Trevor waits on her hand and foot. Whatever she needs he makes sure to get for her. He has been so attentive and I have no doubts that they will be great parents. He has already moved into the house she and I once shared.
“Knock, knock,” Trevor says, opening the door to peek in.
“Trevor,” Ruby and I say in unison.
“Pierson asked me to give you this. You can wear if you like.” He hands me a long black box.
Ruby is at my side waiting for the reveal. I open it to find the most beautiful diamond bracelet. Trevor exits the room as Ruby and I both gush over the jewelry. She clips it over my wrist and the diamonds beam off the lights. “Now you have something new,” she says with excitement.
Ruby moves the curtain to peek out. “Oh, Pierson looks so handsome in his suit. I’m so happy for you guys,” she says hugging me.
“Please don’t say anything to make me cry and ruin my makeup,” I say. Flashing my face with my hands, I try to stop the tears before they start.
“You have been the greatest friend a girl could ask for,” she says to me.
“As you have been to me. We have been through everything together and I truly love you with all my heart. You are my sister.”
“Now who’s making who cry?” Ruby asks, trying to dry her eyes with her fingers.
“I just wanted you know I appreciate you and everything you’ve done for me,” I say, hugging her once more.
“I know Pierson will be there for you from now on. He is your go to person now and he better not mess it up. Speaking of which, we better get out there before they send a search party.”
I am positioned behind her at the front door. She turns to face me and we have a silent moment between us, no words need be spoken. She walks outside the door with her bouquet of fall colored flowers. The weather is perfect, not too hot or too cold.
I nervously take my position at the doorway as she makes her way to the gazebo. I see Pierson in the distance with Trevor standing next to him. Ruby waits on the other side. I take a deep breath and press one foot in front of the other and walk out the door. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me as I make my way to Pierson, but my eyes are only on him, my handsome groom. He has on a formal black tuxedo with the light green cummerbund and matching tie that I chose. His eyes never leave mine as I descend down the grassy aisle. The gazebo is decorated with white lights and flowers entwine throughout. Finally I’m standing across from Pierson, gazing into his beautiful and mesmerizing green eyes. We decide to say our own vows before the traditional ones. We each wrote our own.
“Pierson, I have loved you since the first day I met you. We had our first kiss in this very gazebo. When you came back home, you made my heart feel whole again. I promise to be there for you in good times and bad. I promise to love you and stand by you no matter what. When I look in the mirror I only see half of myself for you are the other half, my heart and my soul. I promise to make you as happy as you have made me. I’m honored to call you my husband.”
Tears stream down my cheeks. Pierson grazes his thumbs over my face to wipe them away. These are happy tears. Finally, I have my happy ending.
Pierson clears his throat, and holds my hands in his. “Maura, you have stuck by me in good times and bad. Your loyalty has never wavered. Even when I left for the Marine Corp, I knew I would come back to you. I could never get your smile out of my head. When you walk into a room, it lights up around you. You make me smile with just a look and you make my heart race with just a touch. You are the light to my dark and the sun to my stars. You are my better half. There will be days when you need a shoulder to cry on and I’ll be there. There will be days when you want to share a laugh and I’ll be there. No matter what day, no matter what time, I will be there for you as long as you’ll have me. I love you.”
I hear a sniffle off to my right and see Ruby wiping her tears away. I give her a wink to make her smile. I don’t think there is a dry eye in the house, except for the men maybe. After saying our own vows we repeat the traditional vows, never taking our eyes off of each other.
“You may now kiss your bride,” the preacher says. The crowd erupts with clapping and whistling as Pierson kisses me deep enough and long enough to get pictures. I try not to laugh but it’s hard not to.
Pierson and I face the crowd. As we are about to walk down the aisle I peek over my shoulder to blow Ruby a kiss. Pierson and I walk hand and hand as we move to the wedding reception at the community center. Don lent us his nineteen fifty Chevy for us to travel to the center in. It's is only a short drive, but I love this car and Pierson is in his glory driving it.
“We’re married baby!” Pierson shouts in the car after kissing my hand.
“You’re stuck with me now,” I say, landing a kiss on his cheek.
We arrive at the community center just as everyone is entering. We wait to be announced as Mr. and Mrs. Pierson Hammer.
As we are announced, we enter as Pierson holds our arms in the air. I think back to when we first started seeing each other. I never thought we would make it this far. We have had hills to climb and roads turning every which way, but we have managed together.
Sam and Sara begged me to let them cater the wedding reception, so I couldn't tell them no. It is a test to see if they can handle such an event. During dinner, Pierson and I toast the guests and thank everyone for coming.
