19
William and I were married the following spring.
My best friend Caroline, as we had promised each other in our youth, was my only bridesmaid.
I hadn’t informed any family or friends from New York about the wedding.
Yet, somehow, the news got out.
On the day of the wedding, my father and Lucas showed up.
William came to ask what I wanted to do.
As the makeup artist was working on me, I looked up, seeing myself and my future husband in the mirror..
The bridal makeup was a bit heavier than usual, making me look different.
I looked like the roses William had planted especially for me in our new home–blooming shyly, beautiful and radiant.
William, in his black tuxedo, looked incredibly handsome.
Our eyes met in the mirror, and we both couldn’t help but smile.
“I don’t want to see them.”
William nodded without hesitation. “Alright, I’ll have someone ask them to leave ”
“Thank you.”
The
past, the people and events, were things I no longer wished to see or remember.
The scars left on my heart would fade with time.
As for family ties, I couldn’t force them–and I wouldn’t force myself anymore.
When everything was ready, and I stepped onto the aisle in my white wedding dress, bouquet in hand, William couldn’t wait for me to reach him.
He met me halfway, extending his hand with a look that said he couldn’t wait to hold mine.
I reached out to him too.
Amidst countless cheers and laughter, our hands held each other tightly.
William bent down to kiss me, a kiss that seemed to stretch on forever, until I could barely breathe.
Finally, he pulled away, and as he slipped the ring onto my finger, he whispered softly in my ear, “I love you, Jennifer.”
“From long, long ago, until long, long after.”
I looked up at him, my eyes filled with both laughter and tears. “William…
“I will try my best to love you, to love you well.”
He gently embraced me. “Alright.”
