I'll Take a Chance (18 page)

“
Willow, please don’t be too mad at Asher. We asked him to keep it a secret so we could announce to everyone tonight our happy news. Everything is still planned exactly as it would have been in August, but the big day will be in just two weeks,” Amelia says.

Willow wal
ks back over to Asher swats him in mock anger on the arm she punched him. She sits back down with a huff, crosses her arms in front of her and pretends to still be mad. Asher leans over and puts his face just an inch from hers, she quickly pecks him on the lips then smiles at him. The sonogram picture is passed around with oohs and ahhs.

After dinner Amelia and the girls talk about all of the last minute details that need to be pulled together
for the wedding. She has the most amazing glow about her and I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. I’m a doctor and I see that same glow in all the pregnant women I see on a daily basis.

My parents are sitting together on the couch holding hands. It’s hard to believe only a few months ago I was alone and my family was torn apart. Never would I have believed
that only a few short months would bring such happiness and joy to so many lives. I am going to be a dad, and I will soon be married to the most beautiful woman. My sister is home and safe, and my parents seem to be back together. Asher walks up to me and hands me a scotch.

“Sucks don’t it,” h
e says.

“What?” I ask confused.

“That look on your face. I have the same one plastered on my face all the time. It makes it hard to come off as a serious business man when you walk around looking like you just won the lottery. I know, because I feel this way all the time.

“
Life can sucker punch you in the gut then the next thing you know you’re wondering how on earth you ended up with so many blessings in such a short amount of time. Every time I look at Willow and Abbey, I can’t stop smirking like an idiot.

“
Abbey has me wrapped around her little baby finger, and I can’t say no to Willow to save my life. It’s no good to try and fight it either. I’ve tried, trust me,” he says and shakes his head.

“I just can’t believe how much my life has changed so fast. I love your sister so much
, and I never imagined I would have the bonus of becoming a father,” I tell him truthfully.

“It’s a good place to be,” h
e says, clinks my glass and walks away to find his wife.

Amelia

The big day is finally here. I’m sitting in the bridal suit at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel
and everything seems so surreal. I am sitting on an overstuffed bench perched in front of a mirror and our mothers, Ava, Chloe and Amanda are in a flutter getting ready and fussing over me and each other.

My hair is styled in a beautiful messy curly bun with long loose curls escaping
, surrounding my face. A tiara is secured on top of my head and a veil tucked and pinned under the bun.  My fairytale princess wedding dress is strapless and form fitting on the top then the traditional poofy princess skirt cascades to the floor.

The makeup artist is putting the finishing touches on my makeup. Willow sits next to me and hands me a long
, narrow box. I look at her surprised and take the box.

“Congratulations
, Amelia. This is something Asher and I wanted to give you on your wedding day. This tradition started with me and I’d like to continue it with you,” she says while everyone else gathers around.

I open the box and find a beautiful platinum diamond tennis bracelet. It’s just stunning. My eyes start to tear and I wave my hands in my face to stop them f
rom escaping from my eyes. I remember on Willow’s wedding day Asher gave her an amazing diamond and pink sapphire platinum bracelet.

“No crying on your wedding day, this is your something new.” She takes it out of the
box and clasps it on my wrist.

“This is your something blue,
” Ava says and hands me a small square box. I open it and pull out a baby blue garter with white silk trim. In the center are two tiny hearts encrusted with crystals.

“This is your something borrowed
, it was your great-great-grandmothers.” My mother hands me a small square box. I lift the lid and find an antique broach. She takes the broach out of the box, kneels down, flips the underside of my skirt and pins it to one of the many layers under my dress. It’s just perfect.

“This is your something old.
” Kyle’s mother hands me a small flat square box. I just don’t know how much longer I can hold myself together. I open the box and find a very old hand stitched handkerchief with the letter P elegantly cross stitched in one of the corners.

There is a knock at the door
. Willow opens it to find Asher on the other side. He hands her a small box and a card. She kisses him quickly then tries to shoo him away.

“Wa
it, let him in here for a second,” I say, quickly getting up to let him back in. He stands in front of me and takes both my hands.

“Amelia you are just beautiful,” h
e says and kisses me on the cheek. He looks handsome in his tux with a pink bow tie that matches Willow’s dress.

