Trials and Consequences of Love

Chapter 30

Forever in love – Kenny G.

"To journey, to love, to friendship, to happy endings, to new beginnings, to growth, to us, to forever" – "A Toast", Anonymous.

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🌸Teresa🌸

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony" the priest begins and my heart flutters, not only with love but with pride.

This probably isn't a dream wedding but it is all I will ever need; what matters most is that at the end of the day the man I love will be my husband and I will be his wife. There aren't many people here but every part of my heart is here and that is what is important.

Emily is eight months pregnant and literally waddling and Aria is five months pregnant -with a healthy baby boy- and I thought it would have been fair to have them sit rather than walk the aisle but they insisted that everything we do, we do together and this shouldn't be any different. I didn't agree but earlier today when I saw them in their light blue cowl neck maxi silk dresses my heart swelled with pride and adoration; I had the same reaction when I saw the guys in their light blue suits, looking as handsome as ever. But the show stopper for me wasn't the picturesque overlook -decorated with pretty white chairs, pink and white roses- it was Aston in his white tuxedo.

I had both my parents walk me down the aisle, my mother gushed about my beaded lace illusion off-shoulder mermaid gown the entire time and my father kept telling me how happy he is for me. Aston cried when I walked down the aisle and I flashed him my sandals -sandals that Alia almost knocked my head off for wearing- to cheer him up; I also called him ugly just so he could laugh. I was afraid to walk out here, a small part of me was telling me that Aston would eventually realize that marriage is a long and bumpy road and I'm not worth it but when I came out here, the way he looked at me as I basically skipped down the aisle, the intensity in his gaze, the love in his eyes made me feel like the luckiest woman alive.

The way his thumb is rubbing circles on the back of my hands keep me from ascending to cloud nine; it reminds me that is not a dream, this is real. He will be my husband and I will be his wife before the sun makes her last appearance for the day.

"Do you, Aston Delaney, take this woman to be your wife, to live together in matrimony, to love her, to honour her, to comfort her, and to keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?" the official asks and the smile that lights up his face makes my heart do things I did not know was possible.

"I do, with everything I have in me," he says and my heart literally leaves my chest and fly into his -as cliché as that may sound-.

"And do you, Teresa Aiko take this man to be your husband, to live together in holy matrimony, to love him, to honour him, to comfort him, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?" he asks and I nod frantically.

"I do" I return Aston's smile.

"The ring is an ancient symbol, so perfect and simple. It has no beginning and it has no end. It is a circle; for love that is given, comes back around. Your rings are precious because you wear them with love. They symbolize your commitment to marriage. They remind you of who you are, where you are and where you're going. As you wear them through time, they will reflect not only who you are as individuals, but also who you are as a couple" the priest says as Alexandre and Aurora hand us the rings.

"There is so much I could say to you right now but I'm afraid that even if I recited an entire book, it would not be enough. You have been my best friend, my mentor, my playmate, my greatest challenge and my greatest accomplishment. You Teresa Aiko are the love of my life, you make me happier by the minute, you inspire me to be a better man every day. I loved you before I knew the meaning of love and as much as you find pleasure in annoying me there is nothing about you that I would change. I would promise you for better and for worst but I think that goes without saying. When you were at your best, I knew I loved you but it was when you were at your worst that I knew that I wanted you to be my wife and all the days in between your best and worst made me realize that there is nowhere I would rather be than by your side. You are my life, my entire world, you are every ounce of strength that I have, you are my 'dream girl'. My heart belongs to you and only you. I swear on my life and the life of our unborn children that I will respect, encourage, support, honour, love and appreciate you for the rest of our days. I promise that I will spend every waking moment of my life working on our love, I promise that no matter where life takes us, I will always be there by your side, in sickness and in health; in good times and bad. Every day will not be perfect but with this ring, I promise you that I will care for you and cherish you even on days it seems there is no hope. I promise to protect you from any and everything. I swear to you that even in the toughest of times I will want you as much as I wanted you when we were having the time of our lives. You will always be my little blue, and with this ring, I vow to take you Teresa Aiko to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, to love and to cherish till death do us part" when the ring hits the base of my finger, every promise I made to myself that I wouldn't cry flies over the cliff behind me.

"With this ring, I promise you forever and every day after that. I promise that not even death will be enough to keep us apart. You are more me than I am myself and I cannot imagine life without you beside me. You mean the world to me, and there is nothing in this world that I would not do for you, you are my best friend, you are more than just my mentor -you are my motivation-. Everything I do, I do for you. Without you by my side, life would have no meaning. Love for me began with you and with you is where it will end. To say you're the love of my life would be the understatement of the last twenty centuries. I don't know what kind of spell you have me under but the best parts of my days are waking up to your smug face every morning and falling asleep to the sound of your voice every night. You are the one person I know I wouldn't be able to live without. I love you more every day and though nothing in life is certain I can promise you that there will never be a day that your smile will not bring me joy, that your laugh will not make my heart do somersaults, that your voice will not bring me comfort and your presence will not bring me peace. I will forever be in love with you Aston and with this ring, I promise to be there for you, protect you, support you, encourage you, respect you, appreciate you, honour you. I promise to stand by your side, I swear that I will never turn my back on you and I promise you that I will never hesitate to slap you silly if I see you losing your senses. I promise that I will do everything in my power to ensure that we grow together, I promise that working on ways to strengthen our love will become my favourite pastime. Right here, right now, I Teresa Aiko take you, Aston Delaney, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish even after death tries to do us part; according to God's holy ordinance" I smile up at him through my tears as I slide the ring onto his finger.

"By the power vested in me by God and man, I pronounce you wife and husband. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder. You may now kiss the bride."

The moment the words leave the priest's lips I feel Aston's hand on the back of my neck; the cheers and whistles from our family and friends make me smile widely as his lips touch my lips. This kiss is more than just a simple peck on the lips, it is slow and steady, deep and sensual; this kiss is a promise, an expression of pure, raw and uncut love. The kiss is tender and unlike any other kiss, we've ever shared before. The kiss tastes of new beginnings, togetherness and the type of strength only found in love.

***

"Wait, wait" I snatch the microphone from Alexandre before he can make his best man speech.

"T, this is your wedding we're the ones that should be making the speeches," Kyle says from his side of the table.

"You're right Kyle, this is my wedding so that means God is the only one that can tell me what I can't do" I smile at him.

"Besides, I don't want to make a speech, I want to propose a toast"

"A toast to what?" Aria asks and I smile again.

"To us, all of us"

"This has been a hell of a year; we've been through so much -both collectively and individually-; though we were going through all that there was never a point where either of us gave up on the other. We grew together this year, we fought for each other but most importantly we held each other, held onto each other for dear life"

"Love came at us and she came strong; her trials nearly broke all of us and most of her consequences nearly killed us; but look at us now. Stronger than we were a year ago and definitely happier. This is a year we will all remember, we'll remember how we came together, we'll remember how we showed up and showed out for each other, we'll remember the lesson we learnt, we'll remember everything we lost, we'll remember how like phoenixes, we rose from the ashes of the bridges we burned, we'll remember the strength it took us to get through this year, we'll remember everything -both good and bad- that we felt this year; but most importantly we'll remember how we overcame the Trials and Consequences of Love together"

Picking up my flute I hold it in the air "This is to us overcoming the Trials and Consequences of Love, together. Siempre y para siempre"

"Siempre y para siempre" they say in unison and our glasses meet mid-air, signifying the end to a bittersweet chapter and the beginning of the unknown.

[The End.]

Thank you for going on this journey with me; I appreciate you.