“Anyway,” Aaron interrupts. “Beating myself up is my favorite pastime. But, as I recently discovered, it does no good. It only makes me feel terrible about life. And there is so much more to life than that. There is joy in the simplest things. Cooking scrambled eggs for the love of your life. Taking a walk, hand-in-hand, through a forest, with no one around for miles. Except for a nosy park ranger who may or may not be a voyeur.”
Cam snickers.
“There is also joy in waking up in the arms of someone you love and knowing you want to see this face, every day, for the rest of your life,” Aaron pauses to clear his throat. “And even if you did get forever, it would still not be long enough to tell her how much you love her and how much you respect her.”
“I didn’t write that part,” Cam frowns.
“No, but you should have. Because it’s true,” Aaron takes her hand in his. “I love you. I respect you. And when I think of the tough days you weathered on your own, it physically pains me. I never want to see you hurt like that again. And if I can prevent it, I will. I’m yours, forever, Camellia. However you want me, until the day I die.”
Cam’s eyes well with tears. These are not the angry tears of frustration she tries to hide. These are tears of love and joy. She swipes at her cheeks, then looks at the vows Aaron wrote for her.
“This only says - be mine, forever,” Cam laughs. “Those aren’t vows. Those are Valentine’s Day heart sentiments!”
Aaron squeezes her hand. “That’s because I don’t need fancy words. I simply need you.”
“Well, how about I give you some fancy words, anyway?” Cam tilts her head.
Aaron nods.
“It’s a funny thing to find forever when you’re young,” Cam begins. “To find the love of your life. I didn’t know what I had until I lost it. And I spent years searching everywhere for it. I desperately tried to fill the void left behind, and nothing worked. Not even my favorite guys - Jack, Jimmy, and Patron.”
Luis’ eyebrows shoot up to the sky, but he remains silent. Probably wondering how to take out these guys with his trusty shotgun.
“I think she’s talking about drinking,” Carmen stage-whispers to Luis.
Wysdom snickers.
Cam clutches Aaron’s hands. “The thing about running from your problems, though. They always catch up to you. No matter how far away you go, you can’t run away from yourself. No matter how much you drink, you can’t drown out the regrets. No matter how much you try to mold someone else into the answer, you’ll never find it outside of yourself. It was only when my best friend in the whole world forced me to take a good look at myself, I could see what I was missing.
“I gave Aaron a lot of grief about not trusting me, but when the chips were down, I didn’t trust myself. I didn’t love myself enough totrustthat the right thing would come along, at the right moment in my life.”
Tears trek down Aaron’s face. Cam can barely see through her own watery vision.
“So, from this day forward, I vow that we stop beating ourselves up for the past and live in the present. I pledge to trust myself, and you, with my heart for the future. And I swear to love and fight for our family until the day that I die.”
“Sounds pretty good to me,” Aaron kisses her cheek.
Wysdom slaps him on the arm. “We have the wholering-a-ma-ding thingto do, first, Chief.”
Aaron winks at her.
“Well, go on then, trade rings,” Wysdom hands them the rings.
Aaron slips a platinum band on Cam’s finger. She slides a similar ring onto his hand.
“By the power vested in me, byyou don’t give a flying leap who,” Wysdom winks. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Go on then, kiss her, Chief!”
Aaron sweeps Camellia up into his arms. He kisses her with the heat of a thousand wildfires to the catcalls of their families.
“I love you,” Aaron whispers as they come up for air.
“Love you back, Sparky,” Cam kisses him again.