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Murmurs of curiosity ripple through the crowd at what’s turning out to be an unusual turn of events in what’s usually a standard, boilerplate, boring affair that lacks any sort of flair or pizzazz. And through it all, Aaron stands there at the podium with that enigmatic grin on his face as he looks at me.
“Dean Lannigan indulged me because I wanted to take a moment today to acknowledge somebody very special to me – ”
His eyes are still glued to mine. It makes my heart flutter. Heads all over turn, everybody is looking around at each other, wondering who Aaron is talking about. He’s an incredibly gorgeous, successful man. He seems like the kind of guy who has a different woman every night – just because he can. I have to face facts, Aaron has playboy written all over him. If he were still the playboy type of guy, I have no doubt he’d have at least a dozen phone numbers by the time the commencement ceremony is over.
Luckily, he’s not that kind of guy. He’s mine. All mine.
“– this person taught me that no matter how much I know, I’ll never know everything. She taught me that so long as my mind and heart are open, there’s no limit to how much I can grow,” he continues. “I used to think I was fearless. She proved me wrong. In fact, she showed me just how scared I’ve been when it comes to the things that matter most.”
He pauses for a moment to collect himself. I can see the emotion in his face. Hear it in his voice. And seeing just how emotional he is as he speaks gets me choked up as well. I feel my pulse racing and the tears welling in my eyes. I can’t believe he’s being so genuine and open about his feelings – in public, no less.
To me, it shows just how far he’s come from the closed-off man who feared showing his emotions. I’ve seen the changes he’s gone through ever since the night Robert attacked us. It seems like over the weeks and months since that night, he’s truly opened himself up to me and to our son. And maybe not so coincidentally, I’ve fallen in love with him a little more every day.
“I’m sure you’re wondering what the relevance of this personal anecdote is to you,” he goes on. I see people all over nodding. “The point is this – learn to live your life with passion. Live your life with an open mind and an open heart. And most importantly, learn to live your life without fear of those things that matter most – those things like love. If you can learn those lessons and apply them to your lives, there is no limit to what you can do. You will be unstoppable.”
My heart swells and I smile wide at Aaron as he looks at me. The crowd around me applauds, cheering their approval. Hearing Aaron talking like this, sharing his insights with us makes me feel closer to him than ever – something I didn’t think was even possible.
On stage, he holds his hands up to quiet us all down. And when we’re finally quiet, he speaks again.
“And finally, if you will all indulge me for just a little longer, I would like to take a moment to correct something that should have been fixed a while back.”
I cock my head and look at him curiously, but unsure where he’s going with this. His eyes fall on me again, and he flashes me that cockeyed grin.
“Emily Steel, can you please come on up here?” he calls out.
Heads in the audience turn my way, some of the girls with varying expressions of curiosity and envy upon their faces. I slowly get to my feet, my cheeks flaring with an embarrassed heat as I become the center of attention. I quickly make my way up to the stage, not wanting to draw this out any longer than absolutely necessary. As I feel the scrutiny of the entire audience upon me, I just want to get this over with.
I cross the stage and stand before Aaron, my cheeks a shade of red not found in nature. He has a devious smile on his face and a mischievous glint in his eye. Aaron takes the mic out of the holder and walks around to the other side of me, forcing me to turn around again. Aaron takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.
“As I’m sure you’re all smart enough to figure out by now, this is the amazing woman who’s taught me about life and about myself,” he says. “I owe much more to her than I can ever hope to repay.”
The audience applauds, adding even more heat to my cheeks, which are already burning fiercely. I turn away and cover my face with my hands, trying to get my embarrassment under control. Aaron is laughing softly. He takes hold of my wrist, peeling my hands away from my face and forcing me to look him in the eye.
He tips me a wink and turns back to the crowd. “About two years ago, Emily and I were married in the most unromantic way you can possibly imagine,” he tells them, laughter in his voice. “Long story short, our wedding, such as it was, involved a tall alien minister, the X-Files theme song, and a paperwork mix-up.”
Laughter and scattered applause ripples through the crowd. Aaron turns back to me, and I see a sincere earnestness creep into his eyes.
“And that, folks, is something I want to correct,” he continues. “And I thought today, as we bask in the glow of her greatest achievement, was the best time possible to correct my mistake. Emily put aside her own fears to pursue her dream and I wanted to show her, in front of you all, that I too, have put aside my own fears and can live a life filled with passion and purpose – just as she taught me.”
Even though I know what’s coming, my eyes widen as he drops down to his knee. The school’s marching band suddenly files in from the wings of the stage, playing the wedding march. Tears roll down my cheeks, and I cover my mouth with my hands as Aaron produces a small black velvet box from his coat pocket. He opens it to reveal the biggest diamond ring I’ve ever seen. The sun glints off the facets of the gem, sparkling dazzlingly and almost blindingly.
“Emily Steel,” he says into the microphone. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me, again?”
I’m speechless for a moment as I stare at him – at this beautiful, amazing man who’s added so much to my life. Just as he believes I’ve opened him up to living a life of passion and purpose, he’s done the same thing for me. You can’t have one without the other – we’re two sides of the same coin.
As I stand there, gaping at him like an idiot, I become aware of everybody staring at us. There’s a hushed silence that’s fallen over the crowd – almost as if everybody is holding their breath in anticipation of my answer.
Tears of joy continue to stream down my face, and I nod wildly. “Yes, I’ll marry you again,” I cry out. “A million times yes.”
The widest, most beautiful and genuine smile on his face that I’ve ever seen, Aaron slips the ring onto my finger, then stands and scoops me up into his arms like I weigh nothing at all. He holds me tight to him and plants a loving, tender kiss on my lips. The audience erupts into applause, cheering and screaming wildly.
As I stare into Aaron’s eyes, feeling the love coursing through me being radiated back to me from his own gaze, I feel my heart racing in my breast. Olivia comes out from the wings of the stage and carries Edison over to us. Together, we celebrate my own personal achievement, but also the love we share between us.
The audience continues to thunder with applause. Aaron kisses me again and I feel every ounce of the emotion he feels for me passing through his lips.
As I look from my son to my husband, my heart swelling with an overpowering feeling of love, only one word fills my mind – perfect. Never in a million years did I think my life would turn out this way, but it’s become exactly that – perfect.
I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve it, but I plan on taking it and running. I plan on holding tight to this man and this world for the rest of my life. Aaron is smiling, his eyes twinkling with an inner light that’s burning bright.
“I love you, Emily Hall Steel,” he says.
“And I love you back.”
Yeah, life is pretty damn perfect.
THE END
