This was really happening, just like in her dreams. Only this was better.
Jules had never dreamed that her dream man would be so handsome. That his hands would be so soft and firm at the same time. That simply standing next to him would make her feel both powerful and docile at the same time.
She felt a twinge of guilt that her sister wasn't here to witness this. They'd done everything together since they were born. But there had been that hour where Romey had gotten a head start on her. And there was also the possibility that sensible Romey would've tried to talk her sixty-minute-younger-sibling out of this. And there was no way Jules wasn't going forward with this.
"They say that sometimes opposites attract," said Pastor Vance. “I think the reality is that the two forces weren't as opposite as once was initially believed.”
He leaned against the pulpit, looking out of the window at the night’s sky rather at the two of them. Jules wasn’t entirely sure the man was still aware of their presence.
This was Jules’s first time in the church. She was far from an atheist. At a young age, her parents had given her and her sister a stack of holy books. Part of their homeschooling was to read them all and make their own decisions. The project included papers, presentations, and a test at the end. Romey’s final answer was that God was found in the perfection of nature, while Jules declared that God was love.
“I've found that the happiest couples are rarely the same to outward appearances,” Pastor Vance was still philosophizing. Or was he preaching? He might’ve started the proceedings to marry them. “They are the same on the inside, and that's where you find that you best understand each other's differences."
Outwardly, she and David did appear different. He was a soldier. She was a modern-day flower child. But they'd looked past those differences to the heart of one another and felt an intense attraction.
"Your families are opposites," said Pastor Vance. "Like magnets giving off two negative forces, they repel. But the two of you have turned around and looked at one another to see a different side."
Yes, that was it. They were like magnets. Drawn together, no matter which way you turned them.
David smiled down at her. Like the magnets they were accused of being, he took her hand in his. Jules felt that warmth of electricity zing across her fingertips.
"God is the spark. He's put you two in each other's paths to do His work. I am His servant. Though Lord, I hope you will protect me from my sister."
Once again, Pastor Vance looked up at the ceiling. He let out a long, weary exhale and then made a sign of the cross over his chest. Returning his attention to the couple before him, he gave first Jules and then David a thoughtful gaze. Finally, his face broke into the congenial grin he was known for.
"And now for the vows."
"Wait," said David. "I have something to say first.”
Jules’s heart skipped a beat. A fluttery feeling crept into her stomach, and she tingled all over. Was he backing out?
"Jules, I know this is crazy; what we're doing. But something in me recognizes you as my home, as my shelter. My mom told me that when I found The One, I’d know it because I’d feel a spark. That’s not what I felt with you.”
Jules lost her breath. He was breaking up with her. Her first date, her first kiss, her first marriage, and her first break up all on the same day. So why was David clutching her hands tightly, like he planned to never let go?
“It wasn’t a spark like my mom said. It was an explosion. It rocked my world. I know I’m not thinking straight, but I don’t have a single doubt that this is the right thing to do. I'm not a perfect man, but I know that you are perfect for me."
Jules let out a shaky breath as she regarded this man. Neither had said the word, but she felt it humming between them. That spark, that explosion, that feeling, it could be nothing but love.
True love.
"David, being with you is the most natural thing in the world to me. What's between us, that spark we feel, it's like a seed. I've put it in my heart, and you've put it in yours. We'll grow it with our care and attention. We'll nurture it with time and patience. It will grow strong, and it will feed everyone we love and care about, and then they'll see… they’ll see that what we feel is real. It’s natural. It’s… everything.”
David looked down at her with eyes shining so bright that she felt warmed through. She had only kissed him once. Right now, she wanted to do it again. She wanted to do it forever. And very soon, she could.
"Those were perfect vows if ever I heard them," said Pastor Vance. "Julia Starflower Capulano—“
A snort escaped David’s mouth, which he promptly covered, only to chuckle again. “Starflower? Your middle name is Starflower?”
"Yes." Jules lifted her chin. “My parents let me pick my own middle name when I was five. What of it?”
David's face sobered. "Nothing. It's beautiful." He winced as though trying to keep an errant chuckle down. Lucky for him, he succeeded.
“Julia, do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?”
Jules let go of her annoyance and answered honestly, with all her heart, "I do."
"David Eugene Porco, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife."
David opened his mouth to agree, but Jules held up her hand to stop him.
"Hold on a moment,” she said. “Porco?”
“Yes?” David frowned at her.
“Your last name is Porco? I thought it was a nickname. Like, something cruel that kids called you that stuck.”
"No, it's me. David Porco. But I like that you call me David."
Jules nodded her head slowly, as though she was trying to absorb this new detail and let it settle. ”So, I'm going to be Julia…Porco?"
"Yes, Starflower. Is that okay with you?"
The grin that she’d found mischievous not too long ago caused Jules’s features to pinch in annoyance. What was in a name? Beneath the twinge of indignation at this name-calling interlude, Jules’s feelings hadn’t changed for this man.
"Yes, it’s okay,” she croaked.
They both looked at Pastor Vance. The man held his tongue for a long moment. He didn’t say the part asking if there was any reason this marriage shouldn’t take place to speak now or forever hold their peace. He didn’t need to say it. His silence spoke volumes.
When neither Jules nor David voiced any opposition, he continued. ”Then by the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
David turned to her. He didn’t hesitate. His hands were just as sure as they’d been back up in the Ferris wheel. His lips were just as certain as the first time they’d brushed hers. His sigh of utter contentment when he pulled away from her was just as satisfied as her own.
“Whatever may come,” he whispered in her ear. “You’re mine now.”
“I am,” she agreed. “And you’re mine.”