We love.
~ Romeo’s Quest
Ashlyn went back to school, finishing off the last two years of her college degree. We made it our job to visit each other as often as possible, and when she came back to Edgewood, Wisconsin she moved into my big kid’s apartment. We spent the next year falling more in love, finding out more facts about one another. She kept writing, only growing stronger at her craft and decided she wanted to get a Master’s degree—but she stayed a lot closer to home for that program.
Home.
That’s what we were… We were home.
And today I wasn’t nervous. My hands were just sweaty and the damn bowtie wouldn’t tie. “Breathe, Daniel…” Where the hell was my best man? Wasn’t he the one in charge of the damn bowties that wouldn’t tie? Of course not. Jace wouldn’t know how to do it either.
My hands rubbed against the back of my neck before giving up on the tie and moving to the cuffs on my shirt.
“How are ya doing?”
I looked up to see Henry standing in the doorway, his tuxedo fully put together, his tie perfectly crafted.
There was a slight hesitation when I looked at him, my fingers shaking from some weird feeling—but it wasn’t nerves!
Well, maybe it was nerves.
“This damn bowtie is killing me and Jace is nowhere to be found.”
“Let me,” he said, walking over to me. His began helping me out and I sighed. Now I was extremely nervous. Henry always made me feel that way. “She’s something else, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, she is.”
His hands worked as if he had been a professional bowtie expert in a past life. “If you hurt her, I will kill you and make it look like an accident.”
I laughed out loud until I looked into his scary, stern eyes on me. Swallowing hard, I felt him tightening the bowtie. “Henry,” I coughed.
“Dan.”
“You’re choking me.”
A sly smile found his lips and he loosened the bowtie. He stepped back and nodded toward me before he held out an envelope to me. “Be good to her, son.”
The word son hit my ears and I nodded, taking the letter from him. He turned to walk away and I called after him. When he looked back, I smiled. “Thanks for your help.”
“I just tied a bowtie. No big deal.”
But we both knew he had done so much more than that.
He left me alone with the envelope and I opened it, finding two letters inside. I pulled out the first one and began reading Ashlyn’s words.
Mr. Daniels,
The answer to where I want to be in five years? Simple.
With you.
P.S. I saved a letter from the fire.
Forever Forever,
Ashlyn.
I’d never known it was possible to love someone so much. My hand reached into the envelope and pulled out the second letter, and I pounded my fist against my lips, taking it all in.
To Whom It May Concern,
Hi there. I’m not sure if we have met, but since today is the day you’re marrying my sister, I thought I would say hello. Since I can’t stand up in front of everyone to give my maid 0f honor speech, I’ll give it to you.
When Ashlyn and I were seven, she found a spider in our room, and instead of smashing it, she wanted to take it outside so it could live a nice spider life. It later crawled on her and she killed it by mistake. She cried for three days straight.
When we were fifteen, she dated a total loser, and when he broke up with her, she cried for four days straight.
When she found out I was sick, she cried more days than I could count.
She has the biggest heart in the world, and I know you have seen all sides of it. It takes a strong man to love my sister. And you are a strong man. So here are some twin-tips for you from yours truly:
Read her Shakespeare when she cries.
Take walks in the rain and jump in the puddles with her.
Don’t mind her when she calls you an a*shole during ‘that time of the month’—she’s a total bitch at those times.
Buy her flowers because it’s Tuesday.
Make her do things that scare her.
Don’t be a pushover—we don’t like that.
Don’t be a dick either—we hate that.
Smile at her when you’re mad.
Dance with her in the middle of the day.
Kiss her just because.
Love her forever.
Thank you for loving my best friend, brother.
Keep up the good work.
-Your new sis, Gabby
I stared at the words for the longest time, tears streaming down my cheeks. The door to the room opened and Jace peeked his head inside. My hands brushed against my eyes and I turned to him.
“You ready, Danny? The photographer wants a few shots of the groomsmen before the ceremony,” he said smiling my way.
I walked over to him and wrapped my arm around his shoulder. “I’m ready.”
He smirked my way. “You know how to tie a bowtie?”
I snickered and rolled my eyes. “Of course. Don’t you?”
