Zed

 

Their wedding came soon after. They managed to convince Natalia to stay in town for the next few days as they got Abby's backyard in order and as Zed and Kai had their tuxedos fitted.

 

Now, Zed stood there, his hands folded in front of him, Kai on his left as his best man. Both men faced the backside of the house as the string quartet began to play, “Here Comes the Bride.”

 

Zed realized he was grinning so widely that his face had begun to hurt. His heart felt full, like it would burst from his chest at any moment and try to dance a jig down the street. But, even as he watched her approach, he could feel the world swimming in front of him, his eyes already watering at just how wonderful this moment felt.

 

Kai nudged Zed as Abby, even more beautiful than the first time he'd seen her on TV, came down the grass towards them. Zed glanced to him, grinning like a lovesick idiot, then went back to watching his lovely bride.

 

Rather than an obnoxiously long train, or too many ruffles and lace, she'd opted for a simple ivory dress. Nothing too ostentatious or extravagant, but just graceful and lovely. It was the perfect match to their perfect wedding.

 

Abby walked slowly down the aisle, veil over her face, the bouquet she clutched made from the flowers she'd started to grow with the advice Zed had given her last year. She smiled at him from beneath the simple material, her crimson red lips lovely and inviting, her perfect teeth pearly and straight.

 

Across from Zed, Jackie grinned at them both as Abby handed off the bouquet and turned back to Zed. Together, they lifted her veil, and the whole world seemed to brighten like a second sun had just been born in the backyard.

 

“You look beautiful,” Zed whispered, still in a daze.

 

“You don't look half bad yourself, sir,” she said with a sly wink.

 

He grinned back at her as the officiant began the short ceremony. As he looked deeply into her eyes, he saw their dark past, the things he had done to her, and those he had done for her. He saw Abby strapped to the dining room chair, the belt around her neck as he gave her their first orgasm, his stripping of her ego, as well as her clothes. Their beginning had been dark, that was true. But it had been passionate.

 

Zed also saw the future in her clear, blue eyes, watched it unspool before him. He saw their future children, their friends and family, the holidays together, travel, and gardening. They would have all the simple parts of life. He envisioned her smiling face as she came home from work or her holding their child. He would wake up next to her each morning and go to sleep beside her each night. These would be the simple moments that, when piled together one upon another, would jumble together into the mess of life.

 

“Zed? Your vows?” the officiant asked.

 

Zed glanced to the man, nodding.

 

“The bride and groom decided to write their own vows. Zed, please?”

 

He swallowed, let out a nervous breath, and took her hands in his. “Abby,” he began, licking his lips nervously as he gently squeezed her hands, “I promise to you that I will keep you in my heart, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. I promise I will stand beside you, prop up your spirits when you need help, and build you higher, for however long we may be together.”

 

Her face radiant and otherworldly in its beauty, she squeezed his hands tightly as he came to a finish, a single tear escaping from her eyes and running down her cheek.

 

The officiant turned to the bride. “Abby?” he asked, with a slight incline of his head. “Your vows?”

 

# # #

 

Abby

 

Abby took a deep breath, returning Zed's warm smile.

 

She wasn't the neglected girl she'd been before she met him. She wasn't fighting the same way for her place in a man's world. She'd gotten there, now. She was who she had always hoped she would be. She didn't have to act superior, or try to lord her success over anyone, especially not Zed. But, at the same time, she still didn't need to be forced into submission with him, either. She knew she could willingly submit to him anytime she wanted, and that he'd reward it with his own tenderly painful caress.

 

This man clinging to her hands just as tightly as she clung to his was her perfect match. A man strong enough to be his own person, and strong enough to bend her to his will. He was strong enough to deal with her when she needed to exert her own independence. He knew her own actions didn't lessen his, and that her own accomplishment didn’t lessen his self-worth.

 

“I promise, Zed, to be with you through thick and thin, richer and poorer. To love you, and hold you, and to always come home to you. To build you up, to never tear you down, and to always trust that you know what is right. You were my guiding light once, and my conscience when I needed one. And you always will be.”

 

“Do you have the rings?”

 

Abby and Zed turned to their respective escorts and took the wedding rings from them as the officiant went through his little speech on the importance of their symbolism. Then, they exchanged their rings and said their, “I dos.”

 

“Then, by the power vested in me,” the officiant said, “I now pronounce you man and wife. Zed, you may kiss the bride.”

 

Zed took her into his strong, warm, supportive arms and pulled her close to his body. They kissed, holding each other upright in this crazy world. As they broke apart, they grinned at each other like lovesick idiots. But they were happy lovesick idiots.