I was standing at the altar with my best men at the side. I tried my best to heart rate, but how can I when one of the most exciting yet scariest that is going to happen to me is right around the corner? Everyone in the church were talking to each other, when I saw Amy scurried inside of the church in her long, off-the-shoulder, peach, Ancient Greek style dress to whisper something in the singer's ear. The singer nods her head and conducts her band to start playing, "Here Comes The Bride." The church's doors open wide with Danny walking down the aisle first with the ring pillows in his arm. I ruffled his black hair as he stood next to me. He quietly laughed, before he pointed at the door to pay attention. The flower girl came in littering ground with white roses, followed by the maid of honor and a few bridesmaids. Just behind all of them is most important person of all.
Dressed in a white, strapless dress with diamond stud surrounding the chest area along with silver heels and matching color jewelry was the bride herself with her perfectly manicure hands attached to my father's arm. Her face was cover with the long, white veil with floral design at the end of it. She looked as heavenly as an angel as she walked down the aisle, but something about her body language makes her appear as stiff as a zombie. As if she were uncomfortable with this whole thing. Hopefully, she isn't having thoughts about this.
I smiled at her once she walked to where I am and lifted up her veil. She didn't have quite a happy face for a bride. Sure, she's smiling, but her eyes tells a different story. She looks extremely apprehensive about this. Her smile immediately dropped once she knew her face was away from the crowd to see.
I squeezed her hands just as the priest started the ceremony.
"Together we are gathered here today.." He started off, but I barely listened. I just paid attention to Melly the entire time, making sure she's totally cool with this. After all, it is also her special day and she deserves to feel happy.
She continued to look back at the crowd through the entire ceremony as if she is planning an escape. She was excessively blinking her eyes and she often squeezed my hand too hard, the way it always does when she's tense about something. She didn't even return a smile when I flashed her one. She is totally second guessing this. I have never seen a bride look as anxious as Melly does at the moment.
"Derek, do you take Melina to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor her, and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and for the forsaking of all others, be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live?" The priest asked me.
I smiled at her as I said, "I do."
She looked completely miserable at this point. As if she would burst out crying in front of friends and family, and they're not tears of joy.
"Melina, do you take Derek to be your wedded husband, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking of all others, be faithful only to him for as long as you both live?" The priest asked her.
I heard her whimpered as she looked around the church from the crowd to the priest to me.
"I-I.." Melly started, tears forming in her eyes. Uh oh. "I don't!" The whole church gasped. "I'm sorry, Derek. I can't do this."
With that she took her dress in hand and ran out of the church, leaving me looking
puzzle at those double doors. People started to mummered to themselves about what just happened.
"Um, uh.." I started to say, when my mother suddenly appeared in front of me.
"Derek, what's going on?" She asked.
"I don't know. I need go after her." I said. I turned to look at my brother, "John, can you stall the crowd and look after Danny? I have to go talk to her."
"Sure thing, bro." He said, patting my back.
I muttered a thanks before running after my bride. I called out her name as I looked everywhere for her in the courtyard, before finally spotting her near the church's gazebo, curled up into the ball, crying. I slowed down my pace, so that I wouldn't scare her when I showed up next to her.
"Melly?" I asked, quietly as I approached the girl. I tried to touch her shoulder, but she flinch as if it were fire. I couldn't help but feel hurt by it, however I know that I have bigger matter to attend to. "Melly. Melly, what's wrong? How come you ran out of the ceremony like that?"
She coughed from the excessive sobbing as she turned around to look at me. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make a fool out of you like that."
"You didn't. Just tell me what's wrong. That is if you want to." I said, running my hand through her hair just the way she likes it.
Melly was silent, excluding her sobs escaping from her lips. "Do you think we rushed us?" I cocked my head to the side at her words, but let her continued. "Here we are at twenty-one with a three year old and we're getting married. If our lives would normal, I bet you five bucks we wouldn't be doing this. At least not this soon."
"Not true. You never know what could happen, even if we didn't have a child. That's at least what I'm assuming what you meant when you said, 'normal lives'." I said.
"This was all going so well. I really do want to marry you, but Amy kind of gave me a reality check when she said, 'If only I could marry the first guy I've ever been with'. It hit me right then and there that you're the only guy that I've ever been with. And here I am about to get married to him without truly knowing if my heart belongs to him." Melly said.
I stayed quiet, letting her words process through my brain, She's not wrong; We have only been with each other. I was her first boyfriend. Her first kiss. Her first fuck. We were each other's first everything and we just sticked by it because we loved each other too damn much to let go. It is impossible to imagine my life without her, because it has always been with her. We're two peas in a pod. How do I know there's no other girl that I want to be with? I just know. I just know that she's the only woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with. No one else, but her. I know she feels the same way too, it's just the whole marriage thing that is screwing with her mind.
