The Iron Quill (26 page)

Wow. I’d never had anything from his side of the family. Suddenly all the attention and love from everyone was enveloping me as I blinked away emotional tears.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

The top slid off the box easily, but the contents were hidden under pink tissue paper. My fingers gently moved away the paper to reveal a pair of pendant earrings. When I held one up, a small white flower dangled in the center of a short string of blue and silver beads.

I usually didn’t wear earrings, but I had lingering holes from earlier piercings, so I went ahead and put them in. They just looked and felt right with my dress. I was about to say thank you again when my father said something everyone had avoided all day for one reason or another.

“Happy nineteenth birthday.”

The kind gesture sent an icy pain down my neck and I waited for the chill to come back up, but it didn’t. And once my body rejected any further shock waves from the sudden reminder, I exhaled in relief. Sure, it was a number I had been avoiding, but my dad didn’t know that, so I couldn’t fault him.

“Thanks,” I whispered, trying to find a place within my heart to accept the milestone. Regardless of what could happen tomorrow, today couldn’t be taken away. I was within reach of having the best day ever and that’s what I planned to do. I smiled, feeling proud that I’d picked this day to do something other than worry about turning nineteen.

My father gently patted my knee and then slid toward his door.

“Please stay. I will get your door.” He was still looking at me with a hesitant sense of pride, and I nodded as he exited from his side of the limo, giving me a moment alone while he walked around the huge car.

Taking another peek at Wes, I picked up the flowers, took a deep breath, and embraced the wild butterflies which had just migrated from my stomach to my chest.

The door opened and I took my father’s hand and let him pull me to my feet. Wes was about forty yards away, but as soon as he shifted his weight forward like he wanted to come to me, I knew this moment was perfect.

Not once had I considered my father walking me down the aisle, but I can say that having him there was a huge help. I found myself squeezing his bicep with my intertwined arm as we walked. If I had to do that alone, I probably would have wobbled or tripped. With my father to hold on to, I was easily able to steady myself with each step.

There was no music playing, but the wind had picked up perfectly. The gentle whistle tickled my ears pleasantly and blew around the bottom of my dress just as I had imagined it would.

The closer we got to Wes, the faster I wanted to walk. He was so incredibly confident and inviting. The pants of his gray pinstriped suit swayed gently in the wind in a calming rhythm that almost made the moment feel surreal.

When I reached the last row of chairs before Wes, a sniffle to my left caught my attention and when Wes’ gaze followed the sound, mine did too. At first I only saw Tom and my mother with her left arm around the back of the chair next her. She was leaning into the occupant handing over a tissue. As I took my next step, I saw very frail ankles protruding from under a lavender floral dress and elderly hands dabbing away tears.

My gaze traveled up to Lenny’s mother’s moist eyes that so familiarly matched the green in my mother’s and mine. I sucked in another cool breath and when my gaze returned to Wes, his expression showed concern for me. I shook my head quickly and gave a soft smile to let him know I was okay.

In that instant his perfect lips turned up on one side and the minister called for our attention. Everything moved in slow motion as I watched Wes shake my father’s hand. Then I felt a small push on my lower back as my dad gave me away.

Before I knew it, I was standing square to Wes, reveling in his suit and vest, which were accented perfectly with a turquoise tie. His hair was freshly cut with enough left on the top to curl slightly, and his sides were cut close and perfectly trimmed around the edges. His face was smooth and all I wanted was to put my own cheek against his.

It felt like just the two of us until the minister instructed us to hold hands. I turned, looking for somewhere to put my flowers and Kerry stood up and took them for me. She went to sit back down until she noticed the handkerchief sticking in the stem of the bouquet. “Oh, here,” she whispered, handing it back to me.

As soon as the blue handkerchief was in my hand, I realized it was taking all of my concentration to hold in the tears. I looked back into Wes’ eyes. They were nowhere near to exhibiting the same weakness mine were. Thankfully, he looked completely composed and gave my hands a squeeze when they found his.

