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“Don’t you dare,” I said. “This makeup took a very long time to get on.”
“But it won’t take me anytime to take it off tonight,” he said with a wink.
“You’re bad.”
“And you’ve been a naughty girl. You think I don’t know you have stockings underneath that gown? And to think my best man will have to fish that garter off your leg later.”
“I still can’t believe you asked Zander to be your best man,” I said.
“He’s helped me a lot with this new foundation. When I found out his passion for helping children rehabilitate, I knew I could fuse his ideas with mine.”
“Well he seems to be getting on with Ivy. Look.”
I nodded my head over to the corner and I watched Hayden smile. Zander had his hand pressed against the wall, smiling down at Ivy. She was talking on and on about something and he seemed completely entranced with her.
It was about time she found herself a man to spend some time with.
The song came to an end and my feet were ecstatic over it. Hayden dipped me down before wrapping his arms around me and coming in for another kiss. I threaded my arms around his neck as he picked me up, then twirled me around the floor. All the way over to the D.J.
Then he took the microphone, set me down, and drew in a deep breath.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming to this joyous occasion. Grace and I couldn’t be happier to celebrate this wonderful day with all of you whom we love so dearly, and we want to thank you for attending.”
The crowd applauded his words as his hand fell to the small of my back.
“Over the course of the past year, I’ve been working on my newest venture in life. It started out with a passion to make wheelchairs more accessible and more user-friendly for those recovering from accidents, but it morphed into something greater. A man who helped me during my recuperation, who also happens to be my best man tonight, brought to my attention the need for a wheelchair for children. Children whose lives have been affected by tragedy, permanent illness, or a combination of both. And so started a journey that would lead me to founding Chairing Is Caring.”
I wrapped my arm around my newly-wedded husband and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“My foundation is both a research and a charity foundation. The donations we receive go towards researchers and engineers who make not only affordable wheelchairs for children, but accessible wheelchairs for children. Then, we purchase those wheelchairs and donate them to children’s hospitals and families that couldn’t otherwise afford even the cheapest chair we can create. In my mind, there’s no reason why a child should have to go without a wheelchair because they can’t afford it. And there is no reason why anyone should have to fight with an instrument originally designed to help them during tough times in their lives.”
The crowd erupted into applause and whistles of satisfaction, rising up within me a slew of emotions that were beginning to get harder to choke down.
“So here is what I ask of you. Whatever you can give— whatever your wallets will allow— that is your wedding gift to us. We didn’t want crystal or new plates or silverware or a new coffee maker. What my wife and I want is for you to give from the bottom of your heart to Chairing Is Caring. Your donations will help fund the engineers that are working on ways to make wheelchairs cheaper in the marketplace without reducing their capability as a tool for living a full and promising life. And from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your charity.”
Hayden handed the microphone back to the D.J. As everyone rummaged around in their purses. People were whooping and hollering, but tears were streaming down my cheeks. I couldn’t help it. This past year had been filled with so many ups and downs. Late nights and arguments about grants and designs. But seeing the look of pride on Hayden’s face as he announced his foundation to those he loved most?
It was worth every sleepless night.
“I love you,” I said breathlessly as tears slipped down my cheeks.
Hayden’s thumb caught each and every one of them before kissing my forehead.
“I love you too, my beautiful bride.”
We danced the night away before Hayden whisked me to the limo in his arms. Zander was in charge of counting the donations and making sure everything made it into the right places. And we knew we could trust him. He was an equal partner in the founding of the charity. Hayden and I sat in the limo as we rode to our hotel suite for the weekend where we would then leave to fly out to Italy for two weeks.
Two weeks in a vineyard villa with wine, country sunsets, and decadent homemade foods.
“Holy shit,” Hayden said.
“What?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s Zander,” he said.
“What happened?”
Hayden turned his phone around to me and showed me the text message. It was a picture of all the money and the checks, held together by a rubber band that look like it was going to burst any second.
