I was walking down the brick bridge and smiling at the view.
Liam really picked out a spectacular venue, and the further I walked the more beautiful it got.
I saw Liam's back to me and smiled, as I got closer.
The man that led me here, was the venue manager and would stand by as a witness to the ceremony.
I tapped Liam on the shoulder and he turned around, his mouth wide as he saw my appearance.
"Wow, so much for not getting emotional" he said, smiling softly. He kissed my cheek and pulled me close "Truly spectacular"
The man officiating the marriage handed me a bouquet of hydrangeas and peonies.
I looked at Liam "My favorite"
"Of course"
"Are we ready to begin?" the man asked. He had a thick French accent, but spoke English well.
Liam and I both nodded.
We turned and faced the view, hand in hand, as the man cleared his name.
"There comes a time when a decision must be made. Ultimately, two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take." he smiled at us.
Liam mouthed "I love you"
"It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage is itself something which has to be created. To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take."
Liam squeezed my hand.
"If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection to freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom and the risk of love, which is permanent; into that love which is not possession but participation. It takes a lifetime to learn another person"
I smiled up at Liam, feeling myself getting rather emotional.
"When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling."
He smiled at us.
"Today your separate lives, with your own memories, hopes, temptations and trials are merged into one. Bring into this life, each for the sake of the other, the best you can be. Then the love you bear each other will be ever strengthened and enriched." He looked at us "Now is the time to say the vows that you have prepared for one another"
Liam smiled "I've wanted to fall in love ever since I can remember, even at 5 years old, I knew. I knew it was the best feeling in the world. But growing up I had a tendency to look too hard. My dad reminded me that you can't find love, love comes to you. I didn't believe him when he said that, how is love going to just come to me if I don't look for it. After many unsuccessful relationships I gave up looking. Then you came into my life. I didn't know at first you were going to mean so much because I didn't find you. You found me."
I smiled at him.
"It was so unexpected. That's what love is and will always be though, completely unexpected. That's what we are. I want our life together to be completely unexpected: the good, the bad, even the crazy. I'm so happy that you found me and that we get to share this amazing feeling together. Because I have never understood the phrase "I love you half-to-death." I will certainly love you all the way to the grave. And to stop would be the death of me."
I felt my eyes water, hanging on to every word he said and how he said it.
His eyes were watering up too and he wiped his under his eyes, chuckling a bit.
"Gracie?" the man said.
I nodded, wiping under my eye "I met you when I had no idea of who I was or who I could be. I'd never seen real love, because I didn't grow up around it, but you showed me what real love is like, and how despite the distance and the problems that find their way in, you can always find that love again, because it's real and it's pure."
My voice was shaky, and Liam smiled at me.
"Your love is greater than anything I could have ever imagined. I still can't believe that you chose me. I have been so richly blessed. I have found the one who my soul loves. Every fiber of my being is in love with you. I love you with this incredible, deep love today, and I even imagine how much more I will love you in ten, twenty, fifty years. I will always be yours" I took a deep breath. "You have my whole heart for my whole life and I vow to love you, no matter what challenges life may carry towards us and try to break us apart, because I will always find my way back to you."
He grinned, wiping his eyes too.
He took my hand and kissed the top of it.
"I love you"
I love you too"
The man smiled and turned to Liam.
"Take the ring and place it upon her left ring finger and say, with this ring I thee wed"
Liam nodded and put the wedding band on my finger, making sure it fit well against the engagement ring.
"With this ring I thee wed"
"Now Gracie, place his ring on his left ring finger and say, with this ring I thee wed"
With shaky hands I placed the silver band on his left ring finger.
"With this ring I thee wed"
The man smiled "Since, then, you have pledged your mutual vows, I by virtue of the authority vested in me, by the church, declare you to be husband and wife. You may kiss the bride"
Liam pulled me close and kissed me hard, feeling the emotions flow through me as I kissed back.
"Congratulations" the manager said.
Liam and I smiled at one another, both emotional from the experience.
The man walked away, with the hotel managers, while someone from the hotel, brought us two glasses of champagne.
"Congratulations" she said, before leaving.
I took a sip of the champagne, smiling at him.
"Don't drink too much, we still need to get somewhere" he said, taking a drink of his own.
I looked up and saw it was beginning to rain.
Liam laughed "I hope it doesn't ruin your dress"
"No, it's fine"
We finished up our drinks and then ran out to the front of the entrance where our SUV was waiting for us.
Liam loaded our bags into the back seat and got in the driver's seat, while I got in the passenger seat.
He kissed me again before driving off.
"I can't believe we're married!" I said, so incredibly happy.
Liam took my hand "Well, Mrs. Payne; are you happy?" he kissed the top of my hand.
"More than you know"
"Well Mrs. Payne, are you happy" he asked, kissing the top of my hand.
I nodded "More than you know"
"Do you want to take the scenic route back to the hotel?" he asked.
I nodded "That sounds lovely" I looked out the window, noticing how hard the rain was coming down "You know, in some cultures, rain on your wedding day is lucky"
"Is that so?"
