“...that your name is Emma Leigh O’Brien. How would you like me to address you during the ceremony?”
The last month ran through my thoughts, a highlight reel on fast forward. Everyone in Rett’s employ addressed me as Miss North or Miss Emma. I hadn’t used the name O’Brien since I checked into the Drury Plaza. “Just Emma would be fine.”
Judge McBride nodded. “And Mr. Ramses?”
“Everett.”
“Lastly, do we have our witnesses?”
“Ian Knolls,” Rett said as Ian stepped forward. “And...?” Rett looked at me.
Releasing Rett’s arm, I turned to find the one person I would want to be my witness. Her head was down and she had a handkerchief dabbing her eyes. “Miss Guidry?”
Immediately, her face snapped upward, and her hazel eyes settled on me. “Oh, Miss Emma, it would be an honor.”
Moving the bouquet to my other hand, I reached back. When Miss Guidry reached me, she squeezed my hand. “The spirits are pleased.”
“I do believe we’re ready to begin,” Judge McBride said. “And I’ve been told that as soon as we complete this ceremony, the marriage certificate is waiting in Mr. Ramses’s front office.” He looked from Ian to Rett, to me, and lastly to Miss Guidry. “I will need all four of your signatures. And then” —his focus was on me and Rett— “you two will legally be husband and wife.”
Smiling at one another, Rett and I nodded and turned back to Judge McBride.
“Now, Emma, please hand Ruth your flowers so you and Mr. Ramses can hold hands.”
Ruth?
I’d asked Miss Guidry to be my witness without knowing her first name.
Once I’d done as the judge asked, Rett and I turned toward one another, brought our hands together, and Judge McBride began. This was obviously not the judge’s first ceremony as he spoke for a few minutes about marriage. While Rett’s proposal hadn’t extolled his undying love, Judge McBride talked about that and more as the key elements of marriage.
The first component he mentioned was love.
I had to wonder if Rett had given him parameters to meet or if Rett too was surprised to hear what the judge had to say. Judge McBride said that love wasn’t something that needed to be searched for—it was. It wasn’t brought to life nor could it die. Love lingered, waiting for its opportunities. It could surprise even its staunchest critics, as the seeds of everyday commitment took root and grew. It didn’t travel a fast track or even a slow one. Love could come out of nowhere like a freight train bursting from the darkness or it could appear over time, such as the brightening of the morning sky as the sun burns away the fog.
The second piece to marriage was patience.
My painted lip disappeared beneath my teeth and warmth filled my cheeks as I coyly peered up at Rett, wondering if he was thinking about some of the same things crossing my mind.
“Patience,” the judge said, “is the ability to endure difficult circumstances in the face of disappointment and the tolerance of provocation and the ability to respond with kindness.”
“To benice,” I whispered.
Rett squeezed my hand.
The final subject he mentioned was trust.
I couldn’t help but replay the conversation from earlier in my head. Rett had asked me to trust him, not only today or regarding this marriage, but forever. It had been as I’d answered that I realized I wanted the same from him. I’d made a mistake, but I’d done as he’d said and learned from it. As we stood together, my hope was that we’d spend the rest of forever doing as we’d both said—trying.
“Do you have vows you’d like to say to one another?” Judge McBride asked.
I blinked my eyes as the wedding dress suddenly felt too tight. It was that sensation of being asked to do a speech in front of the classroom when none had been prepared.
“We didn’t discuss it,” Rett answered. He gently squeezed my fingers as his gaze met mine. “But I’d like to give it a try.”
“Like your proposal?” I asked with a smirk.
“A little less personal.” He winked. “Emma, it is an honor to have you as my wife. I believe it’s fair to say that I won’t be the easiest of husbands. I’ve been told I lack some of the virtues that have been mentioned tonight, and yet fate had a plan. Thank you for promising to see where fate leads us and for making me the luckiest man, tonight and forever.”
Forever.