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Nav
Theceremonywasset to begin soon and Nav stood at the back of the aisle staring ahead. Life had taken Nav on a whirlwind over the last several weeks. He lost the girl he loved, moved to Otsego to get away from the girl he didn’t, and got a new job, starting over fresh from the bottom. Upon returning home from St. Thomas, he attempted on several occasions to remind Victoria that he was no longer interested in any kind of relationship with her, but when she continually started camping out at the fire station, he knew he needed to get out of there. The downgrade in his title at the new station was humbling. Throughout all of the recent changes, his mind constantly swirled back to the constant he wished he had. Lexie had always been reassuring and comforting when he was feeling overwhelmed. He was thankful to see a softening in her earlier when he’d managed to get a tiny conversation out of her. Hopeful for a longer chat after the wedding chaos died down, Nav cleared his mind and prepared to fulfill his Best Man duties.
The ceremony began and Nav walked down the aisle behind Eagle. He stood beside him watching as the rest of the crew filed in after them. As Adam made his way to his spot, Lexie finally came into the view. The sun was starting to set behind them, sending a golden glow across her. Her navy dress swished around as she glided down the aisle. His heart pounded faster than he had ever felt before. The smile upon her face was nervous, yet happy, one she often gave when she was the center of attention. He knew she enjoyed the spotlight, but also knew thatthe extra eyes could make her nervous. She took her spot across from him and turned to watch her niece and nephew walk down the aisle.
His breath was taken away as the music changed and Sedona stepped into the center of the aisle. She was stunning. He reached his right hand out to squeeze Eagle’s arm and he could hear the sniffles as the gorgeous bride graced the aisle. Throughout the entire ceremony, Lexie’s eyes continuously landed on his. He expected her to avoid looking in his direction, but she proved him wrong, stealing glances often.
He turned to listen as Eagle and Sedona shared their vows with one another. Nav could hardly believe the man beside him was the same man he met on the bridge that night. He had watched Sedona and Eagle’s love story unfold over the last several years and saw the light slowly seep back into his soul. He couldn’t be more proud of the man he had become, partially thanks to the woman beside him.
As the night progressed, he was getting more nervous about his Best Man speech. He had planned out what he wanted to say and actually practiced it in the mirror several times. He contemplated calling Lexie on more than one occasion as well to see how her speech was going, but instead dialed Avanna, hoping she could provide some insight. She wasn’t near as helpful as Lexie would have been.
He took a swig of the whiskey from the handmade cup Avanna had made and rested it back on the table as Eagle and Sedona both stood to give their own speeches.
“I’m not going to give a speech tonight because that’s not my thing,” he chuckled, squeezing Sedona tight. “Well, actually that’s not really our thing. But we wanted to thank you all for coming to celebrate with us tonight. It means the world to see all of you here.”
He lifted his glass to everyone and cheers sounded out, with the lone soldier yelling out, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” Pleasing the masses, they obliged with a passionate kiss. Eagle handed the microphone to Nav and he took a deep breath, preparing himself for the moment.
“Good evening, everyone! Most of you out there know me, but for those of you that don’t, I’m Nav, Eagle’s Best Man and unofficially-adopted brother.” Eagle laughed at that joke. Good, he thought, keep going. “When I met Eagle he was a grumpy, brooding ass and was quite frankly miserable to be around.” A few laughs echoed around him, and he continued. “But, he also had the biggest heart of anyone that I know. I fondly remember the night Eagle met Sedona.” He turned to face them, drawing his attention to the couple instead of the crowd. “In fact, I was her ride to the party where they met and I’ll sum up the night here for all of you. We played beer pong and Lexie and I kicked their asses.” He stopped to draw his eyes to Lexie, remembering that night with her. “My baby brother beat the shit out of some guy that was trying to cop a feel, which led to taking the party back to the lake house. Once we got there, Sedona tumbled into the water and Eagle had to jump in after her. If this doesn’t sound like the recipe for a terrible first impression, just wait.” Laughter echoed around the room. “Then to make matters far worse, Eagle suddenly realized the girl he’s making out with in the bathroom of his house is Payson’s little sister. Talk about a fucking doozy, right?” The laughter continued. “While we can sit here and laugh about the moments where neither Sedona nor Eagle was perfect,” he paused to fake cough, “like Sedona pushing Eagle into the lake... I think we can all agree that the couple that sits here before us is one of the