The Goodmans

The Events of Portland

The sky was dark in all shades of grey. Thick raindrops spattered against the glass. Not the perfect day for a wedding. Dan was standing next to the window, watching motionless as the flowers for the ceremony were ruined by all the water. But that wasn't what his mind was focusing on. He was scared, really scared. He sure loved this woman, he knew that, he had asked her after all. But what if he was being selfish? What if he couldn't be a good husband for her? She deserved better. She deserved perfect. She was twenty, he was twenty five. And on top of all of that, she was pregnant. Maybe, they were just too young..

He thought it through for another hour and was ready to get out of there, but how on earth was he going to tell Diana that he wasn't planning on marrying her? Dan was pacing around the room, alone with his thoughts. He couldn't, he couldn't just tell her to her face, he couldn't bare to see that, her reaction, though he knew it was the best thing to do for both of them. He had to elope, flee, get out of there. Now.

He had to think fast and opened the window, the raindrops stormed inside the room as he did so. He grabbed his coat from the chair behind him and put it on. Footsteps were coming towards the room, somebody must've heard the window open. Before he could change his mind, Dan climbed out of the window and down the vines growing up against the wall. His feet met the ground in a matter of seconds. No one was outside yet, which was understandable since it was still pouring and storming. He was still hesitating if this was the right decision, but for now he had to do this.

"Are you sure?" Diana asked her mother while standing in frond of the mirror. She was as good as ready for the ceremony and wore a white dress with a blue rose on her pulse. "Absolutely, my child. The flower really brings out your eyes." Unlike Dan's parents, her mother couldn't be happier. She didn't agree with it all in the beginning, her daughter was too young, too innocent to get married. But she really did love this man, and that was all it took. A wide smile crossed her face and her eyes started to get teary. "Mom? Are you alright?" Diana asked worriedly when she turned around and saw her mother tearing up. "Yes, I'm just happy for you, my child." Both smiled and Diana made a final twirl in her beautiful white wedding dress before announcing that the ceremony could start.

Dan was sitting on a bench just outside the garden, behind the bushes so no one could see him. He was desperate. Thinking about what was going to happen next, thinking about his parents. They didn't come, they thought he was being childish and immature because he dropped out of college to travel the world and get married. They didn't even know Diana was pregnant yet. He heard Diana's mother sit down on a chair in the distance. "You should've seen it, Richard, the smile on her face." Dan listened to Sarah talking to her husband. "I don't think I've ever seen her this happy." The words struck him like lightning. He sat up straighter. And then it hit him. It didn't matter if he wasn't good enough, that it wasn't going to be perfect or "just like any normal family". She was happy, that was what mattered. Dan ran his fingers through his hair, feeling stupid and selfish to even think about walking out of this moment. He took off his coat and appeared from the bushes right into the ceremony. A rush of adrenaline went through him. "Dan, there you are." His friend and best man called, looking tired from probably searching for him. "Are you ready to see the bride?" Dan smiled and simply nodded.

And there she was, Diana walked down the aisle, holding a bouquet of roses. It was the most beautiful thing Dan had ever seen. She walked over to him, smiling all the way through. The next few minutes went like seconds and before he knew it, Dan was holding Diana's hands. Both of them were crying from happiness and it was Dan's turn to make a promise, a promise to stay with his wife, in sickness and in health, in the good times and the bad times, his vows. And he just knew, that whatever would happen in the future, he was never going to forget that promise.