Dog Tags
Page 20
Mark stuffed his hand in his pockets and stared at the ground. “No, I’ve had this planned for some time. Originally, I was going to wait until Valentine’s Day.”
Wooziness threatened to overtake her. She steadied herself.
He smiled and crossed his arms. “I talked to a friend who works at U.C. San Diego. He thinks he can help me get a job there. It pays better, but then I probably wouldn’t have time to work at Fishy Business, so I was hoping maybe you could work here, that is, until you find another teaching job.”
“Wow, you’ve really thought this through.” Who might she share the good news with first? “I should call my mom.”
Mark grinned.
“She already knows?”
He shrugged. “Call me old fashioned, but I called your dad first.”
“You asked for permission? Very cool.” She studied Mark’s face. “I’m assuming he said yes.”
A knowing look appeared on his face.
She held out her hand, admiring the twinkling stone. Warmth flooded her. “I don’t know when we should get married, but I do know where.”
Mark leaned closer.
She turned to face him. “If you’re OK with it”—Beth put her hands on his shoulders—”I think we should get married in Beaumont.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“Oh, but what about our friends here?” Not everyone might be able to attend a wedding in Ohio.
“We can have a reception here with them later.”
“Excellent idea.”
A loud boom resounded, and a brilliant light flashed in the distance.
She sat next to him and shifted her gaze to the back door. “I think it’s the fireworks.”
Mark put his arm around her. “We should probably go outside and watch them, don’t you think?”
Beth looked up at him. “I agree.”
A loud bang.
Mark stopped still in his tracks.
Beth leaned toward him and gazed at his hand. It wasn’t shaking. Still, he might be suffering from a flashback. “Are you OK?”
Mark grinned. “Yeah, yeah, I am.”
Beth walked outside with Mark. Sailboats covered with thin strands of small white lights stood docked in the bayside marina.
Mark slipped his arm around her, and she rested in his embrace.
Their reflections glimmered below on the water’s surface. Could there be a more perfect evening? Off on the horizon, opposite the harbor, fireworks climbed higher and higher. The magnificent explosions burst into brilliant colors that lit the nighttime sky—a sight as bright as the future that lay ahead of them.
Epilogue
At the wedding reception dinner, Mark sat at the head table, surrounded by family and friends. Pink and purple floral centerpieces decorated the tables. The scents of vanilla and roses pervaded the room.
Mark breathed a sigh of relief—So much had occurred to get him to this moment: sitting beside Mrs. Beth Graham, the new, not to mention the prettiest, English teacher at Riversdale Middle School. The only love notes she’d receive in the future would come from him.
Considering the oppressive humidity of Ohio summers, Mark was thankful Beth consented to an indoor wedding in June.
Tim leaned closer to him. “So the bridesmaid I walked down the aisle with. What’s her story?”
Mark shook his head. “Rachel? She’s a friend of Beth’s from high school. Come to think of it, don’t Bill and you fly home tomorrow? If you want to talk to her, better do it now.”
Tim scrambled to his feet, moved toward Rachel, and began chatting.
Mark chuckled and glanced at Bill. “Can you believe that?”
Bill shook his head.
After cutting their three-tiered cake adorned with pastel flowers, Mark and Beth rejoined the bridal party at the head table.
Mark turned to talk to his bride, but once again, someone else had started a conversation with her. “I’m beginning to think I might need an appointment to speak with my wife,” he glanced at Bill and chuckled. “You haven’t touched your cake yet.”
“Huh?”
He followed Bill’s gaze across the room to a table in front of them. “Wait a minute. I see what’s going on here. You’ve been awful quiet and staring in that direction for a while. I should have known.” Mark leaned closer to Bill and whispered, “That girl you’ve been eyeing. That’s Marisa. Beth’s neighbor.”
Bill’s face turned red, and he fidgeted with his collar. “Who said I was asking?”
Mark patted his friend on the back. “Yeah, right.”
Guests flooded by the bridal party table to congratulate Mark and Beth. Mark began to sit, but the photographer directed Mark and Beth to stand and pose for several more pictures. After twenty minutes of photos, Mark took a seat and released a sigh. And to think, they’d get to repeat this once they traveled back home to California.
After the guests left the reception hall, he and Beth changed into jeans and t-shirts and helped her family take down decorations.
Her parents were the last to say good-bye. “I couldn’t imagine a better son-in-law,” Mr. Martindale nodded then grabbed Mark, giving him a bear hug.
“Thanks, sir.”
Mr. Martindale assumed the tone and stature of a commanding officer. “That’s Dad to you from now on.”
“Yes, sir. Uh…Dad.”
Once he and Beth finished their good-byes, Mrs. Martindale grabbed her husband by the arm and walked toward the door. “C’mon, it’s time to go.”
Mark glanced at the cake.
Beth put her arm around him. “My parents plan on saving us some for our one-year anniversary. I guess that ensures we’ll visit them in Beaumont a year from now.”
He kissed her forehead. “We can come back whenever you’d like.” He leaned forward for another kiss, but she tugged his arm. Hand-in-hand, he walked with his bride to the parking lot. A ‘Just Married’ sign hung from the back of his van. Painted cans and pink and purple streamers framed the sign.
He opened the passenger side door for Beth. “After you, Mrs. Graham.” He leaned in, kissed her, and got into the vehicle.
Beth fastened her seat belt and looked up at him. “Can we make one more stop before we leave town?”
He caressed the side of her face. “We can do anything you want.”
“I’d like to stop by the cemetery. To see Chris.”
He nodded in understanding and drove his bride to the other side of town.
From the parking lot, they walked a quarter mile to the cemetery. Beth stopped him as they neared the grave. “I want to say good-bye to him, but if it’s too hard for you to do this, I understand.”
“No, I want to do this.” At least this time when Beth would visit the grave, he’d stand beside her instead of cowering from a distance.
He held his wife as they stood in front of Chris’s grave, and an overwhelming sense of peace overtook Mark. The guilt of the past was gone.
Beth released his hold and removed a piece of jewelry from her pocket.
Mark arched his eyebrows. “Are those what I think they are?”
“I don’t need to hold onto them anymore. I can let go.” She placed Chris’s dog tags on his headstone and released a sigh.
Mark swiped the dog tags. “You can’t leave these here. Chris would have wanted you to keep them.”
“Are you sure?”
“You should keep them.” He put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “You can give them to our kids.”
Beth blushed.
“I’m serious.” Mark pressed the dog tags into her palm. “You can tell our children about their uncle and how he fought bravely.”
Beth leaned into his shoulder as they walked back to the car.
Once inside the vehicle, she turned toward him. “Are you about ready to start that fun summer you promised?” Beth winked.
He revved the van’s engine. “Yes, ma’am, I am.”
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