Two weeks flew by in a flash. Before James was fully ready, they were at the church the day before their wedding, looking about, speaking with the minister, understanding how the whole process will work.

The minister was readying himself for the wedding rehearsal, and as he did, Marigold and James had a chance to gaze around at the church, the church of his childhood.

The ceilings were vast and lofty, almost indistinguishable in the shadows above the arches overhead. There was a wonderful stone floor, polished pews, and stained-glass windows that flanked both sides of the sanctuary. The sunlight poured through the panes, casting dancing colors across the pews and the floor.

“This is incredible …” Marigold said, gazing up above her, her heeled boots clicking against the floor. “I have only seen churches like this in story books. How exhilarating that I am to be married in one.”

James smiled at her.

But the weight he had been carrying around for a few weeks was still there.

“I can feel God here …” she went on. “I can see he has blessed this church and the people here for their faithfulness.”

He had tried his very hardest to be patient with her, hoping she would bring up his concerns before he had to. He continued to tell himself that what he thought had been bothering her so deeply must truly not have been, for wouldn’t she have addressed it once more?

The conversation they had in the drawing room at the engagement party continued to play over and over in his mind, but she had not mentioned it since. Not even when they were alone, not even when he hinted at it. It was as if she was pretending the entire event did not exist.

But the more that she ignored it, the more it seemed to bother him. He thought of it often, of both his and her frustrations, not with one another, but with their surroundings. Could there ever be a place where they would both feel completely comfortable? He loved Bear Springs and felt great peace there. But New York was home and always would be.

“Oh, I do wish that father and the girls could be here,” Marigold said, trailing a finger across one of the stained-glass windows depicting the Holy Bible, open and available for all to read. She smiled at James. “But I know we have their love and support about the entire endeavor.”

“Indeed we do,” James replied.

“I am ready for you now,” the minister called from the altar.

That evening, James asked Marigold if he could speak to her before they were to depart, as they wouldn’t see one another again before the ceremony.

After much jeering from his brother and sister, James closed the door to the sitting room where Marigold stared at him expectantly.

“What is it, my love?” she asked.

He hesitated, wondering if it is even worth addressing.

“My darling,” he begins slowly, “there is something that has been bothering me. Do you remember the conversation we had the night of our engagement party?”

Marigold’s eyes flashed with recognition. “I do,” she replied. “Why do you ask?”

James sighed. “It’s … I have been expecting you to bring it up again, especially after you were as distraught as you were. And you have not, and that has caused me some concern, wondering how you have been dealing with everything.”

Marigold sighed heavily, turning away and walking toward the window. Then, she smiled slowly at him.

“I am sorry, James,” she began, folding her arms over her chest. “For the way I acted that night. I am rather ashamed of myself for allowing my emotions to really get the better of me.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” James replied.

“I suppose everything had been overwhelming me for so long that it all just … sort of came out at once. And when you were there.” She shook her head, inhaling deeply. “I feel like I brought shame and humiliation on you and the rest of your family.”

“You did nothing of the sort,” he replied, walking to stand beside her at the window. “Truly. Everyone was far more concerned for your safety and for your own feelings than for how it made them look. My parents are strong people and are well respected in society. It would take something far greater than some spilled wine to disrupt their reputations.”

“That is a relief,” Marigold said.

It had started to rain. The soft pitter-patter of drops against the glass was both soothing and sobering. The forest outside became bathed in fog, and the sky disappeared.

“However …” James said after a few moments of watching the rain, “that still does not address the true heart of the issue, what was truly bothering you that evening.”

Marigold continued to stare outside.

“… And it is the question of where are we to live once we are married.”

She turned to look at him, and he saw no surprise in her face. She had obviously been thinking about it as well.

“It was apparent after our conversation that we both have somewhat desired to live in our respective towns,” he went on, “without wanting to hurt the other’s feelings by demanding such a difficult choice.”

Marigold nodded her head. “I can plainly see why you would want to live here in New York, just as I know I want to live back in Utah as I thought we had planned. We are both stranger’s in the other’s land, so to speak, and so have needed to learn how to adapt.”

“I imagine it was a far more difficult adaption for you. Everything was so different, and there was a great expectation I believe I unwillingly placed upon you.”

“You did no such thing,” Marigold said. “I believe it was I who put too high of expectations upon myself, knowing I would never reach them. You, however … you gave up far more than I ever would have to in order to move all the way out to Utah.”

She gestured around the magnificent room, with its floor to ceiling bookshelves, velvet armchairs and silken drapes.

“After seeing the way you and your family live, I have wondered why you ever took the job out west at all.”

James smiled. “My life was a bit of a mess when I left for Utah. I was glad to leave it all behind for something new and exciting. And it was just that. It was exactly what I needed.”

Marigold’s eyes grew sad. “But now that you have come back to New York …”

James sighed and turned away from the window. “If we were to move here, to New York, I would feel as if I were abandoning my clinic in Bear Springs. I would not want everyone in the town to be without care, not when I know they have come to rely on having a physician around.”

“We managed before you arrived,” Marigold said.

“Yes, Marv told me the same thing before we left,” James replied. “But I know having someone to take that burden from the families has been a great blessing. And not only that, but they have been a great blessing to me.”

