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“Are you ready, D?” As I pull my head put from the toilet, I turn to the door. “Just give me a min—“again, I eject all of my food from this morning, and early afternoon. I have NEVER been so nervous in my life. Here I am to marry Mariana Rodriguez, the love of my life, and here I am, tossing my cookies.

My nerves are shot, and my body has become numb, mostly because of me hurling. I finally gather up the strength to get up, gargle with the strongest mouthwash, and clean up after myself. I stand in front of the door, and take a deep breath. “As soon as I walk out of this room, I’ll be a married man.” I say to myself. I am ready to take that step, that one dip into the marriage pool, and be forever happy.

The church was hushed, awaiting for the music to begin, and for my future bride to ascend down the aisle. I stand in front of the priest, my hands shaking in a folded position. “Do not be nervous, my child,” Father McGregor began. “It can’t be helped, Father.” “My little Howard’s getting married…” I hear my mother say in the front pew, a near whisper. I turn to look at her, along with my father, who is holding her frail hands, trying to calm her down. It was to no use.

I see my sister, along with her husband, giving me the thumbs up. I’m glad that she had found happiness in her producer of her previous album. I guess even men can’t resist the Dorough charm at times. At the opposite side of the pews, I see my “brethren” smiling back at me. I was even surprised to see Kevin sitting with them. He, all of a sudden, had a change of heart, and now believes that it doesn’t matter how old you are, or where you came from, that the love that one shares is important and strong.

Then, the sound of the organ infiltrated the entire church. Upon turning around, I see her...in flowing white. I was astonished...speechless...dumbfounded...call it what you like. I never thought I would see the day of watching my future wife walk down the aisle, and here she is floating to me. My mouth was halfway open and my palms began to sweat.

I've been around this woman for ages, and yet, I still get that familiar tingle everytime she's around me. Closer and closer she came, and very slowly the butterflies entered my stomach, flying around in a frenzy. The organist ended the song, and my beloved is now standing beside me. "This is it, Howard..." she began in a low tone. "In the eyes of our friends, as well as in the eyes of God, we will be married...we'll be husband and wife." "I know...I never thought this day would come..."

"Dearly beloved..."

Mariana and I stood in front of one another, looking in each other's eyes. The preaching of the priest heightened both of our spirits, and when it came to our vows, we turned back to him.

"Howard, you have written a few vows for the bride?"

"Yes..." I reached out, and held both of her hands. "Mariana...God, where to begin...when I first laid eyes on you that night, I thought 'she could be the one for me...' but at the same time, I wasn't so sure. All my life, I only thought about myself, and making myself happy, never minding everyone else. It was you that changed everything, Mari. The way I think, the way I acted...all of that changed when you came into my life. Mariana, from this day onward, I will honor, respect, and cherish our love as if it is my life. This is a promise: a promise that I will always hold dear to me...forever.”

Mariana didn’t utter a word. The only thing she could do is cry tears of joy. “Howard...” she finally spoke. “You mean everything to me as well...what have I done to be close to you, and be a part of your life? You have given me the ability to love again...you too, have changed my life for the better...I love you...”

her voice weakened and her eyes began to well up with tears. I see my little cousin walking towards us with the wedding bands. He looked so handsome as the ring barrer. Mariana and I both took the rings, and stood there admiring them for a moment. “I...I can't believe that this is happening...” “Me either, Mari...”

I was the first to slip the ring onto her dainty hand drenched in a white, lace glove. Shakily, she takes my hand, and slips the ring on my pinky. Smiling lightly, I become her guide, and I help her put the ring on the correct finger.

“Sorry...” she whispered. “It's alright, my love...this is new to us, and we have every right to be confused and shaky...”

“Howard, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To honor, and cherish? To love more than anything else in your life, as long as you both shall live?”

“I do. Most definitely.”

“And do you, Mariana, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To honor, admire, and love, for as long as you both shall live?”

She looks into my eyes, and gives me a lop-sided smile.

“I do...”

My heart was beating so fast after she said those two words. For a moment, I thought she would say no, but you know me: I want to make things completely sure, and I wanted to know if she felt the same way about this marriage. Would she be ready, or would she leave me again for another three long years?

“If there's anyone here that opposes to this blessed union, let them speak now, or forever hold their peace.” We both looked around the cathedral, and for a moment, no one said a word. Thinking back, I'm glad that Kevin finally changed when he did, or none of this would transpire. I look over at him and all I see on him is a smile. “Go on...” I see him mouth over to me. I lightly nod, then turn back to my love.

“Well then...by the power vested in me by the Holy Vanity Church, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

As if I needed permission. At last, though going through many trials and endless tribulations, we made it. We are now together. We are now married. I pull her close to me, and I take her into a loving kiss. The sounds of cheers and applause infiltrated the room as our kiss never ended.

While laughing and holding hands, we run down the church steps, and out to the car. We're met by rice and white rose petals thrown at us. We get in the limo, and we kiss passionately again. I hold onto her hands as we kiss for the second time as a married couple.

“Howie?”
“Yes, my love?”
“Do you think we'll make it, you know, as a married couple?”
I look her in the eye, and say, “Yes. I know we will. And do you know why?”

She smiles, snuggling closer to me. “Why...?”

“Because we're built to last, Mariana. We are made for each other. Nothing and no one can say that we're not. Understand?” She lightly nods and holds my face into her hands. “Yes...I understand completely, husband...”

I love the sound of that word as she utters it. It's still hard to believe that we both took that step into the marriage pool, and that no one stopped us from doing so.

We are now in bed for the first time as a married couple. We're bathed in our nakedness, holding each other close. I know what you're thinking: we had amazing, orgasmic sex, and we're just holding each other afterwards. No. To me, it would dampen this moment. Don't get me wrong, I would love to pleasure my new wife, but at the same time again, this is not about me. I want to do this when she is ready, and since she's not ready yet, I understand.

“Howard...?” she says sleepily. “Yes, Mariana?” “I love you...so very much...” “And I, you, Mari...more than you'll ever know.”

I play with the feathery strands of her light brown hair, and softly sing to her until we both fall asleep.

At last, we both found what we were looking for: true love.