Aaron stood and lifted Tabs into a tight embrace. He pulled Hannah into them and the three of them stood there in the middle of the track holding on to each other – like they were a family.
“Do it now, Mommy. Get married now!” Tabitha cheered. “Rev B is here. She does weddings all the time.”
Hannah just laughed. “That’d be fun, Tabs, but I’m afraid getting married isn’t that simple.”
“You always say that about everything.”
“Yeah, but in this case, it’s true. We need a license first, and the town clerk’s office is closed. Besides, I don’t think Aaron had today in mind when he asked me.”
“I’d marry you today,” he said, smiling. “The town clerk is a survivor, too. She’s here and owes me a favor.”
“Are you serious?” she asked.
Aaron put Tabitha down and took both Hannah’s hands in his. “I’m completely serious. If you want to wait, I’m okay with that. We can have a big wedding or a small one. Whatever you want.”
She shook her head. She’d had the big wedding, with months of planning and dozens of guests. It cost a fortune and it was all a blur. She didn’t want to do that again. “I don’t want to wait. If it’s possible for us to get married tonight, then let’s do it.”
“You can get married after all the candles are lit,” Tabitha said with excitement. “I’ll go ask Rev B!”
Tabs ran across the field to where Rev B sat at her campsite. Tabs climb onto the minister’s lap and by the way her hands moved and her head bobbed back and forth, Hannah knew Rev B was getting an earful.
As Hannah turned back to Aaron, he caught her in a passionate embrace. Maybe too passionate for the family event, but she didn’t care. His lips pressed into hers as his arms pulled her body into his. The feel of his lips, the warmth of his hold, it all had her wanting to skip the whole ceremony thing and jump right to the wedding night.
Hannah mustered all of her will to separate her lips from his. “You need to go talk to the town clerk,” she said across the smile that would be impossible to wipe off her face.
Aaron appeared to be wearing his own version of that smile. “Maybe you should go tell your family,” he said, nodding in the direction of the campsite where her family watched the two of them.
Aaron kissed her one more time before setting off in search of Cheryl, the town clerk.
“Aaron,” Hannah called as he stepped away.
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
Aaron stepped back for one more kiss, then walked away with a smile on his face and a spring in his step.
Hannah started off in the direction of the campsite, not walking, but flying. It was crazy, getting married, today, right here at Relay. Just weeks after they had met, but it was right. Her heart knew it and so did her head. She was happy she finally got those differing perspectives aligned, so happy her heart had won that battle. As she approached her family, Hannah beamed with happiness. She knew without a doubt this was what she wanted. Aaron was who she wanted to be with.
It was obvious her family had witnessed the proposal, along with a couple hundred other Relayers, because they were all smiling and cheering as she approached.
Malinda was the first to greet her and wrapped her up in a tight embrace.
“So, Aaron and I are getting married,” she said to Malinda and everyone else who crowded around them.
Her mom pushed Malinda out of the way and hugged her. “Oh, Hannah. I am so happy for you.” Her dad joined the party, hugging both of them.
Steven’s parents were the next to offer their congratulations. Donna eyes welled with tears. “You’ll always be our daughter-in-law. I hope you know that.”
“I do know that, Donna,” Hannah said as tears slid down her cheeks, too.
“Oh no, honey. This is a happy occasion. No tears.” Hannah had to laugh at that. With Donna it was always do as I say, not as I do.
“So it’s probably too soon to ask,” Frank said, probably trying to break up the tear fest, “but when’s the big day?”
Hannah looked around, a little nervous. This was fast. She knew it was and worried her family would object, tell her to wait. But she loved Aaron. Her family knew that. Maybe they would be as excited as she. “Umm, we’re going to get married tonight. Right here. That is, if we can pull it all together.”
She wasn’t able to gauge everyone’s responses because as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Aaron’s arms were wrapped around her.
“We can,” he said. “Cheryl said she’d issue the license.”
Then Tabitha came running up. “Rev B said yes! She even has special vows for me too!!”
