FORTY-THREE

 

"I can't do this without you." Six simple words that were the reason Xan found herself standing on North Beach, beside a white carpet, with Jason clinging to her arm like a terrified toddler. A toddler with a very firm grip.

She should have been sorting out details, decorations, last minute menu changes or whatever else needed to be done, but she kept her promise and stood at Jason's side while the woman he'd loved for most of his life walked down the aisle in a ruby-coloured wedding dress. Its Middle-Eastern style, heavily embroidered in white and gold, suited the diminutive bride. She wore no veil, so her dark hair gleamed in the sun, pinned and curled so that it fell to just above shoulders.

Her fingers rested on her father's arm as he walked beside her, but her eyes were fixed on her grey-clad groom. Out of respect for Broome's tropical climate, he wore no tie or jacket, just a white shirt with a pale grey vest and pants. Nathan looked like he was going to cry, Xan thought, as he stared at his bride. He wasn't the only one, either.

Angel passed her bouquet – a carefully sculpted cascade of frangipani flowers – to Jo, where it blended with the flower print of her dress. Deliberately, Xan was sure.

Xan let her mind wander as the wedding celebrant said things she probably repeated for every wedding. She was brought back by a particularly violent squeeze from Jason that nearly crushed her fingers.

The wedding vows, Xan realised, curious to hear whether the couple had chosen to be boring and traditional, or if they'd written their own, to be parroted after the celebrant when they forgot the words.

Traditional be damned, it seemed. They said their vows in unison, their words simple but poignant enough for Xan to remember them days later:

"I am yours, and you are mine; to love, care for and protect. I will share your pleasure and your pain. I will stand with you through anything life has in store for us."

Rings, kisses, signing the relevant paperwork...none of that was anything out of the ordinary, and Jason seemed to relax, or at least grow resigned to the marriage. Xan's heart ached for him, though her throbbing fingers weren't quite as sympathetic.