“You have my word,” Grady said, his voice wobbling.
Robbie placed my hand in Grady's. He straightened his bowtie and took his place at Grady's side, his expression solemn but his eyes shining. Madison stood on the other side of us, with Trevor pressed against her leg, wagging his tail and smiling at me.
Vance waited for me to give my bouquet to Madison and take Grady’s hands. When I was settled, he began by welcoming everyone. “It is a great occasion that brings us together. One that Grady and Esme’s friends prayed for, but weren’t at all certain would happen. But today? Today we’re here to celebrate a great love and the merging of four people into a family. They have written their own vows and will recite them now.” He nodded toward Grady.
Grady’s eyes misted. “Esme, there’s not much better for a man obsessed with surfing than a sunny day at the beach. You are that sunny day. The only thing I’ve wanted since the first day I met you was to be by your side for eternity. I promise to love you, cherish you, and put your needs and desires above my own. Regardless of what comes next—good or bad—I’ll be there, basking in your life-giving light.” He turned to look at Robbie, then Madison. “As for you two, it’s my privilege to be the man in your life who will be there for every important moment. School events. Graduations. Weddings. Robbie winning the Nobel prize.” That brought a chuckle from our friends. “But I also promise to be there for the small moments too. Watching documentaries. Reading together. Spontaneous visits to the ice cream shop. All the moments that make family life sweet—I’ll be there. You can count on me.”
He returned his gaze to me. “Thank you for choosing me, Esme. Being your husband is the best thing that could ever happen to me. I won’t take that for granted.”
My vision blurred slightly from the tears that gathered in my eyes. “Grady, loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done. You make me want to be a better person because you’re so good, so pure of heart. You make me belly laugh and feel safe and understood. Listened to. Thank you for loving my children. And for loving me. Whatever comes next in our love story, I know we can face it together.”
“Grady asked Hunter to play Esme’s favorite song as a surprise,” Vance said.
Grady and Hunter had been quite busy behind the scenes.
Hunter strummed the opening notes of the Indigo Girls’ song, “Closer to Fine.” Hearing his beautiful voice singing the lyrics that had gotten me through so many hard days and nights brought tears to my eyes. Glancing out at my friends, I noticed I wasn’t the only one. Seraphina dabbed under her eyes. Gillian was silently sobbing.
Next, Grace came to stand near the arbor to recite the Mary Oliver poem, “Wild Geese,” in her clear, pretty voice. She looked so lovely in a pink dress that matched the hue of her cheeks. One of our kids doing what she did best. How blessed I was to be part of this village.
“Thank you, Grace,” Vance said. “Well done.”
Grace did a little curtsy and mouthed, “I love you,” to me.
I blew her a kiss and she blew one back.
“And now, we’ll exchange rings,” Vance said.
Robbie untied them from Trevor’s collar and brought them to us. With shaking hands, we slid the rings on each other’s fingers.
Vance smiled, his eyes soft. “Through no authority, other than the warmth of the friendship we all share, I pronounce you husband and wife.”
Trevor barked. Our friends cheered. Madison did a spontaneous pirouette. Robbie smiled, nodding his head. Hunter began playing and singing Jack Johnson’s “Better Together.”
Grady and I, hands clasped, lifted our arms in celebration, both of us crying and laughing at the same time we headed down the aisle.
Better together.How true it was.
We’d chosena taco buffet for our wedding feast. As the sun lowered and the twinkly lights came on, our guests filled their plates. Vance, who had been in charge of choosing the wine, poured glasses for anyone who wanted one.
Once everyone was settled at tables, happily devouring tacos, Robbie got up and went to the microphone for his best man’s speech. Everyone quieted as he took hold of the mic.
“As the best man, I’ve been asked to give a toast.” Robbie pulled a card from his pocket. “Speech giving is not my strongest skill but, as tradition requires it, I will do my best. I’ve researched conventions and determined that best man speeches typically include humor, sentimentality, and at least one embarrassing story about the groom. I will attempt all three, though I make no promises about the humor.”
A ripple of laughter.
“In my research on romantic relationships, I’ve encountered a statistic that I find relevant, and I hope you will too. Studies show that marriages between people who were friends first are significantly more likely to endure. Friendship serves as a foundation and a base of trust, shared experience, and mutual respect that romantic attraction alone cannot replicate.
“The statistical probability of finding a person who is compatible with not just you, but with your children, your friends, your community, and your dog, is extraordinarily low. I ran the numbers. Not a pretty picture, I can assure you. Yet, I admit that sometimes odds and statistics cannot predict the unexpected, irrational nature of love. Or that a man like Grady Nash existed. I did not expect him. I didn’t dare hope for my mother’s broken heart to mend. Or that Madison and I couldlearn to trust that some men do what they say they’re going to do. Not until we met Grady.”
He drew in a breath. “As you may have noticed, I’m not your ordinary cat. Some might even say I’m hard to love. My deepest fear was that I would be the reason my mother would never remarry. Madison, like Mother, is easy to love, but me? Debatable. It’s hard enough for any single mother to find a man who accepts and loves her kids, but toss me into the mix and I would guess it increases the improbability by a lot. For example, my own father could not accept me. But Grady? He never tried to change me. He never ridiculed me because I’m different. He just loves me. There’s no way to explain how something so wonderful happened to us, but it did. It cannot be understood with a flow chart or mathematical calculations. Which leaves me to believe that there is something divine at work. And, for that, I’m grateful.”
He turned to face Grady and me directly. “Grady, thank you for being the one. For all of us.”
There wasn’t a dry eye on that patio, including mine.
Madison ran up to the microphone next and spoke into it with her little girl voice, so sweet my chest ached with love.
“Mommy and Grady, I’m glad you got married, and I love our new house. Thank you, Grady, for not minding that I’m always around. And for letting me get the sparkly shoes even though I didn’t really need them. And most of all, thanks for being our dad now. I prayed and prayed, and never gave up believing that you would be. And God answered my prayers.” She beamed. “I’m glad you’re there when I go to sleep and when I wake up and for going to my teacher conferences and for reading me books. I love you. And I love you, Mommy.”
