41. Jamie
Chapter forty-one
Jamie
Full Hearts
I have played in sold-out arenas. I've skated onto Olympic ice.
I've stood beneath national television lights while twenty thousand people screamed my name.
None of it prepared me for waiting at the end of this aisle.
The little church overlooking Briar Cove’s town square has never felt larger. Or quieter.
Sunlight streams through the stained-glass windows, filling the sanctuary with soft shades of blue and gold.
Pastor Ronald stands beside me.
Toby waits on my other side, looking far more relaxed than I feel.
The front pews are already filled with the people who've carried us here.
Our parents. Coach and Becca.
Next to Toby and me, my teammates stand together, looking suspiciously well-behaved for once.
The first notes of the processional begin and the chapel doors open.
Brooke appears first. She smiles as she walks slowly down the aisle wearing a shimmering light blue dress, bouquet in hand. I sneak a peek at Caleb and he looks awestruck. I wonder if today may push him to go to his knee for something other than stopping pucks.
At the front, she slips quietly to the opposite side of the altar.
Paige follows. Then Sadie.
Then comes Keisha as the door closes behind her.
She walks alone. Confident. Steady.
She reaches the front of the chapel and takes her place at the altar opposite Toby and me.
Before facing forward, she catches my eye.
She gives me one tiny nod.
It says everything. Take good care of her.
I answer with a nod of my own. I will.
***
Without realizing it...I hold my breath. Liam leans around Toby just enough to whisper, "If you pass out, we're telling everyone it was allergies."
Toby doesn't even look at him. "You are unbelievable."
"I know."
Coach quietly clears his throat from the front row. "Liam."
"Sorry." A beat passes. "...Still funny, though."
Even Pastor Ronald smiles.
Then...the doors begin to open again.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Toby adjust the ring box in his pocket.
"You've checked your pocket enough."
"I wasn't checking it."
"You were."
"I was making sure it was still there."
Liam again whispers. "I offered to glue his hands to his sides."
Coach sighs. "Somebody keep him occupied."
"I resent that."
"No, you don't."
"I really don't."
Again, a ripple of laughter moves quietly through the row of my best buddies.
Even I smile.
***
The music changes as the doors begin to open. Light spills into the chapel from the hallway beyond.
Everyone rises and turns toward the back of the chapel.
At first...
I don't see anyone.
Then I see her father. One careful step. Then another.
And finally...
Her.
Everything else disappears. There is only Annette.
She's wearing a dress I knew I would love. Her veil catches the morning light like a whisper.
The pearls at her neck shimmer softly.
Her arm rests gently through her father's.
And she's smiling. Not a nervous smile. Not a careful one. A peaceful one.
It’s the same smile she wears when she watches the sunrise, or laughs over lunch on the dock, or reaches for my hand without thinking. Home.
I don't realize that tears have filled my eyes until she laughs. Just a little. She mouths something across the chapel. Hi.
A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. I mouth the only answer that matters. Hi, beautiful.
She blushes. Even from halfway across the room, I can see it.
Someone near me sniffles loudly.
Probably my mother.
Possibly Coach.
Honestly...maybe all of us.
Annette never looks away. Neither do I.
She keeps walking toward me. Every step feels like another promise, like another answered prayer.
Every step brings the rest of my life closer.
Beside me, Toby quietly clears his throat.
Without taking my eyes off Annette, I whisper,
"I'm okay."
He smiles. "I know."
"No." I swallow hard. "I'm more than okay."
Annette reaches the front of the chapel.
Her father kisses her cheek, then watches as we continue.
***
She smiles at me. "So..."
Her voice is barely louder than a whisper. "You clean up pretty well, Captain."
I grin. "You noticed?"
"I always notice."
I lean to her and touch her lips for the briefest kiss before Pastor Ronald clears his throat rather pointedly.
A ripple of laughter moves through the chapel.
Without looking away from Annette, I whisper, "Worth it."
She laughs. And somehow...she becomes even more beautiful.
***
Pastor Ronald smiles warmly as the last notes of the processional fade into silence.