The minister recited a standard welcome and then redirected his attention to us.

“At this time we will have the bride and groom share their own vows. Sophie?” My gaze was fixed on Wes, but I could tell everyone was watching us in my peripheral vision.

Just then, the wind picked up, making me feel like every moment in my life culminated in this moment. Feeling the wind carry the hem of my dress back and forth made me remember why I had chosen this place to publically share my feelings for Wes.

I cleared my throat to make sure I was loud enough so our closest friends and family could hear.

A natural need to be even closer to him came over me, so I moved in until our intertwined hands were pressed between the valley of our bodies.

“I love you,” I started. “So much that whatever I say today can’t fully express it, because what I feel for you runs deeper than my thoughts, and deeper than my heart. The place where I find the most love for you is in my soul, and even I can’t explain why or how. All I know is that wherever you are, I want to be, and whenever you need me, I’ll always be there.”

I watched him swallow a few times and bite gently on his back teeth as his way of keeping his emotions under control. His slow blinks and frequent squeezes of my hand told me he wasn’t going to last too much longer trying to hold in the tears that seemed to be lingering on the edge. My purpose was not to force him into a public display of an emotional meltdown, so I hurried along my portion.

“Neither one of us knows what tomorrow will bring, but whatever happens, I will stand with you every single day, through the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult. I want you to know that I’m in this for the long haul, because I love you, and because I want to take care of you forever.”

I sniffled a little and at the word
forever
, Wes bowed his head and closed his eyes. I squeezed his hands and gave our hold a small shake, hoping he was still with me.

The minister called Wes’ name and he took a deep breath and looked into my eyes.

He didn’t rush his words or seem pressured to start too soon. After a long moment of him boring into my soul, he spoke words that wove into my ears and wrapped around my bones.

“Sophie, meeting you has redefined my life.” He was speaking only to me and I was sure our guests were leaning forward to catch his words.

“What you’ve already done for me will sustain my love for you indefinitely, and what I say today will only convey a fraction of what you’re truly worth to me.”

He paused to look at the few who knew about our true past. Glancing back at me, he continued in a way that only those privy to our history would truly understand. “I have loved you even before you found me. My heart beats today because of you . . . and for you.
All
I want is to keep you safe and happy, because when you are those things, I am the same.

“I love you for the way you make me feel. I stand here Sophie,” and as the slow tears began to fall from my eyes, he leaned in so close I was sure I was the only one who would hear him, “because I promise to take care of you for
all
of your days, and I will never stop believing in a tomorrow with you.”

I pulled my hand free to dab my nose and eyes with the handkerchief. Imagining how horrible I looked, I glanced at my mother only to see her and Maria looking tearful, too. The sight made me smile as I turned back to Wes, cursing him for not caring about how I would react to something so intense in front of everyone.

The minister prompted us to exchange rings and then pronounced us married. He didn’t get as far as telling Wes to kiss me, because Wes’ hands were already on the sides of my face, pulling me in. His mouth assaulted mine in the softest, most pressing manner, spreading warmth down my shoulders. My hands reached around his back as we kissed at the edge of a beautiful cliff with my worries blowing in the wind.

Neither one of us pulled away until our friends and family clapped so loudly we could no longer ignore their presence. I was the first to laugh with joy as I hopped up in excitement and he picked me up and hugged me so hard it felt like we were one person. I felt his joy, his fears, his pain, his love, and his hope for whatever the future had in store for us.

There wasn’t one dry eye in the audience. After the ceremony, I was able to notice everyone who was there. In addition to my family and friends, Dr. Lyon and Dr. Carter were present. Everyone greeted us with hugs and whispers in our ears, saying, “That was beautiful, that was perfect, you two are wonderful together.”

