Kennedy
Graham releases my lips, and we soak each other in. This day. These people. The stars. Everything about this night is magic. It’s woven its way into the depths of my veins. It has nothing to do with some mystical notion of soul mates. One thing I am sure is it’s far more romantic to choose the person than have the world choose them for you.
“I’ll always choose you,” I whisper, running my fingers through the back of his hair. “No matter what, I’ll always choose you, Graham.”
“Will you two knock it off? You’re making the boy uncomfortable.”
Rico leans down towards Ben who has the cutest hue of pink on his cheeks. In unison, Graham and I face our guests, and they have the same expressions on their faces. They’ve witnessed true love, and they know it.
Graham and I walk past the rows of chairs, the final step of our ceremony.
“We may have already been married, but is it weird it feels official now?” Graham kisses me again like he’s promised, like it will be our last, full of love and appreciation. His lips will never stale when they’re against mine.
“What now?” I laugh.
“I’m glad you asked, because I have big plans for you, Kennedy Black.” Graham’s cocky grin tells me everything I need to know. He has every intention of getting whatever it is he’s played up in his head. God, I love this man.
“And what are those plans?” I ask.
“Oh, he’s going to put a baby in you,” Violet says, gliding onto the back porch of the manor. She plops her bouquet down onto the small table in front of us.
“She’s right.” Dan whisks her off her feet, twirling her around before laying a long kiss on her.
“Is that right?” I clasp my fingers behind Graham’s head, massaging the hair above his neck.
“You bet your ass I am.” His soft lips graze the tip of my nose.
“Jesus fucking Christ, can’t you four keep your hands off each other?” Rico bellows, stepping up to our group with Mark and Bea close behind him.
“Leave them be,” Amanda says, pushing Rico to the side to widen our circle.
Rico offers each of us a glass flute and miraculously presents a bottle of champagne.
“Where were you hiding that?” Dan questions.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, pretty boy.” Rico pours each of us a drink and then holds his glass in the air. “To Graham and Kennedy, proof love truly can persevere all things. It’s an honor to watch your story unfold. Congratulations.”
Graham and I laugh at Amanda’s slack jaw as she gawks at Rico. Those two can say what they want, but something is heating up. I’ve done my best to crack their armor, but nothing has worked. They like to pretend the rest of us don’t know what’s happening. I often wonder if they don’t realize their future is right in front of them.
“Who would’ve thought, all those years ago, this is where we’d end up?” Violet says. A sense of melancholy filters through our group.
“Life always takes us in the direction we’re meant to be in,” Mark adds, kissing Bea’s temple. Those two have been going strong for a while now. There’s no end in sight. He worships the ground that girl walks on, and they couldn’t be more perfect for each other.
“Always the wise one.” Rico slugs Mark on the shoulder. “Now, can we cut this sensitive bullshit and party?” He hoots out loud, circling his finger around to rally us into his head space.
The wedding coordinator steps up to us. “You two ready to make your entrance?”
“You couldn’t have gotten here at a better time. They were about to have a cry fest,” Rico says.
“You know, it’s okay if you cry every once in a while, Rico. It would be a good release.” Amanda pinches his shoulder, and he grabs her wrist.
“I prefer to get my release in other ways.” His lips brush the back of her hand, and she jerks it away.
“Yeah, we know.” Amanda stomps off ahead of us.
“Oh boy, lovers spat commencing in five, four, three, two, one,” I whisper to Graham, pointing at Amanda and Rico.
Amanda closes herself off. Even from back here, I can hear the puff of air releasing in exhaust. Rico angles himself towards Amanda and whispers something in her ear, earning him a grin.
“I swear to god,” I mutter.
“They’ll figure it out.” Graham reassures me. “We did.”
We line up outside the large white tent. I stop, breathing in the air. Crickets chirp in the background. The crowd’s quiet chatter can be heard. Graham’s hand encompasses mine, and I can’t stop my lips from stretching into a cheerful, blissed-out grin.
DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” begins to play in the tent.
“This is what you chose to walk into our reception?” I giggle. “Really?”
“You know how you listen to songs before you perform?” he asks. “Well, this is my song. Before games, if I’m ever doubting myself, I play this song.”
“Seriously? How did I not know that?”
“Ladies and gentleman!” the DJ shouts. His excited voice is infectious, and the crowd goes wild. “Make some noise for our bride and groom. Kennedy and Graham Black.”
We dance our way into the reception, laughing and carefree. Graham leads me to the middle for our first dance. Everything fades away as the first chords of “I Get To Love You” by Ruelle plays. A single moment in our living room, with my eyes shut, I knew it was our wedding song. Graham spins me around the dance floor, and my comfort is found against his strong chest. We’re fully locked into each other.
“What’s with the tears, Baby?” Graham asks, skimming his thumb at the edge of my eye.
“I’m happy,” I say, gripping the back of his neck and tugging him down to me.
“That’s all I need to know.” Our lips collide, and he leads me through our first dance.
Graham escorts me to our table where Violet is rearranging the ridiculously large centerpiece.
