Turning toward the hand on my shoulder, I meet Jax’s judgmental glare.
“Chill, brother.” The endearment tugs at my heart and makes me yearn for it to be my twin standing here beside me the same way I stood for him on his wedding day. Jax is my brother, too.I love him. I’m glad he’s here. It’s just that some days it feels like my heart will never stop missing Abel.
Just after Vaughn’s friend stops in her designated position as bridesmaid, Abbi steps through the double doors right in time to pull me out of my grief spiral. It’s only now that I’m present enough to recognize the song that’s playing. “Boom Clap”. One of our favorites. And here’s Abbi.My sister. She’s beautiful.She’s wearing a long, tight black dress in...satin....maybe. It’s beautiful and definitely more Vaughn than traditional in style. There’s a large cutout in the front showing a lot of Abbi’s stomach. A very high slit has her leg fully visible with every step she takes.Abel would have loved seeing her in this.
Next is Evie, and holy shit, they weren’t kidding. Vaughn offered to tone it down for Eve’s sake, but Eve wasn’t having it. She told Vaughn to pick out the dress she envisioned her in, and she would wear it.It’s very Vaughn.A two-piece. Tight. Long. Black as night.Gorgeous. Adam is definitely squirming in his seat about Jax walking her back down the aisle in that dress.This is my favorite day. She’s wearing flats, and I chuckle at this. No one wants a sprained ankle mucking up a beautiful wedding.
Just as Eve settles into her position as maid of honor, my handsome nephew appears. Abel is in full Navy uniform, just like his dad wore. Just like I’m wearing now. Through the welling tears, I see the box he’s carrying. This must have the rings in it. Abel comes to my side, looking up at me with a proud smile when “A Thousand Years” starts playing on the overhead speakers.It’s time.
Just past the open double doors that Abel came through are cream-colored curtains. As the music starts, the curtains part to reveal...the embodiment of every prayer I ever sent, every wish I never voiced. It’s her. Vaughn. My bride.
“Holy shit, man. Well done.”
My face is slack, and my eyes are wide. All I can say is, “Yeah. Incredible.” My words are so low, I can’t be sure he even hears me.
In all my years, in all the places, the things, and people I’ve seen couldn’t have prepared me for this moment. This incredible sight. Vaughn’s hair is part up, and it has...I think that’s tiny flowers in it.Her hair is full. Almost messy.Beautiful.Sometimes I think her hair is my favorite feature, but then she has those tits and that ass and those thighs and well....just fucking all of her.
Her dress isn’t white.No surprise there.It’s cream and nude. Two colors I previously would’ve referred to as off-white and tan, but wedding planning has taught me things no Navy SEAL should ever have to know. The dress has a deep V shape in the front and comes down unevenly just past the top of her thighs. Past that, it’s sheer with lace pieces strategically placed to maximize the sex appeal of the whole look.Breathe Eli. Keep breathing.There’s a much fuller and longer skirt that comes around the back and finishes on her hips, leaving the sheer front open to view. This longer portion is the only piece that sets it apart as a wedding dress. The rest is pure sex.Pure Vaughn.
Marshall stands proudly beside her, her arm laced through his. He’s beaming. The guys both wanted both jobs and left it up to us to decide who would be my best man and who would give Vaughn away. Ultimately, everyone is happy with what we chose to do.
The closer Vaughn gets, the weaker my resolve becomes. I want to go to her, grab her up, and finish out the ceremony with her legs wrapped around me and her lips on mine.
They finally reach the end of the aisle, and Jax leaves his position beside me to stand with Vaughn.
“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”
No one can give me what is already mine. What was born MINE.
In perfect unison, as though they have been preparing for this day all their lives, the Tweedle Twins say, “We do”. They each turn to Vaughn, smiling and kissing her on the forehead before joining Abel and Grizzly at my side. Grizzly happily agreed to stand up here with me today. He flew all the way in from North Carolina with his wife and daughters. He’s a good man and one of my oldest friends.One of the few I have left alive.
