by S. J. West
I am standing at the sink washing some of the pans I had dirtied when I hear a softly spoken, “Aiden” come from behind me.
I immediately stop all movement but don’t turn around right away. I turn the faucet off and lay the pan in my hands down in the sink. I reach for a nearby hand towel and slowly turn to face Caylin.
She stands in the middle of my living room with her arms crossed in front of her, clutching my journal to her chest.
She’s crying and I fear the worst. She begins to shake her head at me.
“Of course I still love you, Aiden,” she says openly crying. “I think you might have actually performed the impossible and made me love you even more after reading this.”
I toss the towel on the kitchen island and go to her. As soon as I take her into my arms, I feel a peace settle over my heart and know for certain that everything will be all right.
“Can we talk about it?” She asks me, lifting her head from my chest to look into my face.
“We can do anything you want,” I tell her. “I’ll answer any questions you have.”
“I don’t exactly have questions,” she says. “I just want to talk about it with you in person. I want you to feel like you can say anything to me during our lives together and not have to write it down for me to read. I don’t want you to fear that I’ll ever judge you for the things you’ve done or even will do in the future. We may not be married yet but we are one, Aiden. One life. One heart. One soul.”
I bring Caylin into my arms and hold her tight, knowing I’ve finally found my home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“Stop looking so nervous,” Desmond whispers to me from the side of his mouth as we stand by the altar waiting for the doors in the back of the sanctuary to open up.
“I’m not nervous,” I whisper back. “I’m anxious. There’s a difference.”
“Don’t worry, my son,” God says beside me. “Everything will go smoothly, even your surprise for her.”
I glance over at my father and nod, trying to take comfort in His words.
As I wait for my bride to walk down the aisle to me, I take a good look at the church’s interior and understand why Malcolm complained so much about Lilly and Tara’s preparations for our wedding. The sanctuary is beautifully decorated with streams of gossamer fabric in white and lavender. The choice of wedding colors was the only thing I was allowed to contribute to the day. I told Lilly and Tara I wanted white and lavender flowers at the wedding because white symbolized purity and lavender was for love at first sight. They both agreed, and I even earned a kiss for my suggestion from my beloved. Not only did they agree that those colors should be the ones used for the flowers, but they also decided it should be the color scheme for the entire wedding.
I’m not sure how the ladies worked such a miracle but they found a florist who grew roses that were white with lavender around the edge of the petals.
Finally, the doors of the sanctuary open. Mae and Brynlee, both in sweet, full-skirted white dresses with oversized lavender bows in the front, and Max, dressed in a solid white tuxedo suit, walk down the aisle. The girls throw flower petals onto the white carpet while Max holds a pillow with the wedding rings tied onto the center ribbon. Faison walks down the aisle next with Jess and Leah right behind her. They are all wearing the simple one shoulder lavender gowns Caylin asked JoJo to make for them. Then, the wedding march begins and everyone in attendance rises from his or her seats to pay their respects to the most beautiful woman in the world. At least my world.
As Caylin enters the sanctuary on her father’s arm, I feel like the world has come to a complete stop and only Caylin isn’t affected. The dress she’s wearing perfectly fits her simple tastes yet is worthy of royalty. The gown is strapless with a delicate lace overlay on the full tulle skirt. The top has small pleats with the same lace peeking out of the small V in the front and upper edges. Crystals about the size of dimes line the upper and lower portion of the band of silk around her waist. A small crystal crown holds a long, sheer veil into place, which is obscuring her face slightly. Yet, I can clearly see Caylin smiling brightly at me from beneath it. When our eyes meet, the people, decorations, and music all fall away from my conscience mind and all I see is the love of my life, my soulmate.
When Caylin and her father reach the altar, God asks, “Who gives this woman in in holy matrimony?”
“She gives herself,” your father told God. “And her mother and I support her decision.”
God nodded in understanding.
Your father lifted your veil and kissed you on the cheek.
“I love you,” I heard him whisper before taking his place beside your mother in the front pew.
You turn to Leah who takes your bouquet from your hands before you turn to face me.
My heart skips a beat from the happiness and love I see in her eyes for me, and again, I wonder how I, of all people, ever earned the right to hold the heart of someone so special.
God begins the ceremony, but I’m only half listening to what He says. All I can do is marvel at the beauty standing in front of me and silently thank my father for allowing us to find one another.
“Aiden,” I hear my father say a little loudly, as if He might have tried to get my attention before, but I simply didn’t hear Him. I turn my gaze away from Caylin for an instant to look at God. “I believe you wanted to say your own vows to Caylin.”
I nod and return my attention to my love.
“I’ve lived a very long life,” I tell her. “As you know, I’m not proud of everything I’ve done, but since meeting you, I’ve found the strength to become more than I was. Your love and patience has taught me what truly loving a person really means, and that is a gift not granted to many. Millions of people search for what we have. Some find it but most go through life without it. As we start our life together as husband and wife, I wish to begin it leaving behind everything that I was and living from this day forward as a man…a real man.”
