Sunlight

Chapter Eleven

Never Stop // Echo & The Bunnymen

Pete

Fainting is not an option.

I repeat the command in my head over and over because looking at how beautiful she is today has made me light headed. I stand at the altar, ready to watch my best friend marry the woman of his dreams. But it's his sister, Kyra, the woman of mine, that's stolen all of my attention.

Jeff and Alison are finally saying "I do" after a long 3-year engagement. The outdoor venue at the Salt Creek resort reflects the timeline of their love story. They met here at a music festival, started falling for each other as they talked along the creek, and overcame all of the obstacles in the way of their forever. Jeff and Kyra's family is loaded, their dad a business mogul that could put Bezos and Gates to shame. But you wouldn't know it if you took this wedding as evidence. The guest list was small, just close family and friends. The venue is simple, with the natural surroundings serving as the majority of the decor. We rented our suits rather than drop a pretty penny on designer tuxedos. Jeff has always been down to earth, working hard at odd jobs growing up to save enough money to buy his own car. His dad never bankrolled him which keeps him humble and forgiving.

I've never been more grateful now that I'm in love with his sister.

Despite it being Jeff and Alison's big day, my focus remains locked on Kyra. At this point, the wedding is an afterthought because my girl has entered the room. She walks down the aisle in a soft green dress that flows from her waist down to her toes. It swishes as she keeps time with the music, Canon in D played by a string quartet. The scene is otherworldly, out of a fantasy I'd long ago abandoned. Because today may not be our wedding, but damn if I didn't wish it was.

She and I just got together this week after years of holding back. We've spent more time together over the last five days than we have in as many years. But I'm smitten, as the saying goes. I'm all in with her. I waited too long to call her mine for us to fade into nothingness. It took mere seconds of being in her presence again to wipe away years of doubt.

She was made for me and I was a fool to pretend otherwise.

As I'm lost in dreams of a future with her, Kyra takes her place at the front of the aisle. Her eyes stayed fixed on mine the entire way, other than the smile she offered her brother when she passed him. It is his wedding, after all.

The music changes, a shocking guitar riff paired with thrashing drum beats, causing wide eyes among the guests and most of the bridal party. I notice Jeff has a massive grin so he must know why Alison would choose a heavy metal thrasher song to accompany her walk down the aisle. Muted murmurs spread throughout the ceremony site, people likely wondering what the heck is going on. But only a few bars into the surprise metal sound, when Alison appears in an off-white dress that Kyra mentioned was a vintage piece from the 1930's, a record scratch sounds and the music changes once again. A soft melody fills the atmosphere as Alison takes her dad's arm. The two of them walk in rhythm with the music toward her future husband. I glance over at Jeff, who beams with pride watching his almost-wife make her way to him. But I'm caught once again in a vision of my own future as Kyra looks across at me. The two of us are in our own bubble of possibilities as Alison reaches Jeff. Her father, who also happens to be Jeff's college football coach, releases Alison with a kiss on the cheek and a pat on Jeff's back.

The ceremony begins, each word from the officiant piercing my heart as a truth between Kyra and I.

Do you promise to love each other?

Yes.

Will you forsake all others?

Absolutely.