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Michael and I stop outside of the bedroom door. He looks at me. "Are you ready to walk our wife down the aisle?"
I chuckle. "None of this is ever going to not sound strange is it?"
He shakes his head with a grin. "Probably not. But then again, it’s very us."
I’m in a great mood. Probably because Danielle has been glowing even more brightly ever since Crew proposed a week ago. The only reason they’ve waited even a week to have the ceremony is because of the huge production Crew is making it into.
But they deserve to do whatever they want to do with this day. Had I given it any thought at all, I would’ve realized there was no way Crew McNeill was going to have an understated ceremony like the one Michael and I had with Danielle.
The guy thinks the NCAA Final Four deserves a party even when he doesn’t care about any of the teams playing. Of course he’s going to think his wedding needs to be a blow-out.
This production outside is perfect for them. Crew is the sunshine, the laughter, the silly, and the spontaneity in Danielle’s life. And Michael and I are not just fine with that, we’re happy about it.
In the end, it worked out great that they are having their ceremony separate from ours, so that they can have it exactly the way they want it.
Most of our commitment ceremony with our girl was my influence. I had always pictured it sophisticated, but simple. Michael, on the other hand, didn’t care about specific details. He just wanted Danielle walking down that aisle toward him and saying ‘I do’.
Michael lifts his hand and knocks on the door.
"Come in," Danielle calls softly.
Michael opens the door and pushes it open, letting me step in first.
It’s rare for a man to see his wife on her wedding day to another man.
But emotion hits me the moment my eyes land on her.
She’s not dressed in white. Instead, because the ceremony is outside and it is August in Chicago, she’s dressed in a multi-colored, spaghetti-strapped sundress that falls to her ankles. It’s fitted against her breasts, but then flares out over the slight swell of her belly. Her hair is up, twisted into a pretty updo that also keeps her neck bare and cool.
Her makeup is simple, and the only jewelry she’s wearing are the two bands that Michael and I placed on her finger a few months ago.
She looks absolutely gorgeous.
She is everything I have ever wanted and, strangely, I cannot wait to take her downstairs and watch her marry Crew.
"You’re radiant," Michael tells her, crossing the room. He takes her hands and leans over to press a kiss against her cheek.
She looks up at him with a sweet smile. "Thank you. I’m so excited."
"Not nervous at all?" I ask as I cross the room to them.
I lean in and kiss her other cheek. I don’t want to mess up her lipstick.
"Not nervous. This is going to be so fun." She glances toward the window. "I’ve been watching them set up."
"You’re supposed to be getting ready for your wedding," Michael teases her.
She looks down. "I am ready." Her expression softens. "I’ve been ready for this for a long time."
"I’m glad he finally figured it out," I tell her.
She looks from me to Michael and then back. "Thank you for giving him time. I know it was driving you crazy."
Again, it strikes me how strange it sounds that we would be frustrated about how long it took another man to decide to marry our wife. But I knew this was what Danielle wanted. I also knew it was what Crew wanted deep down. And what we all needed.
"Even though we’re a team, we’re all still individual people," Michael says. "We all get to figure things out in our own time, in our own way. But we’re all going to be there for each other."
"I know," Danielle says, taking Michael’s hand in one of hers and grasping mine with her other. "I am so very happy as your wife. If Crew had never come around, I would have felt happy and fulfilled forever. I love you both so much. "
