We had fought so hard to get to this point. Fought through breakups, miscarriages, even deaths, yet here we are, basking in the happiness we so rightfully deserved. I admired her beauty, her almost yellow eyes crinkling when her perfect mouth curled up into a smile, revealing pearly, straight teeth. Her cheeks were rosy and shimmery, and her entire face was radiant with joy.
"Do you, Meredith Parsons, take Austin Trent to be your lawfully wedded husband? " said the vicar, his gravelly voice echoing around the small reception room.
Speechless, she nodded, tears of delight rolling down her face. Patiently, the vicar waited for her to speak, and eventually, she said, " yes, " with excitement making her voice louder than intended. I stared into her eyes, silently promising myself to her.
I took her hands in mine and I held them as firmly as possible. She chuckled nervously, and I could tell she felt slightly embarrassed that she was crying so much. To reassure her, I squeezed her hands and nodded. The anticipation for the kiss was eating me alive and my heart was trying to pummel its way out of my chest.
"I am happy to pronounce that you, Austin Trent, are now wedded to Meredith Trent. Austin, you may now kiss the bride. "
My heart stopped and the only word to describe the buzz rushing through my veins like a drug was euphoria. She was my drug. I couldn't get enough. I snaked my hand around her slim waist and pulled her towards my chest, holding her as tightly and as close to my heart as possible. My lips met hers and I was met with the same thrill and excitement as there had been when we first kissed 12 years ago.
She slowly pulled away from the kiss and rested her head against my neck. She lifted her neck so that her lips were next to my ears and whispered, "I will never leave you."
She lied.
*****************************
"DADDY! " yelled my beautiful 4 year old girl, Sophie as she peddled her tricycle around our small garden, her chubby legs going as fast as they could. My beautiful wife stepped up behind me and wrapped her arms around my middle, and I knew for sure that I was no less in love with her than I was 17 years ago when we first met.
I spun round to face her and knelt down on my left knee, bringing my hands up to her stomach. She was 7 months pregnant with a boy. I placed a kiss on her stomach and then stood up, towering over her small frame, and planted a kiss in her thick brown hair.
"I'm going to take Sophie up to see my dad. I think she's missing him." She announced.
I beamed at her and nodded.
"Would you like me to come with you? " I asked.
" No, that's fine, " she said, shaking her head, her thick hair swaying as she did so," I need you to stay here to watch out for the delivery."
I squinted my eyes at her inquisitively, nit remembering what the delivery was. She glanced at Sophie before whispering, "her birthday presents, Darling." I nodded as the memory of ordering them came back to me.
"Sophie, bubba, come and put your sandals on," she said, patting her knees, beckoning our daughter to come to her. "We're going to stay at grandpa's tonight!" she explained, and Sophie's eyes lit up.
"And you will stay as well?" she asked her mother.
"Yes, my love. Now, come on, I put your favourite toy in the car." Our innocent little girl skipped up to me and gave me a hug, whispering goodbye into my ear.
I stood up to kiss my wife goodbye, and as I did so I wrapped my arms around her waist.
"I love you, my dear." she said idly.
"I love you too. You look lovely today." I said, stroking her hair as I spoke.
She snorted and said, "you've said that at least 5 times today,"
And I simply said, "well that doesn't make it any less true."
She just scoffed and bent down to strap on her shoe. I took the opportunity to pat her rather lovely arse and admire her beautiful body, which always seemed to amaze me.
She stood up, blushing slightly and a sense of pride and satisfaction hit me as I noted that I could still make her feel like a schoolgirl even 5 years and 8 months into marriage. "I'll see you tomorrow, baby," she said, giving me one last kiss on the cheek before rushing into our house and calling for our daughter.
"Sophie, what on earth have you done to your face?" was what I heard echoing from inside our house. I chuckled and sat myself on the sun lounger in our garden. I slowly let myself fall asleep in the sunlight, utterly content with the life that I had earned.
*******************************
I woke up to the phone call that changed my life. With my eyes barely open, I reached for my phone and answered with a gruff, groggy voice.
"Hello?"
"Austin Trent?"
"Speaking,"
"We believe that your family car is a Fiat 500xl with the post code GF4 8UTT, correct?
"Uhm, yes that's correct," I said, preparing to hang up the phone, thinking it was a spam phone call that disturbed my peace.
"Well, sir... Uhm... I'm afraid to inform you that..." As he was speaking, my stomach dropped to my feet. I drowned out his voice, unwilling to hear. Refusing to hear.
"... Died on impact however your daughter, well, I'm afraid to say she's currently in an unpredictable state at Humberstone hospital and, I'm not certain she will make it. I'm terribly sorry sir, but... "
I launched the phone into the pond, hot, wet tears scalded my cheeks and I yelled into the open air.
All my thoughts stopped and I closed my eyes, my mind drifting back to our wedding day. Back to her vows.
" I will never leave you. "
**************************
I wanted to die. The urge to no longer live was so intense that it overwhelmed any other rational thought in my brain.
I looked around to the boulders and rocks lining the large lake in our garden. I marched over, sadness and frustration causing my bones to ache and any movement was dully painful. I bent down and picked up a fairly large boulder. I struggled to carry it, but I needed to do this.
I staggered over to the pond edge and fell in, refusing to concentrate on anything other than dying. The cold water shook my body into being alert, slimy pondweed was wrapping itself around my ankles and it was snapping as the boulder dragged me further down.
Water filled my lungs and my eyes were bulging out of my head, my eardrums bursting as I hit the pond floor. In the last few serene seconds of my conscious state that travelled past me in slow motion, I once again remember her vow.
"I will never leave you!"
She lied.