He glances from Annette to me, then out across the chapel.
"Family and friends..."
His familiar voice settles over the room like a warm blanket.
"We gather today to witness one of God's greatest gifts."
His smile deepens. "The joining of two lives."
I continue to look at Annette. She's still looking at me. Still smiling. I don't think either of us has blinked in the last minute.
Pastor Ronald chuckles softly. "I can already tell these two would very much like me to hurry."
Laughter ripples through the chapel. Even Annette laughs.
"So, I'll do my best."
More laughter. Then his expression grows thoughtful.
"Marriage isn't built in grand moments alone. It's built in ordinary mornings. In forgiveness offered quickly. In choosing one another again and again.
It's found in laughter around the dinner table, in hands held during difficult days.
In friendship. In faith in God.
And in the quiet decision that no matter what tomorrow brings...
...we will face it together."
Every word feels written for us, for the months when she fought for my recovery.
For every argument that slowly became trust.
For every time she believed in me before I believed in myself.
Pastor Ronald turns toward Annette's father. "Who presents this woman to be married?"
Her father smiles. He looks at me. For a moment, it's just the two of us. He gently places her hand in mine. "Her mother and I do."
I quietly say the only words to him that matter. "Thank you."
His eyes glisten. He gives my shoulder one firm squeeze. "Take good care of her."
I smile. "With everything I have."
He nods once. "I know you will."
He kisses Annette's cheek, then steps to his seat beside her mother.
I don't let go of Annette's hand, not for a second.
The moment our fingers touch...
Everything settles.
The months apart. The uncertainty. The fear.
The recovery. The waiting.
Gone.
Pastor Ronald waits until the room settles again. Then he folds his hands.
"Jamie, Annette...
When the two of you first came to see me, you spent nearly an hour telling me why you weren't ready for marriage."
A few knowing smiles appear among our friends.
Pastor Ronald grins and looks across the room. "I remember thinking that these two have absolutely no idea how deeply they already love each other.'"
The chapel fills with quiet laughter as Annette looks down, smiling.
I rub my thumb gently across the back of her hand.
She looks back up and our eyes meet again.
Pastor Ronald smiles knowingly.
"I've had the privilege of watching your love grow. I've watched two people discover that strength isn't found in carrying life's burdens alone. It's found in allowing someone else to help carry them."
His words hit me squarely in the heart. Because that's exactly what Annette taught me. She never asked me to stop being strong. She simply refused to let me be strong by myself.
Pastor Ronald opens the small Bible resting on the lectern and opens to the scripture that almost every couple who come to him for their wedding want recited. It’s 1st Corinthians 13, also called the Love Chapter.
“Love is patient, love is kind...”
He finishes with the words that seem made for this moment.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
***
After the scripture reading, he says, "I believe it's time."
Pastor Ronald looks at both of us with unmistakable affection, then smiles at me.
"Jamie..."
"Would you like to share your vows?"
I nod once.
I'd rehearsed them. Repeated them to myself on long walks. In the truck. Lying awake at night.
Now...every carefully chosen sentence disappears. Because she's looking at me. Waiting.
I take both of her hands in mine.
“They told me I should start by saying everything I love about you.”
I smile. “The problem is, I don’t think we’d ever leave.”
A soft laugh moves through the room, and Annette’s eyes fill.
“You saw me when I’d forgotten how to see myself. You taught me that I don’t have to carry everything alone, and then you gave me something I never knew I was missing—a life I want to share.”
I tighten my fingers around hers.
“I promise to listen. To make you laugh. To stand beside you on the hard days and celebrate every good one. I promise to let you take care of me sometimes, even though we both know I’m going to need reminders.”
She laughs through her tears.
And every morning for the rest of my life...I'll thank God for trusting me with your heart.
“Most of all, I promise to keep choosing you and loving you. Every day, Annette. For the rest of my life.
***
The chapel falls completely silent.
Pastor Ronald smiles at Annette.
"Annette..."
She takes one steadying breath. Then another.
She smiles at me.
