Brad sat on the step outside the apartment office. They’d cut the power to run some wire, hit a snag, and now on a late June evening in Atlanta, Georgia, the 85-degree evening with a slight breeze provided a welcome relief to the suffocating heat inside. As soon as he had the energy, he’d head to his parents’ house and spend the night.

He watched Valerie’s car pull into the parking lot. Briefly, he thought about how sweaty and dusty his clothes were and how he wished he’d grabbed a shower before coming outside. He didn’t even have time to run in and change his shirt.

As she walked toward him, he started to stand, but she waved him down. “Sit. I can see how exhausted you are. What have you guys been doing?”

“Digging.” He scooted over and she sat next to him on the step. “Then digging some more. Oh, and crawling around in the ditch we dug. That was fun.”

“How do you do this after working all day?”

He drained the water bottle he held in his hands and crushed it before putting the lid back on. “It’s how I work in the office all day, knowing I can get off work and come do this work. Gets me through the day.”

She leaned her shoulder against him and lightly bumped him. “I guess some men go work out in the gym, and others….”

“…dig ditches and crawl in the dirt.”

He watched a line of ants that led to a dead grasshopper. They sat in silence for several minutes before she asked, “Are you upset with me?”

Surprised, he turned to look at her. The solemn look on her face, the pinched lines around her mouth, everything pointed to the seriousness of her question. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“Because I asked you to leave.”

He turned his body, shifting so he could face her completely. She did the same thing. Reaching for her hands, he said, “I cannot put myself in your shoes. I cannot understand the things that still affect you. All I can do is love you through the hard times that rear up as a result.”

She cleared her throat and stared at their hands. “But you were trying to help me, and I was just getting more and more upset.”

“It was upsetting for you. You thought I’d jump to your defense. Instead, I told you the truth as I know it. I get how that’s going to feel like I betrayed you, even if I didn’t.”

“Do you feel like I disrespected you?”

Did he? Good question. “I didn’t leave your home that night feeling disrespected.” He raised a hand and cupped her cheek. She looked up at him, her eyes shining in the evening light. “Listen to me. I understand what happened yesterday. I’m good. As far as I am concerned, we’re good.”

She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. When she opened them again, her face had grown softer, her eyes lighter. “I don’t know how you can love someone as broken as me.”

His heart tugged in his chest. He thought it might just fly out. “I don’t think God gave me much of a choice. It’s only ever been you. It will always only be you.”

Valerie shifted her body closer to his and leaned forward. Their lips met in a gentle, soft kiss that had the blood rushing in his ears and his pulse pounding. When they pulled away just enough to break contact, she opened her eyes and met his. “I think it’s always been you for me, too. I just didn’t remember it until you reminded me.”

With a soft laugh, he said, “Until I reminded you, huh?”

Smiling in return, she nodded. “Yeah. Reminded me how much I love you and how incomplete my life has been without you.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, closing his eyes and breathing in the scent of her shampoo, then pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. “Glad you finally see things my way,” he said, joy flooding every pore.

“Hey, Brad?”

She said his name softly, almost on a sigh. “Yes?”

Putting both hands on his stomach, she pushed and broke contact, laughing up at him. “Why don’t you go shower? I’ll wait right here for you.”

A bark of laughter escaped him. He leaned forward and kissed her on the tip of her nose before bounding to his feet, all physical exhaustion gone and replaced with an energy that came from deep inside. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be back.”

The October sun shone down onto the garden of snapdragons, bringing out the vibrant hues of color as guests sat in rows of white chairs just on the other side of the small stream. Brad stood next to Valerie inside the gazebo, clutching her hands with both his as his brothers stood behind him, dressed in gray tuxedos. Behind Valerie, Calla Jones and Sami Jones wore burgundy colored gowns with spaghetti straps and long skirts. They carried white and orange orchids lovingly grown by Rosaline.

Valerie had chosen a simple sleeveless gown, with a heart-shaped bodice and a long, straight skirt. Around her neck, she wore her mother’s pearls that Buddy had saved for this day. She’d had her hair straightened, pulled to the side, and curled in large ringlets with a white orchid nestled in the curls.

Brad could barely breathe as he watched Buddy walk Valerie down the path and over the bridge to the gazebo. Her beauty had stolen his breath. For a moment, he worried he’d do something embarrassing, like pass out. Then, once she handed Calla her flowers and placed her hands in his, his world righted and everything snapped back into order.

Danny Brown spoke, talking about love, God, marriage, and faith. Brad let the words flow around him, hardly believing this day had finally come. He’d dreamed about it for so long. Fifteen years ago he’d written his heart’s desire for this day and the lifetime that would follow on a single sheet of notebook paper and sealed it in a metal tin.

God had known all along they would end up in this place, but Brad could hardly believe it had actually happened. As they repeated their vows, he watched the emotions and expressions cross her face, knowing she loved him, knowing she longed to claim the title of his wife.

At Danny’s command, he bent his head and gently kissed her lips. Their first kiss as husband and wife—the beginning of a lifetime together. She leaned into him and he cupped her cheek with his hand, wanting her to feel the intensity of his emotions, wanting that kiss to convey all the love he could never properly put into words.

As he lifted his head, he could hear the clapping from their friends and family as they celebrated this first kiss along with them. He smiled and winked down at her, then they turned to face the crowd. Calla handed Valerie her bouquet of orchids, and they walked hand-in-hand, over the bridge, and down the path to the castle.

The End