The officiant – who had accurately identified himself as “the dude” – bristled as Stella pulled Nathan in and down for a quick kiss on the cheek before taking her place next to Fi.
Nina and Carla were next and pretty interesting to watch, as Nina had flat-out refused to wear the sparkly, flow-y silver bridesmaid dress instead opting to wear a silver-gray tux. It also appeared she was refusing to saunter down the aisle like her sisters had done, because she power-walked her ass – damn near dragging Carla behind her – right up to Danny and the officiant in record time. Nina gave Danny a tight nod and a borderline threatening look before she and Carla joined her sisters.
Gigi, with Marco on one side and Carlo on the other, quietly wept the entire way down. She gave Danny a big smile and his arm a few good pats before taking her place on the officiant’s left side.
The guests let out a collective
aw
as Gabby and Sam appeared in the doorway, flanking Gia, all three wearing silvery dresses. They each held one of Gia’s hands as they very slowly meandered down the aisle. Gia had just started walking with help a few days ago, so they’d decided to have Gabby and Sam walk her down instead of having Stella carry her down with her.
About three quarters of the way down the aisle, Gia spotted Nathan and started going crazy, yelling out, “Dada!”
When Gia pulled her hands free of Gabby and Sam’s, she immediately fell back on her butt. She dropped onto her hands and knees and started crawling across the wood floor toward Nathan with a huge, shit-eating grin on her face. “Dada!”
More collective laughs and
awwws
rang out as Nathan stepped forward and bent down to pick her up.
He turned back, Gia in his arms. “There’s my baby girl. I missed you,” Nathan whispered, giving her a bunch of kisses on her cheek.
Nathan took his place next to Danny again and starting subtly bouncing Gia in his arm. She stuck one thumb in her mouth, curled the other hand around one of Nathan’s lapels, and rested her head against his chest. Danny gave Gia a quick smile and her arm a quick rub before turning back to watch Gabby and Sam finish their journey.
When “Marry Me” slowly faded out and the first chords of a violin rendition of “Here Comes the Bride” began, Danny’s body reacted hard to the knowledge that Kat and Pops were up next. His mouth went dry, his already racing heart began beating harder and faster, and a fine sweat broke out across his upper lip.
Then, suddenly…
there she was
.
The emotions slammed into him with a ferocity he hadn’t anticipated and a few seconds later, Danny was bawling like a little bitch. Luckily, all of the guests had risen out of their seats and turned to face Kat, but he knew in a few seconds, they would all be witnessing his emotional meltdown…
And he couldn’t have given less of a fuck.
Danny knew no amount of time, distance, or human frailty could ever wipe the memory of Kat standing in that doorway from his memory. She looked every inch of the angel she was in a long, lacy dress that sparkled, holding a simple bouquet of flowers in one hand and her other arm wrapped around Pops’. Her shoulders and the tops of her arms were bare and glowed softly in the candlelight, her dark hair was pulled back, and, even from across the room, Danny could see she was crying, too.
Their eyes met and he swayed a little on his feet.
Then Kat and Pops started walking toward them and dizziness joined the party. All Danny could think was:
She is really here and she’s really doing it. She is actually going to walk down this aisle and marry
me.
Though Kat’s MS had stayed a more benign course and her neurologist was feeling more confident by the day that it would remain that way, she’d still been very worried the stress of the wedding would cause a flare up and she’d need her cane to walk down the aisle.
Of course, Danny wouldn’t have given a shit if he’d had to carry her down the aisle, throughout the whole reception, and every day for the rest of their lives. But it had been important to Kat to make that journey down the aisle unassisted and Danny was thrilled to see the happiness on her face as she did just that.
Nathan clamped his free hand onto Danny’s shoulder. “You’re okay, Mac. Just keep breathing.”
She was staring back at him with those huge hazel eyes, so full of love and trust and open adoration, that Danny’s knees suddenly turned to jelly and he swayed again.
Nathan’s grip tightened. “You breathing, brother? Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Bend your knees a little. Do
not
pass the fuck out, ‘cause I can’t catch you right now.”
Danny inhaled as deeply as he could and exhaled as slowly as he could manage. He continued to do that the entire time Kat and Pops made their way towards him. When they finally stopped right in front of Danny – close enough for him to touch her – he gazed at her through his tears and his heart felt so full, so complete, that he thought it might burst right out of his chest.
My
bride.
My
world.
My
wife.
Mine. And she’ll always be mine.
The music faded
again and the officiant cleared his throat. “Marriage is, in and of itself, a blessing. But doubly blessed is the couple who enters into it with the approval and love of their families. Who has the honor of presenting this woman to be married to this man?”
“On behalf of her loving family – and with the knowledge my beautiful wife, Francesca, would have supported this union as much as we do – I, as her father, do,” Pops replied, smiling.
Danny barely heard the roomful of audible sniffling over the sound of his own as Pops gave Kat a big smile, kissed both of her cheeks, and said something to her in Italian. Kat nodded, eyes welling and spilling over, and she and Pops shared a long hug.
Pops released Kat and turned to Danny. “I’m trusting you to take good care of my sweet baby, now, Danny,” he said solemnly, staring hard into Danny’s eyes and extending his hand. “Promise me one more time that you will.”
Danny took Pops’ hand and gripped it. Despite the huge lump in his throat, he managed to reply, “I promise you. It would be my honor and my privilege and it always will be.”
More loud sniffling and throat clearings filled the room as Pops nodded and they shook hands. Pops grabbed Kat’s right hand, kissed the back of it, and handed gave it over to Danny before taking his seat. Stella stepped forward to grab Kat’s bouquet and Danny and Kat both took a step forward to stand directly in front of the officiant.