My mom hurried some pictures along—she and I, then with Wes, too—then she pulled me close to say how proud she was of me. Then she shoved the other guests in line to take pictures with us. The first in line was Maria. Kerry stepped up to help her walk. Her hands were frail and hesitant to touch me, but I knew what this moment meant to her and how difficult it must be to see me. Even though it was a reassurance that Lenny wasn’t gone forever, we couldn’t change the fact that I wasn’t truly
her
Lenny. I felt for her and didn’t want her feeling unsure about her presence, so I wrapped my arm around her small, petite frame and pulled her close.

Her free hand brought a tissue up to her eyes and then she gave my hip a gentle shake with the hand that was wrapped around me. The volunteer photographer, who happened to be Kerry’s boyfriend, Rich, requested our attention and gave us orders to smile. After a few pictures, Wes discreetly stepped away and let us get a couple pictures with just the two of us.

By the time Wes and I were finished, my mother was gone.

Where she had disappeared to was a mystery, but I was too overwhelmed with the presence of my father and Maria to give it any more thought. After a few more kind exchanges with my friends and father, Wes and I walked Maria to one of Wes’ waiting SUVs.

Maria was helped into the vehicle that would drive her back to her nursing home and although she looked happy, it seemed like she had many questions or wanted to say something else. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I didn’t want her leaving with any doubt about what this day meant for me.

To give her hope and comfort, I leaned into the open truck and gave her a hug. I spoke softly in her ear, so only she could hear. “I remember the night of Lenny’s accident. You tried to stop our fight and he shoved you to the floor. I remember how much you loved me, and I want you to know no one could have stopped what happened. And it’s okay, because I’m here now.” I kissed her cheek as she sobbed softly.

We watched her drive off and then said our goodbyes to everyone else, except for my mother, who still seemed to be missing. Inside our limo, Wes pulled me onto his lap with one arm wrapped around me and the other hand tucked under my bottom, securing me to himself.

He slipped his hand there so naturally that one would’ve thought he did it all the time, but he didn’t. Usually his hands only found their way across my body when we were making out, but now we were just sitting there and the comfort between us felt good and natural.

I leaned my head into his and absorbed his sweet scent. He held me tighter, and even in our perfect post-wed moment, he managed to tell me he missed me. There we were, pretty much bound to each other for however long forever would be, and the feelings we felt from being separated the night before were still lingering.

“I missed you, too,” I whispered, feeling like the day simply couldn’t have been any more perfect.

H
ad I known how special it was going to feel to have my family, friends, and Lenny’s mother there, I might have chosen to have a small reception. But at the time my thoughts had been to keep it simple and just go home with Wes. My mom understood, so she relented.

Along with no reception, Wes and I had agreed that we’d rather stay home for a while. We briefly thought about taking a short drive to an inn or resort, but decided against it. All we wanted to do was go back to his place and call it
ours.

A few days before the wedding, Dr. Carter had moved into Dr. Thomas’ old residence, so when we got home the place was one hundred percent ours. Waiting for us.

I’d pulled into his driveway many times, but never like it was my own. The feeling was indescribable. Wes took my hand and led me up the front steps. Just before the threshold, he did the inevitable, picking me up and carrying me inside. The way he held me made me want to stay there all night, but to my disappointment, he spun me toward the living room, kissed my cheek, and set me down. The aroma of food struck me first, but then what I saw took my breath away.

Dozens of white rose petals led away from the foyer. “Go on,” he said.

I turned, tempted to ask questions, but knew to comply. My feet willed themselves through the hall, which was lined on both sides with vases of white, pink, and red roses. It was Valentine’s Day in September.

I stood awestruck by the romantic touch and then the delicious scent pulled my attention toward the dining room. I turned and looked at Wes, no longer wanting any more surprises. “Did you order food?” I asked.

He smiled and shrugged. “Let’s just say your mom wanted you to have a reception. Even if it was a private one.”

My eyes opened wide. “What?” Before he could answer, I made a beeline for the dining room where a candlelit table, set with fine dining for two, awaited. One metal food warmer and a small, round, three-tiered wedding cake with a border of white roses had been placed in the center.