The ceremony goes on and before I know it, the officiant is indicating to Jesse to pass me a ring. I take the diamond band from Jesse and take Tora’s hand as the officiant tells me it’s time to say my vows.
I let out a breath. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. The moment that will bind us as husband and wife. The moment I know I will never forget.
I slide the ring half way up Tora’s ring finger and look back up at her. “You’re my world, Tora. It’s as simple as that. You have been since we were kids and not once has that changed. You are my being. My other half. My best friend. I didn’t think it was possible to love another in the way that I love you, but every day, I prove myself wrong. I love you more today than I did yesterday, and come tomorrow, I know I’ll love you more,” I tell her as the tears begin pooling in her eyes. “I don’t ever want to live a life in this world where you’re not by my side. With you, I am stronger. I’m better. I’m more than I thought I could ever be and it’s all because I have your love forcing me to be the best possible version of myself.”
“Today is where we start the rest of our lives and I vow to you that I will continue to love you with every fiber of my being. I will shield you from the ugliness of this world, and I will build a life with you that you never dreamed possible. This ring,” I tell her, “symbolizes my vow to you that my soul, my body, my mind, and heart are yours, forever more.”
And just like that, I slide the ring into place on her delicate finger, in the same way that I had last night, only this time it comes with the promise of eternity. “I love you,” I tell her. “With everything that I am.”
‘I love you too,’ she mouths, unable to quite get the words out as the emotions overtake her.
Tora wipes tears from her eyes, but the joy buried within them still remains. She gives herself a moment to gain control of herself before smiling up at Jesse and taking the ring that waits patiently in his hands.
Taking my hand in hers, she slides the ring half way down my finger in the same way I had done. “I haven’t exactly had any time to prepare my vows like you have, so I guess I’m just going to wing it,” she laughs, somehow managing to make the sound wrap around me. “So… here goes.”
Tora takes a shaky breath and never once takes her eyes off mine as I anticipate what she is about to say. “Just over eight years ago, you barged back into my life in a big way. No. A massive way,” she corrects. “I still remember those first few weeks with you like it was just yesterday. You scared the crap out of me while also making me feel things that no one else on this planet has ever made me feel. You opened my heart up to a whole new world and it didn’t take long before you’d completely captured me. You stole my heart before I was ready to give it away and then in a true Nathaniel Ryder way, you refused to give it back.”
A tear falls from her eye and she leaves it there, almost like a symbol of her emotion. “I don’t ever want it back, Nate. It’s yours. I’m yours, completely and wholeheartedly yours. I want to love you until our dying days. I want to give you the world just as you do for me every damn day. I want to love you with no reservations and comfort you when your world is caving in. You’re my hero and my sunshine in the darkness. You’ve supported and loved me even when I didn’t deserve it. You’ve taken my world and made it whole, to the point that it would never be whole without you.”
She takes another breath and I squeeze her hands giving her the strength to get the words out, knowing that pouring her heart out in front of everyone we know is not something she takes lightly. “I promise you that from this day on, I will love you with everything that I am. I will share in your dreams and support you in your journey of reaching your goals. I will be understanding. I will love with compassion, I will value honesty, and strive to make your every dream a reality.”
“I love you, Nate,” she tells me as she slides the ring home. “I’ve never experienced happiness the way I do when I’m with you. You consume me. I want to fill our home with laughter, love, and as many little feet as possible, and I want to be by your side every minute of it.”