I wait for my words to sink in. Caylin’s eyes grow large as she fully understands what I’m saying, and I hear a gasp come from Lilly as she realizes my intentions too.
“Are you sure?” Caylin whispers to me, not wanting to draw too much attention from the humans in attendance who don’t know what I really am. “Are you ready to live without your powers?”
“I’m ready to start living my life in mortal form just like my wife,” I reassure her. “It’s time.”
Caylin smiles at me and nods her agreement with my decision.
I look to my father. He lays a hand on my shoulders, and I feel a slight tingling sensation but nothing more.
“It is done,” He tells us, taking His hand away to rest back by His side.
I don’t know why, but I expected to feel…different. I was sure my new mortality would probably hit me later, but right now, all I feel is happy. By willingly relinquishing my angelic powers, I feel a sense of renewal. From this day forward, I will no longer be a War Angel. I am now simply a man about to begin the greatest adventure of his life by starting a family of my own with a woman who loves me with all of her heart. A heart I will cherish and protect for the rest of my mortal life.
As soon as God pronounces us husband and wife, Caylin throws her arms around my neck and kisses me until I’m breathless.
“I love you,” she says to me when she decides to end the kiss. If she hadn’t, I’m not sure I would have found the strength to do it myself.
“I love you too, beautiful.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks, and I know she’s talking about my decision to become human.
“I wanted this ceremony to signify a true new beginning not only for us but also for me as a person. I’m finally ready to leave my past behind and forge ahead into the future without letting my guilt weigh me down anymore. I feel as though our life together is what I was truly sent to Earth to find. You have always been my destiny, my reason for existing. Like you said yesterday. One life. One heart. One so
ul. That is what we are now, and that is all I will ever want.”
Caylin kisses me again, earning quite a few whistles and claps from my fellow Watchers in the crowd. However, I suppose I’ll have to stop thinking of myself like that.
I’m just a man now.
A very, very, very happy man.
After we take the prerequisite million or so wedding pictures Lilly and Tara insist that we pose for, Caylin and I are allowed to join our other guests in the reception hall of the church. The large room is decorated with a myriad of small white lights, which give the illusion of snowflakes frozen in mid-flight through the air. The round tables are draped with white table clothes overlaid with lace. The chairs are covered with the same white material and have lavender sashes tied into bows in the back. Tall glass vases with bouquets of white and lavender roses sit in the middle of each table and a line of caterers are standing at the ready to serve all of our guests.
Caylin and I sit at a long table with the rest of our wedding party. To be honest, all I want to do is get my wife alone, but I know all the effort that her family, who are now my family, put into our wedding, and I wouldn’t disappoint them for anything in the world. Over the last two years, all of the Coles welcomed me with open arms to become a part of their lives. It was the first time in my life that I truly felt like a member of a family and understood what that meant. It made me yearn to start a family of my own. I want to know the children Caylin and I will have as well as Brand and Lilly know their own. I realize I still have a lot to learn and feel certain Caylin will always lead me in the right direction. She grew up with excellent parenting role models, and I can only aspire to be as wise and patient as Lilly and Brand are with their children.
After Caylin and I dance to our song, her father takes her into his arms and dances with her.
“So what does it feel like,” Malcolm asks, coming to stand beside me as I watch my wife hold back tears as she dances with her father.
“Being married or being human?” I ask him.
“Being human,” he replies, sounding sincerely curious.
“Not all that much different,” I reply. “I’m sure I’ll notice it more later when I can’t call on the strength I once had or when I want to phase somewhere. But, right now, it just feels like the way things are meant to be.”
“No regrets?”
“None.”
“Good,” Malcolm says with a nod of his head. “I wouldn’t want you to blame Caylin later on for a decision you made.”
“That’s one reason I didn’t tell her,” I confide. “I wanted this to be my decision and mine alone. If regrets come later, I will be the only one responsible. But, honestly, Malcolm, I don’t think I’ll ever second-guess my choice. It feels more right than most things I’ve done in my life. I finally feel at peace with who I am. I hope you can find that kind of serenity one day.”
“I doubt it will be anytime soon,” Malcolm says with a sigh of resignation. “But, who knows what the future might bring for me. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.”
By the time the reception is over, I begin to feel nervous about the wedding night. I don’t know why and wonder if it’s a side effect of becoming human.
Caylin and I decided early on that we wanted to spend our first night as a married couple in the home I built for us in Colorado. She’s in charge of phasing us now and ends up phasing us directly to the master bedroom suite. She grabs me and pulls me to her.
“Oww!” I say.
“Oh my gosh,” she says letting go of me right away. “Did I hurt you? I thought I was being gentle.”
When I smile at her and start to chuckle, she actually does hurt me with a playful slap on my right arm.
“You, goofball! I thought I really hurt you!”
“I’m human,” I tell her, grabbing her around the waist with both my hands and pulling her back up against me, “not made of glass.”
“I’ll try to remember that,” she has a chance to say just before I take possession of her mouth with my own.
