Under the Giant Oak

I could feel my hands shake as I buttoned up the rest of my shirt, putting on my tie, and closing my coat. This was it. Oh god, this was it. I’m getting married. This is totally not how I pictured my life going. This pretty much is the total opposite of what I pictured my life to end up like. It was different, but it was nice. That doesn’t mean I’m still not nervous as hell though.

“Is this the first time you ever wore a suit?” I turned and saw Linda standing with a very amused looking Patrick beside her.

“Yes,” I replied, smoothing out the coat again. “And, hopefully the last.”

“You look great, Max.” Patrick smiled. I smiled back before turning back to look in the mirror, pinning the flower on.

“Are you done yet, drama queen?” Linda rolled her eyes. “We do have a wedding to get to, and if you’re late, I’m pretty sure someone’s going to notice.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.” I sighed, smoothing my hair down and walking out the door.

“Okay, so you know what’s going on?” Patrick asked. I nodded my head as we arrived at the door where everyone was waiting behind. “Alright, we’re going to go take our seats then.” He gave me one more smile before he walked in where I could hear the slight chatter of the few other people in there.

“Aren’t you going to go, too?” I asked Linda who was still standing there.

“I will,” she said. “But, I have to give you a pep talk first.”

“A pep talk? I’m marrying the love of my life, what do I need a pep talk for?” I chuckled under my breath.

She smiled. “I remember my wedding.” She stated it simply. I looked over at her waiting for her to continue. If this was her idea of a pep talk, it wasn’t a very good one. “I was really nervous, like really, really nervous.”

“Okay?” I asked confused where this conversation is going.

She laughed at my impatience. “I’ll I’m saying is that I know what this is like. I wasn’t nervous because I was getting married to Oli. I love Oli, a little bit too much probably. I was nervous because I had no idea what was going to happen next, you know? My entire life was based on one thing, and I ended up doing something completely different. It was a scary thought. It was like my entire life I was preparing for a fight that I didn’t even fight. What I’m saying, Max, is I know that this is scary, and I’m really proud of you for doing it. You’ve moved on from the past. You’re living your life, and I’m really, really proud of you.”

I nodded my head slowly. There were only a handful of times I had ever heard someone say they were proud of me. Most of them came from Linda, too. It was just really nice to hear, really nice. “Thanks. It . . . it, ah, it means a lot to me.” She smiled at me one last time before she walked in the doors leaving me out in the hallway by myself.

I took a couple deep breaths. This wasn’t so scary, compared to the other things I’ve been through. Jeez, I was more nervous now than when I was squatting in a rundown apartment. I was more nervous than when I was being held hostage. Damn, this was even worse than when I learned I had to go live on my own, when I was staring down the road in front of my house, everything I owned in a bag, not knowing where I would go.

God, I was just getting hitched. It wasn’t a bad thing. It was a good thing. Maybe that was what made it worse. I was used to bad things, horrible things, and this wasn’t. It wasn’t anything like that. It was beautiful and amazing, and I get to spend the rest of my life with someone I love.

I took another deep breath before walking in myself. All our friends were sitting there, watching me walk down the aisle. Damn, I sound so much like a girl right now. That’s not the point though. They were there celebrating with us, which was nice.

Then I looked at Ronnie, and I swore my heart stopped. He was gorgeous, even more so right now than usually. His suit fit like a dream, and he looked so damn confident. There was that stupid little smile on his face that he likes to give me when he thinks I’m not looking. He just looked so happy. It looked like he was about to burst any second with excitement. I was glad he looked how I felt.

When I finally got up there, his smile grew bigger, and he took my hand in his. That made my smile grow, if that was possible at this point. “Hi,” he whispered. I laughed and whispered it back.

The man running the ceremony started talking, but I wasn’t really listening to be honest. I couldn’t even look away from Ronnie and his stupidly attractive face and his stupidly amazing smile. Ronnie didn’t look like he was listening that much either, so I wasn’t the only one.

He did perk up when it was time to say his vows though. “Max,” he started. “You . . . there is no way to describe you without going on for hours. You’re amazing, and spectacular, and just a fantastic person. You’re caring, and honest, and you love till it hurts. I knew the second I saw you that you weren’t like anybody else, and boy, was I right. You are an individual in every sense of the word. You make me so happy, and the thought of you leaving for even a day makes me shatter inside. I love you with every part of me, and I promise to always love you through everything.” He slipped the silver ring on my finger, and my face felt like it was going to be split in two.

“Ronnie,” I began. “When I first met you, god, I hated you.” He laughed. “You just came into my life and turned everything upside down. And, I’m so glad you did. I wouldn’t change a single thing, and I’m so happy you came in and just screwed everything up for me. You are the most wonderful person I have ever met, and I know you will always be that person. I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you, and sometimes it feels like a fret train just hit me with how much I really do love you. And, I know I will never stop.” I put the same ring on his finger, claiming him as mine in every sense on the word.

“Ronnie, do you take Max to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” he grinned.

“Max, do you take Ronnie to be you lawfully wedded husband?”

“Oh, you bet your ass I do.”

“Then I now pronounce you lawfully wedded husbands. You may now kiss.”

I was instantly swooped up off of my feet. Laughing, I wrapped my arms around him tighter than what was probably comfortable and smashing my lips onto his. It wasn’t a raunchy kiss, or that long of a kiss, but it was probably the most important kiss of my life. I could feel all the emotion pouring out of Ronnie’s veins, and I knew this was it. This was forever, and I couldn’t fucking wait.