"I thought I was prepared."
Soft laughter fills the room.
"Apparently..."
She laughs softly.
"I wasn't."
She squeezes my hands.
“When I met you, I thought my job was to help you heal.”
I smile through my tears. “I had no idea how much my own life was about to change.”
“You showed me what it feels like to be truly known and still completely loved. And I need you to know something I hope you never forget again.”
I hold his gaze. “You never had to earn being loved, Jamie. You were always enough.”
His fingers tighten around mine.
“I promise to tell you what I’m thinking instead of deciding what’s best for both of us.”
A few people laugh softly. So does Jamie.
“I promise to stand beside you, laugh with you, argue with you when necessary—and we both know it will be necessary.”
His smile widens.
“And through every season of the life we build together, I promise to keep choosing you and loving you. Every single day.”
***
Pastor Ronald lets the silence linger for a moment before speaking.
“I don't believe there's anything I could possibly add to that.”
Gentle laughter ripples through the chapel.
Pastor Ronald smiles warmly and asks for the rings.
Toby steps forward, removing the small wooden ring box from his jacket pocket.
As he places it in Pastor Ronald's hand, he leans close enough for only me to hear.
“You've got this, Captain.”
I smile. “So do you.”
He gives my shoulder one quick squeeze before stepping back beside Liam.
Pastor Ronald opens the box.
Two simple bands, what we'd chosen together. Nothing elaborate. Nothing flashy.
Just two circles with no beginning...
...and no end.
He hands Annette's ring to me.
I slide the band gently onto her finger.
My voice is steady now.
Annette, this ring isn't a promise to be perfect.
It's a promise that you'll never face another day alone.
With this ring...
I give you all that I am.
My friendship.
My trust.
My laughter.
My faith.
My heart.
And every tomorrow that God gives us.
The ring settles into place. It fits perfectly. As though it has always belonged there.
Pastor Ronald hands Annette my ring. She smiles through tears as she takes it.
Her fingers tremble ever so slightly. Not with fear. With joy.
She slides the ring onto my hand.
Jamie, every time you look at this ring, I hope you remember one thing.
You never have to carry the world by yourself again.
With this ring...
I promise you'll never have to face another day alone.
I'll stand beside you.
I'll walk with you.
I'll pray with you.
And I'll love you...
...for all the days of my life.
***
Pastor Ronald closes his Bible.
“Jamie, Annette...
You have declared your love before God, before your families, and before the friends who have walked beside you.”
His smile reaches all the way to his eyes.
“It is my great honor...
...to pronounce you husband and wife.”
A quiet gasp runs through the chapel.
“You may kiss your bride.”
I don't hesitate. I step closer. One hand cups her cheek.
The other rests at her waist.
For just a moment...I simply look at her.
My wife.
The word is almost too wonderful to comprehend.
She smiles.
“What are you waiting for?” someone calls from the pews.
Laughter ripples through the chapel.
“So impatient,” I stage whisper, and she laughs.
Then I kiss her.
Softly.
Slowly.
Not because everyone is watching, but because no one else exists.
The applause begins before we even step apart.
Someone whistles. Definitely Liam.
Coach pretends not to know who it was.
Annette rests her forehead against mine.
“Hi, husband.”
I grin.
“That sounds even better than Captain.”
She smiles.
“I was hoping you'd say that.”
I kiss her forehead. I think I've finally found the title I like best.
Pastor Ronald clears his throat with exaggerated patience.
“If the newlyweds are quite finished...”
More laughter fills the chapel.
He smiles broadly and pauses dramatically. “It is my great joy to present, for the very first time...Mr. and Mrs. Walker.”
Then I lean toward Annette as the applause erupts and whisper that I kind of like the sound of that.
She smiles. “Me too.”
The chapel erupts. People rise to their feet. Cheers.
Applause. Happy tears.
Every face in the room is smiling.
I lace my fingers through Annette's.
“Ready?” she asks.
I grin. “With you? Always.”
Hand in hand, we turn toward everyone we love and walk back down the aisle.
Husband and wife.