“Could there be any more flowers in this damn thing?” Violet hands a bundle of flowers to a waiter as he passes by with a tray of drinks.
When we started planning, I’d told Graham I wanted flowers on every surface possible. Apparently, he made the coordinator take the demand seriously.
“He robbed every floral shop this side of the Mississippi.” I nudge Graham in the side, pointing out the now downplayed centerpiece.
The tent is filled with every person who has ever impacted our lives. At the table in front of us is my parents and brother, Graham’s mom, and our sweet little Ben.
Behind them is Richard Hagen, or Coach, and his wife, Candice. He’s never been my coach, but it’s strange calling him anything else. He winks, and his wife smiles brightly. He’s kept in touch, and when we personally delivered an invitation on a trip back to Tennessee, he and Candice promised to be here to witness our vows. I’m not quite sure it would’ve been the same without them.
The DJ approaches the table, handing Violet the microphone. Her lips quiver before a single word is uttered, and I mentally prepare myself for the water works.
“How do I begin to explain Graham and Kennedy’s love?” Violet’s voice cracks. “Dammit, I promised you I wouldn’t cry.” She dabs under her eyes, and Dan shakes his head, completely enamored by our girl. “You’re my sister, Kennedy. I know you love Graham, but damn if I didn’t believe we were each other’s soul mates. Through every important event of my life, you’ve been by my side, and I couldn’t imagine not being a part of yours. Now, Graham, I swear in front of all these people, if you don’t take care of our girl, I’ll personally rip off every single one of your limbs.”
Graham holds his hands up, shielding himself from the wrath of my best friend. “She’s not kidding, is she?” Graham whispers in my ear. As if he even has to ask.
“What do you think?” I give him the same questioning look I give Ben when he asks if he’s in trouble after doing something he’s been told not to do.
“If everyone would raise their glass”—Violet holds her champagne flute towards the sky—“and toast to Graham and Kennedy. After all, they’re the reason why we believe in true love.”
Dammit. She’s going to make my mascara run. She stretches to kiss me on the cheek, and I reach around her shoulders and yank her close.
“I love you, Vi,” I whisper into her perfectly tousled hair.
“I love you, too, Ken,” she whispers back, sitting in her seat beside me. We share a silent exchange, promising to always be there for each other.
Mark grins at Graham and me when Violet tosses him the microphone. Good thing he’s a ball player, or else, it would be rolling under the table.
“For everyone who doesn’t know, I’m Mark Whitmore, Graham’s best friend.” At Mark’s words, Rico smacks his shoulder. “One third of his best friends. Quit being a bunch of girls.”
“Umm,” Rico and Dan groan.
“I’ve known Graham for what could be a lifetime, so when he asked me to be his best man, I knew it was a hard choice for him. Graham has always managed to surround himself with good people. Dan and Rico are just as qualified as I am to be giving this speech.” Mark strains his neck to look at the two of them before addressing the crowd. “They paid me to say that.” At his joke, our guests laugh, which is no surprise to me. Mark has always been able to work a room. “The thing is Graham pulls the good towards him because he’s good, and Kennedy was never the exception. I’m proud to stand up with the two of you and watch your life together start. From this day forward, I expect the very best things for the two very best people in this world.” Mark holds up his flute. “Cheers to many, many years of happiness, you two.”
After taking sips of champagne, Graham and I kiss, bubbles fresh on his tongue.
Every time we’re apart, I catch him staring across the packed tent. It’s like we know the other is close by, and some form of reassurance comes when we take a single second to acknowledge the other.
“About time I get you alone, Mrs. Black.”
I’d know that tender voice anywhere. When I twirl, I’m greeted by Coach Hagen, the man who helped mold my husband into the version he is today. Before he has a choice, I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head upon his shoulder.
“How you holding up, kid?” he whispers, swaying us both to the soft melody.
“I’ve never been better, Coach,” I say.
“You two, out of all the kids who’ve shuffled in and out of that school, you and Graham made the biggest impact on me. You’ve always been so selfless, never worrying about anything but the ones you love. He’s a lucky man, and you’re going to make amazing parents to Ben.”
“I’m the lucky one.” My voice shakes. “I wake up every morning and thank my lucky stars for both of them. He saved me.”
“You saved each other, and that’s enough to carry you through.”
“I should actually be thanking you, Sir.”
“No thanks necessary. I did what anyone would’ve done.” At his dismissal of his role, I stop and force him to look across the room.
Ben stands beside Graham as he talks to our guests. Subconsciously, Graham runs his fingers along the edge of Ben’s hair. Every so often, he’ll look down at Ben as to include him in the conversation. Sometimes I don’t even think he knows he’s allowing Ben to be a part of something.
“He’s a good man, and you’re the reason why. You taught him how to stand up to his convictions, and to fight even when he wants to give up. It’s because of you that I have a husband I’m proud to stand next to, and I’ll never be able to thank you and your family for sheltering him when I wasn’t sure how to do it.” I glance at Coach.
His eyes water along with mine, and he nods. No words need to be spoken. He knows it’s true.