“We gather here today to unite these two people in marriage,” Father Harvey said. “Tank and Lisa’s decision to marry has not been entered into lightly, and today they publicly declare their private devotion to each other. The essence of this commitment is the acceptance of each other in entirety, as lover, companion, and friend. A good and balanced relationship is one in which neither person is overpowered or absorbed by the other, one in which neither person is possessive of the other, one in which both give their love freely and without jealousy. Marriage, ideally, is a sharing of responsibilities, hopes, and dreams. It takes a special effort to grow together, survive hard times, and be loving and unselfish.”
He asked Tank and me to face each other, which we did.
“Do both of you pledge to share your lives openly with one another and to speak the truth in love? Do you promise to honor and tenderly care for one another, cherish and encourage each other, stand together through sorrows and joys, hardships and triumphs, for all the days of your lives?”
“We do,” Tank and I said in unison.
“Do you pledge to share your love and the joys of your marriage with all those around you, so that they may learn from your love and be encouraged to grow in their own lives?”
“We do,” we said again.
And then Father Harvey asked Jennifer and Alex to come forward to present the rings. As each black velvet box was opened, the profound meaning of this moment shuddered through me. In a matter of seconds, Tank and I would officially become husband and wife—and I felt overjoyed, as I knew that Tank did as well. Because when the rings were presented by our friends, he locked eyes with me—and I saw them brighten with unexpected emotion. After all these years—and after all we’d gone through together—this was it.
“May these rings be blessed as a symbol of your union,” Father Harvey said. “As often as either of you look upon these rings, may you not only be reminded of this moment but also of the vows you have made and the strength of your commitment to each other.” He addressed our guests. “The bride and the groom have chosen to deliver their own personal vows to each other. Lisa and Tank, please step forward and face each other.”
We did.
“Tank,” Father Harvey said. “Please share your vows with Lisa. She—as well as your family and friends—will stand as witnesses to them.”
“That would be my pleasure,” Tank said to the priest. When he faced me, he looked me directly in the eyes. My pulse quickened and my mind whirled at how quickly this was proceeding. I now remembered what my mother had said to me just before she’d left the tent.
Remember this moment, she’d urged. Never forget it. I know it’s going to be overwhelming and emotional, but try your best to relax as much as possible and to take in as much as you can. You’ll thank me later. I love you, Lisa.
And so I focused just as Tank began to speak.
“Lisa, standing before you today is right where I want to be,” he said. “And if there’s anything I can be certain of in the future, it’s that I will always have you with me. It’s been over two years since I asked you to marry me, and I’m thrilled that today we finally will become one. From this day forward, my heart will be your shelter, and my arms will be your home. I vow to give you my loyalty and my eternal heart, because you are the only woman I will ever need.”
He shrugged at me.
“How can I ever make you as happy as you’ve made me?” he asked. “How can I ever make you laugh the way you make me laugh, especially since your sense of humor is one of the things I love about you most? What I can promise you is that I will try. For the rest of our lives, I’ll also try to make certain that you’ll always know you are the most important person in the world to me. We chose each other, and I need you to know that this is the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. Ever since we first fell in love, you’ve been my foundation, my sounding board, my eternal source of motivation. That is why—in front of all our family and friends—that I promise to support you unconditionally. I will cherish you for as long as I am able. I love you, Lisa, and I cannot wait to begin our lives together as husband and wife.”
I was so moved by Tank’s vows that my eyes welled with tears, and I wondered if I had the strength to get through my own vows to him. But when I looked up and into Tank’s eyes, all the strength I needed was right there waiting for me to take. And so I took it. And in that unconditional moment of love that passed between us, I knew then everything I wanted to say to him.
“Tank,” I began. “I’m here today to promise you that I will love you for eternity. You are one of the bravest and most remarkable men I know. You are also my best friend—my true soul mate. After all this time, I’m still captivated by your selfless, humble, caring, and respectful nature. Thank you for your unwavering support for my career over the years, and thank you for making me feel loved, even when sometimes it’s seemed undeserving. Most importantly, I want to thank Jennifer for bringing us together, because when she first introduced us in the lobby of our old apartment on Fifth, I was taken by you right then and there. At first, the attraction was physical. But as we got to know each other, it came to be so much more than that. As I stand here today, I truly believe that I’m the luckiest woman in the world. My vow to you is that I will always support your dreams and will express my love for you for the rest of our days together, even when we are apart. I will never take our union as husband and wife for granted. I will always love you unconditionally, Tank, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, and until death do us part—even if you should somehow turn into a zombie. Because if that should happen, I think we all know that I’ll still love you and that I’ll likely have a perfectly sound strategy to bring you back alive to me—where you must always belong. I love you, Tank. I love you to my core.”
After we exchanged rings and Father Harvey pronounced us man and wife, he asked Tank to kiss his bride. To my surprise, it wasn’t just a peck on the lips Tank had in mind. Instead, he literally swept me off my feet, dipped me low, and then planted one mother of a kiss on my lips. Happily, I kissed him back.
