With Your Heart Wide Open

I Do

On the morning of the wedding, Jeremy was practicing his vows. Excitement and nervousness crossed paths in his mind. The wedding was scheduled for late afternoon, and he couldn't wait.

His grandpa smiled, seeing him pacing the room, "History repeats itself,"

"Huh?" Jeremy asked,

"That's exactly how I behaved before marrying your grandma. I called her every hour before driving to church,"

"Yeah? Now, I know the feeling. Marriage is such a big step. Sometimes it scares me,"

The old man put his hand on Jeremy's shoulder, "Marriage is all about passion and communication. You have both. Leonie is a wonderful young lady, and you have a great support system. There's nothing to be afraid of,"

"I know. It's just..."

"Enough of that kind of talk. You're going to be happy and give me many great-grandchildren. And you better do it early 'cause I'm not getting younger,"

Jeremy smiled, "Thanks for the pressure, Pop,"

 Although the wedding had been advanced, Jeremy felt like they did a good job preparing it. Leonie wanted to get married outdoors, and Red Valley's landscape was appealing enough to encourage her to stay here. Stephen was still going to be the pastor. Despite his personal feelings toward him, Jeremy had to admit that Stephen was good at what he did. The man knew how to talk. Also, it seems like he and Esther were planning on getting back together. Jeremy didn't completely agree, but as long as Esther was happy, he could learn to tolerate the guy.

Aaliyah was still unhappy with the situation, but Jeremy was happy to see that she was getting used to it. During rehearsals, she sounded ecstatic enough to be the flower girl, especially after seeing the dress she was going to wear.

Maybe everything was going smoothly, after all, Jeremy thought. Since he woke up, he felt the urge to call Leonie, to hear her voice, to see if she was as nervous as him. But he couldn't. She was probably busy applying a face mask or whatever. 

So, he sat to polish his wedding vow. As he was trying to find advanced synonyms for some words, he heard knocking.

"The door is not locked," he said, annoyed because he forgot a word that he intended to slide into the conclusion.

He looked up and saw Leonie standing in front of him. 

He quickly got up, "Honey, it's not good to see the bride before the wedding," he scolded.

"It doesn't matter. I called off the wedding,"

"What?! It's that a joke. Are you getting back at me because of the last April Fool's prank?"

"Jeremy, you know I don't prank,"

He got closer, "Then, tell me what's going on," he sounded alarmed.

Even the usually composed Leonie seemed out of breath. She managed to calm herself to say, "I talked to your grandma. Esther was here too. They know that the wedding is off,"

"But, why?"

"I can't marry you, and you know that,"

"Honey, are you having second thoughts?"

"No, it's a decision,"

"What happened? "

She took a deep breath, "You don't love me,"

Jeremy felt like someone threw cold water at him, "What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Stop trying to convince yourself. You don't love me, and deep down, you know that,"