Hannah looked around. Malinda was absolutely beaming with happiness. Her dad and Frank were both smiling, her dad nodding his approval. Her mom and Donna clung to each other, tears streaming down to the smiles that stretched across their faces. Ok, this was good. Everyone was happy.
“So, it looks like we’re getting married tonight,” Hannah said.
She didn’t realize she was in tears, too, until Aaron’s caress wiped them from her cheeks. “Are you sure?” he asked. “We really can wait if you want to.”
He didn’t understand they were tears of joy. She kissed him in front of her family and all of creation. “I have been waiting. I’m done waiting. I want to marry you, Aaron. Right here. Tonight!”
“Oh, dear. You need a dress,” her mom said.
“And rings,” Frank added.
“Oh, no, we don’t need to fuss …” Hannah started, but was interrupted by the buzz of everyone making plans for their spontaneous wedding.
“You can wear my grandmother’s dress. I bet it’s the perfect size for you. Lord knows these hips will never fit into it,” Malinda said as she slapped her palms on her swinging hips.
“Oh, L, I couldn’t,” Hannah said. That dress was absolutely beautiful. Hannah was marrying outside the family. It seemed too awkward.
“Nonsense,” Donna cut in. “That dress is just dying to be worn, and Malinda’s right,” Donna paused as she took a good look at her daughter and shook her head. “Her hips will never fit into it! I’ll go home and iron it. Be back in a jiffy.”
“What about rings?” Tabs asked.
“I’ve got that covered,” Aaron interjected. “The bands came as a set with the diamond.”
“Awfully, bold, don’t you think? What if I had said no?” Hannah asked across a smile.
“You didn’t,” he said, smiling back. “And bold works for me, remember? You did spend the night with me on our first date.”
The burn engulfed her cheeks. Oh, good lord, did he just say that in front of her parents and her in-laws? Well, that probably wasn’t any worse than raving about the orgasm she deserved in front of her mother and Donna.
He looked at her with that enticing smile and her whole body tingled in anticipation of the touch she knew was coming. As he lightly pressed his lips to her blushing cheek, he said, “I love it when you blush like that.”
She pressed her cheek to his lips before he moved away. His expression was more serious as his hold around her waist tightened. “Cheryl needs our drivers’ licenses to write up the marriage license.”
Hannah interrupted him, knowing why he had grown more serious. “And Steven’s death certificate too, right?”
“Yeah.” A sadness crossed his brow and sunk into his eyes. She hated seeing that, but his sympathy melted her heart. She was about to marry him, but he still respected her love for Steven and how much she missed him.
“It’s okay, Aaron,” she reassured him. As soon as the marriage license topic came up, she knew she’d have to provide it. It wasn’t a big deal. It was just a piece of paper that made legal what everyone already knew. Steven was deceased. Legally Hannah could remarry. Her heart had finally accepted all that.
She stroked Aaron’s cheek and smiled at him. “I’ll go home and get it.”
He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “Let me take
you. I have to run home and get the rings anyway.”
Her attention was diverted from Aaron’s sexy smile when she heard her mother and Donna talking. “Oh, we’ll all need to go home and change our clothes.”
Hannah interrupted. “No, no, really. I just want you all like you are. In your Relay shirts. That’s what’ll make it special. Please.”
Tabitha got a disappointed look on her face and Hannah didn’t miss a beat. “Except you, Tabs.” She turned to Malinda. “Can you help with that? She’s going to need a dress. A purple one, if possible.”
Malinda nodded. “I’ll take care of your bouquet, too.”
Tabitha gave Hannah a big hug. “Thank you, Mommy.”
Hannah wrapped her arms around Tabitha. “You’re okay with this, sweetheart? I mean, it’s not one of your fairy tales. We’re going to be a family. That means you have to listen to Aaron. Mind him. He’s not just your friend anymore. He’s going to be your ...” step-dad was what she was thinking, but even with the word step in front of it, it still seemed awkward to say it.
