by Ali Vali
“I’ll be retired Monday, and I’m ready for the rest of my life. That’s going to be smooth sailing because of the girl,” she told Corbin as she finished buttoning the jacket of her dress uniform. Aidan’s retirement had gone through the Monday before, and she’d asked Berkley to delay hers, so she could wear the uniform today. Aidan loved seeing her in her dress whites.
“The girl is happy, and I’m counting on you to keep it that way,” Preston said, trying to sound menacing.
“I’m going to try my best, sir,” she said, turning away from the mirror and holding her hands out. “How do I look?”
“Like I should get to my kid since this will be my last chance to talk to her for the rest of the night. When she sees you, I’ll be cast aside,” Preston said as he opened his arms and hugged her. “Thank you for loving her.”
“It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life, Pop.”
She took some pictures with her parents and family before heading to the canopy her grandfather had built. Religion hadn’t really been a huge part of her or Aidan’s lives, but they wanted to make her grandparents happy. And to her grandparents’ credit, they’d transformed the yard of their lake house into a beautiful wedding venue now surrounded by the Secret Service, since Olivia Michaels and Drew Orr and their families were in the congregation keeping their promises to attend.
The music started, and her sisters, at Aidan’s insistence, served as her attendants and her six nieces as flower girls in the type of ceremony Aidan had wanted. Berkley would’ve been happy with a barbecue and beer, but their mothers, her sisters, and her grandmother, Bubbe, had quickly overruled her with a lot of questions about her sanity for suggesting such a thing. Her own father, Preston, and Papa had laughed and taken her outside for marriage lessons.
Now she had to admit this was beautiful and a great way to start her lifetime commitment to Aidan. On her side she’d asked Baylor and Harvey to stand up for her, and Wiley, who’d arrived with Aubrey and their two girls, had agreed to serve as her best woman. The rest of their most trusted team were standing with her as well, but they’d teased her about their readiness to celebrate.
The two guests whose presence she was the happiest about were Jin Umeko and Yong Nam. Granted, Yong had a distance to go before she put the ordeal after Jin joined the Americans behind her, but with Jin’s help, they had a chance at a life together somewhere they didn’t have to fear the consequences of their relationship. For now, they were living in New Orleans and working as translators for an international company. She and Aidan, as well as Wiley and Aubrey, were doing their best to make them feel at home.
She stood with the rabbi, gazing at the house, and sucked in a breath when Aidan stepped out in a white sheath dress that looked spectacular on her. “Breathe and unlock your knees, or we’ll have to pick you up off the ground. You do that, and Baylor will run off with the bride,” Wiley said.
Preston appeared like the proud father he was, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Aidan. Here was the woman who’d grabbed her attention so many years before, and no matter how long she lived, she’d never lose that. She watched Preston kiss Aidan and accepted another hug from him before she took Aidan’s hand. “You are so beautiful,” she whispered as they faced the rabbi.
The ceremony seemed to fly by, then she faced Aidan and held a ring to her finger. “The day we met, I was happily flying through blue skies until someone shot me down and stole my heart. I didn’t know the true meaning of happiness then. You taught me that, and loving you is God’s blessing that will guarantee many more days of blue skies. When the storms come, and we have to sail through stormy seas, I’ll never fear because I’ll have you by my side, holding and loving me. No matter what comes, I’m happy that the adventure of my life will revolve around you.”
Aidan squeezed her fingers, and Berkley’s eyes misted. Whatever pain she had gone through when they parted was almost worth it, because now she couldn’t imagine her life without Aidan in it. “I promise before God and our families to love you, honor you, and protect you for all the days of my life,” she said as she slipped the ring on Aidan’s finger.
“The day we met, I wondered what it would be like to be at the center of your attention, and you surpassed what I found to be my very limited imagination. I love you because you’re courageous, my knight in dress whites who has made my life fun, and the one who taught me that breaking a few rules isn’t such a bad thing,” Aiden said, making Berkley widen her smile. “You make me laugh and help me see the beauty in the world, and you love my parents, which, in Triton’s opinion, makes you close to perfect.” When Aidan said that, she and everyone else laughed. “From that first day, I knew there’d never be anyone else who could measure up, and I’m so lucky you’re mine.”
Aidan held her hand in both of hers and placed the gold band on the tip of her ring finger. “I promise before God and our families to love you, honor you, and protect you all the days of my life.” The ring slipped into place, and Aidan kissed it.
She stared into Aidan’s eyes for the rest of the ceremony until it was time to stomp on the traditional glass, which she did enthusiastically, since it signaled she could finally kiss her girl. That was the part she’d always remember, but getting to dance with her wasn’t bad either.
“We don’t dance enough,” Aidan said as a few strands of her hair fell out of the twist it was in.
“Easily remedied,” she said, backing up to admire Aidan. “Have I mentioned how gorgeous you are?”
“Several times, and you’re sweet. I hope you didn’t mind that I skipped the uniform. It wasn’t what I had in mind for when I got married. You, though, look good enough to eat.”
“Behave, and you’re kidding, right?” She put her hands on Aidan’s hips and tugged her closer. “This is our day, and you’re absolutely beautiful out of the uniform. Granted, you were really sexy in it, which makes me think I’m so lucky I never got tossed out on my ass for ogling you for all those years.”
“Enjoy it while you can, Cletus.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She lowered her head to whisper in Aidan’s ear. “You can wear anything you want from now on, as long as I get to take it off you every night, most afternoons, or whenever I’m lucky enough to get you alone. That seems unlikely now that your parents live next door to us, but I’m setting up visiting hours pretty soon.”
“Triton is kind of a downer when it comes to your amorous streaks,” Aidan said and laughed.
“Never mind about the son of Poseidon and his talent for bad timing. Tell me what you meant by enjoying it while I can. Then we can get back to talking about me getting you naked.”
“I’m counting on that, but this dress unfortunately won’t be an option in about three months.”
Aidan didn’t say anything else and left the comment hanging. “Three months?” she asked, her feet stopping, and they stood motionless in the center of the dance floor. “It worked?”
They’d started trying two months prior, but the doctors had warned them to be patient since sometimes it took more than a few tries. “You work fast, baby. If anything, our first date should confirm that for you.”
“What happened on your first date?” Preston asked, his eyes narrowed as he and Mary Beth danced closer to them.
“Chinese food,” they said together, but Berkley tightened her hold on Aidan and lifted her off the ground.
“This is the best day of my life so far,” she said loudly, causing people to raise their glasses in their direction.
“Hang on, baby. There’s so many more to come.”
The End
About the Author
Ali Vali is the author of the long-running Cain Casey “Devil” series, the Genesis Clan “Forces” series, and the “Call” series including Lambda Literary Award finalist Calling the Dead and the latest release, Answering the Call. Ali also has a short story in the new anthology Escape to Pleasure.
Originally from Cuba, Ali has retained
much of her family’s traditions and language and uses them frequently in her stories. Having her father read her stories and poetry before bed every night as a child infused her with a love of reading, which she carries till today. Ali currently lives outside New Orleans, Louisiana, and she has discovered that living in Louisiana provides plenty of material to draw from in creating her novels and short stories.
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