“Can you take this to Kyle for me?” I dig in my suitcase then hand him a box and a card. He takes the box and winks at me. He kisses Willow one last time
and closes the door behind him.

Willow hands me the box and the card. With shaking hands I take them and sit back on the bench. The box
is that familiar blue with a white bow that every girl only ever dreams about. I set it in front of me and open the card.

My dearest Amelia,

I knew from the first day you crashed into my world that we were destined to be together for eternity. You have shown me what love feels like all the way to the depths of my soul. Our love is as pure as this gift. I love you yesterday and today and for all of eternity and beyond. You have made me a whole man with your undying love and friendship.

Love,

Kyle

No woman could read those words and not be a blubbering mess. The makeup artist folds a tissue and holds it under my eyes to try and save my mascara. I pull myself together and hol
d the tiny blue box in my hand.

“Girl
, if you don’t open that right now, I will,” Willow says, and tries to grab it out of my hand.

“
OK, relax, keep your knickers on,” I tell her. I open the lid and inside is a pair of platinum earrings. There is a large round diamond on top followed by four smaller round diamonds each set in platinum and a pearl dangles at the bottom. It’s absolutely stunning. Our love is a perfect as a diamond.  I take them out of the box and place them in my ears. It is the perfect addition to my fairytale dream day.

There is another knock at the door, this time it’s my father. Everyone leaves the room to give us a moment alone. I stand and at that moment I feel like a little girl standing in front of my life long hero that can only be every little girl’s dad
dy. It’s not even worth fighting, the tears run unchecked down my face and I could care less. My dad pulls tissues out of his pocket and dabs at my cheeks.

“These were initially for
me, I didn’t think I could do this without blubbering like a baby myself. I have some things I want to say to you before I give you away.” He chuckles and gives me a sympathetic smile.

“Oh
, Daddy.” I sniffle and return his smile.

“You are my firstborn daughter and as hard as I tried to prepare myself for this day, I
have completely failed to do so,” he says as a single tear trails down his cheek. My heart is breaking, but not with sadness, but with an overcoming sense of love.

“You are just beautiful
, Amelia. I have watched you grow up to be an amazing, beautiful, successful woman. I never thought it would be so hard to let you go. Today I will no longer be the man in your life. I just want to hold that little girl that you once were in my lap and never let you go.

“
Your first word was Daddy and I knew from that moment on, you were my special girl. I am so proud of you. You are about to marry a man that if I had to choose for you, I couldn’t have done a better job. He truly loves you. I was blessed to be there when you came into this world, and I am honored to walk you down the aisle today. I love you, Amelia.” He wipes his face with his hands and pulls out a folded piece of paper and hands it to me.

“
Daddy, I love you too, and you will always have that special place in my heart and be my hero. What’s this?” I ask and unfold a yellowed piece of lined paper.

“You don’t remember this? One day when I came home from work you were playing house and rushed up to me and handed me this letter. I have
cherished it all these years.”

I open the paper and a flood of memories come
s rushing back to me. I was maybe eight or nine, and I was playing house and I was about to get married. I tied a white sheet around me pretending that it was a wedding dress.

I had my stuffed animals all lined up sitting in chairs in the
family room, and I wrote my Dad this note asking him if he would marry me because he was the best man I knew in the whole wide world. There were even two little boxes with a yes and a no written so he could check which one he wanted. I can’t believe he kept this all these years.

“That’s not yours to keep. This is
one of my cherished possessions,” he says. I hand him back the paper and he tucks it in the pocket inside his tux.

There is a knock at the door and the wedding coordinator pokes her head in telling us we have ten more minutes. My heart sinks in my chest. This is it, I am about to marry the man of my dreams.
My dad hugs me and tells me he will be just outside in the hallway waiting for me.

The girls come back in and the makeup artist gives me a dirty look. She should know better that a bride and a father left alone in a room will only result in tears
and ruined makeup. She quickly gets everything cleaned up and a fresh coat of eyeliner and mascara are in place. With a deep breath and a smile, I walk to my dad and loop my arm through his.

Kyle

Amelia’s d
ad left a few minutes ago to have a few minutes alone with her before he walks her down the aisle. Asher comes back into the groom’s suite and hands me a small square box and a card. I have been pacing back and forth for the last ten minutes. I am so nervous my hands are sweating. I open the card and it has that familiar vanilla smell that is uniquely Amelia.