My turn.Taking my bride’s hand, I lead her to her last stand as Vaughn Webb. Vaguely, I notice the guests take their seats and the officiant says some words, but all I see is her. All I hear is the beat of her heart in tune with mine. Everything I’ve done in my life has led me here, so even though there’s grief in that, even though there’s pain...I can’t regret any of it, and I’d do it all again to stand right here with her promising forever.
We each wrote our own vows, and there are no dry eyes to be seen. Excluding Adam, of course, because Satan doesn’t have tear ducts. Eve, Abbi, and Willow are audibly sobbing on Vaughns side, and my mom is making a squeaking sound I’ve never heard from her in the front row.It’s perfect. Everything is perfect.It’s the over-the-top elaborate event that Vaughn dreamed of.
No one is surprised when Satan steps out of his seat to, not so discreetly, wrench Eve away from Jax. He then continues walking her down the aisle while Jax laughs loudly beside them. Everyone is surprised, however, when Mulligan, Eve and Adam’s three-legged, one-eyed pirate dog in full tuxedo steals an entire tray of shrimp and later clears the dance floor with the most toxic gas that has ever come from a living entity.Fucking dog.He was only invited because he apparently helped save everyone at the final showdown with Eve’s psycho kidnapper. I refuse to call him her dad, as he does not deserve the title, and I have serious doubts about the validity of his claim.
The night seemed to go on forever. It has been the greatest day of my life, and all I could do was count the minutes until I could be alone again with my wife. Vaughn and I are standing on the balcony in the honeymoon suite of the Commodore Perry Estate, where our wedding was held. My wife is looking out over the stunning gardens of the beautiful, European style estate. Me...I’m looking at her.My forever. Mrs. Washington. Fucking Mrs. Washington. My Mrs. Washington.
It doesn’t seem like any of this should be possible, and I won’t dare question how it is.
“Was it everything you hoped it would be, Mrs. Washington?”
She turns to look at me in a completely different makeup look than the one she had in her wedding dress.I love that.I love how much she enjoys expressing herself through her style, whether that be makeup, clothing, shoes, or something else. Apparently, this dark eye look and red lipstick is better suited to the white bits of fabric she wore to our reception.
“It’s you who is everything I hoped for, Mr. Washington. It’s you. Forever.”
I lean down and capture her mouth in what is possibly our 487th kiss as man and wife.
Downstairs, everyone is having breakfast on the veranda. Standing here at this serene, grand estate feels like being transported back to Europe. Stunning gardens. Elegant architecture and an overall old-world feel. The Four Seasons was more expensive, but the Commodore was just...more.
Vaughn is still upstairs in the library with Eve. That is, undoubtedly, where she will be until we leave here later today. We’ll be catching a flight to Barbados and honeymooning on the Harrismith Beach there. Harrismith is beautiful and perfectly secluded. It’s also one of the few places I’ve never been. The honeymoon is a gift from Eve and Adam. They gifted it to us only two days after we announced our engagement. Eve says that Adam stayed up all night scouring the internet for the best beaches and arranged everything with his travel agent the next day. I’m skeptical.Satan doesn’t need a travel agent with all his devil magic.
As excited as I am to have Vaughn all to myself on a private beach, I’m most excited to present her with my wedding gift to her. She bought me a customized Chey Tac rifle. I nearly cried. Well, maybe I cried a little bit. It’s a Chey Tac. I’m expecting tears when I hand her the gift that I’ve been working on since the first night we hung out in her apartment. We finished up the last design edits a week before the wedding, and it’s been sitting in my packed suitcase ever since then.
Vaughn eventually comes down to tell everyone bye. We’re all hugging and smiling and saying our‘Love you too’s’ when I notice Abbi standing alone, looking out onto the grounds. Reaching her side, I see there’s a tear on her cheek. She quickly wipes it away, smiling and wrapping me in a tight hug.
“You doin okay, kid?”
