even if he falls.

forever my everything.

April 21st, 2008.

"Tom, you're gonna be fine, you look great, calm the fuck down," my brother said. His 16 years in the military had ended and he was working as a police officer.

"Yeah but what if I mess up my vows and say some dumb shit and ruin the entire fucking wedd-"

"Tom!"

"What?"

"I love you but shut the fuck up."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just nervous as Hell."

"Look," he said kneeling in front of me.

"I've seen the way you guys look at each other. I can say that it's full of even more trust and love than it was back in '94. Even if you fuck something up, no one will mind. He loves you, we love you. Everything's gonna be fine."

"You're the best big brother ever," I said as I pulled him into a hug.

"I know. Now let's get you dressed, you look like you just woke up and the ceremony is in an hour and a half!"

He grabbed me by the hand and dragged me to the bathroom. He made me shave and he combed my hair. I put on even more deodorant than usual and he sprayed me with some random cologne. He grabbed the freshly pressed suit and put it out on the bed.

"Get dressed and meet my downstairs," he said patting me on the back.

"Be down soon."

I stripped down, putting on clean black boxer briefs. I took the white dress shirt and buttoned it to the top. I put on my pants, tucking the shirt where it needed to be. I put on my black bow tie and black vest over it. I stuffed the folded handkerchief in the front pocket of my vest. I took a final look in the mirror and took a deep breath.

"You can do this," I whispered to myself.

I headed downstairs and was met with the faces of my siblings.

"Daaaamn, Tommy," Kari smiled.

"Lookin good, little brother."

"Thanks guys, you both look awesome as well.

Kari was wearing a white dress that had a black bow tied around it. She would be matching Anne. Shon wore a black dress shirt with white suspenders and a white bow tie. He would be matching Travis. The wedding was relatively small, only inviting family and relatively close friends. My parents weren't gonna be there as they weren't even invited. I haven't talked to them in years. I guess they got a divorce a little after I graduated. A few of my aunts and uncles and cousins would be there, same with Mark's side. We invited a few friends although they were busy. Atom, David, and Matt were all gonna be there though. Mark liked them a lot after getting to know them, they got along really well.

"You ready to head to the chapel," Kari asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay, let's go. Travis had the task of getting the kids ready so he should probably be there when we are. Mark will be hidden somewhere for the next 40 minutes."

"Agh, I can't wait," I said as we got in the car.

"Me neither," she said as she got into the back seat. Shon started the car and we went to the chapel. We weren't really religious but we thought the church looked really cool, it hadn't been used in decades. It offered a lot of seating as well

We got out of the car and only a few people were here. Travis was there with all the kids as well as David and the other guys. Our wedding party was only 6 people, Mark and I included. Travis was all dressed up, although still sporting a beanie to cover up his Mohawk. Anne and Jack ran over to me.