After Graduation

Chapter Thirteen: The Moesby Wedding (Part 2)

Zack:

I saw Cody turn around slowly, and walk over to hug me. “What are you doing here?!” I pat him on the back. “Does Maya know you’re here?!”

I smiled. “What? Did you actually think I was going to miss Moesby’s wedding?” I looked back at Cody and pointed at him. “And no. I’m here to surprise her. To let her know that I am home. For good.” I got hugs and pats on the back from Woodster, Marcus and yes, even Mr. Moesby, but then his phone rang. He stepped away, and answered it.

“Hello? You what?!” He was nearly yelling into the phone. He was pacing now, and Oscar, my favorite vein in his neck was sticking out now. I was going to laugh, but now seemed too serious of a time.

“No, I understand. Yeah. Stay safe. Ok, bye.” He closed the phone and put it back in his pocket.

“Everything OK, Mr. Moesby?” Marcus asked. Moesby stopped pacing to respond, then resumed to pace.

"Joe is a no show!!" Moesby was panicking. I walked over to him, and slapped Moesby on the back. 

"Moesby, I'm 'Joe'."

Mr. Moesby’s face lit up. "I see that you haven't changed at all."

"Nope! And I don't plan to." Zack smiled and laughed. "But I don't want to take the attention off of you and Ms. T."

“Zpit, zbtit, zipt! I need a fourth groomsmen, Joe is unreliable, and you’re here. C’mon. Go change out of that uniform and put on his suit."

Cody:

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

“Mr. Moesby? Are you ready?” The officiant yelled through the door.

He nodded, and replied, “Yes! Let’s go.” He opened the door, but turned to me before he left.

“Okay, Cody, get Zack ready then head to the foyer in about three minutes to meet up with the girls. You’ve gotta get there before they do.”

“Got it. Mr. Moesby.” I said, giving him a thumbs-up.

The door closed behind him, and Zack came out wearing Joe’s suit. It fit him almost perfectly, and we headed out to the foyer to meet the girls.

We got there before they did, but not long after, the girls came from the opposite direction. Though, when the girls came out, we had a plan. Zack was hiding, and he was here to surprise Maya.

Bailey:

We walked out to the foyer to meet the boys. I watched my feet peek out from underneath the long yellow dress, as I walked towards Cody. He was smiling and seeing him smile made me smile. I kissed him hello, and hugged him, while the other girls were pairing up with their partners. But then I saw Maya standing alone.

“You look absolutely beautiful.” Cody said, reaching for my hand.

“Thanks.” I smiled. “You look very dapper yourself.” I turned to look at Maya again. “Hey, where is Joe?” I asked.

He pointed subtly down the hall behind Maya, and I saw Zack walking down the hall, in her direction. He crept up behind her and covered her eyes with his hands. She turned around, and broke down into tears and cried as she jumped up into his arms.

Zack:

I covered her eyes with my hands, then she turned around. When she did, she broke down in tears, and jumped in my arms. I kissed her, once. Twice. Three times. I held her close. I never wanted her to let go. She looked up, kissed me and threw her arms around my neck. I put her down, but held her close again.

“What are you doing here?!” She was crying, but I had never seen her gorgeous smile be as big as it was at that moment. I picked up her hands, held them up to my lips and kissed them.  

“I’m telling you, that now, I am home,” I whispered and she began to cry again. I lifted my hand to her soft cheeks and wiped the tears away. “To stay.” I finished. I felt the tears sting in my eyes. But on the inside, I’d never been happier. Her beautiful eyes and smile wiped away every horrific memory of that war from my mind. Maya Elizabeth Bennett was and is the reason why I am still alive. Being away from her for 15 months, I realized very early in that time period of how much I loved her, and how much I missed her. Life without her is unimaginable, unbearable. I love her too much to let her go. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, all other girls don’t compare, and won’t ever compare. This whole time I had been thinking, I was just looking at her, touching her face. Oh, how much I had missed her. She wrapped herself in my arms, and laid her head against my left bicep. By then, I had looked up for the first time. Everyone was calling out my name and Maya’s name. They were lined up, waiting to go down the aisle with their partners. They motioned for us to come over, and hurry because the wedding was to begin.

Maya:

My heart fluttered, and I was so happy to see him. I can’t put it into words. I had missed him so much, my heart hurt. I have found the man I am going to spend the rest of my life with. But now, we’re going to witness Moesby and Tutweiller get married, and move on, making a life together. Addison and Woody called us over, so we could walk to the altar. He reached for my hand, and squeezed it. I squeezed his hand back. We got in line, and walked down the aisle together. When we reached the front of the sanctuary, we split off to our opposite sides, and when Woody and Addison finished walking, we looked to the back doors, where Ms. Tutweiller stood in white dress, flowing all around her. Everyone in the pews stood up and turned around. She walked down the aisle and I glanced at Mr. Moesby. He was crying, wiping his eyes with his hankie.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us today to celebrate the joining of Emma Tutweiller and Merriam Moesby.”

“Marion!” Moesby coughed.

But the preacher kept preaching. “Now, if anyone objects to the joining of these two individuals, speak now, or forever hold your peace.” The preached stopped, looked up and look around. “I object!” a voice yelled from the audience. Gasps rang out, and people began to frantically look for where the voice came from. “I object! Emma! I object!”