Caylin wraps her arms around my neck and melts completely into me, giving me the gift of her trust and her body. I find the tab for the zipper on the back of her dress and slowly pull it down. She pulls back from me so the dress can fall away from her body onto the floor, leaving her standing before me in nothing but a silky white strapless bra, matching panties, garter belt, and stockings. She steps out of her shoes and over her dress to reach me again.
“You’re not finished,” she whispers, looking up at me expectantly. “I still have way too many clothes on.”
I can’t help but smile at her and marvel at how she’s never shied away from our physical relationship.
“Caylin, you do know it will probably hurt this first time,” I caution, wanting her to understand that there might be some discomfort at first.
“I know,” she says pulling at one end of my black bow tie to loosen its hold around my neck. “And like I’ve always said about everything we do together, Aiden, I trust you. I always have, and I always will. Nothing will ever change that.”
“Then turn around,” I order gently.
Caylin looks confused but doesn’t question me. She turns around, and I begin dismantling the intricate bun her hair is styled in.
“Who did your hair?” I ask, finding an endless number of bobby pins holding it into place.
“Aunt Tara and Uncle Malcolm,” Caylin informs me.
“Ahh,” I say knowingly, “that explains the attempted sabotage of our evening.”
Caylin giggles. “Uncle Malcolm wouldn’t do that.”
“Did you not read my journal?” I ask jokingly. “I’m surprised he didn’t do more.”
After I have Caylin’s hair down and freely flowing around her shoulders, I reach for the closure at the back of her bra. She pulls her hair off to the left side, leaving the right side of her neck and shoulder bare for my lips. I hear her sigh in contentment as I nibble the side of her neck and make my way down to the ball of her shoulder while unhooking her bra and pulling it off her. I reach around to cup her breasts in the palms of my hands and slowly tease them until I hear her moan.
Caylin turns to face me and kisses me on the lips as she quickly works the buttons of my shirt free. I break the contact of our lips only long enough to pull my shirt completely off. Caylin reaches for me again, grabbing the waistband of my pants to undo the button on the waistband while I work the zipper down. I quickly step out of my shoes and kick my pants off to the side. Caylin pulls me to her, pressing her naked chest against mine.
She smiles at me, excitement lighting her eyes because she knows the next few minutes have been a very long time coming for the both of us, and disappointing Caylin is something I never willingly do.
We lay down on the bed together drinking in the sweet taste of each other’s mouths, reveling in the fact that the one thing that has been keeping us from this moment is no longer a factor. We’re married now, and I’ve finally proven to myself that I’m a man worthy of having Caylin as my friend, my wife and my lover. I laid bare my soul to her, and she didn’t run away. Only someone who truly loves me would accept everything that I was and am now. My path to her was set in stone the moment I set foot on Earth. It’s been a dangerous and arduous journey for me but one well worth taking because my life would have never felt complete without her in it.
I gently position Caylin’s head against the pillows before I climb out of bed to quickly remove my socks. I look up at her face and see that she’s watching me expectantly with her eyes directed towards the black boxer briefs I’m wearing. They’re not doing much to hide my arousal from her sight. Her eyes meet mine and she smiles, making the moment less awkward for me. As I slip my underwear off, I see her eyes dip lower for a second before meeting my eyes once again.
I lay back down beside my beautiful wife, feeling my desire for her rise to the surface. There’s no longer a reason to hold back my hunger for her body, and I find myself wanting to bring her more ple
asure than she’s ever had in her life.
I cup the side of her face with my right hand, letting the tips of my fingers glide over her cheekbone and down her slightly parted lips. The warmth of her breath washes over my fingers, and she closes her eyes as my hand continues its exploration of her flesh. I trace the curve of each of her breasts before exploring the flat planes of her stomach. I lean into her, teasing her lips with my tongue as my hand travels beneath the silk panties she’s still wearing. Just as she gasps at the first touch of my fingers against her, I deepen the kiss relishing each pleasurable moan she makes. When I know I’ve brought her to the peak of finding her own ecstasy, I pull my lips away from hers and watch as she experiences bliss by my hand for the very first time.
With slow circular motions, I gently bring her back down to earth. While she attempts to catch her breath, I sit up and kneel beside her to remove the few articles of clothing she has left on. Once I toss the panties and stockings onto the floor, I sit where I am marveling at her beauty now unfettered by clothing.
“Do you know how absolutely gorgeous you are?” I ask her breathlessly, unable to make myself stop looking at her and drinking in the sight of her nakedness so I’ll never forget this moment.
“Aiden,” Caylin says, drawing my attention to meet her eyes once again, “don’t make me wait any longer.”
“It won’t be much longer,” I tell her, positioning my body over hers and realizing for the first time in my life I’m more interested in bringing pleasure to the woman in my arms than I am myself. “And we have all night,” I remind her.
“No,” she says, touching my face with her hands lovingly, “we have the rest of our lives.”
I lean down and kiss her lips realizing she’s absolutely right.
“Then there’s no need to rush,” I whisper as I leave her lips and allow myself the pleasure of tasting the rest of her.
