Prologue
Erica was fidgeting with her bracelet again. It was something she did anytime she was nervous or anxious. I reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at me and smiled as she visibly relaxed, letting her thumb gently trace the length of mine as she often did when we would hold hands.
“Are you nervous?” I asked.
“A little,” she replied as we glanced around at the other couples who were sitting in the chairs lining the crowded little hallway of the courthouse. We were all here for the same thing. The two gentlemen across from us were talking animatedly about their plans once they left the courthouse.
“Well, don’t be. Look at what we went through to get to this point. This is just a formality.”
With a sigh she said, “I know, but it’s a big day. We’re getting married. I want everything to be exactly right.” Frowning, she continued, “I really wish our families could have been here.”
“I know, baby, but there will be plenty of celebrating when we go back home to Kansas next week.”
From the end of the hall came a shout. “Wait! Wait! I object! Tell me I didn’t miss that part!”
Covering my face with my free hand, my cheeks began to burn bright red, and I muttered, “Oh my God, did you know he was going to be here? He told me he had to work.”
It was my brother Lyric. Before leaving the garage the day before, he had told me that he wasn’t going to make it to our ceremony due to a large parts delivery. Erica, who was now laughing, responded, “No, I had no idea.”
All eyes were upon the three of us as Lyric slid into the chair next to me. “Hey, sis! I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it. Parking around this place is a complete shit show.”
“Well, you’re good,” I replied. “We’re next, but the last couple just went in, so we have a few minutes.”
“I wanted to surprise you guys and be here. I’m really happy for you. I know you both have been through a lot over the years, but you guys are perfect together, and no one deserves this more than you.”
Erica smiled and said, “Thank you. It means a lot to both of us for you to be here today.”
After fifteen minutes, the frosted glass door next to us opened, and the two women who had entered earlier walked out. The magistrate, a middle age balding man in polyester slacks and matching tie, said, “Next.”
Giving Erica’s hand a squeeze, I said, “Ready?”
She nodded with a smile, and we made our way into the office. The room was cramped, filled with a large desk, stacks of file boxes, and shelves of musty law books. The justice made his way behind the desk and asked for our marriage license and other paperwork. Opening her purse ,Erica produced the requested documents, and after a few moments, the balding gentleman said, “Shall we begin?”
We both said yes, but then Erica hastily said, “Oh, just a second! I almost forgot something!”
From within her purse, she produced a small, framed photo and placed it on the edge of the desk next to us. Looking at the picture brought me bittersweet feelings. In the photograph was a girl with long jet-black hair, braided into pigtails. Her skin was a deep, ruddy sepia, and her almond-shaped eyes sparkled with barely contained mischief as she flashed a beaming grin. It was our friend Jennifer Rising Smoke from high school who had been murdered by her stepfather our senior year. A part of me still blamed myself for her death, but it seemed fitting that she should be here on this day, even if it was only in this little frame. When Erica had mentioned to me that she wanted to include her in today’s events, I had readily agreed.
After a moment, Erica said, “Ok, we’re ready.”
We turned and faced each other, and I took her hands in mine. As the justice began to speak, I took in the sight before me. Erica was still just as beautiful now as she had been the day we first confessed our love to one another sixteen years before. She had chosen a simple black dress for today that hugged her slim figure with her golden hair that I loved so much styled long and straight, framing her face. Around her neck, she wore the string of pearls that I had bought her for our tenth anniversary, and on her wrist was the hemp bracelet with seven small beads that I had made for her as a gift for our first Valentine’s Day together. She was looking at me with that faraway smile upon her lips that always made my heart swell to the point of bursting.
The justice turned to me and said, “Do you, Harmony Katrine Nowak, in the presence of these witnesses, take this woman, Erica Jane Hagen, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?”
I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face as I looked at Erica and said, “I do.”
Turning to Erica, he repeated the vows, and she looked at me and said, “I do.”
After this, he instructed us to place our wedding rings on each other’s fingers. Erica gingerly slid the heavy band of titanium onto my left ring finger as I watched. She had insisted on a titanium ring so I wouldn’t destroy it on my first day back to work.
Taking her hand in mine, I slipped the little silver band on her finger that I had picked out for her. Once we had finished, the justice instructed us to hold hands again and said, “By joining hands, you are consenting to be bound together as spouses. You are promising to honor, love, and support each other for the rest of your lives. By the authority vested in me by the laws of the state of Iowa, I now pronounce you wife and wife.”
Erica looked to me with a sheen of tears in her eyes, smiling broadly. I couldn’t help returning her smile as I felt a lump growing in my own throat. We stood gazing at each other for a moment before Lyric said, “Well come on! Kiss!”
We all laughed at this, and I took Erica in my arms, pulling her close and pressing my lips to hers tenderly. Silently, I recalled the years leading to this moment. So much had happened. We had come so close to losing everything. As Erica and Lyric had both reminded me today that the road had not been easy.