"Are you sure we're fine driving in this rain?"
He nodded "Yeah; besides we're in the country area, so we don't have to worry about many cars"
I looked at him "As long as you're sure"
He nodded "Of course"
I turned the radio on and smiled, at the CD playing "Our song"
(PLAY VIDEO. IT MAKES THE SCENARY MORE DRAMATIC!)
He nodded "I know we can't dance to it, but I promise we'll dance to it at the big wedding"
"Is this the Jimmy Durante version?" I asked.
He nodded "I know it's not our version, but it's still a really nice one"
"It's different" I said, smiling at him.
I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summers day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way
I kissed his cheek as we headed towards a more deserted road, with lots of trees and forests.
I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll seeing you.
As we went to turn, I saw an animal run out into the middle of the road "Liam!"
Liam tried swerving the car a bit too hard, trying to avoid hitting the animal. He quickly lost control of the car as it hydroplaned, spinning out of control and flipping. The airbags went off, taking the breath out of me.
Without warning, the car started rolling again off the road, only stopping as the top of the car hit a tree.
My body was slammed into the door of the car, as glass shattered everywhere, covering me and cutting me.
My face hurt as I started breathing hard.
I started crying out in pain as I tried to move my left arm.
"Gracie" Liam said, speaking slowly. He looked around at the state we were in, almost as if he hadn't mentally caught up with what had happened.
"Liam are you okay?" I asked, continuing to cry.
He slowly nodded "I think so" he went to unbuckle his seat belt, but it wasn't coming undone "Grace, I'm stuck"
I tried unlocking my seat belt, finding mine stuck as well "Liam!"
"I think the mechanism got fucked" he groaned, putting his hand to his head "Let me think"
I tried pulling at the seat belt, but nothing was working.
He was quiet for a moment, as he tried to work through this "My bag"
"What?"
I watched him reach towards the backseat, straining himself as he pulled out the bag that had his small odds and ends.
"What are you doing?"
He dug through the bag, pulling out his razor, taking out the blade that was in it "I might be able to cut through this"
"You think so?"
He carefully placed it between his thumb and index finger, making sure the grip was good on it, before cutting into the seat belt fabric.
"It's working" I said, feeling relieved.
Liam worked at it for who knows how long before the razor broke "Fuck!" he took a deep breath "These things are sharp, but they're so thin and fragile"
"What now?"
He took one of the broken pieces, slowly working at the last bits of the seat belt, cursing to himself as the sharp part cut his fingers. He broke himself free from the seat belt and carefully climbed out of it.
My breathing was fast again.
"Gracie, there's no way in hell this is going to work on yours; this razor is basically done for" he held up his hand, showing the blood covering his hand.
I threw my head back, starting to cry again.
"Let me think" he said, looking in the back seat for something else that could help.
Liam groaned and tried pulling on the seat belt as hard as he could, unable to do anything to help.
"Liam, if anything happens" I cried.
He shook his head "Don't you dare start thinking like that. I'm getting you out of here" he looked through the bag again, letting out a frustrated yell "Neither one of our phones has service. God dammit!"
I looked back at him and his face fell "What?"
"There's a lot of blood on your face and chest" he whispered.
I shook my head "Don't tell me that, please"
Liam climbed into the back, groaning in pain "I think I fucked up my ankle on the peddle" he reached in the back, taking out a tire iron and put his coat over me, while he broke the remains of the sunroof window.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
He took the coat off of me "I need an easier way to get out"
"Get out"
He gave me a sad look "Gracie, I can't get you out of here on my own; I physically can't"
"What does that mean?"
"It means, I have to go walk and find help"
I shook my head "Please don't leave me here" my breathing got quicker as I became scared of hyperventilating.
He looked me in the eyes "Gracie, I don't want to leave you here, but no one is here to help us; we can't call an ambulance"
"You said there was no one for miles; how do you know that you'll find help?"
"It's the only thing making me feel confident about walking out there"
Tears streamed down my face "Please don't leave me here alone"
"I don't have a choice" he took my right hand "I love you"
"Don't say that to me; it sounds like you're saying it for the last time" I cried.
He frowned "Gracie, I love you"
"I love you, Liam" I sobbed, feeling my body shake.
He kissed me softly "I'm coming back for you; okay?"
"Okay" I whispered.
Liam climbed out through the sunroof, groaning in pain from his ankle.
Time passed, and I started feeling more pain, while my anxiety was getting worse.
The rain was still coming down hard, leaving me soaked and worried that the rain would collect in this car, while it was in the ditch.
If the rain didn't stop, I would worry about drowning.
My crying got harder, as I tried to move out of the seat belt. It felt like each minute it was getting tighter.
I could barely breathe as I started slipping in and out of unconsciousness.
I let out a scream, terrified of staying here any longer "Liam, please come back!" between the sobbing and the hyperventilating, my head was getting lightheaded.
I closed my eyes, trying to accept that help might not arrive.