The reverend was short, swallowed by his officiant’s gown. His brown skin was dull and wrinkled, but his kind smile brightened his face. He spoke in a thick accent. “Hello, Nina. I’m Father Julian.”
I nodded, my gaze returning to Jared.
“We gather here, in the presence of God and this company, that Jared and Nina be united in holy matrimony. We here to celebrate and share in glorious act that God is about to perform—the act by which He converts their love for one another into holy and sacred state of marriage.
“This relationship is honorable and sacred, established by our Creator for welfare and happiness of humanity, and approved by Apostle Paul as honorable among all men. It is designed to unite two sympathies and hopes into one; and rests upon mutual confidence and devotion of husband and wife. May it be in extreme thoughtfulness and reverence, and in dependence upon divine guidance, that you enter now into this holy relationship.”
Jared didn’t take his eyes from mine. Just a few feet away from him, Father Julian stepped down to meet me. He looked to Eli, and spoke with a thick accent, “Being assured that your love and your choice of each other as lifelong companions are in God's will and that you have your families’ blessings. I now ask. Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”
“We do,” Eli said with confidence. He spoke for my father, for Cynthia. He might have even spoken for Gabe, but I felt Heaven was smiling on the moment.
Eli lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles, and then took Jared’s hand, placing his gently under mine. With a small, tender squeeze, Eli left us alone at the bottom of the steps, disappearing behind the double doors he had just helped me through.
Jared raised an eyebrow, a permanent smile etched on his face. “That was unexpected.”
“Jack sent him,” I said, feeling my eyes gloss over.
Jared touched my face once, and then the reverend spoke again. This time his voice blurred into the background as I watched the blues and grays of Jared’s eyes shine in ways I’d never seen them. His expression was relaxed and nervous; happy and concerned; every emotion he’d ever felt collided inside of him in a beautiful display of the barely noticeable shifts in the skin around his eyes and mouth. No one could have noticed it but me, and I read each one as he struggled with a lifetime of duty, and the relief of hearing me promise myself to him.
“Jared Ryel?” Father Julian said. “Are you ready to enter into this marriage with Nina Grey, believing the love you share and your faith in each other will endure all things?”
“I am,” Jared said simply.
“Nina Grey?”
“I am!”
Our small audience laughed at my haste. Jared chuckled as well.
Father Julian regrouped, and then finished his part. “Are you ready to enter into this marriage with Nina Grey, believing the love you share and your faith in each other will endure all things?”
I waited for the minister to correct his mixup, but he never did.
I nodded quickly. “To Jared Ryel. Yes. I’m ready.”
Father Julian didn’t skip a beat. “Nina, do you take Jared to be your wedded husband? Promise to love him, to honor and cherish him, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to him in all things a good and faithful wife as long as you both shall live?”
“Yes.”
Father Julian repeated Jared’s vows. The closer he came to the end, the tighter Jared’s fingers were around mine. Finally, when it came time for Jared to speak, he didn’t hesitate.
“Yes, and after that,” Jared said. “For a thousand years, and then a thousand more…I will love you.”
A smile stretched across my face. His hands were cupped around mine a bit too tight, and his body leaned into mine eagerly. This was the moment he had waited for, and he seemed to want to take it all in and rush it at the same time so nothing could keep him from it. That moment in time was the light switch in a dark room, the doorway at the end of a scary hallway. It was anything and everything that had ever saved anyone.
Father Julian closed his eyes. “Father in heaven, You ordained marriage for your children, and You gave us love. We present to You Jared and Nina, who come this day to be married. May the covenant of love they make be blessed with true devotion and spiritual commitment. We ask that You, God, will give them the ability to keep the covenant they have made. When selfishness shows itself, grant generosity; when mistrust is a temptation, give moral strength; when there is misunderstanding, give patience and gentleness; if suffering becomes a part of their lives, give them a strong faith and an abiding love. Amen.”
I opened my eyes to see Jared looking at me with total love and devotion, more so than I ever saw in the proud eyes of my father.
“What token do you give to perform your vows?”