strongest I know. When Eagle told me he was going to marry Sedona after their first week together, I told him he was full of it. I didn’t believe love could last that long. Hell, I didn’t even want to think about marriage. But Eagle had been envisioning this moment now before us, for longer than any of us even considered it a possibility. I recently went through a pretty tough heartbreak of my own.” He took a deep breath, pulling his eyes toward Lexie’s as he continued. “And Eagle reminded me that love doesn’t always happen in daylight. The best displays of love happen in the quiet moments, in the moments when no one else is paying attention, for love isn’t about making an impression on anyone other than the one you love. Eagle does that every day for Sedona. He doesn’t brag about it or make mention of it, but I see it in the way her coffee is always made and ready, sitting on the counter for her in the morning. I see it in the way he does the dishes without being asked, and in the way he makes sure she always has the essentials...including tampons. Yes, this man makes sure her feminine drawer is always stocked. And my absolute favorite way–in the letters he writes to her each and every day. As many of you know, Eagle and Sedona’s relationship started with a sticky note and while that sticky note was shredded and left on the floor, Eagle continued the tradition of writing her a note each morning and leaving it on the bedside table.” He paused for a moment as Sedona looked at Eagle quizzically. Eagle smiled and nodded toward Nav, signaling for him to continue. “And what Sedona doesn’t know is that Eagle continued to write letters to Sedona each and every day from the time they met until today.” Sedona gasped and threw her hands to her face. Lexie dug around in her purse and handed her a tissue while Nav reached under the table and handed Sedona a wooden box. “Sedona, you’ve become such an important part of our family and I’m so thankful you and Eagle chose each other. Keep choosing each other. Keep loving each other and remember to keep loving one another when no one else is watching. Love you both. Cheers to the new Mr. and Mrs.” He tipped his glass to Eagle and Sedona and then to the crowd, who applauded and hollered out loud.
Thank God, Nav thought with his head bowed at the couple, sweat rolling down his back. He gave his pulse a chance to slow as he lowered himself back into his seat and took a swig of his whiskey. As he sat, Lexie stood and his attention was immediately drawn to her beauty under the twinkling lights.
“Well, I’m not really sure how well I can follow up after that, but we’ll give it a try.” The crowd laughed and Nav chuckled himself. “For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Lexie and I am Sedona’s Maid of Honor. Sedona and I were roommates when she first moved to Otsego and to say we had our fair share of adventures would be an understatement. I remember the night Eagle and Sedona met differently than Nav did, mainly because I was too drunk to pay attention to their love affair.” The crowd chuckled. “I do remember the morning after, waking up to discover my new roommate had shacked up with my boyfriend’s best friend.” Nav cringed as she said boyfriend. He hadn’t heard her ever refer to him as that and as he looked back, he knew he didn’t deserve that title back then, even if she felt the need to give it to him now. “All morning I thought about double dates and how much fun it would be for the four of us to spend time together, but then Sedona came home, and oh, what a wreck that was. I warned her about Eagle--warned her to keep her distance from the brooding asshole he was. But as time went on, I watched Sedona’s smile widen. Her steps were lighter, her laughs were louder, and her eyes were brighter. I knew in those moments, that my best friend was in love. While Eagle had been a part of my friend group by proxy, over the years he became family, too. Sedona and Eagle walked me through my first heartbreak.” Nav felt a pang in his chest, knowing it was the pain he caused. “They were there for me after I met my husband Oliver, offering a listening ear. They passed little judgment on me after my own spontaneous wedding and they held me up when I couldn’t keep myself together after my husband later died.” She took a moment to collect herself, her voice cracking as she spoke about Oliver. “The biggest lesson I learned from these two,” she said as she pointed her glass over to them, “is that it’s okay if your relationship isn’t perfect. I think we all live this life where we are striving for perfection and once a wrench gets thrown into this perfect plan, we panic. But Eagle and Sedona...they’ve grown so much together over the years. They know when to give each other space, they respect boundaries, and most importantly, they communicate with one another. Sedona, I learned how to be a wife from you before you even became one yourself. I’m so proud to call the two of you family. Cheers to a long, happy marriage.” She tilted her glass and the audience again roared in applause, but Nav found himself staring back at Lexie, wanting so badly to go talk to her, discuss everything, and confess his love while wrapping her in his arms.