By the time dinner is over, the music is already pumping and I’m thankful my dress is easy to dance in. Pierson loosens his clothing so he can move better, and boy does he have moves.
“How does it feel to be Mrs. Hammer now?” Pierson asks as we dance our first dance.
“Oh, I think I’m going to love being Mrs. Hammer,” I say with pride.
He leans to kiss me like no one is watching. His mouth tastes like vanilla and his cologne smells absolutely amazing. I close my eyes and breathe him in. I feel like I could get high from it.
He pulls me in closer, as if I’m not close enough, but I'm giddy because I could never get enough of him.
We dance into the wee hours of the morning.
Once the party dies down we head home. Pierson stops at the doorway and swiftly scoops me up in his arms to carry me over the threshold.
We get inside and he sets me down, kissing me deeply.
“I love you,” he whispers in my ear and it sends chills down my spine.
We get a head start on the honeymoon.
Pierson
The day of the wedding is finally here and I’m about to marry the girl of my dreams. I never thought we would make this far. With her by my side and helping through my troubles, I can only hope what the future holds for us is going to our best days yet.
We all go to Ruby's and Trevor's place to get ready for the wedding. Maura is in Ruby's room. I’m in the spare room accompanied by Trevor who is helping me get ready. Taking a look at my black tuxedo I admire it. It is a traditional style and tailored to fit. Maura insisted I wear a tie and cummerbund. I did not object because this is our wedding after all. I take a quick shower and reflect on my time with my bride to be. Out of the shower I splash on some Armani cologne and pull on my tuxedo pants. They fit perfectly. Grabbing the white dress shirt, I put my arm in the sleeves and button it all the way to the top.
I hear a knock on the door. "Pierson, its Trevor, open up if you're dressed."
I open the door and Trevor hands me a box, "Maura asked me to give this to you."
Opening it, I see two gold cufflinks with my initials on them. I quickly remember I have a gift for Maura as well. "Can you run this to her real quick? She can wear it today if she likes," I say handing over the long jewelry box. While Trevor is doing that I pull on the mint green cummerbund and I flip my shirt collar to put on the matching bow tie.
"Here, can you help me with theses?" I ask Trevor to help with the cuff links.
"Are you nervous?" Trevor asks as he puts one of them on me.
"No way. I know without a doubt that she is the one," I say smili
ng.
"That is awesome. I think we need to hurry and get over to the gazebo," he says.
Glancing out the window, I see the seats are starting to fill across the lake in front of the gazebo. Walking toward it, I realize I’m only moments away from my beautiful bride. The weather is perfect and it is the perfect fall setting I was hoping for. A moment later Ruby makes her way down the aisle, carrying a bouquet of fall colored flowers. Her belly is poking out and she is glowing. Ruby takes her position on the other side of the gazebo, glancing over to me she smiles. I flash her a wink.
Looking toward the house I see Maura descend down the aisle, making her way to me. My eyes don’t leave hers and she flashes me a big smile as she gets closer to me. She looks absolutely stunning in her wedding gown and I cannot imagine being any happier than I am right now. We are finally getting our happy ending.
I was very nervous at the suggestion of writing our own vows, but we are not your typical everyday couple and it seemed like it made perfect sense. Maura's goes first with her vows.
“Pierson, I have loved you since the first day I met you. We had our first kiss in this very gazebo. When you came back home you made my heart feel whole again. I promise to be there for you in good times and bad. I promise to love you and stand by you no matter what. When I look in the mirror I only see half of myself, you have half of me, my heart and my soul. I promise to make you just as happy as you have made me. I’m honored to call you my husband.”
Tears stream down her cheeks. I graze my thumb over her face to wipe them away. I know these are happy tears, tears of joy. And finally I see the happiness in her eyes.
Clearing my throat, I hold her hands in mine. “Maura, you have stuck by me in good times and bad. Your loyalty has never wavered. Even when I left for the Marine Corp, I knew I would come back to you. I could never get your smile out of my head. When you walk into a room, it lights up around you. You make me smile with just a look and you make my heart race with just a touch. You are the light to my dark and the sun to my stars. You are my better half. There will be days when you need a shoulder to cry on and I’ll be there. There will be days when you want to share a laugh and I’ll be there. No matter what day, no matter what time, I will be there for you as long as you’ll have me. I love you.”
After saying our own vows we repeat the traditional vows, never taking our eyes off of each other.
“You may now kiss your bride,” the preacher says. The crowd erupts with clapping and whistling as I kiss my bride deep enough and long enough to get pictures.