“He’s going to be my dad, right, Mommy? Because that’s what I want! I promise I’ll listen to him. Just like I listen to you.”
Well, that was encouraging. Most days, anyway. Hannah was relieved that Tabs filled in the blanks. Coming from Tabs’ mouth, who had no living memories of having a dad, well, it just seemed right.
Hannah turned to Aaron. “We’re a package deal. You marry me, you marry us.”
He pulled both of them into a tight embrace. “I’m a lucky man. I love the package deal.”
~*~
“Why don’t you pick me up on your way back? I need a little time.” Hannah said as Aaron pulled his truck into her driveway.
“A little time?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She kissed him, then felt the need to offer some sort of reassurance. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to talk myself out of this.”
“I’m not worried.” he said confidently as he winked at her. “Is an hour enough time?”
“Yeah, an hour is perfect.”
After Aaron left, Hannah grabbed the keys to Steven’s motorcycle and her helmet and headed out. She cut across Atwood Street, then turned up the hill to Grove Hill Cemetery, maneuvering the motorcycle around to Steven’s spot on the hill.
Hannah sat on the grass in front of his stone, knowing she only had a few minutes. She needed to put a little makeup on, do something with her hair. Plus, she had to dig out the paperwork so that legally she could marry Aaron.
As Hannah sat there breathing in the scent of the trees that walled in the cemetery, she remembered that last dream of Steven, the morning after she and Aaron made love for the first time. Steven had let her go. Whether it was her subconscious or Steven’s spirit was irrelevant. It was real. Now it was her turn.
On a long sigh, she spoke to him as if he were there with her. “I really do hope you meant what you said to me. I still love you, but I love him, too. It’s time that I move on. You were right, Steven, I really do deserve to be loved and happy. God, I am so happy with him.”
She sat there for a few more minutes, her eyes closed, waiting. She wasn’t sure what she was waiting for. It wasn’t like Steven was going to speak to her. He’d only ever done that in her early morning dreams, which had stopped after Aaron told her he loved her.
Hannah’s eyes opened slowly when she heard a vehicle crossing the cemetery. She was surprised to see it was Aaron. She sat there watching him as he got out of his truck at the bottom of the hill and climbed the steep slope toward her.
“Hi,” he said as he approached the spot where she sat.
“Hi.”
“I didn’t follow you here, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“It kinda was. I was about to leave. I just needed some closure,” she explained.
Aaron kept his distance with his hands resting behind his back, his legs evenly parted. It was a classic funeral pose, she thought as he respected her space. “Hannah, you don’t owe me an explanation. You never need to explain to me why you come here. Ever.”
Always the gentleman. Then she realized it had nothing to do with him being polite. He knew Steven was a part of her and respected that. Which was just one more reason why she loved him so much.
Hannah smiled. “So if you didn’t follow me, what are you doing here?”
“I’m not sure. Asking permission, I guess,” he said, shifting his stance a bit. That’s when she realized he was hiding something behind his back.
“Asking permission? For what? And what’s behind your back?”
He pulled his hands out from behind him to reveal two bottles of beer.
“I just thought I’d come up here and have a beer with him. I just … well, out of respect. I just felt …”
She didn’t let him finish. Closing the distance between them, she looked him square in the eye, then kissed him briefly. “Aaron, he’s dead. You don’t need his permission to marry me.” Of course, this was coming from the woman who came here to get closure before she married the man standing in front of her.
He placed his hand over her heart. “He’s not dead in here, Hannah. So, yeah, I really do need his permission.”
Her heart skipped a beat and not just from the gentle press of his hand. He was perfect. Absolutely perfect. She wished his parents were still alive so she could thank them for this man who was an amazing gift in her life. “Well, then I guess I’ll leave you two alone.”
