Already decked out in a dress of my choice, I’d come prepared this time. Chance looked incredibly sexy in a white linen shirt rolled up at the sleeves and dress pants that hugged his gorgeous ass—the ass that still helped support us to this day. I’d given up my law career for a much more fulfilling job running the local animal shelter in Hermosa Beach. The pay was crap, but I looked forward to getting up and being with the animals every day and never dreaded going into work. Chance still made a good living off royalties from his soccer-model career but also opened up his own landscaping business with a full staff of employees. He still dabbled in junk art on the side.
As I made my way down the aisle, the song that Chance had chosen caught me off guard: The Long and Winding Road by the Beatles. It was unconventional, but the meaning was completely perfect for us.
You’d think after all this time, I wouldn’t have been nervous, but my hands were shaking as the ceremony started. It was no different than our first go round here.
Elvis spoke, “If anyone can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”
As if on cue, Pixy let out a long “Baaaaaa.”
Chance turned around and joked, “You would stir up trouble right now, wouldn’t you, Bugger?”
“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”
Adele spoke from behind me, “I do.” She and I had become like sisters to each other. I was grateful for my new family.
It touched me when Chance took my hands in his and said, “I wish Mum could have met you.”
Elvis interrupted our private moment. “Will you be using standard vows, or do you have your own?”
We answered at the same exact time.
“Standard,” Chance said while I spoke over him, “I have my own.”
He looked stunned as he leaned in and whispered, “Princess, you wrote vows? I just wanted to be officially married to you as fast as possible. I was gonna forego them this time.”
Nodding, I said, “It’s my turn. I have something to say.”
When Chance got through repeating after Elvis, I cleared my throat.
How could I possibly put into words what he meant to me?
Taking a deep breath, I composed my thoughts before speaking. “Chance, when we met, I didn’t know what hit me. All I knew was that for the first time in my life, I was living in the moment. You taught me so much in a little over a week about what’s important in life. You taught me how to enjoy life and not take myself so seriously. You made me fall so crazy in love with you that even later when I believed you’d hurt me, I still couldn’t shake you. I could only pretend not to care anymore. I thought I loved you then. But little did I know that our real love story hadn’t even begun to play out. I never loved you more than when you came back and fought for me with everything that you had. Day in and day out, you threw away your pride and never gave up on me even when I made it really hard to believe that things would ever work out for us. You earned back my trust and then some. You said you wished your mother could have met me. Well, I wish she were here too, so I could thank her for the way she brought you up. To think that if I took even one wrong turn, I might never have met you when I did at the rest stop in Nebraska. A single minute can change an entire life. Yet, I still feel like somehow we would have met anyway. That’s because I know now that you’re my soulmate. The road that led us here wasn’t always easy, but it made us stronger and more ready than ever for where it takes us next. I can’t wait for the next adventure. I love you, Chance.”
I don’t think I’d ever seen Chance cry, but his eyes were starting to glisten as he silently mouthed, “I love you, Princess.”
Elvis prompted us to exchange rings. Chance had always refused to take the old fake one off even though it had turned his finger green. I slid a new platinum band on his finger instead this time. Chance had surprised me with—what else—a princess cut diamond ring a few months ago. He placed a diamond eternity band on my hand in front of it.
“By the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, you may now kiss the bride.”
Chance lifted me up into his arms and kissed me like there was no tomorrow. His warm lips enveloping mine along with knowing that he was officially my husband felt like heaven. Pixy was growing impatient and started to “baa” again while Adele and Harry clapped.
Chance put me down, and Zelda spoke from behind us. “That kiss! Now, I know exactly why I remember you two.”
Zelda took pictures of Chance and me alone and then some with Adele and Pixy.
We booked a room at the same hotel where we stayed three years ago and planned to stay in Vegas for a mini honeymoon. Adele and Harry took Pixy back into their SUV. We hugged them goodbye, since they’d be driving right back to Hermosa Beach.
As we stepped out into the dry heat with the Vegas sun setting, I had a special surprise waiting for Chance in front of the chapel.
He broke out in laughter when he saw the black BMW, the same make and model as the one from our road trip.
“You rented a Beemer?”
BEE-MA. My love for his accent never waned.
“I know we were going to fly home, but I thought it would be a nice touch.”
I had Adele decorate the car with sparkly writing on the back that read: Just Married…Again. I was most excited to show him something that was inside.
“It’s perfect. Shall I drive, Mrs. Bateman?”
“Yes. I think I’d like to just stare at my handsome husband without any distractions.”
When we got in, a wide smile spread across his face the moment he spotted it on the dash, “Mr. Obama! You kept him all these years?”
“I have to tell you a story. Back when I first got to Temecula and traded in the BMW, I left the bobblehead inside. The clerk at the dealership ran after me and asked me if I wanted it. I told her to keep it. I was trying to get rid of all physical signs of you, because losing you hurt so badly. You were still in my heart, and that wasn’t going away, so I did what I could to remove all other reminders. A few weeks later, I was parked at a gas station. A boy around twelve was waiting in the car next to me for his father to come out of the mini-mart. I noticed the bobblehead on his dash. I just couldn’t believe it. I knew it had to be ours. I asked him where he got it. He said his father gave it to him. Turns out, the dad worked at the dealership. I didn’t know what it meant, but it somehow felt like it was a sign that I wasn’t supposed to let you go. I asked him how much money I could give him to buy it back. He charged me ten bucks, but I would have paid just about anything. I was a blubbering mess that day. Even though I still forced myself to move on, when you showed up again, I thought back to the bobblehead and knew that the universe had been trying to tell me to wait for you, not to give up.” Tears began falling from my eyes as I thought about how lucky I was to have gotten him back and so much more.
“That story is amazing, Princess.” Chance swiped his fingers along the tears falling from my eyes and said, “Thank you for giving me that second chance.” He leaned down and kissed my five-months pregnant belly that stretched through the lace of my empire waist gown. The baby boy we were expecting would be named after its daddy.
My second Chance.
Chance kept his head on my stomach. I ran my fingers through his hair and said, “Only fair. I gave you your second chance, and now you’re giving me mine.”