“So help me God, if you move, I’ll kick your ass. Don’t. Breathe,” Hailey muttered behind me, my hands resting on my waist. I stood as still as possible, staring out the window at the beautiful landscape. The sun lay golden-soft over the huddle hills.
Hailey pulled the ribbon of my corset tight, cutting off my air supply for a moment.
“Okay, on the count of three, exhale… One…two…three!”
I breathed out, bending forward as much as the gown allowed me to. A robin danced past the window, and I followed it with my finger, watching it fly higher and higher toward the nonexistent clouds of the day. The sky was completely blue in all directions.
Turning around to face Hailey and Mom, I listened to them inhale deep, but a following exhale never came.
“I look fat!” I cried, running my hands across the lace material.
Mom’s eyes watered over as she walked closer to me and placed her hands in mine. “You look like the most beautiful bride.”
My lips turned up. “It’s a good day to get married, isn’t it?”
Hailey clapped her hands together and poured champagne. “It’s a perfect day for a wedding!”
There was a knock at the door, and I moved a curl of hair from my face. “Come in. Unless you’re Daniel. Then you stay out.”
The door knob turned and two people walked in with boxes in their hands. Jace and Bentley. They were in suits and looked extremely dapper. When they turned to me, I blushed because of how their mouths hung open. I shifted around at the silence, begging them to speak.
“Ashlyn, you look…” Bentley smiled, showing his deep dimples.
“Perfect,” Jace finished, his blue eyes brighter than the day. “Um, sorry. We’ll leave you to finish getting ready. We just had a few things to give to you.”
Bentley walked over to me and opened the first box. “Something old and something new. Gabby’s favorite guitar pick placed on a new diamond necklace.”
My eyes glossed over as Hailey lifted my hair and Bentley placed the necklace around my neck. I thanked him with a kiss on his cheek.
Jace stepped up next with a smaller box. “And something borrowed and something blue.” The box opened and I gasped. “It was our mom’s favorite pair of blue diamond earrings. You don’t have to wear them. I just thought…”
His worries were taken away because I removed the studs from my ears and quickly replaced them with the beautiful earrings.
Jace wrapped me in a hug and held on tight. “He’s one lucky bastard.”
“Is he nervous?”
Jace gave me a wicked smile and reached into his back pocket. Pulling out an envelope, he placed it in my hands. “He told me to give it to you.”
My fingers traced over the letter and I smiled, knowing that it was his letter he’d written years ago about where he wanted to be in five years. I’d already had Henry deliver my letter to Daniel.
Mom smiled to everyone. “How about we give the bride-to-be a few minutes to read?” Everyone agreed and left the room.
I sat in a chair, opening the letter.
My Sweets,
You asked me where I saw myself in five years, and the only answer I can come up with is with you. We’ll be so deeply in love that the world will envy us. We’ll be so ridiculously happy that the flowers will grow from our laughter. In five years from now, you will be mine, and I will be yours.
If things go the way my heart is begging them to go, you will be my wife. I don’t know if we will have children by that point, but there will be children in our future. I will wake up every morning with your sweet smile and emerald eyes on me. I will fall asleep to your touch, your heat. So on the day we say ‘I do,’ just know how much I do love you. There is no question to the truth of the words, no doubt that fills me inside. From this day forth, the only thing I ever want to do is love you.
Always Always,
Mr. Daniels
His words were embedded into my soul. Daniel Daniels was now a part of me. But truth be told, I thought he’d already been there before I was even born.
After a while, Mom and Henry came back to get me. The sweet, romantic music began to play. The church doors opened slowly. Henry wrapped his arm around mine. All of our loved ones stood up, staring at me.
Yet I couldn’t notice them.
My eyes were glued to the handsome man standing at the end of the aisle. He was grinning, giving me the kindest smile in the universe, and I couldn’t help but smile back as I stared into those eyes of his.
Beautiful.
Breathtaking.
Brilliant.
Blue eyes.
And for the first time in forever, I knew that, no matter what—no matter the obstacles in life, no matter the challenges—we would make it. He was my golden, and I was his.
Forever forever and always always.
We were more than okay.
The End