Sweet Little Thing(21)

Leaning in, she whispered, “Bet you’re wishing you had a red bandana right about now.”

“You have no idea,” I said to her. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“I’m a spectacle out here. Look around.” She laughed. “This was all for you, baby.”

The group of family members began to stir while we had our quiet exchange.

When Mia jutted her chin out to give me a peck, Tyler finally interrupted. “No! You can’t do that yet.”

Everyone in the group chuckled.

Tyler cleared his throat. “Family and friends, we’re here today to celebrate Mia and Will and the love that they share. They’ve asked us to be here to witness the joy of their union.”

At that point, it’s fair to say that I stopped listening to Tyler. All I could think about was Mia. I saw, like in a film reel flashing in front of me, the last year of my life. I watched the heartache and the happiness and the moments of unrelenting bliss when we were in each other’s arms. I thought about every mundane moment that makes up that gray area of a person’s life. It’s the hour or two a day that you clean your kitchen or watch TV or do the laundry. All my gray moments with Mia were colored in: chasing her around the Laundromat, spraying water on her from the kitchen sink, or messing around with her on the couch while we spent whole days watching reruns of The Office. I looked forward to the rest of my life, even if the rest of my life only consisted of the humdrum day-in, day-out bullshit, it didn’t matter because Mia turned the most unremarkable moments into moments I cherished.

“Will?” She breathed out, her face paralyzed with terror.

“Yeah?”

“Your vows, baby. Aren’t you gonna say your vows?”

Oh my God, poor Mia thought I was getting cold feet.

“Yes, my vows, okay.” I cleared my throat. “Mia, you’re my best friend and that’s not some clichéd crap a guy says to a girl. You really are my best friend. You’re funnier, smarter, and prettier than Tyler, and you smell way better.” I paused as everyone laughed. “But seriously, something came alive in me the day I met you. It was so strong a force that I knew completely and with all my heart that you would be in my life forever.”

Mia’s eyes filled with tears. Her cheeks turned pink, her eyes grew wide, and she smiled so serenely I began to get choked up myself.

I took her hands. “Mia, I promise that I will never stop loving you, laughing with you, playing music with you, crying with you. I promise I will never stop dancing with you and cuddling you and bringing you chocolate and wine.” I wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes. “I’m yours forever and I choose you to be mine.”

“Will,” she began in a cracked voice. “Your love is so pure and real that I can feel it in your fingertips when I touch you. I can see it in your eyes and the way you smile at me. I’m so in love with you because you are the most genuine, kind, and loving human being I have ever met.” She leaned in and whispered, “And you have nice abs.” We both chuckled and then she continued. “You’re the smartest, coolest, and most talented guy I know. I promise that I will worship you better than any groupie ever could. I will love you, Will Ryan, until the day I die. And I will be your best friend too.”

Tyler couldn’t get a word in before I crushed Mia’s lips with mine. The crowd clapped. We walked around hugging and kissing our family members and friends. Mia’s mom cried, which was unusual for her.

Jenny had insisted on hiring a photographer to document the event. Mia and I had fun doing silly poses with all the kids, and then when it was our turn to take photos alone, we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other. I dipped my head down and nuzzled my face into Mia’s neck. She linked her legs between mine and we let the photographer snap away while we stood there embracing each other under the Brooklyn Bridge.

When it was time for us to leave, everyone threw birdseed at us, which was weird, but apparently it’s illegal to throw rice because it chokes the birds. They gave all the little nieces and nephews the bulk of the birdseed, so you can imagine the scene as Mia and I scurried to the limo. They were throwing birdseed almost directly into our faces, so not only were we swarmed by birds overhead, but we were spitting out birdseed and wiping it out of our mouths the whole way to the car. Something always has to go wrong at a wedding, and all things considered that wasn’t the worst that could have happened.

Inside the limo, I gave the driver our address.

“Why are we going back home?” Mia asked.

“I have a surprise for you.”

“Well, I have a little surprise waiting for you in the studio, so I guess we might as well stop in there too.”

I squeezed her hand. “Were you in there this morning, you sneaky little mouse?”

“No, why?”

“So you didn’t see my present to you?”

“No, actually I gave my mom the key so she could leave my gift to you down there. I was going to give it to you tomorrow.”

Before putting up the privacy screen, I told the driver to drive around for a bit and then I got on my knees in front of Mia and slowly pulled her garter off with my teeth. She opened her legs just enough for me to spot her light blue, lace panties.

“Is that superstitious or traditional?” I said to her in a low voice.