“I love you,” I said in his ear before he let me down.
“I love you so much, Lisa. Thank you for agreeing to be my wife.”
When Tank gently placed me back onto the gazebo’s floor, I caught a glimpse of Ethel in the crowd and saw that she was looking at us while wiping tears from her eyes. She nodded at me at that moment, I nodded back at her, and then I watched Harold place his arm around his wife’s shoulders in such a loving gesture that I knew I was watching a man who had taken his own vows seriously. Despite all that Ethel had done—and regardless of the reasons why—he was there for her now. And because of the kindness he was showing to her alone, I couldn’t help but feel touched.
“Go now in peace and live in love, sharing the most precious gifts you have—the gifts of your lives united,” Father Harvey said. “And may your days be long on this earth, together as one.”
When our guests stood and erupted into applause and whistles, Tank took my hand, I squeezed the hell out of his, and we looked into one another’s eyes. The enormity of this moment sent chills through me.
Together, we walked down the steps, at last man and wife. And as rice was tossed upon us as we laughed and walked up the red carpet with dozens of photographs being taken of us, I wondered in my heart if I’d ever feel as overwhelmed with happiness as I was at that moment. It was that perfect. It felt that complete.
And it was ours to relish forever.
EPILOGUE
New York City
One month later
Two days after Tank and I returned from our honeymoon in Bora Bora, Jennifer called to ask if I’d like to have lunch.
“Please tell me you’re free this afternoon,” she said. “I’ve given you two full days to settle in, and I can’t stand it anymore. You’ve been gone so long—I’ve missed the hell out of you. Tell me that you’re free.”
It was nine
o’clock, Tank was already at work, and I was just about to sit down at my computer to start my next book, which absolutely could wait for another day. “I’m totally free,” I said. “And I’d love to have lunch—just tell me where, and I’ll be there.”
“How about if we go to Ruby’s?” she said.
“Ruby’s Diner? I can’t remember the last time I ate there. Tank and I had our first date there.”
“Alex and I used to go there a lot, but then for some reason we stopped going. I’ve been feeling a bit nostalgic lately, so I thought we might go there today. Because I honestly can’t remember for the life of me when I was last there.”
“Same goes for me,” I said. “But I’d love to go there again. Good on you for thinking of it. Count me in for the pure nostalgia of it all.”
“Done,” she said. “How about if you meet me at noon in Blackwell’s office? Because when I told her yesterday that I was going to call you today for lunch, she made it very clear that she wanted to hear all about your honeymoon, as I do. Let’s talk in her office for a bit, then I have a surprise in mind, and then we’ll go to lunch.”
“What surprise?”
“You’ll see,” she said. “But best to bring the Kleenex!”
“What does that even mean?”
“You’ll see. See you at noon!”
***
Just before noon, I arrived by taxi at Wenn Enterprises with perspiration already shimmering along my forehead. It was sunny, hot, and humid in the city—the temperature had to be somewhere in the midnineties, which provided its own certain kind of hell—and even though the cab was air-conditioned, it was barely enough to fight off this day.
I paid the driver, thanked her, got out of the car, and dashed across Fifth Avenue’s busy sidewalk and into Wenn’s much cooler lobby. Even though I had dressed for the day in capris, a white tank, and pretty sandals, I felt as if my makeup were already melting down my face—which Blackwell wouldn’t have.
And so, before I took the elevator to the fifty-first floor where her office was, I went to a restroom off the lobby, dabbed my face with a paper towel, and removed a compact from my handbag to freshen my makeup. When I was confident I was Blackwell ready, I took the elevator to her floor, which was alive with people hurrying this way and that. Many of these people I’d come to know over the years, and I said hello to them before I arrived at Blackwell’s door, which was open.
“Knock, knock,” I said as I stepped into the doorway.
“And just listen to that,” Blackwell said as she popped a cube of ice into her mouth and leaned back in her chair. Jennifer was seated in front of me and turned to look at me with a big roll of her eyes. “Already rife with the clichés, and yet she dares to call herself a writer.”
And then Blackwell leaned forward.
“But let’s play the game, Lisa. Shall we? Who’s there?”
“Seriously?”
“Play the goddamned game.”
“Fine. How about…a new bride?”
“Not good enough,” Blackwell said. “So, allow me to correct. How about…a woman whose nipples are about to poke out poor Jennifer’s eyeballs?”
“What are you talking about?” I said.
She pointed at my breasts. “Those.”
I looked down and saw with a sense of humiliation the two tents in my tank. “I just came from ninety-degree heat,” I said. “And then I stepped into Wenn’s lobby, which is about forty degrees cooler. Give me a break.”
“I think it’s more than that. I think you’re already longing for Tank again.”
“You’ll get no argument from me there, lady.”
With a toss of her bob, she stood up and came over to give me a hug. “So, how was it?” she asked in my ear. “And don’t be shy, because Jennifer and I want to know all of it. How was Bora Bora Bang Bang?”
“Really?” Jennifer said. “Bora Bora Bang Bang?”
