The Tales of a Professional Hockey Player

Chapter 57: Vows

~Eleanor~

~One year later, July 2019~

I have been staring at myself in the mirror for the past ten minutes. Many people move around me, my mom is buttoning up my dress, Olive is packing the still-warm flat iron, Josephine is touching up her make-up, and my father is running after Ophelia who refuses to put her shoes on. But I don't hear them and I barely see them. I numbed everything to focus on my reflection. No matter how hard I try, I don't recognize the woman in front of me. I never looked so old. My hair, that Olive spent an hour trying to tame, hangs in loose curls over my shoulders and a soft braid holds a few strands on the side of my head. One of Olive's colleague from the salon did my make-up. I asked for something simple and, even if she listened and I love the result, I must look five years older. It's crazy what eyeliner and lipstick can do. Even though I love wearing dresses, I have never worn one like this. I fell in love with it the second I saw it. Its large straps cover just enough of my shoulders, but its deep cleavage advantages my silhouette. I chose an off-white dress to break the white wedding dress mold. In everything we could, we tried to avoid choosing clichés. We chose an ivory and nature theme. There will be green leaves over the tables mixed with a few pale flowers. The bridesmaids only had one criterion when choosing their dress: it couldn't be ivory. Ben's suit is black just like his groomsmens'. Making it to today wasn't always easy, but we made it work. I let my mind divagate to this past year, letting my friends and family members stress for me.

We set our wedding date one year after Ben proposed because we wanted to take our time to plan it and because we were both in busy periods. Moving to California turned out to be more complicated than we thought. Starting all over somewhere completely new turned out harder than we had planned. But we made it and we had a great year. I published my second novel, United in War, in December and it's doing pretty good, even a little bit better than The Tales did. Ben performed extremely well with the Kings. He became this figure of excellence all around the state, continuing to make a name for himself. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the Kings to make it to the playoffs, but I couldn't see any disappointment in Ben. I think he was happy to spend more time at home with Ophelia and me. We had a pretty rough few weeks when I went away for my book tour in January and Ben's schedule was packed. It was a good thing that Trish came over to help Ben with Ophelia since we decided it would be best for her to stay home. I loved having our friends and families closer especially since Ben and I are both on better terms with our parents. Us living in California allowed them to visit more often and to spend time with Ophelia who grows by the minute. We celebrated her third birthday three weeks ago and I still can't believe next year will be her last year of daycare before starting school. It seems like yesterday Ben and I were arguing over sending her there in the first place.

We also waited to get married so Ophelia would be older and could hold a bigger role in the ceremony. She will walk down the aisle with me and my father. It symbolizes Ben coming back home to his family and not just to me. She is not a bridesmaid or a ring carrier, she is the second person Ben and I are marrying because this wedding doesn't only prove our love to the world, it shows how strong of a family we are even if people tried to discourage us. On this thought, Will knocks as he opens the door to our room at the vineyard we chose for the ceremony and the reception.

"It's time, you ready?" he asks, looking at me in the eyes. I smile at him as I repress the tears that are forming in my eyes. It's time. I am about to get married. Weirdly, I am at peace with everything. I am not at all nervous even though I was certain I would be. It must mean I am ready. Will nods before giving the signal to the small band of musicians to start playing. My mother and my grandmother follow him back to where the reception is held. We chose to have it outside, next to the wineries and we couldn't have picked a better day. The sun shines bright and the clouds cleared the sky, leaving it peacefully calm. I take a deep breath before grabbing a hold of my father's arm on one side and holding Ophelia's hand on the other.

Josephine goes first, I had to make her a at least a bridesmaid since she had done the same at her wedding, then it's Megan's turn who is followed by Olive, my maid of honor.

"I always knew," my father whispers in my ear as we start walking. "I always knew you would end up with Ben, and I couldn't be happier for you, honey." I don't need to look at him to know he's crying. I can hear the tears in his voice.

"I love you dad." That's all I can say if I don't want to erupt in an unstoppable fit of tears. I look at my father from the corner of my eye to find him smiling widely. I look in front of me for the first time since we started walking. I see him, standing tall, at the end of the aisle in his black suit and white button-up. I have seen him wear a suit a thousand times before, but this is special. He traded his usual tie for a grey bow tie that compliments the grey handkerchief in his pocket. He styled his hair backwards, or Olive did, and he shaved perfectly. After all this time, I can't believe he's mine to have and to hold, to love and to cherish. My future husband, the father of my child, the love of my life.

We are almost at the end. Olive is turning to the left to go stand next to the other bridesmaids when Ophelia sees her father for the first time since last night. We slept in different rooms last night for the whole "do not see the bride before the wedding" thing and I took Ophelia with me for a special girls' night with Olive, Josephine, Tracy and Megan. As soon as she sees him, she lets go of my hand to run to him. All we can hear is her yelling "daddy!" as she runs down the aisle to throw herself in his arms. Everyone starts laughing as Ben picks her up to give her a kiss on the cheek. I see him whisper something in her ear and she nods. He puts her back down and Ophelia runs to Olive to stand in front of her. Ben gives her a thumbs up before turning his attention back to me. He makes a few steps forward to meet my father and me.

"Thank you, Thomas, for everything," Ben murmurs to my father as he engulfs him in a hug.

"No, thank you, Ben." I exchange one last look with my father before grabbing Ben's arm.

"You look absolutely beautiful," he whispers in my ear as we walk.

"You're not so bad yourself with your bow tie." I wink at him and hear him chuckle. This is the kind of wedding I wanted. The kind where we have fun and where we don't cry about everything. We're young, we deserve that kind of wedding.

The ceremony goes smoothly, without any other intervention from Ophelia who stays quietly beside Olive the entire time. We both managed not to cry so far, but I can feel it coming. Alex just brought the rings forward, so that means the vows are coming and that's where I know the tears I have been holding back will come out. Right on cue, the officiant turns towards Ben, asking for his vows. We have been holding hands from the start, but now that we are looking directly in each other eyes, the moment just got a lot more intense.

"People usually say that, when they met their wife or husband, they didn't know they would end up married to that person. Well I knew. I knew from the second I met you that I needed you in my life, that you would make me better. And you did, El. You helped me transform into this version of myself I never knew existed. I promise you to stay this person, but to continue to grow with you. I promise to love you, to respect you, to inspire you, to never run out of confidence in you and in us. But, most of all, I promise to make you laugh, to keep signing Set Fire to the Rain and It's Raining Man in the shower, to make you coffee before leaving in the morning and to bring home take-out at night. I promise to make you as happy as you make me every single day, to never leave you alone. I promise you to be there because I'll never ever want to leave. You're my everything, Eleanor Martin, and I'll spend the rest of my life proving it to you."