They turned to face each other, their hands instinctively reaching for each other’s and holding on tightly.
Danny stared down at her…into her beautiful face – a face that seemed more familiar to him than his own – and into those amazing, open, intelligent eyes and that weird heart-bursting sensation he’d been experiencing since the second he’d laid eyes on her became almost more than he could bear.
Danny wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up and into him, Kat’s arms instinctively wrapping around his neck as she breathed out a soft laugh against his throat.
“You look so incredible, Kat,” he whispered against her ear. “So beautiful and amazing and like every single dream I’ve ever had and every wish I’ve ever made come true.” Danny tightened his arms around her. “Thank you for showing up, sweetheart,” he choking up again. “Just…” Danny swallowed hard. “Yeah, just thank you for showing up. I’ll make sure you never regret it, Kat. I promise.”
Kat curled her
hand around his neck and lifted her head to meet his adoring gaze. The relief, love, and heartbreaking gratitude she saw in his eyes made the tears flow harder out of hers. “
Of course I showed up, you sweet, silly man
,” she whispered fiercely. Kat’s lips curled. “I waited twenty-eight years for you and I’ve been waiting twenty whole months to legally own you. You didn’t think I’d let you get away now, did you?”
When Danny’s eyes went hooded and he leaned in to kiss her, the officiant stepped forward. “
A-hem…
” Danny and Kat faced him and he gave Danny a stern look. “No kissing until I say so.” He gestured to their embrace. “And we’re never going to get there if you don’t set her down and let me get through this, son.” When Danny just stood there, Kat still firmly up against his chest, the officiant exhaled a sigh. “Your plan is to hold her like that during the whole thing, then?”
“Hell yeah, it is,” Danny shot back, eliciting more titters from the guests.
Kat laughed softly. “Danny?” When he turned to meet her eyes, she smiled. “You’ve gotta put me down,
caro
. I’m not going to be able to put the ring on you, if you’re holding me the whole time.”
Danny hesitated and then slowly set her back on her feet with a displeased grunt, their hands finding each other’s again.
“Okay, fine,” Danny muttered to the officiant. He gestured for him to move things along. “Then let’s get this show on the road.”
The officiant’s brows shot up. After a quick moment to orient himself to this very unorthodox scene, he cleared his throat and addressed the guests. “Dear friends and family, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Daniel and Katarina in marriage.” He looked back at them. “Danny and Kat, you entered this room as individuals, but you will leave it as husband and wife. With the vows you will very soon speak, you will create a beautiful, brand-new family…one blessed by your families, friends, and…”
Danny’s hands tightened around hers and she turned to face him. They stared deeply into each other’s eyes – communicating things only they could understand and saying things only they could hear.
With the officiant still rattling on loudly beside them, Danny searched her face thoroughly for a few long moments before whispering so softly she had to read his lips more than listen for the words, “I love you more than I could ever show you, Kat. And I always will.”
Her eyes filled again as she squeezed his hands tight. “And I love you more than I could ever say, Danny. And I always will.”
There was something so special and safe and heartbreakingly intimate about whispering those short vows to each other…vows no one else heard, but that meant everything to the two of them.
“As Danny and Kat have opted out of any readings, we can proceed right to the vows.” The officiant turned to Kat. “Please repeat after me…I, Kat, take you, Danny, to be my lawfully wedded husband, my faithful partner, and my only love from this day forward.”
Holding his eyes and hands as tightly as she could, Kat repeated, “I, Kat, take you, Danny, to be my lawfully wedded husband, my faithful partner, and my only love from this day forward.”
Danny started crying again, which made Kat start crying again.
As well as Gigi and Stella, who Kat could hear bawling behind her.
“In the presence of God and our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow,” the officiant prompted.
“In the presence of God and our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as sorrow,” Kat repeated through tears.
“I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live,” he concluded.
“I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, and to honor and respect you, to laugh and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live,” Kat repeated.
The officiant turned to Danny. “Please repeat after me…I, Danny, take you Kat, to be my lawfully wedded wife, my faithful partner, and my only love from this day forward.”
In a voice as steady as she’d ever heard it and with an expression more serious than she’d ever seen from him, Danny said loudly, “I, Danny, take you, Kat, to be my lawfully wedded wife, my faithful partner, and my only love from this day forward.”
“In the presence of God and our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow,” the officiant prompted.
“In the presence of God and our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner…”
Danny paused and tugged at her hands, pulling her up flush against him. He released her left hand to place his right at the nape of her neck and hold it gently. Danny’s eyes bored into hers so deeply –
so fiercely
– that everything else faded away but his beautiful face and the words coming out of his mouth.
“In sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow.”
When Kat began gently weeping, he pulled her to him, one of his arm’s snaking around her waist while the other cradled the back of her head, holding it to his chest.
“I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live,” the officiant concluded.
“I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, and to honor and respect you, to laugh and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live,” Danny repeated, Kat still safely ensconced in his arms.
The officiant gestured for Gabby and Sam to step forward. “Now Danny and Kat will exchange rings as symbols of their love and commitment to one another.”
Gabby and Sam came to stand in front of Danny and Kat and Sam extended her arm. Gabby loosened the drawstring on the top of a gray silky purse hanging on Sam’s arm and carefully pulled out Danny’s simple platinum band and the single-rowed diamond band that would stack against Kat’s engagement ring. Gabby handed Danny Kat’s band, Sam handed Kat Danny’s band, and then the girls resumed their spots.
The officiant gestured to Kat to begin.
With shaking fingers, she grabbed Danny’s hand and recited the words they’d chosen: “I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness. As I place it on your finger, I commit my heart and soul to you. I ask you to wear this ring as a reminder of the vows we have spoken today, our wedding day.”