Kindled Hope

4

                                                                                            —KH—

Steve expected to be nervous, but he wasn't. He stood in the middle of a small room. The furniture had been pushed against the wall. There were other men in the room, but Steve wasn't paying any attention to them. Today was all about her. All about Hope.

"You sure about this, man?" one of the two men asked as he placed his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Not too late to change your mind."

"I've never been surer."

The man laughed. "You say that now, but in fifteen years, you may think differently."

Steve smiled as he turned and faced Hugo Morris. "Are you saying you regret marrying Midge?"

"Nah, bro. Tying myself to her was the smartest thing I ever did. Hasn't been easy, but I regret nothing."

"Then why are you trying to talk me out of marrying Hope?" Steve asked, laughing.

"I'm not, but my dad asked me if I was sure, and well, I figured I'd return the favor." Hugo squeezed his shoulder before walking over and plopping down on the couch.

Steve sucked in a deep breath before fiddling with the cufflinks on his shirt and imagined what his father would say if he could be there. He'd tell him how proud he was, how he'd better take good care of Hope. How he was a good man and his momma would be proud. Yes, Steve knew his father would have said all that if he could, but a stroke left the man unable to speak, to move for the last sixteen months.

It hadn't been easy, but Hope had been there for him every step of the way, holding him when he cried, promising everything would be okay. Which was why he wasn't nervous about today. He couldn't wait for Hope to be his wife.

They'd taken their relationship slowly. Neither had wanted to rush anything, knowing if they did, they'd never be able to stay friends. Steve never told Hope, but he fell in love with her the moment she walked into his father's diner. Or at least he knew he didn't want to live without her, anyway.

"Steve," Hugo called, drawing his attention behind him, where his best friend stood with Reverend Thomas. "It's time."

Nodding, Steve smoothed out the front of his tuxedo jacket and followed the two men out of the small room and into the sanctuary of the First Methodist Church in Beavercreek, Oregon. As he took his place at the end of the aisle, he shifted his attention to the back of the church where the love of his life stood, ready to become his wife. They'd started off as friends, but thanks to Facebook and courage, they'd rekindled their friendship and found a love that would never die.