Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“So far, this wedding day is a lot more chill than your previous one.”
Oliver tried for a full-on glare at Cody but couldn’t hang on to it. He did have a point, after all.
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Dave said.
Demetrius grinned. “Well, not once you get back home.”
Cody winced. “Ugh. Could you not?”
“What?” Demetrius’s tone was overly innocent. “Your younger brother and Oliver should enjoy a healthy sexual relationship like we do.”
Cody and Dave both groaned. Oliver hugged Demetrius. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Today’s going to be great. Just enjoy it.”
A rainy end to July had softened the grassy area beneath the trees and allowed patches of wildflowers and ferns to flourish.
Oliver wanted to take a mental snapshot of these minutes before he and Dave were finally married.
When they’d invited everyone via text to what Dave had begun referring to as “Wedding Day - Round 2,” all they’d told their guests was the date—the first Saturday in August—and to wear casual, comfortable clothes and bring a chair.
Now, seeing all of their friends and a few family members gathered there on the bank of Parson’s Pond was humbling and fortifying.
His grandmother sat in the shade with Dieter beside her.
Demetrius’s Aunt Amelia, her boyfriend Otis, Margie, and Dave’s parents, Alice and Greg, were all gathered in a cluster around her.
Tracey, Zenona, Lucia and Gayle, Jugs—still wearing a cervical collar—and Agatha and Robin all sat beneath another tree.
Clarabell stood with her back to the pond, prepared to officiate.
“You ready?” Dave asked.
Oliver took his hand. “More than ready.”
Demetrius and Cody walked toward the pond, holding hands and sharing glances, until they reached Clarabell where they parted to stand on either side. Jugs waited for Dave’s nod then tapped his phone. Their song, “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes, started to play from a Bluetooth speaker.
Oliver tightened his grip on Dave’s hand, and they started across the grass. Clarabell beamed when they reached her, and Oliver turned to face Dave, taking both of his hands.
“Welcome back to round two of Dave and Oliver’s wedding,” Clarabell said.
Everyone laughed. A light breeze ruffled the surface of the pond.
“We’re here today because Dave and Oliver have chosen to share their lives together, not once, but repeatedly, day in and day out.
They’ve been tested in ways most couples never will be, and have grown stronger, together, because of it.
Love, real love, is choosing each other every day, every hour, every minute, while also allowing space for their partner to grow.
It’s patient and kind and honest, and Dave and Oliver have proven their love for each other over and over again.
” She turned to Dave. “Do you have vows?”
“I do.” Dave blushed. “I mean, yes.”
Oliver and the whole group laughed.
Then Dave met his eyes and drew in a breath.
“Oliver, the night we met was chaos.”
“Understatement,” Cody muttered.
Dave continued without missing a beat. “But you made me feel connected and whole for the first time in my life. I had come back home that night to try and help my brothers work through their differences, but I wound up changing my life. I moved back permanently shortly after that to build a new and better life, with you.”
Oliver’s vision blurred, and he lifted a shoulder to dry his cheeks, unwilling to release Dave’s hands. He heard his grandmother and, most likely, Alice, sniffling.
“Oliver?” Clarabell said, her voice gentle. “Do you have vows?”
“Yes.” Oliver sniffed and straightened his back.
He met Dave’s eyes. “Dave, I never expected to find the love of my life while escaping an army of werewolves, but here we are. I am honored and humbled by your love for me. You are the kindest, most generous man I have ever met, and I have fallen in love with you moment by moment, day by day, over and over again since the night we met. I love you, I cherish you, and I cannot wait to share our lives together.”
More sniffling, and someone blew their nose.
Clarabell continued. “Dave, do you have the ring?”
Dave accepted the ring from Cody. Taking Oliver’s left hand, he held the ring close to his finger.
“Do you, Dave, take Oliver to be your lawful husband, to have and to hold, to love and to honor, to laugh with and cry with, to disagree with and forgive, to trust and to nurture, from this day forward till death do you part?”
Dave smiled and a tear ran down his cheek. “I do.”
He slid the ring along Oliver’s finger and into place.
“Oliver, do you have the ring?”
Demetrius handed him the ring and Oliver took Dave’s hand.
“Oliver, do you take Dave to be your lawful husband, to have and to hold, to love and to honor, to laugh with and cry with, to disagree with and forgive, to trust and to nurture, from this day forward till death do you part?”
Oliver let out a soft, shaky breath. “I do.”
He slipped the ring onto Dave’s finger. They joined hands. The breeze played over them and set the wildflowers swaying. Across the pond, the heron snagged a fish. Sunlight winked in the ripples rolling out from it. Dave’s fingers curled around Oliver’s hands, soft and warm.
“By the power vested in me by the state of Pennsylvania, I pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss.”
Dave framed Oliver’s face with his hands and planted a deep, hot kiss on him as everyone cheered.
When they broke the embrace, Dave grabbed his hand and they faced the group.
Everyone was standing and cheering, faces bright in the spring sunlight.
They started back toward the card tables and their guests threw grass seed over them.
Oliver and Dave ducked their heads and, laughing, walked forward to their future together.
Afterwards, Margie removed the foil from two large trays, one filled with slices of her famous meatloaf, the other piled high with baked chicken thighs.
A few of the guests had brought cold side dishes, and people loaded their plates, grabbed a water, soft drink, or something stronger from two coolers, then arranged their chairs to form one large circle facing each other.
They shared stories as they ate, talking about past adventures.
Robin listened to it all with a big smile.
Oliver ate and sipped a White Claw, mostly listening to and laughing with everyone around him. He studied the ring on his hand, watched the sun sparkle across the gold band, and let out a breath that seemed as if he’d been holding in for a month.
When the time came for their first dance together, Jugs changed the music to “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley.
Oliver took Dave’s hands and looked into his familiar eyes, seeing his joy and love reflected back.
He laid his head against Dave’s chest, the beat of his heart a steady reminder of his love as they slowly turned on the grassy spot.
Birds soared overhead and a heron waded in the shallows on the far side of the pond, scanning for fish.
When their song ended, everybody cheered, and then Jugs kicked off an upbeat playlist of music.
The whole group joined them, even his grandmother and Dieter.
Dave danced with his mother, and Oliver danced with his grandmother.
They talked and ate some more, and later Margie produced a cake she’d made, a smaller replacement of the one from their original wedding that had gone to a shelter along with all of the food.
Oliver took a break from dancing to grab a bottle of water from a cooler and dropped into a chair.
He watched the people he loved—yes, he had to admit, even Cody—dancing and laughing, celebrating Dave and himself.
White, puffy clouds moved in the sky as if they, too, were dancing.
The mummy’s obsession and every terrible thing that had happened at Bishop Point University felt like it belonged in someone else’s life.
It was, indeed, the very best day.