Epilogue

Five months later

 

The entire congregation stood as the bride and her escort made their way down the aisle. The bride had never been more beautifully radiant or happy in her entire life. She seriously considered taking off in a full sprint, dragging her escort down the aisle with her, to hurry to get to the man she would spend the rest of her life with. Only God knew how long that would be.

The eager groom stood antsy and anxious at the altar. He thanked God with every painstakingly slow step his future wife took. The BeBe & CeCe Winan’s song, “If Anything Ever Happened to You,” which she chose as her bridal march, should have been something more up tempo, like “Living for the Weekend,” by the O’Jays. Perhaps that would have helped her to get to him more quickly. And it was definitely appropriate, for he was certainly living for this honeymoon weekend. His bride-to-be had made him wait until their wedding night to fully explore her.

Once they finally made their way to the altar, the bride’s escort turned and looked over his left shoulder to steal a look at the woman who was nearly as beautiful as the bride. Each time he saw her, she took his breath away.

After stating the preliminaries and saying a quick prayer, Pastor Mitchell finally asked, “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”

Antonyo announced proudly, “I do.” He then handed his mother over to William and took his seat on the front pew next to Keisha, the love of his life.

 

 

After the ceremony, everyone at the wedding reception ate, danced, and had a wonderful time. All in attendance were ecstatically happy for the newly married couple, Trina and William Rucker, but no one was more pleased than Antonyo. His mother deserved every bit of the joy she wore on her face as she danced with her new husband. She had been his rock, his provider, his disciplinarian, and his protector. She had raised him to adulthood, doing the very best she could to see to it that he had everything he needed. She had been patient with him when he would not listen to her, and she had been forgiving when he had to return with his tail tucked between his legs for being hard-headed. Trina Simms had been a very good example of a Jesus clone in his life all the way up until he decided to get to know Jesus for himself. Now Trina Rucker was carving out a piece of happiness just for herself.

Antonyo looked around the room to see all of his family and his mother’s wonderful friends. His daughter, LaToya, made a perfect flower girl. Aunt Treecie was the maid of honor, and William’s brother served as his best man. The couple had kept it very simple, as this was the total extent of their bridal party.

Sheldon had attended the ceremony at Antonyo’s request and with Trina’s blessing. Father and son had been in constant contact, just as Sheldon had promised. In getting to know his father again, Antonyo discovered he had two half siblings, a brother and a sister. LaToya adored her grandpa and her new aunt and uncle.

Antonyo also began attending the support group meetings at the free clinic where Keisha volunteered. He had been so encouraged by those people he met who shared his disease. He met some of the most courageous men and women. They helped him cope when he got down about his disease, and he, in turn, helped others when they were fearful. He would never hesitate to tell them how Jesus had been preparing him and Keisha to deal with his disease even before the two of them ever laid eyes on each other.

One of the hardest parts about being HIV positive thus far had been facing the women he slept with and telling them they were now at risk. Of the nine females he talked to, only one of them had admitted to testing positive. That was Jessica. She, too, had begun attending the support group sessions.

Antonyo had decided, with the permission of Pastor Mitchell, he would start a ministry for young men aged twelve to seventeen to counsel them about sexual awareness and abstinence. He would give them full disclosure of his own status, and be very transparent with them about his former lifestyle. It was his mission to attempt to save other young men from the detrimental mindset he had as a teenager and even into young adulthood.

All of the mistakes he had made in his life with regard to the way he had treated women would now be put to use to prayerfully keep other young men from following his path. While HIV was part of the consequences of his reckless sexual lifestyle, he also understood that God allowed him to continue in his waywardness so that he would be prepared for such a time as this.

He searched around the room, looking to spot his beautiful lady. He saw her not very far away, dancing with his daughter. His heart skipped a beat as he watched the two most important women in his life enjoy each other. He looked up to the sky, closed his eyes, and silently mouthed a short prayer of thanks to God for His awesome grace and mercy. If he had his way and God agreed, he, too, would one day soon be celebrating at his very own wedding reception.