“I’ve known you for over eight years, but I’d only really gotten to know you for close to one month…” Becca looked like she was about to cry, but the smile on her face gave me the strength to continue. “But in that month, I found out how much of an amazing person you were…you are. You could’ve judged me straight away. If you told anyone about our month-long agreement, everyone would’ve warned you to stay away from me.” I took a pause and continued. This feeling inside me – the fucking butterflies and knots in my stomach – I was feeling more overwhelmed than what I felt just a few minutes ago. “But you stayed, and for the first time in a very, very long time, I felt like someone actually really cared about me. You make me feel love and cared for, and that’s irreplaceable with the life I’m trying to live – trying to succeed on my own when my own family doesn’t believe in me.” I swallowed my own breath, pushing the fear away, and parted my lips to ask, “I need someone to hold my hand, to be my strength when I am weak, and that someone’s you. I’ve never been surer of anything…” And then, finally, “Becca Madison, will you marry me?”
Tears spilled out of her eyes as she cupped my cheeks in her soft, feminine hands. She pulled me to stand up, and she pressed her lips softly against mine. I couldn’t help but smile instantly when I felt the emotions in her kiss and the tears on her flesh. After what felt like forever, I pulled away. If we didn’t stop kissing, things would’ve have become more intense and required parental guidance.
“Of course…” she began, still sobbing. “Of course, I’ll marry you.”
Then, I followed the movement of her eyes. She moved her head down and looked at her hands, and instantly, I knew what to say. “The ring…I want it be another tattoo. I can draw little butterflies and our initials around your finger…I want it in ink instead of metal because that way, you can never remove it. I plan on having you all to myself for a very, very long time…”
She parted her lips, smile growing wider, as she reached for my hand. All around, people were snapping photographs and taking videos of us. Some were still applauding and cooing at my proposal. I could also feel our fathers trying to burn a hole through the back of our heads, but with so much love and support surrounding us, I couldn’t give a damn.
“Then let’s go home…I want the both of us to design the ring.”
And I’d never heard a plan more perfect.
Epilogue
Becca
I’d always loved the ‘Winter Wonderland’ theme ever since I started going to school parties and dances, and it was only now that I truly understood why. I looked around the church, and from behind the windows, I could see snow falling, cooling the church and making me feel relaxed and completely at peace.
I was attending my own wedding, but I was thinking of so many things that I wasn’t listening to the priest anymore.
I knew I should listen to the ceremony. I didn’t become a bridezilla for the past six months for nothing. But the truth was, there were so many wonderful things I could set my sights on right here, right now. The entire church was adorned in Christmas lights in a white–and–blue color palette. Humongous ornaments of ribbons and snow balls adorned the marble walls and columns. Warm yellow lighting illuminated the entire vicinity to give off a very intimate ambiance. The choir we’d hired sang with such expertise that just listening could ignite a variety of emotions from within.
Most importantly was the man right beside me, and our family and friends watching and supporting us in this momentous occasion.
The past six months had been a roller coaster of ups and downs. It took a while for our families to finally accept we were getting married. Over the course of those months, they gradually started to see that our love for one another was unbreakable and authentic. With my social network in the city, I helped Jake drive his business forward, and from his business’ earnings, he supported me as I started college. I’d been living with him, and he’d been covering our living expenses. I’d also taken a part-time job as a receptionist in the local hospital. I wanted to prove to myself and to my family that I could succeed with the path I carved out on my own. Looking back at what I’d experienced the past months, I would do everything all over again. My father admired my strength; my half-sisters told me they felt a little jealous of how I was able to stand up to our dad.
And today, here at Jake’s and my wedding, we had our friends and family bearing witness to our love and commitment to one another.