"I never knew you felt that way." I said, looking down at her with my hands shoved in my pocket.
"Don't get me wrong. I love us. I love everything about us. We have a great history together and we're even great now, but how do I know if you're the one that should be in my future? How do you know you shouldn't be with another girl?" She said, looking back at me.
"Because I just know." I told her.
"But how?" She questioned again through her sobs.
"Good grief, Melina, are you in love with another guy or something?" I yelled, getting a bit frustrated with her attitude. I know she's anxious, I know she just doesn't want to regret anything, but the way she is acting is being dramatic. "Do you?" She shook her head as she continued to cry. "Then what are you so worried about? As of today, we have been together for twenty-one years. Twenty-one years of life that I will always cherish with my heart. Twenty-one years full of memories that I wouldn't dare to erase. You know why? Because I love you so damn much to do so. And I know you love me too. Just a bit confused right now, but it will be solved soon. When I proposed to you during your seventeenth birthday party, I knew I was doing. I knew you were the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I wanted you to be mine. I simply cannot imagine sharing what we have with another chick. I don't need to try anything with anyone else, because I don't want to try anything with anyone else. I just want you." I watched her as she continued to cry on the floor. "We don't have to get married right now, if you don't want to. Hell, we don't have to get married at all. I'm just doing it because I love you too much and I wanted something solid between us. It just made sense, you know? But I honestly don't need a piece of paper telling me that we're married to confirm that I love you or anything. And you know I would never force you do anything that you don't want to do, so I'm giving you a choice: you think about what we're doing clearly in your head. If you're willing to get married, that's fine. I'll be waiting for you down the aisle. If not, that's fine as well. Just know that I will love you forever and always. I will never leave you. Just think about it. Please? For your sake."
And mine and everyone elses', but I didn't want her to think that she needed to make anyone else happy, but herself today. I wanted her to make her own decision without anybody or anything influencing it. This whole day is literally up to her.
With one last look, I turned around and left her at the step of the gazebo, heading back to church. Hopefully, she'll do whatever her heart wants her to do.
{_}
I was talking to Mike and Jack, when Amy came running into the room.
"Everybody, calm down. The wedding is about to start." She said, before running back out the church's door.
I looked at my friends, who simply shrugged, before I turned my head back to the front of the church. The band started playing, "Here Comes The Bride" once again as the process from earlier repeated. When I saw Melly walk down the aisle with her veil in front of her face, I smiled, because I knew she was doing this with a passion. I felt a tear trickle down my face at the acknowledgment of having to deal with her for the rest of my life. I'm going to have to spend plenty of more years with her craziness, but I know it will be worth it. I know this is the right decision that I am making. I know this girl is where my heart is truly at.
"You're awesome." I mouthed to her as she continued to approach me.
She looked down at ground, blushing at the compliment. I still got it. She lifted her head back up with a warm smile planted firmly on her face and mouthed, "Thanks. You too."
I silently laugh, warm vibe running through my veins. The vibes that only Melly can give me.
I took my hand in hers, pulling her away from my father's grasp. I lifted up her veil to reveal her beautiful face that just happened to be retouched with makeup. I took my hand in hers again, rubbing my thumbs over her knuckles just the way she likes it. I couldn't stop smiling as the priest said his words over again, blessing our holy matrimony and it looked like Melly couldn't stop smiling either. We both happily recited our vows and gave each other the rings that confirms everything.
I don't know what changed her mind and I probably never will know, but I'm glad it did, because this woman knows just how to make my day.
"I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." The priest said.
I happily pulled Melly towards me and dipped her down, giving her the french kiss of the lifetime. Everyone cheered as I lifted her up bridal style and carried her out of the room. Once we were out in the courtyard, I settled Melly down and held her hand.
"Where are we going?" She asked, removing a piece of her hair from her lip glossed lips.
"Wherever you want to go. We're married now." I told her She laughed as I pulled her into another kiss. "No, but seriously, we're going to the reception hall."
"Oh, okay. Take me there, Mr. Parker." She said.
My heartbeat accelerated at those words.
"Will do, Mrs. Parker." I said, throwing them back at her.
Goodness gracious, I love calling her that now. She's mine. She's mine forever. Even through divorce, even through death, she will always remain as my nutter butter. Always.
Melly laughed again, before we ran off to the hall we rented for tonight.
{_}
It was ten in the evening and the party is still going on. The dinner had been handed out. The speeches has been made. The cake has been cut and eaten away. Now we're just enjoying our life at the moment.
Danny came up to me and his mom, angrily pulling his tie off.
"Get off of me tie!" He said, throwing the red fabric to the ground.
He despises formal clothing with a passion, which is funny since Melly and I adore them a lot. We just never had the chance to wear them often. The one person that I do know hates formal clothing as much as he does is John. It's like Danny is his child without actually being his child.