“Please,” Blackwell said. “I mean, just look at her. Aroused and ready to go. She looks like an order of takeout for the Internet porn crowd.”
“I do not,” I said.
“Trust me, darling, that was a compliment,” Blackwell said as she walked back to her desk and sat down. “And you should take it, because I can only imagine how many men and women would pony up their credit cards to have a good look at you right now.”
“Anyway,” I said, sitting down next to Jennifer. “The honeymoon was amazing.”
“Describe amazing in ways that has nothing to do with you flat on your back and Tank on top of you,” Blackwell said. “Or with you on your hands and knees with him thrusting behind you. Because if you can come up with an answer to that question, I’ll be surprised.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You were there for three full weeks, and yet you’ve somehow managed to return to us without a tan—which says it all to me. You and Tank eschewed the pleasures of the South Pacific and instead decided to spend your time focused on your South Specific.”
“So what if we did?”
“Actually, I’m glad that you did,” she said, the goading gone from her voice. “In fact, I’m thrilled that you did. Now, all joking aside, spill it. How was Bora Bora? Despite its inherently dull name, I’ve always wanted to go.”
“It was magical,” I said. “Before we rented our hut, I sent each of you a link to it online for your approval. And as nice as it looked in the photos we saw, it was way better in person. Our hut stretched about a hundred feet out into the ocean, and the waters there were so clear and blue, you could stand on the deck and see all kinds of fish swimming below. If they had better Internet, I’d consider living there.”
“Without a Bergdorf?” Blackwell said. “Unthinkable. Already, you’ve lost me.”
“The shopping is better than you think,” I said.
“Really? Then give me names. Stores. Designers. Everything.”
“It’s not so much about the clothes,” I said. “Instead, it’s all about the jewelry you can find there. And I’m not just talking about diamonds or other gemstones that abound there. What I’m really talking about are the pearls, which just makes sense given the location, right? One day when Tank and I were out, I came upon what had to be the most beautiful pearl necklace I’d ever seen.”
“Was this before or after Tank gave you a pearl necklace of his own?” Blackwell asked.
“You’re disgusting.”
“What I am is Blackwell—which is a name you now can search for on Google. Somehow I’ve become a goddamned Internet sensation!”
“That’s all your ego needs,” Jennifer said.
“Deal with it, girl.”
“What did you two do for food?” Jennifer asked. “Did Tank cook in the hut, or did you mostly go out for dinner?”
“Let’s just say that while we were there, Tank went all Free Willy on me. Since he was pretty much naked all the time, he mostly cooked for us in the hut.”
“Well, goodness,” Blackwell said. “I hope that hot grease didn’t spatter onto him—and that he was careful when he used a knife.”
“I made sure of it. But enough about me. Since I pretty much had zero cell phone connection while I was gone, I have no idea what’s been going on here. How have you two been?”
“I’ve been great,” Jennifer said after I saw her shoot Blackwell with a concerned, sidelong glance. “Aiden is happy and growing. Alex is over the moon when it comes to his son. And for the first time in a long time, there appears to be no drama surrounding Wenn. So, can we just celebrate that for a moment?”
“Agreed,” Blackwell said.
“And how about you, Barbara?” I said, looking at her with new eyes. “How are you and the girls?”
“I’m fine,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “So are Daniella and Alexa. While Tank and you were having your naked adventures, the rest of us were clothed and leading more predictable lives.”
“So…why did Jennifer just give you a weird look?” I asked.
<
br /> “Did I?” Jennifer said, turning to me.
“You did.”
“Look,” Blackwell said. “Today is about you, Lisa. It’s not about me.”
“So, something is up,” I said. “The three of us have always shared everything together, and we always know when something is off, as it is now. What’s happened? What’s the problem? I need to know.”
“I really didn’t want to talk about this today,” Blackwell said. “But since I know that when you’re like this, you become like a dog on a bone, I might as well just tell you now. Jennifer, would you please close the door?”
She did.
And when she did, Blackwell turned to me. “While you were on your honeymoon, I lost one of my closest friends,” she said.
“Barbara,” I said. “I’m so sorry—how?”
“She was driving to work one morning when she was involved in a head-on collision. Her name was Miranda Hart. We became fast friends decades ago when we were in college, and we’d remained close ever since. But here’s what I can’t shake, Lisa—Miranda was only fifty-four. She’d been married for more than thirty years. And now not only is her husband in a state of shock but her three children are bereft without their mother. I’m not going to lie to you—it’s been heartbreaking and terrible.”
“My God,” I said. “Barbara, I had no idea…”
“Of course you didn’t, but now you know. I’ve always tried to manage these sorts of life events on my own, but this one has hit me particularly hard, especially since Miranda’s children are close to the ages of my own children. What happened to her could happen to me—that’s what I can’t get out of my head. For so many years, I’ve been going through life thinking that I’m invincible, when clearly I’m not. Miranda’s death has taught me a lesson—the cliché is true. None of us should take any day for granted, because in a flash, it can cruelly be stolen away from any of us.”
Unleash Me: Wedding (The Unleash Me Series) Page 20