We wave at the crowd and as we are about to walk down the aisle. I hold Maura's hand as we move to the wedding reception at the community center. Don lent us his nineteen fifty Chevy for us to travel to the center in. It is only a short drive, but I love this car and it is a dream to drive in.
“We’re married baby!” I shout inside the car.
“You’re stuck with me now,” she says, landing a kiss on his cheek.
We arrive at the community center just as everyone is entering. We wait to be announced as Mr. and Mrs. Pierson Hammer. This is the happiest moment of my life. We are married and it will be forever. As we are announced, we enter and we hold our arms in the air.
During dinner we toast the guests and thank everyone for coming. When dinner is over the music is pumping as I loosen my tie and take off my tuxedo jacket. I'm eager to dance with my beautiful bride.
We are announced to step onto the dance floor to dance our first dance. “How does it feel to be Mrs. Hammer now?” I ask as we dance our first dance.
“Oh, I think I’m going to love being Mrs. Hammer.” she says, beaming with pride.
I lean in, kissing her like no one is watching. Moving my mouth upward to kiss the top of her head, I close my eyes, hoping this is not a dream. I pull her in closer as if she could not be close enough. We dance into the wee hours of the morning.
Once the party dies down we head home. Stopping in front of the door I swiftly scoop her up in my arms to carry her over the threshold. Once inside I set her down and kiss her again.
“I love you,” I whisper in her earlobe.
We get a head start on the honeymoon.
Epilogue
Maura
Letting Pierson believe there were no casualties in the accident was the best decision to make. It is something I will have to live with and something I’m willing to live with for the sake of his wellbeing.
Two people died in that accident and there was no way I was going to let Pierson feel responsible for something that he didn’t do.
He was hit from behind, pushing his truck out to the center of the road while another car came crashing into the side. I found out later that both drivers didn’t survive. And if Pierson knew I don’t believe he would survive knowing that, not with his PTSD. I feel bad for the loss of the families involved. To have a parent taken away from you is very hard to deal with. The two families live in the next town over in Carlisle. And I made sure to send my condolences.
With Ruby’s pregnancy we have been keeping busy decorating the nursery and planning a summer wedding after Trevor proposed to her. She and Trevor found out they are having a boy. He has been attentive to her every need and he has been very vocal about the way he wants to raise his son. It has been funny watching the two plan for parenthood. She is due anytime now. And I’m ready to hold her hand along the way. She and Trevor have already asked Pierson and I to be god parents. And that alone is the greatest honor we could have.
My business has been booming and I am busy most days of the week. Sam and Sara continue to work for me. Pierson is now the manager of Don’s Auto Shop. Don likes to show up and boss him around every now and then. Doris tries to keep him busy with a honey-do list at home. But Don is still as stubborn as ever. Doris continues to run the phone at the shop. Pierson also hired a young man to help with the car repairs.
Pierson and I have adjusted to married life quite well. We decided to hold off on the honeymoon until next year. Paying for a wedding is not cheap especially if you’re paying for it yourself. We have fallen into a routine and he continues to still have sleepless nights but they are few. Going to therapy and meetings twice a week has helped him immensely. He still has to manage his meds on a daily basis.
Even with our busy schedules we make sure to make time for each other whether it is cooking a meal together, going to the movies or just staying in for a cuddle. We just celebrated our sixth month wedding anniversary by going to the same Italian restaurant we went to on our first date. I believe it will become our ritual.
About the Author
I hope you enjoyed reading Coming Back to You. It was a joy to write about Maura and Pierson. Please consider donating to the Wounded Warriors Project. http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/mission.aspx
I have been happily married to my husband for twelve years. And I have a wonderful step son who is very tech savvy and a great helper when it comes to hitting that publish button.
I developed a love for reading at a young age and it has stuck with me through adulthood.
One day Maura popped up in my head. She had been there for quite some time. Finally after hearing about PTSD and how it affects our soldiers, the story formed then and there. I did extensive research on the subject so I could make Pierson’s character believable and real. I experienced many emotions while writing this and some scenes were difficult to write. But a story needed to be told. And I hoped you were invested in the characters as much as I was.
Yes! There will be a book two, based on two new characters we have yet to meet. It deals with the aftermath of the accident Pierson was in. It deals with death and how two people connect even in the worst of times. They have that unique bond that only they can relate too. As of now the novel is titled: Standing on the Ledge. Stay tuned for updates on the story. Get connected with me on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/D-Youngblood-Author/363603683759679
You can also find me on Goodreads he
re: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7072981.Devon_Youngblood
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Pierson
Coming Back to You Page 13