Melly looked at each other and laughed as our son tugged on her dress to pick him up. She abide to his wishes and held him in her arms.
"I'm bored. Can we please pay a game?" Danny whined.
"Haha, I don't know what game we could play, but we could dance." She said.
Melly smiled at him as she put him back on the floor and dragged him away from me so that they can dance with a slow song. I watched in admiration as my wife(damn, it feels so good to call her that) and my son gave each other a good time on the dance floor. They talking and laughing as they spinned each other around.
I was snapped out of my thought when I felt a hand on my back. I looked around to see it was my former bandmates.
"So now that you're married, what are you going to do next?" Mike asked as he took a sip of his champagne.
"There's one thing I can do." I said.
"Fuck her right in the pussy." Mike, Jack, and I chimed at the same time.
We laughed at our attempt of impersonating Fred. I took a sip of my alcoholic drink and swallow before I answered properly.
"No, but seriously, all I can do right now is love her and raise our family well." I said.
"That's great. Has she mentioned if she wanted to try out for baby number two?" Jack asked, looking at the direction of Melly as she tickled our son's tummy making him burst out into laughter.
"She has, she has. I admit I want another one too, however we both admit that we should at least wait a little longer before we try again. Danny is still handful to take care, adding more to the equation would just increase that beautiful stress for us." I said as continued to down my drink
Not to mention that we just want to have fun with our lives now before we try again.
I continued chatting with my friends, before they left me hanging to flirt with a few hot chicks that they spotted during the wedding. I turned my head to see Melly approaching me with Danny in her arms.
"Danny is exactly a mini-you. He can't believe how a boy his size can get envious over anyone that comes our way." Melly said, laughing at how the boy scowled at a man who passed by us to congratulations us on our marriage.
"Well, I'm happy to say that I am not jealous anymore." I joked, kissing her lips. "You just married me, which means you're trapped to endure me and my shenanigans forever."
"Oh boy, what ever will I do?" She joked, adding a hand to her forehead only to add the dramatic effect.
"Shut up and kiss me." I said as I leaned in to kiss her again.
"I'm bored." Danny whined, bringing the attention back to himself.
I looked at him and bent down to his level. "There's Uncle John. Why don't you entertain him for a while?"
"Okay." The young boy shrugged, before running off to where his uncle is.
Melly laughed and said, "Got rid of him fast."
I laughed as well at the boy's simplicity. "Yeah, let's dance."
"Okay." She whispered as I took her to the dance floor.
Once we were in the middle of the ground, Melly put her arms around my neck as we danced to an Elvis Presley song. She looks so divine tonight, it makes me want to cry. She's literally too perfect to be a real human.
"Melly.." I called her in a low voice.
"Hmm?" She responded, perking up the the nickname that I gave her years ago.
"I'm curious, what made you change your mind? From earlier today." I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
"Oh, well, after our little discussion, I figured that you were right. I admit I was being dramatic over the whole thing, especially since I knew my answer all along, I just wanted to make the right choice, you know? I just want us to be solid in the end. But I know that I love you with all of my heart and that will never change." Melly said, her brown eyes filled with firing passion that I know is meant for me. "Plus, it would be a shame for all of this to go to waste."
We both laughed at the ending of her almost sentimental speech.
"Yeah." I said. "Yeah. I just don't think you realize how much you mean to me. The best thing about all of this is that I didn't have to find you; I was with you all along. And I always will be. I love you. I love every inch of you. Inside and out."
I looked at her as her eyes started to glistened as the words full of emotions hit her. She didn't even have to say anything, but her face says everything that's on her mind. She's so cute, I swear.
I chuckled at her speechless response and wiped her tears with my thumb. "Don't cry."
Melly look away as she put a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry about, queen." I said, looking right into her brown eyes as I caress her cheek.
"Oh my gosh, you have no idea how much I love you. I honestly cannot ask for a better lover than you because there is no one, better than you. Sorry for being so stupid today. I love you, Derek. I really do." She said as she started to tear up again at those words.
She's truly the most lovable person I've met.
I teared up at her words, truly not believing that I actually married this incredible human being. I crashed my lips against hers just as our tears started to fall. I broke it up once we started to make out and get too carried away. I don't want to start a little a freak show and explain anything to my clean-minded son.
We just laughed once we pulled back. She leaned her head onto my shoulder as the song continued.
And that's how it went for the rest of the night. We continued to admire each other's presence by dancing some more. After one last dance, we officially signed our marriage license, grabbed Danny and John, and ran to the limo that was waiting for us to take us to our honeymoon.
Hey there! It's me. I hope you like this chapter. Two more chapters left and we're done. But the story will not be over yet. Remember I still have Melly's point of view to write out as well as Danny's spin-off. But until then, have a wonderful day!
XOXO,