was there to prop me up. Our marriage was everything Evan had promised and as we decorated our house, hosted parties, went to church, and just settled into our life, I knew for sure I’d made the right decision. Other people were fighting and some were even breaking up, but Evan seemed to only want our lives to be perfect. And it was.