“But you have the right to be happy, too.”

James looked about the room, seeing the crossroads at which they stood. Both were trying to look out for the other, wanting to put the other’s needs above their own. James wanted Marigold to be happy, and she for him to be happy.

Surely there had to be a way where they could both be happy.

“Marigold …” he said. He turned to her, taking her hands in his own. He looked into her eyes, her big, beautiful blue eyes, and smiled. “What, honestly, would make you the happiest?”

She smiled at him. “James, you know being with you is all I need to make me happy.”

He smirked and kissed her on the forehead. “I appreciate the sentiment. But … tell me honestly. What would make you the happiest? Where would you be happiest?”

She took a deep breath, looking down at their hands, intertwined between them.

His heart fluttered madly against his chest, and when she looked up into his face, he knew her answer.

“Utah … I would be happiest in Utah.”

He smiled. He believed he had truly known that the whole time. Marigold, sweet, carefree Marigold, would feel stifled at all of the parties, would be crushed under society’s expectations. There would be nowhere for her to shine, to be free from it all. She would always worry about measuring up, even though she would never need to.

“If I was honest with myself,” James said, “I could also see I would not be happiest here.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Marigold asked.

“When I left New York … I was free. Free from all of the propriety and the social nuances. I didn’t miss the grand balls or the dinner parties. I missed the company, but I had fine company in Utah. No. I am not cut out for a life here in New York. Not anymore. I have felt most like myself after moving out to Bear Springs.”

Marigold beamed and a weight lifted from James, a weight that had been crushing him until that very moment.

“I would very much like to come and spend at least one or two holidays out here in New York every year, especially once children have come into our lives.”

The idea of children made James blush, but Marigold just grinned.

“And besides … I wouldn’t want to keep you from your family forever.”

He pulled her in close to him and put his arms around her shoulders, drawing her to himself.

“Would you allow me to build us a ranch of our very own? I could hire the very best builders, build whatever sort of house you would like. Even a castle, if you so desired.”

She laughed into his shoulder. “A castle?”

“Yes,” James said. “And perhaps a few new dresses for you? Special ones, nice ones. Ones that would make you feel beautiful and allow me to spoil you a little.”

She pulled back from him arching an eyebrow, and James felt as if he was looking at the Marigold he really knew.

“Well, I suppose so,” she said, nestling herself back against his chest. “Marriage is going to be all about compromise, after all.”

The next morning was the wedding. James did not sleep a wink the night before, and Charlie appeared in his room just after the sun rose. He insisted on a large breakfast with him and the rest of his groomsmen, one last hurrah for him before he and Marigold returned to Utah. He was giddy, almost lightheaded with excitement.

He was going to marry Marigold Langston.

“You are perhaps the happiest looking groom I have ever seen,” Charlie said, helping James to adjust his tie in the mirror.

James straightened his suit coat and grinned.

Charlie handed him his hat. “You are in for the best adventure of your life, little brother,” he said with an even wider smile. “Marriage is just … well, God Himself created it, didn’t He? That’s enough proof it’s amazing.”

“I didn’t know if I would ever get to see the day I was married,” James said. “Once I let Tessa go, I thought I would end up an unmarried, crotchety old man.”

Charlie grinned. “You nearly did. Marigold must be nearly blind to marry someone like you.”

James shoved Charlie in the arm.

“In all honesty,” Charlie went on as they descended the stairs together toward the carriage that was going to take them to the church, “I don’t think I have ever seen you happier than I have when you’re with her. She really is the one God made with you in mind.”

“I appreciate you saying that,” James replied. “It is good to know others can see the blessing as well as I can.”

The church was busy, and he was greeted by many people before the ceremony began.

He waited at the front of the church with Charlie and his brother-in-law, Luke, beside him, his heart fluttering like a butterfly in his chest as he waited.

The music slowed, and the doors at the back of the church opened. In walked Marigold with his sister, Abigail, and sister-in-law, Molly.

He suddenly felt as if he had no heart at all, for it had stopped beating all together at the beauty she radiated.

Her mother’s dress, a simple satin dress, looked as stunning on her as the pink dress she had worn to their engagement party. Jewels sparkled at her throat, his own mother’s jewels.

What a wonderful compliment to their new lives together, he realized. Her mother’s dress, his mother’s jewels. Truly they were about to unite into one.

He was vaguely aware of the ceremony as it proceeded, aware she had come to stand before him, aware that Abigail had passed her off to him, and aware the minister had begun his message while they stood beside one another.

He could not stop looking at her. Her cheeks were rosy, and she had a lovely lace veil over her face.

They exchanged their vows, but he could think of nothing but her, how beautiful she was, and how he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her wherever it may take them.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said, closing the Bible in his hands. “You may now kiss the bride.”

James turned to her, his fingers trembling, and lifted the veil from her face.

Her blue eyes shone brighter than they ever had, and he eagerly leaned in and kissed her warmly.

There was a great tumult of applause from the guests, but he wouldn’t have noticed if there had been hundreds of them.

This moment was the happiest moment of their lives, a moment he knew he would never forget, and a moment he would cherish for the rest of his life.

* * *