Page 94 of A Seaside Escape
Mallory laughed at the bluntness of her friend’s words. ‘Erm, his pec actually,’ she pointed out.
Josie waved Mallory’s comment aside with her hand. ‘Boob, pec… same bloody difference. And you took your cottage off the market so you could stay here. You wouldn’t have done that if you thought he was just “a bit of all right” and nothing else now would you?’
‘Absolutely not,’ Mallory confirmed with a smile.
‘Then what are we going to do? Colin’s downstairs and the poor guy is so worried.’
Mallory stood quickly and made for the door, winking at her best friend. ‘Well… I don’t know about you, but I have a wedding to go to.’
*
They arrived at the church and a red carpet had been laid from the place where the car parked, right up the path to the front of the church. Greg had thought of everything. Colin clung onto Mallory’s hand and looked proudly at her, just as he would his own daughter. Josie stood in front with her small hand-tied bunch of white roses which was a smaller version of Mallory’s large bouquet. The music from inside the church could be heard just under the sound of friendly chatter.
Suddenly the background music was replaced with the opening bars of Hoobastank’s ‘The Reason’ and Mallory took a deep, calming breath. She hadn’t expected yet another romantic touch but then Greg was always full of surprises.
Colin squeezed Mallory’s hand as they stepped towards the doors. ‘This is it, my flower.’ The doors opened and Mallory got her first glimpse of the beautifully flower-adorned church interior. It was such a wonderful sight and the fragrance of white roses filled her senses. The flowers occupied every available window ledge and pew end.
Greg had insisted on the flowers. ‘Yorkshire roses for my Yorkshire rose,’ he had explained to her about his choice when they were planning the wedding.
She looked towards the front where Greg stood facing the altar in his wedding suit, complete with kilt. Ruby and Angus sat beside him, eagerly wagging their tails waiting for her to join them. Slowly, almost as if he feared that she may disappear if his eyes touched upon her, he turned to meet her gaze. His face lit up with love as his eyes met hers. Brad leaned in to hand him a hanky when it was clear his emotions were getting the better of him.
Mallory, Colin and Josie walked slowly down the aisle towards the altar until Mallory and Greg were face to face. Colin handed his ‘adopted’ daughter over to the handsome groom and stepped back. Mallory’s own tears were the issue now and Josie handed her a lace hanky.
Greg leaned towards her and with trembling lips, whispered, ‘Thank you for marrying me. I know this must be a hard day for you. But I’ve never loved or admired you more than I do right now.’ It was the perfect thing to say and she loved him all the more for it.
The vicar began the service. The couple dutifully repeated the words uttered by the man. They held hands and stared lovingly at each other through the whole service.
‘Mallory and Gregory have written some words to each other that they would like to say,’ the vicar announced and stepped back.
Mallory was first to speak. ‘Greg, since the moment I met you I’ve been on a rollercoaster ride. We’ve supported each other through grief and our own individual issues and it’s been difficult at times. But I cannot imagine my life without you in it. And I don’t want to. Whatever life throws at us, we’ll get through it. We’ve proved that we can… I think my guardian angel was watching over me when he brought me to you.’ Her words caught in her throat as she fought to keep her emotions in check, she smiled and breathed deeply. ‘There’s a saying that reminds me of someone close to me… “Love Conquers All” and I never believed that to be true until I met you and now I believe it irrevocably. I love you with all my heart.’
Little sobs could be heard from within the congregation.
Greg wiped his eyes and kissed her tenderly, resting his forehead on hers for a moment. He then stepped forward and Brad handed him his guitar. Mallory gasped when she realised what was happening. She held her hands over her mouth and waited with bated breath to see which song he had chosen.
Greg cleared his throat. ‘Erm, I usually use other people’s words to express how I feel; which is daft when you think about it ’cause I’ve been writing my own songs for years. Mallory, I wrote this for you. I think the words say it all.’ His voice cracked as he spoke, raw emotion trying to escape the cage of his body. ‘It’s called “Mallory’s Song”.’
Mallory watched in adoration as he began to strum chords on his beloved guitar. She was past the point of caring about smudging her perfect make-up as tears cascaded down her face and Greg began to sing his heartfelt words to her:
‘From the moment I met you
It was love at first sight
I wanted to hold you
Each day and each night
Maybe we weren’t meant to be
But that’s not what my heart kept on telling me
I want to hold you forever
And that’s what I’ll do
Whatever life throws our way
It’ll be me and you
