“Hey, Daddy!”
“Hi, Lessi. You look beautiful. Don’t you want to get married and walk with me down the aisle?”
“Sorry, Daddy.”
“I tried.”
With the sims of honor, flower pal, and ring bearer all down the aisle, it was my turn. Mama stood there waiting to watch me like she had done my entire life. Her eyes were getting puffy and red. She had successfully held herself together all week, but now that the event was live and in progress, she began to fall apart. That’s when a brilliant idea fell on me.
“Will you walk me down the aisle, Mama?”
Grooms never get the pomp and circumstance like brides. They just kinda show up at the arch and watch everyone else march down. But not this groom. It was my moment, and I had to share it with my biggest cheerleader. A wide grin grew across her face, and I just knew she was going to break down any minute. But she didn’t.
“Of course I will! Oh, this is so special. Thank you, my beautiful son! Don’t tell your sister, but you’re my favorite.”
“Everyone knows that, Mama.”
“Oh. Well, I said it finally!”
We made it halfway down the aisle before she broke down, and I laughed. Dad looked like he was fighting a losing battle as well. Out of the four of us, he was the most emotional, so I wanted to see how long it would take before he let go, too.
Finally, stationed at the arch, the moment had come to lay eyes on my bride. We didn’t purposely avoid each other that afternoon, but it just so happened that I hadn’t seen her since we got up that morning. When she stepped into the aisle, my heart swelled with joy and an overwhelming sense of gratitude. It was an honor to call her mine and to know I was hers. Everything faded, and her radiant beauty gleamed, like a bright star slowly inching toward me. I couldn’t take my eyes off her if I tried. No one, not even Chi Chi, could stop me from savoring every bit of that precious moment. Sophia was everything to me.
