Because of You, Well, Us

Kate

Chase and I should have gone for the City Hall option when we had the chance. Planning a wedding was so much work; I swear my dad grew another gray hair every time he wrote out a check. It most likely didn't help that Chase and I wanted a relatively short engagement. I wanted a fall wedding; he didn't want to have to wait over a year to marry me. A sweet guy and very respectful of my wishes, for the most part.

Everything fell perfectly into place. Chase was just happy we both had a job before the wedding, close to each other. I would teach English at Huntsburg High School, just a few towns over from Saraville and Chase got a job as a school psychologist, as well as a psychology teacher actually Saraville Academy, just in the next town. We worked only twenty minutes apart, and figured we could try and eat lunch together. Chase and I had found an apartment, and he lived in it until I moved in after the wedding. He had tried to get me to stay the night more than once, but I always laughed at him and flashed the ring in his face saying, "I don't think my fiancée would like that."

In a blink, the day of the wedding came. I just felt relief that I had gotten everything done in time, mainly because Aunt Shari flew over a week early to help.

I just had Lucy and Casey stand with me. Chase had some cousins of his I had never met with him. Again, the whole day went by in a blink. Aunt Shari and Casey woke me up at the crack of dawn by running into my room and screaming "It's your wedding day!" over and over again. I'm not going to lie, I appreciated the sentiment.

I looked out my window and saw that the sun shone, a relief to both of us. Chase and I had decided to get married in the park down the street since so many milestones in our relationship had happened there, not to mention it seemed the easiest place to get married on such short notice. My dress hung up on the door of my closet, and I became overwhelmed with both nerves and excitement over finally marrying Chase. I wanted to start our life together, but knowing what might happen terrified me. What if we couldn't make it as a married couple? What if we should have never even kissed that first time? But I knew that I loved him and that I had to give this new adventure everything I had.

Aunt Shari helped me get ready. She had taken me out to get a manicure and pedicure the day before, and the same woman who did my nails did my hair and make up for the wedding. My dress stayed simple since we didn't have a lot of time for pickiness, and looked short for a wedding dress since we got married outside. It had this creamy lace, and it had a V shape in the front and the back with cap sleeves. My dad came there when I bought it, and he started crying when I came out in it, calling it a more modern version of the dress my mom wore when they got married. I came down the stairs after putting on my dress, which made my dad cry, which made me cry, and we bothpretty much made a puddle of tears. I tried my best not to let my makeup run, but I know it happened.

Our photographer seemed happy Chase and I lived next door to each other, and it made it possible for him to capture a lot of what happened on film. While my dad and I hugged, he respectfully knocked on the doorway to the kitchen.

"Kate? Chase is ready for you if you're ready."

My dad's voice sounded still thick and he rubbed my back before saying, "She's ready."

...

I woke up that morning and tried acting as calm as possible. Even though Kate and I had an extremely short engagement, it felt like I had waited forever for this day. I guess in a way I had, I'd pretty much known I'd wanted to be with her since her summer in Maine. But now it got here, and I couldn't wait for our life together.

My hands shook as I tied my tie and made final adjustments to my appearance. Then the photographer told me I needed to stop primping and that I got to see Kate now. I stood under the tree between our houses and tried not to let my nerves show. I could feel my heart pounding as I stood under the tree and waited for Kate. My hands still trembled in my pockets, and I couldn't stand still. It felt like that day way back when I picked her up from the airport.

It seemed crazy to think about all that had happened since then. We'd kissed thousands of times, and I had felt too scared to try and kiss her once. We'd slept together, and made a child together, and lost that child together. If you had asked me that day if I ever thought I could do all of that with Kate, I would have said I'd wanted it to, but I wouldn't think it would actually happen.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I felt almost afraid to turn around for fear I would start crying when I saw her. I'd waited so long for something like this to happen with us, and now it was.

Kate looked more ethereal than human. I'd always known her as beautiful, but she looked stunning. I told her this over and over again as I hugged her and felt myself start to cry. I could hear the photographer taking pictures, but I didn't pay attention. I couldn't believe Kate and I would be together. I held her close and kissed her so much that the photographer started teasing us. When Kate pulled away, she was crying.

I ran my thumb over her cheek and laughed, "Why do you always cry when I kiss you? It's starting to ruin my confidence as a kisser." I let out a laugh and Kate smiled.

"Why are you not crying harder? We're finally getting married, Chase."

The excitement in her voice made me shiver and I got this dip in my stomach that told me my nerves were turning into excitement, and I felt my eyes fill. Kate laughed and kissed my cheek.

After a series of pictures in every possible combination of people involved in the wedding, then it became time for me to marry the love of my life. As I stood at the end of our makeshift aisle in the middle of the park, she looked like she floated, and it looked like her dad anchored her to the earth. I couldn't believe I got to marry this person standing before me, the person with whom I'd gone through so much, and the person I'd wanted for so long.

And so the adventure began.

...

Walking down the aisle towards Chase felt one of the most emotional experiences of my life. It may have seemed like a rather short aisle, yet it still felt like the longest walk of my life. I held onto my dad for dear life, and I could feel him pulling me back to make me slow down. Once I was at the head with Chase, I started to calm down. I looked into the eyes that had remained a solace for me for most of my life, and I knew they would continue that way for the rest of my life. I couldn't tell if I wanted to laugh and never stop, collapse with nerves, or start crying again. But when I saw Chase, I knew everything would end up okay. He had never done anything to hurt me, and I knew he never would.

And so began a new chapter in our story.