Ella’s friend, Julianna, waves at us from the reception doors. “Ready?”

“Yes,” we answer in unison.

Flipping her grown out blue hair back, she clears her throat. “And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in giving a warm reception to our newlyweds! Stand up and let’s hear it for Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox!” She claps her hands and moves to the side.

I hold Ella’s fingers in my hand and walk next to her into the hall. A sea of people part as we make our entrance, all of them clapping enthusiastically and smiling. To the side I can see my old Lieutenant Connor with his fiancée Charlotte. He gives me a fist pump in the air and it reminds me of the old days when he led our platoon and always knew how to encourage us to put our best foot forward.

I hope I can put my best foot forward right now. I swallow nervously and lead Ella to the dance floor. As we walk through the crowd, I smile at my SEAL buddy Gabe and his new wife, Vanessa. It makes me happy to see him finally settled down with someone. After our improvised explosive attack, he suffered badly, wearing the scars of that day on his face forever. It makes me happy to know he found someone who saw beyond the superficial and got to know and love the real him.

We step out onto the cleared dance floor and Julianna makes another announcement as I gaze at the crowd gathered on the sidelines.

“The couple will now share their first dance in marriage.” She nods to the DJ and we wait for what feels like an eternity for the music to start.

“I love you, Daddy!” Chloe yells out from a couple feet away.

The crowd awwws and I can’t blame them one bit. She’s as cute as ever in her little flower girl dress. She told me this morning that today she knew what it was like to be a real princess as the hairstylist pinned a band of baby’s breath flowers into her hair.

“I love you too, hon.” I blow her a kiss and she pretends to catch it in the air and then eat it. I just shake my head as the people around her laugh.

My eyes drift over to my mother. She’s right next to Chloe, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She was a total wreck at the wedding, but she kept insisting she was crying happy tears. My daughter didn’t understand it at all. To be honest, I don’t really understand it either. All I know is my family has never been happier, or more whole, since Ella joined us.

Ryan’s deep blue eyes twinkle as he lays a reassuring hand on my mother’s shoulder. I squint at him, feeling anything but reassured by his gesture. Luckily I don’t have time to overthink it because the music starts and I focus on Ella, my wife, looking for her lead.

The song we first danced to, “Despacito,” begins to play. “Just do it how I taught you. You’re going to be amazing.” She gives me a smile that melts my worries away. A smile that makes me realize that even if I mess up this dance, even if I trip or fall on my ass in front of everyone, it won’t matter one bit. I’ll still walk out of here as the luckiest man on earth.

I slowly waltz with Ella, leading her around the floor for the slow opening of the song. I’m counting my steps in my head and trying not to step on her long wedding dress the color of fresh fallen snow. As the music speeds up I meet her eyes and change my hand position, getting ready to do the dance we’ve been practicing for months now. The salsa.

I step and move my hips and, magically, the movements become natural. I don’t even have to think about what my next move is. My body just knows what to do. Instead, I get lost in Ella’s beautiful upswept hair and the long line of her delicate neck that I want to kiss. I study her large brown eyes and her crimson lips. She’s breathtaking.

I turn her and her dress billows out as she twirls around and comes back into me. The song I once stepped on her feet trying to dance to has become special to us. What started as an inside joke between us became layered with meaning as we realized it was that night and that song that started it all for us.

The music peters out and I take my new bride in my arms, dipping her low and then lifting her back up into a long kiss that makes me wish we could run right back out those reception doors and rip our clothes off. When I step back, the rest of the room comes back into focus. All of our friends and my family, now her family too, cheer and whistle for us loudly.

“I love you so much,” I murmur into her ear and she smiles against my cheek.

“I love you too, Jackson. From now until forever.”

As I look around from the faces of the men I served with to my mother, my child and now, my wife, I suddenly understand the idea of ‘happy tears.’ My eyes mist up and my throat feels raw as I realize how remarkable this journey has been. I can’t believe I ever thought of ending my days on this earth. If I had done that, I never would have met my wonderful child. I would have never met this woman in front of me that I still can’t believe I’m lucky enough to call mine. All I would have done is break my mother’s heart and become another veteran statistic. Since that day, every single moment of my life has gotten better. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been worth every step and every stumble that led me here.