more than i can hold in my heart.

wedding advice

Tuck's hands trembled as he tried his best to put his tie on. He cursed under his breath as he untied it again.

A knock came to the door, and he glanced at it as it opened. "Hey, baby, are you ready?" He stayed quiet, not answering his mother. "William George."

He sighed and turned away from the mirror. "I can't put it on properly," he complained.

Miranda chuckled, amusement shining in her eyes as she stepped towards him. She was wearing a figure-hugging dress, and she looked pretty. Tuck smiled. "Come here."

He followed her as she grabbed on to the tie, her hands skillful as she pushed the perfect knot up his neck. "Thanks, Ma."

She smiled brightly as he kissed her cheek. "No problem." She cupped his cheek, her eyes getting teary. "You look so handsome, baby." He nodded, his smile weak. Miranda frowned. "Is everything okay?"

Tuck sighed, pulling away. He sat on the couch in the room, his elbows resting on his thighs. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he looked up, seeing his mother's concerned look. "When I look at you and Dad, I see love, and strength, and humility, and it's not that hard to see and know that you're the love of each other's lives." He paused as Miranda sat beside him, waiting. "He was Ben, your 'friend' then he was your boyfriend, then your husband, and he became my dad. He's great. You guys are great."

His mom kept quiet, her hands laid on her lap patiently as he continued. "I see you guys, and when I look at Nicole, I see my future with her. I see our love blooming like yours, and I see us growing old together. But I'm scared that it'll go wrong, that it'll fall apart or something." He let out a breath, looking to his left, where the similar eyes that he saw in the mirror reflected back at him. "I know you probably weren't but were you scared?"

Miranda chuckled softly, looking down at her hands. "The day Ben and I got married, you were so young, you probably don't remember anything except the food and the waiting." She ran a hand through her hair. "But that day, I ran around the hospital because I couldn't take a minute to actually breathe. I was terrified."

Tuck was shocked. He had never heard this story before. "I thought you were late because you were working on Aunt Adele?"

"Yes, I was." She nodded. "But I also thought about running away."

"You did?!"

"I know, right? Running away from a lifetime with Ben…" She shook her head in disbelief. "It's ridiculous."

Tuck tilted his head curiously. "What happened?"

Miranda licked her lips, pausing. He could tell that she was contemplating if she should say it or not. "I felt out of control. I looked at what your father and I had, and I saw me and Ben with the possibility of heading there. I didn't want that to happen. I love him too much. I didn't want to lose him, or myself." She took a deep breath, and looked up at him with a comforting smile. She laid her hand on his, holding it tightly. "But that's part of it, sweetie. The joy and the love, the fear and the worries. You take it on together. You work through it, and you give everything you got. That's marriage. And it may be scary, but it's real, and…" She smiled. "Look at us now."

Tuck felt tears in his eyes. She always had the right things to say. She pulled him in for a hug, and he inhaled, her perfume infiltrating his senses. Suddenly, he felt no fear. In his mother's arms, he knew he would never stray.

They pulled away, and he saw that her cheeks were stained with tears and ruined make-up. "I'm sorry," he gestured to her face.

She sniffled, frantically wiping her cheeks. "I still can't believe that my baby boy is getting married."

"Neither can I," he admitted, not even complaining when she called him her baby. He usually quipped that he was a man now, not her little boy. And she would say 'You'll always be my baby, first and foremost. Second, I have a man already.' And he'd roll his eyes as she looked at Ben with so much love, it made him both sick and jealous. And in a few minutes, he'd be looking at Nicole like that, and he would be for the rest of his life. "But I'm sure. I was sure when I popped the question, and I'm more sure now. I love her so much it hurts sometimes, Ma."

Miranda nodded. "I know that feeling." She took a deep breath, glancing at her watch. "I need to go. You need to be downstairs in less than an hour."

"Yeah." He stood, guiding her to the door. Before she left, he held her elbow to stop her. She turned around, looking at him questioningly. "Thank you, Mommy."

She smiled widely. "Anytime, baby. Now, let's get you married."