****
“I, Kurt Michaels, take Kimberley James, to be my wife. I promise to love, honor, and cherish her, and to love her fiercely.” Kurt smiled at his wife. Their families were in the church that they would have passed many times growing up. “I will be a loving husband, a brilliant father, and best of all, your friend.” He turned to look at Elsa. “Obviously not your best friend, you already have one.” Tears filled Kim’s eyes, and he reached out, wiping them away. “I promise to try to never make you cry, to care, to provide, and give you a life that doesn’t fill you with regret. I love you, Kim. I’m yours. Always.”
“Wow, I don’t know if I can follow that kind of vow. I, Kimberley James, take Kurt Michaels as my husband. I’ll love, honor, and cherish you. Of course I’ll love you fiercely. There’s no doubt of that.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll be the best wife I can be, and a mother to your children. I will devote my life to you, to our family, and to our future. You came into my life, and turned it upside down. You made me see myself differently, and I love you, Kurt. I’m yours.”
Kurt gripped her hand tightly as the priest bound them together in marriage. It didn’t matter to Kurt. To him they had been married in their hearts. When it was over, he pulled her into his arms, kissing her.
Noah and Elsa clapped and wrapped their arms around each other, Elsa’s large stomach making it hard for her.
After pictures were taken, they all climbed into the limousine, making their way toward the reception.
“I feel like this is going to prom,” Elsa said.
They had traveled with Elsa and Noah toward their dates. “We’re all married, and there’s already a kid on the way,” Kurt said, smiling. He wrapped his hand around the back of his wife’s neck, pulling her back. “We need to start working on our own kid.”
“We’re doing just fine,” Kim said.
“We’re going to have to start early. We’ve wasted ten years.”
“I wouldn’t call it wasting ten years. I’d say we were preparing for each other. Neither of us was ready.”
“Speak for yourself. I’ve been ready for a long time.”
Kim looked up at him. “Then thank you for letting me be in the right place.”
“I’ll wait forever.”
He kissed her lips, and their friends faded into the background. This was the start of the rest of their life. A life he was determined to make perfect.
Epilogue
Kim sat in the waiting room, rubbing her own stomach as she and Kurt waited for the news on Elsa’s labor. Her best friend had gone into labor last night, and had been in the hospital for a couple of hours. She was trying not to freak out as she was six months pregnant herself.
“Everything is going to be fine,” Kurt said, taking her hand.
“You’re right. She’s in the right place.”
“Did you see how freaked out Noah looked? He was telling me last weekend how awesome he was. He was totally in control.”
“Will you be driving me crazy when I go into labor?”
Kurt caressed her stomach, shaking his head. “I’ll be completely in control, and you’ll not have to tell me to calm down, or to relax. I’ll be there, by your side, always.”
She stared at him. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”
Noah came through the doors, and they stood up. “I have a baby boy.”
Kurt shook his hand, clapping him on the back. Kim hugged him. “Can we go and see Elsa?”
“Yes, yes, she wants to see you. Come on.”
Noah took them through the doors, back toward the main wards. Kurt rested his arm across her shoulders, and she held his hand, locking their fingers together. They entered a room, and Kim gasped. Elsa sat up. She looked a mess, but the love in her eyes was what Kim saw. In her arms was a little blue bundle.
“Oh my God, he’s so beautiful.” Releasing Kurt, she made her way toward her friend.
“Isn’t he a dream?”
Kim smiled down at her best friend’s son. “He is. Did it hurt?”
“I don’t care. I really don’t care. Any pain I felt disappeared. Just look at him, Kim.”
She giggled. “How was Noah?”
“I was brilliant.”
“He fainted. Nurses had to pull him out of the way.”
“I did okay.”
“I’ll do better,” Kurt said.
Three months later, Kurt was a complete mess to the point that Kim even recorded him on her cell phone before they got to the hospital. It was so funny to watch.
She gave birth to a little girl, without Kurt as he’d fainted and was out cold. When he came around, it was to hold his wife and his daughter.
Their life was perfect, and after three more children, along with rabbits, cats, and dogs, Kurt gave her the perfect life, the best life. In return, Kim never held back again. She loved him with the whole of her heart.
The End