I slide my hands into the pocket of my pants.
I palm the wedding rings in my right pocket, feeling the rough edge of diamonds. I’ll hand them to Julian and Maya when they exchange vows in less than an hour.
When I close my hand around the two rings in my left pocket, I’m immediately comforted by the smoothness of them. They are plain, thin, silver bands that represent a love that will never die.
I tug my hand out and open my palm. “I haven’t told a soul, Matilda.”
She reaches for her ring. She slides it back onto her ring finger. “I hate that I’m not wearing it today.”
I slide mine on too. “My hand feels bare.”
“We’ll tell them in a few days that we’re married, won’t we?” Her eyes lock with mine. “We’ll tell everyone everything.”
The story is as simple as it is complicated.
I married the love of my life a week ago on a beach in Mexico.
We took the trip to celebrate our love, our future and my appointment to the position of sergeant. I’ll be working in the division I wanted with new police officers.
The day before we left, a bouquet of black roses was left on the step of the house we bought in Queens, but this time Matilda caught sight of the man who dropped them off as she was coming up the street after taking our dog, Lunar, for a walk.
She called me as she set off after him, following him as he strolled leisurely down the sidewalk completely unaware that she was behind him. Panic ran through me as I drove through the streets of the city, calling for any units close to where she was.
The asshole was apprehended. His grudge was rooted in an arrest I made of his brother a year-and-a-half ago.
Two days later as we walked in the warm sand and the sun was setting, I asked her to marry me. She accepted and after we made love that night, we decided that we didn’t need anything but two simple rings and our vows.
She was stunning in a white sundress with her long hair blowing in the breeze and a single white rose in her hand. I wore a white dress shirt and dark blue pants. I had packed them hoping to wear them to take her out to a nice dinner.
Instead, I stood on the beach barefoot with the shirt untucked and my belt left on the bed at the hotel.
We’ll get married again here, in a small ceremony in our backyard in a couple of months so that the people who love us can share in our happiness.
She slides the ring off and hands it to me. “Guard it with your life.”
I kiss it before sliding off mine and tucking them both back in my pocket. “I only agreed to hold off on telling anyone because I know you don’t want to take anything away from Maya’s special day.”
“I want her to have today.” She wraps her arms around me. “She’s waited for this day for a long time.”
“I’ve waited for you forever,” I counter with a soft kiss on her mouth.
“You have me now so never let me go.”
“I won’t, Mrs. Wolf.” I press my lips to hers. “I’ll never let you go.”
