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“Now don’t go getting all emotional on me. I’m afraid I can’t handle tears.” Colin looked nervous as he watched them. It was as though he debated what to say.
The fact that he’d come to them, and dressed in well washed jeans was a surprise. Colin also wore a blue button-down with a sweater. He’d never seen him so casual, and there was no sign of the collar.
Hearing a throat being cleared, he realized he’d been off musing when Colin was waiting for his attention.
Dante smiled, “Sorry. Go ahead.”
“I won’t go into too much detail as it was your life so you know it all already, but I also wrote a report about the reasons surrounding you joining the seminary, and subsequently becoming ordained. I’d hoped that your request would stand a better chance than others, but…I’m sorry, Dante. I really am. It’s because of their decision that I decided to come here and tell you in person.”
“They won’t release him?” Emelia mumbled, her voice teary.
“The laicization has been granted, but the dispensation hasn’t been.” Colin added.
Dante, although hearing everything said, couldn’t accept the words that Colin had actually spoken. Deep down, he’d known that his request would probably get rejected, but with Colin visiting them, he’d tried not to get his hopes up, but he had.
He wanted to be able to marry the woman he loved with all his heart in a Catholic Church, and now that had officially been taken away from him.
“But, let’s get to why I delivered the news in person.”
Emelia leaned against his side, and it was at that point that he realized he’d shut her out. So he quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly against him.
He kissed the top of her head, and resting his chin where he’d placed the kiss, he asked Colin, “Why?”
“Because of the rejection, you know that you can’t marry in a Catholic Church, so I propose that we do something slightly underhanded, but not illegal, and something that can’t be undone by the Vatican if word was to get out.”
Emelia sat straighter, and he was sure that he did as well. “We’re listening.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure you are.” Clearing his throat, he continued, “There is no way around you marrying in a Catholic Church, but, after your wedding, I will personally bless you both…exactly as I would do during a wedding ceremony in the cathedral.”
Emelia buried her face in Dante’s chest and cried. He held her in his arms, tears on his own lashes. “You’d do that?” he asked, his voice filled with raw emotion.
“I’m an old man, Dante. And I’ve spent a lot of time recently reflecting on my life. I don’t regret my dedication to the church for all these years, and I’d like to think that I’ve been good at it.” He smiled. “Before I retire, I need to see you happy. In order for me to go with a clear conscience, I need to be the one to bless your marriage in the eyes of God. I don’t just need to do this. I want to do this. I wish I could do more.”
“No, don’t,” Dante started, “the
blessing from you would mean the world to us.” He brought Emelia’s face up to his. “How about it? You want to make an honest man out of me in a civil ceremony, and then have our marriage blessed by the Bishop?”
Emelia nodded, tears still streamed down her face. “Oh, yes.”
Epilogue
Two months later.
“We’re married,” Emelia whispered to herself, as she escaped to the restroom. They hadn’t been at the hotel where their wedding reception was being held all that long, but she’d just needed a minute.
The bishop was already inside the room where the blessing would take place, and only close family were present. Neither of them felt ashamed for what they were doing, but they wanted it kept quiet because of Dante’s past. He’d also suggested it might be best to stay quiet so that word didn’t get back to the church.
So they had.
They were married!
She honestly never expected the day to arrive because of Dante’s past and because of what their father had done by signing his name to her birth certificate. Luckily, the issuing clerk for the county accepted their birth certificates and the results from the DNA tests, along with a lawyer’s letter confirming what the DNA tests concluded—that Emiliano wasn’t Emelia’s father. She still considered him her father, but it was just a relief to be allowed to marry Dante. It was what she’d wanted for so long.
Dante looked so handsome in his dark, grey suit, deep burgundy button-down, and grey tie, and their brothers looked just as handsome. They sure scrubbed up well. Mateo worried her though. He’d recently had more surgery done on his knee and had to use a wheelchair, which she could see had gotten him down. She supposed Caprice probably didn’t help him with her whole attitude problem. Half the time, she thought that Mateo was the one with the problem to still have her around.
“Hey, why are you hiding in here?” Sylvia interrupted her quiet musing.
“Just thinking. Breathing,” she replied, and continued, “I’m sorry we married before you did, Sylvia.” Emelia had wanted to say something to her brother Eric, and his fiancée over the past months. She just hadn’t had the opportunity to do so. It wasn’t even as though a phone call would have done it because she’d wanted to do it in person.
