The Bucketlist

71 | DANCE WITH ME

The band played the wedding-edition romantic symphony as we walked in. The decorators had done a great job converting our wrecked, old lawn into a wedding venue. Coral and creme pillars placed in the periphery; as drapes of white curtains ran across the background. Pink carnations covered the altar, and the alleys lined with white lilies.

Ribbons hung down the tarpaulin tent. The '#JeaRon' banner that Kris made was hanging in the air. On the other end of the aisle, Ron stood. He wore a white tuxedo. From what I could make out from a distance, he was rubbing his eyes as mom walked the fifteen- seeming-apparently-forty stairs to him.

Ron's eyes were glued to mom as she ascended the stairs to the altar. Will and I walked to the side as Ron took my mom's hand in his.

Somehow he didn't seem like the stupid ape I had despised my entire high school life. His eyes twinkled, a little with hope, a little with tears, as he looked into mom's. Oh, God. They were so much in love. 'The hottest couple on the street'... I recalled from what Martha told me. Now I knew why. Tears slid down Ron's eye, and my jaw fell to the ground. Ron Reagan is crying?

"They don't look that bad, do they?" Will whispered in my ear as I clasped my palms together with surprise.

"No," I said, leaning closer to him, so our whispers stayed with us.

The old parson scrunched his nose at us, and I tried to cut the chit-chat with Will.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." The parson said as he slid on his half-moon spectacles. His meter-long beard seemed to sprawl over his Bible, and I fought my urge to laugh at his resemblance with Santa. His round belly wasn't helping much, and the fact that he had red robes on made it more hilarious. God, Santa's going to conduct my mom's wedding ritual!

"We are here to commemorate this blissful union of two souls in love.

The marvel that love is and the beauty it passes on to this life and the one yet to come is exemplary, and Jeanette and Ron's admiration for each other is nothing short of it!

As we assemble on this auspicious day to witness one of the most beautiful moments of two people's lives, should you have any objections, please speak now or forever hold your peace." The parson said, and I felt my heart leap. If there was anything I wanted to say, I could do it now. I looked at Will, whose eyes pleaded with me to let things happen.

I entwined my arm around his and leaned over his shoulder as the parson went ahead with the ritual.

"Jeanette, you may speak your vows." The parson said.

"Ron, I know I am not the girl you dreamed of, but I promise that from this day to every other day of your life, I will cook you the best breakfasts, be your drinking partner, and never miss a single football match of yours." My mom said, and Ron pulled her closer. They looked better than any other couple I had seen over a wedding. I didn't know I'd ever feel this way.

"Jeanette, my love..." Ron said, and the crowd went 'Awww' including me. What the hell was wrong with me? I had seen this happen over fifty times during the rehearsals!

"I am not the ideal man every woman wants. But I promise you that no matter how big of a jerk I am to the world, I will never break your heart. I would love you now, tomorrow, and every day of my life." Ron said, and I found myself clapping hard.

All eyes shifted to me, and then the whole crowd started clapping. For everyone, I may seem like a supportive daughter, but how would they know that this appreciation came from a deeper place. This appreciation came with acceptance that no matter what ruckus Ron had created in my high school life, he was everything that made my mom happy. And my love for my mom, in every sense, was greater than the contempt I hold for him. I realized that holding a foolish grudge that started over my asymmetrical boobs wasn't worth it. My mom deserved better than that. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I felt Will's warm touch across my back. I spot Martha in the front row with Bruno, smiling with tears.