Kyle,

I have never met a man as caring and loving as you. You have shown me what it means to be loved and cherished. You healed a part of me that I thought was forever broken and have restored my faith. I am truly blessed to have you in my life. Today I marry my best friend and the father of my unborn child. I love you so much. Thank you for accepting me as I am and loving me unconditionally. Thank you for making my childhood fairytale wedding a reality. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Amelia Peters.

Your
s,

Amelia

I open the box and inside is a beautiful pair of black cuff links set in platinum. One of them has the first letter of each of our names with a heart between the letters. The other one has today’s date on it. I remove the ones that came with the tux and put these in their place. There is a knock on the door and the wedding coordinator tells us that it’s time.

The officiant and I
walk down the center of the aisle and we take our places. I know in my heart that today is the beginning of the best part of my life. The room is filled with our close family and friends. I didn’t know we invited Slick, but I’m glad he’s here. I don’t think this day could have ever happened without his help. I’m so nervous standing here by myself.

I see Spence and Ava standing at the entrance of the room. Ava looks beautiful in her light purple
gown. Spence is wearing the matching purple bow tie, he places her hand on his arm and they make their way down the aisle. Spence shakes my hand then stands next to me.

Next
is Willow, she looks radiant and healthy in her pale pink gown. She has her hand looped through her husband’s arm. He has on a matching pink bow tie, in his other arm is his daughter Abbey wearing a frilly pink dress. I think Willow has slowly converted his favorite color to pink, and if anyone can pull off pink its Asher. They walk together until they reach his mother then he hands Abbey to her then they take their place up front.

Next is
my sister Chloe, she is stunning in her pale green gown. She is standing next to Aiden in his matching green bow tie. Last is Amanda who is now engaged to Spence, he asked her to be his wife just last weekend. She looks beautiful in her light blue gown. She walks down the aisle with Adrian looking dapper in his tux with a matching blue bow tie.

The music changes and everyone stands and directs their attention to the angel in white standing next to her father. He has the biggest
proud smile on his face. They slowly make their way down the aisle. He kisses Amelia on the cheek, shakes my hand then places Amelia’s hand in mine. He gives me a nod with a smile. He takes his place next to Samantha as she dabs her eyes.

Amelia passes her bouquet to Ava and I take both of her hands in mine.
I gently rub the scar on her palm with my thumb, and I smile remembering that’s what brought us together in the first place. I love Amelia, scars and all, but this one holds a special place in my heart.

As much as I don’t want to act like a girl, I could totally cr
y with the flood of emotions I’m feeling right now. Amelia is just breathtaking. I never want to forget how I feel right now about her. We lock eyes and I can see how hard she is trying to control her own tears.

“Ladies and gentlemen
, please have a seat. Family and friends, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the joining of Kyle and Amelia in marriage. Who gives this woman to this man in marriage?” the officiant asks.

Amelia’s
father stands and says, “Her mother and I do.” He takes his seat and places his arm around Samantha who is silently crying.

“
Kyle and Amelia, today you entered as individuals, but you will leave here as husband and wife. You will blend your lives and expand your family ties. Marriage is more than the union of two people, it is the joining of two souls. Remember to treat not only yourselves, but each other with kindness and respect. Remember the feelings you have today for each other and remind yourselves often what brought you here today,” he says.

“K
yle and Amelia, today you choose each other before your family and friends, to bring your lives together as husband and wife. Let your love and friendship guide you. May you learn from hardships and grow stronger together as an unbreakable unit. Enjoy your time together, live one moment at a time and cherish not only the life changing moments, but the small things that bring you happiness.

“
Kyle and Amelia have each written their own vows and would like to recite them to each other now.”

That’s my queue. I’m so nervous I hope I can say them right.
I look into her eyes and pull the strength of our love from deep inside her soul. The audience fades away and it’s only her and I standing there holding hands. Calm washes over me and I speak to her from my heart.

“
Amelia, I take you as my wife, to love and to cherish you from this day forward. I promise to be faithful and honest. I promise to make you laugh and to be there when you cry. I promise to care for you in sickness and in health until death do us part.