Page 57 of Our Big White Lie
“Absolutely.” She kissed me once more. “Let’s go get married!”
Our wedding ceremony was so much more than I’d thought it would be, and not just because this had only become a real wedding last night.
I was marryingAva. The soulmate who’d been right in front of me all this time. Could this be any more perfect?
Obviously, yes—we wouldn’t have the dark cloud of Gail’s illness in the background. But she was happy today, and so were we, and I just hoped the music and joy of the occasion could drown out that incessantly ticking clock.
It seemed to, because everyone was all smiles as Ava and I walked down the aisle together. Gail was crying.Mymom was crying. Ava and I were both sniffling and wiping our eyes. Even Marco was a little choked up when we stopped in front of him.
As we neared the front of the aisle, I stole a quick look at Gail. She looked absolutely radiant in her dark green mother-of-the-bride dress. Every time her gaze landed on Ava, I knew without a doubt we’d done the right thing. Even if this had played outthe way we’d planned in the beginning—even if the wedding had remained as fake as it was supposed to be—I no longer worried about any bad karma. She’d dreamed of watched her daughter be a bride, and she was so over the moon about it, it was a wonder she didn’t burst.
We made it to the altar, stopped and put our bouquets aside so we could join hands.
Then Marco cleared his throat and started the ceremony. “We are gathered here today to witness the union of these lovely women.” He paused to swipe at his eyes. “And to give thanks to whoever invented waterproof makeup.”
That got everyone laughing, which helped us get a handle on some of the tears. I barely heard him reciting the words we’d all agreed on. I barely remembered to take my cues to say my own lines. I was just too focused on the woman standing in front of me. On her soft smile. On how beautiful she looked in that white dress. On how much love was in her eyes, directed right at me.
How is this real? How?
It didn’t matter how—it was real, and by some miracle, the stars had aligned, and now Ava’s eyes were welling a little more with every line Marco spoke:
“…to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
Her voice shook, but she managed to say, loud and clear, “I do.”
I could barely breathe. She meant it. Thiswasreal.
“Victoria.” Marco turned to me. “Do you take Ava to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
I had never in my life been more sure of anything than I was in my answer: “I do.”
The way Ava’s chin quivered right then almost broke me. Her teary smile had me sniffling, which got us both laughing.
“We’re not done yet,” Marco said. “You two good to finish?”
“We’re good,” I said, wiping my eyes.
“Yeah, we’re good.” Ava laughed and brushed away some tears of her own.
“I should hope so,” Marco said, to the general amusement of our guests. “Especially since we’re almost to the good part.” He pulled a small box from inside his jacket, and when he opened the lid, the diamonds sparkled in the soft overhead light.
I had to fight hard against the lump in my throat. Every step made this feel more and more real. Now we were putting on wedding rings? Oh my God.
Yeah, we were. With unsteady hands, Ava and I slid her great-grandmothers’ rings onto each other’s fingers. We were both sniffling messes as we recited that part of the ceremony—I wasn’t even sure I managed to articulate any of it, but I was pretty sure everyone got the message. As long as Ava did, that was fine by me.
Marco folded the ceremony pages and put them in his pocket. “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you—finally!—wife and wife.” He gestured at us. “Ladies—kiss your wife.”
We both laughed, and we did as we were told. As applause rose, echoing off the banquet hall’s walls and ceiling, I kissed the woman I’d loved longer than I’d realized.
I knew it wouldn’t be as simple as getting married and jumping into being wives. It would take time. Our relationship was and probably always had been in some gray area between best friends and romantic soulmates, and making that shift into the latter would be an adjustment. We wouldn’t settle into it overnight.
I was confident we could do it, though. We were always infinitely patient with each other. We’d had enough fights to know neither of us fought dirty and that we could come back from even those intense arguments that scared me into thinking I was going to lose her forever.
We’d be fine.
And while I was well aware that the transition would be a slow process, it also felt like we’d made the leap after years of standing on the edge. Of course we were together. Of course we were getting married.
Howelsecould this have possibly played out?