As Hannah started to walk away, he dropped one of the bottles to the ground and grabbed her hand. She stopped and smiled. As he cupped her face and caressed her cheek, they warmed as if flushing just because he liked it. He just smiled and she knew he was telling her he loved her. He didn’t have to say it. She felt his love in that simple touch. She hoped he felt hers, too.
~*~
Aaron watched Hannah get on Steven’s motorcycle and remembered the first time he saw her, just weeks ago, sitting on that same bike before the memorial ride. He only knew her name. He wasn’t sure then, but he knew now it was love at first sight. He and Hannah had a connection. He had felt it that day when their gazes locked. Then when he touched her. He had felt it every moment since, even when they weren’t together.
Sitting here at Steven’s grave, watching her disappear into the cover of lush trees that hid the hilltop cemetery from the rest of the world, Aaron realized their connection started long before they even met. Somehow Steven had brought them together. Though he wished the man was still alive and Hannah had never gone through the pain of losing him, he couldn’t help but feel grateful for all that he had been given. For his cure and a second chance at life, and for Hannah and Tabitha.
The motorcycle’s engine faded in the distance and Mother Nature’s music filled his senses. A slight breeze moved he tree branches before it danced across his face. That music sheltered Aaron from the world around, but not from his own thoughts. He opened the two bottles and put one beer next to the stone that marked Steven’s grave.
“Cheers,” he said and took a long drink.
It seemed strange being here. He had brought Hannah and Tabitha to the cemetery a couple times, but had always waited in the truck. Trying to have a conversation with Steven was even more strange. Aaron wasn’t accustomed to talking to the dead. He was a little worried he might be struck by lightning if he verbally asked permission to marry Hannah. It was a ridiculous thing to ponder, but he imagined even in the face of death it would be hard to imagine Hannah with another man. Knowing she was happy, though, that was the driver. It must have broken Steven’s heart to think about Hannah being sad. So, yeah, Aaron got where Steven was coming from, telling her she deserved to be loved. She did. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to earn the honor of being the man to bring her that love, but wasn’t going to question it. He also wasn’t going to test the elements. So, Aaron sat there in silence and drank his beer. After a last sip, he finally spoke.
“For God alone O my soul, wait in silen
ce, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.”
Chapter 22
As twilight fell upon the field, dozens of Relayers armed with lighters circled the track and lit the small candles inside the luminaria bags. Hannah loved how the track came to life with the glow from over 750 bags, each decorated to honor someone who had battled cancer.
Aaron gave her and Tabitha a little space as they lit the bags they decorated in memory of Steven. Hannah’s had a picture of Steven sitting on his motorcycle with the words “Let’s Ride” written under his name. Tabitha’s bag had a picture of her as a baby with Steven holding her. She had written “I love you, Daddy” on the top in purple marker. After the candles were lit, they walked around the track to where Aaron had placed his bag. Hannah handed him the lighter.
“It’s your bag, you light the candle,” she insisted.
“Light it with me,” he said as he took her hand.
She gripped his hand tightly as the flame of the candle came to life. Her heart slowed with the heavy burden of the memories Steven’s death always stirred. She remembered her husband, the father of her beautiful daughter, and how the man she held on to, the man she would soon marry, respected her late husband and loved the wife and daughter he had left behind when he died. As the track glowed with the memories and hope of so many people who knew both love and loss, Hannah was humbled. Tonight she was not only honoring one man she loved and lost, but the survivor who had found her and showed her how to love again.
Aaron walked in perfect sync with her and Tabitha as they headed to the east end of the track where the Luminaria Ceremony would take place. They found a spot just inside the track and took a seat. She sat close to him while Tabitha snuggled on his lap and held Hannah’s hand. Hannah wasn’t sure her daughter fully understood what the Luminaria Ceremony symbolized, but was grateful to be holding on to her so tightly.
Aaron wrapped one arm around her and the other around Tabitha. She felt so lucky, so blessed, to be sitting there with the two of them. Not just at this moment, but knowing before they left this field, they would be a family.
Book Boyfriends Cafe Summer Lovin' Anthology 2015 Page 238