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He was getting married to the love of his life.
Pretty awesome, really.
Sometimes, you couldn’t be insouciant.
The celebrant started to talk. Hayden knew what he was going to say, because he’d written the service, with help from Luke. They’d written their own vows, too, so he knew his already, though he didn’t know what Luke had done. Something simple, probably. He knew what their rings looked like, brushed platinum from Tiffany, each boasting a discreet, inset baguette diamond, and he knew what the inscription inside his said.
To H from L. Love you forever.
And still, his cold hand shook in Luke’s.
The day was warm, the sun glorious, the lake sparkling blue beneath the mountains, the videographer recording for posterity and somebody else paying for the whole thing, and still, his hands were cold.
Luke looked at him, and Hayden wondered how he’d ever thought Luke was guarded, because there was honesty in that look that made his knees tremble. Luke told the celebrant, “One sec.”
Wait, Hayden thought in a sort of daze. What?
Luke said, low enough that the crowd of two hundred-plus couldn’t hear him, “We’ve got this. I just need you to hold my hand, and we’ll do it together. OK?”
“Yeh,” Hayden managed to say. “OK.” And was grounded again.
The celebrant’s words, going by in a kind of dream, Hayden’s vows, which he somehow dredged up from memory, and then Luke’s.
“I promise to love you,” the big, bearded man opposite him said, the flush rising all the way to his cauliflower ears. “To hold you when you need me, and to let you hold me when I’m the one who needs it. I promise to walk with you until the end. I promise to care more about you than I do about myself, and to give you everything I have until the day I die.”
Hayden thought, Oh, my God. I cannot believe this is happening. I can’t believe you’re mine. And then Luke went on, a twist of a smile around his mouth, his hand around Hayden’s like he’d never let go. “I told you this once before, and I’m going to say it again. It seemed to work pretty well the first time, and you know I only have so many words, so here it is. I’m not quick or clever, and there’s nothing flash about me and never will be. I’m strong as oak, though, and I’m steady as hell. I don’t hurt, I don’t lie, and I don’t cheat. I stand solid, and where I stand, I stay. That’s a promise.”
You could call that a vow.
Hayden had always had a hopeful heart. Finally, the hope was justified.
Finally, the hope was here.
Explore More
Luke’s kumara salad with caramelized onions and citrus dressing (Kumara are sweet potatoes/yams)
The Fendi scarf Hayden gives Luke
The Royal Copenhagen Full Lace Serving Bowl!
The Kissing Hand
“Beast” Mtawarira lifting his man over his head, Sharks rugby
Highlights of Italy v. Ireland in Rome, 2023. (No rugby game is ever easy, no matter the teams’ records.)
Paris viewed from the top of Sacre-Coeur
A murmuration
Bistro Gentil, Wanaka
Rippon Hall wedding venue, Wanaka
Hayden & Luke’s wedding rings
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